Chapter 10
Adriana smiled brightly and offered Oscar a handshake.
But Oscar merely bit his lip and did not take the hand she extended.
He swore he had never once become arrogant nor neglected his training before rising to the position of commander of the knight order.
And yet he had been completely defeated by Adriana.
Even now, it was difficult for him to believe that he had truly lost in skill.
“You seem pleased.”
“Yes.”
Adriana admitted it readily.
She had lived trapped inside a prison-like room, and now she had finally swung a sword freely again. Her opponent had possessed tremendous skill, so she had genuinely enjoyed the duel, and even the stiffness lingering in her body had disappeared.
“Do not misunderstand. I am not delighted because I defeated you. I am pleased because your skill was exceptional. You are a knight as well, so you understand what I mean.”
Oscar’s eyes widened.
He had expected her to mock him freely after defeating him, yet instead she praised him.
Her overwhelming skill, combined with her completely unpredictable words, left him utterly disoriented.
Reluctantly, Oscar finally took Adriana’s hand.
“Why did you hide such skill?”
“I never hid it. You were simply never interested in recognizing it.”
Once again, Oscar looked as though he had been struck unexpectedly, just like during the final attack.
“Oscar Griff. Your swordsmanship is superior to mine. Yet do you know why I won today?”
Oscar remained silent. He already understood the reason for his defeat.
“Have you ever observed the training of the Glück knights?”
“Since arriving in Hielo, I diligently walked throughout the castle.”
Adriana had studied tirelessly in order to fulfill her duties as Grand Duchess.
She personally visited every facility within the castle, watching and learning how the knights trained.
“And yet you accused me of acting like a spy for doing so.”
Through studying the knight order, Adriana had learned the northern knights’ tactics and swordsmanship, which allowed her to predict Oscar’s movements. Meanwhile, Oscar had never once imagined Adriana could even wield a sword, so he knew nothing about her fighting style.
He had been so busy merely defending himself against her endlessly shifting techniques that he never found an opportunity to use his own specialty: crushing attacks powered by brute strength.
Faced with a defeat for which he could offer no excuses, Oscar lowered his head.
“What is it that you want from me?”
“The entire knight order reporting properly for training.”
“…That is truly all?”
“Would that not be enough?”
Adriana tilted her head slightly. That had been her goal from the beginning, and she had achieved it. Was that not sufficient?
“If your conscience still troubles you, then grant me one more favor.”
Oscar swallowed nervously.
As expected. He had known the Grand Duchess wanted something more.
Unable to imagine how unreasonable her request might be, Oscar clenched his fists anxiously.
“I must send a letter to the imperial palace requesting permission for a divorce. Lend me one knight you trust.”
“You would entrust something that important to me?”
Letters exchanged between the Grand Duchess and the Emperor would naturally contain secrets that could not be revealed to ordinary people.
Furthermore, the courier had to be someone who either would not open the letter or, at the very least, could be trusted to keep its contents secret even if they did.
“To be honest, I am not entrusting it to you because I trust you. I dismissed even my maids, so I no longer have anyone to send. But this letter must safely and perfectly reach His Majesty the Emperor. At the very least, you are not someone who would try to stop my divorce, so I believe you will complete the task.”
“…I shall obey.”
“You have my thanks.”
Adriana smiled faintly.
“Then I shall look forward to proper training beginning tomorrow, Commander Oscar Griff.”
In an instant, the woman who had shifted from being “the Grand Duchess” back to simply “Adriana” walked calmly past Oscar.
His face flushed red and blue with embarrassment more than it ever had from any insult.
For some reason, it felt wrong to let the Grand Duchess leave like this.
At the very least, could she not explain how she had made her sword curve so naturally during that final strike?
As though she deliberately understood his thoughts and chose to tease him, Adriana departed without the slightest hesitation.
Truthfully, Adriana herself did not think deeply about any of it.
Using a sword again after so long left her body feeling refreshed. Even the northern air, which had always felt unbearably cold, no longer seemed so harsh after moving her body freely.
