Jeremiah Colesberg. If anyone were to look at his life, they would never say it was smooth, even in vain. In his childhood, he had a happy life like everyone else. He was a lively and playful boy who loved to run around. However, after his parents, the late Duke and Duchess Colesberg, died suddenly in a carriage accident, everything changed.
Before Jeremiah could even get over the loss of his parents, he became the head of the Colesberg family and was forced to take responsibility for the North and his family. He was only 12 years old. The misfortune did not end there. When news of the death of the Colesberg family spread, neighboring countries and neighboring countries began to invade the North. He Informed the palace of the situation and asked for help, but there was no answer from the palace. Before he could fully learn the business of the Grand Duke's family, he had to take up his sword and go to war as the master of the North.
He narrowly avoided death in fierce battles several times. In a truly dangerous situation, he miraculously manifested his aura and barely managed to save his life. Even in the winter, when the war was difficult due to the harsh cold and a tacit truce was in place, he could not rest. In the winter, monsters would often come down to the village and attack people, so he had to search the wide and rugged northern forests one by one to subdue the monsters.
When there was no monster subjugation or battle, the Emperor would often summon him to the palace. Then, he would find excuses and harass him, making his life miserable.
"Even though we've been hunting monsters all winter, is this the only byproduct we've come up with?"
Marquis Millainer joined in, speaking out against the nitpicking Emperor and driving Jeremiah crazy.
"You didn't sneak it out behind the scenes to avoid His Majesty the Emperor's eyes, did you?"
"Absolutely not. This winter has been unusually cold, so there aren't many monsters..."
"I don't want to hear excuses like that."
"... I'm sorry."
"Come to think of it, I heard you had quite a hard time in the last battle. I doubt you have the skills to defend the North."
"Yes?"
"I heard that His Majesty has been having trouble sleeping because he is worried about whether he can trust you with the North!"
The Marquis of Milliner pressed on.
"..."
Jeremiah frowned. The previous battle that the Emperor had mentioned was when the allied forces of the neighboring kingdom of Ferdin and the neighboring kingdom of Noseth had joined forces and invaded. The Northern Knights were too numerous. It was not realistic to stop them all with just the Knights. Jeremiah knew this, so he had requested reinforcements from the palace several times. However, even then, the palace had ignored all of his requests for help. In the end, Jeremiah barely managed to stop them and drive them out by using his geographical advantage without the palace's support. The Emperor's reprimand was nothing but an absurd excuse. He was furious at the ridiculous accusation.
"If even a little reinforcements had come when I asked the palace for help, it wouldn't have been such a struggle. The damage from the battle would have been much less than it is now."
However, if Jeremiah talked back or protested even a little, the Emperor would punish him thoroughly in any way possible.
"Are you trying to teach me a lesson now? You're so arrogant now that you're the head of the Colesberg family."
This kind of yelling was the norm.
"They say the amount of food harvested each year is decreasing. We will stop providing food aid to the North in the future."
"The North makes a profit every year by selling the byproducts from the corpses of monsters, so we will collect an additional tax equal to half that amount."
It was nearly impossible to farm and be self-sufficient in the barren lands of the North. Even with the meager amount of food aid, it was difficult to provide sufficient rations to the northerners. The news that even that would be cut off made him angry.
"How old is Princess Colesberg this year? It wouldn't be a bad idea to find her a match in advance. What about Count Misenrus? He's old, but he's loyal to the royal family."
He even pressured him into using the engagement of his only remaining family member, Caroline, as an excuse.
'Why on earth...!'
Jeremiah was angry. At first, he was puzzled, then he was afraid, and then he was at a loss. He was so resentful because he didn't know why the Emperor was so vicious and persistent in tormenting him. Nevertheless, in order to protect the North and his family, he bowed his head to the Emperor.
He suppressed his emotions and endured silently, following the Emperor's orders. Each day was a icy tug-of-war.
'How long does this have to go on?'
Jeremiah felt as if he was suffocating under the weight of great malice and icy hatred. Exhausted from the pain, he wanted to give up and let it all go. He wanted to just run away. But when he thought of his parents who cherished the North, he couldn't do that. He couldn't turn away from his vassals who believed in him and followed him, and his knights who fought alongside him risking their lives.
The North was his reason for living. He had to continue this miserable life to protect the North. He gritted his teeth and endured each day. During these terrible times, his mind gradually became worn out. Like a rock gradually weathering in the wind. He became a cold-blooded person who was numb to pain and incapable of emotion. At some point, he was called a cold-blooded man who wouldn't bleed even if he was stabbed. It didn't matter at all. That was the only way he could survive in this bleak reality.
