TBAH 03

Her and the Beast – Chapter : 03

Astina gazed silently at Kanna.

“You might not believe me, but I really do think so.”

It was true that she had said those things to tease Professor Octavia, but that did not mean her words had been entirely baseless.

Astina slowly recited the Empress’s full name.

“Martina Owen de Leta Caravella.”

“Hm?”

Kanna looked puzzled by the sudden appearance of such a long name.

Astina continued.

“Don’t you think there’s something strange about the Empress’s name?”

“……What is?”

“‘De’ was a name attached to the title of marquis in the Kingdom of Blanche. And Empress Martina was the first emperor of the Empire. Why didn’t she change her name and erase her past as a marquis? Especially since that title was bestowed upon her by the lord she betrayed.”

“That…… Well, that’s……”

Kanna stammered, unable to find an answer.

There was no reason. There was no need for a reason in the first place.

The Empress was Martina Owen de Leta Caravella. History books had referred to her by that name ever since she was still on the throne, a hundred years ago.

It was as obvious a fact as the sky being blue, flowers falling when it was cold, and snow melting when it was hot. Kanna had never once questioned it.

“……You’re right. Why did she?”

In the end, Kanna backed down. She had never once managed to win an argument against her younger sister.

Astina continued explaining in a matter-of-fact tone.

“She kept the middle name ‘de,’ which represented her marquis title, because Astina didn’t want to abandon the name Theodore had given her.”

“Astina?”

“Sorry, I meant Martina.”

Astina readily admitted her mistake. Kanna narrowed her eyes at her younger sister’s surprisingly well-founded confidence.

“How do you know Empress Martina’s feelings so well?”

“I know them very well. Probably better than anyone except the person herself.”

Astina smiled as she finished her sentence.

“I’m a genius, after all.”

With that, she opened the door.

Astina and Kanna shared a four-person suite. Unlike the dormitories used by commoners, where the sleeping and studying areas were combined in a single room, their accommodation consisted of a relatively spacious shared living room with four small bedrooms attached to it, each assigned to one person.

Although Astina and Kanna were in different grades, they had been assigned the same room because they were sisters.

Their other roommates were in the same grade as Kanna. The sisters were also quite close to them.

“Kanna!”

The moment Kanna and Astina entered, someone screamed.

It was Rachel, one of their roommates.

The sisters froze at the unexpected shriek, but Rachel hurried toward them with a deathly pale face.

She was holding a letter in her hand.

“What is that?”

Astina was the first to regain her composure and ask.

Rachel’s face twisted. In the end, she burst into tears.

When someone accidentally opened another person’s letter, the most proper aristocratic response was to pretend nothing had happened and seal it again.

But Rachel couldn’t do that this time. The horrifying contents of the letter had left her incapable of thinking rationally.

Kanna exchanged a bewildered glance with Astina. Astina gently took the letter from Rachel’s hand.

“Kanna, what are we going to do? Kanna……”

Rachel buried her face in both hands and began sobbing uncontrollably. Anxiety appeared on Kanna’s face.

Astina read the first few lines, then her expression hardened. She turned her back to Kanna so that her sister couldn’t see the contents.

It was clearly a letter addressed to Kanna. There was no reason for Astina to prevent her from reading it herself.

Kanna called out to her younger sister in an anxious voice.

“Why? What is it?”

“……”

“What is it, Astina? Rachel! What does it say? What on earth is written in that letter?”

The letter had come from Countess Lete, the mother of Astina and Kanna. It contained one piece of good news and two pieces of bad news.

The first piece of bad news was that the ship belonging to Count Lete, who was involved in the trading business, had sunk after being caught in a storm.

It had been an export shipment on which the survival of his business depended, and the Count had invested most of his fortune in that particular venture.

The Lete family was an old and prestigious noble house, but it was not particularly wealthy. One of the main reasons Astina and Kanna shared a four-person suite was that they didn’t want to burden their parents financially.

In the first place, the only reason the Lete family had been able to maintain such a grand mansion, far beyond what their means should have allowed, was Count Lete’s business acumen. Now, even that mansion was at risk of being taken away.

