“Just kill me.”
Marrying Bianque?
It was worse than dying.
She responded to Valquiterre's words as if she was astonished.
“You have no guts.”
“What?”
“Kaian is married, right?”
“...”
He tried to say something but closed his mouth.
Bianque was talking about when Valquiterre ordered reconciliation between Vermont and Temnes.
“Claudel. That woman too.”
Even someone who had been given the day to die did not disappoint the family’s expectations placed on her.
“You mess up other people’s lives and only hate yourself. Don’t you have no conscience?”
Valquiterre finally seemed to be coming to his senses little by little.
‘What have I done?’
He thought that his life was like a shell without substance.
He had no attachment to anything he had accomplished in Valquiterre's name.
Thinking that it was because of Queen Sylvia’s forced training that he was accepted as a bred animal, he wanted to blemish the King’s position as if he were to show her that she was already dead and had no other way to take revenge.
However, he was the one who was ruined. It was obvious that he would be hurt if he was kicked out as the King’s puppet.
However, just as he believed that Kaian would not betray him, he also thought that the King’s position could not be stepped down just because he wanted to.
“I was annoyed when I thought she stole Kaian. Now, there’s no reason for me to hate the Duchess of Temnes.”
Bianque said self-deprecatingly.
“You ordered a woman with a serious illness to go to her enemy’s house and die. I thought you would be different.”
Each of her words pressed into Valquiterre's chest like a stencil.
“Still, I’m grateful.”
“What?”
In the midst of all this, what could she be thankful for? Valquiterre asked without realizing it.
A generous smile appeared on her face.
“I kept my promise.”
“What promise?”
“I said that when I saw you off on the day you left for battle. I wouldn’t lock my brother outside the castle gate.”
Was it since then?
She had planned to hit him in the back of the head long before that and had lied to him.
Valquiterre said with a shiver.
“Call Count Makie.”
“It won’t be hard, Makie!”
As she called with a strong voice, the prison door opened and Count Makie came in.
He had never expected it, but when he saw with his own eyes that Count Makie had conspired with Bianque and was on her side, Valquiterre was furious.
“How could you do this to me!”
Valquiterre felt his stomach turn.
The insults he had suffered from Bianque just a moment ago had all gathered together and he was looking for someone to vent his anger on.
“I trusted you and left the castle to you when I went to battle!”
Count Makie only answered coldly.
“Was that war necessary for Oberon’s glory?”
“What?”
“Is war a child’s play? I can’t even count how many young people have died or been injured because of Your Majesty’s inferiority complex.”
“Saying such things. Didn’t you always tell me that I was doing well?”
Valquiterre thought Count Makie could be trusted.
Count Makie was even one of the few who knew the secret of birth, so he didn’t hesitate to reveal his true self to Count Makie at times.
What was hidden deep down was the true self of Valquiterre, and since most of those who should have known it were dead, he felt lonely and frustrated.
Even if he had a twisted and distorted soul, he could honestly express his dislike of Kaian without putting on the guise of a neat King, and that was Count Makie.
“I’m just a subject, so what else can I say to the King?”
He thought that, but that was also his own delusion.
Now he could clearly see what Count Makie was doing.
‘He’s doing the same thing to Bianque as he did to me.’
He said that he was doing well and that His Majesty’s choice was not without reason and was done because he deemed it necessary.
“Since the Queen is lenient, please accept it with gratitude.”
The body was still alive, but the soul fell into hell.
It was all a punishment created by Valquiterre himself.
There was a great change in the Kingdom of Oberon.
The civil war started by King Valquiterre was a miserable, one-sided fight, but Rowen won.
However, in the process, Princess Bianque revealed an unexpected fact.
“Valquiterre is the brother of Duke Kaian of Temnes.”
Usually, when a Queen becomes pregnant, it is common to announce and celebrate the fact widely.
However, everyone assumed that it was because Queen Sylvia kept quiet throughout her pregnancy. After all, she was “careful because he was a precious baby.”
“This war was a meaningless sacrifice due to the mistakes of the previous King. I will use that as a mirror to ensure that I do not abuse the power given to me for personal gain.”
The news that Valquiterre was of the Temnes family became a hot potato.
“The human body is not a machine. Can you give birth to a child with just the color you want?”
