“At least get revenge.”
“...Revenge?”
His words sounded completely out of place.
Revenge?
Who would do that to whom?
‘Me to Kaian?’
Even saying such a thing was so confusing that my mind was so lost that causality could not be established.
“Even I can’t take the side of a sinful guy.”
Every time Valquiterre said a word, my heart stung and tightened.
“It’s true that he was wrong.”
My emotions became more and more tangled as if I was forcibly pulling out each thread from a messy skein.
“...If it would put your mind at ease.”
The old memories that had once been good were torn apart by my broken heart, becoming unrecognizable.
“Will everything end with death? Will that be the end?”
I muttered as if talking to myself.
“Will you be able to rest in peace?”
My eyes widened.
Even when I was distressed by the thought that the Grim Reaper was always hovering around me, something completely unexpected came to mind.
She was 'Claudel Quinn Temnes'.
If I were to escape from life for any reason, no matter where I go, the place I would be buried would be the Temnes family graveyard under Rowen Castle.
"Ha..."
Suddenly, a cold, chilling anger seeped out of my heart.
The resentment toward Kaian, which had been obscured by the sadness of losing my baby, slowly rose to my mind.
'You set fire to our village.'
I didn't want to believe it, but when I asked him, Kaian looked at me coldly.
'Why can't you answer? Can I really believe that you did it?'
'What are you going to do by bringing up the past now?'
I had hoped that Princess Bianque would tell me that what she had said was not true.
'You are a murderer.'
'You know that now?'
To me who was shocked, he briefly concluded the story by saying that taking away everyone in the village of Plogne was only necessary according to the King's order.
'Have you forgotten who your husband is? If the undefeated Temnes had not maintained its reputation, I would not be here.'
“...If it would put your mind at ease.”
The old memories that had once been good were torn apart by my broken heart, becoming unrecognizable.
“Will everything end with death? Will that be the end?”
I muttered as if talking to myself.
“Will you be able to rest in peace?”
My eyes widened.
Even when I was distressed by the thought that the Grim Reaper was always hovering around me, something completely unexpected came to mind.
She was 'Claudel Quinn Temnes'.
If I were to escape from life for any reason, no matter where I go, the place I would be buried would be the Temnes family graveyard under Rowen Castle.
"Ha..."
Suddenly, a cold, chilling anger seeped out of my heart.
The resentment toward Kaian, which had been obscured by the sadness of losing my baby, slowly rose to my mind.
'You set fire to our village.'
I didn't want to believe it, but when I asked him, Kaian looked at me coldly.
'Why can't you answer? Can I really believe that you did it?'
'What are you going to do by bringing up the past now?'
I had hoped that Princess Bianque would tell me that what she had said was not true.
'You are a murderer.'
'You know that now?'
To me who was shocked, he briefly concluded the story by saying that taking away everyone in the village of Plogne was only necessary according to the King's order.
'Have you forgotten who your husband is? If the undefeated Temnes had not maintained its reputation, I would not be here.'
When my husband, who did not even tell me to bring up the subject anymore, turned his back on me, I felt like I was blocked by a solid wall.
The fire in the village was the result of me using happiness as kindling to create misfortune in my life.
However, he did not tell me the truth and it seemed that he did not feel the need to. I could not ask any more questions to the person who did not understand me and I cried, thinking that I was carrying the child of the one who took the lives of my parents, the one who was truly my enemy.
However, the only reason I endured it alone and had no one to comfort me was because of the baby.
The life that had taken place between me and Kaian was much heavier than the sorrow of those who had already left.
To raise and protect the child, the father of that child was the culprit who took the lives of my parents, so I couldn’t blame him, so I covered up the problem. When the baby that had been on one side of the scale disappeared, the unbalanced yardstick tilted to the other side in an instant.
“Because of Kaian...”
...The village burned.
“Mom. Dad.”
Hannah’s parents and younger brother.
All the kind-hearted villagers who had loved me like family.
If he hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have lost my parents. I wouldn’t have grown up being the daughter of a cold and scary uncle, worrying about what others thought and feeling intimidated.
‘...And I wouldn’t have become his wife.’
The anger that all this pain had started with Kaian engulfed me uncontrollably.
If he hadn’t done this, I would have lived happily ever after in a cozy village deep in the mountains, acting spoiled to my elderly parents.
‘If I don’t have a child, do I really need to hold back my anger?’