***
Then one day. At the palace banquet hall. Jeremiah spotted a woman with red hair among the gathered people. He knew who she was at a glance.
'Karina...?'
His dead eyes suddenly came to life. When he saw her again, she was still pretty. No, pretty was not enough. She had grown up so much, and she had lost her girlishness and become a mature young lady. She was smiling with the corners of her mouth raised. Jeremiah felt a little excited for the first time in a long time.
'Will she remember me?'
He unconsciously approached Karina and stopped dead in his tracks. Marquis Milliner was standing next to her. His eyes sank coldly. The hateful Milliner. The damned man who claimed to be the Emperor's lackey and stood at the forefront, persecuting him and the North. Because of him, his life was so hard and burdensome.
'Why is he next to Karina...?'
The doubt lasted only a moment.
"Hahaha. This is my daughter. She just become an adult and had her debutante ceremony. Please introduce yourself"
A voice was heard introducing Karina to another noble, accompanied by loud laughter.
"Hello, my name is Karina Milliner."
"...!"
It was only then that it occurred to him that Karina was a member of the Milliner family.
"You have a beautiful daughter, Marquis."
"Hahaha. It's my luck. No one loves their father as much as my daughter does. Right, Karina?"
"You flatter me, Father."
The sound of their conversation could be heard clearly.
"..."
Jeremiah stared coldly at the sight of Karina and Marquis Milliner laughing and talking to each other. He soon turned away with a hardened expression. He also ignored his feelings for Karina. It was just a very minor feeling that would quickly disappear in a strong wind. It would quickly fade away again, just like he had forgotten about it until now. He decided to give up on his feelings for Karina.
'I'll forget it soon.'
But it wasn't as easy as he thought. The Image of Karina he had seen at the banquet hall wouldn't leave his mind. He wished she would smile prettily at him too.
"Ha..."
Even thinking about it himself, it was absurd. He pressed his eyebrows together and tried to shake off his distracting thoughts. However as if to prove that his efforts were completely useless, Jeremiah's eyes would search for Karina every time he attended a banquet. He pretended to be indifferent, but his eyes persistently followed Karina's appearance. It was an obsession that even he was not aware of.
Time passed. A few months later. Jeremiah was forced to attend a banquet celebrating the Empress's birthday. He avoided the annoying people around him and went to the most remote terrace to hide. Then he encountered an unexpected situation. Someone hurriedly entered the terrace where he was. She seemed to have been absent-minded and did not even notice the person. But whatever it was, he was the one who had been there first.
Jeremiah tried to shoo away the uninvited guest who had entered the terrace. But he could not.
'Karina?'
She was shedding tears with a distorted face. His heart sank. The Karina he knew didn't cry much.
'But why...?'
The sight of her shaking her shoulders and holding back tears was so pitiful. Jeremiah, who had been startled and frozen for a moment, quickly came to his senses and approached her carefully. Then, Karina, who had sensed the presence, opened her eyes wide and looked back at him. When their eyes met, his heart raced. He felt as if he was being sucked in by her green eyes.
Why does my heart flutter like this every time I see her?
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there were people there."
Karina spotted Jeremiah and quickly turned to leave. Jeremiah suddenly realized that she didn't remember him. He felt a slight sense of disappointment and regret, but now was not the time to worry about such things.
"Wait a minute."
Jeremiah quickly called her over and was taken aback.
'What am I going to do by calling Karina...?'
If she didn't remember, he was just like a stranger she was meeting for the first time today. Jeremiah didn't know what to do. But he didn't show it on the outside. He was so used to hiding his feelings.
"Young Lady, there is no need for you to go out. I was just about to leave."
Whatever it was, he couldn't just let Karina leave the terrace like that. He hated the idea of anyone seeing her cry.
"Thank you for your consideration."
Karina seemed a little embarrassed to have been caught crying as she gave her thanks.
'I have to go out now...'
Jeremiah didn't want to go out. He couldn't move forward, leaving her alone in her sorrow. He wanted to know why she was crying. Jeremiah, who had been thinking about it, soon took a step closer to her with a determined expression.
"If you don't mind, may I ask why you are crying?"
Karina, taken aback by his question, quickly wiped away her tears with her hand.
"This is... I just got something in my eye..."
The sight of her smiling as if nothing had happened made my heart ache.
'Really... Nothing has changed at all.'
The face of a little girl who had fallen and gotten badly hurt when she was young and smiled and said thank you for worrying about her overlapped. Jeremiah took out a handkerchief from his bosom and held it out, reminiscing about that memory.
"You may use it."
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