At a small round table that seemed fit for tea time, sitting across from each other close enough for their knees to almost touch, the two stared silently into each other’s eyes for a long while.
Whoever looked away or spoke first would lose. Both understood that this was a battle of wills.
But the outcome had already been decided before it even began.
After all, it was Servis who had, unable to control her impatience, come seeking Karia.
“Ha… Fine, speak. Just what do you think you know, and why are you acting so arrogantly?”
Servis felt utterly unfamiliar with the situation. Karia had always been beneath her.
A seemingly harmless girl who appeared one day in the peaceful imperial family like some impurity. Everyone in the family found her irritating—timid, naive, foolish. A silly girl who usually got what she deserved whenever she tried to joke around.
“Why do you think I’d tell you that?”
And yet, the woman sitting across from her now… who was she? Looking at that expressionless smile, Servis felt a cold sweat run down her back.
“Y-You didn’t send everyone else out just to talk about this, did you?”
“Oh my, did you really think I was going to chat with you?”
Karia laughed, as if at some amusing joke. But her eyes were not laughing.
“Duchy of Balta.”
“-What?”
“Give me the Duchy of Balta.”
“Are you insane?”
Servis slammed her hands on the table and stood up.
Servis Luxen Castaros was a direct-line princess, second in line to the throne, and the beloved youngest daughter of the current emperor.
Although she could not become the next emperor due to the crown prince above her, the emperor had granted her lands so she wouldn’t feel slighted.
She was both a princess and the Duchess of Balta, Countess of Noctina, and Viscountess of Chemis.
And the Duchy of Balta was her largest, most peaceful, and historically rich territory.
And now someone was trying to take the goose that laid golden eggs, the one whose taxes flowed reliably, right from under her?
“If you had voluntarily knelt, I might have settled for the County of Noctina, but you refused, didn’t you? So it’s Balta. There will be no negotiation.”
Like the crown prince, the dukes all had lands of their own. Among the direct-line royal family, Servis was the only one without personal lands—a clear discrimination.
So Karia decided to take Servis’s territory. Of course, she had no intention of forgiving what Servis had done.
Call it interest… yes, interest for having been completely deceived all this time.
“Hah! Why? Why should I give you my title? What have you ever done for me?!”
“What haven’t I done?”
Karia’s eyes widened, expressing comical surprise, as if she couldn’t believe Servis had forgotten. Servis, feeling insulted, fumed, but the next words left her speechless.
“You abandoned the duke.”
“-W-What?”
“You heard about what happened at the battlefield, didn’t you? You know how difficult that was. I had to bear dishonor for this. There was no other way—the emperor would never have allowed the divorce otherwise. And you’re worried about a mere title?”
Of course, Karia had not forced the divorce for Servis’s sake.
But in the end, who benefitted the most from it? In the bleakest situation, she had at least gained a sliver of hope.
Having committed infidelity with her husband and seen hope because of her, a proper return was only natural.
Yet Servis, even now, without flinching, continued to lie.
“I-I don’t know what you think you know, but it’s all a misunderstanding. Just your delusions.”
“Misunderstanding? Delusions?”
“Yes! I don’t know how much you know, but it’s just coincidence. I’m innocent. If you want to accuse me, bring proof.”
“How much I know…”
Servis didn’t even realize how pitiful and ridiculous her stance was.
She had indirectly admitted being involved with the Duke of Pandeon and that she was carrying a child—yet she dared to speak of evidence first.
Karia even felt a twinge of pity at Servis’s utterly pathetic crisis management.
“You keep wondering how much I know, but let me ask you instead: How much would be safe for you? Is there any part of your secret that I’m allowed to know?”
Servis couldn’t answer. Even before their argument began, she was already choking on her own secrets.
She had discovered she was pregnant two weeks ago, secretly meeting a court physician outside the palace. The baby was six weeks along.
The father was undoubtedly Rubiduff Pandeon. She had never been with anyone else. But she couldn’t tell him. After their night together, Rubiduff had blamed himself and insisted it had been a mistake.
If he learned she was pregnant, he would surely prevent her from carrying the child. Others would react similarly.
Her family, who always prioritized her, would never allow her life to be ruined by a child born from a mistake.
Yet Servis wanted to protect the child. Even if Rubiduff called it a mistake, to her, it had been a night like a gift.
She had loved him for five years, since meeting him at society events as her stepbrother on record.
‘If… if the child grows beyond what we can handle, maybe he’ll have no choice but to accept it.’
Karia and Rubiduff would divorce. So it wasn’t impossible. But if Karia blabbed before that time… the child could be lost, and they’d face public condemnation. That couldn’t happen.
As Servis’s eyes finally shone with clarity, Karia smiled like a well-fed predator.
‘Yes, it wouldn’t be fun if she gave up now.’
Seeing Karia smile faintly at her, Servis stiffened in defiance.
“If I give you the title, will you keep your mouth shut…?”
“Yes, you’ve been through a lot too.”
Servis froze at the unexpected response.
“-Huh?”
“Now that the Empress is gone, think of how hard it’s been dealing with such problems alone.”
Servis couldn’t grasp Karia’s sudden shift in attitude. Weren’t they just fighting? Why suddenly talk about her late mother?
‘Huh? Was she making that face all along?’
Karia still smiled, but it was no longer the cold expression she had had upon entering the room. It was resigned, tired, and somehow serene—almost pitying her.
Servis glimpsed a faint affection in Karia’s face, shocked as if struck by lightning.
“Don’t get me wrong. That doesn’t mean I forgive you. You’ve done something you should never have done.”
“Ugh! But you too!”
“Don’t involve my child in this. That’s between the Duke of Pandeon and me. It has nothing to do with you.”
Karia and Rubiduff had been mutual offenders, in a sense. Though appearing with a large child suddenly was extreme, her actions were shielded by her life of being ignored and mistreated by the Pandeon household.
But Servis? She had everything, yet had engaged in an illicit affair with her cousin’s husband. She was unmarried and had far more to lose than Karia.
“You’ve been so cruel to people since you were young… how could you do this?”
“Bringing up old events to blame me now? That’s cheap!”
“Do you want to keep speaking like that? I could throw you out right now if I wanted.”
Her words were sharp but not enough to draw blood. Just a scolding born from hurt. Despite enduring this unlike anything in her life, Servis felt a warm pang in her chest.
The one who had always been closer to others than family now felt like a real older sister—at least in this moment.
“I hate you. I resent you. But what can I do? You’re still my sister.”
“-Karia.”
“There’s nowhere else to talk about this. Do you have a plan? Even a month or two will show, so what will you do?”
“I… I… I…”
Her sharp words were filled with warm concern.
Servis bit her trembling lips. It felt as though she was finally allowed to set down the burdens she had carried alone.
Even for the person who had always been cruel to her.
“Are you alright physically?”
And she said the words Servis had longed to hear. Unable to hold back, Servis burst into tears.
The suppressed pain overwhelmed her, and she clung to Karia, crying openly. Karia, with a deep sigh, held her collapsing body.
“You shameless brat, you have no shame at all.”
“Waaah, I’m sorry! I’m really sorry, sister!”
Servis buried her face in the warm chest she had longed for and cried for a long time. Karia gently patted her back in a slow, rhythmic motion.