Realizing that fact, I felt free, as if I was breaking free from the norms I had kept so far to keep myself from going astray.
“Bark.”
I shouldn’t die yet.
When I had so much to do, was I going to do something so foolish as to fade away like dust without inflicting any damage on my enemy?
“Rescind the order.”
“Rescind the order?”
“I won’t do it if you don’t want it. You said you wouldn’t let me break up with Kaian, didn’t you?”
I clenched my fists.
“Rescind the order that ordered us to get married.”
The tears that had welled up in my eyes whenever I thought of the baby dried.
“I will divorce him.”
I could never die before destroying the grave site where my name was carved in the basement of Rowen Castle.
“Are you serious?”
“Help me. Please.”
I felt that Valquiterre was a god who could grant me power.
“Bark.”
Didn’t he promise to be on my side if I treated him as a friend?
Valquiterre, who was Kaien’s best friend and brother and the only person he considered family, unlike Bianque, who I didn’t like, told me that I could take revenge first.
I accepted that Valquiterre was more impartial than anyone else and was looking down on things from a fair perspective.
Even such a special person in Kaian told me that what I had experienced was unfair.
“Claudel. Let me give you one piece of advice.”
The man who had been short-spoken when I acted like a crazy woman made a solemn face.
“You should take the lead.”
“Take the lead?”
“You won’t feel relieved by being dragged around.”
I see.
I was struck by another realization.
It was the noble husband’s right to decide his wife’s whereabouts.
So hadn’t I been worried that I would be kicked out of the castle and sent somewhere?
Since Kaian had such power over me, there was no way I could take the initiative.
“Help me.”
“I will stand in the middle.”
When Valquiterre spoke to me so kindly and comfortably, it was no exaggeration to call him a friend, but now that I was asking him to withdraw the royal order, it was because I was relying on the power of the ‘King’, not a ‘friend’, so it was thought that I had divided his position like this.
“That is enough. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
I returned to my bedroom, grateful for his kindness.
Suddenly, I looked down and saw a gold ring as thin as a thread on the fourth finger of my left hand.
It was a very unsightly and insignificant object.
However, because I thought Kaian had given it to me, I kept it like a ring, never taking it off.
I took it off my hand.
I was no longer Temnes.
'I'll divorce him.'
When the words he had been waiting for came out of her mouth, Valquiterre was certain.
The moment he had been waiting for had come.
The heart of the woman who had truly loved Kaian was completely shattered. The irreparable love was nothing but faded ashes.
Her eyes, which had become as calm as death, were swirling with anger that wanted Kaian's life as a price.
The only way to repay a life was to give up the same life.
"All preparations are complete."
Valquiterre had also had to work quite hard to keep Claudel a secret.
Originally, many people were coming and going to the royal palace. It was no easy task to control their eyes and ears.
However, there was no need for that anymore.
From now on, he would fill the heart of the woman whose love for Kaian had dried up.
"He will have to watch it."
There would be no other way. If the guy approached, Claudel would stab him with her sharp thorns.
At that moment, the sound of a baby crying was heard from afar. Even at the slightest sound of crying, Claudel would run out of the bedroom and make a fuss.
The fire in the village was the result of me using happiness as kindling to create misfortune in my life.
However, he did not tell me the truth and it seemed that he did not feel the need to. I could not ask any more questions to the person who did not understand me and I cried, thinking that I was carrying the child of the one who took the lives of my parents, the one who was truly my enemy.
However, the only reason I endured it alone and had no one to comfort me was because of the baby.
The life that had taken place between me and Kaian was much heavier than the sorrow of those who had already left.
To raise and protect the child, the father of that child was the culprit who took the lives of my parents, so I couldn’t blame him, so I covered up the problem. When the baby that had been on one side of the scale disappeared, the unbalanced yardstick tilted to the other side in an instant.
“Because of Kaian...”
...The village burned.
“Mom. Dad.”
Hannah’s parents and younger brother.
All the kind-hearted villagers who had loved me like family.
If he hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have lost my parents. I wouldn’t have grown up being the daughter of a cold and scary uncle, worrying about what others thought and feeling intimidated.
‘...And I wouldn’t have become his wife.’
The anger that all this pain had started with Kaian engulfed me uncontrollably.
If he hadn’t done this, I would have lived happily ever after in a cozy village deep in the mountains, acting spoiled to my elderly parents.
