Chapter 16
“I only spoke the truth. You, Your Grace, must know better than anyone what it means to offer one’s purity in the Empire.”
Despite having acted pitiful with that enormous body before, now he spoke with a calm, sly grin, like nothing had happened.
As he said, in the Empire, offering one’s virginity symbolized eternal union with the other person.
But that was a relic of the past.
These days, saying things like “a woman who isn’t pure is dirty” or “someone else has touched her” could get you stoned to death.
“A slave purchased from a foreign land speaks fluent Imperial, and even knows outdated customs that only Imperial citizens would recognize. That makes me even more suspicious of your identity. I bet you’ve got a loose tongue. You seem simple enough to blurt out your true intentions before long—that’s the only thing I appreciate about you.”
Although he seemed to be smiling, Puppy’s face was slightly twisted.
Well, even that scowling face was admittedly handsome—but men with good looks had no effect on me anymore.
Annoyed by his arrogance in trying to take the upper hand with words, I returned the favor just as coldly.
“If you want to make a case with your so-called purity, shouldn’t it matter whether you’ve remained chaste since then? I’m sorry I used you for just one night and left, but how would I know if you’ve allowed your body to anyone else since? Especially in a place like this?”
The port city of Vitace, part of the Steren family’s territory, was known for its rough temperament.
Not just Vitace, but northern territories in general had a reputation for being harsh and violent. Sure, they could be kind too, but the bitter winters meant the northern people had to be tough to survive.
If you don’t work here, you can’t survive. And the weak definitely don’t survive.
Especially for someone like him, who came from a continent of endless sweltering summers—how could he survive the harsh winters here? Alone, without anyone’s help?
“My people aren’t very kind to outsiders. They don’t offer kindness without reason. With so many bandits in these borderlands, they’re more likely to report a stranger to the guards first.”
So the fact that he managed to evade detection here suggests he was under someone’s protection—someone powerful enough to hide him.
His clothes at the time may have been dirty, but the fabric was not something an ordinary commoner could afford, even if not exactly luxurious.
Seeing Eden fall silent at my words only confirmed my suspicion.
He must’ve been under someone’s protection before infiltrating this land—
“…You really don’t remember anything, do you?”
He said it with such a bitter expression that I momentarily forgot what I was going to say.
Not remember? I remembered everything about him. Even the old man—who rarely complimented me—once acknowledged my excellent memory.
I remembered seeing him at the slave market, buying him on impulse. I’d had a few drinks, but I even remembered our night together. And the conversation we had the next day came back to me gradually.
What on earth was he talking about, saying I didn’t remember?
It had to be an act. But the look on his face—like he was genuinely hurt—made me wonder… was there really something I’d forgotten?
I quickly shook my head. Don’t get swayed. Don’t be tempted by that face. I repeated it a few times, then spoke.
“I’m not interested in who you’ve been with in the past three years. Whether you stayed pure or not doesn’t matter to me. But don’t say such things in front of Dioana. You’re only able to stay here thanks to her. You should remember that.”
“…Yes, ma’am.”
“I hope you won’t make any more statements that force Jeremy or the other retainers to turn red in the face. Learn your place.”
“I apologize. I overstepped.”
“Apology accepted.”
“I will accept whatever punishment you see fit.”
“I don’t plan to punish you over something like this. I got more heated than I meant to. Let’s just both be careful going forward. And let me be clear—I won’t be spending another night with you. I won’t force myself on you, and I won’t throw you out if you refuse. But if you lay a hand on Dioana, I will make sure you meet the worst possible end.”
He visibly deflated. Sure, he was the one who spoke rudely first—but if, by any chance, he truly valued his purity, it made sense that he might feel wronged to have had it taken from him by me.
‘Then he should’ve said so. That it was his first time…’
And in that moment—like lightning striking my brain—a memory flashed before my eyes.
“Um… this is my first time.”
“First time what?”
“…Being with a woman like this.”
“Then I’ll teach you.”
…Wait a second. That memory… what the hell?
After her class, Dioana burst into Daphne’s office, panting.
