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CHAPTER 05
“…What?”
“What did you say?”
“Send her to the North. If something happens, it’ll happen there. We just pretend we didn’t know she had Choma Disease.”
“…”
“No one will know whether she fell ill in the capital or in the North. This works out perfectly. The doctor who diagnosed Etisha is our family physician. As long as we shut his mouth, nothing will leak.”
Baron Heinz twisted his lips into a grin. His cold, ruthless eyes gleamed with cruelty.
“She doesn’t have much time left. We have to use that time to negotiate with the Wintel family and gain influence in the North… Don’t you agree?”
At that moment, Larienne shook her head vehemently in protest of her father’s words.
“No!”
“Larienne!”
“No! I said no! Tisha becoming a Wintel? I don’t want that! Etisha is a Heinz, isn’t she? Etisha Heinz. She’s mine! So why are you sending her off to the Wintels?!”
Larienne clung to Lady Dorothea’s skirt, crumpling the green dress without mercy.
“Mother, say something! What if she really ends up going to the North? I hate it! I absolutely hate it! Tisha is supposed to stay locked up in our mansion, in her room. She’s my toy to play with whenever I’m bored!”
“Lari…”
Lady Dorothea gently stroked Larienne’s back. Seeing her daughter cling so desperately made her feel pity. Dorothea had always taken her daughter’s side.
Trying to sway Baron Heinz, she spoke carefully.
“Dear, since Lari dislikes it so much, why don’t you reconsider?”
“No. How could we let go of such a good opportunity?”
“But wouldn’t it look bad if Etisha, the younger sister, marries before Larienne? What if it ends up affecting Lari’s future marriage prospects?”
“Hm. They’re only a year apart. We can start looking for a good match for Larienne now. If anything, using Wintel’s influence, we might find her an even better husband.”
Beside him, Larienne screamed, “I’m not getting married!” Dorothea tried to soothe her daughter while continuing to persuade her husband.
“And the dowry… If we’re marrying her into the Wintel Duchy, we’ll need to prepare a substantial dowry…”
“Hah… the dowry…”
The mention of a practical issue briefly shook Baron Heinz’s once resolute expression. A dowry was necessary for marrying off a daughter—especially into a ducal family like the Wintels. It would be a jaw-dropping amount.
“That’s right. The dowry… there’s that issue.”
He scratched his chin with his dry fingers, stroking his beard in thought. Then he suddenly muttered:
“I’ll need to speak to the Duke of Wintel about that matter.”
“Huh? What do you mean, dear?”
“Ahem. I have a plan in mind. I’ll take care of this. You and Larienne stay out of it.”
Baron Heinz’s decision was firm. He was already swelling with dreams of leeching off the Wintels using Etisha as leverage.
Cayenne Wintel. A grand duke so lofty, Heinz could never have dared even glance his way.
To become in-laws with such a family—what a golden opportunity for advancement.
‘I don’t know how Etisha managed to seduce the Duke of Wintel, but that’s not my concern. …Wait, could she be pregnant?’
Baron Heinz squinted and smiled slyly.
‘Even better. That child would be the future Duke of Wintel!’
Etisha’s child would be both the next Duke of Wintel and Heinz’s grandchild.
Considering Etisha had about a year left to live, she just might live long enough to give birth.
‘Hehe… I must meet with the Duke of Wintel immediately.’
Baron Heinz, more devil than man, burned with filthy ambition.
At that moment, a carriage rolled along the smooth main road. Emblazoned on it was the crest of a snow hawk with its wings spread wide.
Clatter. Clatter.
Inside sat a man and a woman—Duke Cayenne and Etisha—silently staring out the window.
“…”
Yesterday, they had never even brushed past each other. Now they shared a carriage, heading toward the same destination. Etisha found the situation surreal.
‘The idea that I’m going to Duke Cayenne’s villa… it’s still hard to believe.’
She glanced at Cayenne, who sat upright across from her. Perhaps seeing his face would make things feel more real. But his chiseled, almost inhuman beauty only made the moment seem more dreamlike.
‘He really is handsome…’
Etisha admired him silently.
Cayenne Wintel was undeniably a stunning man. Gossipmongers called him the second most handsome man in the Ignivan Empire. But Etisha disagreed.
‘Why second? Why not first?’
