"Where do you want to go? Right now?"
"Yes."
It was all over. It was the ending she had been longing for. It felt like a big lump in her chest had disappeared...
It wasn't as refreshing as she had thought, and it wasn't as refreshing as she had hoped. Maybe it still didn't feel real?
When Karina thought about leaving, she wanted to see her mother one last time. And before she left, there were things she wanted to check when she got there.
"I'm going to the ossuary."
"I'll go with you too."
David offered to accompany her. Karina, who had been staring at him, nodded.
***
"Are you ready?"
Lucia, who had come to see Jeremiah, asked with a smile. The preparations the Saintess was talking about were for their upcoming wedding.
"Today, the marriage between His Highness the Grand Duke and I will be formally announced at the Imperial Palace."
"..."
Lucia looked around with a bright expression and chattered, but Jeremiah didn't even glance at the Saintess. He just stared out the window with empty eyes. Karina was leaving. There was no farewell.
'I wish you would look back once in a while.'
Contrary to his wishes, she left the mansion and walked away indifferently. As if she had no more lingering feelings. Nevertheless, his gaze was persistently and stubbornly focused on her back. Until her figure disappeared into the carriage, and the carriage's tracks, which had been running briskly, disappeared into the distance.
In the span of a few days, he had become considerably thinner. His gloomy, sunken eyes and dark complexion were definitely not the expressions of someone about to get married. Rather, he looked like a death row inmate about to be executed.
"So? Is that all you came here to say?"
Jeremiah, who was in pain from the lingering aftertaste of Karina that was stained like an aftertaste, turned around and asked coldly. To him, Lucia was clearly an intruder.
"I came to tell you that our wedding date will be moved up by two days."
The schedule that was supposed to be a week later was already very early, but his brows furrowed at the news that it was being brought forward even further. The Saintess spoke with a bitter expression at him, who was openly showing his displeasure.
"Your Highness, please don't hate me too much."
"..."
Jeremiah looked at the Saintess with cold, unsmiling eyes.
"Let me be clear. I am divorcing Karina and marrying you, a Saintess, for Karina's sake."
"..."
"So even after we get married, don't ask me for anything beyond what's in the contract."
Lucia responded calmly to his cold declaration.
"Her Highness... No, now it's time for her to become the Young Lady of Milliner again."
Lucia asked, correcting Karina's title.
"Do you still love her? Is she... that important to you?"
"More than my life."
Jeremiah answered without hesitation.
"I envy her."
Lucia, who was smiling, left a word like that. It was a smile that was not stained with the usual jealousy or anger. However, a calm sadness lingered like an aftertaste. It was a look that others would find pitiful, but Jeremiah's eyes looking at the Saintess were dry.
"If you're done with your business, then leave."
Lucia had no choice but to be kicked out of the room by his curse.
"Lucia."
The high priest Emil was waiting for her outside the room. Emil had come with them to the palace, assuming the role of assistant to the Saintess Lucia, the head of the temple.
"Is something wrong?"
Emil asked with a worried face. Lucia looked back at him and pretended as if nothing had happened, speaking as usual.
"Preparing for a wedding is more involved than I thought. There are still so many things to decide and do."
The Saintess smiled awkwardly, saying that she was a little embarrassed. Emil opened his heart to Lucia with a serious expression.
"I don't like the current situation at all. As a Saintess, you deserve to be respected and loved by everyone. Why is this happening...?"
His face was distorted.
"I just can't understand why you deserve to be treated like this."
His reddened eyes were filled with a look of resentment.
"I'm fine. So don't make that face."
Lucia spoke to Emile, trying to calm him down.
"There really isn't much time left now."
If she just waits a little longer, the oracle will be completed. The saintess's expression brightened again as she recalled the words of God.
"I need to go and take care of the remaining business quickly so that the one and only wedding can proceed without a hitch."
Lucia, who spoke cheerfully, walked briskly. Emil watched her back with eyes stained with sadness and anger. The Saintess glanced back and waved her hand vigorously at him.
***
That afternoon. The imperial family made an official announcement regarding Jeremiah and Lucia's remarriage. The Grand Duke's divorce was surprising news, but the fact that he remarried the Saintess without any time for reflection made the already noisy empire even more turbulent. There were many speculations and rumors about the Grand Duke and his wife's divorce, but what really caught people's attention was the fact that the Grand Duke's remarriage partner was the Saintess.
