TED 05

Chapter 5

Benjamin Eckert.

He was both Dietrich’s close friend and aide, brought from the capital. A man who liked to say he had been born choosing intellect over sociability, Benjamin was also one of the few subordinates bold enough to speak bluntly to Dietrich.

“Was everything I just heard true?”

“What part?”

“Everything. From the divorce to joining the knight order.”

“You heard all of it yourself, so why ask?”

“I had heard rumors that Her Grace the Duchess was a master archer, but I never expected her to act like that.”

Benjamin sincerely admired Adriana’s abilities.

Though not her skill with a bow—rather, her ability to completely overturn Dietrich’s peace of mind.

His lord currently looked deeply unsettled. Benjamin had never before seen Dietrich absentmindedly tapping his desk with nervous fingers without even realizing it.

To be honest, Benjamin found it amusing to see anxiety in the arrogant friend and master who had never once believed himself wrong.

“So Her Grace is even planning to join the monster subjugation. Whatever she’s thinking, she certainly seems serious.”

“She’s lived too peacefully and decided to indulge in a whim.”

“If Her Grace is going, then Your Grace will have to accompany the expedition as well… Ah. In that case, what about your original plans? Weren’t you intending to pretend to move with the knights while secretly handling another matter?”

“I’ll personally lead this subjugation.”

“Will that really be alright?”

The playful look vanished from Benjamin’s face, replaced with concern.

“Her Grace is very perceptive. The moment you take up a weapon, she’ll immediately notice the condition you’ve been hiding all this time.”

Dietrich’s tapping fingers abruptly stopped.

For some time now, Dietrich had been suffering from an illness of unknown origin.

At times, his body ached terribly, and he had lost much of his power as a Swordmaster, to the point where he could barely summon aura anymore.

Neither the cause nor even the diagnosis was known, which was why he had not told Adriana either.

And in a territory maintained almost entirely through Dietrich’s own strength, this was something that absolutely could not be revealed.

“…That power returned.”

“Really? How? Since when? Have you fully recovered?”

Benjamin’s eyes widened as he immediately leaned over the desk.

Dietrich himself had been just as surprised.

Earlier that day, a splitting headache had suddenly struck him, followed by the sensation of fog lifting from his mind. Then he had felt aura once more circulating around his heart.

“Only a little, but it suddenly returned today. I don’t know whether it’s temporary or permanent. I should use this subjugation as a chance to test how much has come back.”

“Oh! Thank the gods. This is wonderful news.”

Though Benjamin was not religious, even he instinctively traced the sign of blessing in the air at that moment.

He was simply relieved that this crushing secret might finally be lifted.

“Quiet. That’s not the important issue right now.”

“If that isn’t important, then what is?”

“The divorce.”

Benjamin’s expression instantly turned flat again.

“And here I thought it was something serious.”

“What exactly is that reaction supposed to mean?”

“It’s not exactly unexpected. Even from my perspective, it was obvious Her Grace has been suffering. A woman of her status had no reason to endure all this. Frankly, I’d say she tolerated it longer than most would have.”

“Tolerated?”

“Even a professional torturer would’ve surrendered after dealing with Madam.”

Each time Benjamin opened his mouth, Dietrich’s brow furrowed deeper.

Tolerated?

The one who had cultivated patience throughout this marriage was Dietrich.

He had never cared for marriage in the first place. Given his status, countless proposals had flooded in over the years, but he had not even bothered opening a single one despite already being past the usual marrying age.

And yet he had accepted the Emperor’s arranged marriage because the bride had been Adriana.

Keeping her by his side had long been one of his wishes.

She had always been a woman with an extraordinary sense of responsibility.

After the former marquis couple met tragic deaths and Thracia began to crumble, the one who restored the South had been Adriana.

He had believed that same strength of character would allow her to fulfill her role as mistress of Hielo as well.

But her talents had only flourished in Thracia.

After Adriana arrived in Hielo, one disaster after another erupted in succession. It was almost as though the entire world itself was screaming that Hielo was not where she belonged.

Amid endless incidents and conflict, their marriage had inevitably gone astray as well.

Dietrich had known she struggled to adapt to the North, but he had never imagined she was considering leaving altogether.

He had thought things would naturally improve with time.

And even aside from that, considering all the benefits the South had gained through their marriage, speaking of divorce should have been impossible.

