(27) Feel it too, despair. (6)
Ariana wasn't happy about Cyrus's quiet assistance at all.
Knowing he wouldn't help without a reason, her heart just felt heavy.
Moreover, Cyrus's assistance only interfered with Ariana's plans.
Because of the rumors, Rachel couldn't leave the mansion without permission, so she was confined to her room. Ariana's plan to enter Rachel's room and rummage through her closet while she was out was being postponed.
'If this continues, my trip to the Empire might be canceled altogether.'
“Arrogant? Aren’t you and I lords? If I’m arrogant, then so are you. Isn’t that right, Your Excellency?”
He wanted to rip Cyrus’s mouth off for being so arrogant.
Cyrus had come alone, but Rodian, who knew him well, didn’t think he was truly alone.
Many in the Northern Territory had mastered mysterious martial arts. In particular, the Black Knights led by Cyrus were known as knights worth a hundred men.
The Western Territory, lacking a strong military, was in no position to easily provoke the Northern Territory.
Rodian suppressed the anger and irritation boiling in his stomach and asked with a barely formed smile.
"So, what brings you here?"
Cyrus stared blankly at Rodian, who forced a smile.
It's been fifteen years since he heard the news of his parents' deaths. Finally, he's arrived.
There are many things he wants to ask, but he can't reveal his true feelings to the Western Duke just yet. He could decapitate him here and now, but he doesn't have the strength to face what will happen afterwards.
So for now, he'll just endure the sight of this hateful face. He'll just end it by giving the Western Duke a small tinge of anxiety.
'The anxiety that I might know something and come here might make him nervous and make a mistake.'
And so, Cyrus perfectly formed a gentle smile and said,
"The West is truly a mean place. Not offering even a cup of tea to someone who has come from so far away."
Rodian gritted his teeth and winked at the chamberlain.
Even after the servants brought the tea, Cyrus didn't say why he came. As time passed, Rodian grew more and more impatient.
His granddaughter, Victoria, was imprisoned on a false murder charge, and unsavory rumors about the Bronte family were circulating throughout Weston City. He had no time for an impertinent young lord, but he couldn't just leave Cyrus at his castle without knowing why he'd come.
When Cyrus was five, his parents, the former Northern lord and his consort, were killed in battle, leaving him with a multitude of crimes.
Most people with the surname Carha are dead, but Cyrus escaped unharmed and survived.
Moreover, at the age of fourteen, he led the Black Knights back to the Northern Territory, pacifying the chaos and reclaiming his position as Northern lord.
Rodian had met Cyrus while his parents were still alive, and he couldn't know what venom he harbored after not seeing him for over ten years.
Rodian studied Cyrus with snake-like eyes.
'He wouldn't have come without a reason, would he? Have you sensed that there was another reason for your parents' deaths?'
Cyrus's expressionless face was inconclusive.
Rodian eventually provided Cyrus with a place to sleep, and two days had passed since then, reaching today.
Something had to be done before the scandal surrounding the Duke of Bronte spread beyond the city, but because of Cyrus, it was difficult to make any hasty moves.
Cyrus would likely not know the secret related to the former Northern Duke, but he never knew.
Perhaps he had come to find Rodian's weakness. If he showed himself protecting his family with his power, Cyrus might use that to get Rodian into trouble later.
Time passed, with Rodian unable to do anything.
Isaac was drinking in the temporary shelter he had prepared outside the castle gates.
He was tired of drinking the new alcohol that was only available in the West region, so he kept yawning as he drank.
“I came here secretly, so I can’t go around freely, so there’s nothing to do... I’m so bored.”
While he was tearing into the jerky he had eaten, Noah, who had gone out to spread rumors as Cyrus had told him, returned.
When Isaac smiled brightly, Noah hesitated and stepped back.
“Don’t smile like that, Master Isaac.”
“Why? Do you think I’ll fall for you?”
“That's right. Someone like that has invested days meeting with the Western Vassal. The very Western Vassal they despise enough to want to chew him up and spit him out. So what does that mean?”
“The Second Princess is the future mistress of the Northern Duke, is that it?”
“Exactly. Exactly. His Excellency just doesn’t realize it, but we all know. Don’t we?”
