The Guard Captain's Fatal Misstep
Does that mean he might be fucking Her Highness right now?
"That the Duchess herself is taking a personal interest in Her Highness's well-being leaves me at a loss, my lady."
In the end, the Imperial Guard Captain didn't back down. And at that gratitude, the Duchess could only swallow a groan.
Snowflakes swirled through the dim streets of the Grand Duchy in the gathering dusk—it was far too cold to call it merely chilly. The warmth of the hearth felt like the polar opposite.
"Duchess, time is short, so skip the pleasantries. What exactly do you think we can do?"
This was a brief moment borrowed to speak with the Guard Captain before heading directly to the 7th Knight Division and the Grand Duke's Residence.
In a spot untouched by the hazy glow of the streetlamps, she glanced over his shoulder at the red-armored 7th Knights and hesitated, her lips twitching.
There was no helping it now.
The most proactive thing she could do was inwardly curse the viscountess's fallen daughter. Finally, Belliche pried open her reluctant lips.
"...I'm somewhat acquainted with the Grand Duke."
Bardovan's face twisted into a subtle expression.
He was surely recalling the platform incident. Had they shown proper respect, he wouldn't have been treated so coldly. Reading his thoughts plainly, Belliche cleared her throat and quickly continued.
"Not that—I've seen him often in the Capital too. Before his coming-of-age ceremony, and after. He was always the quiet type by nature... but whenever I gave him gifts, he'd greet me politely. I don't think that frail young Grand Duke would abandon old ties."
"Hm, there seems to have been a slight misunderstanding this morning."
"That's what I'm saying."
The northern chill seeped through her fur cloak, fierce and unrelenting. As she shivered faintly, Bardovan cleared his throat loudly and spoke.
"I can only hope that misunderstanding ends as a one-time error, Duchess. The North's wolves are cut from different cloth than the Capital's hounds."
"Does the count have some clever plan?"
"That's precisely what I wish to discuss."
The issue he raised was straightforward.
It was the very problem she herself had noted: the exclusive assignment of the 7th Knight Division. This wasn't just a direct insult to the dignity of the Imperial Guard, tasked with protecting the Imperial family—it was tantamount to forcibly stripping them of their duties.
In other words, there was a blatantly obvious problem with that coercion.
It could even be seen as a precursor to usurpation. And it was the white-haired elderly Guard Captain who was most vigilant against such a thing.
"Duchess, if we don't reclaim the initiative here, not only we but Her Highness herself may be swept into some calamity."
"...I fully understand your impatience."
"I've sensed it firsthand. We cannot give the North's wolf more time or leeway. For Her Highness's sake, this is an urgent matter."
"Oh, and... according to our young lady, the Grand Duke is residing in the Grand Duke's Residence."
At Belliche's offhand remark, Bardovan smacked his forehead.
"That place... isn't it the same as a temporary palace where Her Highness resides? Even in northern lands, how dare a mere vassal spend the night under the same roof as the exalted Her Highness...!?"
A non-royal sharing a roof with an Imperial family member. And forcibly, with clear intent projected.
Even if the Northern Army belonged wholly to the Grand Duke, the Imperial citizens would never tolerate it.
Moreover, the Northern Army consisted of Imperial citizens. The Grand Duke surely knew that well.
"Duchess... hear me clearly. This is no mere impudence to overlook. Beyond the prior blasphemy against the Imperial family, it's the Rahaspel House's insidious scheme to interfere with and claim the Imperial sanctity for themselves."
"...Ahem. I somewhat agree, but."
"The Duchess must join me in disciplining not just the Grand Duke but the Northern Army's discipline itself. Don't let old sentiments cloud your judgment of right and wrong! Have you heeded my counsel?"
Belliche couldn't answer immediately. She hesitated, glancing at the Guard Captain's grizzled white hair, then stroked her own black locks and murmured softly.
"...Still, the Grand Duke is young. He probably just lacks manners and made a mistake—we could gently correct him."
"Duchess...!"
That was when it happened.
"Duchess, Sernt."
A knight in red armor standing quietly around the corner strode forward. Belliche bit her lip. Ah, had they lingered too long? Their secretive huddle had been obvious even from afar.
"A moment, sir. Our discussion with the count isn't over. This concerns Her Highness's safety—a grave matter—so please step back. Otherwise, you could face serious charges."
"That's not it. The Grand Duke is currently marching with the various commanders."
"What? Marching? Right now?"
"Yes, Duchess."
It was exactly as he said. As the knight stepped aside, beyond him appeared a tall black-haired man marching in step with the commanders.
Belliche held her breath for a moment.
