CUBE 14

chapter 14

In the very center of Kalchef, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxen, stood the Grand Duke’s residence.

The young Grand Princess, who received all of the Grand Duke’s affection, came thundering down the stairs early in the morning and threw herself into her grandfather’s arms. If Adellind Lux had horns on her head, even the mighty magic swordsman Grand Duke of Luxen would have been knocked backward.

But there was nothing on Adellind’s head, and the Grand Duke lifted his only granddaughter as if she were still a child.

“Hey! Put me down!”

The Grand Duke chuckled, spun her around once, and gently set her on the floor. As Adellind dusted off her skirt, he pinched her small nose and wagged it lightly in warning.

“You little rascal. Didn’t I tell you to be careful on the stairs?”

“Come on, I’m your granddaughter. Do you think I’d fall down just from stairs?”

“You say that as if you’ve never tumbled down them before. Brazen, just like my granddaughter.”

“That was when I was little!”

Now fourteen, Adellind puffed herself up as if she were fully grown.

She only realized she had been completely led by her grandfather’s teasing after she had finished an entire cup of tea.

“Oh, right. I heard some very surprising news today.”

“Mmm. And what news might that be?”

The Grand Duke, who had a guilty suspicion, asked slowly.

“I heard Damian is getting engaged?”

How had that news already reached Adellind’s ears? The Grand Duke narrowed his eyes, inwardly thinking of her maids. Where had the information leak happened?

Unaware of his thoughts, Adellind stomped her foot.

“And to Tis!”

“Yes. Is that why you came so early this morning?”

“How could you talk about something that important and leave me out?!”

She stomped like an indignant rhinoceros, looking quite threatening—but the Grand Duke knew very well how to handle his granddaughter, like a bird in the palm of his hand.

“My dear Adel, surely you’re not saying your opinion must be included in Damian’s marriage?”

Adellind pressed her lips tightly together.

“If it were Tislin’s marriage, you would have even less right to interfere. This engagement was arranged between me, Damian’s teacher, and Count and Countess Ermise, Tislin’s parents.”

“…You wouldn’t have ignored Damian’s opinion and pushed it through on your own.”

“Of course not. In any case, Damian and Tislin’s engagement has nothing to do with your will.”

Damian and Tislin.

Adellind pictured the two people closest to her in turn. They had always looked after her like an older brother and sister, yet she had never once imagined them marrying each other.

The two of them… engaged?

Tilting her head in confusion, Adellind suddenly seemed to realize something and glared at the Grand Duke.

“But you didn’t even tell me after it was decided!”

That was true.

The Grand Duke smiled faintly. Why else would he have kept quiet? Precisely to avoid this very situation. Adellind Lux was still young and not yet able to control her emotions.

“They’ll both return during the holidays, so there’s still plenty of time. I only needed to tell you before then. I’ve been busy lately and simply forgot.”

“…No.”

What?

Before the Grand Duke could voice the question, Adellind spoke firmly.

“I’ll go myself. They’re both in Viera right now anyway. I’ll just go!”

“And what do you plan to do there? Surely you’re not thinking of undoing an engagement that’s already been finalized?”

He deliberately used a strict tone, but Adellind didn’t listen at all.

The Grand Duke had never once scolded his only granddaughter—especially not after she was left alone in the world following her parents’ deaths. It was a miracle that Adellind Lux had grown up as well as she had.

“This is such a big deal—I have to see their faces. I won’t step a foot outside the estate, like during the holidays, so don’t worry.”

“Adellind!”

“I’m going!”

She shouted and stormed out of his room.

The Grand Duke held his head and sighed. He didn’t think he could win against his granddaughter’s stubbornness.

In terms of rank within the residence, Armart Lux—the master of the estate, ruler of the Grand Duchy of Luxen, and one of the greatest magic swordsmen in the history of Luxen and Casedi-Manorca—ranked below his fourteen-year-old granddaughter.

It took Adellind Lux three days to force the Grand Duke’s surrender.

“Yay!”

