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Chapter 32
‘No, s-surprised.’
After Edmund left, I had to struggle to calm my pounding heart.
It wasn’t just what Edmund had said a moment ago—it was his attitude, which had been completely unexpected.
“Don’t put yourself in danger. Ever.”
As he said that, Edmund’s voice was low and subdued.
A mature voice that didn’t suit a boy like Edmund, who hadn’t even gone through puberty yet.
For some reason, my heart felt unsettled.
I tried to think lightly and cheerfully.
‘This is a good thing! He’s finally started worrying about me, hasn’t he?’
All the hardship up until now had finally paid off.
Yes. Thanks to suffering this much, I could at least receive concern now.
I deliberately ignored my heart, which was beating on its own.
But even after lying in bed, staring at the ceiling with my eyes wide open, I couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.
I’d stayed awake for three straight days stopping the assassination, so it wouldn’t have been strange to sleep more.
The nanny beside me tilted her head, looking puzzled.
“The doctor said you’d fall asleep if you took the medicine…”
“T-That! I guess I was just really shocked!”
That’s right. I nearly died, and I saw someone—an assassin, but still a person—die right in front of me.
I was just startled, that’s all.
The reason my heart felt like it was racing had to be because of that.
Castal, the former capital of the Kingdom of Paltz.
At the center of the city stood the Duke of Cohen’s estate.
The duchess was enjoying tea with her guests, maintaining an elegant demeanor.
“The aroma of the tea is wonderful.”
“Indeed. I’ve never smelled such a deep fragrance before.”
At the obvious flattery around her, the duchess smiled gently.
“It’s a gift bestowed by the Zenobia Imperial Family this time.”
As if they had been waiting for it, praise poured out once again.
“I heard marriage talks are underway—no wonder.”
“At this rate, won’t the Duke himself end up taking the position of Governor-General of Paltz?”
“That would make sense. From the Zenobia Imperial Family’s perspective, the Duke is their greatest contributor!”
When Zenobia conquered and annexed the Kingdom of Paltz, it was the nobles led by the current Duke of Cohen who took the forefront.
Most of the nobles gathered here were pro-Zenobia, or at the very least neutral.
‘There are even rumors that not only the current duke, but the Zenobia Imperial Family itself was behind the death of the former Duke and Duchess of Cohen.’
‘That would mean Zenobia had already joined hands with the duke even before the invasion.’
Indeed, right after the former Duke and Duchess of Cohen died, the royal palace of Paltz was attacked and the royal family was slaughtered.
The Duke of Lamberto’s family, guardians of the kingdom’s northern border, also lost their heir.
The current duke was unable to intervene, as he was defending the borders from barbarian invasions.
That led to the present situation.
Across the continent, it was widely believed that within ten years, the Kingdom of Paltz would be completely absorbed into the Zenobia Empire.
The duchess smiled faintly amid the flattery.
‘This truly is our world now.’
If her only son inherited the title of Duke of Cohen and married into the Zenobia imperial family, becoming part of the imperial household.
And that moment was now right around the corner.
Just then—
The door to the reception room burst open, and a tall, middle-aged man strode in.
Those who were about to bristle at the rude intrusion quickly brightened with delight.
“Oh my, Duke!”
“To see you like this—it’s an honor!”
“For you to come personally to the ladies’ tea time… Just as the rumors say, you and the duchess must be so close.”
Everyone busily flattered him, but it was already well known in high society that the duke kept several mistresses.
The fact that the person most startled by his appearance was the duchess herself proved that.
‘What is this? Why is he suddenly doing something he never does?’
Even so, the duchess concealed her agitation as much as possible.
“Welcome, dear. You’re embarrassing me.”
“…Let’s talk alone for a moment.”
The duke’s expression and voice had hardened.
Sensing the ominous atmosphere, the noblewomen quickly excused themselves.
Once they were finally alone, the duke roared.
“Didn’t I tell you not to interfere in matters concerning the villa?!”
“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The duchess feigned ignorance, but the duke didn’t fall for it.
“You mean to tell me you don’t know that the assassins bribed by that idiot Count Kellang dared to break into my villa?”
Count Kellang was the duchess’s younger brother.
The duke had already grasped the entire situation and had come to confront her.
“Because of that, Edmund nearly died, and even the girl I assigned as his guard was injured.”
He knew the outcome of the incident before the duchess—the one who had ordered it—did.
