As the weeks passed, the two began to change. Erna, who got enough sleep and a proper diet, quickly lost weight, while Callion, on the other hand, began to gain weight.
The second change that came was Erna's successful manifestation of her magical talents. One day, she suddenly began to sense a magical power within her, and after much thought, she told Vanessa about it.
Contrary to what she had thought, Vanessa searched the continent for a wizard who could become Erna's teacher, and after finding a teacher, Erna's magical skills improved rapidly.
Unlike Erna, Callion began to wield a sword. Vanessa once again appointed a brilliant knight as his mentor. Callion ate voraciously and practiced from morning to night, to the point where it was almost miraculous he didn't collapse. As a result, Callion's body rapidly gained muscle mass, and the weight of his sword gradually grew heavier.
Others couldn't understand why the two were so obsessed with their respective talents.
After the two of them vowed never to experience that humiliating night again, they realized that the only thing they could rely on was their own strength.
Once their bodies had recovered somewhat, the two began to assert their rights as Grand Dukes. The Hessian Parliament, though wary of them, did not stop them.
Because the parliamentary system of the duchy could not exist by ignoring the Grand Duke, but by working together with him.
Vanessa, who had been lost in her thoughts for a long time, coughed at the sight of the two glaring at each other with increasingly harsh gazes. This was not the time for this.
“As you can see, the reason I wanted to see you both so urgently is that letters arrived this morning from the kingdoms of Havand and Aether.”
Erna was the first to speak at those words.
“It seems like the two kingdoms are plotting something, Vanessa.”
Even though one of those two kingdoms was her homeland, Erna's voice was incredibly cold.
“I think so too.”
As Callion continued Erna's words, Erna clicked her tongue and spoke to Callion.
“I wish you would think for yourself a little more.”
At Erna's words, the corners of Callion's mouth rose in a sneer.
“You just said it first, but you need to work on that excessive self-consciousness of blindly following my opinion just because we share the same opinion.”
As the two men's gazes grew more fierce, Vanessa shook her head.
“First, I would like you both to calm down and check the contents of the letters sent by both countries.”
The two nodded at Vanessa's words. When Vanessa handed them personal letters from their respective countries, they quickly broke the seals.
'What nonsense are you going to say this time?'
Erna frowned and looked at the letter.
The second change that came was Erna's successful manifestation of her magical talents. One day, she suddenly began to sense a magical power within her, and after much thought, she told Vanessa about it.
Contrary to what she had thought, Vanessa searched the continent for a wizard who could become Erna's teacher, and after finding a teacher, Erna's magical skills improved rapidly.
Unlike Erna, Callion began to wield a sword. Vanessa once again appointed a brilliant knight as his mentor. Callion ate voraciously and practiced from morning to night, to the point where it was almost miraculous he didn't collapse. As a result, Callion's body rapidly gained muscle mass, and the weight of his sword gradually grew heavier.
Others couldn't understand why the two were so obsessed with their respective talents.
After the two of them vowed never to experience that humiliating night again, they realized that the only thing they could rely on was their own strength.
Once their bodies had recovered somewhat, the two began to assert their rights as Grand Dukes. The Hessian Parliament, though wary of them, did not stop them.
Because the parliamentary system of the duchy could not exist by ignoring the Grand Duke, but by working together with him.
Vanessa, who had been lost in her thoughts for a long time, coughed at the sight of the two glaring at each other with increasingly harsh gazes. This was not the time for this.
“As you can see, the reason I wanted to see you both so urgently is that letters arrived this morning from the kingdoms of Havand and Aether.”
Erna was the first to speak at those words.
“It seems like the two kingdoms are plotting something, Vanessa.”
Even though one of those two kingdoms was her homeland, Erna's voice was incredibly cold.
“I think so too.”
As Callion continued Erna's words, Erna clicked her tongue and spoke to Callion.
“I wish you would think for yourself a little more.”
At Erna's words, the corners of Callion's mouth rose in a sneer.
“You just said it first, but you need to work on that excessive self-consciousness of blindly following my opinion just because we share the same opinion.”
As the two men's gazes grew more fierce, Vanessa shook her head.
“First, I would like you both to calm down and check the contents of the letters sent by both countries.”
The two nodded at Vanessa's words. When Vanessa handed them personal letters from their respective countries, they quickly broke the seals.
'What nonsense are you going to say this time?'
Erna frowned and looked at the letter.
Having quickly fled during the previous plague, the Kingdom of Havand had little influence over Hessengard. Then, as the year passed and the plague seemed to be waning, they were about to send another delegation. But this time, another kingdom bordering Havand led an army and attacked. This made it difficult for Havand to focus on Hessengard.
Moreover, the Hessengard obediently complied with Havand's demands. They provided food and resources without the need for any special agents to plunder them, leaving Haband with no reason to provoke the Hessengard.
Meanwhile, Erna slowly grew her power. As she grew in power as a magician, she also began her duties as the Grand Duke of Hessengard.
'Thanks to you, I am now a proper Grand Duke.'
