# 56
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"iced coffee……."
"mother!!"
Eventually, the Countess collapsed.
In addition, the name and title of Rwen bestowed by the 6th Duke of Richmond are revoked, and Rwen's territory is also returned to the House of Richmond.
The statement that the estate and title were returned to the ducal family meant that the status of everyone who had been under Rwen's name had fallen from nobility to commoner.
Resentment welled up in the eyes of Count So as he supported his mother.
Up until now, the Rinko ducal family had treated Rwen like their own lackeys. Her father was loyal to the Marquis, and her mother acted like the Marquise's tongue. And yet, to think they would so calmly declare they would crush Rwen!
“Marquis!!! You shouldn't be doing this!!!”
Count So screamed while holding his mother in his arms.
“Father!!! How can you say that all these crimes are your own doing!!! Isn't the person who stands to benefit the most from what you have done Marquis Rinko?!! So why are you taking the entire blame, why!!!”
Edward Rinco signaled to the knight standing beside him to take him out. However, Ares, who had been watching him, called out to the knight in a low voice. As the knight paused and looked at the Duke, Ares waved his index finger from side to side as if to tell him not to move.
“You all know, don’t you?!! Tell me, is there any way Rwen would have acted alone?!!!”
Having lost everything in an instant, Count So was blind to the world. He glared at the nobles of the Marquis's faction and shouted loudly.
“Brother, stop it!”
“Stop what?!!!”
"Stop it!!"
“Do you think everyone will be safe after casting Lewen out like this, huh?!!!”
The Blue Eagle Hall had turned into a scene of utter chaos. Count Rwen felt the commotion behind him was incredibly distant. He raised his eyes to the platform. Marquis Rinko stood on the first step. And behind him, at the highest point, stood the Duke.
The Duke was watching the whole situation like someone observing a stormy sea.
The Count's vision blurred.
Even though they were vassals, the Count of Rwen was settled in the most barren northern part of the Richmond territory. Snow fell constantly in the coniferous forests teeming with mushrooms and reindeer, except for a brief period in summer. Unlike his grandfather, his father was frail, and the Count had never crossed the boundary of that barren forest.
The first time he crossed that boundary was when the news of the late Duke's death arrived. Upon finally arriving at the Duke's castle, the person who welcomed him like a master was not the Duke, but the Marquis.
And the Marquis promised him vast lands and gold, not barren forests.
“Your Excellency!!! If you punish Lewen, please punish the Marquis Rinko family as well!!!”
“You bastard!!! What kind of nonsense are you spouting!!!”
The angry Marquis let out a roar.
Count Rwen put his hands on his knees and stood up from the floor. Count Rwen the Younger and Marquis Rinko, who had been screaming, paused at his sudden movement.
In the strange silence that had fallen, Count Lewen took a step toward the Duke as if possessed. Joseph immediately tried to block him, but Ares restrained him.
The Count climbed the circular steps of the platform with a limp. Stopping only after climbing exactly one step further than Marquis Rinko, who was staring at him strangely, he slowly knelt before the Duke and the eagle banner hanging behind him. Then, he bowed his head until his forehead touched the steps.
Please have mercy.
There was a sense of desperation in the tightly choked voice.
“I will gladly accept the punishment for all my sins. However, considering my ancestors who were loyal to Richmond, please leave me just this small villa in the woods of Rwen. Please allow my wife, son, and daughter to live there, Your Excellency.”
“No, Father, no!!”
As he heard Flora's sobbing scream from behind him, the Count lifted his head and prayed even more earnestly. His face was already damp with tears.
I earnestly beg of you.
"father!!!"
Ares stared blankly down at the Count kneeling at his feet, then slowly began to speak.
I will do so.
The Count closed his eyes and bowed his head again.
Thank you. Thank you very much.
Soon, the Count, raised by a soldier, staggered down from the platform. He brushed past the Marquis but did not give him a single glance. As the Count approached, the Countess and the Young Count, having barely regained their senses, rushed toward him.
However, the Count's gaze remained persistently fixed on his daughter. He reached out and grabbed her shoulder tightly.
“Flora, Mother, go to the villa with your brother.”
“…….”
“You must do so. Answer me, quickly!!”
The Count urged his daughter on as if in a hurry. However, Flora did not answer her father's plea in the end. Eventually, he was dragged out without hearing his daughter's answer, and the family of the former Count of Rwen, who had been stripped of his title following him, were also driven out of the hall.
A heavy silence enveloped the air of the hall.