Isaac poured a glass and pushed it toward Noah.
“So drink. It’s a celebration.”
Noah licked his lips, staring down at his glass, then said, “Oh, I don’t know!” and lifted his glass.
Downing the wine in one gulp, Noah said,
“But. Do you think the Second Princess will like our lord? The last time I saw her, she looked so unhappy even in front of our lord.”
“What woman wouldn’t like His Excellency?”
“That’s true, but...”
Noah thought of Ariana, whom he had seen at the pergola.
Until then, women who had been in front of Cyrus had often looked mesmerized by his appearance, but Ariana was different.
Her pretty, lovely face was filled with annoyance, and it was clear she wanted to quickly end the conversation with Cyrus.
It wasn’t that the situation was dire; she seemed genuinely annoyed by Cyrus.
To Noah, Cyrus seemed like a man flirting with a woman who didn’t like him, but he couldn’t bring himself to say such things.
Isaac chuckled, not knowing what others thought.
When the dresses for the social season arrived, Rachel decided she couldn't stand it any longer.
She took each dress out of the box and examined it. Her eyes gleamed as she picked up Ariana's dress.
When she was getting this dress made, she never imagined she would find herself in this situation. She had thought Ariana would wear it not at a royal party, but at her wedding to Viscount Alfrech.
But nothing happened to Ariana, Victoria was falsely accused of murder, and Rachel was rumored to be abusing her own daughter. And that wasn't all.
Even her husband, whom she thought was always on her side, and her father, whom she believed would always help her in a crisis, turned their backs on Rachel.
The Empress Dowager sent a single letter and went silent, and Jacob never returned to the mansion. Rumor had it that he had taken a woman from a certain troupe as his lover and was staying at her house.
At any other time, she wouldn't have let Jacob's lover off the hook, but now was not the time, so she had no choice but to endure the blood flowing from her eyes.
Rachel gritted her teeth and tossed the dress she was holding.
Then she gave an order to her maid.
"Bring me a maid. A woman who came up from the countryside. She should have both her parents alive, preferably many siblings, and a strong sense of family."
Ariana wasn't happy about Cyrus's quiet assistance at all.
Knowing he wouldn't help without a reason, her heart just felt heavy.
Moreover, Cyrus's assistance only interfered with Ariana's plans.
Because of the rumors, Rachel couldn't leave the mansion without permission, so she was confined to her room. Ariana's plan to enter Rachel's room and rummage through her closet while she was out was being postponed.
'If this continues, my trip to the Empire might be canceled altogether.'
If Ariana's plan was to have Victoria return by now, Rachel would have hurriedly proceeded with her trip to the Empire, saying she would leave the West until the rumors surrounding Victoria died down.
But Victoria remained, and Rachel, half-mad, screamed in her room.
Ariana suppressed her frustration and spoke to Rosaline.
“Rosaline, could you get me another dagger?”
“Yes, my lady.”
Rosaline, who was about to leave after receiving the order, paused for a moment and looked back at Ariana. Ariana tilted her head slightly to the side as if asking why, and Rosaline said,
“Young lady... You live a truly fierce life.”
Ariana only smiled faintly and did not reply. Rosaline, as if she hadn’t expected a response, lowered her head slightly and left the room.
“Ferocious.”
Ariana mulled over what Rosaline had said.
“Yes, it is fierce.”
Victoria must be feeling deep despair, imprisoned for the first time in her life. Rachel, unable to help her, must be feeling the same.
But this wasn’t enough.
“Not yet. You haven’t felt even half the despair I have. You’re stuck in a noble prison at best.”
Victoria, who had lived a noble life, must have felt hell in a noble prison, but Ariana had no intention of being satisfied.
"This is only the beginning. You must walk the same hell I walked. Even if it means falling into hell again."
Rachel trembled, clutching the letter from the Western Duke.
"Don't come."
The letter contained only one sentence.
Voices of criticism against Rachel and Victoria were rising throughout Weston City.
Intellectuals gathered to demand severe punishment for Victoria's crimes, and they cried out for severe punishment for the Duchess, who had abused her child and even instigated a thug to commit a terrible act.
