The Bitter Fruit of Pity
“The next crown princess who chose Archduke Hellion has joined hands with the North.”
Karina’s clear voice echoed throughout the Emperor’s chamber. The Emperor was finishing a simple breakfast while Karina read aloud from the newspaper issued that day.
For several days now, the papers had been filled with articles about Ishtel’s choice of Hellion. Most claimed that the Regentera ducal house had been the first to extend a hand of reconciliation toward the Northern Archduchy.
“Most of it is the same as yesterday, Your Majesty. It seems public interest is still focused on the Founding Festival ball.”
After finishing her reading, Karina folded the newspaper and placed it beside the Emperor. He nodded and looked at her.
“Did you find the noble you were looking for?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. Thanks to your help, I was able to locate them.”
“Why did you want to find that person?”
“I wanted to confirm whether they were the same person I had seen long ago.”
“Have you fallen in love at first sight?”
At the Emperor’s question, Karina let out a short laugh and quickly shook her head.
“Absolutely not. Please don’t misunderstand.”
“You should attend social gatherings more often from now on. I will lend you my support.”
The Emperor continued in a serious tone.
“Capable servants are sometimes rewarded for their service to the Emperor with a non-hereditary noble title. Something on the level of a baronet.”
“A baronet…?”
“Yes. With a title like that, while it may be difficult among the central nobility, marriage proposals with provincial nobles would not be hard to arrange.”
“Your Majesty…”
Tears welled in Karina’s golden eyes. It was already a tremendous honor and cause for gratitude that the Emperor would acknowledge a maid’s merits. Yet he went even further, worrying about her future and offering to grant her a title so she might find a suitable match. Receiving such genuine concern and care from someone was something Karina had not experienced in a very long time.
“Your Majesty, I will remain by your side until the day I die.”
Karina approached the Emperor, knelt, and pressed her lips to the hem of his long cloak.
“Living my entire life beside Your Majesty, serving only you—that would be the greatest reward and title I could ever receive.”
The Emperor let out a hearty laugh. Her words were sincere, without a trace of pretense. It had been a long time since he had received such awkward yet straightforward praise. He felt a surge of emotion at the maid’s declaration.
If only Ishtel could be a little more honest like this child…
The Emperor recalled the lunch he had shared with Ishtel.
He knew exactly what Ishtel had intended. She had wanted an explanation for why he had given Karina the dress without her permission. But in the end, he had offered neither explanation nor apology.
The Emperor already knew that Ishtel did not like Karina. He worried that Ishtel might try to drive her away.
The Emperor had grown quite fond of Karina. He could no longer sleep at night without her tea, and mornings felt lonely without her reading to him.
Yet the real reason he had not apologized to Ishtel was different. While holding Ishtel’s gaze in that long silence, the Emperor had felt an indescribable tension.
It was not merely a battle of wills between an old man and a young lady over a dress. It was a political struggle, each seeking to obtain what they desired.
That day, the Emperor had seen the shadow of the late Duke Regentera in Ishtel—the supreme ruler who had once stood above him. That was why he could not give Karina up.
“You may leave now.”
The Emperor lightly patted Karina’s shoulder as he spoke.
“It will soon be time to meet the Chancellor.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After offering a respectful bow, Karina stepped out of the Emperor’s chamber.
As the heavy golden doors closed, a strange smile curved Karina’s red lips. She raised a finger to wipe away the tears that had gathered at the corners of her eyes.
“How amusing.”
She barely suppressed the laughter that threatened to escape. Everything was proceeding so smoothly that it was almost dull.
“Karina.”
Just as she was about to return to her room, someone called out to her. Turning around, she saw the head maid, Sophie.
“What is it?”
“There is somewhere we must go. Come with me.”
I stood in the middle of the imperial hunting grounds, dressed in hunting attire. Thanks to the strict precautions taken with the entrances, no one was in sight except the guards.
“Your Grace, the Duchess.”
In the distance, Sophie and Abigail appeared. The two head maids were dragging along a person whose face was hidden beneath a black cloak, each holding one of their captive’s arms.
“We have brought them.”
When Abigail removed the cloak, Karina appeared, her hair thoroughly disheveled.
“Y-Your Grace!”
The captured Karina’s eyes widened when she saw me. She turned her head, scanning her surroundings, her expression growing even more bewildered.
“Isn’t this the hunting grounds? Why have you brought me here…?”
I ignored her question and signaled to Sophie and Abigail to leave. The two head maids quickly exited the imperial hunting grounds and securely locked the iron gate behind them.
“Have you ever been hunting?”
