Chapter 32

Duke Daniel Rehart was a lord who rarely showed himself within the castle, as if he were both present and absent at the same time. As he walked, exuding a cold aura, the servants gathered here and there whispered to each other. Daniel stopped and called out to one of them.

"Hey."

The servant, startled, bowed so deeply that his head nearly touched the ground.

"Yes, my lord."

"Where is Captain Molly?"

"Ah, she’s probably in the herb garden with the mercenaries. She’s always there at this time..."

Daniel turned toward the east of the castle, where the fields were, passing by the servant who was bowing repeatedly and muttering to himself. It wasn’t as if Ricardo’s loose talk was a recent thing. Daniel was more exasperated than angry.

"I overheard it. I heard what people were saying..."

His wife’s excuses were meaningless, not worth pondering. Among those who knew the details of what Ricardo had told his wife, only four were still alive, including Daniel. The only one the Empress Dowager knew about was Daniel. Why? Because the others had all died by her hand. Dominic and Ricardo were still alive because the Empress Dowager didn’t know they knew this secret. It was a story that absolutely could not, and should not, be spread by people’s mouths. Yet, he told it to Frieda? Who else was he planning to send to the afterlife? Ricardo, this man must be completely out of his mind.

"I don’t remember clearly, but Sister Rote said I was incredibly jealous."

Jealous? Yes, that’s right. He had been jealous in the most despicable way. Of Duke Leopold, the legitimate son with his golden hair and blue eyes, who looked like his father and had the strong backing of the Vaitzen family. The child he, an illegitimate son, could never call brother.

"When no one was looking, I would pinch him and make him cry... One day, I put salt in the milk Albert was drinking, and the child cried and screamed..."

If such childish pranks were possible, it might have been better if he had done them.

"Please, my lady. He’s just a child. A child who didn’t know what he was doing. Daniel didn’t know anything!"

No. His mother was wrong. She had been deceived by Daniel. He knew. Even at thirteen, he knew what he had given to Leopold and what would happen when Leopold ate it. He did it out of jealousy. Because he thought everything would be his if that child were gone. Even with his mother’s Milabo heritage, with her black hair and reddish-brown eyes, he considered himself different from people like Dominic. She had said so.

"Daniel, even though you are an illegitimate child, you are of the Rehart family’s bloodline. It’s important to improve your sword skills, but you must not neglect your studies or etiquette. Do you understand?"

Duchess Margret was always elegant and kind. Even though her husband, Duke Rehart, stayed in a separate wing with his mistress, she never showed any dislike toward Daniel, the illegitimate child. Her golden hair flowed like a river of gold, and her clear blue eyes, like the sky, looked at him with a gentle smile. She was an angel. Daniel believed this until he realized her smile was not genuine. Honestly, for a few years, he liked her more than his own mother. He even wished she were his real mother, especially when his mother, at the age of ten, told him to follow his maternal grandfather’s mercenary group.

"Why do I have to join the mercenary group with Uncle Ricardo? I’m different from Dominic. I’m the son of a noble. Duchess Margret said I shouldn’t neglect my studies like Leopold."

"Listen to me, Daniel. I’m not telling you to become a mercenary. I just want you to follow your grandfather and learn swordsmanship."

"No. I want to receive formal knight training as Duchess Margret promised."

"Your mother is me, not the duchess."

"I wish the duchess were my mother! Then I could be recognized as a legitimate son of the Rehart family, just like Leopold..."

Slap! That day, he received his first slap from his mother, and the next day, he packed his bags and left with Ricardo. It took three years before he set foot in the duchy again. During those years, wandering with the mercenary group, he thought the same thing over and over. I am not like the ignorant and barbaric Dominic and his gang. I am the son of Duke Rehart. I am... a noble. The strong sunlight made the air shimmer on the road. Suddenly, he felt suffocated. Daniel stopped and reached out to a nearby tree.

"Damn it."

After regaining his senses, the buried, wretched memories resurfaced.

"How dare a lowly bastard like you harm Leopold? A dirty Milabo bloodline blocking the path of my son, who will become the greatest in this empire? You piece of trash."

"My lady, Daniel is only thirteen. He didn’t know anything. He really didn’t."

"Thirteen is young, but old enough to take responsibility. Don’t you think so, Laura?"

"My lady, please forgive him just once. Have mercy. You cared for Daniel, didn’t you?"

The cold, blue eyes, terrifyingly calm, pierced Daniel’s throat like an invisible blade.

"Cared? Yes, I did. I thought he might be useful as a target for my son’s arrows. But if he’s going to be the arrow, the story changes, doesn’t it, Laura?"

Choked by the vivid memory, Daniel clutched his throat tightly.

"I have to break it before it pierces my son’s heart."

Only after banishing those eyes from his mind could he breathe again.

