Chapter 4

Daniel’s purple eyes, which had grown larger when he was questioned about whether he knew nothing, wavered in confusion. They were truly dispiritingly innocent eyes, ignorant of the fact that it was not Daniel but himself who had been tricked into a sham marriage. The problem with the daughters of the Harkbone family that she mentioned. I’m not sure if it can be called a problem, but I have heard of it. However, compared to the issues of the Reicht family, the greatest troublemakers of the wretched Svergen Empire, it is nothing more than a speck of dust. Four years ago in winter, the Duke of Nottingen, who had the support of the northern forces of the empire, launched a rebellion. The tiresome struggle for the imperial throne, which had seemed to quiet down, began again. At that time, and before that, Daniel had to travel all over the Svergen Empire, where provocations never ceased. Three hundred years ago, the first emperor, Karl I, who founded the Svergen Empire on the continent of Rochman, had eighteen heirs from ten wives. The first emperor used his children to expand his territory and power. It is said that this was the time when the blue flag of Svergen, with its white Nordic cross, waved the most throughout the history of the empire. After Karl I died, the next throne passed to his eldest son, Volstak I, who had twelve children from six wives. Volstak I bestowed twelve titles and the rank of duke on his children, personally naming each of them. They are the ancestors of the families known as the "Twelve Dukes" by later generations. Volstak I made a somewhat absurd announcement that would later plunge the empire into chaos: "The next throne will be inherited by the wisest and most outstanding male child among the twelve, regardless of birth order." Although it is not recorded in the royal history, it is commonly believed that this was due to the pleading of his fourth wife, Milina, who wanted her eldest son, the Duke of Bello, to succeed the throne. However, the throne passed to the seventh son, the Duke of Oldenburg, and then to the tenth son, the Duke of Roschilt, after two years, and to the ninth son, Rechner, the following year. Within ten years of Volstak I's death, four families had held the throne, but all were embroiled in power struggles and their lineages were cut off. The Bello family was the first to be eradicated and disappeared from history. Damn old men of Svergen. Why did they have so many children and make things so complicated? After that, the Heidel family, who were the masters of the land that is now the western part of the Altas, which has become the Lingen Empire, and many others followed the path to extinction. In the end, the great Twelve Dukes are now only five. No, with the Duke of Nottingen killed by Daniel, there are now only four: Reicht, Baichen, Leningen, and von Heim. This tiresome struggle might continue until only the Reicht family, the current emperor's family, and the Baichen family, the empress dowager's family, remain. So, no one knows when or where Daniel might die. Frieda had married into this wretched household, not by her own will but because the empress dowager pushed her. And to call it a sham marriage? If anyone was tricked, it was the woman who became his wife because he could not produce an heir. "Who would look kindly on a wife who might not even be able to bear a child?" Daniel only understood why the empress dowager had pushed for this marriage when he overheard the words of the Countess Harkbone on the wedding day. It seemed strange that she had dragged him out of the war. When he heard the news that the son of the Duke of Nottingen, who had fled, had been found, he left the wedding hall without even looking at the bride's face. In fact, he did not want to see her, the pitiful woman who had been forced into his twisted life. After staring out the window for a moment, Daniel's eyes returned to Frieda. She looked anxious, as if she didn't know where to start with all the things she wanted to say. He couldn't understand how her emotions were so clearly displayed on her face. Hadn't her parents taught her that to survive, one must not easily reveal one's true feelings? She was too delicate to remain by his side, given her past and the uncertain future ahead. After defining his new wife, whom he had just met today, he felt a sudden wave of fatigue. Daniel clenched and unclenched his fist, trying to regain his senses. "Let's end the conversation here. As you know, I need to rest." "Ah!" Frieda, who had let out a cry, quickly ran over and grabbed Daniel's arm, who was already sitting down. She then supported him, confused by her own actions, and pushed him toward the bed. "I forgot because you looked so well. Your Grace is a patient. Your body is not yet normal. Lie down in bed quickly. If you feel tired, lean on me." Who leans on whom, if you give just a little push, you might end up on the floor. Sure enough, when Daniel pulled his arm away, Frieda's body wobbled helplessly. Daniel, who had grabbed her shaking shoulder indifferently, climbed onto the bed. However... The room was covered in floral patterns, from the bed to the curtains, it was a colorful flower field. If he hadn't known, he might not have noticed, but no matter how heavy his body felt, he couldn't bear to stay in this room. Daniel sighed and, instead of lying down, sat on the bed, covering his forehead. "Would you call the servants and have them prepare a room for me to stay in? You can use this room if you like it." I don't know how this room became like this, but I don't even want to ask. "Ha..." The curse he had learned from Ricardo almost slipped out, but only a deep sigh escaped his lips. "I..." Daniel, who heard the hesitant voice, lifted his head, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. What was she going to say now? Her hands, which were fidgeting with her skirt, were busy and agitated. Daniel lowered his hand, which had been covering his forehead, and folded his arms. "Can't you call the servants first and then tell me what you want to say? I'm a bit tired." "Well... Currently, there is no separate room for Your Grace to stay in at the von Heim castle." "..." Daniel, who had no words to respond, recalled the structure of the von Heim castle. As far as he knew, there were plenty of empty rooms, so what was she talking about? After fidgeting for a while, her hands gripped the hem of her sky-blue dress, which tightly wrapped her from neck to toe, creating wrinkles. A voice so thin it seemed to be sucked back in rather than coming out of her mouth escaped through her thin lips. "I, I sold them all." "You mean the rooms?" "No, no." The shaking of her head was so frantic that he was worried it might break her thin neck. "The furniture. I needed money to hire people to create farmland. So now, in the von Heim castle, this is the only bed suitable for Your Grace to sleep in." Her thin fingers pointed to the bed where Daniel was sitting. Daniel, who rarely panicked, was quite surprised this time. Sell the furniture? Create farmland? What is this all about? Moreover, this is the only bed left in such a large castle? With two people and only one bed, where did the other person sleep? "Then where did you sleep all this time..." His white eyebrows fluttered like a sparrow's wings. What, what is this reaction? Could it be...? An impossible answer flashed in his mind. "I slept next to Your Grace." "Ha!" A deep sigh burst out when he heard the answer he had suspected. Daniel almost cursed in front of the woman, forgetting the strict education his mother had given him to avoid the savage Milabo. *** Fortunately, Daniel's office had survived, even though all the furniture in the castle had been sold. After experiencing such a shocking event, the muscles that had been stiff for three years were almost completely relaxed. Daniel slumped into his office chair, covering his forehead with one hand. The Mollis, who had been called away from their dinner, stood side by side in front of him, casting a wide shadow. "Speak." At Daniel's short command, Dominic scratched his chin. "Where should I start? With the spear that flew at me, which I deflected, causing me to lose my balance and hit the ground headfirst? Or with me cradling Your Grace's bleeding head and sobbing..." "Do you really want me to make you sob, Dominic?" Ricardo, who heard the chillingly cold voice, chuckled and smacked his son's head. "What did I say? I said Your Grace would recover in less than half a day, didn't I? Who else could it be? He's different from those flashy Svergen nobles." Dominic, who had been hit unexpectedly, glared at his father. "What are you talking about, Father? You were calling me a weak human, not even as strong as the duchess, until yesterday." "That was because I felt sorry for the duchess, who was suffering alone. You felt the same, didn't you? You said we should find a sturdy man and send her off to marriage." Bang! Instead of his left hand, which was still covering his forehead, Daniel's right fist hit the table. Without changing his perfectly straight posture, Daniel spat out a short command. "Speak." And he added in the familiar, murderous tone that the Mollis had heard and experienced. "Before I silence your noisy mouths forever." The two were not at all intimidated by Daniel's harsh warning. Ricardo, who had reined in his laughter, nudged his son's shoulder as if to say, "Go ahead and speak." Dominic, clearing his throat, began without further delay. "Your Grace was treated at the Harkbone family for a month while unconscious. The doctor there said there was nothing more he could do. Since we couldn't keep leaving the territory, we decided to bring Your Grace back, and the duchess willingly came with us." Ricardo, recalling the moment, closed his eyes and added, "She is a truly brave woman. She didn't complain once about the difficult and dangerous journey to the territory. Honestly, if she had decided to stay at the Harkbone family, no one would have said anything, but she chose to endure the hardship." As soon as Ricardo finished, Dominic chimed in. "The real hardship began after we arrived at the territory. It's called a duchy and a duchy castle, but are there even proper rooms or tax-paying citizens? It's just a mercenary camp, a camp." "I was so worried about how a frail woman would fare in such a harsh place." The father and son, once they started, continued to chatter about the past three years. More than half of it was praise for the duchess. The duchess, they said, started a large-scale logging operation to provide land for the citizens to settle. To hire workers, she sold everything that could be sold. Currently, the number of citizens in the duchy is about five times what it was when Daniel was first granted the duchy. Taxes have been collected since last year's harvest. "We started planting herbs on the land we cultivated last year. They sell for a good price." "Our duchess knows everything. A merchant from Baumeier tried to show off and nitpick, but he ended up paying without a word." "Ricardo Mollis." Ricardo, startled by the chilling voice that called his name and surname, quickly turned to Daniel. Remembering that his lord called him by his full name when he was in a very bad mood, he subtly pulled his shoulders back. "What did you say to me?" "What, what did I say?" As expected, his perfectly red eyes fell on him. "You said, 'A woman who won't live long, if you don't want to hold a funeral at the same time as the wedding, don't touch her, did you or didn't you?'"