“Can we talk privately for a moment?”
When did he start to hate Vermont? It was from the time he was born.
He couldn’t figure out why.
Born with Temnes’ blood, his hatred of Vermont was like the natural order of things.
Like snakes and toads, wolves and tigers, fighting over territory and getting into a fight for food.
Snakes eat toads, but toads can eat snakes.
The same goes for wolves and tigers. It was like an instinct that he felt before he understood it with his head.
The relationship between natural enemies who couldn’t escape without drawing blood once they got together was fixed as an enemy.
Furthermore, if you listen to the story, Evan said that he had been sharpening his sword of revenge ever since he saw the Knights of Temnes who had arrived to clean up the burned-down village of Plogne under the orders of Queen Sylvia. Even if the misunderstanding was resolved after burning his desire for revenge for so long, it was Vermont and Temnes.
Beneath the resolved misunderstanding was the hatred that had been passed down like dregs along with hundreds of years of family history.
In the civil war, he moved the Sol Continent mercenary group to help Kaian for a while, but in reality, he didn’t help him.
Claudel, he moved according to Leonie’s wishes, and the direction of the movement was also in line with Kaian.
Kaian, who understood that, didn’t expect much from Evan.
However, after Evan treated him like a non-existent person and suggested that he take Claudel and Julien with him to the Sol Continent, Kaian felt awkward dealing with him and they didn’t talk or interact with each other.
‘What is he trying to say?’
Since Claudel woke up safely, he was grateful for saving his daughter, was he trying to say something like that?
“I followed you to Valmonde.”
However, the words that came out of Evan’s mouth were something Kaian couldn’t even imagine.
“I was planning to take Leonie, Claudel, and Julien and run to the Sol Continent when I had the chance.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Kaian’s face became serious without him knowing it.
“The southern route is difficult. Isn’t the port in the North Sea Vermont? As you can see, there are plenty of ships.”
After the Duke of Vermont fell from power and Irena took over as Duke, the mercenary groups of the Sol Continent were coming and going, taking control of the ports, whether in the south or the north.
“But it was already out of my hands. I was the only one who didn’t know that.”
“I will try.”
“Well, it’s okay, seeing her with black hair and red eyes.”
Kaian laughed out loud at Evan’s kind words.
When I regained consciousness, my recovery was smooth and quick, so we returned to Rowen without delay.
Kaian had said that he had hardly visited the capital since returning from the battlefield and had never left Rowen Castle.
Since he had left the castle countless times, including during the civil war after marrying me, he was worried that Rowan would rise up in revolt.
“Is it okay if we leave like this?”
I asked Irena worriedly.
“Yes. Our Balmonde has declared independence as an independent Grand Duchy. That is enough.”
The event had been a mess, but the aftermath was great.
“Besides, since it seemed like we had reconciled with Temnes in front of so many people, that is the bigger topic of conversation right now.”
The accident that the Duke of Vermont had caused had turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
The people of the territory do not know the details.
It was originally known that the Duke of Vermont had mental problems and Irena inherited the ducal throne, but what he did that day was so convincing that anyone could believe the previous rumors, so Irena’s position within the family was solidified.
“The Grand Duke of Vermont. Grand Duke? Sister. You are really wonderful.”
Irena was wearing a uniform, not a dress.
Her long red hair was braided and put up lively at the bottom of her head, and she didn’t have any hair decorations.
The medal with rubies and sapphires on her chest, embroidered with gold and silver threads on blue cloth, made her stand out even more.
“When will I see you again at this rate?”
Irena said to me, a little boastfully.
“You can send me telegrams often, Duchess of Temnes. Surely the Duke wouldn’t be giving his mistress a hint by the number of characters in her telegrams?”
Kaian interrupted the sisters’ chatter.
“No way.”
“Of course.”
When Evan, who was the master of the Valmonde Castle, turned around and disappeared out of the room, Kaian followed him.
Even though Evan had been away from Valmonde Castle for a long time, which had a different structure from ordinary castles, the interior seemed spacious.
When Kaian followed him, there was a terrace that led outside from the inner castle that seemed to rise above the outer castle.
“Is it cold?”
“It should be okay for a moment.”
When Evan gestured, the attendant waiting in the hallway quickly brought a thick cloak and handed it to him.
“Wear it. It’s not good for a man with a wife and children to say something like that so carelessly.”
