Chapter – 45
The Duke of Pubbs wanted Kiana to continue liking Rodrigo and to remain attached to the people of House Pubbs.
So whenever Kiana came to the Pubbs Ducal House to see Rodrigo, he would whisper to her:
“Young lady, I’m only saying this for your own sake… but it would be better if you didn’t stand out too much in front of people. Whenever people see you, the scandal of House Prelai naturally comes to mind.”
The Duchess of Pubbs eagerly joined in as well.
“I’m telling you this because I think of you like my own daughter, but simply appearing at social gatherings makes people think of Enerus Prelai. You resemble her so much… and I think even the Duke finds that rather unpleasant.”
Young Kiana believed their words completely, thinking they were more objective than her own family.
Even Judith, who was her childhood friend and the same age as her, said similar things.
“I’m warning you because I don’t want you to become a fool, but everyone calls you the shame of Prelai behind your back. So don’t carelessly give your heart to other people. They only pretend to be nice in front of you, but behind your back they curse you endlessly for being the coachman’s daughter.”
And so, young Kiana faithfully followed the advice she heard at the Pubbs Ducal House—until one day she suddenly left for the Academy.
“This time, I’ll ask my parents for help too. Just like before, we’ll make sure she can never attend events like these again.”
Judith recalled young Kiana and smiled as if it would be easy.
“Then while she’s completely devastated, you comfort her and make her yours. Easy, right?”
“Thank you, Judith.”
Rodrigo ground his teeth and muttered,
“Damn it, why did Orca suddenly lose his mind at a time like this? If not for that, things would’ve been easy.”
Rodrigo grumbled irritably, unable to contain his frustration.
His proposal letter had been completely ignored.
House Prelai had not sent any reply whatsoever.
Since there was already an official opinion document bearing Hiten’s name, he naturally assumed that within a day the imperial family would immediately begin applying pressure.
But suddenly Orca went insane, spouting nonsense about how the Crown Prince had appeared and tried to kill him.
“It’s real. That person was real. I’m His Highness the Crown Prince’s swordsmanship teacher. There’s no one who knows that sword aura better than I do. Without a doubt, it was His Highness!”
It was truly frustrating beyond words.
Silver hair could easily be faked with a wig, and the man had even worn a mask.
The clubhouse had been in complete chaos due to the guards barging in at the time, and Orca had been drunk.
“He knew exactly how I would recognize him immediately. It had to be His Highness. Besides, he inflicted severe internal injuries on me too! He genuinely tried to kill me!”
Rodrigo did not believe Orca’s words.
They had fed the Crown Prince an especially vicious and unique poison.
Rodrigo himself had personally pushed him off a cliff while he was struggling on the brink of death.
The Crown Prince had been completely off guard because he arrogantly believed the imperial family’s blessing made him immune to poison.
No matter how skilled he had been—someone soon to become a Sword Master—there was no way he could still be alive.
But that was Rodrigo’s opinion.
Hiten, who always lived consumed by anxiety, thought differently.
He was deeply unsettled.
Judith, who constantly coveted the position beside Hiten, spoke sharply.
“Stop depending on Prince Hiten for everything. It’s pathetic. Do you think Prince Hiten is so free that he can even handle your marriage affairs for you?”
“Don’t run your mouth when you know nothing. This was originally the kind of relationship where he had to handle things completely.”
Rodrigo answered firmly.
Even their family did not fully know the truth behind that picnic.
It was an absolute secret known only to Hiten, the Third Imperial Consort, and the five people who attended the picnic.
“Anyway, at this banquet, let’s crush Kiana’s arrogance together again.”
At Rodrigo’s words, Judith shrugged once and lifted her chin.
“Fine. Our interests align, so we should cooperate. Both you and I… think Kiana looks best when she keeps shrinking back and hiding because of her inferiority complex, don’t we?”
When I went to Grandfather’s office, I was shocked.
“Uh… th-this is…”
The table was overflowing with all kinds of jewels and accessories.
The designs weren’t really to my taste, but gems were gems, so they would probably look very pretty attached to my checkered ribbons.
“Ahem, hm. Sit down.”
Grandfather cleared his throat awkwardly as he spoke.
“I told the butler to buy everything fashionable these days. Since the imperial banquet is coming soon.”
“Wow…”
Right, I’m the youngest daughter of an absurdly wealthy family…
After living modestly at the Academy for so long, I had momentarily forgotten what it meant to have the most powerful man in the Empire as my grandfather.
“Thank you, Grandfather.”
I smiled brightly.
“I’ll remake them in my own style and wear them to the imperial banquet.”
“Ah… yes… the imperial banquet.”
Grandfather sighed and muttered quietly.
It seemed the mention of the imperial banquet reminded him of something.