In such a situation, the only person Rachel could trust was her father, the Western Duke.
And now, don't come. Was that the kind of thing you could say to a daughter in such a predicament?
Tears of blood flowed from Rachel's eyes as she glared at the letter.
The Western Duke Rodian Oblen was in a difficult situation.
Rodian had heard the news about Victoria two mornings ago. As soon as he heard the news, he was preparing to go to the investigation office in person when the chamberlain came running, his face dark.
“Your Excellency. Father, Father, the Northern Duke... the Northern Duke has visited.”
Rumors of the Northern Duke’s arrival in the West had been circulating, but they had assumed they were just empty rumors spread by women who longed to see the Northern Duke, even from afar.
There was no reason for the Northern Duke, with whom they were not on good terms, to visit the West.
But the Northern Duke had actually come to the West, and he had even come to see the Western Duke. And with Victoria imprisoned and accused of murder, he couldn’t afford to neglect the Northern Duke, not knowing what he was up to.
Rodian abandoned his plans to go to the investigation bureau and greeted Cyrus.
“I didn’t know the Northern Duke would come this far. At least send a message.”
“If it were a message, I should have sent it a long time ago. Didn’t the rumor of my arrival spread throughout the West?”
Rodian frowned at Cyrus’s arrogant tone, even though he was his grandson.
Seeing that, Cyrus spoke slowly.
“Why? When I was young, I used to call you grandfather, so seeing me on equal footing makes you feel new?”
“...You’ve gotten arrogant since we last met.”
But Victoria remained, and Rachel, half-mad, screamed in her room.
Ariana suppressed her frustration and spoke to Rosaline.
“Rosaline, could you get me another dagger?”
“Yes, my lady.”
Rosaline, who was about to leave after receiving the order, paused for a moment and looked back at Ariana. Ariana tilted her head slightly to the side as if asking why, and Rosaline said,
“Young lady... You live a truly fierce life.”
Ariana only smiled faintly and did not reply. Rosaline, as if she hadn’t expected a response, lowered her head slightly and left the room.
“Ferocious.”
Ariana mulled over what Rosaline had said.
“Yes, it is fierce.”
Victoria must be feeling deep despair, imprisoned for the first time in her life. Rachel, unable to help her, must be feeling the same.
But this wasn’t enough.
“Not yet. You haven’t felt even half the despair I have. You’re stuck in a noble prison at best.”
Victoria, who had lived a noble life, must have felt hell in a noble prison, but Ariana had no intention of being satisfied.
"This is only the beginning. You must walk the same hell I walked. Even if it means falling into hell again."
***
Rachel trembled, clutching the letter from the Western Duke.
"Don't come."
The letter contained only one sentence.
Voices of criticism against Rachel and Victoria were rising throughout Weston City.
Intellectuals gathered to demand severe punishment for Victoria's crimes, and they cried out for severe punishment for the Duchess, who had abused her child and even instigated a thug to commit a terrible act.
In such a situation, the only person Rachel could trust was her father, the Western Duke.
And now, don't come. Was that the kind of thing you could say to a daughter in such a predicament?
Tears of blood flowed from Rachel's eyes as she glared at the letter.
***
The Western Duke Rodian Oblen was in a difficult situation.
Rodian had heard the news about Victoria two mornings ago. As soon as he heard the news, he was preparing to go to the investigation office in person when the chamberlain came running, his face dark.
“Your Excellency. Father, Father, the Northern Duke... the Northern Duke has visited.”
Rumors of the Northern Duke’s arrival in the West had been circulating, but they had assumed they were just empty rumors spread by women who longed to see the Northern Duke, even from afar.
There was no reason for the Northern Duke, with whom they were not on good terms, to visit the West.
But the Northern Duke had actually come to the West, and he had even come to see the Western Duke. And with Victoria imprisoned and accused of murder, he couldn’t afford to neglect the Northern Duke, not knowing what he was up to.
Rodian abandoned his plans to go to the investigation bureau and greeted Cyrus.
“I didn’t know the Northern Duke would come this far. At least send a message.”
“If it were a message, I should have sent it a long time ago. Didn’t the rumor of my arrival spread throughout the West?”
