Chapter 31

Ricardo told me a story that left me in awe, and you say it’s just nonsense? No, I can’t agree with that. Even Frida, who didn’t experience it firsthand, is boiling with anger. Just thinking about it makes me shudder. I can’t even imagine what the shock must have been like for the young boy, Daniel.

"Laura... Ah, you know? She was the daughter of Massimo, the leader of our mercenary group, and the lord’s mother."

"Yes, she was Ricardo’s first love, wasn’t she?"

"Haha, that’s right. It’s a bit embarrassing."

It’s said that Daniel’s mother had noticed from the beginning. She understood why the duchess, who was the empress dowager at the time, was paying special attention to Daniel.

"What kind of people are the Baichen? Those black-hearted individuals find it as easy as breathing to deceive a child."

The late duke, 'Bruno Rihart,' was a man with few desires, unlike his wife, Margret. He suffered from her ambitions throughout his life and never had a peaceful day until the day he died.

"Aristocratic men are all the same. They are so preoccupied with etiquette and customs that they ignore or neglect household matters. The duchess was manipulating the young Daniel with sweet words, and the duke couldn’t say a word. Laura was the only one who tried to protect Daniel, but she was always on edge."

At the age of ten, Daniel was sent to his maternal grandfather Massimo’s mercenary group due to his mother’s insistence.

"Laura thought it couldn’t go on any longer. She had heard that the duchess was brainwashing Daniel every day, telling him that if he wanted to be recognized as a member of the ducal family, he had to be prepared to sacrifice his life for Leopold, who would become the head of the family. Oh, what a cruel woman."

Margret had been planning to make Daniel a knight and place him at the forefront of a future coup to seize the throne. She intended to use him as a shield for her own son, Leopold. She was a truly terrifying woman. Eventually, Daniel’s mother, realizing that Daniel wouldn’t survive if things continued, took action. Laura, despite her tears and protests, pushed Daniel out of the ducal castle.

Young Daniel, who was only ten, blamed his mother deeply and longed for the duchy. Three years later, while wandering with the mercenary group, Daniel visited the duchy upon hearing that his father, Duke Rihart, was ill, and that’s when the incident occurred. It was an unusually cold winter. Everything started when Daniel handed a medicine bottle to Leopold, who was suffering from a cold.

"Mercenary groups, which travel for money, attract all sorts of people. There are many lowly individuals that the lady can’t even imagine. Someone must have told the lord about the echinacea potion, which reduces fever and coughs."

The kind empress dowager, who had been affectionate towards the illegitimate son, was finally unmasked by the cold medicine. When the duchess Margret learned that Daniel had given the echinacea potion to Leopold, whose cough had worsened, she flew into a rage. Ricardo wiped his forehead, saying that even now, the thought of it makes him break out in a cold sweat.

"Whew, there was no bigger chaos than that."

"Why? It was just a cough medicine."

Ricardo, who had paused for a moment, picked up a stone from among the tree roots and threw it far away. He seemed to be deep in thought before continuing to Frida.

"It’s a story known to very few, but the echinacea potion is said to have other effects besides being a cough medicine."

"Other effects?"

"Later, it turned out that... the potion was told to the lord by women who sold their bodies while following the mercenary group. They said that if you drink it consistently, it can cause infertility."

"My goodness."

When Margret learned that her son, the future duke and emperor, had been given an infertility potion, she didn’t sit idly by. She was convinced that Daniel had done it on purpose and threatened to kill him. The duke, who was bedridden, couldn’t help.

"Laura begged for forgiveness, saying that her young son didn’t know what he was doing, but Margret had no intention of showing mercy. She even had a gallows built to hang Daniel."

But the one who died at the gallows was Laura, not Daniel.

"To save her son, there was no other way but to offer her own life."

Ricardo fell silent after that. His face looked so desolate that Frida couldn’t ask for more details. She was curious about what happened next, but she decided to keep quiet. She had some idea, after all. Frida knew a few things about the incident, as it was a story known to everyone in the empire. Duke Rihart suffered from a long illness and eventually passed away. The year he died, the Rihart and Baichen families joined forces to seize the throne. The leader of the rebellion was the genius swordsman, Daniel Rihart. He must have been around nineteen at the time.

'So, in the end, everything went according to the empress dowager’s plan.'

Frida couldn’t ask how it all happened and got up to follow Ricardo. As he escorted her to the front of the castle, he hesitated and finally spoke.

"Later, the lord confessed that he knew what echinacea was. He did it out of jealousy. He wanted to live in the ducal castle too, but he couldn’t, so he was angry. He thought that if Leopold couldn’t have children, he might look for him..."

Ricardo’s voice was moist with emotion.

"He has been blaming himself all this time for his childish actions, which ultimately led to his mother’s death. But, my lady, the lord was only thirteen at the time. He probably didn’t understand what he was doing."

