A New Beginning
The execution was swift. Two days later, at the southern harbor, the three wives boarded a ship. Or rather, they were put aboard one.
The harbor was crowded with spectators. Dockworkers. Soldiers. Newspaper reporters. Servants from noble houses. And people from the Valoa Grand Duchy. The Grand Duke himself did not come. There was no need for him to.
Only his three sons had arrived. The eldest wore a black coat. The second son had pulled his hat low over his eyes. The third stood with his arms crossed, silent. Cecilia stood beside me.
"Senior."
"Yeah."
"Why do you think my brothers came?"
"To see the end."
"For revenge?"
"No."
I looked at the three sons.
"It's more like a funeral."
Cecilia turned to me.
"But they're not dead."
"That's why it's even more necessary."
Burying the dead is simple. Erasing someone from your life while they're still alive is far harder. You can't just bury them. In times like these, people need to see the end.
The ship rocked. Soldiers dragged the three wives forward. The first wife spotted the eldest son and froze.
"Darling."
The eldest son said nothing.
"Please… just once…"
She wept. Her face was ruined. Her voice was ruined. She had no dignity left. The eldest son stared at her for a long time with bloodshot eyes. Then he spoke.
"My wife is dead."
Her face went still. The eldest son turned away.
"I don't know that woman."
That was the end of it.
The second wife looked at the second son. She said nothing. The second son said nothing in return. Sometimes silence is the longest farewell.
The third wife didn't cry. She glared at the third son.
"You'll regret this too."
For the first time, the third son smiled. It wasn't really a smile.
"I've already regretted more than enough."
She closed her mouth. The soldiers loaded the three women onto the ship.
From the deck, the first ex-wife shouted again.
"Father will come!"
No one answered. It seemed she still didn't understand. Her family had already closed its doors. The family crest had erased her name. Her room would have been cleared out. Her portrait would be covered with cloth. The things she used as a child would have been burned or shoved deep into a warehouse.
The ship set sail. The ropes were untied. The sails rose. Waves pushed against the hull. The three women clung to the deck railing. They grew smaller and smaller. Their white faces shrank. Their voices faded. Eventually it became impossible to tell if they were waving or if it was just shadows.
And finally, the ship disappeared toward the horizon. Norden Island. A place of nothing but wind, rocks, and censored letters.
I watched the ship until the very end. Cecilia spoke quietly.
"We shouldn't feel sorry for them, right?"
I shook my head.
"You can feel sorry."
Cecilia looked at me.
"Is that allowed?"
"Yeah."
I gazed at the sea.
"Because pity isn't the same as a not-guilty verdict."
Cecilia was silent for a long time. Then she gave a small nod.
"I suppose that's true."
"Yeah."
"Even if you pity them, a crime is still a crime."
"Exactly."
Waves crashed against the harbor wall. The air smelled of salt. I don't like the sea.
A day later, I returned to the office. The capital's newspapers had gone completely mad.
「Pearl Mansion Scandal, Military Court Sentences Wives to Life Exile」
「The Line Between Noble House Security and Private Army Operation」
「Imperial Family Cracks Down on Usurpation of Patriarchal Authority」
「Valoa Grand Duchy Recovers Family Heirloom and Restores Honor」
「Birth Families Cut All Ties at Once」
Each paper had a different headline, but they were all saying the same thing.
Be careful. The imperial family is watching.
The nobles read those words. Then they summoned the captains of their house guards. They rewrote their visitor logs. They revised employment contracts. They double-checked the scope of authority granted to their daughters-in-law and sons-in-law. They organized records of knighthood bestowals. They locked their family seals in safes.
Across the entire capital, the sound of doors closing echoed from noble mansions.
Click. Click.
It was good. The imperial family had moved as well. The Imperial Inspectorate prepared guidelines on Proxy Exercise of Patriarchal Authority. The Ministry of Military Affairs reviewed Reporting Standards for Private Armed Personnel. The Imperial Legal Bureau circulated an interpretation on The Boundary Between Noble House Internal Security and Private Army Operation.
The nobles were furious. The imperial family had gained justification. Both sides began to suspect each other. And suspicion lasts longer than any blade.
I read the newspapers in the office. Cecilia sat across from me. A box containing the commission fee from the Valoa Grand Duchy rested beside my desk. It was heavy. Very good. The heavier the money, the more trustworthy it is.
Cecilia looked at me.
"Senior."
"Yeah."