Erna recalled an incident she had recently experienced in a mining area. A sudden appearance of monsters in the underground mines had prompted a call for help from the local residents. Erna not only stepped forward herself, but also led the group of magicians she had quietly nurtured, hidden from public view.
Under the powerful magic wielded by Erna, the monsters in the mine were annihilated without a trace. People rushed out, chanting Erna's name, proclaiming that our Grand Duke was the best. Just as she was rejoicing at being acknowledged as their Grand Duke, the passing remarks lingered in Erna's ears.
“It would have been nice if Grand Duke Callion had come too, but it’s too bad.”
“Yeah. I wanted to see his knights, too.”
At those words, she almost shouted, "Why are you looking for him?"
Erna, who was still frowning as she recalled that time, came to her senses and began reading the letter Havand had sent.
It began with a pretentious greeting, posing as an inquiry about Erna's well-being and insisting they were always missing her and worried about her. Erna quickly dismissed the paragraph filled with useless words and then found the paragraph that read, "The reason I'm sending you this personal letter is..." This was the main point.
'I guess this is a request for additional support for the war.'
Several times a year, the Kingdom of Havand would proudly demand Hessengard's money and resources, as if they were their own. And Hessengard had been stockpiling a certain amount to meet their demands.
'They said it was a famine year. Will they demand more wheat this year, too?'
Erna, who was thinking of discussing the Hessengard members, jumped up and shouted the moment she read the last sentence of the paragraph.
“What? Successor?”
“What? Successor?”
She wasn't the only one who shouted. At the end of the long table, Callion, holding the letter with a surprised expression, also shouted.
***
Vanessa, observing the mood between the two, said she would be leaving and left the conference room. Erna and Callion were the only ones left.
The two of them sat down in their seats, their eyes filled with disbelief as they read and reread the letter they had received.
The message of the letter was simple.
The two kingdoms have been desperately awaiting a successor between the two, a symbol of their peaceful union, but ten years have passed without any news, and it is deeply regrettable. Consequently, the future of Hessengard is deeply concerning. If no word of a successor is heard within the next year, it will be regrettable, but for the future of the duchy, they intend to recall the two men back to their homeland and send another member of the royal family to succeed the throne of the Hessengard...
“...Who cares?”
The personal letter in Erna's hand was badly crumpled.
These were the people who had sent her away without any hesitation, and then, when the plague began to spread, they had abandoned her without any regrets. Of course, she was grateful for their abandonment. Thanks to them, she was able to completely shed her attachment to her homeland and become attached to Hessengard, considering it her own. Moreover, wasn't it a completely different place from the past?
It's already been ten years. In that time, she's steadily built up her strength and tried to solidify her position as the Grand Duke of Hessen, and now she's being asked to return? It's ridiculous.
Of course, Erna had absolutely no intention of returning. Now that she had become a proper Grand Duke, wouldn't it be a loss to anyone to leave everything behind and return to Havand as a Princess with no power?
'But...'
What if Havand tries to force her down?
'I can't stop it.'
Erna has been building up her strength for the past ten years, but she's still not strong enough to face and defeat the armies of the Kingdom of Havand.
'I thought I would have another 10 years to spare...'
She didn't know what discussions had taken place between the two kingdoms, but it seemed they were now planning to put pressure on Erna and Callion.
Erna racked her brain. How could she escape this situation? But even after much thought, as the sun set, no clear solution came to mind. That was understandable, because there was a simple and obvious solution to this situation.
'Heir.'
Creating a successor would be the end of everything. But there was a huge problem. Erna raised her head and looked at Callion, who was sitting at the end of the table.
He was the problem.
The seed of the successor she must bear is something only he can sow.
“...”
“...”
A long silence fell over the conference room. Neither of them spoke, just staring at the other. Thanks to this, Erna was able to catch a glimpse of Callion for the first time in a long time.
'It looks fine on the outside.'
Erna's eyesight was normal, and her aesthetic sense was not significantly different from others. Therefore, Erna acknowledged that Callion was handsome.
Just as she had changed, so had Callion. His hair, once so matte and dull it almost seemed gray, was now a deep, dark black, as if mirroring the night sky. His once sinister blue eyes had deepened, and every time they met, they evoked images of the ocean she'd seen in books.
Thick, straight eyebrows, a sharp nose and jawline, and even a stubborn, tightly closed mouth. She remembered a time when he attended a banquet held at the Grand Duke's castle, wearing knightly attire rather than formal attire.
The noble ladies of the Hessengard family present at the banquet all stared at Callion, transfixed. A few brave ones even approached Callion, greeted him first, and introduced themselves.
Even though her husband was being targeted, Erna looked at him with an expression that said, "What do you care?"
'Come to think of it, I haven't heard any rumors of him dating other women.'
In any case, since they were a married couple, most of the news about Callion would reach Erna. Whether he had recruited a new knight somewhere, whether his knights had gone somewhere to subdue some monster, or whether he had taken on some task with the authority bestowed upon him as the Grand Duke.
Even though she had no interest in him, Erna knew what time he woke up and what time he went to bed. But nowhere in the news did she find any mention of Callion having a private meeting with a woman.
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