Chapter 42.

Kallian’s Change of Heart

Ever since Essika had chosen dresses with Riona, the atmosphere among the maids had changed even more.

The maids who had openly gossiped about her behind her back or sneered at her and ignored her gradually began to keep their mouths shut.

Now, whenever they saw Essika, they instinctively lowered their heads.

It was obvious that they were all afraid of Essika.

Her influence within the household was growing.

Sella was delighted by the maids’ reactions.

“Head Maid Yuri. Do you think she’ll come back?”

Sella, who was walking behind Essika, asked.

“Yes. She’ll come back.”

“Do you really think so? After getting caught defrauding the Brigitte family, how could she possibly show her face here again……?”

“If she had any shame, she wouldn’t have thrown herself into the arms of a married man in the first place.”

“What?”

Sella looked at Essika with a puzzled expression, completely unaware of what she meant.

Essika continued walking with a faint smile on her lips.

She was aware of most things happening within the household.

Such as the night Yuri had failed to leave Kallian’s room.

“It’s not always necessary for two palms to strike each other for there to be a sound…….”

Essika’s lips moved coldly.

“……But Yuri shouldn’t be the only one to blame. Everyone in House Klaus is abnormal.”

A voice filled with scorn slipped through her twisted lips.

Sella sometimes couldn’t understand what Essika was saying.

But later, when events unfolded, she would finally realize what Essika had meant.

Meanwhile, as Essika walked through the corridor, she encountered Kallian, who stopped in his tracks.

Marquis Gaven of House Fellophe, who was following behind Kallian, and the knights accompanying him also stopped.

The distance between them was about ten meters—not too far, but not particularly close either.

“……Essika.”

But Kallian crossed that distance without hesitation.

He stopped in front of Essika and looked at her.

She was dressed a little more simply than she had been on the day she wore that beautiful dress, but she was still beautiful enough to leave anyone spellbound.

Essika ended up taking an unexpected walk with Kallian.

It was probably the first time the two of them had walked together through the garden.

She remembered the Essika from years ago, when she had suggested taking a walk with Kallian because there were so many beautiful flowers.

And Kallian, who had coldly furrowed his brows and made it clear that he was busy.

Yes.

After that, Essika had never once suggested walking through the garden with Kallian again.

“I was pleased to see you getting along with Mother.”

Walking beside Essika, Kallian spoke with a gentle smile.

The sky was as clear as Kallian’s mood at the moment.

“……You want me to get along better with Mother.”

At Essika’s words, Kallian shrugged as though she had asked something obvious.

“The words of His Majesty, the First Emperor, are famous: ‘The peace of the Empire begins with peace in the family.’”

Water trickled gently from a nearby fountain.

The air was crisp, and the sunlight was pleasant—a perfect day for a loving married couple to walk together.

The Klaus family’s garden was magnificent and beautiful.

And deep within it stood Riona’s greenhouse.

The greenhouse housed precious flowers, including Smichen chrysanthemums, and was guarded so heavily that no one except Riona was permitted to enter.

“What do you think a family is, Your Grace?”

Essika’s voice contained no anger. It was simply light and casual.

So Kallian answered with an equally relaxed expression.

“My mother, me, this beautiful Klaus residence, and…….”

Kallian stopped for a moment and looked at Essika.

“My wife, Essika. You.”

Even as he spoke, Kallian felt a slight prickling sensation in his throat.

Perhaps it was because the words felt awkward.

To be honest, until his misunderstanding had been cleared up, he had never considered Essika family.

She had simply been a noisy, troublesome woman.

But……

He had realized that he had been mistaken about her.

“……”

Essika also stopped walking.

Because their previous encounter had gone well, Kallian thought this time would be the same.

Perhaps she might even be moved by his words.

After all, Essika was finally being acknowledged as part of Duke Kallian Klaus’s family.

Wasn’t that what she had wanted so desperately?

“That’s interesting.”

But there was little emotion in Essika’s eyes.

If anything, there was even a slightly cold light in them.

“……”

Kallian didn’t understand what he had done wrong.

No.

He didn’t think he could possibly have done anything wrong.

He had given her a truly perfect answer.

“……”

Essika began walking again.

Kallian followed, matching his pace to hers.

“I…… intend to correct the mistakes of the past.”

Essika’s voice came from slightly ahead of him.

Kallian’s eyebrow twitched.

Mistakes of the past…….

Much of what had happened had been misunderstandings, but that didn’t mean Essika had been an exemplary Duchess.

