CHAPTER 15………………………………………
Fiancé
Chaos swept through the once-silent Wincedius Duke’s estate.
The members of the household—where even breathing too loudly was discouraged—froze in tension, while experienced servants and maids darted their eyes around nervously, trying to understand the situation.
In the midst of it all, Elexena was the only one who remained calm.
“Tia, the training uniform is enough.”
“Yes.”
Tia quickly removed the dress and brought the training outfit. The clothes, prepared for formality, were stiff, but Elexena put them on without complaint. They fit snugly without discomfort. Designed for sword training, they lacked unnecessary decorations like hunting attire.
“Grandfather likely doesn’t expect much from me.”
Elexena smiled faintly.
The carriage visible outside the window had been sent by her grandfather. A little over a week after the rumors had spread across the capital, Cardia’s maternal grandfather had been the first to make contact. That was the reason for the current chaos in the estate.
It was unheard of for anyone other than Iglea to send a carriage to the estate. That rule had just been broken.
“Yutino, bring something to wear over this.”
“Yes!”
Elexena also assigned Yutino, who had been hovering nearby, a task. The training outfit was plain and practical, but a bit dull. Something worn over it might help a little, even if it didn’t suit her.
“My lady, you look so cool today.”
“You’re quite the flatterer.”
Yutino awkwardly helped her into a coat. Elexena chuckled.
“Panake, you fly separately. Yutino, Tia—you two come with me.”
“Convenient, going off on your own.”
“What’s with the complaining?”
Elexena laughed, and Panake burst out laughing as well. When the window was opened, Panake immediately flew out.
Elexena gestured. Tia, head lowered, hurried forward and opened the door. Three knights stood outside, glaring at them.
Normally, the knights at the door only watched sternly—but Calisto Larvan was different. His face twisted in irritation as he spoke.
“What is the meaning of this?”
But Elexena had no time to answer.
Rapid footsteps echoed from below.
“Cardia! What is going on?!”
Iglea appeared, grabbing Cardia’s hand tightly. Her grip was so strong that veins stood out.
So she does have strength after all.
Elexena smiled faintly, as if amused.
“Mother. Were you surprised?”
“How could I not be? Suddenly your grandfather sends a carriage…”
Of course she was surprised.
All correspondence entering this house passed through Iglea. One of the reasons she ruled the estate was that she controlled all external communication.
That was why Elexena needed Tia.
After the rumors—what she needed next was someone to secretly intercept communication from Iglea.
Having been thoroughly frightened and broken down, Tia had eagerly clung to the hope offered to her. Elexena gave her a difficult but possible order.
—Intercept letters addressed to me.
Tia, a trusted maid, could easily divert a single letter. And so she complied, driven by fear.
Thus, without effort, Elexena secured a way to communicate with the outside world.
“My grandfather seems to have heard I’ve regained my senses and wishes to see my face.”
“You’re still recovering. I’m worried you might worsen your condition by rushing because of your grandfather’s whim.”
Iglea soothed her gently. But she already knew nothing she said would stop her from leaving. It was all mere performance. Elexena played along.
“As a granddaughter, it is only proper to visit. Please don’t worry.”
“Then do not leave the knights’ side.”
“Of course.”
Calisto immediately followed her. Yutino stuck close, glancing around nervously, while Tia kept her head down, avoiding Iglea’s gaze.
The coachman opened the carriage door immediately upon Elexena’s arrival. Once Elexena, Yutino, Tia, and Calisto boarded, the carriage was full.
“It will take about two hours.”
With that, the carriage began to move smoothly. Elexena quietly marveled at the advancement of technology compared to a thousand years ago.
“Just what kind of person is the young lady?”
Calisto, who had been displeased for some time, glared at her.
“Last time you crippled a servant, and now—”
“Why? Planning to report me to Mother?”
Elexena leaned back against the seat.