The duchess was horrified.
‘What? How did he find out before me?’
The duke exploded in rage and overturned the tea table that hadn’t yet been cleared.
Crash! Smash!
Fine porcelain and glass shattered, and tea splashed onto the hem of the duchess’s expensive dress.
At his behavior, shock quickly turned into anger.
“Do you know why I did it?! That child is still alive, and because of that, our son still can’t officially become the young duke!”
“Haven’t I warned you several times already? You must not kill Edmund yet!”
At that, sparks flew in the duchess’s eyes.
“Why? Because he’s a nephew who looks just like your first love?”
“Nonsense!”
The duchess knew.
She knew that the current duke had deeply loved his sister-in-law, the former duchess.
She also knew that because of that, he had hated his older brother.
The duke dismissed her words as baseless speculation, but he still offered no real explanation.
“There’s something I still need to find out from Edmund!”
“What on earth is it?!”
“You don’t need to know!”
“Dear—!”
The duke clicked his tongue, looking at his wife with contempt.
“This kind of behavior is exactly why I can’t trust you.”
“…!”
“Remember this. If Edmund dies now, even the Zenobia Imperial Family will turn their backs on us.”
That was something she had never heard before.
The duchess’s expression stiffened.
‘Whatever it is he needs to learn from Edmund—does it matter that much to the Zenobia Imperial Family?’
If that were true, then the situation changed completely.
The duchess bit her lip.
When his wife finally fell silent, the duke let out a sigh.
“To think the only thing even slightly useful is a single disposable little girl brought in as a pawn. Tsk.”
His wife and his only son were doing nothing but causing trouble.
In contrast, the only one who understood exactly what he wanted—who moved proactively, scratching the precise itch and reporting in detail—was Cassia.
‘Even the strict head butler praised that child. That’s unprecedented.’
If she performed well in securing the family seal, it might be worth keeping her alive and using her instead of killing her.
Just as the argument ended and the servants quietly entered to clean up—
The duke issued a cold command.
“Send the head maid to the dungeon for three days.”
“W-What?! My lord!”
Amid the collective shock, the duke spoke icily.
“I told you not to handle anything related to the villa without my orders. Didn’t she recklessly go there on her own?”
“My—My lord! I merely followed the duchess’s orders!”
Everyone knew this punishment was a warning aimed at the duchess.
Everyone also knew that Lady Lilipen’s only crime was faithfully obeying the duchess’s command.
“M-Madam! Please speak to the duke! I only followed your orders—!”
But the duchess turned her head away.
“I know nothing about it.”
“Madam!!!”
Lady Lilipen was dragged away just like that.
For the duchess, it was an unbearable humiliation.
After her husband left with a cold expression, she gripped her skirt so tightly her hands trembled, nearly tearing the fabric.
‘How dare you treat me like this?’
She still couldn’t fully trust her husband.
Because she knew better than anyone that he felt little affection for either her or their son.
‘This won’t do. If I don’t do something myself…!’
Flames blazed in the duchess’s eyes.
“…Ed?”
“……”
“…Edmund?!”
Edmund was staring blankly at the girl standing before him.
As if everything around him had been erased, only her face was magnified, filling his vision.
Because of that, he realized only belatedly that she was calling his name.
“Edmund!!!”
“H-Huh. Ah. Yeah? What is it?”
Cassia immediately flared up.
“What on earth are you thinking about? Why aren’t you answering when I call you?!”
“Well… that is… I was thinking about the duke…”
He couldn’t possibly say that he’d been zoning out because he was staring at Cassia’s face.
Cassia frowned deeply.
“With such a stupid look on your face?”
“…Did I really look that stupid?”
The answer came from the side.
“Yes. Even I was startled by how foolish you looked.”
Edmund grimaced.
Standing there with a shameless expression was Willes.
That’s right.
After stubbornly insisting and clinging on, Willes had succeeded in inserting himself into the lesson meant for just the two of them!
He was gazing at Cassia with eyes that sparkled like stars.
And Edmund found that expression extremely—extremely—unpleasant.
Then—
Willes took a step forward and asked Cassia,
“Little Madam! Have you ever thought about the future?”
“Huh? The future?”
“Would you care to plan a future with me?!”
Edmund couldn’t take it anymore and shot up from his chair.
Bang!
The chair was flung backward with a loud crash.