In that case, it would have been better if they had said they would talk somewhere inside the castle instead of outside in the cold.
However, Kaian silently put on the cloak the attendant had brought.
Because Evan and Kaian had a very uncomfortable relationship.
When Evan, who was the master of the Valmonde Castle, turned around and disappeared out of the room, Kaian followed him.
Even though Evan had been away from Valmonde Castle for a long time, which had a different structure from ordinary castles, the interior seemed spacious.
When Kaian followed him, there was a terrace that led outside from the inner castle that seemed to rise above the outer castle.
“Is it cold?”
“It should be okay for a moment.”
When Evan gestured, the attendant waiting in the hallway quickly brought a thick cloak and handed it to him.
“Wear it. It’s not good for a man with a wife and children to say something like that so carelessly.”
In that case, it would have been better if they had said they would talk somewhere inside the castle instead of outside in the cold.
However, Kaian silently put on the cloak the attendant had brought.
Because Evan and Kaian had a very uncomfortable relationship.
When did he start to hate Vermont? It was from the time he was born.
He couldn’t figure out why.
Born with Temnes’ blood, his hatred of Vermont was like the natural order of things.
Like snakes and toads, wolves and tigers, fighting over territory and getting into a fight for food.
Snakes eat toads, but toads can eat snakes.
The same goes for wolves and tigers. It was like an instinct that he felt before he understood it with his head.
The relationship between natural enemies who couldn’t escape without drawing blood once they got together was fixed as an enemy.
Furthermore, if you listen to the story, Evan said that he had been sharpening his sword of revenge ever since he saw the Knights of Temnes who had arrived to clean up the burned-down village of Plogne under the orders of Queen Sylvia. Even if the misunderstanding was resolved after burning his desire for revenge for so long, it was Vermont and Temnes.
Beneath the resolved misunderstanding was the hatred that had been passed down like dregs along with hundreds of years of family history.
In the civil war, he moved the Sol Continent mercenary group to help Kaian for a while, but in reality, he didn’t help him.
Claudel, he moved according to Leonie’s wishes, and the direction of the movement was also in line with Kaian.
Kaian, who understood that, didn’t expect much from Evan.
However, after Evan treated him like a non-existent person and suggested that he take Claudel and Julien with him to the Sol Continent, Kaian felt awkward dealing with him and they didn’t talk or interact with each other.
‘What is he trying to say?’
Since Claudel woke up safely, he was grateful for saving his daughter, was he trying to say something like that?
“I followed you to Valmonde.”
However, the words that came out of Evan’s mouth were something Kaian couldn’t even imagine.
“I was planning to take Leonie, Claudel, and Julien and run to the Sol Continent when I had the chance.”
“What on earth are you talking about?”
Kaian’s face became serious without him knowing it.
“The southern route is difficult. Isn’t the port in the North Sea Vermont? As you can see, there are plenty of ships.”
After the Duke of Vermont fell from power and Irena took over as Duke, the mercenary groups of the Sol Continent were coming and going, taking control of the ports, whether in the south or the north.
“If we arrive at the Sol Continent first and hide in my territory, there’s no way you, who arrives later, can find us.”
Kaian felt betrayed.
Since Evan had Leonie and Claudel, he thought that he would know the pain of being separated from his wife and children as a man.
So he was going to say that he would take her and the child to the Sol Continent.
Even though they were a relationship that he had never trusted, his teeth were trembling.
“Claudel wouldn’t want that.”
Instead of blaming Evan himself, Kaian made an excuse about Claudel.
The reason was that his relationship with Evan seemed irreparable.
He should have sent a letter of complaint to Irena, who had become the Duke of Vermont, for not being able to properly manage the household.
“Yes. So I was planning to take them away without permission.”
Was he trying to kidnap his daughter and grandson?
Kaian began to suspect that there might be a serious problem with Evan’s mental state.
“Why are you telling me about this kidnapping plan?”
Kaian asked in a sharp tone, unlike when he had started the conversation gently.
“Ha. Don’t be so offended.”
Evan smiled awkwardly as if he wanted to change the mood.
“I’ve given up on that idea.”
He said sadly.
“I didn’t want to admit it. Leonie and Claudel suffered a lot while I was not a proper husband and father.”
It was the result of coincidences, misunderstandings, delusions, and the neglect of time that could not verify them.
Evan regretted it several times after meeting Leonie.