Frida nodded silently, agreeing with him. As her thoughts came to an end, a golden flame shot up from an oil lamp that had fallen on the passage floor. The blood-red eyes of the now twenty-eight-year-old man, no longer a thirteen-year-old boy, glared at Frida with a relentless intensity. The light from the lamp, which was about to burn out, briefly illuminated the area around them. Confronted with Daniel’s massive frame, Frida felt as if she were trapped in darkness. She searched for something to lean on, and the cold wall, surprisingly, provided a sense of support. Leaning against the wall, Frida had no time to relax as Daniel lowered his shoulder and stretched his arm over her head.

"It must be Ricardo. Dominic isn’t that stupid."

The coldness in Daniel’s voice was even more chilling than the wall at her back. Her instincts warned her that if she admitted he was right, it would be the end for Ricardo. Frida shook her head vigorously.

"No, no, absolutely not. I overheard it. I heard people talking as they passed by..."

She quickly added, fearing he would ask who it was.

"I don’t know who they were. I couldn’t see their faces. I only heard their voices. Just their voices."

Frida closed her eyes tightly and shook her head vigorously. She shook so hard that her head spun, and her legs went weak. In her panic, she ended up grabbing Daniel’s jacket.

"Oh!"

Steadfast as the thick trees rooted in Altas, he didn’t budge at all. When Frida, pulled by Daniel’s strength, bumped her head against his chest, he caught her by the shoulders.

"It’s best to keep your eyes closed."

"Huh? Oh!"

Daniel picked her up and started walking down the passage. Startled, Frida opened her eyes, only to be met with pitch-black darkness, so she quickly closed them again. The sound of the extinguished lamp rolling away after being kicked by his foot echoed. Her grip on his coat tightened.

"Sir Duke."

"If you want to get out of here as quickly as possible, keep quiet and behave."

He sounded incredibly angry, but it didn’t seem like he would leave her alone in the darkness. Frida, feeling relieved, rested her forehead on his chest. Despite his cold tone, his embrace was warm, and the darkness didn’t seem as terrifying. The problem was the dizziness that returned. Daniel walked so fast that it felt like riding a horse for the first time. His firm hold prevented her from being jolted too much, but his pace was too quick. It felt like flying in the sky, but if flying felt like this, she would rather not. Nausea washed over her, and Frida curled deeper into Daniel’s embrace. Fortunately, the sound of a door opening soon reached her ears. Wow, they arrived so quickly? It felt like they had come three times faster than last time. Sensing the light on her eyelids, Frida quickly covered her eyes with her hands. After the door slammed shut, Daniel set her down. Frida slowly removed her hands from her eyes. She saw her husband standing in the bright spring sunlight and breeze.

"Thank you, Sir Duke. And..."

His eyes were still red.

"About what I said earlier..."

"I don’t want to talk about it anymore."

Daniel cut her off with an unusually dry and stiff voice. His feet were already turning away from her.

"Since you know the way to 'Marian Hall,' make sure to return on time. I’ll be going now."

"But... Sir Duke!"

What? You’re leaving me alone? Clutching the hem of her dress, Frida quickly ran to block his path. Whether his eyes were red or not wasn’t the issue. How could he expect her to walk back through that dark passage alone? The lamp was broken, and she didn’t know the way back. Frida, who had blocked his path, didn’t realize she had forgotten Ricardo’s warning.

"When the lord’s eyes start to turn red, you must close your mouth and run."

Especially the part about closing your mouth.

"How can you expect me to walk back through the passage alone without a lamp?"

"If you wish, you can do so, but I meant for you to take the bright and wide path. By the way, it’s that way."

Daniel raised his left hand to point to the forest path. It was a route Frida knew.

'If I could have taken that path, why would I have asked for your help to go through that dark passage?'

Frustrated, Frida crossed her arms in a haughty manner, mimicking the duke’s usual gesture.

"Even though you know I didn’t ask for your help because I didn’t know the way..."

"I’ll make sure to tell Sir Rosivalt."

She sensed something was off when she felt the coldness in his voice. She had been distracted by the darkness and dizziness, but now she noticed his expression was even colder.

"Only I, as the lord, have the right to restrict the duchess’s actions within the castle. Don’t act rashly."

His tone was overly formal and polite, but it felt like ice shards were flying out of his mouth with each word.

"Disrespecting the duchess is a sign of disrespect to me, the lord. If he tries to restrict your actions again with talk of curfews, I will punish him severely."

"That’s a bit too harsh..."

"I’m warning you too."

His eyes were a scorching red, but strangely, Frida took a step back when she saw the chill in them.

"Don’t repeat the story you heard from Ricardo to anyone else, especially Sir Rosivalt."

"If you don’t want to see someone you care about die mysteriously."

His eyes were a vivid red, like flowing blood.

"If you don’t want to see that happen."

Daniel bowed to Frida with a terrifying politeness.

"Have a safe journey."

Frida couldn’t bear to look at her husband as he passed by her coldly. It was then that Ricardo’s warning came back to her.

"If you hesitate and meet his completely red eyes... you’ll experience hell."