chapter 20
On the contrary, this might have been a good thing for Harvich.
Because even if Lincia left the Grand Duchy, there would still be someone with her.
Harvich should never have meant anything to Lincia.
He was Cassius, and Lincia was an imperial princess.
Even though Lincia had said she never lied, Harvich had never shared her body.
She had chosen the imperial family over her bond with him.
So why did her appeal make him want to confirm an obvious truth?
All sorts of emotions swirled together, triggering a headache.
His head throbbed, and he instinctively pressed his temple.
“You look fatigued.”
Oberok, who was walking beside him, suddenly spoke.
“The banquet is unnecessarily long.
It’s supposed to celebrate someone’s pregnancy, but does it need to drag on like this?
Even my wife is struggling.”
Harvich answered coldly and strode ahead.
But the man, who normally would never try to talk more, followed after him.
“I see.”
That in itself was irritating, but Harvich had no time to waste.
He planned to speak with Marquis Avalon.
The idea of questioning an older man unsettled him, but every sign pointed to suspicion, and he couldn’t just overlook it.
“May I prepare some medicine for you, Your Grace?”
But Harvich stopped walking at Oberok’s words.
“…Medicine? From you?”
“Every time I see you, you seem to have headaches.
Once the child is born, you will be busier.
I thought it would help.”
“You overstep.
Worry about my wife instead.”
***
Harvich went to find Cayden.
The outer castle had once been used for banquets and conveniences, but after the former Grand Duke and Duchess passed away, it had been left unused.
Now, with independence being planned, it became the residence for key retainers.
The main castle also housed retainers, but not as a permanent residence, unlike this one.
Because of the presence of spies, information—both true and false—was split between the outer and main castle.
True information was marked, and the retainers of the Grand Duke’s castle could recognise it.
Harvich knocked on Cayden’s chamber door.
Soon, it opened.
Though it was late at night, Cayden still wore his formal attire.
“What brings Your Grace to an old man’s chamber at this hour?”
Cayden’s expression was calm, as though he had been expecting him.
“There is something I wish to discuss with you.”
“Of course.
I thought you might seek me out one day.”
The Cayden he faced now looked much older and frailer than Harvich remembered.
It seemed impossible that a man with so little time left to live could ally with the imperial family.
After all, Cayden was the oldest among the Grand Duke’s retainers, devoting decades of loyalty.
“Would you like a cup of tea?”
Sensing Harvich’s hesitation, Cayden greeted him warmly.
Though no one else was present, two cups of freshly prepared tea sat on the table.
“Lately I’ve grown lonely, and I’ve developed the habit of preparing two cups.
What luck that Your Grace arrived, so the tea won’t go to waste.”
Cayden spoke lightly, but suspicion had already taken root, making his words ring false.
“I see.”
Harvich pushed one teacup aside and spoke.
“I heard you were heavily involved in assigning the Grand Duchess’s maids.
Why did you interfere with her treatment without orders?”
Cayden met Harvich’s eyes.
Harvich’s brow furrowed.
“…For independence.
What does our independence have to do with the Grand Duchess?”
Harvich tapped the table slowly with his fingers.
Cayden sipped his tea and answered leisurely.
“Her Highness the Grand Duchess is a royal.
To secure independence, I deliberately isolated her.
Once the North becomes its own nation, won’t the Grand Duchess have to be dealt with anyway?
The Grand Duchy and royalty cannot coexist.”
Harvich’s gaze hardened.
“I was only preparing for the day we would dispose of her.”
…Dispose of her.
The word grated in Harvich’s ears.
“On the contrary, may I ask Your Grace something?
Why are you so concerned with the Grand Duchess?
That was not your way before.”
Cayden set down his teacup.
“To an outsider, it might even seem like Her Highness truly carries your child.”
He smiled faintly as he said it.
If another retainer had spoken like this, Harvich might have considered it an overstep, but not doubted their loyalty.
But coming from Marquis Avalon Cayden, it was different.
No one had opposed war or independence more strongly than he.
“Weren’t you the one who hoped the Grand Duchess would bear my child?”
“…”
“Of all people, shouldn’t you welcome this?”
Harvich rose slowly from his seat, signalling the end of their talk.
“It seems your long illness has brought a change of heart.”
He had no proof that Cayden was the imperial family’s dog, but it was clear that some exchange was happening among the retainers.
“But tell me, isn’t your age too advanced to be embracing new things?”
“I only thought change was necessary.”
“Perhaps.”
“…”
“But too much change is never good.
Some changes are not interesting, only offensive.”
Like a woman with no stubbornness suddenly insisting a child’s father is him.
Harvich thought of Lincia alone in her chamber and stood to leave.
As he did, Cayden babbled.
“It was not I who sought to isolate the Grand Duchess.
It was Baron Aiden.”
“…Why does that name come up here?”
“Because Your Grace seems to suspect me.
I want you to know my heart has always been for this land.”
***
“Give the Grand Duke contraceptives.
Long-term use causes infertility.”
Oberok could not disobey Julius’s command.
So even when he spoke to Harvich about medicine, he never expected him to accept it.
As if the Grand Duke of the North would ever take a medicine he made.
“…Medicine? From you?”
As expected, the answer had been a cold refusal.
Once Harvich was completely gone from sight, Oberok made his way to Julius’s chambers.
Though he longed to return to his own bed, the task Julius had ordered was not yet finished.
Knock knock
“It’s me.”
He opened the chamber door to find Julius lying on his bed, already changed into casual clothes.
“Did you prepare the medicine for my sister?
Did she take it?
She hates bitter things, you know.”
“Yes, and at the moment Her Highness the Princess is alone.
Well, technically with a maid named Anna…”
“Oh, really?
That’s delightful news.”
At his words, Julius sat up straight.
“How is my sister’s condition?
Has she recovered enough to speak with me?”
As Julius asked question after question about lincia, he began pulling clothes from his wardrobe and holding them against himself.
Oberok watched blankly as Julius carefully selected his outfit, as though preparing for an important occasion.