“I think that was also the scheduled arrival date for Julius. But he’s the sort of man who runs around like the wind, so I can’t even contact him…”
Grandfather had requested that Julius visit the capital because of the maid who attempted the assassination.
But after the maid committed suicide, the visit had become pointless.
While I was lost in thought, Grandfather cautiously continued.
“Anyway, Kiana. If there’s anything else you want, I’ll grant it all. I lack creativity, so these kinds of things were all I could think of. Tell me what you want.”
Without hesitation, I instinctively replied immediately.
“In that case, coffee—”
“Absolutely not if it harms your health. No caffeine until you become as healthy as Alex.”
Only after being instantly rejected did I come back to my senses.
Actually, there was another reason I came here!
“Then, Grandfather.”
After barely regaining myself, I spoke.
“Please grant me one request. It’s related to this imperial banquet.”
The imperial banquet was one of the social world’s major events, where countless nobles gathered and all sorts of incidents inevitably occurred.
For several years now, Grandfather had stopped attending imperial banquets.
Originally, House Prelai had merely sent Alex and Melissa in his place.
Even then, Alex usually only stayed for the opening ceremony before leaving before the first dance even began.
And as for Melissa left behind alone, the original story had been overflowing with tales about her.
Even after I left, Melissa became Judith—the young lady of House Pubbs’—target and was relentlessly bullied.
And because she displayed all of it openly before others, she ended up earning sympathy from men instead.
I was not the type to seek other people’s pity, but there was something I learned from Melissa’s experiences.
Showing a situation once was far more effective than pleading a hundred times with words.
‘Judith. And House Pubbs.’
They would definitely scheme something again this time.
Only now, the target would be me instead of Melissa.
‘This time, I’ll teach them a proper lesson.’
Among the three ducal houses, Prelai had always been the high-ranking noble family closest to the imperial family and the one with the greatest influence.
Maybe that was why they envied us.
The people who constantly mocked Prelai behind our backs by exploiting our weaknesses.
Yet paradoxically, they also admired Prelai so much that they desperately tried to maintain ties with us at all costs.
That contradictory family was House Pubbs.
Whenever I recalled the things they had said to me as a child, it made my teeth grind in anger.
“Young lady, I’m only saying this for your own sake… but it would be better if you didn’t stand out too much in front of people. Whenever people see you, the scandal of House Prelai naturally comes to mind.”
Whenever I visited the Pubbs Ducal Estate to see Rodrigo, the Duke and Duchess of Pubbs would come over under the pretense of giving advice and subtly whisper things like that.
Ironically, the people of House Prelai themselves never said anything to me.
But when I was young, I thought outsiders were more objective.
Because of those words, I naturally became timid, hid myself away in the ducal estate, and avoided Grandfather.
When Grandfather eventually realized that I still refused to return to the estate despite the terrible treatment I endured at the Academy, he had said this:
“What… what exactly did I fail to notice, Kiana?”
What Grandfather had failed to notice was the fact that the people of House Pubbs had whispered cruel things into the ears of a young child.
“There must have been something I overlooked… for you to become like this…”
If not for them, I would not have become so withdrawn and miserable within the Prelai Ducal Estate.
Only after growing older did I realize just how cruelly they had treated me.
And they did not stop just because I disappeared.
They simply changed their target to Melissa and continued tormenting her relentlessly.
Grandfather also did not particularly like House Pubbs.
However, because the previous dukes had maintained cooperative relations for generations, they had remained close.
The Pubbs Duchy in the south possessed a Warmstone mine.
Warmstone was a mineral that continuously retained heat.
For generations, House Prelai had received Warmstones from House Pubbs and distributed them to the private soldiers of the northern duchy.
Because placing them inside armor helped preserve body temperature.
‘But one year later… House Pubbs manipulated the accounting records of that Warmstone mine.’
Specifically, they gradually inflated the recorded number of Warmstones being traded.
Later, those records were used as evidence when Hiten claimed:
“House Prelai had secretly been increasing its private army in the north.”
Without anyone realizing it, Warmstone was even designated as a military supply item.
Since it was used by private soldiers, there was no real way to argue against calling it military equipment.
It was simply that no one had paid much attention because the situation was so unusual.
Originally, House Pubbs never had enough courage to directly target Prelai.
They constantly tried to drag us down while simultaneously attempting to cling to our connections.
Then, when Hiten made them an offer, they happily accepted immediately.
‘Grandfather merely continued the trade the same way our predecessors always had… and ended up stabbed in the back for it.’
Before my regression, I did not even possess the will for revenge.
But now that I had returned to the Empire, things were different.
I intended to carry out not only personal revenge, but revenge for my family as well.
That was why, after learning that Julius would be coming to the capital, I formed a plan.
“So, Kiana. What is your request?”
Looking into Grandfather’s eyes—which seemed willing to grant me anything other than coffee—I spoke clearly.
“I want Julius to attend this banquet.”
