"I got over my malingering a long time ago."
The beauty who had stopped smiling glared at her brother.
"How was it? Did I help you a little?"
"I guess I have to admit it this time."
"You must never shun me like this again. We're in the same boat. Don't scold me for following you without permission."
Valquiterre lowered his eyes and looked at her.
"That's a separate matter."
"Tch."
Bianque fell silent at Valquiterre's characteristic expression telling her not to crawl.
Bianque greatly looked forward to and enjoyed spending time with the Archduke in the Duchy of Luxen.
The Kingdom of Oberon held the King's Birthday celebration at the end of November, so they kept the New Year's festival simple.
Instead, the founding ceremony held on a nice summer day in July was the most proper.
Depending on whether the King's birthday was closer to New Year's Day or the founding of the nation, it was a tradition to minimize the celebration and celebrate it simply so as not to waste national power.
However, that was only the case in the Kingdom of Oberon.
In foreign countries other than the Kingdom of Oberon, New Year's Days and New Year's Balls were held abundantly. Nobles who had sisters or relatives who had married in other countries would often go on a trip after the King's birthday celebration, enjoying the New Year's atmosphere while enjoying a vacation.
Bianque also willingly went to the duchy to see off Grand Duke Luxen.
While the duchy was enjoying the New Year's Ball, a telegram arrived from the palace. It was Valquiterre preparing to go on a vacation to Rowen.
'Leave me alone!'
Bianque spent just as much time in Rowen as Valquiterre.
Her mother, Queen Sylvia, who had made memories with her, and her aunt, Lady Elise, had passed away, but Rowen Castle itself held many memories.
After the Queen passed away, Kaian went to war, and since then, Valquiterre was busy and did not allow her to go to Rowen, so she had not been able to visit for eight years.
'You want to go alone?'
After calculating the dates, Bianque set off for the royal castle in mid-January after all the New Year's ceremonies in the duchy had ended. She did not contact Valquiterre to ask if she could go to Rowen or to tell him that she would be returning from the duchy sooner.
She did not want to hear that she should not come.
"I am stealing Kaian's wife. Don't you blame me?"
"Why me?"
Bianque's eyes widened and her eyebrows raised at Valquiterre's words.
"Oberon's is naturally greedy."
The secrets of the royal palaces of the past were just words, and they did not fully contain the hidden stories of the royal family.
“You’re so persistent, but it’s a good thing you’re sitting on the throne.”
Bianque raised the corners of her red lips as she looked at Valquiterre.
“If not, I would have been a traitor. That’s enough.”
Standing facing each other, Bianque and Valquiterre looked exactly alike.
Lemon-blond hair, white skin, blue eyes, and bright lips, as if they were painted with red lipstick as if they were Queen Sylvia’s bloodline.
The two Oberons, who were different in height and build but looked like they were looking at a mirror, looked into each other’s eyes.
“Why should I hold back when I want something? If you can’t take what you want even if you sit on top of the world, then step down from the throne.”
Valquiterre’s eyes shook slightly at Bianque’s words, and soon he smiled, brushing back his hair that was tousled by the wind.
“You’re just like your mother.”
“My brother is the same. Why is that woman Kaian’s wife? She’s just a Vermont.”
On a boat leisurely flowing across a wide lake, a woman like an angel, bathed in the sun and leaving behind a splendid radiance, whispered as if revealing the secret truth of the world.
“If there’s something you want, take it first and think about the next thing later. That’s what our mother taught us.”
“From the way you speak to your expressions, it’s creepy.”
When Valquiterre frowned, Bianque glared at him with her eyebrows relaxed.
“Keep your promise. You said you’d give me Kaian.”
“I’ll give you a chance. If you don’t have the talent to sit next to him, you’re the one who should give up.”
“Give up? Ahahahahaha.”
Bianque burst out laughing as if she had heard something so absurd.
“I didn’t even know that there was such a word in the world.”
Bianque, who usually kept an eye on Valquiterre’s strictness even with his younger sister, was very proud of the fact that she had helped him so much today.
“So where did you hide her?”
“In a hidden space.”
“Is there something like that on this boat? Where?”
Valquiter laughed crookedly.
“If you want to know, you become Queen.”
The secret hidden in the King's boat was known only to the person sitting on the throne. Bianque, who understood what he meant, pouted his lips.
“Smug.”
Valquiterre went into the cabin, locked the door, and activated a secret device. Then, the boards that filled the floor seemed to be strangely distorted, and then the gap between them widened.
Valquiterre looked down at the woman who was still sleeping under the floorboards.
“I want to hide her from the world like this.”
When he thought about showing it to Kaian one day to make her his own, he was already starting to get annoyed.