She had tolerated his insolence long enough. If not for him being a knight sent by her mother and a noble, she would have already cut his throat.
“Stop being a nuisance.”
Calisto bit his lip and turned away sharply. He was younger than she expected—still immature.
Two hours, huh. Cardia’s maternal grandfather…
Elexena took out the letter and traced its edges.
It read:
“To Cardia,
I have heard you have regained your senses. I would have preferred to hear it from you directly, but my unkind granddaughter has given me no word. I assume you have been preoccupied. I wish to see your face after so long, so come when it is convenient.
—Perenike Wincedius”
Perenike Wincedius, Cardia’s maternal grandfather.
Even within a family letter, his name was written with a sense of authority. The tone carried reprimand. That alone told Elexena he was not a kind grandfather.
Cardia herself had also spoken negatively of him.
—“Grandfather used to live with us… he really hated my stepmother.”
She had once said cheerfully:
—“He said someone who married a commoner can’t be recognized as nobility. And that a woman who’s been married once can’t be accepted into our family.”
Looking back, those fragments were useful.
From those words combined with servants’ testimonies, Elexena had pieced together the household’s hidden history.
The “commoner marriage” implied Iglea had married into nobility as a commoner. And from that union came Cardia’s so-called stepbrother.
—“But when did Grandfather leave? One day he just wasn’t there anymore. They said he was resting due to illness.”
The former head of the house. He had likely been the biggest obstacle to Iglea’s rise.
And Iglea had removed him from the estate.
A woman who married a commoner had managed to suppress even the former duke’s authority. That alone spoke volumes.
—“Still, I think it’s better not living with Grandfather. He always sighed when he saw me.”
Cardia had said it innocently.
In any case, Perenike was the first to contact them after Iglea’s rise to power. He was the former duke—and now the first to reach out.
Cardia disliked him. Elexena did not.
What she expected from him was only one thing.
How much support Perenike Wincedius could provide.
After two hours by carriage, they arrived at a small villa on the outskirts of the capital.
Close enough to the city that it could not be considered true retirement, yet secluded enough to appear private. The well-maintained estate and the servants guarding it made one thing clear:
Perenike Wincedius had not abandoned ambition.
“Lord Perenike is waiting.”
The elderly butler guided them respectfully, glancing at Yutino, Tia, and Calisto.
“Yutino, Tia—you two wait outside. Calisto, you come with me.”
Tia and Yutino could stay behind, but Calisto had to remain. After all, Iglea had ordered that the knight not be separated from her.
“My lady, bringing a knight when meeting Lord Perenike—”
“My mother’s knight. How could I defy her?”
At the word “mother,” the butler’s gentle expression briefly twitched.
He masked it quickly with a smile and led them inside.
Beyond the door sat an elderly man with white hair. Despite his age, his posture was upright, and his eyes were sharp and youthful.
“Cardia, you’ve come.”
His brown eyes swept over Elexena.
She narrowed her eyes.
From his voice alone, he still sounded like a man of power.
“Yes. I’ve come.”
Elexena pulled out a chair and sat down directly across from him.
At her rudeness, the old man’s wrinkles deepened.
“So it’s true—you’ve regained your senses.”
His trembling voice and shining eyes suggested not simple joy, but the excitement of finding a useful piece on a chessboard.
“But it seems you still haven’t learned properly.”
His expression shifted instantly.
“Your manners are dreadful. Worse than a five-year-old child.”
Tch.
He clicked his tongue, eyes full of contempt and anger.
That look—disdain and disappointment without restraint—was not how one should look at a granddaughter.
It was immediately clear how he had treated Cardia before.
The real Cardia would likely have been too afraid to speak in his presence.
Elexena rested her chin on her hand, fully aware of how improper it looked.
“A five-year-old is still better than a toothless house pet, don’t you think?”
Unfortunately for him, the person sitting before him was not his fragile granddaughter.
She was a wild beast ready to swallow a toothless one whole.