As I picked up a rifle, Karina shook her head.
“No, my lady.”
“Then let us try it together today.”
I began walking ahead into the hunting grounds. Karina followed behind me, completely bewildered.
“Where are we going, Your Grace?”
As the path grew rougher, Karina’s breathing became labored. I chose a rugged forest trail untouched by human feet. The dense trees made the early afternoon feel as dark and chilly as night.
“Karina.”
I called to her as we continued walking.
“Do you know why the civil war broke out in the Regentera ducal house?”
“Pardon…?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Karina’s voice rose in pitch.
“W-well, I heard it was because the two brothers waged war over the ducal title.”
“No. That is incorrect.”
“Ah, then…?”
“Because they could not live like the dead.”
The moment I finished speaking, I stopped walking.
“And one more reason… because they showed sympathy while swayed by emotion.”
When I slowly turned around, I saw Karina standing motionless among the trees. Her golden eyes trembled faintly as she looked at me.
She did not understand what I was saying, yet she seemed unable to muster the courage to ask again.
“Pabiel Regentera was originally a bastard. He was born when a woman who had been my grandfather’s tutor became my great-grandfather’s mistress.”
I began recounting an old story as I took the necklace from my pocket.
“When my mother, the Duchess Regentera, passed away, my grandfather recommended Pabiel’s mother for the position of stepmother. The same woman who had been his childhood tutor and his father’s mistress. Do you know why?”
“I do not know, my lady.”
Karina answered in a tense voice.
“People say it was because my grandfather did not want a stepmother from another noble house, but that was not the reason. My grandfather pitied your grandfather, his half-brother.”
“Pity…?”
“Yes. He felt sorry for his illegitimate younger brother, who carried the blood of the ducal house yet suffered cold treatment because of his birth. That was why he wanted to make his half-brother a legitimate son like himself—so he could become a true member of the Regentera family.”
“……”
“Your grandfather’s mother, a mere tutor of low birth, was able to become a duchess solely because of my grandfather’s help. He judged that, remembering the affection from their childhood, he could accept her as a stepmother.”
“……”
“At first, everyone was happy. Pabiel and his mother, once scorned as a mistress and a bastard, were endlessly grateful to my grandfather. But as time passed, they began to covet more and more, as if everything in the Regentera house had always belonged to them. They forgot that all they enjoyed had come from my grandfather’s pity.”
“……”
“In the end, they even coveted the position of duke, the seat of the legitimate heir. That was how the war in the Regentera house began. An act born of pity led to a disastrous result!”
Thud—
The golden necklace I threw struck the dirt floor.
“Ah!”
Recognizing it as her own, Karina quickly dropped to the ground and picked it up. I looked at both her and the necklace as I spoke.
“From now on, you will desire even more. You will delude yourself into thinking that everything is rightfully yours, riding on the Emperor’s favor—just as your grandfather once did!”
At those words, Karina’s hands, which had been polishing the necklace, suddenly froze. She let out a deep sigh, then looked up at me with a puzzled expression.
“My dear Duchess.”
Her voice calling me was pure and innocent, without a trace of guile.
“I truly cannot understand… Why are you telling me this old story?”
“What…?”
“I do not know what I have done to warrant you telling me such a tale.”
It was absurd. Karina was not foolish enough to fail to grasp my meaning.
“My dear Duchess, could you tell me what exactly it is that I am said to covet or desire? All I truly wish for is His Majesty’s health and stability.”
Yet she continued speaking with an expression that suggested she understood nothing.
“As a maid, is it greed to worry about His Majesty the Emperor? Or perhaps…?”
Karina’s eyes widened as if she had realized something. She dramatically raised both hands to cover her mouth.
“It seems Your Grace does not love His Majesty the Emperor. Judging by how displeased you are that my herbs are helping him!”
“Wh-what…?”
“That must be it, then? I have heard that nobles will ruthlessly eliminate even their own family if someone stands in the way of their interests!”
“……”
“The imperial family and the Regentera ducal house are, in a way, political rivals, so it is not strange that you would harbor such feelings, Your Grace. Is that not so?”
My words caught in my throat. At the same time, my mind went blank and the corners of my lips began to tremble.
Once the trembling subsided, hollow laughter began to rise. It was then that I first realized that when a person’s patience reaches its limit, what comes is not anger, but laughter.
I looked at the woman before me with a cold smile. She, too, smiled back at me.
“Words will not suffice, then.”
I slipped my hand into my coat. The cold touch of metal spread from my fingertips throughout my body.
Click—
With the sound of the hammer cocking, a long shadow fell across Karina’s face.
Bang—!