“Oberon is very greedy.”
Even after taking her away, Valquiterre tried to calm his heart, which was trying to become violent.
Before even seeing the King's ship leave, Kaian hurriedly rode back to Rowen Castle.
“Calm down, please."
Kaian grabbed the butler by the collar. He suddenly made a sound and his feet stopped when a waxy hand reached out to him.
“Stop saying that. If you stop by one more time, I might twist your neck.”
“...Do you know how many times I said please?”
Even though he was out of breath, the butler caught his gaze.
“I can’t even count them, please. Please come to your senses.”
“Claudel... She wouldn't have died, yes?"
The butler, who was as strangled as he was, nodded his head.
"Of course."
Only then did Kaian relax his trembling arms.
“I’m going to Claudel’s room.”
Kaian ran toward the hostess's bedroom without giving up a glimmer of hope.
Hmm.
As he got closer to her space, the woman's cries became clearer, and goosebumps appeared on his arms.
'Could it be Claudel?'
He hurriedly opened the door and found Hannah crying inside.
“My Lord, sorry."
After trying to comfort her, Rohan, who was sitting next to the crying woman on the floor, jumped up.
“Take him out.”
“I don’t like it. Lady. Oh, I won't go until the Lady comes. Ugh.”
Hannah looked at him with her face as venomous as a snake stabbing her side.
“I asked you to save Madam. I said I would do anything you asked me to do.”
“...”
“Madam suffered so much.”
Kaian asked back at the sudden remark.
“What was she suffering from?”
However, his words shocked Hannah and made her gasp as if she could not breathe. She shouted as if she were crying out loud.
“No child with Vermont blood mixed in Temnes should be born!”
Her eyes were all swollen and tears were streaming down her face.
“How can you say such cruel things? Madam... How happy she was. How happy she was when she found out she was having a baby.”
“...What?"
“How much do she want to give birth to a healthy successor?”
“Not that one. What did you hear?”
“She heard you say that a child with blood from an enemy family cannot be recognized as Temnes!”
Kaian was hit on the head with something unseen.
"No."
“Nothing!”
“That can’t be possible.”
Claudel heard that.
It was a conversation shared privately in the best guest room in the castle, which was given to Valquiterre at a very late hour.
That room was also the room previously given to Princess Irena.
The space that he and Claudel used in Rowen Castle, the original royal castle, was originally where the King and Queen stayed.
Naturally, the guest room was also a place where the Grand Duke or royalty from another country could stay, and the door was thick, so it was difficult to eavesdrop on anything from the outside.
“No words... No."
“She was suffering like she was going to die.”
Hannah poured out her words like she was a person with purpose.
“The father and mother are such enemies and not on good terms. Should I be thankful that the baby was born?"
“...”
“Would you think it was a good thing that a child was born even if you were not accepted into the family and were kicked out and confined to a monastery for the rest of your life?”
"Hannah, stop it."
When Rohan tried to dissuade her, Hannah rolled her eyes like she was a crazy woman.
“Why should I stop?”
Bloody tears flowed blurry from the woman's eyes as she breathed heavily.
“I should have taken her and ran away.”
"Hannah."
“Claudel... She really wanted to believe in the Duke. Aaaah!”
Hannah let out a cry as if she was being overcome by evil, and she collapsed on the spot as if she was breaking down.
"Hannah. Hannah."
When Rohan hugged her, not knowing what to do, Kaian said with a cold face.
“Take her out.”
“Yes? Yes.”
When permission was given to leave instead of punishing her, Rohan hurriedly carried Hannah and disappeared.
“Everyone, get out of this room.”
Kaian’s expression, which showed no emotion, and his firm tone were no different than usual. Here, the butler sighed and dismissed the guards.
Knock.
As soon as he heard the door close, Kaian collapsed on the spot.
“...No. Claudel.”
That was not what he meant.
It was so annoying that Valquiterre was hovering around her.
However, that bad feeling was because he had his toys stolen a few times when he was young, and he couldn't explain such petty things one by one even at this age as the head of the household.
“It wasn’t like that.”
His stomach twisted as if he was going to die.
“You could have asked me once.”
However, the words that came out as if he was giving himself an indulgence came back and pierced his heart again.
Claudel asked him several times, but it was Kaian himself who did not answer.
Hannah’s words became the trigger, vividly recalling the terrible moment of the previous night.
‘I wish I wasn’t Vermont.’
‘It doesn’t matter if I'm Vermont or whatever. Hurry up.’ ‘
"Lie.’
A chill ran down his spine, and he realized the terrible truth.
‘You're lying all the way.’
His body trembled.