She quickly turned her head to Bardovan. Truth be told, she wasn't prepared to face the Grand Duke just yet. She couldn't predict his reaction, after all.
But Bardovan's actions unfolding before her were a spectacle. He showed signs of approaching the Grand Duke directly.
"W-wait! Count, hear me out. Stop, I said."
"...What is it?"
Clutching his cloak desperately, Belliche lowered her voice and whispered urgently.
"Didn't I say I'm on friendly terms with the Grand Duke? I'll use that to speak to him gently. So, let's call it a day and head back."
"What on earth are you talking about, Duchess?"
"I said since I'm friendly with the Grand Duke, I'll speak to him gently first...! So let's head back today...!"
Your Excellency, the Grand Duke!
The call came from right beside them.
The red-armored knight stood rigidly at attention, saluting crisply. Following his gaze, Belliche's eyes creaked around awkwardly.
Skin white as snow. Black eyes emerging slowly under the streetlamp's light swept over the Guard Captain and her.
"What is it?"
Cool as a northern frost. That impression flowed from those lips in voice.
#
"......"
Belliche barely kept her face from freezing, but she couldn't stop Bardovan's voice bursting from beside her.
"Your Excellency, the Grand Duke."
"Guard Captain. Yes, what is it?"
"Didn't I say to voice any complaints about accommodations directly? That's why the Duchess and I were on our way to protest to you."
He questioned the Grand Duke almost like an interrogator.
"Where were you headed, Your Excellency?"
"On my way to Ron Manir, but complaints, you say? What complaints?"
"Wait, Count."
That was when it happened. Forcing a smile, Belliche blocked Bardovan's path.
"Didn't I say I'd explain? For the sake of my face, at least, please step back a little."
The Grand Duke and the five or six commanders beside him all turned to look at her. Belliche instinctively cleared her throat.
What assaulted and filled her nostrils wasn't the sweet scent of young ladies and noblewomen. It was the thicker, muskier odor of soldiers.
"Th-the Rahaspel Grand Duke."
"Speak."
"Well, there are quite a few complaints from the young ladies and madames residing in the annex."
"What complaints, exactly?"
It was Bardovan who answered the Grand Duke's question.
"Regarding your knight division solely escorting Her Highness."
Belliche squeezed her eyes shut.
"The knights' escort? The 7th Knight Division? I never imagined their loyalty to Her Highness would provoke backlash. In what way, then?"
The Grand Duke's gaze shifted to Bardovan. Belliche had a gut feeling. She had no room to intervene anymore. No, she wished those pitch-black eyes wouldn't turn to her at all. That was all she thought.
"Setting aside this morning's incident at Ron Manir station, the reception frozen by northern winds—lacking even basic courtesy toward the Imperial family."
"I see. So you're saying there's a problem with how we've handled it?"
"...Ignoring the Imperial Guard's purpose and having Her Highness escorted solely by Your Excellency's personal guard. Does that truly pose no issue to you?"
Like poison drawing out poison, Bardovan's momentum never flagged. Thus, Belliche couldn't deny the growing anxiety in her chest.
Bardovan's words were a near-checkmate. Affirm it, and it became the Grand Duke's blunder; deny it, and it branded the North as ignorant savages.
Yet the Grand Duke showed no agitation. Just like on the platform that morning.
"That's true."
A curt reply emerged.
"...Your Excellency."
"More to say?"
"Hearing such brevity from the previous Grand Duke's successor makes me have far more to say."
"Then speak what's still bothering you. I'm short on time, but I'll hear it all for now."
"......"
Bardovan paused a beat, tilting his head ever so slightly.
"Your spirit is admirable, Your Excellency. But is failing to distinguish recklessness from boldness due to not yet enduring enough northern seasons?"
"C-Count...! Wait."
Belliche panicked, desperately reaching for his shoulder, but she couldn't.
The Grand Duke had stepped forward first. Unthinkingly, she bit her lip. Her raised hand wandered lost in the air, dizzyingly.
The Grand Duke's voice settled coolly into the space.
"I appreciate the Guard Captain's loyalty to Her Highness, but I'm skeptical if you're in a position to say that."
"In what regard?"
"You asked bluntly first, so I'll be equally blunt. What were you doing that you abandoned His Majesty the Emperor to flee into exile with Her Highness?"
For a moment, Bardovan fell silent. A sour shame at being struck to the core flitted across the old fox's face.
"...I was escorting Her Highness."
"Her Highness, you say."
"Yes. Her Highness, a blood relative of the Imperial family and a noble flower of the palace. Do you intend to interrogate that?"
"Wait, Bardovan Count. Just hold on a moment...!"