He should have gone in to find her, even if it meant going through the fire that seemed like it would never end without burning everything in the village.
If the treatment had been done a few days earlier, the marks of pain engraved on her body might not have been so big and deep.
Leonie’s scars were old, but they were not completely healed.
The scars that had lost their function and were stuck like skin were thin and stiff, so they were fine when she was staying in Rowen, but when she traveled to the cold Valmonde, she had to apply medicine and massage them several times.
Before that, Leonie had not been by his side, so he had not been close to her, so he did not know how she managed her scars in that way, but his heart would sink whenever he saw them.
Kaian felt betrayed.
Since Evan had Leonie and Claudel, he thought that he would know the pain of being separated from his wife and children as a man.
So he was going to say that he would take her and the child to the Sol Continent.
Even though they were a relationship that he had never trusted, his teeth were trembling.
“Claudel wouldn’t want that.”
Instead of blaming Evan himself, Kaian made an excuse about Claudel.
The reason was that his relationship with Evan seemed irreparable.
He should have sent a letter of complaint to Irena, who had become the Duke of Vermont, for not being able to properly manage the household.
“Yes. So I was planning to take them away without permission.”
Was he trying to kidnap his daughter and grandson?
Kaian began to suspect that there might be a serious problem with Evan’s mental state.
“Why are you telling me about this kidnapping plan?”
Kaian asked in a sharp tone, unlike when he had started the conversation gently.
“Ha. Don’t be so offended.”
Evan smiled awkwardly as if he wanted to change the mood.
“I’ve given up on that idea.”
He said sadly.
“I didn’t want to admit it. Leonie and Claudel suffered a lot while I was not a proper husband and father.”
It was the result of coincidences, misunderstandings, delusions, and the neglect of time that could not verify them.
Evan regretted it several times after meeting Leonie.
He should have gone in to find her, even if it meant going through the fire that seemed like it would never end without burning everything in the village.
If the treatment had been done a few days earlier, the marks of pain engraved on her body might not have been so big and deep.
Leonie’s scars were old, but they were not completely healed.
The scars that had lost their function and were stuck like skin were thin and stiff, so they were fine when she was staying in Rowen, but when she traveled to the cold Valmonde, she had to apply medicine and massage them several times.
Before that, Leonie had not been by his side, so he had not been close to her, so he did not know how she managed her scars in that way, but his heart would sink whenever he saw them.
And then Claudel thought he was dead and collapsed in tears at the funeral.
He could not understand why his brother had done such a terrible thing to that little girl.
He should have been by her side.
Evan, who had not received any education as a successor, was deeply mistaken in thinking that the Duke of Vermont would be delighted by the suggestion of war, given his deep resentment towards Temnes. He thought that Temnes, who was an enemy that Vermont could openly criticize, would help rule the territory.
His wife is dead.
How could his brother do that while he was struggling in this endless hell?
“I wanted my family back. If Leonie and Claudel could live happily, then the ten years I spent sharpening my sword of revenge wouldn’t have been in vain.”
That’s why he was greedy. After all, Kaian was Temnes. Betraying him was basically permitted by Vermont, so he didn’t feel guilty.
He could not understand why his brother had done such a terrible thing to that little girl.
He should have been by her side.
Evan, who had not received any education as a successor, was deeply mistaken in thinking that the Duke of Vermont would be delighted by the suggestion of war, given his deep resentment towards Temnes. He thought that Temnes, who was an enemy that Vermont could openly criticize, would help rule the territory.
His wife is dead.
How could his brother do that while he was struggling in this endless hell?
“I wanted my family back. If Leonie and Claudel could live happily, then the ten years I spent sharpening my sword of revenge wouldn’t have been in vain.”
That’s why he was greedy. After all, Kaian was Temnes. Betraying him was basically permitted by Vermont, so he didn’t feel guilty.
“But it was already out of my hands. I was the only one who didn’t know that.”
Even though he clearly saw Claudel suffer an accident, he couldn’t go to save her.
It was impossible to save his daughter, wife, and grandson by cutting his body in half.
He should have had two bodies.
When Evan was struggling, unable to do anything because he couldn’t divide his body into two, it was Kaian who jumped into the lake to save Claudel.
“As Claudel’s father, I will allow you and my daughter to marry.”
When Kaian’s eyes widened, Evan rubbed his nose with the back of his hand as if embarrassed.
