'Becoming the Duke of Milliner.'
It was the lifelong wish and goal of the Marquis of Milliner. He earnestly requested the Emperor to help the Marquis of Milliner regain their former glory and be promoted to the rank of Duke. The Emperor granted the Marquis' request but set a condition.
'If you offer me the thorn in my eye, the Grand Duke of Colesberg, I wouldn't mind doing that.'
The Emperor's words made Marquis Milliner excited and he immediately made a plan. The plan he came up with was simple. All he had to do was have his daughter, Karina, become the Grand Duchess and give birth to a child who would succeed the Grand Duke of Colesburg. Once the child was born, he planned to use that child as a weakness to seize and manipulate Jeremiah. If that happened, it was only a matter of time before he would swallow up the Colesburg family. Even if Jeremiah had another woman, there would be no problem as long as there was a child who would be the successor to the Grand Duchess.
According to Imperial law, the first child of the first wife of the family had the highest right to family succession. If there was a fight over the Grand Duke's succession, the Emperor was on his side. It was obvious that any mediation and decision related to that would be in favor of the Milliners. If Jeremiah lost his life in a fight with a monster, there would be nothing better. Since the Milliners, and his family's family would have the justification to manage the Grand Duke family until the child grew up, this plan was perfect in every way.
Marquis Milliner ran to the Emperor as soon as he made his plan. And he boasted to the Emperor that if he would only let his daughter Karina marry Jeremiah, the Grand Duke of Colesburg, he would take care of everything else.
'Now Karina, all you have to do is give birth to a child who will inherit the Grand Duke's blood!'
Marquis Milliner swallowed his impatience inside. He was annoyed at Karina for causing a major accident by saying she would divorce the Grand Duke at the banquet hall without even telling him.
'That fucking bitch got me married and now he's hitting me in the back of the head like this?'
Because of that, he suddenly found himself in an awkward situation where he had to resolve the matter within three months. Marquis Millainer bit his lower lip. However, now was not the time to be angry. He put aside his anger toward Karina for a moment and quickly thought about it. He had to produce some results that would satisfy the Emperor within just three months.
'3 months... If Karina gets pregnant within that time...!'
A thought suddenly occurred to the Marquis, who was in agony. If Karina could have a child with the blood of the Colesberg family, he could buy some more time until the child was born. If they could continue to try to make an effort as a couple for three months, it wasn't an impossible story.
A wicked smile appeared on the Marquis' face as he finished organizing his thoughts.
"Don't worry! I'll definitely solve it within three months. Phew!"
As Karina entered the room, Jen, who was tidying up the room inside, greeted her.
"Oh, my? Your Highness. You're back already?"
He looked surprised at Karina's unexpected early return home. However, Karina had no energy to care about Jen like that. As soon as she went inside, Karina collapsed onto the bed.
'It's hard...'
Her stomach was upset, her head was aching, and her eyes were burning. She had been so excited earlier that she didn't even realize her body was hurting. Karina was buried in her bed and didn't move.
"Your Highness? Are you okay?"
Jen, who was about to ask if the banquet was going well, looked at Karina's condition with a worried expression.
"I'm fine, so you can go now."
Karina just raised her hand and waved it. It was a very insincere gesture, but her skull was shaking and her head was throbbing. She couldn't raise her head because she was having a hard time coming to her senses.
"If you are not feeling well, should I call the doctor?"
Jen asked cautiously, but Karina did not allow it. If she called the doctor, Jeremiah would naturally find out. Then she would have to see his face again. She did not want that.
'I don't even want to look at him.'
She didn't want to see even a single strand of his hair.
"No, I'm fine... I'm just tired."
Despite Karina's answer, Jen hesitated to leave and looked around. Karina's voice, saying it was okay, was too weak even for her to hear. However, Karina chose to just close her eyes with a tired expression.
"I'll feel better if you rest a bit."
"Yes...Then, get some rest and call me whenever you need."
"Yes."
Jen emphasized several times that she had to call her and then left the room. Karina's consciousness faded away as she heard the door closing.
***
"Miss Karina!"
A friendly, gentle voice called Karina.
"Nanny!"
Young Karina, who was enjoying the flowers, ran to her nanny who had called her. The nanny picked up Karina and asked her.
"Did you have fun while I was running that errand?"
"Yes!"
"What were you doing?"
"I was looking at the flowers over there!"
Karina answered cheerfully, smiling brightly. On one side of the Marquis' garden, purple lavender was in full bloom.
"Oh my, it's lavender."
"Yeah! Isn't that the flower that Mom liked?"
Karina asked with her eyes sparkling brightly.
"Yes, that's right. How did you know that?"
"My nanny told me last year that Mom's favorite flower is the one you planted in the garden."
"Did you remember all that?"
The nanny asked with a slightly surprised tone.
"Of course. Nanny told me that my mother really liked that flower. So I like that flower too."
The nanny stroked Karina's cheek with a surprised expression on her face at Karina's answer.
"Then, should we decorate it in Miss Karina's room too so she can keep looking at it?"
"Good!"
"Then choose the one you like the most."