“You are not to wander anywhere else. You are not to leave the estate under any circumstances. Even if you meet the two of them, you are not to suggest going out together.”

“I can’t even go out with Damian?”

“No! Viera is not Kalchef. No matter how skilled Damian is, you never know what kind of danger might arise.”

Then isn’t it just as dangerous to stay in the estate? she thought—but wisely kept that to herself. If she said that aloud, even the hard-won permission might be revoked.

“Don’t worry. It’s not my first time going, is it?”

“You will meet Damian and Tislin and return immediately. Understood?”

Adellind pouted, but the Grand Duke remained firm. More than anyone, he knew how many threats she had endured after losing her parents at such a young age—the only heir of the Grand Duchy.

Blatant attacks, and even more secretive ones. How many dark hands had reached for his granddaughter beyond his sight?

That was why he had no choice but to obsess over her safety. Even knowing she felt stifled, he couldn’t help it. It was better for her to resent him than for him to lose her forever.

“Grandfather, did Damian say he wants to marry Tis? Did he say it himself?”

“…I can’t answer that for you. Ask him.”

“But it’s strange.”

In young Adellind’s memory, both Damian Krasnov and Tislin Ermise had always been looking at her—not at each other.

So the idea of them forming a relationship of their own, separate from her, felt oddly unsettling.

“They’re mine.”

“Adel.”

The Grand Duke called her name sternly.

Adellind quickly shut her mouth. When she smiled brightly at him, he sighed helplessly.

“What am I to do with you? Adel, always be careful with your words.”

“Yes.”

“Travel safely.”

Just as Adellind was about to step into the carriage, a young noblewoman in a deep navy dress approached from afar, accompanied by servants. She was as flamboyant as a peacock. Adellind’s eyes—so much like her grandfather’s—narrowed as if assessing prey.

Countess Fraune, Sella Fraune. Once the embodiment of Adellind’s fear, but no longer someone she needed to fear.

‘She’s supposed to be banned from court.’

But since the Grand Duke said nothing, Adellind also refrained from pointing it out. If he had allowed her trip to Viera to distract her from this, she could question him after returning.

“Your Grace, it’s been a while. Lady Adellind, are you traveling somewhere?”

“‘Her Highness the Grand Princess,’ if you please. How dare you.”

At the cold reply, Countess Fraune’s picture-perfect smile faltered. But when her eyes met the Grand Duke’s, she smoothly replaced it.

“The Grand Princess is at an age sensitive about titles. I was careless.”

Adellind’s cold gaze swept over the countess and her attendants. They lingered as if this were their own home.

“As if you’re still related to the Grand Ducal family—!”

“Adellind.”

The Grand Duke placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

Though her brows twisted in irritation, Adellind closed her mouth. She knew better than anyone that her authority came from the Grand Duke. She could not afford to undermine his dignity in front of others.

Just as the situation seemed to settle, Sella Fraune spoke again.

“Are you two going out together for a stroll after so long?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“I see I’ve asked something unnecessary again. I’ll take my leave so as not to trouble Her Highness. Your Grace, until next time.”

She bowed to both the Grand Duke and Adellind, then hurried away.

Adellind stared at her retreating back as if she could stab her on the spot.

“Adellind.”

“You’re not telling me to be polite to her, are you?”

“What happened back then was the doing of Marquis Selbot and his wife. Would you humiliate Countess Fraune simply because she is their relative?”

“But that’s—!”

Adellind snapped and turned her head.

Marquis Marcion Lux of Selbot was the Grand Duke’s nephew, and Harta his wife. When Adellind’s mother, Grand Princess Asillis, had still been alive, they had been merely a collateral branch of the family.

But after Asillis died and only young Adellind remained, they began to covet the ducal throne. Or perhaps they had desired it even before.

The Grand Duke had no other children, so their ambition was not entirely unrealistic—if Adellind were gone. There was no need to explain how much of an eyesore she must have been to them.

And six years ago—

They had attempted to poison Adellind.

They failed.

And they were executed.