"Was this what you were aiming for?"
I folded the newspaper.
"To some extent."
"To what extent?"
"I didn't expect the board to grow this big."
"That sounds like a lie."
"A little bit."
Cecilia sighed.
"So you really were aiming for this."
I looked out the window. Even from here, the spires of the imperial palace were visible against the capital's night sky. Even when you couldn't see it, you could feel it. That was simply how the imperial family was.
I said,
"When the crown prince one day tries to quietly swallow a family..."
Cecilia looked at me. Oops. I'd let something slip. I quickly corrected myself.
"No. When someone tries to use the imperial family's power to handle personal matters."
Cecilia's eyes narrowed.
"Senior."
"Yeah."
"You just said crown prince."
"You misheard."
"I don't think so."
"Can you prove it legally?"
Cecilia closed her mouth. Good. I won. It was cowardly, but I won. I opened the newspaper again.
"Anyway."
I spoke in a low voice.
"The empire must become a place where the imperial family cannot simply crush the nobility at will."
Cecilia said nothing.
"The nobles must suspect the imperial family, and the imperial family must not be able to trust the nobles blindly."
"Why?"
I looked at the imperial palace over the top of the newspaper.
"Because that's the only way small families will have room to survive."
Cecilia stared at me for a long time.
"By small family… do you mean your own, Senior?"
I didn't answer. I couldn't tell her yet. My sister. The crown prince. The game. The destruction of my house. Explaining all of that would take too long. And the only person who would believe me was the crown prince himself.
I folded the newspaper.
"Cecilia."
"Yes."
"This case is over."
"Yes."
"Your brothers survived, the family heirloom has returned, and the three wives have been punished."
"Yes."
"But only the case itself is over."
Cecilia's expression hardened slightly.
"Then?"
I tapped the newspaper on my desk with my finger.
"The real game is only just beginning."
Outside, the sound of a carriage could be heard. The capital was still noisy. The imperial family suspected the nobility. The nobility guarded against the imperial family. The newspapers smelled blood and came running. The courts recorded new precedents. Chaos was dangerous. But it was better than a silent empire.
In a silent empire, the crown prince could quietly swallow a person or a family whole. In a noisy empire, that was difficult. Someone would ask questions. Someone would grow suspicious. Someone would record it. Someone would sit in the gallery.
I needed an empire like that. If my sister was going to survive. If my family was going to avoid destruction.
I recalled the screams of the three wives. I didn't feel sorry. They had committed crimes. I had simply made their crimes a little more useful.
The night grew deep. Cecilia went home. I remained alone in the office. I opened the commission fee box. It was filled with gold coins. I picked one up. It sparkled in the candlelight.
Money and justice. For me, money was more important. But I hadn't thought that way as a child. I had loved a game called Turnabout Trial. The protagonist would point a finger in the courtroom, refute the witness's lies, and save the innocent. In the end, the truth always won. Young me had believed that was what a lawyer was. I had wanted to become that kind of lawyer.
That belief lasted until I entered law school. In my second year, my father's business collapsed and our family fell on hard times. During the day I tutored, at night I worked construction sites. At dawn I read case law. My arms ached and my palms were torn. I didn't resent my parents. No one becomes poor because they want to be poor. Every time they called, my parents apologized and blamed themselves. Sometimes they told me not to push my body too hard.
I hated money. In my previous life and in this one, money always shone with honesty. It was more honest than people. Sometimes even more honest than parents.
As I sat lost in thought while looking at the gold coin, a newspaper slid under the door. It was the one Cecilia had paid a hefty sum to subscribe to.
"What is it?"
I picked up the newspaper. It was an economic paper. The massive headline wasn't about the Valoa incident. In a small corner, there was a modest advertisement.
「Persy Trading Company Launches New Products」
I was about to flip past it when I stopped. The advertising copy caught my eye.
Refined Scented Soap. A new hygiene habit for noble wives.
Magic Washing Machine. Become the lady praised by your servants.
I narrowed my eyes. Soap? Refined? Washing machine?
Below the advertisement was a small portrait of Lady Persy. The woman advancing the empire's future.
I stared at the advertisement for a long time. Then I muttered quietly.
"Haa..."
I set the gold coin down. The sparkling money no longer caught my eye. Dealing with just one crown prince was already exhausting enough. And now… was there another one?
I couldn't fold the newspaper. Because I now knew there was another person from my previous life besides the crown prince.