Chapter 19
I couldn’t quite remember how the Imperial Council ended.
My mind was adrift until His Majesty the Emperor rose from his seat. I stood up mechanically with the others to bid farewell, still dazed.
Usually, people leave immediately after a meeting. But perhaps because of the shocking agenda—or that unexpected bombshell about the assassins known as “Ithanos”—even after the Emperor departed, the nobles lingered, exchanging opinions among themselves. Only when their conversations began to die down and Marquis Brodel tapped me on the shoulder did I realize the council room was slowly emptying out.
“Duchess Dylan.”
“Ah…”
I stood up awkwardly, offering a sheepish smile to Marquis Brodel, who had stayed behind to check on me.
“You seemed distracted halfway through the meeting. Is something troubling you?”
“It was such a shocking topic… I suppose I was more rattled than I expected. I’ve only ever heard rumors about such assassination groups.”
“Understandable. Ithanos, of all things. Honestly, they’re all but forgotten now.”
“They’re not the sort we should ever forget. A group of criminals who dared to target the Imperial Family.”
A low, grating voice suddenly cut into our conversation.
“Duke Defrokan…”
The Duke approached us with a chilling expression, his eyes burning into me as if to set me ablaze.
Ah. That stare. It must be because of his right eye.
“Duchess Dylan.”
“Oh my. Duke Defrokan. Do you need something from me?”
“There are things we need to discuss.”
“I don’t believe I have anything to discuss with you.”
“Well, I do.”
I smiled subtly and turned my gaze toward Marquis Brodel, who stood between us like a nervous owl caught in the tension.
“Marquis Brodel. Would you give us a moment? It seems the Duke would like a private word.”
“Ah… Yes, of course, Duchess.”
After offering a polite bow, he glanced back at me once more before exiting. Around us, the remaining nobles also began to take their leave, picking up on the tension between House Dylan and House Defrokan. The room soon emptied.
Once the space fell silent, the Duke finally spoke.
“You know, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
Even without specifying, I knew exactly what he meant.
For a moment, I considered feigning ignorance—just to needle him—but the seriousness in his expression stopped me.
“How do you know? Only my personal physician is aware of this.”
“Please don’t assume your physician betrayed you. I wouldn’t want anyone innocent to suffer because of me.”
“There are only two people who know about my condition—my doctor and myself. And I certainly didn’t tell you. So how could I not suspect him?”
“And yet… you trust him, don’t you?”
“…”
He said nothing. But the shift in his expression confirmed it—he trusted that doctor enough to believe my words.
Even before I returned in time, when rumors first circulated about the Duke’s failing vision, that same physician had shielded the truth with lies to protect him.
The Duke wasn’t the sort to doubt someone over a hunch. Not unless he had reason.
“I suppose you won’t answer even if I press you.”
“Fufu.”
He gave a resigned chuckle and changed the subject.
“Then why didn’t you bring up my condition at the council today?”
“Because it wouldn’t have benefited me.”
Had I exposed his condition during the meeting, the nobles aligned with House Dylan would’ve torn into him.
And while that might’ve been satisfying in the short term, it wouldn’t have been a wise long-term move.
As much as I’d love to get that infuriating Duke out of my way, the real reason I couldn’t was because of his heir.
Claude Defrokan—the Duke’s only son and designated successor.
Like a baby viper born of a venomous serpent, Claude carried his father’s ruthless bloodline through and through.
And so, inside the Defrokan estate, power struggles constantly simmered between father and son.
It hadn’t always been that way. But once Claude learned how his father had usurped the previous Duke—his own father—the hostility bloomed.
“I have no desire to raise a baby snake.”
Do these creatures grow more cunning with each generation?
Later, when Claude entered the political arena, he proved himself an even greater threat than his father, manipulating nobles left and right.
But Claude… he wasn’t my opponent to handle.
He was meant for Kaelan.
In the previous timeline, Kaelan had grown stronger through his rivalry with Claude. Their fierce competition molded him. But in the end, Claude’s downfall came not from Kaelan, but from within—his mental collapse after the revelation of a secret illegitimate sibling.
It had been a bitter victory for Kaelan and a disgraceful defeat for Claude.
“Our ties are… quite inescapable, aren’t they?”
“They are indeed.”
The Duke, after a moment of contemplation, stepped closer. His voice dropped an octave, raspy like metal scraping iron, stripped of courtesy.
That arrogant tone—now that was the Duke Defrokan I knew.
He was someone who always spoke from above, looking down.
But perhaps, sensing I wouldn’t expose his secret, he seemed more at ease now.
“It seems I’ve misjudged you, Duchess.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“I thought you were a cuckoo… but you’re a crow.”
“A blind snake isn’t too hard for a crow to catch, you know.”
“Heh. Let me give you some advice, Duchess. Just because you stand among eagles, don’t mistake yourself for one.”
