Chapter 26
At Godell’s words, Raeder was left speechless for a moment.
Even though he was a lawyer, he came from a commoner background. People often looked down on him—even his peers from the same academy weren’t any different. No matter how capable he was, his talent was hidden behind the wall of his birth status. That was reality.
But now, Godell—of all people—recognized that.
Raeder suddenly felt ashamed of himself. He had judged her based on rumors, just like others had judged him based on his bloodline.
After a moment of silence, Raeder cleared his throat.
“…Understood. Then let’s continue.”
He straightened his posture and spoke in a clearer voice than before.
“As I mentioned earlier, His Majesty the Emperor is the Duke’s uncle. He’s the elder brother of the late Duchess.”
Godell already knew that. In the game, whenever Echo took on royal quests, someone from the Berthenon family always interfered. That’s why it was common knowledge that the royal family and Berthenon didn’t get along.
‘Thanks to that, Echo would get super stressed every time Berthenon was involved. It was tough.’
Echo swore to never get involved with them—but now, Godell was married to Berthenon. Life really was unpredictable.
‘But why was the royal family on bad terms with them?’
Even back when she was a hardcore player of the game, there wasn’t much information about the Berthenon family. But maybe now she could learn something. She carefully asked:
“The royal family doesn’t get along with them, right?”
Raeder paused before answering. Then he slowly began to explain.
“As you know, there are three main nations on this continent.”
It wasn’t a direct answer to her question, but Godell stayed quiet and listened.
“Kritzman—the imperial family, Ihart, and Redwinger. Redwinger has the power of strength, Ihart controls memory and the future, and Kritzman holds the power of healing. However, these powers have weakened in modern times. You’re familiar with that, right?”
Godell nodded. It was basic world lore in the game. She also remembered Echo being quizzed on it at the academy by jealous noble kids.
“The late Duchess Agnes, the Duke’s mother, had a strong healing power. Since Redwinger and Ihart’s powers were weakening, if Agnes became the ruler, Kritzman would naturally become the continent’s center of power.”
“…But she didn’t become ruler.”
“Yes. She lost her healing powers after becoming pregnant,” Raeder replied calmly.
“As you may know, there has never been a female emperor in the Empire’s history. Without her power, Lady Agnes became the Duchess instead, and her older brother, Belzer, became the current emperor.”
“So that’s why there’s tension with the royal family.”
To Agnes, it must have felt like something that was originally hers was taken away. It was natural for her son Eden to be wary of the emperor.
“…You could say that,” Raeder replied slowly, his tone implying there was more to the story.
Before Godell could ask further, he continued.
“Some people are born with powers, but others awaken them later as adults. That’s why His Majesty is wary of the Duke—he fears Eden might awaken powers one day.”
Raeder added quietly:
“After all, the emperor has no special powers.”
Now Godell understood. The tension between Kritzman and Berthenon was due to mutual distrust. They couldn’t help but be cautious of each other.
‘So that’s why Eden chose to make the marriage a contract.’
If the bride came from a well-known noble family, the emperor might try to control the marriage. But with a contract bride, especially someone with no power like Echo, the emperor had less reason to interfere.
From Eden’s perspective, Echo was the perfect match.
***
After that, Raeder continued teaching her important things she needed to know. Unlike at the start, he became quite passionate about it.
As they studied, a knock came at the door and Helen entered. It was time for dinner.
When she asked if Raeder would join, he declined, saying he had to return home. The look on his face made it clear—he wanted to go home immediately. Godell didn’t stop him.
“Godmother!”
As she entered the dining hall, Echo greeted her happily. Echo also had to learn how to behave like a noble lady.
“How was your lesson?”
“It was… actually fun.”
Echo smiled bashfully.
Godell had worried the sudden changes and new lessons would be too much for her, but she seemed okay. That was a relief. Godell smiled and patted Echo’s head.
“What about the Duke?”
“He said he’ll be late again today.”