The atmosphere varied depending on class and affiliation, but the general reaction was that Jeremiah and the Saintess were a perfect match. Meanwhile, there was another story that was much talked about in social circles. It was none other than the remarriage of the Grand Duke of Colesberg, the commander of the Imperial Border Guard and the conqueror of the North.
Usually, after a divorce, it was common to hold a wedding at least a few months apart. Not only was the negative public attention burdensome, but consideration for the divorcee was also one of the etiquettes of the nobles. In a position like Jeremiah's, there were many other things to worry about in addition to these burdens. An imperial Grand Duke with royal blood. His presence could not be compared to that of ordinary nobles.
Naturally, even if it was a remarriage, the ceremony had to be complicated and elaborate. Normally, along with the Emperor's proclamation, the news had to be relayed to the empire and neighboring countries, and it would have been held with the blessings of all the people, inviting numerous people from home and abroad. However, this time, his remarriage was held so quickly that people said it was unusual. Therefore, not only guests from other countries, but even local nobles within the empire were unable to attend.
"Is there any particular reason why you are rushing the Grand Duke's divorce?"
Inside the Emperor's magnificently decorated office, a middle-aged man with a gentle demeanor and neat attire asked the Emperor.
"Why? Do you not like my decision?"
The imperial prime minister bowed his head as if he was ashamed at the cold Emperor's question.
"No. I am ignorant of Your Majesty the Emperor's wise intentions and cannot fathom them all, so I ask for nothing."
"If you don't know, just wait. You'll know everything as time goes by."
The Emperor responded with a consistently indifferent attitude.
"I will do so."
The prime minister bowed his head once more and showed that he had no complaints at all. However, the room was filled with tension as if walking on thin ice. As the Emperor snapped his fingers, a servant with a very tense expression brought out tea. The servant's hands preparing the tea were trembling slightly. Not only the servant, but all the staff gathered in the office gulped as they watched the emperor drink the tea. These were days when even the slightest mistake could cost them their lives. The day before yesterday. And perhaps today, someone would die. Those who served the Emperor died in vain for truly trivial reasons every day. Fortunately...
"Hmm. Not bad."
The Emperor, with his lips wet with tea, smiled leisurely and pursed his lips. Today, he seemed to be in a good mood for some reason. But.
Knock knock.
There was a knock on the door, and a knight from the guards came with an unpleasant report.
"Your Majesty the Emperor. The Marquis of Millainer has requested an audience and is waiting outside."
"The Marquis?"
The Emperor frowned as if he was not pleased with the Marquis' visit, and tilted his head. Soon, a wicked light passed through his sparkling eyes.
"Tell the Marquis to return home today, as I will call him when the time comes."
"Yes."
The knight bowed his head and carried out the Emperor's orders.
"I'm tired today so I'll have to rest now, everyone, please leave."
The Emperor also dismissed all the staff members gathered in the office. At his word, everyone immediately stood up and left their seats. A huge full-length mirror appeared behind the Emperor, who was left alone. The mirror should have originally contained the Emperor's back. But now, a completely different image was reflected in that mirror.
"The wedding between the Grand Duke and the Saintess was brought forward as much as possible. Was this acceptable?"
At the Emperor's question, the corners of the lips of the person appearing in the mirror grew longer.
"Yes. Good job."
The Emperor, hearing the man's voice smiling contentedly, asked solemnly.
"Are the preparations going smoothly?"
"Your Majesty, there is nothing to worry about. Your long-cherished wish will soon come true."
"Ahahahahaha."
The Emperor laughed loudly at the man's cool answer.
"Finally. The time has come."
Amidst so many issues and rumors, Jeremiah and Lucia's wedding was fast approaching.
***
Karina left the mansion and arrived at the ossuary where her biological mother's remains were placed. She wanted to tell her mother and nanny about her divorce from Jeremiah.
"It's a place where the calm sunlight shines. It's a very peaceful place for the Marchioness to rest."
David opened his mouth as he looked around the room where Karina's mother was laid to rest.
"Because my father has always been interested in people's attention."
