Chapter 3: I Am the Only One Beside the Fallen Grand Duke's Daughter

Free Poisoned Holy Grail, Anyone? (3)

The Lady once said:

“If I end up going to the Academy, I won’t be able to drink it for a while… so I want to have one last cup of proper northern-style black tea.”

Now, if you’re her retainer and you hear that…

What else can you do but pour your soul into making it?

Ting—

“It’s ready, My Lady.”

And thus, I completed the finest cup of black tea I had ever made, infused with the spirit of my entire life.

I stirred in the sugar with a teaspoon, gave the teacup a gentle clink, and stepped back.

Of course, it’s not like I was able to do things like this from the beginning.

But even a village mutt can learn proverbs after three years at the schoolhouse.

And if a man lives as a retainer for nearly a decade, isn’t it only natural he’d reach a decent level of competence?

“…My Lady?”

But even though I said the tea was ready, Lady Karalin remained silent for some time.

Inside her private chamber, the only sound was the quiet crackling of the fireplace.

I looked at her and drew in a slow breath.

Of course I knew.

“My Lady, I understand that feeling better than anyone… You must be furious, aren’t you?”

I knew just how many battles she had fought.

How many of them had no meaning.

How many she endured anyway.

And I was there for all of them. Right beside her. At the very front.

We survived them together.

But even now, she didn’t respond.

She simply gripped the armrest of her favorite rocking chair, holding it tighter than necessary.

The silence didn’t last long.

“What should I do, Yohan…?”

A voice steeped in resentment.

She tried to sound composed, but the end of her sentence twisted, on the verge of collapsing into sobs.

For a moment, I wondered if the real reason she called me here wasn’t for tea—but simply because she wanted someone to lean on.

That’s probably reading too much into it. She’s not that kind of person.

“I’ve lived my entire life for the duchy… and for the family.”

“Others may not understand, but I’ve seen it all. I’ve watched you.”

“Yeah… I believe you. But it still feels like everything was for nothing. I really believed that one day… I’d be acknowledged again…”

I said nothing.

Instead, I walked over and handed her the tea myself.

“Haha… And now I’m being exiled. Just like that.”

“Please, have some.”

The duchy will burn.

So yes, logically, the best choice is to go to the Academy, just like in the original history.

But how the hell was I supposed to say that out loud?

Even if it was the right move… if I said the duchy was going to fall apart soon, the Lady would never be able to accept it.

‘You can reason through anything, but emotions are a different matter.’

So for now, I thought it best to say nothing at all.

I was just debating how to even begin, when suddenly—

“Here goes!”

Gulp—!

She suddenly grabbed the still boiling hot tea and downed the whole thing in one shot.

Didn’t even let it cool.

Is she… not burning her mouth??

“It must’ve been hot.”

“Ah, yeah… ugh.”

Of course it was hot.

“I boiled it a little longer than usual. You like your tea a bit more astringent, after all…”

“I knew that! I saw you boiling it longer, you know!”

Lady Karalin was never the impulsive type.

So if she was acting like this, she must’ve really been pissed off this time.

“Here’s some cold water. Please drink, My Lady.”

“…Thank you, Yohan.”

Gulp, gulp—

She drank it quickly, but in large gulps all the same.

Somehow still dignified and unrefined.

After a moment passed…

“Yohan.”

She called out to me again, now calmer.

“Yes, My Lady.”

“…I wasn’t wrong, was I?”

A quiet plea, her voice filled with unspoken desperation.

No one, not even the gods, could know how deeply that question struck me.

And so, I didn’t hesitate.

“There’s no reason to doubt, My Lady. As far as I’m concerned, whatever path you walk is the right one.”

“You really are something, aren’t you…”

She let out a soft, pitiful chuckle.

Half the battle-hardened North, half like a young girl.

The more I looked at her, the more I thought:

She really is worth admiring.

“But still… why do I have to go through all this?”

So, I couldn't calm my surprised heart at her subsequent words.

'I never thought it would come to this.'

This was the first time.

The first time she’d ever spoken of her difficult fate, of how unfair it was.

The first time she wanted comfort. The first time she asked for empathy.

Until now, she had always swallowed such things whole.

I could always tell, even when she didn’t say anything. But now, her voice wasn’t just breaking. It was crumbling.