Rodian frowned at Cyrus’s arrogant tone, even though he was his grandson.
Seeing that, Cyrus spoke slowly.
“Why? When I was young, I used to call you grandfather, so seeing me on equal footing makes you feel new?”
“...You’ve gotten arrogant since we last met.”
“Arrogant? Aren’t you and I lords? If I’m arrogant, then so are you. Isn’t that right, Your Excellency?”
He wanted to rip Cyrus’s mouth off for being so arrogant.
Cyrus had come alone, but Rodian, who knew him well, didn’t think he was truly alone.
Many in the Northern Territory had mastered mysterious martial arts. In particular, the Black Knights led by Cyrus were known as knights worth a hundred men.
The Western Territory, lacking a strong military, was in no position to easily provoke the Northern Territory.
Rodian suppressed the anger and irritation boiling in his stomach and asked with a barely formed smile.
"So, what brings you here?"
Cyrus stared blankly at Rodian, who forced a smile.
It's been fifteen years since he heard the news of his parents' deaths. Finally, he's arrived.
There are many things he wants to ask, but he can't reveal his true feelings to the Western Duke just yet. He could decapitate him here and now, but he doesn't have the strength to face what will happen afterwards.
So for now, he'll just endure the sight of this hateful face. He'll just end it by giving the Western Duke a small tinge of anxiety.
'The anxiety that I might know something and come here might make him nervous and make a mistake.'
And so, Cyrus perfectly formed a gentle smile and said,
"The West is truly a mean place. Not offering even a cup of tea to someone who has come from so far away."
Rodian gritted his teeth and winked at the chamberlain.
Even after the servants brought the tea, Cyrus didn't say why he came. As time passed, Rodian grew more and more impatient.
His granddaughter, Victoria, was imprisoned on a false murder charge, and unsavory rumors about the Bronte family were circulating throughout Weston City. He had no time for an impertinent young lord, but he couldn't just leave Cyrus at his castle without knowing why he'd come.
When Cyrus was five, his parents, the former Northern lord and his consort, were killed in battle, leaving him with a multitude of crimes.
Most people with the surname Carha are dead, but Cyrus escaped unharmed and survived.
Moreover, at the age of fourteen, he led the Black Knights back to the Northern Territory, pacifying the chaos and reclaiming his position as Northern lord.
Rodian had met Cyrus while his parents were still alive, and he couldn't know what venom he harbored after not seeing him for over ten years.
Rodian studied Cyrus with snake-like eyes.
'He wouldn't have come without a reason, would he? Have you sensed that there was another reason for your parents' deaths?'
Cyrus's expressionless face was inconclusive.
Rodian eventually provided Cyrus with a place to sleep, and two days had passed since then, reaching today.
Something had to be done before the scandal surrounding the Duke of Bronte spread beyond the city, but because of Cyrus, it was difficult to make any hasty moves.
Cyrus would likely not know the secret related to the former Northern Duke, but he never knew.
Perhaps he had come to find Rodian's weakness. If he showed himself protecting his family with his power, Cyrus might use that to get Rodian into trouble later.
Time passed, with Rodian unable to do anything.
***
Isaac was drinking in the temporary shelter he had prepared outside the castle gates.
He was tired of drinking the new alcohol that was only available in the West region, so he kept yawning as he drank.
“I came here secretly, so I can’t go around freely, so there’s nothing to do... I’m so bored.”
While he was tearing into the jerky he had eaten, Noah, who had gone out to spread rumors as Cyrus had told him, returned.
When Isaac smiled brightly, Noah hesitated and stepped back.
“Don’t smile like that, Master Isaac.”
“Why? Do you think I’ll fall for you?”
“No, I thought you’d offer me a drink.”
“So what? His Excellency isn’t here, and all you have to do is spread rumors, so you can drink a little.”
“Not while I’m working. If Louis finds out, I’ll die.”
“Louis can’t come either because she’s stuck right next to the young lady, so what’s the problem?”
Noah leaned forward in the chair across from Isaac.
“That’s what I’m saying. Can the Second Princess really become the Duchess?”