The Marquis of Milliner, who was overly conscious of the eyes of those around him, spared no expense to build a reputation for caring for his wife. He even used his daughter, Karina, to his advantage. When she visited her mother's grave, he would send her a bouquet of lavender, flowers that he normally wouldn't even let her touch. There were even wonderful anecdotes in high society about the Marquis caring for his long-dead wife, but Karina knew better than anyone the shallow calculations behind it.
Her father was known in high society as a pure man who could not forget his dead wife. However, that pure man never visited this place except on the day her mother was buried. Of course, even that was packaged as him being unable to walk because he was reminded of his dead wife.
"Phew."
Karina sighed deeply and looked back at David with an indifferent expression.
"Now, tell me."
"What?"
"You came with me because you had something to tell me."
"... I don't know what you're talking about."
"Isn't it?"
Karina smiled meaningfully at David and opened a shelf on one side of the crypt. It contained memories from her childhood, now fading. She continued speaking as she took out the items on the shelf one by one.
"You already knew I was going to be kidnapped from the temple, right?"
"...!"
David made a face of defeat. The corners of his mouth twitched anxiously at Karina's attitude, which seemed to say that she knew everything.
"If you're going to pretend not to know, then go back right now."
He arched an eyebrow as if defeated by her point and asked.
"How long have you noticed?"
Karina smiled bitterly at his question of when.
"Does that matter?"
"I'm sorry."
David hesitated for a moment but eventually apologized.
"I knew the Marquis was plotting something behind the scenes, but I didn't know exactly when he would do it."
"..."
Indeed, even if he had known when the Marquis would do something, would he have stepped forward? She wondered, but she didn't really ask.
"Your divorce with the Grand Duke would be a huge blow to the Marquis. In fact, the Marquis's position in the imperial family is in a very precarious situation. I wonder if he was trying to threaten you to prevent the divorce..."
David did not know that the Marquis Millainer was trying to kill her.
'Because I didn't say anything.'
And those who were there were all killed by Jeremiah. The only ones who knew the truth of that day were her, Jeremiah, and the mastermind behind the incident, the Marquis Millainer. Karina felt disgusted beyond disgust at the Marquis, who not only used his children as tools for power but also did not hesitate to kill them.
'Did my nanny really get killed by my father?'
If the nanny had noticed something strange or felt threatened before she died, she would have definitely tried to call for help. Or left something behind. And if there really was such an attempt.
'It is most likely that the nanny left traces or evidence at the last place she visited before she died.'
But even after searching through all the items on the shelf, she couldn't find any trace of it.
'It was a useless expectation.'
Karina's heart sank. At the same time, she felt relieved that it might just be her own illusion.
'Yes. Let's not speculate unnecessarily.'
If the nanny who took care of her died at the hands of her father, wouldn't that be too terrible?
She let out the breath she had been holding and absentmindedly picked up the music box in front of her. She opened the lid, but no song came out. The old memories were now old and rusty, and they couldn't even sing the worn-out lullabies. When Karina was young, whenever she went to her mother's grave with her nanny, she would always spend time listening to the music box.
'That's too bad.'
Karina swallowed her bitterness and tried to close the lid of the music box. At that moment.
“Ah...!”
Her hand slipped and the music box fell to the floor.
Crack!
The music box broke into two with a loud noise.
"This..."
As Karina was desperately trying to pick up the music box, something caught her eye.
"Uh?"
It was a white envelope folded in half.
'Why is this in a music box?:
At that moment, her heart sank and an ominous feeling came over her. Karina opened the letter with trembling hands.
"...!"
Karina's expression sharpened as she checked the contents. Several letters. There was a letter from the nanny to the Grand Duke of Colesberg and a confession that seemed to be someone's will. The nanny's letter only had a short note saying that she was sending the evidence she mentioned before. However, the contents of the enclosed will be truly shocking.
"What the heck is this...!"
The will contained a confession of the cruel order of the Marquis of Milliner to dispose of the former Grand Duke and his wife by pretending to be a carriage accident and detailed the process of carrying out the order. Attached to the back of the will was a note with the corners slightly faded due to long-term storage. Karina hurriedly checked the note. Her hands were shaking with shock and anxiety. The note was an order written in the Marquis' own handwriting.
“Ah!”
Karina, who had even checked the order, couldn't help but be shocked. If the contents of this letter were true.
'Jeremiah's parents.'
The former Grand Duke and Duchess, who sadly passed away in an accident... were killed by her father, the Margrave Millainer.
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