Chapter 07
The moment Claudel heard those words, her eyes turned cold—like a frozen lake.
The meaning behind Grit’s words was clear.
She was telling her to hurry up and attempt suicide before anyone else arrived.
Claudel recalled the past.
Because of this staged suicide attempt, Reinhardt had been forced to bear a shameful stigma for a long time.
A man rejected even by a lowly royal mistress.
A foolish man who clung to the royal mistress and defended her even when she tried to hang herself.
People whispered among themselves,
“Isn’t the Duke of Valdemar just weaker and less capable than the King?”
Of course, Reinhardt had never cared about such rumors.
But…
“I hate it.”
Claudel’s blue eyes turned icy cold.
“I don’t… want to live like before anymore.”
She no longer wanted to see Reinhardt sacrifice himself because of her.
And besides, Grit was a poisonous weed to House Valdemar.
If not for her false testimony, the Duke’s house would not have been so easily accused of treason.
The best thing to do was to root her out now.
“In that case…”
Claudel stared straight into Grit’s eyes and dropped the silver dagger she was holding to the floor.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking marble rang sharply through the air.
“M-my lady?”
Grit looked at Claudel with a confused expression.
At that moment, Claudel put on a terrified expression.
“P-please save me!!”
A sharp scream shook the hallway outside the bridal waiting room, where the knights were stationed.
“The maid is trying to kill me!”
Bang!
As soon as Claudel’s desperate scream echoed, the door to the waiting room burst open.
Knights rushed in one after another.
“What happened?!”
Claudel stumbled forward, running toward the knights.
From beneath the translucent veil, her frightened blue eyes looked up at them with pleading desperation.
Her lips trembled, making her appear truly pitiful.
And then—
“T-that maid…”
Her frail fingertip pointed directly at Grit.
“She swung a knife at me…”
“A… a knife?!”
The shocked knights quickly scanned the room.
“N-no, it’s not like that—”
Grit, horrified, could only open and close her mouth soundlessly.
But the knights had already spotted the silver dagger lying on the floor.
“This can’t be happening…”
The knights’ faces hardened.
Even if Claudel was the King’s unwanted mistress, if Lady Dotrisch was harmed in any way, it would create serious problems for House Valdemar.
This marriage was directly arranged by the King himself.
If Claudel were to be seriously injured—or worse, killed—
no one knew how it could be politically weaponized.
This was why the knights had been ordered to guard her closely until she entered the wedding hall…
“My lady, what are you saying?!”
Finally snapping out of her daze, Grit raised her voice in a rush.
“You were trying to kill yourself! I was only trying to stop you…!”
But Claudel didn’t even look back at Grit.
Instead, she shrunk closer to the knights as if terrified and desperate for protection.
“Why would I try to kill myself?”
Claudel’s voice was faint, like it could fade away at any moment.
“I know how important this marriage is. His Majesty personally arranged it, and it is the marriage that will make me the Duchess of Valdemar.”
“Lady Dotrisch…”
“Even if I were naive about the world, I wouldn’t be foolish enough to tarnish the names of both House Valdemar and His Majesty…”
After saying that, Claudel curled up slightly, avoiding Grit’s gaze.
Her eyelashes trembled as if she was holding back tears.
Her lips pressed tightly together.
Her thin shoulders shook like a trembling leaf.
Everything about her appearance screamed fragile victim.
“This is insane!”
Grit felt like she was going to lose her mind.
But she couldn’t confess the truth—that Viscount Dotrisch had ordered her to do it.
Now that Claudel had taken this stance, the only person who could save Grit was the Viscount himself.
Meanwhile, Claudel’s eyes glimmered sharply.
“Good. I think I’ve convinced them enough.”
It was already clear whom the knights would believe—
Claudel or Grit.
The weapon that had supposedly been used to harm Claudel was still there as evidence,
and realistically, Claudel had no reason to commit suicide.
The reason her previous suicide attempt had caused such a stir in noble society was precisely because it was such an irrational act.
After all, unless Claudel divorced Reinhardt, she would have to continue living in the Duke of Valdemar’s territory.
In that situation, tarnishing Valdemar’s reputation would only make her own life even more miserable.
Of course, Viscount Dotrisch, whose eyes were always red with greed for the benefits the King generously threw his way, had never cared about Claudel’s troubled position.
“Please come this way, Lady Dotrisch.”
Just then, one of the knights stepped up to Claudel’s side as if to protect her.
The remaining knight approached Grit.
“Since the wedding is not far off, we will be taking custody of this maid for now.”
“My lady!!”
Grit screamed Claudel’s name like a shriek.
“Why are you doing this to me?!”
Claudel didn’t reply.
She only hid behind the knight, pretending to be terrified.
“I’ve been serving you all this time! Why would I ever try to harm you?!”
Grit yelled again, her voice turning frantic.
“How could you do this to me, huh?!”
“Stop making a scene and follow us quietly.”
The knight gave a stern warning.
But Grit didn’t listen.
“Let go! I said let go!”
She struggled violently, but the knight easily subdued her.
“It hurts, I said it hurts! Agh!!”
Her piercing screams echoed again and again.
Even as she was dragged away by the knight, Grit continued to threaten Claudel viciously.
“My lady, do you think the Viscount will just stand by and watch this?!”
“You…!”
One of the knights glared at her, bristling with anger.
“Truly… what a fool.”
Claudel quietly laughed inside.
To dare bring up the Dotrisch household—who would be torn apart without question if they caused trouble in Valdemar’s territory?
If Grit had stayed silent, the knights might not have treated her so harshly.
“Either way… it’s a success.”
Claudel clenched her fists tightly.
Now that she had gotten rid of Grit, it wouldn’t be easy for her enemies to attach another spy to her anytime soon.
The only reason Grit, an outsider, had been able to enter the Duke’s estate in the first place
was because Claudel had personally brought her from her family home as her maid.
In other words, unless the Duchess herself had the justification of bringing someone from her own household,
it was very difficult for any outsider to enter the Duke’s estate.
Just then—
Bang!
The door burst open again.
At the same time, a man dressed in a pure white wedding suit appeared.
Jet-black hair like the night sky,
and Valdemar’s signature noble violet eyes.
The man, with his god-like, finely sculpted features…
‘The Duke…?’
Claudel forgot how to breathe for a moment.
Reinhardt von Valdemar.
In her previous life, he had been her third husband.
And in this life, he would become her third husband once again.
To Claudel, who had lived her entire life like snow crushed in the shadows,
he had been the first warm sunlight…
And the one who had ultimately saved her.
“What on earth is going on here?”
Looking around with a troubled gaze, Reinhardt finally fixed his eyes gently on Claudel.
That pure and unfamiliar face—
the face of a man who still knew nothing about her.
But it was fine.
He’s alive, and standing right in front of me.
Just that fact alone sent a wave of overwhelming emotions crashing over her.
Just that alone made her chest ache with gratitude and relief…
“Reinhardt…”
Claudel’s lips moved unconsciously.
It was a name she had never once spoken before.
Even in the previous life, though they had lived together for five years as husband and wife,
she had always called him only “Your Grace.”
“Lady Dotrisch?”
Seven syllables that revealed the distance still between them,
because they were not yet husband and wife.
And yet, Claudel shivered as she heard his calm voice.
He’s really here… He’s really standing by my side.
But Reinhardt seemed to have misunderstood Claudel’s silence.
“…Are you all right?”
He looked at her with concern in his eyes.
The reunion