“Something was a bit strange.”
Someone said that there had been something strange about it since long ago.
“During the hunting competition on the King’s birthday, he accidentally spilled wine on the Duke's hat.”
“Did that happen?”
“Later, I found out that the hat that the Duchess made herself and gave the Duke as a gift was very similar to his.”
“Isn’t that too much speculation?”
“Even though they were real brothers, he did something like that because he was blind. How can he deny it?”
Rumors followed one after another.
Bianque was crowned and officially ascended to the throne as Queen. As soon as Valquiterre's abdication was announced, it was quickly processed as if it had been prepared in advance.
I was able to receive the news by telegram.
Thanks to Kaian’s victory in the war, the telegram office was restored and operational.
I received steady messages from Kaian and Irena.
“My sister has become the Duke of Vermont.”
The new era was a time of great women. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
The wounds of the forced civil war were quickly healing.
However, as the year passed, Kaian had not yet returned to Rowen.
As I held the telegram in my hand and could not take my eyes off it, Hannah, who had just put the baby to sleep and was now free, approached me, turning my stiff shoulders.
“What did Miss Irena say?”
“Duchess.”
When I corrected her, Hannah smiled happily.
“Aha. What did the Duchess of Vermont say?”
The warrior who had been furious at the Duke of Vermont’s behavior of ordering them to return to Valmonde with my corpse if I died, was very satisfied with the outcome of giving up the task force by his cherished daughter.
“It’s a shame to just be kicked out.”
Hannah didn’t forget how, when we were staying at the castle of Valmonde, the Duke had showered Irena with praises like “a masterpiece of God” and treated me like cold rice.
So, Hannah was more pleased that the Duke of Vermont had been shocked by his daughter’s betrayal than that he had simply handed over the title and retreated to the back room.
“He was used and hurt. Even if he loses the title, he will have a large and luxurious villa or a capital city mansion on the North Sea coast and enjoy a warm and fulfilling old age. He should feel like a nail was driven into his heart.”
In any case, it was fortunate that Hannah was satisfied.
“There’s no mention of Kaian.”
Kaian played a role in purging Valquiterre and establishing Bianque as the new Queen.
So he took half of the Rowen army and set up a base outside the capital, and the other nobles acted as if they were proud.
It was a unit that had already defeated the royal army and won.
No one opposed the Queen’s enthronement against Bianque, who was supported by Kaian, even though they saw the proud soldiers under the fluttering banner of Temnes.
He had been busy with that role and had not been able to return to Rowen yet.
“Has the lord sent you anything?”
“Yes. No.”
Rohan, who transported supplies from Rowen to the capital by ship, had told me various news and had recently said that it seemed like it was finally time to return.
That was why we didn’t have to make more military supplies.
The women who had been freed from their labor cheered, and I was the same.
Fortunately, it was half of the soldiers who had returned victoriously, otherwise Rowen’s women would have fallen first.
“I’ll go to the rear guard for a bit.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
“Shall we go together?”
“No. Please take care of the kids.”
Seeing the babies sleeping soundly, I smiled and left the room.
However, when I arrived at the retreat and crouched down on the empty lakeside, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“Haa. This whole war thing. When will it end?”
It was worse than dying.
She responded to Valquiterre's words as if she was astonished.
“You have no guts.”
“What?”
“Kaian is married, right?”
“...”
He tried to say something but closed his mouth.
Bianque was talking about when Valquiterre ordered reconciliation between Vermont and Temnes.
“Claudel. That woman too.”
Even someone who had been given the day to die did not disappoint the family’s expectations placed on her.
“You mess up other people’s lives and only hate yourself. Don’t you have no conscience?”
Valquiterre finally seemed to be coming to his senses little by little.
‘What have I done?’
He thought that his life was like a shell without substance.
He had no attachment to anything he had accomplished in Valquiterre's name.
Thinking that it was because of Queen Sylvia’s forced training that he was accepted as a bred animal, he wanted to blemish the King’s position as if he were to show her that she was already dead and had no other way to take revenge.
However, he was the one who was ruined. It was obvious that he would be hurt if he was kicked out as the King’s puppet.
However, just as he believed that Kaian would not betray him, he also thought that the King’s position could not be stepped down just because he wanted to.