‘If I don’t have a child, do I really need to hold back my anger?’
Realizing that fact, I felt free, as if I was breaking free from the norms I had kept so far to keep myself from going astray.
“Bark.”
I shouldn’t die yet.
When I had so much to do, was I going to do something so foolish as to fade away like dust without inflicting any damage on my enemy?
“Rescind the order.”
“Rescind the order?”
“I won’t do it if you don’t want it. You said you wouldn’t let me break up with Kaian, didn’t you?”
I clenched my fists.
“Rescind the order that ordered us to get married.”
The tears that had welled up in my eyes whenever I thought of the baby dried.
“I will divorce him.”
I could never die before destroying the grave site where my name was carved in the basement of Rowen Castle.
“Are you serious?”
“Help me. Please.”
I felt that Valquiterre was a god who could grant me power.
“Bark.”
Didn’t he promise to be on my side if I treated him as a friend?
Valquiterre, who was Kaien’s best friend and brother and the only person he considered family, unlike Bianque, who I didn’t like, told me that I could take revenge first.
I accepted that Valquiterre was more impartial than anyone else and was looking down on things from a fair perspective.
Even such a special person in Kaian told me that what I had experienced was unfair.
“Claudel. Let me give you one piece of advice.”
The man who had been short-spoken when I acted like a crazy woman made a solemn face.
“You should take the lead.”
“Take the lead?”
“You won’t feel relieved by being dragged around.”
I see.
I was struck by another realization.
It was the noble husband’s right to decide his wife’s whereabouts.
So hadn’t I been worried that I would be kicked out of the castle and sent somewhere?
Since Kaian had such power over me, there was no way I could take the initiative.
“Help me.”
“I will stand in the middle.”
When Valquiterre spoke to me so kindly and comfortably, it was no exaggeration to call him a friend, but now that I was asking him to withdraw the royal order, it was because I was relying on the power of the ‘King’, not a ‘friend’, so it was thought that I had divided his position like this.
“That is enough. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
I returned to my bedroom, grateful for his kindness.
Suddenly, I looked down and saw a gold ring as thin as a thread on the fourth finger of my left hand.
It was a very unsightly and insignificant object.
However, because I thought Kaian had given it to me, I kept it like a ring, never taking it off.
I took it off my hand.
I was no longer Temnes.
***
'I'll divorce him.'
When the words he had been waiting for came out of her mouth, Valquiterre was certain.
The moment he had been waiting for had come.
The heart of the woman who had truly loved Kaian was completely shattered. The irreparable love was nothing but faded ashes.
Her eyes, which had become as calm as death, were swirling with anger that wanted Kaian's life as a price.
The only way to repay a life was to give up the same life.
"All preparations are complete."
Valquiterre had also had to work quite hard to keep Claudel a secret.
Originally, many people were coming and going to the royal palace. It was no easy task to control their eyes and ears.
However, there was no need for that anymore.
From now on, he would fill the heart of the woman whose love for Kaian had dried up.
"He will have to watch it."
There would be no other way. If the guy approached, Claudel would stab him with her sharp thorns.
At that moment, the sound of a baby crying was heard from afar. Even at the slightest sound of crying, Claudel would run out of the bedroom and make a fuss.
“Noisy.”
Valquiterre frowned for a moment at the sound of the baby’s crying. He deliberately drove Claudel until she had nowhere to retreat.
Pregnancy was a situation with many variables. It was common for a miscarriage or for the baby or the mother to get hurt or injured. However, if a couple was on good terms, they could comfort each other, overcome their grief, and have another child.
Pregnancy was a situation with many variables. It was common for a miscarriage or for the baby or the mother to get hurt or injured. However, if a couple was on good terms, they could comfort each other, overcome their grief, and have another child.
Valquiterre wanted to widen the gap and hurt Claudel deeply. That way, she would grow and develop resentment toward Kaian.
The servants and maids on the floor where she was staying acted as if they couldn’t hear the baby’s clearly audible cries, as Valquiterre had instructed. So that the woman who had her child taken away would go crazy, believing that she had lost her baby.
“Oh, you’re here.”
As Valquiterre entered the nursery, the old nanny greeted him. The baby, with red hair and golden eyes, was born early and was small and skinny. When Valquiterre first saw the newborn, he was reminded of a baby bird that had just broken out of a broken egg. It was so frail that it seemed as if it would stop breathing on its own.
“It takes after its father.”
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