“Then allow me to offer some advice of my own, Duke. Keep your weaknesses well hidden. Lest the baby snake take a bite.”
“I must admit… it’s a relief to discover this side of you today. It must’ve been quite exhausting keeping it hidden all this time.”
“I won’t lie. People change.”
He stared at me, unwavering—even with the sharp, unsettling eyes others found so disturbing.
And then, for the first time, he smiled. Not a smirk, not a sneer—a genuine smile.
“House Dylan’s loss has left a large void… but I suspect I won’t be bored anymore.”
With that, he adjusted the lapels of his dark brown jacket, tugged at the sleeves to smooth out the wrinkles, and turned toward the exit.
“I’ll be looking forward to our next meeting, Duchess.”
We exchanged a courteous nod as he left.
When the Duke opened the door, the sunlight spilled into the room and cast his silhouette in stark relief—tall, dark, and unmistakable.
I had seen that same silhouette before… in the previous timeline.
In the Past
“House Dylan has certainly lost its prestige.”
“What do you expect, when someone with no true noble blood is leading the house?”
“Could the Duke’s will have been forged? Otherwise, why would he…?”
“The man must’ve lost his mind over that woman. We should’ve known when he took her in.”
“Still, the eldest of House Dylan is nearly of age now.”
“Kaelan Dylan, wasn’t it? I’ve heard good things. Supposedly on par with Claude Defrokan.”
“And the Dylan siblings were all recognized as the youngest mages in the Tower, weren’t they?”
“A hawk doesn’t give birth to a cuckoo, after all. They’re all hawks.”
“True. But right now, the cuckoo is the one ruling the roost. Ha!”
Even as the nobles blatantly mocked me, I endured it with clenched teeth.
Bang!
“I feel like my ears are rotting.”
It was Duke Defrokan who had slammed the table and silenced the room.
He hadn’t done it for my sake. He simply despised such petty mockery—and perhaps the praise of the Dylan children didn’t sit well with him either.
But either way, the jeers had stopped. And just like today, he had stormed out, leaving only his back in view.
Today, I would offer the Duke a very important warning.
If he listened, the future of House Defrokan might remain stable. But would he?
“Be careful not to let any other baby snakes form outside your nest.”
The Duke furrowed his brow, realizing what I meant.
Unpleasant as it was, he’d do well to take my words to heart.
He wouldn’t remember—but for me, it was a debt I needed to repay.
House Dylan and House Defrokan had been entwined in a bitter rivalry since the founding of the Empire.
In the beginning, there were three ducal families: House Pereshia, House Dylan, and House Defrokan. Among them, House Pereshia held the greatest power, led by Kenneth—the war hero and founding noble.
But when the head of House Pereshia was executed for treason, the balance collapsed, leaving only Dylan and Defrokan locked in a perpetual struggle for dominance.
And now, I had inherited that burden.
From the moment I first saw Duke Defrokan, I felt it—he was a fortress. A man shaped by countless storms.
An impenetrable wall whose height had no end.
“We’ve arrived, my lady.”
“Thank you.”
As I stepped down from the carriage at the entrance of House Dylan, the butler and servants came out to greet me.
“Welcome home, my lady.”
The orange glow of the sky told me I’d spent far longer at the palace than I’d realized.
Now that I was back, the exhaustion I hadn’t felt during the tense meeting finally hit me like a wave.
“I’d like to change clothes first. This dress is suffocating.”
“Yes, my lady.”
I tugged at the neckline of my high-collared gown, taking in a deep breath.
The familiar scent of House Dylan washed over me.
As I entered, I removed the diamond-drop earrings that had been irritating my neck and handed them to the maid behind me. My tightly bound hair itched to be undone.
“Welcome back, my lady!”
Inside my chambers, Jena—the freckled maid with braided pigtails—was tidying up.
So much cleaning, in my room?
“Jena, could you fetch me some tea?”
“Oh! Yes, my lady!”
“Something cold, if you don’t mind. It’s a bit warm, and I’d like some time alone.”
“Cold? Ah, yes! Right away!”
Bright and cheerful as ever, Jena headed out.
I usually drank hot tea, but today, I felt I needed something chilled—something to cut through this heavy, stifling mood. Etiquette could wait.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
“My lady.”
“Oh, it’s you, Steward.”
I thought Jena had returned, but it was the steward instead—carrying letters.
Seeing them brought the council meeting back to mind. I took the letters and gave instructions.
“From now on, there may be more correspondence from the palace. Until I say otherwise, check all letters thoroughly.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“And don’t tell the children. Especially not Kaelan.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Of course, after all that fuss early this morning, the children probably already knew I’d been at the palace.
Thinking about Kaelan trying to interrogate me over dinner already gave me indigestion.
Still—at today’s meeting in the palace, surrounded by powerful nobles, I didn’t lose.
And I even landed a blow on Duke Defrokan.
So I can’t afford to lose the battle in my own house either.
