Chapter 22.

In the End, It Was All an Act

One of House Klaus’s major investments was in Chihen.

If Elmure were chosen as the hub city instead of Chihen, the finances of House Klaus would be thrown into turmoil.

A faint smile appeared on Essika’s lips as she gazed out the window.

Knowing the future is quite useful. It allows me to make plans.

Soon, her gaze settled on the drawer containing the Crown Prince’s emerald ring.

If there is one variable…

Even in Brigitte, an emerald that pure was a rare commodity.

With excellent craftsmanship and an exceptional gemstone, it was a ring valuable enough to inspire admiration.

Of course, to the Crown Prince, who was bringing back enormous amounts of spoils of war while reclaiming former territories through wars of conquest, it might not have been anything particularly special.

The Crown Prince himself…

Lesvan Deon Lucene, the Crown Prince.

A beautiful and powerful man with black hair and cold golden eyes.

He seemed to be interested in her.

The wasteland in Elmure that Essika had purchased would bring in dozens of times its original value.

That money would…

Be enough to buy House Klaus.

And it was absolutely necessary for her second plan to succeed.

But how would the Crown Prince view her if he discovered that Essika had purchased Elmure in advance?

Suddenly, Essika remembered something Lesvan had said.

“Everything in the Empire belongs to the Emperor. The House of Klaus is no exception.”

Still, she was skeptical that he would deliberately interfere with her plans.

Of course, she still did not know what he was truly thinking.

In any case, House Klaus was a useless faction to him—a supporter of the Second Prince.

Perhaps he would simply turn a blind eye.

“……”

Lesvan had a very striking appearance.

Cold and dignified, with slightly languid eyes, he possessed both an air of nobility and a wild charm.

Even in the novel, the Crown Prince was someone whose inner thoughts could not be understood. Only his actions had been described.

That is characteristic of masters, though.

The spirits of the past had been similar.

Masters tended to be vicious, brutal, sensitive, and impossible to read.

Essika did not know whether only such eccentric people became masters, or whether becoming a master eventually changed them into such people.

**

Meanwhile, Kallian, who was engrossed in handling his work in his office, suddenly looked toward the open door.

Yuri was approaching with tea and refreshments.

Her bright blonde hair was tied up, and her face looked somewhat pale beneath her maid’s uniform.

“Duke.”

After placing the tea and cookies down, Yuri spoke in her gentle voice.

“Please take a break while you work. I’m worried about your health.”

“I’m not sure…”

Kallian briefly closed the document he had been reading and looked at Yuri’s red eyes.

“I think I’m more worried about your health, considering you were the one who supposedly fell down the stairs.”

At Kallian’s teasing remark, Yuri’s red eyes trembled for a moment.

Soon, her face reddened slightly as she shook her head.

“I’m healthy, Duke.”

Then Yuri turned around.

As Kallian watched her walk toward the door, his eyebrow twitched.

“…Wait.”

Yuri stopped but did not turn around.

Therefore, she failed to notice the slight upward curve of the corner of her lips.

Kallian’s voice rang out.

“Why are you limping? It has been quite some time since you were injured…”

“I… I just fell.”

Yuri turned around hesitantly while avoiding Kallian’s gaze.

Kallian rose from his seat and walked toward Yuri with a hardened expression.

Then he lowered himself.

“…Duke.”

Looking up at Kallian from below, Yuri found his face so mesmerizing that she nearly lost herself in it.

Her face flushed, but she did not stop Kallian as he lifted her skirt.

Yuri already knew what he was going to see.

The wounds had healed, but they had definitely left scars.

Ugly scars that would make anyone flinch upon seeing them.

“…This…”

As expected, Kallian’s expression hardened.

Only after confirming Kallian’s reaction did Yuri take a step back from him.

Kallian straightened and asked her,

“What happened?”

“When I fell down the stairs…”

“Even a child could tell that these aren’t injuries from simply falling.”

Yuri deliberately avoided Kallian’s gaze and let her eyes tremble sadly.

Looking at Yuri like that, Kallian thought.

Who could have done this to her leg?

Someone would need an extraordinary amount of malice to beat another person this badly.

Yuri Anesis was a delicate, fragile woman like a flower.

Sometimes, she was so kind that it made him sigh…

“…Essika?”

Suddenly, Kallian spoke her name.

If there was anyone who might hold a grudge against Yuri, there was probably only one person.

Essika, who had once felt betrayed by the relationship between Yuri and Kallian…

Kallian’s heart began pounding.

Thump. Thump.

“Could it be that you finally became interested in me?”

Essika had spoken as though she had not the slightest interest in Kallian.