“That woman. She really intended to die.”
"How was it? Did I help you a little?"
"I guess I have to admit it this time."
"You must never shun me like this again. We're in the same boat. Don't scold me for following you without permission."
Valquiterre lowered his eyes and looked at her.
"That's a separate matter."
"Tch."
Bianque fell silent at Valquiterre's characteristic expression telling her not to crawl.
Bianque greatly looked forward to and enjoyed spending time with the Archduke in the Duchy of Luxen.
The Kingdom of Oberon held the King's Birthday celebration at the end of November, so they kept the New Year's festival simple.
Instead, the founding ceremony held on a nice summer day in July was the most proper.
Depending on whether the King's birthday was closer to New Year's Day or the founding of the nation, it was a tradition to minimize the celebration and celebrate it simply so as not to waste national power.
However, that was only the case in the Kingdom of Oberon.
In foreign countries other than the Kingdom of Oberon, New Year's Days and New Year's Balls were held abundantly. Nobles who had sisters or relatives who had married in other countries would often go on a trip after the King's birthday celebration, enjoying the New Year's atmosphere while enjoying a vacation.
Bianque also willingly went to the duchy to see off Grand Duke Luxen.
While the duchy was enjoying the New Year's Ball, a telegram arrived from the palace. It was Valquiterre preparing to go on a vacation to Rowen.
'Leave me alone!'
Bianque spent just as much time in Rowen as Valquiterre.
Her mother, Queen Sylvia, who had made memories with her, and her aunt, Lady Elise, had passed away, but Rowen Castle itself held many memories.
After the Queen passed away, Kaian went to war, and since then, Valquiterre was busy and did not allow her to go to Rowen, so she had not been able to visit for eight years.
'You want to go alone?'
After calculating the dates, Bianque set off for the royal castle in mid-January after all the New Year's ceremonies in the duchy had ended. She did not contact Valquiterre to ask if she could go to Rowen or to tell him that she would be returning from the duchy sooner.
She did not want to hear that she should not come.
"I am stealing Kaian's wife. Don't you blame me?"
"Why me?"
Bianque's eyes widened and her eyebrows raised at Valquiterre's words.
"Oberon's is naturally greedy."
The secrets of the royal palaces of the past were just words, and they did not fully contain the hidden stories of the royal family.
“You’re so persistent, but it’s a good thing you’re sitting on the throne.”
Bianque raised the corners of her red lips as she looked at Valquiterre.
“If not, I would have been a traitor. That’s enough.”
Standing facing each other, Bianque and Valquiterre looked exactly alike.
Lemon-blond hair, white skin, blue eyes, and bright lips, as if they were painted with red lipstick as if they were Queen Sylvia’s bloodline.
The two Oberons, who were different in height and build but looked like they were looking at a mirror, looked into each other’s eyes.
“Why should I hold back when I want something? If you can’t take what you want even if you sit on top of the world, then step down from the throne.”
Valquiterre’s eyes shook slightly at Bianque’s words, and soon he smiled, brushing back his hair that was tousled by the wind.
“You’re just like your mother.”
“My brother is the same. Why is that woman Kaian’s wife? She’s just a Vermont.”
On a boat leisurely flowing across a wide lake, a woman like an angel, bathed in the sun and leaving behind a splendid radiance, whispered as if revealing the secret truth of the world.
“If there’s something you want, take it first and think about the next thing later. That’s what our mother taught us.”
“From the way you speak to your expressions, it’s creepy.”
When Valquiterre frowned, Bianque glared at him with her eyebrows relaxed.
“Keep your promise. You said you’d give me Kaian.”
“I’ll give you a chance. If you don’t have the talent to sit next to him, you’re the one who should give up.”
“Give up? Ahahahahaha.”
Bianque burst out laughing as if she had heard something so absurd.
“I didn’t even know that there was such a word in the world.”
Bianque, who usually kept an eye on Valquiterre’s strictness even with his younger sister, was very proud of the fact that she had helped him so much today.
“So where did you hide her?”
“In a hidden space.”
“Is there something like that on this boat? Where?”
Valquiter laughed crookedly.
“If you want to know, you become Queen.”
The secret hidden in the King's boat was known only to the person sitting on the throne. Bianque, who understood what he meant, pouted his lips.
“Smug.”
Valquiterre went into the cabin, locked the door, and activated a secret device. Then, the boards that filled the floor seemed to be strangely distorted, and then the gap between them widened.
Valquiterre looked down at the woman who was still sleeping under the floorboards.
“I want to hide her from the world like this.”
When he thought about showing it to Kaian one day to make her his own, he was already starting to get annoyed.