So, Lewen ends up in Rinko's hands after all.
As someone’s murmuring mixed with the sound of rain was heard, Marquis Rinko looked around with a piercing blue gaze. The nobles who had served with the Duke stared openly at the Marquis as if to say, "Is there anything to hide?", while the nobles following the Marquis were busy desperately avoiding his gaze.
He stepped down from the podium and returned to his original seat only after Edward approached and told him he needed to go down. And upon returning to his place, the Marquis realized that the Duke had been staring intently at him. Just like a tiger stalking its prey.
Moreover, only then did he realize that the Duke's hunt was not yet over, and his realization soon turned into reality.
Ares's low voice wrapped around the Marquis's neck.
"Effective this moment, the authority of regency temporarily granted to the Marquis Rinko is revoked."
The nobles of the knightly families rose from their seats in unison and stood at attention toward the Duke. As the sound of chairs being dragged back echoed like thunder, some of the nobles from the Marquis's faction, who had been watching the situation, also rose from their seats.
“However, for an efficient and smooth handover of duties, you must not leave the castle for the time being. Do you understand?”
Don't be happy that you saved my life by cutting off my tail. The petty hunt of setting traps is merely over; the real hunt is just beginning.
The Duke's cruel voice sounded like a hallucination. Cold sweat ran down the Marquis's spine.
* * *
Last night, Eliza, who had finally faced her ladies-in-waiting with a clear mind for the first time in over ten years, cracked a joke to suppress the surge of emotion welling up inside her.
“You’ve all gotten wrinkles in perfect harmony. We’ve all aged together. Did you make a pact?”
However, Mrs. Isaac and the ladies-in-waiting did not burst into laughter. Instead, they slowly knelt on their left knees. As all six ladies-in-waiting in line knelt, the forced smile gradually vanished from Eliza's face as well.
“Madam, please forgive my disloyalty in failing to protect you.”
Eliza's wrinkled eyes trembled slightly. Her throat tightened, and her heart burned.
She stood up from her seat. Then, she approached the kneeling women, personally lifted them up one by one, and hugged them.
“Get up, you’ll hurt your knees. I’m the one who should be sorry.”
Madam.
You've been through so much. How much you must have resented me.
Please don't say that.
After lifting up and holding the last maid, Eliza led them to the sofa.
“Let’s not act like this; let’s catch up. Why have I gotten so old! Though I’m not really in a position to say that, with my hair all white.”
It seems you are now wrapped in moonlight.
“So that mouth of yours is still the problem, huh?!”
Only then did the maids burst into laughter.
For the first time in a long while, Eliza was surrounded by her loyal subjects and friends, laughing and conversing lightly. However, as today was a chaotic time, they could not have a very long conversation.
Only Mrs. Isaac remained by her side after she had sent out the five ladies-in-waiting. Mrs. Isaac, having tidied Eliza's bedding, approached and spoke.
Please go to sleep.
I can't fall asleep.
“Shall I bring you some warm tea?”
“No. More importantly, go check on Princess Taylor’s fever. While you’re there, make sure to check the humidity and temperature as well.”
"yes."
Lady Isaac, who had gone over to the Duke's room, returned in less than five minutes. When Eliza looked at her with a puzzled expression, she approached and said.
It seems the fever has dropped. The temperature and humidity in the room are also being maintained at levels suitable for the patient.
"Come to think of it, there was a maid the princess brought along."
Your Excellency is here.
Eliza paused for a moment, narrowed her eyes, and fell into thought. She habitually tapped her right index finger on the armrest and remained silent for quite a while. Perhaps her thoughts kept spiraling, as the question that emerged at the end of the silence was somewhat out of context.
Did you perhaps throw away those letters?
"How could that be?"
Mrs. Isaac came straight over carrying a small box. Eliza placed the box on her lap and personally took out the letters. None of the letters showed any signs of being opened.
If you want to read them in order, please start from the bottom.
Following Mrs. Isaac's advice, Eliza turned the box over and read the letters one by one, starting from the one at the very bottom.
The letter was exactly like him.
Letters beginning with "To Grandmother" were like reports. They described this and that, and the weather. With not a single flowery phrase or the usual added expression of affection, the letters ended up being just a single palm-sized piece of paper.
Then, as she was nearing the end of reading the letters, Eliza noticed a common thread running through all of them.
There isn't a single line about me.
There wasn't even a sentence like, "I am doing well," or even, "Please do not worry about me." And all those letters always ended with the same phrase.
[I hope you are doing well.]