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Chapter 16
“I have two daughters.”
“Is that so?”
One year ago, at a banquet hosted by the imperial family.
The two men were seated in the special VIP viewing section, where one could see the entire hall at a glance, each holding a glass of wine.
Russell surveyed the banquet hall with a look of disinterest. He wasn’t particularly fond of such gatherings.
He could dance adequately and had a decent way with words, but he was disgusted by the masks everyone wore beneath their thin façades. Just being around them twisted his mood.
And so, he found himself in this situation.
“I heard His Majesty is quite interested in your marriage. And yet your reaction is so lukewarm… have you truly lost all sense of manhood?”
“Think as you will.”
Russell genuinely didn’t care what the Duke thought. He had no interest in such a tedious gathering arranged by the emperor.
He wanted this conversation over quickly.
Russell narrowed his sharp eyes and addressed the Duke.
“Duke Calidus. I assume you didn’t insist on meeting me just to boast about your daughter… perhaps it’s best to get straight to the point.”
Knowing this meeting was arranged by the emperor, he wanted the Duke to lay it out before causing any trouble.
Duke Calidus didn’t answer immediately, instead smiling slyly. The gold dental caps on his canines glinted in the light.
He casually brushed back his hair as he spoke.
“You’re impatient. Best not to flaunt your temper in a cold northern region.”
“Mind your own business.”
Calidus laughed, downing his wine in one gulp. Russell quietly gave him a sidelong glance.
The deep wrinkles etched into the Duke’s face showed that even someone of high status could not escape the passage of time.
Yet his attire was elaborately decorated, as if to mask his age, and the scent on his white hair suggested camellia oil had been applied and styled neatly.
“Duke, I like competent people. Even if it’s just a servant working over there, if they’re capable, I don’t mind.”
Russell clicked his tongue at the triviality of the conversation.
According to information previously gathered and delivered by Frater, Duke Calidus had two women in his life.
One was a woman tied to the family for political alliance, the other a dancer from a theatrical troupe.
Despite the arranged marriage, the first woman bore him no heirs.
Meanwhile, he had a relationship with the troupe dancer and had a daughter. Later, the second daughter was born—one who, as a problem in society, had never been seen in social circles.
‘I heard her face is horribly disfigured, and her temperament monstrous…’
Whether true or not, it was pitiful. Russell felt a pang of sympathy.
“My daughter is excellent. Rena is ambitious, but beautiful and well-versed in etiquette.”
She could have married quickly if her standards weren’t so high.
Ignoring Calidus’s additional remarks, Russell scanned the hall to find the Duke’s second daughter. If such a girl were present, she would surely draw attention—but she was not, leading him to conclude she was absent.
‘Why am I even bothering?’
It didn’t matter what the Duke’s daughters did.
Russell downed his glass of red wine in one go. Calidus, reading Russell’s thoughts, quickly spoke again.
“The second daughter is blind.”
Russell paused mid-motion. Showing emotional reaction in front of this serpentine old man… he quickly composed himself and replied.
“Is that so? What a pitiable tale.”
“She does nothing but eat her fill, yet her face is rather fair.”
Was he suggesting he should take her?
Russell sipped the wine that barely affected him and thought about the House of Lucianos.
The Lucianos were founding nobles of the empire. Though time had faded the accomplishments of their ancestors, the family remained influential.
No matter how disagreeable, the Lucianos could not be treated as enemies. Frowning, Russell replied without hesitation.
“I’ll refuse. The woman isn’t urgent.”
“Not to take her as a woman.”
Calidus’s eyes glimmered—serpentine, calculating.
“I mean to have you take her as a plaything.”
“And if I discard her afterward?”
The Duke regarded him strangely, as if puzzled by such concern.
“She was flawed from the start. If she can’t even serve that role, she returns to the trash heap she came from.”
Russell disliked it.
He disliked someone calling a person “flawed,” yet this man was Duke Lucianos, a pillar of the empire.
‘Any misstep here, and all eyes would be on me.’
Russell diverted his gaze, remaining silent. Calidus’s eyes glinted like a snake’s.
“Surely someone like you wouldn’t care… or would you?”
“I don’t see any point in answering further.”
That old man…
To think he would worry about something like that, when he once executed an ex-fiancée.
Turning to leave, Russell heard Calidus’s voice behind him.
“My daughter will please you… hoho.”
Russell didn’t look back and continued walking.
Russell stepped out of the room and washed his face. Through the corridor window, the first light of dawn peeked over the mountains. He had spent the night watching over Fiana.
Her request had been unexpected, yet not impossible to fulfill.
‘Honestly, I wonder why she even asked for this.’
Fiana’s simple wish revealed much about the life she had lived.
Russell trudged forward. Frater, waiting outside, quickly caught up.
“How did it go?”
“All right. I treated her promptly.”
Russell’s fatigue showed despite his attempt to hide it. Being with Frater, someone familiar since long ago, allowed him to release emotions he usually restrained.
“Fiana… isn’t someone to be underestimated.”
One year later, when attempting to fill the Grand Duchess position, Duke Calidus recited things he had not mentioned before:
‘The daughter is an imbecile.’
‘She cannot even read; her only activity is idling in the mansion or eating.’
‘Perfect as a puppet Grand Duchess.’
Pfft.
Russell arrived at his office with Frater, giving a wry smile as he loosened the black tie around his neck.
Frater stood across the desk, hands behind his back, back straight.
Russell loosened his tie when troubled, a habit Frater knew well.
After a lengthy silence, Frater spoke first.
“I hear she went there by herself.”
A vein pulsed on Russell’s forehead. That place was his sanctuary.
Even Frater was prohibited from entering. A brief silence fell. Russell broke it.
“Did she use a swordstick?”
“No. Upon investigation, there’s no trace of its use.”
Russell chuckled softly, sinking deeper into his chair.
“Of course. I had made the entire forest magic-proof.”
Fiana would not have known, but the forest had plants that nullified magic.
‘Without magic, she must have intended to use the stick’s stored power.’
Russell rested his chin on the armrest, twisting a smile.
“She reached there alone, without map or guide…”
Though exhausted from watching her all night, he could not stop thinking. He lifted his head after a long pause.
“Frater. Do you believe her?”
“Half of it, yes.”
“Why?”
Frater, back straight, replied calmly.
“Had she used the stick, perhaps. But I don’t think she could have reached there by mere chance. She’s hiding something.”
“What’s the probability that her secret poses a threat to me?”
Frater paused mid-answer, then spoke again.
“That is…”
“No. I asked unnecessarily.”
He was one of the empire’s strongest mages, recognized by the emperor, able to become a royal bastard and gain the North through talent and magic.
The chance Fiana Lucianos posed a threat to Russell Glacies was nearly zero.
Russell concluded on his own and spoke to Frater.
“Investigate the Lucianos family. Focus on those who once took care of Fiana but left.”
“Yes, sir.”
After Frater left, Russell remained alone, staring through the window at the snowstorm outside.
“A puppet Grand Duchess, huh…”