“Puppy! I’m done with my lessons!”
She flung open the door, too oblivious to notice the tense air inside the room.
The old Dio would have run into her aunt’s arms after class. But when a child gets a new toy, the old ones are instantly forgotten.
Children can be cruel. Ignoring Daphne completely, Dioana ran over and flopped right onto Puppy’s lap.
“Did you have a good lesson?” he asked.
“Yup! Huh? But Puppy, why’s your face like that?”
“Sorry?”
Tilting her head, Dioana looked at him with concern—like she’d just seen a porcelain doll with a crack in it—and cupped his face in her tiny hands.
“Are you crying?”
Noticing his bloodshot eyes, Dioana quickly turned to Daphne.
As if caught red-handed, Daphne flinched at her niece’s stare.
Busted.
“Auntie bullied you, didn’t she?”
“I did not.”
“Obviously you did! You’re the Archduke and Puppy is just Puppy, so you picked on him!”
Despite being young, Dioana had a clear grasp of social rank and power.
She was convinced her aunt had bullied Puppy because she didn’t like him.
“That’s not it, Lady Dioana,” Eden said.
“But your eyes are all red! You really weren’t crying?”
“No.”
Still, it looked like he might cry at any moment. Is this what people meant by “melancholy beauty”?
Dioana had just moved on from learning basic words to intermediate vocabulary.
She sensed something had happened while she was gone and looked suspiciously at Daphne again.
“Why are you looking at me like I’m a villain? That hurts, Dio. I’m not some bad guy.”
“Then I’m sorry for misunderstanding, Auntie. Puppy, wanna go build sandcastles?”
“No. That’ll ruin your clothes. Don’t you have sword training later too?”
“Pffft. Auntie, I’ll take care of it. Do I look like a baby to you? I’ll get dirty and play anyway.”
Saying that, she grabbed Puppy’s hand and dragged him out of the office.
Daphne grumbled, saying she’d known Dioana longer—how could her niece pick Puppy’s side so easily? Still, she followed after them.
Next to the garden was a large sandbox, specially prepared for Dioana, who loved playing in the sand.
The sand, imported from the seaside, was finer and smoother than ordinary dirt—perfect for building sandcastles.
That spot next to Puppy had once belonged to Daphne.
When there was no afternoon class, Dioana used to build towers or sculptures in the sand with her aunt.
But now, that partner was Puppy.
Thanks to him, Daphne had been demoted to “second most beautiful person” in Dioana’s world—and now stood watching from afar.
“She must be sulking,” Dioana said. “Even when I ask her to join, she refuses.”
“Really?”
“I used to always tell her she was the prettiest. But now I said Puppy’s prettier. And she’s making me do sword training today on purpose.”
“You must take a lot of lessons, Lady Dioana. That sounds tough.”
Eden had never been confident around children. But for some reason, looking after Dioana wasn’t hard. Maybe because she was special, or just naturally easy to manage—or maybe she was just really good at pretending to be an adult.
Dioana shook her head with surprising maturity.
“Well, it can’t be helped. I get why Auntie’s doing it.”
“Still, is sword training really necessary?”
“Auntie says I have to inherit the family someday. But the elders and retainers say that women can’t inherit unless there’s a really special reason. They told Auntie to get married quickly so her husband can take over the family.”
She knew surprisingly well how adults thought and acted.
Even Daphne would be shocked to know how much Dioana understood.
“They hated Auntie going to war. Said she’d die and wouldn’t be able to have a baby to continue the Steren line. So she slammed the table and made them shut up.”
“They sound awful.”
“No. Auntie said not to hate them. Everyone has their own reasons. Anyway, she’s making me train to make me strong. So I don’t die in battle either.”
“…Lady Dioana, you’re very mature.”
“Still, I don’t wanna train today. Blisters hurt! And the instructor’s scary! He’s got eyes like this and a beard like fire. He says, ‘Weaklings can’t survive in the north!’ like this. Ugh.”
As she rambled on, Eden glanced over at Daphne and asked quietly,
“By the way, Lady Dioana… how did you know I was the one that time?”