So perhaps she could at least engage in some self-reflection.

“Because I’ve forgotten what is most important in life.”

“……Essika……”

Kallian felt pleased by her words, which sounded as though she intended to make an effort.

She seemed admirable.

Even lovable.

He wondered if they might be able to spend a night together soon.

Come to think of it, they had delayed having a child for far too long.

They had already been married for several years, yet they had never even spent their wedding night together.

“If you do your best as the Duchess from now on, then I will also support you……”

Kallian began speaking.

But almost simultaneously, Essika’s voice overlapped his.

“So, please consider this a sort of……”

Essika’s blue eyes reflected the vast garden.

“……declaration of war.”

Essika smiled sweetly.

She had to maintain her distance from Kallian Klaus until everything was settled.

But sometimes, she felt an overwhelming urge to grab him by the collar.

Perhaps it was because of all the anger that had accumulated in her heart over the years.

“A declaration of war? I’m not sure I understand. Do you mean you’re going to make an effort?”

Kallian asked Essika with a slightly anxious expression.

In certain ways, Kallian truly was ignorant and innocent.

But he would never realize, even until the day he died, how deeply that ignorance and innocence had wounded her.

“Yes.”

Then I’ll have to make sure he regrets it until the day he dies.

Essika plucked a flower and let out a soft laugh.

The effort Kallian had in mind and the effort she was talking about were likely going in completely different directions.

The nervous fluttering that used to arise in her chest whenever she met Kallian, as though her body itself had been conditioned by years of anxiety and anticipation, had now been replaced by a familiar sense of calm.

To Kallian, his family consisted of Riona and himself.

And Essika……

She had never been included in that circle.

An outsider.

She had never belonged in this mansion even once.

Even with him standing this close, he no longer felt like her husband.

Only the revulsion that had reached its peak writhed through her mind like a snake.

“Pfft. You’re quite dull yourself.”

Kallian laughed as he looked at Essika.

There were many eyes watching them from throughout the mansion.

Rumors would probably spread again today.

His Grace is completely smitten with his wife.

The two of them are becoming closer.

That night, in Kallian’s room.

The bright electric stone lamp continued shining late into the night, while Kallian held a letter in his hand.

If you don’t get me out of here and return me to my position, I’ll tell Essika about what happened that night.

Kallian frowned when he read the words written at the end of the letter Yuri had sent from the government-office prison.

Soon, a low voice filled with anger escaped his lips.

“Yuri Anesis. How dare you…… Are you threatening me?”

At first, he had felt sorry for her.

A pure and innocent childhood friend who devoted herself to taking care of a foolish and extravagant wife.

When he had placed the Allet Ring on Yuri’s finger, he had even wished that his wife were Yuri instead of Essika.

“Duke…… Your Grace……”

But he had never intended to take responsibility for her.

Kallian had desired Yuri, but he had never taken her as his own.

And because of that, he had felt even more justified in his treatment of Essika.

Essika’s fits had provided a convenient excuse for him to seek comfort from Yuri.

It was much later that his feelings completely changed.

The two women began to look different to him.

Essika, blossoming like a flower.

And Yuri, who seemed utterly ordinary and fragile in comparison.

Perhaps Essika had been more beautiful than Yuri from the very beginning.

It was simply that his misunderstandings about Essika had obscured his true feelings toward her.

His feelings for Yuri had been fading like a flower withering away.

But alcohol had been the problem.

While venting his hurt and complicated feelings about Essika, he had ended up sleeping with Yuri.

Something Essika had once accused him of had become reality.

But Kallian had never intended to continue an affair with Yuri.

The Anesis family was even lower in status than the Brigitte family, after all.

It had merely been a single night born from a mistake.

If Yuri eventually married someone else, he could simply provide her with a generous dowry.

He had believed that would be enough to fulfill his responsibility.

But then Yuri had attempted to embezzle Essika’s jewels and was formally reported.

Kallian had tried to persuade Essika to help Yuri, but he had failed.

Rather than reaching out himself, Kallian had simply left the matter alone.

After Yuri’s letters began arriving less frequently, he assumed she had finally given up.

But then……

“Ha……”

Kallian unfolded the paper and picked up his quill.

With a stern expression, he wrote something on the paper, muttering curses under his breath several times.

After folding the letter, he called for Hans and gave him an order.

“Deliver this to the officials at the government office.”

“Understood.”

Kallian wore an extremely displeased expression.