“Of course! Look now. His Excellency is helping the Second Princess in every way possible. He says he’s helping her repay the debt thanks to the evidence he obtained thanks to the Second Princess, but how could His Excellency be such a person?”
“No. He’d be the kind of person who would boast all he wanted about meeting a good fool. But he says the Second Princess is worth using for a long time.”
Isaac lifted his index finger and gently moved it from side to side.
“Noah, Noah, Noah. You’ve been by His Excellency’s side for years, and you still don’t know? Are you the kind of person who would help because His Excellency is worth using?”
“Well, that's not exactly true either. If there's any value to be had, he'd squeeze every last drop out of you, even if it meant resorting to blackmail.”
“So what? His Excellency isn’t here, and all you have to do is spread rumors, so you can drink a little.”
“Not while I’m working. If Louis finds out, I’ll die.”
“Louis can’t come either because she’s stuck right next to the young lady, so what’s the problem?”
Noah leaned forward in the chair across from Isaac.
“That’s what I’m saying. Can the Second Princess really become the Duchess?”
“Of course! Look now. His Excellency is helping the Second Princess in every way possible. He says he’s helping her repay the debt thanks to the evidence he obtained thanks to the Second Princess, but how could His Excellency be such a person?”
“No. He’d be the kind of person who would boast all he wanted about meeting a good fool. But he says the Second Princess is worth using for a long time.”
Isaac lifted his index finger and gently moved it from side to side.
“Noah, Noah, Noah. You’ve been by His Excellency’s side for years, and you still don’t know? Are you the kind of person who would help because His Excellency is worth using?”
“Well, that's not exactly true either. If there's any value to be had, he'd squeeze every last drop out of you, even if it meant resorting to blackmail.”
“That's right. Someone like that has invested days meeting with the Western Vassal. The very Western Vassal they despise enough to want to chew him up and spit him out. So what does that mean?”
“The Second Princess is the future mistress of the Northern Duke, is that it?”
“Exactly. Exactly. His Excellency just doesn’t realize it, but we all know. Don’t we?”
Isaac poured a glass and pushed it toward Noah.
“So drink. It’s a celebration.”
Noah licked his lips, staring down at his glass, then said, “Oh, I don’t know!” and lifted his glass.
Downing the wine in one gulp, Noah said,
“But. Do you think the Second Princess will like our lord? The last time I saw her, she looked so unhappy even in front of our lord.”
“What woman wouldn’t like His Excellency?”
“That’s true, but...”
Noah thought of Ariana, whom he had seen at the pergola.
Until then, women who had been in front of Cyrus had often looked mesmerized by his appearance, but Ariana was different.
Her pretty, lovely face was filled with annoyance, and it was clear she wanted to quickly end the conversation with Cyrus.
It wasn’t that the situation was dire; she seemed genuinely annoyed by Cyrus.
To Noah, Cyrus seemed like a man flirting with a woman who didn’t like him, but he couldn’t bring himself to say such things.
Isaac chuckled, not knowing what others thought.
“If we bring the princess consort, His Excellency the Duke will be truly delighted, won't he?”
***
When the dresses for the social season arrived, Rachel decided she couldn't stand it any longer.
She took each dress out of the box and examined it. Her eyes gleamed as she picked up Ariana's dress.
When she was getting this dress made, she never imagined she would find herself in this situation. She had thought Ariana would wear it not at a royal party, but at her wedding to Viscount Alfrech.
But nothing happened to Ariana, Victoria was falsely accused of murder, and Rachel was rumored to be abusing her own daughter. And that wasn't all.
Even her husband, whom she thought was always on her side, and her father, whom she believed would always help her in a crisis, turned their backs on Rachel.
The Empress Dowager sent a single letter and went silent, and Jacob never returned to the mansion. Rumor had it that he had taken a woman from a certain troupe as his lover and was staying at her house.
At any other time, she wouldn't have let Jacob's lover off the hook, but now was not the time, so she had no choice but to endure the blood flowing from her eyes.
Rachel gritted her teeth and tossed the dress she was holding.
Then she gave an order to her maid.
"Bring me a maid. A woman who came up from the countryside. She should have both her parents alive, preferably many siblings, and a strong sense of family."
Comments
Post a Comment