Even the strongest person, with the deepest resolve, has weak moments when they can’t hold it together.

And now… for some reason, I felt like I finally understood why she had fallen in the original story.

‘In the original history… I didn’t exist. So today, the day before she left for the academy, she must’ve spent it all alone.’

Brewing her own tea.

Thinking by herself.

Quietly accepting exile.

Heading to the academy…

Only to be humiliated there as a “failed heir” who couldn’t even hold her title.

And when that happens, her mind would shatter again.

In the end, the Demon King’s army… they would wait patiently for just such a crack in her shattered mentality to slip through.

And she would kneel to it.

Because she knew very well that no matter how much she gave, nothing ever came back.

A pitiful, sorrowful soul.

But as long as I exist, that future will never come to pass.

Anyone who stands in Lady Karalin’s way—I’ll kill them all.

Anyone who slanders her—I’ll drag them down to the depths.

Even giving the duchy away to Shagallor?

All part of the plan I’ve envisioned.

And so, I slowly approached her and knelt at her feet—

So that she wouldn’t collapse.

“Yohan?”

Her expression, still shadowed with sorrow, flushed briefly with surprise.

“The world is cruel, My Lady.”

I spoke softly, with the voice I’d been holding back.

“But even so… please don’t give up.”

At that, her slender white fingers trembled slightly.

Yes. Maybe this was for the best.

Now that she’d finally opened up to me, this was my moment.

“I know exactly what it means for you to leave the duchy and go to the Academy. But I, Yohan… I believe this is an opportunity.”

“…An opportunity?”

Her blue eyes locked onto mine.

“Yes. Here, to put it bluntly—My Lady is nothing more than a displaced heir.”

“Pffft—Are you seriously saying that to my face?”

I thought she’d look offended, maybe crushed—

But instead, she laughed with a rough, surprisingly hearty chuckle.

It's so beautiful how she managed to lift her mood so quickly even with the words of someone like me.

Well, Lady Karalin was the kind of person who could take things in stride, so it’s only natural.

“Yes. We lost the power struggle with Madam Shagallor. There’s nothing more we can do here. Now, we must accept that outcome.”

“You always had a way of poking right where it hurts, you know that?”

Well, technically I just let it fester, but sure.

That wasn’t the point.

The real point was what came next.

“But at the Academy, My Lady will be just a ‘student.’ That means… no political pressure, no preordained fate.”

“Then what will I have?”

“As a student, you’ll have the freedom to shape your own future. It’s cliché, but… now is the time to lie low, gather strength, and wait.”

“…Haha.”

“We’ll take the duchy back later. That’s all.”

When I said that, she gave me a strange little smile and looked me straight in the eye.

“Should I ask what you mean by that?”

“It’s exactly as it sounds. Whatever the method may be, if we can justify it afterward, that’s enough, isn’t it?”

“Yeah…”

That gentle yet venomous glint in her eyes—

To me, it was nothing short of glorious.

“You’re definitely Northern. I see it now, you’re still alive. I’ve been thinking in all the wrong ways…”

“I’m your Steel Guard, My Lady. That hasn’t changed.”

“Mm… You might be right. That seat is mine. No one else can lay a hand on it. No one has the right to take it from me.”

After saying that, she fell silent for a while.

She simply looked down at me—

Then finally…

“…You know, Yohan. When you say things like that…”

She let out a shaky breath.

“It makes me so happy.”

“…Pardon?”

“Ah—no! I mean, what I meant was… Just from those words alone… I feel like I can hold on a little longer. You really are amazing.”

Ah… so that’s what she meant.

A faint smile crept across my lips before I even realized it.

Only then did Lady Karalin finally relax, loosening her grip and leaning back against her chair.

Just moments ago, the atmosphere felt precarious like walking on thin ice.

But now, just the two of us talking like this—it was almost peaceful.

“…By the way, My Lady. May I offer one small suggestion?”

“Hm? What is it?”

So I brought up something I’d been thinking about.

“If I recall correctly, the allowance you received from the Madam wasn’t exactly generous, was it?”

“Yeah. It’s tight, but if I really stretch it, it’ll be enough to live on for a few years.”

“And that’s acceptable? For the one and only Grand Duchess of the North to say she’s barely scraping by?”