But if she still hated and envied Yuri…

Kallian’s eyes trembled as though he had realized something.

There was no woman who would beat someone this badly over a man she had absolutely no interest in.

“Yuri, tell me the truth!”

Yuri flinched when Kallian suddenly grabbed her shoulders.

His deep violet eyes were filled with an emotion that could not be distinguished as either excitement or anger.

Yuri thought that Kallian had fallen completely into her trap.

At first, she had not wanted to show him the horrible scars because she was afraid Kallian might recoil from them.

But now that he kept showing Essika strange kindness, separating the two of them had become more important to Yuri.

“I… I don’t want to hate Essika…”

Clear tears streamed down Yuri’s eyes.

They rolled down her cheeks, reached her chin, and fell to the floor one after another.

Her appearance instinctively awakened Kallian’s protective instincts.

Kallian reached out and pulled Yuri into his arms.

It was their first embrace in a long time.

Yuri’s trembling body was delicate and small.

“…There, there. It’s all right, Yuri.”

Kallian gently patted Yuri’s back as she rested in his arms.

He was kinder to Yuri now than he had ever been.

It was not simply because he pitied her.

Nor was it simply because he liked her.

Kallian’s eyes flashed.

Yes. It had all been an act from the beginning, Essika.

For a moment, he had been mistaken because of Essika’s sudden cold and indifferent attitude.

He had thought she no longer loved him.

Of course, considering everything that had happened, Essika must have felt wronged as well.

It was obvious that she had not actually been extravagant, yet there were clear signs that his mother had treated her excessively harshly under the guise of educating her.

But the Essika Klaus Kallian knew was not a woman whose love would fade so easily.

That attitude was all an attempt to get my attention.

As the pieces fell into place, a sense of triumph took over Kallian’s mind.

Yuri, still held in Kallian’s arms, was also smiling happily inside.

She had expected Kallian to become angry with Essika, but she had never expected him to pity her so deeply after believing Essika had beaten her.

Yuri closed her eyes and briefly indulged in a happy dream.

**

“Duchess… Something terrible has happened!”

Sella came running toward Essika, who was standing by the window and looking out at the garden.

She must have run with all her strength because she was breathing heavily.

With a pale face, Sella said,

“The maids have submitted their resignations as a group on behalf of the head maid.”

Essika already knew that rumors had spread throughout and beyond the estate that Head Maid Yuri Anesis had been severely abused by the Duchess.

“I… I couldn’t stand the Duchess’s… abuse…”

Sella had tried to interrupt and deny such absurd claims, but there was no way to overcome the words of so many people.

Perhaps all of them knew the truth.

The person who had caused Yuri’s legs to become like that was not Essika, but Riona.

For three years, Essika had actually been the one ignored and mistreated by the maids.

Therefore, this mass submission of resignations was simply a performance tacitly agreed upon by the people above them.

After all, wasn’t it ridiculous from the beginning?

How could mere maids dare to submit resignations, claiming they could no longer endure violence from the Duchess?

“And the Duchess Dowager is probably calming the maids down right now.”

At Essika’s words, Sella flinched and nodded.

Essika did not look the least bit surprised by this absurd situation.

Instead, her eyes were calm, as though she had expected something like this to happen.

“…Duchess.”

“Sella, what do you think?”

At Essika’s question, Sella immediately answered without hesitation.

“There’s nothing to think about. It’s completely absurd. The maids who submitted their resignations must think so too. They know very well that the person who abuses the maids isn’t you, Duchess, but the Duchess Dowager!”

Sella herself had once been one of the maids who served directly under the Duchess Dowager.

From a distance, the Duchess Dowager appeared perfectly dignified and elegant.

But those who served her closely knew the truth.

Slapping them was the bare minimum. Being kicked was commonplace.

Her moods changed as quickly as boiling porridge, and the mental stress was so severe that it was almost impossible to endure.

Of course, the maids directly under the Duchess Dowager received higher monthly wages than the other maids.

But it was only after being cast aside by her that Sella felt she could finally breathe a little.

“Then why do you think the Duchess Dowager planned this ridiculous situation?”

At Essika’s question, Sella flinched again.

“…Duchess…”

Seeing Sella’s expression, which was filled with anger toward the Duchess Dowager, Essika smiled faintly and looked out the window again.

As expected, the Klaus estate was not a peaceful place.

And a spirit of the past was accustomed to environments that were far from peaceful.

In fact, she was stronger in such environments.

“It’s to make me kneel.”

Essika’s lips moved slightly.

How dare they.

“The problem is that I can see through their intentions perfectly.”