It was a split second. Belliche reached to stop Bardovan again, but her arm was suddenly gripped by the Grand Duke. She gasped.
"Escorting, you say—shoving Her Highness into a blood-soaked train and fleeing into exile. That's your idea of escorting, I suppose. Then I'm the same. I merely assigned the 7th Knight Division for Her Highness's safety."
The firm grip gently released her arm. The Grand Duke's eyes brushed past her.
"Ah..."
A modicum of consideration for the duke's widow? Belliche couldn't help thinking so, given the stark contrast in tone and action.
"Eut..."
Belliche's lips twitched roughly. But she couldn't utter another word. She wanted to stop the count, yet she couldn't.
"What impure motive drives you to reside with Her Highness, Your Excellency?"
At Bardovan's low continuation, her twitching lips parted slightly.
"A shallow lust seizing the Capital's tragedy, or an unimaginable treason against the entire Empire you could never covet?"
It was a final argument in the truest sense.
For an instant, the Grand Duke's mouth shut. In truth, it was the grandest justification. And a self-inflicted wound tossing a bomb to the Guard Captain himself.
Belliche doubted her ears. But soon she realized it was exactly as heard.
Her vision blurred dizzily.
Dizzy enough to forget to speak, her mouth gaping like a fish.
Th-that crazy old bastard...!
No matter how urgent and anxious, to poke the reverse scale so directly? Was this even sane?
But the spilled water was too heavy to gather back.
The Grand Duke still stood tall like a pole, silently regarding Bardovan. As if at a loss for a response.
Of course. It was a perfect checkmate.
Affirm it, and royalist factions in the Northern Army would rise on grounds of treason; deny it, and he'd have to cede guard rights to prove innocence.
And that stubbornly unyielding young Grand Duke wouldn't affirm it without going mad. He'd surely behead the Guard Captain on the spot.
The outcome was plain as day.
Just bloodshed and ruin from lost justification.
Was that what the foolish Guard Captain wanted—to tear Her Highness from the northern wolf at any cost?
"Ah..."
Reaching that thought, Belliche clutched her skirt hem until her hands hurt. Each knuckle trembled.
She'd brought it up needlessly. Casually mentioning Her Highness sharing residence had invited doom.
The silence, invisible yet blood-red. The Grand Duke drawing his sword for the neck wouldn't be odd.
After the Guard Captain, the entire Guard, then Her Highness's closest aides. In other words, Capital nobles' heads next.
As her despair-filled gaze naturally dropped to the ground—
"You seem to be under a grave misunderstanding, Guard Captain."
Belliche's quivering eyes slowly climbed his uniform to his face.
"Only Her Highness and her retinue reside in the Grand Duke's Residence."
The same alabaster visage, still facing the snow flurries.
Bardovan and Belliche exchanged glances, as if hearing a bizarre hallucination.
"I don't know what rumors you've heard, but I'm fully aware this is for Her Highness's sake. So I'll mercifully overlook this grave offense."
"...W-wait, Rahaspel Grand Duke, Your Excellency... what do you—?"
"After the previous Grand Duke's passing, I moved my residence to the Grand Castle, Duchess. The head of the North, who also serves as commander, naturally stays there for constant strategy discussions. Whether the Capital's pampered idiots overlooked that, I wouldn't know."
He placed a hand on Bardovan's shoulder and continued.
"So consider your wildly overstepping ravings unheard. If you grasp what disaster your recklessness nearly caused—who the real plotter was, trying to stir unrest in the innocent North and neglect Her Highness's safety—think on it well."
Bardovan's throat stiffened rigidly. Belliche was in much the same state.
Her emotions crystallized instantly, etching fully onto her face.
The noble facade vanished in a heartbeat. Unwittingly, her lips curved faintly. In that state, Belliche could only blankly stare at the Grand Duke's eyes.
His gaze met hers.
"So, what did you wish to say, Duchess? About the young ladies' and madames' complaints?"
The soldiers' navy-iron musk still relentlessly invaded her nose. As expected, nothing like noblewomen's seductive perfumes. She'd known that since dusk.
"Duchess?"
At the Grand Duke's prompting, her lips quivered. Even meeting his eyes was now arduous.
"...Ah, yes... th-the bathing issue... yes."
"Bathing issue?"
All the soldiers' gazes focused. Even the Guard Captain's.
"Well, there aren't enough maids or servants... so many ladies are delayed in their bath turns, and so..."
"You want more servants assigned?"
"Ah..."
Lowering her gaze to the snowy ground, she nodded slowly like a baron's cringing daughter.
"Y-yes... yes..."