Katrina flared up at the Duke's fierce voice.
"Do you dare think you can stop me? Let's meet again after you sober up."
It was just funny how he acted like he was someone important just because she called him a Duke.
It was she who had protected the Bernhard family, which was as precarious as a sandcastle, until now.
"Unfortunately, I am not drunk at all. I don't think I have ever been this sober."
As Etienne, sitting crookedly in a chair, snapped his hand, armed soldiers swarmed out of nowhere and surrounded her.
"What do you think you are doing? Do you know who I am? Are you aiming a sword at me?"
An agitated Katrina ordered the soldiers to retreat, but no one laid down their weapons.
Katrina looked around, searching for the man who always stayed by her side. However, for some reason, he did not appear.
Etienne, having gulped down the remaining liquor, quietly spoke.
"He would be spending some quality time with Viscount Conrad by now."
"...This!"
As Katrina, who had been unable to speak due to anger, sat down, Etienne casually clasped his hands together.
"To get back to the point, there is sufficient evidence to prove what you have done."
No matter how much Katrina burned the evidence and killed the witnesses to get rid of them, the evil deeds that had continued for so long could not possibly have ceased to exist.
“Bring it!”
At Etienne's command, someone brought a bundle of old-looking documents and placed it on the table. Katrina's wicked deeds were meticulously recorded in them.
However, without even glancing at the documents, Katrina spoke confidently.
"I swear I have never harmed anyone, and if I did, it would have been entirely for the sake of the family."
She was so serious that anyone who didn't know her would have been infatuated.
"You are really shameless."
Everything Katrina did, from start to finish, was for her own sake.
"I have no intention of putting you on trial."
"Then why are you doing such a ridiculous thing?"
"Going to prison or banishment wouldn't be enough of a punishment for you."
Etienne had no intention of letting her die easily. As he gently rubbed his chin, Katrina, unable to bear it any longer, slammed her fists on the table.
"Didn't I ask what you're doing!"
"I mean Ludwig."
Etienne sat calmly, running his hand through his hair, and smiled. At the mention of her son's name, Katrina's face turned pale.
"He is a pitiful child. Do not speak his name carelessly."
"Because he was also my younger brother."
Etienne let out a bitter voice.
Edwin, who was happy to have a younger sibling, was still vivid in his mind.
"I am saying, do not touch the child who died of illness."
Katrina was in agony as if she were about to suffocate. It was filled with the genuine sorrow of a mother who had lost her only son. However, despite her screams, Etienne merely shuddered.
"This is exactly why I despise you. As if killing my entire family wasn't enough, you went so far as to kill your own son."
At his words, the color drained from Katrina's face.
“Stop talking nonsense!”
"They say even wild beasts don't bite their own cubs; you are amazing."
As Etienne mimicked clapping, a glint appeared in Katrina's eyes.
"No! No! Ludwig died of illness—"
She trailed off, her voice filled with malice.
"It seems your son was a devil, thankfully."
Etienne held out a crumpled piece of paper he had kept for a long time. A child's clumsy handwriting was written on it.
'Brother, don't eat what Mom gives you.'
Katrina let out a gasp as she recognized Ludwig's handwriting.
"Come to think of it, it was your son who saved me back then."
It was a note written by Ludwig after he learned of Katrina's plan to kill Edwin and Etienne using poison.
To save Edwin, who was about to go to bed after eating the cookies and milk Katrina gave him.
"Edwin did not resent you until the moment of his death."
He simply prayed earnestly for his brother to survive. Was it because his soul was too pure to hate anyone?
"It would be in your best interest to get out of Urcheka as soon as possible. I am not confident that I won't get blood on my hands the next time we meet."
Not killing Katrina immediately was intended to inflict greater pain upon her. He also wanted to prove that he had not forgotten his father's teachings.
"You ill-mannered brat!"
"Oh, I’ll give you this as a gift on your way out."