I hope tomorrow’s training comes quickly.
Thinking such simple thoughts, she cheerfully rounded the corridor at the edge of the training grounds—
And found Dietrich standing there.
The excitement spreading across Adriana’s face vanished instantly the moment she saw him.
“Why is Your Grace here?”
“Is it strange for the supreme commander of the knight order to be in the knight order’s building?”
“Ah, I suppose not.”
Adriana attempted to walk right past Dietrich.
“We have not even begun speaking. Where do you think you are going?”
“Was that your way of asking for a conversation?”
Dietrich glared at Adriana while suppressing his anger.
But Adriana was equally displeased, so she glared back without backing down.
She had been in a wonderful mood after holding a sword again and moving her body freely. To be honest, she had even felt proud of herself for overpowering the commander who had always looked down on her.
She had been about to savor that feeling when suddenly the last face she wanted to see appeared before her, so naturally no pleasant words emerged.
“Come somewhere quiet so we can talk.”
“It is already quiet here.”
“Damn it, you refuse to yield even a single word! If I tell you to come, then come. Can you not simply listen to me for once?”
“You really have the nerve to say that. Have you ever once listened to me?”
“You are the one insisting on abandoning your duties as Grand Duchess just to join the knight order, so what exactly gives you the right to complain?”
“Your Grace…”
Adriana swallowed hard, forcing open the throat tightening with emotion.
“Have you ever once given me an opportunity to do anything? In Hielo, I was treated as less than a stuffed doll.”
It was true.
During her time in Hielo, Adriana had been treated as less valuable than the stuffed magical beasts decorating the castle walls.
A title of Grand Duchess in name only.
A private allowance she could not spend freely.
Filthy rumors constantly slandering her.
At least the stuffed magical beasts were not accused of being promiscuous southern women who fooled around with mistresses.
Because of Teresa, Adriana could not even host banquets. Whenever she attempted to review Glück Castle’s budget, she was refused access on the grounds that such information could not be shown to someone untrustworthy.
What, exactly, had she been allowed to do?
And now he was suddenly asking why she did not behave like a proper Grand Duchess.
“What sort of Grand Duchess is one supposed to be without even a proper household budget?”
“That is precisely why I wanted us to discuss those matters, but you never came to dinner! Do you have no intention of speaking with me? Surely you have many things you wish to say to me.”
“I have nothing in particular to say to Your Grace.”
That, too, was true.
Three years ago, she had many things she wished to say. But now she no longer possessed the desire to resolve matters through conversation, nor even the energy to grow angry.
She simply wanted to leave this wretched place.
“You bring up divorce and claim you have nothing to say?”
“Divorce is the entirety of what I wished to say, and since I have already said it, there is nothing left. Was it not Your Grace who summoned me because you had something to say?”
Adriana blinked slowly, her expression practically asking why he was questioning her instead.
“Fine.”
Dietrich deeply furrowed his brow before finally speaking after a long silence.
“I will acknowledge that you felt uncomfortable after our marriage. Therefore, I am willing to accommodate your wishes and renegotiate the distribution of authority as Grand Duchess. To begin with, I shall increase your maintenance allowance, so tell me what else you desire.”
“A divorce.”
“That divorce again! …Could you stop saying that already? Tell me what you truly want.”
“A divorce is exactly what I truly want. Should you not understand that by now?”
“You truly desire no other authority?”
The two merely stared at one another, utterly unable to understand each other.
Dietrich could not comprehend Adriana’s demands at all, while Adriana only grew increasingly frustrated.
She had wondered what profound matter he was taking so long to say, only for it to amount to this.
Though he claimed to understand, the fact that he summarized her married life with the single word “uncomfortable” only proved that Dietrich understood absolutely nothing about her suffering.
“There is only one thing I want besides a divorce, but it is something Your Grace could never grant.”
“What is it?”
“Teresa’s exile.”
“That…”
Dietrich fell speechless.