The nanny dropped Karina off and told her to pick out some pretty flowers to put in her room. Karina and the nanny were excitedly picking and plucking lavender together when a thunderous roar was heard from behind.
"What are you doing now!"
Karina, who was so startled that she almost jumped up, quickly hid behind her nanny. The nanny hid her embarrassed expression and greeted the Marquis.
"You have arrived, Your Grace."
The Marquis, who had quickly approached, glared at the lavender in Karina and her nanny's hands.
"Why are you breaking it now!"
The voice of the Marquis asking that question was not pleasant.
"Oh, the flowers are pretty, so I wanted to take some and put them in Miss Karina's room."
The Marquis' expression worsened at the nanny's answer.
"Do you know how much that flower costs? The amount you're holding in your hand right now is worth more than your monthly salary! Why would you just cut it off like that? Are you thinking about it or not?"
Lavender was valuable as an ornamental plant, but it was even more valuable because it had various effects such as calming the nerves, relieving pain, moisturizing the skin, and relieving insomnia. The Marquis did not object to planting expensive lavender in the garden itself. This was because he had to show off the lavender field full of the garden to the guests he invited to his mansion to show off his wealth.
"If you do this one more time, I'm going to give you a severe beating!"
"Yes... I'm sorry, Your Grace."
The nanny kept bowing her head and apologizing.
"Really..."
The Marquis frowned as if he didn't like it. Then he cast a cold gaze at Karina, who was hiding behind the nanny.
"There's not a single thing I like about her."
Karina was so frightened that she couldn't even meet the Marquis' eyes and trembled. The Marquis clicked his tongue.
"I don't like the sight of her, so can you please just get out of here quickly?"
"Yes."
The nanny picked up Karina and quickly left the place. When the garden was a little further away, Karina, who was very timid, spoke in a crawling voice.
"Nanny. I'm sorry."
"Why are you sorry, Miss Karina?"
"You got in trouble because of me..."
Karina couldn't continue. Her expression was distorted as if she was about to cry, but she didn't shed any tears. Karina had learned early on that crying wouldn't change anything. And she also knew that crying would only make her nanny feel awkward. Naturally, Karina became a child who didn't cry much. The nanny felt even more sorry for Karina.
"What do you mean? That's not true at all, so don't think like that."
The nanny patted Karina's back and said.
"I'll make you a really delicious apple pie today."
Apple pie was one of the snacks that Nanny made and it was Karina's favorite food.
Whenever Karina was sad or depressed, Nanny made her apple pie.
"...Really?"
Karina raised her head and asked with wide eyes.
"Of course! I'll make it even tastier than usual."
"Yes!"
Karina's face brightened again as she nodded.
***
'Ah...'
In a dark and quiet room, Karina, who had been lying asleep on the bed, slowly opened her eyes.
'It seems like it's been a really long time since I've had a dream about my nanny!'
Karina stared blankly at the ceiling of her room and thought.
'Now that I think about it, I really liked apple pie.'
She remembered the delicious apple pie that her nanny often made. Originally, apple pie had to be made and cooled once to get a crispy texture. However, it was too hard to wait for the freshly made apple pie, which had a strong apple scent, to cool.
When Karina was drooling next to the apple pie because she wanted to eat it, her nanny would smile warmly and cut off a slice of the still-warm apple pie, and offer it to Karina. Because of that memory, Karina liked the warm, soft apple pie before it cooled. Although she loved apple pie so much, she came to hate it because of Jeremiah. The same was true of lavender flowers.
When Jeremiah came to mind again, all the events that had happened at the banquet hall came to mind one after another.
'It can't be a dream, right...?"
Karina lifted her arm and checked the sleeve. It was the dress she had worn to the banquet hall today.
'It wasn't a dream after all!'
Karina covered her eyes with the hand she had been holding. She sighed, wishing it had been a dream.
'Yeah. Just think of it as having a little more time.'
There was no solution to feeling wronged and boiling over. After all, she had planned to visit her nanny and mother's graves. Instead of hastily leaving a farewell like a fugitive, she decided to think positively about reminiscing about her nanny a bit more. Karina tried to clear her complicated mind. She tossed and turned, trying to sleep again. The night grew deeper.
***
'What is this...'
The next day, Karina had another worry besides the divorce. After returning from the New Year's party, which ruined her plans, Mikhail disappeared without a trace.
'Where on earth did that guy who was sick go?'
Karina had Jen check with Selena and Hasten to see if Mikhail was at the inn, but was told that he was not there.
'There's no way Mikhail would just disappear from my presence without saying a word...'
They even said that his luggage was still in the room. That made her even more worried. Suddenly, she remembered Mikhail avoiding talking about his family history.
'I wonder if something happened to his family? Or maybe it was the magic Tower...?'
Karina realized that she knew less about Mikhail than she thought.
'I... am disqualified as a friend.'
Karina swallowed her bitterness inside. But no matter how much she thought about it, there was no answer. There was nothing she could do but wait and tell the mansion staff to let her know as soon as Mikhail returned.
"Phew."
Karina's sigh deepened.
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