She had seen the so-called first—albeit from afar. But she was certain.
‘Duke Cayenne is far more handsome…’
Beyond his striking features, the aura of his black hair and black eyes was unmatched.
His flawless, obsidian-like presence radiated noble dignity.
‘It must be because the Emperor is considered first.’
The Emperor of Ignivan.
Etisha remembered his sunlit golden hair.
Cayenne and the Emperor had been close friends since childhood. Back when the Emperor was just a prince, he’d been raised in the North rather than the capital.
‘They even went to war together later.’
Their friendship was legendary, woven through countless famous stories.
‘I’d love to see the two of them standing side by side, just once.’
Etisha smiled faintly and turned her gaze to the window. The streets fluttered with colorful flags, celebrating the founding festival.
“Miss Etisha.”
Just then, Cayenne called to her softly.
‘Oh no, was I staring at him too obviously?’
She looked back at him cautiously.
“Yes, Your Grace?”
“Are you tolerant of the cold?”
“…Pardon?”
“The North is cold. You likely already know, but it’s not an ideal environment for someone unwell.”
“…Ah.”
Etisha struggled to mask her surprise, afraid her true feelings might show on her face.
‘Why is he asking that? Is he worried about me? But there’s no need for that, considering what our relationship is…’
She shook her head, her long hair rippling with the carriage’s motion.
“I don’t handle the cold very well, but I’ll conduct myself so that it won’t be a concern. I’ll make sure not to be a burden during the journey North.”
Cayenne blinked twice—he clearly hadn’t expected that response.
After a pause, he spoke again.
“Also, crops don’t grow well in the North. Fruits are particularly hard to come by. As for that—”
Etisha quickly interjected, shaking her head.
“Oh, that’s fine. Sweet fruits were always for my sister Lari, so I never ate them often anyway.”
Another silence.
Longer this time. Then Cayenne brought up yet another topic.
“Once you’re in the North, it will be difficult to see anyone from the capital again. If you have any friends you’d like to contact—”
Etisha was already shaking her head.
“Your Grace, I have no friends. If I so much as talked to someone my age, Lari would interfere or torment me. Even in high society, I was always excluded and gossiped about.”
“…”
Cayenne fell completely silent.
Etisha began to suspect he was far more thorough than she’d assumed.
‘He’s asking things I never expected… Surely, it’s not concern—maybe he’s just warning me so I don’t try to run away from the North later.’
A land cold and barren all year round. She had already accepted that the North was nothing like the capital.
‘I have no intention of fleeing, especially after a public engagement. Should I just tell him that so he won’t worry?’
She hesitated, but before she could speak, Cayenne beat her to it.
“Miss Etisha.”
“Yes?”
“May I ask you one last question? There’s something I must clarify.”
Clarify?
Etisha nodded.
“Of course. Please, go ahead.”
“…”
He stared at her face for a moment before asking in a voice that sounded strangely restrained:
“Do you wish to sever ties with the Heinz family… or do you wish for revenge—and an apology from them?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, faster than any answer she’d given before, Etisha opened her mouth.
“I…”
Before she could finish, the carriage jolted violently. It had hit a large rock or bump, causing her to pitch forward.
“Ah!”
She was going to fall.
Etisha shut her eyes tightly. The idea of making a fool of herself in front of the Duke embarrassed her more than the thought of injury.
“Pardon me.”
But at that moment, Cayenne caught her around the waist, steadying her. The carriage was still shaking, but in his arms, she felt astonishingly stable.
“Are you alright?”
“Ah, I… I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. This is the coachman’s fault, not yours.”
“…”
“I will hold him accountable once we reach the villa.”
His voice was icy—so cold and composed it was hard to believe it belonged to the man holding her so gently.
Etisha quickly shook her head.
“No, the road is rough. It’s not the coachman’s fault. There was probably a rock. There’s no need to punish him.”
Cayenne murmured lowly.
“You are merciful, Miss Etisha. But those who commit wrongs must be punished accordingly.”
“…”
Etisha had the strange feeling that Cayenne’s words about “wrong” and “punishment” were not directed at the coachman.
The one he meant…
“Do you wish to sever ties with the Heinz family… or do you wish for revenge—and an apology from them?”
Revenge.
And punishment.