Unless the fortune that had sunk beneath the sea somehow returned, they would spend the rest of their lives paying off debts they could never hope to repay.

And then came the good news.

In an unbelievable stroke of luck, the Grand Ducal House of Atalanta, which had been doing business with the Lete family, had paid off all their debts.

Since Atalanta had purchased the worthless debt certificates, Count and Countess Lete were now safe from their creditors.

‘There is no way a Grand Ducal House would show such generosity without expecting something in return.’

Astina bit her lip. Her moment of relief was brief.

As expected, the letter soon turned back to bad news.

And this particular news was the cruelest misfortune of all that had befallen them.

“Kanna, apparently you have to…… marry the Grand Duke of Atalanta.”

At Rachel’s words, Kanna’s face turned as white as a sheet of paper.

The Grand Ducal House of Atalanta was a distinguished family that had served the Kingdom of Blanche since its very founding.

Even after Empress Martina established the Caravella Empire, they had remained in their position, declaring themselves loyal subjects of the Empress.

In other words, the Atalanta family had never been anything other than nobles.

There was even a joke that they had been a noble family since the very concept of social status first came into existence.

Their status was far too high for a marriage alliance with a small count’s family. They were one of the most prestigious noble houses in existence, with absolutely no reason to arrange a marriage that looked like the sale of a bride.

Under normal circumstances, even if the Lete family had offered them money, they would never have been able to establish a connection with such a family.

Under normal circumstances.

“The Grand Duke of Atalanta…… You mean the monster, Teriod?”

Kanna murmured almost to herself.

Her shoulders trembled slightly. Rachel’s mournful sobbing grew even louder.

The monster, Teriod.

It was an excessively informal way to refer to the head of the Atalanta family. However, once one learned the truth, it was difficult to find a more appropriate description.

Teriod van Atalanta was a monster. There was no one who hadn’t heard the rumors about the Grand Duke, who had snake-like eyes and wore animal fur.

If they had been nothing more than baseless stories, the Grand Ducal House would have expressed its displeasure at the scandalous rumors and tried to silence the people spreading them.

But they hadn’t.

There was truth behind those rumors.

No one knew exactly why or when Teriod, who had once been widely praised for his beautiful appearance, had become like that. That was because Teriod had secluded himself from the world when he turned twenty-five.

And a few months later, rumors began spreading throughout the Grand Duchy about a monstrous duke who tore people apart and killed them.

After several maids working at the Grand Duke’s residence met mysterious deaths, those rumors were practically accepted as fact.

It was said that their bodies had been torn to pieces so horribly that they were barely recognizable. The enormous compensation paid to their bereaved families made it clear that the head of the family had been responsible.

“Astina, give me that letter.”

Kanna had always been rather frail. Her gentle way of speaking and delicate wrists were the very image of a proper young lady.

Yet now, Kanna snatched the letter from Astina almost as if she were pushing her aside.

Of course, the contents wouldn’t change simply because a different person read them.

Countess Lete had written that the wedding was scheduled to take place in one week and that Kanna should return to the Count’s residence as soon as possible.

Kanna read the letter over and over again. As though engraving her mother’s words into her heart, she carefully absorbed every sentence. Before long, she seemed to regain her composure.

Eventually, Kanna managed to completely collect her emotions. Her fingertips were still trembling, but her expression was calm.

She spoke in a subdued voice.

“I have to go home.”

“Kanna, are you okay?”

Rachel, who had nothing to do with the matter, seemed even more distressed than Kanna herself.

Kanna didn’t answer. She simply entered her bedroom.

Astina stopped Rachel, who was about to follow her.

Astina slowly but firmly shook her head. Rachel, looking as though she might cry again, could only fidget helplessly.

Astina followed her older sister into the bedroom.

Kanna was absentmindedly packing her belongings into a suitcase.

As she carefully put away her favorite lace hat, she suddenly sank to the floor.

Kanna’s colorless lips moved.

“There is no need to take this with me.”

“Kanna.”

“Astina, would you like to have it?”

Kanna asked with a faint smile.

Her eyes were wet, so it hardly looked like a smile at all.