“Oberon is very greedy.”
Even after taking her away, Valquiterre tried to calm his heart, which was trying to become violent.
***
Before even seeing the King's ship leave, Kaian hurriedly rode back to Rowen Castle.
“Calm down, please."
Kaian grabbed the butler by the collar. He suddenly made a sound and his feet stopped when a waxy hand reached out to him.
“Stop saying that. If you stop by one more time, I might twist your neck.”
“...Do you know how many times I said please?”
Even though he was out of breath, the butler caught his gaze.
“I can’t even count them, please. Please come to your senses.”
“Claudel... She wouldn't have died, yes?"
The butler, who was as strangled as he was, nodded his head.
"Of course."
Only then did Kaian relax his trembling arms.
“I’m going to Claudel’s room.”
Kaian ran toward the hostess's bedroom without giving up a glimmer of hope.
Hmm.
As he got closer to her space, the woman's cries became clearer, and goosebumps appeared on his arms.
'Could it be Claudel?'
He hurriedly opened the door and found Hannah crying inside.
“My Lord, sorry."
After trying to comfort her, Rohan, who was sitting next to the crying woman on the floor, jumped up.
“Take him out.”
“I don’t like it. Lady. Oh, I won't go until the Lady comes. Ugh.”
Hannah looked at him with her face as venomous as a snake stabbing her side.
“I asked you to save Madam. I said I would do anything you asked me to do.”
“...”
“Madam suffered so much.”
Kaian asked back at the sudden remark.
“What was she suffering from?”
However, his words shocked Hannah and made her gasp as if she could not breathe. She shouted as if she were crying out loud.
“No child with Vermont blood mixed in Temnes should be born!”
Her eyes were all swollen and tears were streaming down her face.
“How can you say such cruel things? Madam... How happy she was. How happy she was when she found out she was having a baby.”
“...What?"
“How much do she want to give birth to a healthy successor?”
“Not that one. What did you hear?”
“She heard you say that a child with blood from an enemy family cannot be recognized as Temnes!”
Kaian was hit on the head with something unseen.
"No."
“Nothing!”
“That can’t be possible.”
Claudel heard that.
It was a conversation shared privately in the best guest room in the castle, which was given to Valquiterre at a very late hour.
That room was also the room previously given to Princess Irena.
The space that he and Claudel used in Rowen Castle, the original royal castle, was originally where the King and Queen stayed.
Naturally, the guest room was also a place where the Grand Duke or royalty from another country could stay, and the door was thick, so it was difficult to eavesdrop on anything from the outside.
“No words... No."
“She was suffering like she was going to die.”
Hannah poured out her words like she was a person with purpose.
“The father and mother are such enemies and not on good terms. Should I be thankful that the baby was born?"
“...”
“Would you think it was a good thing that a child was born even if you were not accepted into the family and were kicked out and confined to a monastery for the rest of your life?”
"Hannah, stop it."
When Rohan tried to dissuade her, Hannah rolled her eyes like she was a crazy woman.
“Why should I stop?”
Bloody tears flowed blurry from the woman's eyes as she breathed heavily.
“I should have taken her and ran away.”
"Hannah."
“Claudel... She really wanted to believe in the Duke. Aaaah!”
Hannah let out a cry as if she was being overcome by evil, and she collapsed on the spot as if she was breaking down.
"Hannah. Hannah."
When Rohan hugged her, not knowing what to do, Kaian said with a cold face.
“Take her out.”
“Yes? Yes.”
When permission was given to leave instead of punishing her, Rohan hurriedly carried Hannah and disappeared.
“Everyone, get out of this room.”
Kaian’s expression, which showed no emotion, and his firm tone were no different than usual. Here, the butler sighed and dismissed the guards.
Knock.
As soon as he heard the door close, Kaian collapsed on the spot.
“...No. Claudel.”
That was not what he meant.
It was so annoying that Valquiterre was hovering around her.
However, that bad feeling was because he had his toys stolen a few times when he was young, and he couldn't explain such petty things one by one even at this age as the head of the household.
“It wasn’t like that.”
His stomach twisted as if he was going to die.
“You could have asked me once.”
However, the words that came out as if he was giving himself an indulgence came back and pierced his heart again.
Claudel asked him several times, but it was Kaian himself who did not answer.
Hannah’s words became the trigger, vividly recalling the terrible moment of the previous night.
‘I wish I wasn’t Vermont.’
‘It doesn’t matter if I'm Vermont or whatever. Hurry up.’ ‘
"Lie.’
A chill ran down his spine, and he realized the terrible truth.
‘You're lying all the way.’
His body trembled.
“That woman. She really intended to die.”
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