“Well, I didn’t raise her, but still.”
The marriage that the Duke of Vermont had permitted and the royal command had issued was invalidated.
However, the marriage contract kept at Rowen Castle remained.
This was because Kaian, who had refused to divorce, had deliberately not taken it to the royal palace when he learned that Claudel was alive.
Before going to the battlefield, Kaian made it clear to his vassals that she was still the Duchess.
That was because only then could Julien become his successor and inherit the family.
He did so because he thought that something might happen to him, but he still had many regrets about his first marriage and was determined to marry her properly again.
At Rowen Castle, a dazzling white dress was waiting for its owner.
“Don’t make Claudel cry. Make her happy.”
...In fact, since he had made her cry so much last night, Kaian flinched without realizing it, but quickly answered.
“I will do so.”
When Kaian answered coolly, Evan’s eyes turned red.
“Ugh. How frustrating. Where is this law? I came back from exile and my daughter is giving birth.”
He blinked his eyes quickly as if trying not to cry, then tapped Kaian’s shoulder with his hand as if he had calmed down.
“She gave birth to a pure-blooded Vermont. I would like a second daughter who resembles you.”
It was impossible to save his daughter, wife, and grandson by cutting his body in half.
He should have had two bodies.
When Evan was struggling, unable to do anything because he couldn’t divide his body into two, it was Kaian who jumped into the lake to save Claudel.
“As Claudel’s father, I will allow you and my daughter to marry.”
When Kaian’s eyes widened, Evan rubbed his nose with the back of his hand as if embarrassed.
“Well, I didn’t raise her, but still.”
The marriage that the Duke of Vermont had permitted and the royal command had issued was invalidated.
However, the marriage contract kept at Rowen Castle remained.
This was because Kaian, who had refused to divorce, had deliberately not taken it to the royal palace when he learned that Claudel was alive.
Before going to the battlefield, Kaian made it clear to his vassals that she was still the Duchess.
That was because only then could Julien become his successor and inherit the family.
He did so because he thought that something might happen to him, but he still had many regrets about his first marriage and was determined to marry her properly again.
At Rowen Castle, a dazzling white dress was waiting for its owner.
“Don’t make Claudel cry. Make her happy.”
...In fact, since he had made her cry so much last night, Kaian flinched without realizing it, but quickly answered.
“I will do so.”
When Kaian answered coolly, Evan’s eyes turned red.
“Ugh. How frustrating. Where is this law? I came back from exile and my daughter is giving birth.”
He blinked his eyes quickly as if trying not to cry, then tapped Kaian’s shoulder with his hand as if he had calmed down.
“She gave birth to a pure-blooded Vermont. I would like a second daughter who resembles you.”
“I will try.”
“Well, it’s okay, seeing her with black hair and red eyes.”
Kaian laughed out loud at Evan’s kind words.
***
When I regained consciousness, my recovery was smooth and quick, so we returned to Rowen without delay.
Kaian had said that he had hardly visited the capital since returning from the battlefield and had never left Rowen Castle.
Since he had left the castle countless times, including during the civil war after marrying me, he was worried that Rowan would rise up in revolt.
“Is it okay if we leave like this?”
I asked Irena worriedly.
“Yes. Our Balmonde has declared independence as an independent Grand Duchy. That is enough.”
The event had been a mess, but the aftermath was great.
“Besides, since it seemed like we had reconciled with Temnes in front of so many people, that is the bigger topic of conversation right now.”
The accident that the Duke of Vermont had caused had turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
The people of the territory do not know the details.
It was originally known that the Duke of Vermont had mental problems and Irena inherited the ducal throne, but what he did that day was so convincing that anyone could believe the previous rumors, so Irena’s position within the family was solidified.
“The Grand Duke of Vermont. Grand Duke? Sister. You are really wonderful.”
Irena was wearing a uniform, not a dress.
Her long red hair was braided and put up lively at the bottom of her head, and she didn’t have any hair decorations.
The medal with rubies and sapphires on her chest, embroidered with gold and silver threads on blue cloth, made her stand out even more.
“When will I see you again at this rate?”
Irena said to me, a little boastfully.
“You can send me telegrams often, Duchess of Temnes. Surely the Duke wouldn’t be giving his mistress a hint by the number of characters in her telegrams?”
Kaian interrupted the sisters’ chatter.
“No way.”
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