She was being told to marry a monster. To give birth to the child of a monster who tore people apart and killed them!

If that wasn’t the same as being told to die, then what was?

Kanna’s mouth opened as though she were about to scream. But she had been educated far too well to openly express her true feelings. Even after being told that she was to be offered as a human sacrifice, she couldn’t bring herself to utter even a proper curse.

Astina, who had been silently looking down at Kanna, strode into the room.

Then she dropped to her knees and sat facing her sister.

Under normal circumstances, Kanna would have scolded her for dirtying her skirt. But now, her only reaction was to let her eyes redden.

“You know I was only joking when I teased you earlier, right?”

“I know.”

“You may be a little strange, but I still love you.”

“I know that, too.”

Kanna reached out and pulled Astina into her arms.

Astina felt something wet against the back of her ear. But she pretended not to notice and gently stroked Kanna’s back.

Astina suddenly spoke.

“Don’t go, Kanna.”

Kanna shook her head. Like a refined young lady, she spoke of her duty as a noble.

“We have received so many blessings from the Lete family. Now it’s our turn to fulfill our obligations.”

Rather than trying to persuade her younger sister, it sounded more like she was saying those words to strengthen her own resolve.

The trembling of her fingertips was proof of that. Her hands were still shaking.

Kanna repeated her words as though making a promise to herself.

“Marriage is always like this for noble ladies.”

It was a pitiful deception, especially since there was no one who could be fooled by it.

And Astina had no intention of respecting her sister’s decision to accept death.

Astina coldly refuted her.

“That’s not true, Kanna. Not every noble lady has to prepare herself for death when she gets married.”

At Astina’s words, Kanna drew in a sharp breath. Her younger sister’s harsh words sent chills down her spine.

She pushed Astina away from her embrace. Kanna’s face was completely soaked with tears.

Until that very morning, she had been quietly happy, believing that she would remain so until she went to bed that night.

But this time, a letter from her family, which had always been a welcome sight, had plunged her into the depths of despair.

A loud voice burst from Kanna’s lips, something Astina had never heard from her before.

“Then what do you expect me to do? Run away just so I can live?! If our family collapses, even worse things could happen. And I wouldn’t be the only one to suffer then. It’s right for me to go. I have to go.”

“We can’t sell your life because of Father’s mistake.”

“So you’re saying we should abandon Father?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Do you even know what happens to fallen nobles?”

Kanna let out a hollow laugh. She thought Astina’s attempt to stop her was nothing more than an innocent remark from someone who knew nothing about the harsh realities of the world.

But Astina didn’t even blink. She answered in a sharp voice.

“I know.”

“What?”

“The men will fall ill from labor they’ve never had to endure before. And the women, unless they’re lucky enough to become someone’s mistress, will be forced into prostitution with anyone who comes along.”

“Astina!”

Kanna tried to stop her younger sister, her face pale and drawn. But Astina’s voice did not grow quieter.

Astina glared at Kanna and slowly rose to her feet.

“So what? There are already people living like that, one way or another. Whatever happens, is any of it more important than your life?”

The surroundings were completely silent. Only Astina’s agitated breathing could be heard.

Standing firm in her anger, Astina waited for her older sister’s answer.

Kanna closed her eyes sorrowfully. With a trembling breath, she replied.

“It is important.”

“……”

“No one can live after throwing away their honor.”

The tension drained from Astina’s shoulders. She murmured in a voice barely loud enough to be heard.

“That’s why I liked you.”

“What?”

Kanna asked again, unable to understand what her younger sister had said.

Astina rolled her eyes and looked at Kanna indifferently. There was something unreadable in her gaze.

For a moment, Kanna felt as though her younger sister had become a complete stranger. Without realizing it, she instinctively drew her shoulders inward.

“Let’s talk about this later, Kanna. Today…… it’s too late. We won’t be able to find a carriage now, either. Let’s wake up early tomorrow morning and continue this conversation.”

Astina sighed and rubbed her temples.

At her younger sister’s declaration of a temporary truce, Kanna finally backed down as well.

“All right. Let’s sleep together.”