“I was annoyed when I thought she stole Kaian. Now, there’s no reason for me to hate the Duchess of Temnes.”
Bianque said self-deprecatingly.
“You ordered a woman with a serious illness to go to her enemy’s house and die. I thought you would be different.”
Each of her words pressed into Valquiterre's chest like a stencil.
“Still, I’m grateful.”
“What?”
In the midst of all this, what could she be thankful for? Valquiterre asked without realizing it.
A generous smile appeared on her face.
“I kept my promise.”
“What promise?”
“I said that when I saw you off on the day you left for battle. I wouldn’t lock my brother outside the castle gate.”
Was it since then?
She had planned to hit him in the back of the head long before that and had lied to him.
Valquiterre said with a shiver.
“Call Count Makie.”
“It won’t be hard, Makie!”
As she called with a strong voice, the prison door opened and Count Makie came in.
He had never expected it, but when he saw with his own eyes that Count Makie had conspired with Bianque and was on her side, Valquiterre was furious.
“How could you do this to me!”
Valquiterre felt his stomach turn.
The insults he had suffered from Bianque just a moment ago had all gathered together and he was looking for someone to vent his anger on.
“I trusted you and left the castle to you when I went to battle!”
Count Makie only answered coldly.
“Was that war necessary for Oberon’s glory?”
“What?”
“Is war a child’s play? I can’t even count how many young people have died or been injured because of Your Majesty’s inferiority complex.”
“Saying such things. Didn’t you always tell me that I was doing well?”
Valquiterre thought Count Makie could be trusted.
Count Makie was even one of the few who knew the secret of birth, so he didn’t hesitate to reveal his true self to Count Makie at times.
What was hidden deep down was the true self of Valquiterre, and since most of those who should have known it were dead, he felt lonely and frustrated.
Even if he had a twisted and distorted soul, he could honestly express his dislike of Kaian without putting on the guise of a neat King, and that was Count Makie.
“I’m just a subject, so what else can I say to the King?”
He thought that, but that was also his own delusion.
Now he could clearly see what Count Makie was doing.
‘He’s doing the same thing to Bianque as he did to me.’
He said that he was doing well and that His Majesty’s choice was not without reason and was done because he deemed it necessary.
“Since the Queen is lenient, please accept it with gratitude.”
The body was still alive, but the soul fell into hell.
It was all a punishment created by Valquiterre himself.
***
There was a great change in the Kingdom of Oberon.
The civil war started by King Valquiterre was a miserable, one-sided fight, but Rowen won.
However, in the process, Princess Bianque revealed an unexpected fact.
“Valquiterre is the brother of Duke Kaian of Temnes.”
Usually, when a Queen becomes pregnant, it is common to announce and celebrate the fact widely.
However, everyone assumed that it was because Queen Sylvia kept quiet throughout her pregnancy. After all, she was “careful because he was a precious baby.”
“This war was a meaningless sacrifice due to the mistakes of the previous King. I will use that as a mirror to ensure that I do not abuse the power given to me for personal gain.”
The news that Valquiterre was of the Temnes family became a hot potato.
“The human body is not a machine. Can you give birth to a child with just the color you want?”
“Something was a bit strange.”
Someone said that there had been something strange about it since long ago.
“During the hunting competition on the King’s birthday, he accidentally spilled wine on the Duke's hat.”
“Did that happen?”
“Later, I found out that the hat that the Duchess made herself and gave the Duke as a gift was very similar to his.”
“Isn’t that too much speculation?”
“Even though they were real brothers, he did something like that because he was blind. How can he deny it?”
Rumors followed one after another.
Bianque was crowned and officially ascended to the throne as Queen. As soon as Valquiterre's abdication was announced, it was quickly processed as if it had been prepared in advance.
I was able to receive the news by telegram.
Thanks to Kaian’s victory in the war, the telegram office was restored and operational.
I received steady messages from Kaian and Irena.
“My sister has become the Duke of Vermont.”
The new era was a time of great women. Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
The wounds of the forced civil war were quickly healing.
However, as the year passed, Kaian had not yet returned to Rowen.
As I held the telegram in my hand and could not take my eyes off it, Hannah, who had just put the baby to sleep and was now free, approached me, turning my stiff shoulders.