“…Mm. The duchy’s in rough shape, and I was exiled anyway, so I guess I have to be understanding…”

“But see, I happened to spot quite a few gold bars and jewels inside the Madam’s vault room.”

At that moment, the lady and I made eye contact.

“Yohan. My stepmother does have expensive tastes, you know. Everyone’s aware of that, aren’t they?”

“Still, I doubt she needs to hoard that much. Those things don’t mean anything sitting around. If it were me… I would’ve opened the vault to send off my daughter, blood-related or not.”

“Pfft—Puhuhuhu… Wait, are you saying what I think you’re saying…?”

We didn’t spell it out.

But judging by the mischievous smiles we both wore—

Our thoughts were definitely connected.

“Well, that's just what I'm saying.”

“…You know, now that I think about it. If she doesn’t give it sincerely… maybe we’ll have no choice but to ‘receive’ it.”

“I’ve already scouted the back corridors in case we need them.”

“Then show me. Let’s pack what we can and take it with us.”

The duchy would burn anyway.

Which meant that treasure, if left behind—

Would all go up in dragonfire with the rest.

So since we were being sent away, we may as well clean house on the way out.

This wasn’t theft. This was justice.

If the so-called lady of the house couldn’t even spare a proper allowance to her stepdaughter, wasn’t she the one truly unfit?

***

As for Shagallor, she felt like a ten-year burden had just been lifted from her chest.

“Ohohoho…! I can't say that her face is ugly even as a compliment, but that bony little brat has always been a thorn in my side. As if someone that uptight could ever hope to match me?”

Her grand project—“Devour the Grand Duchy Whole”—was finally nearing success after all her careful effort.

Rexas, that filthy, scary old beast?

All he needed was a few sleepless nights to be won over.

He was a simple man to manipulate.

So the real problem had always been Karalin, that overly respected girl with too much public support.

And her oafish loyal mutt, who stuck by her no matter how she tried to win him over.

Even tossing them onto deadly battlefields hadn’t killed them.

Who would’ve guessed that one bright idea—exile to the Academy—would finally drive them out together, hand-in-hand?

‘If I knew it’d be this easy, I would’ve suggested it sooner.’

Now the flower path was finally opening.

Sure, those wyverns are still making her tear her hair out. But once the leftover is all cleaned up…

It’d all be hers.

‘No way more of them are coming, right? Ohohoho~!’

Well, if something happened, she’d deal with it then.

That was how Shagallor thought—

And so she promptly returned to her favorite pastime.

Every time she secured a victory, there was one ritual she absolutely had to perform: Visiting her precious hoard of wealth.

The North might be a backward, dirty place, but Vitagarte, no matter how rotten, was still a Grand Duchy.

If you just squeezed the people a little harder, gathering treasures like these was a piece of cake.

And just looking at them, seeing those mountains of gold and jewels, was enough to melt away all her worries.

Yes, this was what she worked so hard for. All the politics, all the manipulation… it was for this.

Humming to herself, she opened the door to the vault.

“My precious darlings~ Have you been behaving—”

And that’s when her expression slowly began to rot.

It wasn’t just a little off.

Nearly half the vault, half the gold bars and jewels, were gone.

If it had just been a little missing, she might not have noticed.

But this? This was robbery.

Why? How?

For a moment, her brain stopped. No thoughts came, only blind and boiling rage took over.

Until a pair of faces, that belong to possible cuilprits, flashed in her mind.

“Th-those two damn brats, together—!!”

Screeeam—!!

How do I kill them? How do I make them pay?

Shagallor was so enraged that she is ready to drop everything and drag those goddamn lovers back from their journey to the capital—personally, if she had to.

But that thought was naturally bound to be scuttled.

“L-Lady Shagallor!!”

“Get out!!! Don’t talk to me right now!! Get out or I’ll kill you!!”

“F-Forgive me! But it’s urgent! There’s been another wyvern sighting over Vitagarte skies! The number reaches a staggering 50!”

“…W-what?”

“That’s the number confirmed by the first patrol. But there could be more… We’ll verify and report again!”

So then… could she afford to call anyone back?

At that moment, a dark thought surfaced in Shagallor’s mind:

I thought I had it all secured… thought I’d taken care of everything by exiling those two…

But maybe… the one who’s truly screwed is her.

Still, what could she do?

You take something, you deal with the consequences.

You steal the throne? Then you better survive sitting on it.

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