Late again? They still hadn’t discussed the details of the wedding ceremony.
Godell finished her meal with some regret and later walked around the garden with Echo.
When night fully fell, Godell entered her bedroom alone and stayed awake, waiting for Eden.
But no matter how long she waited, Eden didn’t come.
She tried to stay up, but the ongoing bridal lessons had worn her out.
Several days passed without seeing Eden, and her fatigue grew.
“You don’t look well, Godmother.”
“Yeah, I haven’t been sleeping well…”
She couldn’t tell Echo it was because she stayed up waiting for Eden. She forced a smile.
“You two must be really close.”
“The Duke comes in so late every night…”
Her maids kept smirking more and more, clearly misunderstanding the situation. Godell wanted to correct them, but because of the contract, she couldn’t say anything.
‘Wait… so he does come in late at night?’
She thought he had been staying elsewhere, but it seemed he returned while she was asleep.
‘I haven’t even seen his face though… Is he avoiding me?’
Or maybe… Is it because of her sleeping habits?
That could be it. She often woke up with her blankets tossed everywhere and her pillow on the floor.
She felt a little guilty. Maybe she had unknowingly taken over his sleeping space.
‘I should tell him to sleep somewhere else. I can sleep in a different room.’
With that thought, another night arrived.
After everyone went to bed, Godell got out of bed. Rather than falling asleep right away, she decided to go for a walk.
She picked up a lamp and stepped into the hallway.
She had never noticed during the day, but at night the mansion felt eerie and silent. Though familiar during the day, the hallway now felt strange.
The more she walked, the less she recognized her surroundings.
‘Wasn’t the garden this way…?’
No matter how much she looked around, she couldn’t find the exit. Only dim lamps and silence surrounded her.
“…This is a little scary.”
She tightened her grip on the lamp. It reminded her of a horror movie—someone wandering alone in the dark before disappearing without a trace.
A shiver ran down her spine.
She decided to take shelter in another room.
‘Huh?’
Then she noticed something.
A door had a yellow freesia flower engraved on it.
Helen had shown her around the mansion once, and she had explored it on her own too, but she had never seen this room before.
Should she go in?
Just then—
Rustle.
She heard a noise. Clearly.
“….”
It wasn’t her imagination. Goosebumps ran down her arms. She clenched and opened her fist.
If she stayed here, someone might find her fainted on the floor. She had to calm down.
She grabbed the doorknob.
Click. Creeeak.
The door opened with an old creak despite being smooth.
The room was dark, maybe covered by curtains.
‘Looks like a bedroom…’
She raised her lamp to look inside.
The bed and cushions were neatly arranged, but everything was covered in dust, like no one had touched them in a long time.
She walked further in and saw a portrait hanging on the wall.
It was a beautiful woman with honey-colored hair and violet eyes, staring straight ahead.
‘Maybe this is her room.’
Godell lifted the lamp to see the painting more clearly.
That’s when she noticed something glint in the dark.
As she got closer, she saw a necklace decorated with sapphires. It looked like a locket that could hold a photo.
It was the same necklace the woman in the painting was wearing.
‘So this must be her room.’
She wondered who the woman was. Even with the dust, the room had been preserved carefully—it must have belonged to someone important.
She reached out toward the necklace. But then—
“What are you doing here?”
A familiar voice pierced the silence. She quickly turned around.
“This doesn’t seem like a place for a duchess to be.”
“….”
“Especially not at this hour.”
Leaning casually against the doorframe was Eden, staring at her.
He had appeared without a sound in the middle of the quiet mansion. Godell tried to calm her racing heart.
“When did you get here? You could’ve said something.”
But Eden didn’t answer. He just stared at her quietly.
Then his gaze shifted to the necklace in her hand. He walked toward her.
Before she could react, he took the necklace from her hand.
“Oh, that’s…”
Godell trailed off. She hadn’t meant any harm, but it was someone else’s thing.
Eden stared at the necklace in his hand for a long moment.