“What did Miss Irena say?”
“Duchess.”
When I corrected her, Hannah smiled happily.
“Aha. What did the Duchess of Vermont say?”
The warrior who had been furious at the Duke of Vermont’s behavior of ordering them to return to Valmonde with my corpse if I died, was very satisfied with the outcome of giving up the task force by his cherished daughter.
“It’s a shame to just be kicked out.”
Hannah didn’t forget how, when we were staying at the castle of Valmonde, the Duke had showered Irena with praises like “a masterpiece of God” and treated me like cold rice.
So, Hannah was more pleased that the Duke of Vermont had been shocked by his daughter’s betrayal than that he had simply handed over the title and retreated to the back room.
“He was used and hurt. Even if he loses the title, he will have a large and luxurious villa or a capital city mansion on the North Sea coast and enjoy a warm and fulfilling old age. He should feel like a nail was driven into his heart.”
In any case, it was fortunate that Hannah was satisfied.
“There’s no mention of Kaian.”
Kaian played a role in purging Valquiterre and establishing Bianque as the new Queen.
So he took half of the Rowen army and set up a base outside the capital, and the other nobles acted as if they were proud.
It was a unit that had already defeated the royal army and won.
No one opposed the Queen’s enthronement against Bianque, who was supported by Kaian, even though they saw the proud soldiers under the fluttering banner of Temnes.
He had been busy with that role and had not been able to return to Rowen yet.
“Has the lord sent you anything?”
“Yes. No.”
Rohan, who transported supplies from Rowen to the capital by ship, had told me various news and had recently said that it seemed like it was finally time to return.
That was why we didn’t have to make more military supplies.
The women who had been freed from their labor cheered, and I was the same.
Fortunately, it was half of the soldiers who had returned victoriously, otherwise Rowen’s women would have fallen first.
“I’ll go to the rear guard for a bit.”
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
“Shall we go together?”
“No. Please take care of the kids.”
Seeing the babies sleeping soundly, I smiled and left the room.
However, when I arrived at the retreat and crouched down on the empty lakeside, I couldn’t help but sigh.
“Haa. This whole war thing. When will it end?”
It will end, after all. How can it be that day after day, with no ‘I’m going back’ notice, I kept getting tired?
“It’s a bit hard.”
In the meantime, I had become more accustomed to the work at Rowen Castle.
The butler praised me for doing a good job of managing the supplies needed for the war in addition to my usual work.
I asked out of curiosity, but when Kaian went to war, the butler wore an apron and joined the ladies to sew the soldiers' clothes.
Compared to that, I had much better conditions.
First of all, the capable butler helped me completely, and Julien's presence was a great comfort.
However, what I knew in my head and my empty heart were two different things.
I knew all too well that the only person who could fill me was Kaian.
'Kaian is not enough.'
Even though I couldn't leave the castle, I was fortunate to have seen him for a little while when I went to Prom Hunt myself.
If I hadn't seen him then, I wouldn't have seen his face since he went to war.
I felt myself withering between acting bravely and uprightly in front of others as a Duchess and feeling my energy gradually draining away.
"Whew."
It was when my sighs grew longer and longer.
A black hand suddenly reached out and covered my mouth.
"Ugh!"
“It’s a bit hard.”
In the meantime, I had become more accustomed to the work at Rowen Castle.
The butler praised me for doing a good job of managing the supplies needed for the war in addition to my usual work.
I asked out of curiosity, but when Kaian went to war, the butler wore an apron and joined the ladies to sew the soldiers' clothes.
Compared to that, I had much better conditions.
First of all, the capable butler helped me completely, and Julien's presence was a great comfort.
However, what I knew in my head and my empty heart were two different things.
I knew all too well that the only person who could fill me was Kaian.
'Kaian is not enough.'
Even though I couldn't leave the castle, I was fortunate to have seen him for a little while when I went to Prom Hunt myself.
If I hadn't seen him then, I wouldn't have seen his face since he went to war.
I felt myself withering between acting bravely and uprightly in front of others as a Duchess and feeling my energy gradually draining away.
"Whew."
It was when my sighs grew longer and longer.
A black hand suddenly reached out and covered my mouth.
"Ugh!"
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