“I just don’t understand why she suddenly brought up divorce.”

“Isn’t it because of that man?”

The moment Benjamin casually tossed out the remark, tension visibly sharpened around Dietrich’s eyes.

“The lovers she brought with her, of course. It seems Her Grace no longer wishes to hide it. Perhaps she plans to return home and finally settle down properly with one of them—”

The dangerous pressure radiating from Dietrich made Benjamin flinch.

One more word and it felt like something terrible might happen, so he wisely shut his mouth.

Dietrich himself knew perfectly well that Adriana had not wanted him—only the rewards and advantages the South would gain from the marriage.

Perhaps that was why she had never opened her heart to Hielo and constantly longed for home.

She spoke of Thracia at every opportunity and wore only items brought from the South, while the clothes he gifted her from Hielo sat abandoned in forgotten corners.

Even during meals, she barely ate, as though simply sitting across from him was unbearable.

The Duchess should have been hosting social gatherings, yet she secluded herself so often that important events regularly fell into disarray.

Why had she come all this way only to refuse adapting, insisting instead on reshaping everything into southern customs?

It was only natural that the knights had developed resentment toward her.

And in such circumstances, Dietrich—as commander of the knights—could not openly take Adriana’s side while fully aware of his subordinates’ feelings.

More than anything, he believed that if she could not handle that level of conflict herself, then she was unqualified to be Duchess.

That was why, in places Adriana could not see, he protected her dignity—but in front of her, he never intervened. He wanted her to solve things herself.

Honestly speaking, since Adriana rarely involved herself directly with the knight order, he had believed it was not truly a serious issue.

Besides, Dietrich found the presence of the Isla Knights she had brought with her deeply irritating.

Especially that brat named Ijan.

A lowborn man without even a family name. It had been suspicious enough that he followed Adriana north in the first place. Someone who had risen from the gutter to become part of an elite knight order should have had no reason to abandon everything and come to the North.

Naturally, ugly rumors spread in secret about the handsome knight and beautiful lady.

Whispers that Ijan had seduced his mistress with his body to earn his title.

That Adriana had become too attached to his attractive face and useful physique to leave him behind in the South.

Crude, disgusting gossip like that.

After witnessing the bright smile Adriana showed whenever she was with Ijan, Dietrich had nearly gone mad with jealousy.

And yet he could never say anything.

The moment he voiced such suspicions aloud, they would become reality—and it felt as though Adriana might truly run away with some mere knight.

In fact, had not exactly what he feared happened today?

And until he resolved the mysterious illness afflicting him, he could not even allow himself to get close to Adriana. She was too perceptive; she would immediately notice something was wrong with him.

So in the end, he had no choice but to accept the truth.

Adriana hated the North.

And she despised Dietrich.

If not for the Emperor’s command, she would never have married him in the first place.

The chain of thoughts left a bitter ache in Dietrich’s chest.

And despite knowing all of that, he still could not bring himself to let her go. That was why he wandered outside the castle, avoiding Adriana’s gaze.

“That’s why I told you—if you intended to ignore the fact she had lovers, then you should’ve properly pretended not to notice and treated her well. Otherwise she’d eventually return home with them.”

“What exactly did she endure? I’m the one who’s been patient.”

He was the one who had tolerated everything. What had Adriana supposedly endured?

Dietrich was not broad-minded enough to act warmly toward a wife who relied emotionally on another man.

“So you truly understood nothing.”

“That sounds like you understand something I don’t.”

“Of course I do. I’m an outsider here too, so I understand how Madam feels. The territorial hostility of the people of Hielo is vicious.”

“Territorial hostility? There’s no such thing in my castle.”

Benjamin stared at him with an exhausted expression after hearing Dietrich’s firm response.

“It’s not that it doesn’t exist. You simply don’t notice it because you own the castle.”

Benjamin himself had spent his entire life in the capital and had only come North a few years ago after following Dietrich. He, too, remained distant from the people of Gluck Castle.

But Dietrich had never once considered that behavior to be hostility.

“And yet you’ve lived here without much trouble.”

“That’s because I deliberately came all the way here to escape bothersome human relationships. And unlike Her Grace, I arrived as the trusted aide personally brought in by the Grand Duke.”

“I’m considering revoking that trust.”

Benjamin ignored the threat and calmly continued speaking.