Chapter: 26
October 18, 1702, in her previous life.
With Queen Marie on the brink of death, Alexis was acting as regent over Brienne in her stead.
In a royal palace steeped in gloom due to the queen’s illness, news of victory arrived. The Royal Knights had reclaimed part of the northern continent that had once been lost.
To commemorate this, Prince Alexis hosted a lavish banquet.
To Claude, the sight of the Brienne royal palace was nothing short of laughable. With the sudden surge of monsters, dozens of commoners were dying every single day—yet the nobles, as if living in a different world entirely, indulged in luxury and excess.
Though he had attended the banquet out of necessity, hoping to smoothly conclude future joint operations with Brienne, Claude had planned to show his face briefly and then leave.
That was, until he saw her appear on Alexis’s arm.
“That woman—isn’t she the commander of the Royal Knights? Sir Leclerc, I believe? The one said to be the greatest contributor to the northern continent’s reconquest…”
“The Crown Princess gave birth not long ago, didn’t she? There have been rumors that His Highness took her as a partner to reward her merits.”
“I heard she was a commoner knight. She’s really climbed the ladder.”
“They say she killed three of the Demon King’s generals with her own hands. I was wondering how brutish she’d look—who would’ve thought she’d be so beautiful?”
“She might become a hero in another sense soon. A hero who bears royal blood.”
“I doubt it. Thanks to the Goddess’s Child, Brienne’s army morale is soaring. Getting pregnant now would be a loss in many ways.”
The nobles whispered about Jeanne, sparing neither decency nor restraint. Each word made Claude’s stomach churn.
Climbed the ladder?
How does that face look like the face of a triumphant hero?
The Jeanne he remembered had always been full of life.
Her eyes sparkled as if filled with light, her cheeks were flushed like ripe peaches. She was confident wherever she went, never letting an insult pass without returning it in kind.
But the Jeanne he met again after seven years bore no trace of her former self.
Her gaze was unfocused, her complexion ashen. She must have heard the insults directed at her—yet she showed no reaction at all.
No matter how beautifully she was dressed, to Claude she looked like nothing more than a lifeless doll.
Throughout the banquet, Alexis paraded Jeanne around as if she were a trophy, proudly introducing her to the nobles.
“My proud sword,” he called her.
And yet Jeanne’s expression never once changed.
As time passed and the banquet reached its peak, Claude prepared to take his leave. He wanted nothing more than to escape that place—but before going, he intended to speak to Jeanne one last time.
To ask if she was all right.
If she was suffering.
If there was anything—anything at all—he could still do to help her.
But neither Jeanne nor Alexis could be found inside the hall.
Did they step outside?
With a bad feeling in his chest, Claude left the banquet hall and headed for the garden. It wasn’t hard to find them.
Because Alexis’s shouting rang out through the night.
“Do you think I’m ridiculous too?!”
“If I’ve gone this far, at least flatter me a little! Are you made of wood or stone?!”
“I apologize, Your Highness.”
“That damned apology! Apology! Don’t just say sorry—try to satisfy me, you idiot!”
Claude ran toward the source of the noise at once. Perhaps she heard him coming. As he rounded the corner, he came face to face with Jeanne, who looked at him warily as if confronting an enemy.
She was a mess.
Her lipstick was smudged, one shoulder strap had slipped down, exposing a dangerous glimpse of her cleavage. The signs of harassment were obvious—yet even so, she stood in front of Alexis, shielding him behind her as though she were his guard knight.
How was he supposed to comprehend such a ridiculous, absurd scene?
As Claude’s mind went blank, Alexis staggered out from behind Jeanne.
“Oh? What’s this? If it isn’t the great Duke of Loren!”
Reeking of alcohol, Alexis lurched toward Claude.
“What are you doing all alone in a place like this? There must be a long line of people looking for you.”
“…I was just about to leave.”
“Oh, reaaally? Then—no, wait! There’s something I want to ask you, Duke!”
Alexis pointed at Jeanne.
“You and Jeanne were classmates, right? Was she always like that—so boring, so lacking in charm?”
“….”
“Maybe she acts different around you? I heard at the Royal Military Academy men and women get stuck together on missions for days at a time. Back then, you two—huh? Wasn’t there something going on?”
Of the three of them, only Alexis laughed.
“Well then, Duke—how about it? I’ll lend you my woman for the day. Think of it as a mission and teach Jeanne a thing or two. You know, how a woman should please a man. And besides, aren’t you both Children of the same Goddess? Surely there’s something you’d connect over.”
Vulgar bastard.
Claude wanted to rip apart the mouth spewing those filthy words.
