Chapter 56
I remembered what I’d once said to Lady Lillipen:
“Don’t you want revenge? After all that loyalty, they still abandoned you.”
It hadn’t been hard to see the duchess was a terrible mistress.
And the head butler had already dropped enough hints about the household for me to know Lady Lillipen had every reason to resent her.
All I’d done was nudge that resentment in the right place.
I couldn’t be sure it would work, but at the very least, it would add fuel to the chaos inside the Cohen family.
And though I couldn’t see it with my own eyes back then, things were unraveling even better than I’d dared hope.
***
The duchess screamed, thrashing in denial.
“It wasn’t me! It was all Cassia—that wretched girl!!”
That was when Lady Lillipen stepped forward, eyes glinting.
“Your Grace… you’ve hated young master Edmund for years. Because of your grudge against the late duchess.”
“Shut your mouth! Lies!!!”
But to the duke, it didn’t sound like lies.
How many times during their marital fights had his wife spat venom about her late sister-in-law?
“And you despised the young lady too. Because she only ever followed the duke’s will and defied yours.”
Her words carried another subtle twist: she was now calling Cassia “Young Lady,” while addressing her own mistress coldly as “the duchess.”
But neither the duke nor his wife noticed.
“You said more than once you’d rather kill them both at once.”
She spoke the fabricated lines exactly as I’d ordered her to.
The duchess’s eyes bulged.
“You!!! Why are you spouting nonsense like this?! What grudge do you have against me?!”
But her outrage was wasted.
The duke’s mind had already burned away to ash.
He wasn’t just furious or grieving—he was terrified.
If Edmund’s dead… the family seal is lost forever.
The only one who knew where it was had been Edmund. And now he was gone—killed, supposedly, by his own wife.
Without it, the duke would never be acknowledged as the true head of House Cohen.
And worse—
How am I supposed to explain this to the emperor?
The conqueror of Palz, the man who had killed the old king and taken the throne—Emperor Karl III of Zenovia.
The duke had only gained his title by swearing loyalty to Karl.
And Karl had demanded two things:
- Aid the empire’s domination of Palz.
- Deliver the Cohen family’s ancestral seal.
That seal was one of only two surviving ancient artifacts, along with the Palz royal sword.
The sword was the strongest relic of all—and the emperor wanted it as proof of his absolute supremacy.
And the Cohen seal was the key to finding it.
But the duke had already stalled him for seven years.
Recently, Karl had grown impatient.
“How much longer must I wait, Aphen?”
“Just a little more, Your Majesty. Please, only a little more time.”
If the emperor discovered the seal was lost forever—if he realized the Palz sword would never be his—
It wouldn’t just be my fortune or my title on the line. He’ll kill me outright.
The engagement between Patrick and the imperial princess? Forgotten.
His own life? Worthless.
“Damn it! Damn it all!”
He had only one immediate option.
I must bury this. No one can know Edmund is dead.
And standing right before him were all the witnesses who knew the truth.
His gaze turned murderous.
***
Meanwhile, we had been pushing ourselves mercilessly for over two weeks.
Thanks to that, the villa was now far, far behind us.
Maybe it’s finally safe to relax a little?
The thought slipped in—then I shook my head.
No. I can’t slack now. I’m Edmund’s guardian!
But I knew why that weakness had crept in.
I was simply exhausted.
None of us were used to traveling like this—on foot, day after day, with barely any rest.
And I was the worst of the lot.
It hadn’t just been the first day that ruined my feet.
The blisters healed by potion burst open again. The wounds worsened.
By the time Edmund forced me to sit and pulled off my shoe, the sole was soaked through with blood.
“Good heavens!”
His face went pale.
“Are you all right, my lady?” the nanny asked, tearful as she held me.
“I-I’m—”
But Edmund cut me off, voice shaking.
“You’re not all right at all.”
And he was right. I couldn’t even argue back—didn’t have the strength.
Willace knelt, tending to my foot with what little supplies we had.
“If only I’d brewed more potion. I should have…” He had repeated those words so many times these past twenty days.
I shook my head faintly.
“You said it yourself… those ingredients only come from the Magic Kingdom. Too rare, too expensive. Don’t waste it on me…”
One had already been used on me. That was more than enough.
Willace sighed. “The next village is still hours away.”
“But she can’t walk any farther like this!” the nanny cried.
“I’ll carry her,” Edmund declared.
Both of them stared at him with worry.
He wasn’t in great shape himself. He was only fourteen, after all.
But before I could refuse, before I could force myself up—
“I’m fine—”
I collapsed.
“Milady!”
“Cassia!”
“Young Lady!”
Their cries faded as I blacked out.
***
When I came to, it was dark-blue outside—nearly dawn.
How long was I out? We can’t afford this…
I jolted awake—only to realize I couldn’t move.
Something heavy was pinning me down.
“…Edmund?!”
Yes.
Edmund was asleep on the same bed, holding me tightly in his arms.
My heart nearly leapt out of my chest on the spot.