The letter that Etienne casually tossed out was the letter Ludwig left behind before he died.
"Ludwig-"
Katrina trembled as she touched the envelope.
'The son did not resemble her and had a gentle nature. Ludwig sincerely cherished and loved his new family.'
'If you want to accomplish great things in the future, you must not be bound by personal feelings.'
But I love my mother, father, and older brother very much.
Katrina offered him invaluable advice by his bedside every night, but it was of no use. The son had lost his smile ever since the entire bloodline of the Bernhard family died or went missing.
'Start by getting engaged to Miss Diana.'
Was it from the moment the arranged marriage was proposed for the sake of the family? The son, who had been in poor health, began to show symptoms of extreme anxiety.
'Mother, I don't want to get married.'
'What do you mean by that? You are the master of the Bernhard family...'
'Mother, Edwin comes to visit every night.'
Ludwig suffered from hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, and Katrina hurled venomous insults at her weak-willed son.
'I think it would be better not to have a son like you!'
That was Katrina's sincere feeling.
She was merciless against anything that stood in the way of gaining more wealth and power, even her own bloodline.
And the next day, the son was found dead in the bedroom.
She couldn't clearly remember if she cried or remained indifferent at the sight of Ludwig.
What was clear was that she had killed her son.
Katrina, whose lips had been trembling, straightened up.
'Now I understand.'
He was so skilled in swordsmanship and scholarship as a child that he could have surpassed the heir, but the adopted son who returned after a few years acted as if he were a completely different person.
It was all to deceive her.
"So, do you feel like you've taken revenge?"
"This is not revenge, but the natural order of things."
Katrina looked at Etienne, who was standing tall.
"That's right. It seems we're tied. I've also saved a big gift for the Duke, so..."
Etienne did not listen to Katrina's babbling as she was cornered.
Katrina burst into laughter as she looked at the wine that had spilled and stained the table red.
"Move the Grand Madam to another mansion and keep a close watch on her."
***
Leaving Katrina behind, who had been crying and laughing like a madwoman, he stepped outside to find the sun had already set. Etienne roughly ran his hand across his face and glanced around the garden.
“It’s been a long day.”
Unlike the garden, which remained unchanged, his life had changed drastically.
"...Ha."
As he let out a long sigh, someone wrapped their arms around Etienne's waist. He briefly wished that the hand holding him was Shioana, but Etienne knew immediately that it was not her.
"I wish you would take this filthy hand out of here right now."
"Your Excellency, why are you being so harsh on Diana? And why is Mother acting like that?"
She tightened her grip on his waist with the same hand and rubbed her lips against Etienne's back.
"Your Excellency, when are you going to get a divorce? It's so hard for me to wait."
Etienne grimaced as he shook off Diana's hand as she spouted nonsense. It felt as if insects were crawling where her hand and lips had touched.
"...Your Excellency?"
"When did I say I was getting a divorce?"
"Then are you saying you will keep a woman like that as the Duchess?"
He had just watched Katrina and Diana's crazy antics to ensure the trial proceeded smoothly, so it seemed clear that some misunderstanding had arisen.
"Listen carefully, Miss Diana. I have absolutely no intention of divorcing."
Diana, unable to believe the Duke's cold words, snapped back sharply.
"What is so great about that pathetic woman that you are acting like this? I can't accept this!"
Etienne Bernhard, the most handsome and wealthy man in the Empire, was the perfect man to suit Diana.
She couldn't give up like this even though he was married.
"If you don't get out of my sight right now, I might personally make you taste the whip."
As the Duke fiddled with the whip at his waist, Diana was engulfed in shock.
“What?”
She had been raised like a precious gem from birth. Neither her governess nor anyone else had ever physically punished Diana.
Moreover, it was not nobles like her who groaned under the whip, but only the lowly ones.
Diana turned her back, her face flushed with hurt pride.
"I will make you regret this for sure."
"...Gladly."
Etienne smiled faintly as he watched Diana disappear.
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