He barely swallowed his murderous intent because Jeanne was there. Just then, a servant who had come looking for Alexis took him away.
As if it were only natural, Jeanne followed after him. As she passed Claude, she spoke a single sentence.
“I apologize on behalf of my lord, Your Grace.”
There was no trace of the Jeanne he knew—in her eyes or her voice.
This wasn’t the life I wanted you to live when I let you go.
If I’d known it would be like this, I should’ve forced the issue and taken you to Loren after the graduation banquet.
I never should have entertained that soft-hearted thought of letting you go just because your will was firm.
I never should have decided I couldn’t keep you close because my parents were assassinated, because you might become my weakness, because it could put you in danger.
I should have gone to you the day your homeland was destroyed, reached out my hand, and told you to come to Loren and heal your wounded heart.
I never should have made the cowardly excuse that I was too ashamed to face you.
The weight of time pressed down on him, so heavy he couldn’t lift his head.
And at the same time, rage surged violently in his chest.
Toward Alexis—who treated Jeanne like a mere tool to satisfy his own desires.
* * *
“What?”
“It doesn’t mean anything special. I simply thought I’d like to have a private conversation with Your Highness for once.”
“Well… that is—”
When Claude calmly repeated his request, Philip hesitated, glancing at Alexis as if asking whether it was truly all right. After a moment of confusion, Alexis nodded, seemingly pleased.
“Very well. With no prying eyes, even the Duke will be able to speak more freely.”
The way he pretended to be considerate was laughable. From the moment they arrived at the castle until now, Alexis had been blatantly scanning the area as if searching for something.
Once Gaston and Philip left and only the two of them remained, the faint smile on Alexis’s lips vanished.
“Let’s cut to the chase. Hand her over.”
With no witnesses, Alexis raised his chin arrogantly as he demanded it.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t bother playing dumb. I know everything. Jeanne is here, isn’t she?”
To dare speak her name with that filthy mouth.
To search for her with those disgusting eyes.
To try and grab her with those wretched hands.
Claude suppressed the bile rising inside him—but when he saw the hand reaching toward him, he couldn’t help letting out a hollow laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“Of course it’s funny. Anyone would think you’d left something in my care.”
“There’s only one Jeanne Leclerc who graduated from the Royal Military Academy.”
At Claude’s reaction, Alexis’s eyes sharpened. Claude, however, was not intimidated in the slightest.
“Yes. It’s the Jeanne Leclerc you know. And what of it?”
“Hah! What—what are you saying?”
“She came here after graduation, passed the entrance trial, and is now a knight of Loren. There’s no issue with that.”
“You expect me to believe that?! You must’ve kidnapped her and forced her to become your subordinate!”
“Jeanne is not weak enough to be kidnapped quietly. It seems you know nothing about her.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Alexis slammed his fist down hard on the low table between them.
“Jeanne gave me her body and her heart! She’d never betray me! I need to hear it from her myself—call her here immediately!”
At those words, something taut inside Claude snapped.
Ah. Truly.
He almost wanted to applaud Alexis.
To exhaust his patience in a single moment.
“…As you know, strictly speaking, Loren is not a vassal of Brienne. We are allies. I have shown you respect thus far only because you are royalty.”
Claude crossed one leg over the other and tilted his head slightly.
“Now I will speak plainly.”
His eyes, sharp and pale, fixed on Alexis.
“Shut your mouth. I’m barely restraining myself from tearing out that tongue of yours.”
“W-What?”
“Whining for her back like a spoiled child who’s lost a favorite toy. Some people lost everything in this world and couldn’t even cry. Because you made them forget how to cry out loud.”
“What—what on earth are you talking about?!”
They say oblivion is a blessing from the gods.
It seemed even trash like him had been granted such mercy.
“It means the damned gods even chose to save someone like you.”
While turning their backs on the ones who truly needed saving.
Claude rose to his feet. Even standing side by side, Alexis had been a head shorter—but now, seated and looking up, he seemed utterly insignificant.
All this… because of someone like you.
Barely suppressing the rage and killing intent creeping up his spine, Claude clenched his teeth and spoke in a low voice.
“From now on, don’t let a single letter of Jeanne’s name pass between us. If you do—I’ll kill you.”
“Are you declaring war on Brienne with those words?”
“If necessary.”
“Do you not fear the wrath of the Golden Dragon?!”
“A god who does not save—”
The tension, on the verge of erupting into war, was shattered as the door burst open.
“Forgive the interruption, Your Grace.”
Sweat beaded on the knight’s brow as he reported urgently.
“It’s an emergency. A pack of megalodons has appeared in Cassis.”