"Ha. Cough, cough."

***

Whenever he entered the duke’s secret vault, he would smile contentedly even before inserting the key, feeling full even without eating.

"Ha..."

But today, instead of a smile or a sense of fullness, sighs wouldn’t stop.

"You are very perceptive, my lord."

Just mentioning Albert, and he immediately knew what Ricardo had told him.

"That’s why everyone says Rehart, Rehart."

Muriel said that if it weren’t for Duke Rehart, even with the backing of the Vaitzen family, the current emperor wouldn’t have succeeded in the rebellion.

"No, how can such a brave man be called the ‘Mad Dog of Bolstark II’? Mad dog."

If I find out who gave him that nickname, I’ll kick their shins. Frieda’s hands, which usually handled gold coins gently, were unusually rough today.

"Even the Empress Dowager said, no matter how angry she was, to hang a thirteen-year-old? Oh, that’s scary. So scary, I can’t even live like this."

I heard the Vaitzen family was ruthless, but to that extent? I don’t know much about Ekinasia, but it’s unlikely that a single dose would have a fatal effect unless it’s a highly toxic poison. I’m not taking sides with my husband, but this is common sense, common sense. Or are all the alchemists making a fortune? Frieda, who was filling a sack with gold coins, sat on the floor, resting her chin on her hand, muttering.

"Still, Ekinasia had such an effect?"

I pride myself on knowing a lot about herbs, but I had never heard that Ekinasia could cause infertility. The world is full of things I don’t know. Lost in thought, the chilling words of her husband came back to her.

"I must warn you, Lady. Do not repeat what you heard from Ricardo to anyone else, especially Sir Rosivalt."

"Are you kidding? I’m the type who sinks to the bottom of a lake. My mouth is so tight. I haven’t even told Muriel about our kiss..."

Oh, I remembered again. Frieda, clutching the bag of money, lay flat on the floor. If the Harkbon family’s governess saw her, she would faint from shock at her lack of decorum.

"Ah, this is comfortable."

Looking up at the ceiling, she saw countless dust particles floating in the sunlight coming through a small window at the top of the tower. The dust disappeared when the clouds covered the window and reappeared when the sunlight shone through. No, they didn’t disappear; they were always there. It was just whether Frieda could see them or not. At night, when she couldn’t see well, she realized something. She should be happy that she can see them during the day. When her eyes eventually fail and she can no longer see the world, she will miss even the dust floating in the air. It’s easy to deny reality and be disheartened, but Frieda doesn’t have the luxury of time. At twenty, she has lived longer than most women born into the Harkbon family, so it wouldn’t be strange if something happened to her immediately. For her, today is a very precious and valuable day. If she wants something, she must do it now, today. It’s a luxury to daydream about her first kiss and feel sorry for her husband’s tragic past. A luxury.

"Alright."

Frieda stood up, took a deep breath, and stretched her arms toward the sky.

"Let’s go."

Just storing knowledge in her head is useless. She must take action to make it a reality.

"I can do this!"

Frieda, shouting to boost her morale, began to organize the tasks she needed to do.

"This fall, I’ll collect taxes based on the harvest. Before winter, I’ll clear the land for road construction. In the fall, I’ll plant bulbs in the eastern fields to sell to the Turk merchants at a high price next spring. Go, go!"

She continued muttering to herself as she dusted off her skirt and stepped outside.

"I’ll prepare for the second son of the black-striped beech house, Godric, to enter the medical school at the University of Celino next summer... Ah, I also decided to build a lumberyard outside the castle next spring."

She had a lot to do. As she turned to lock the door, Frieda was lost in thought, looking at the sunlit forest path and the secret passage hidden by the dense larch trees, pouting.

"Hmm... If I get sunburned, my face will turn red."

She didn’t have a hat with a brim, so she would have to face the sun with her bare face, which would immediately be noticed by Muriel. Frieda’s pale face shows sunburn easily. Even if she managed to sneak back into the castle, her face would be red, itchy, and blistered. It would be even worse in the summer, and she would be in trouble. She couldn’t go through the dark passage again either.

"Is there no other way?"

Frieda muttered quietly, leaning against the tree shade and closing her eyes for a moment. The clear sky, the white clouds floating above, and the shadows cast by the leaves swaying in the wind filled her darkened vision with a white light. Her eyes welled up with tears. The day she was given was too beautiful. And the thought of the unfortunate boy from long ago made her heart ache. She wanted to tell him, as they passed through the dark passage, that the Empress Dowager was too harsh, that she wasn’t acting like an adult. That he... was too young. That he had paid more than enough and shouldn’t suffer anymore. The words that slipped out of her pouting lips were, as always, unbecoming of a noble.

"Idiot, fool. I wanted to support you, but you didn’t even know it."

The gentle spring breeze caressed her cheek, as if comforting her.