Chapter 16
Harvich felt disgust at Julius, who spoke lightly of Lincia’s life.
But he could not reveal that emotion.
Even if the rebellion succeeded, the matters concerning the Cassius domain would not be resolved immediately, and Lincia’s life was a separate matter.
Moreover, no one knew better than Harvich that Julius never left behind loose ends.
“What use would that woman be to me?”
If Harvich admitted any interest, Lincia might save her life for the moment, but it could also make her life more miserable.
He spoke as indifferently as possible, yet the rising disgust was uncontrollable, and he closed his eyes.
“So heartless.
I thought if you said you cared, I might spare her and send her to Cassius.”
“…Even if you sent her to me, she wouldn’t last long.
Did your sister wrong you so greatly?
To the point where you wish her isolated in the North, left to die?”
Lincia and the North.
Two words that did not belong together.
Lincia Durand was a woman who had lived like a flower.
Every time Harvich spoke with her, he felt that truth deeply.
A woman unaccustomed to malice.
A woman who, even in this situation, believed without doubt that she would survive.
Above all, a woman who hated the cold.
A woman who loved painting and wished to travel far and wide.
Life as the Grand Duchess would never be as abundant as in the capital, and the scenery would be white year-round.
The North’s internal affairs were grim as well.
For Harvich, it was enough that he alone was mired in that swamp.
Recalling that, Harvich frowned.
When the woman he thought surely dead returned as his bride, he felt only mixed emotions.
Relief that she was alive, paired with new troubles.
She was royalty, and royalty would never be welcomed in the Cassius domain.
“I hear the North has an heir now?
Congratulations.
You can go off mercenarying without worry.”
Julius smiled brightly.
Harvich clenched his fist at the sight of it.
“Yes, it is all thanks to His Majesty’s concern.
I remain ever grateful.”
Eyes the same violet as Lincia’s, yet unbearably unpleasant, turned toward Harvich.
Julius curled his eyes and smiled.
“Let’s return to the banquet hall.
It’s my first time in the Grand Duke’s castle, I’m looking forward to it.”
“Understood.
I will see to your comfort.”
“Within the Grand Duchy, I am Julian of the Seviac Viscountcy.
Call me that.”
“……”
“It’s a name that brings back old memories.
Don’t you think?”
***
Despite all the careful preparations, the luncheon went awry from the start.
As soon as Harvich returned from personally greeting the capital nobles at the outer castle, he vanished.
Because Lincia, the guest of honour, was present, appearances were kept, but Harvich needed to return before the luncheon ended.
He, too, was a person to be congratulated, indirectly at least.
Among people who disliked Lincia, she was left alone.
Harvich’s presence would not have changed much.
He disliked her as much as the others did.
Even so, just seeing his face reassured her.
And there was something else that unsettled her.
Julius Durand.
The man who held her life in his hands.
The moment she recognised him, Lincia’s hand trembled.
Unease brought bile to her throat again and again.
“Ugh,”
She even gagged in front of her meal.
Fortunately, her reaction was dismissed as simple morning sickness, and no one questioned it.
But Julius would not have missed it.
Even in the Imperial Palace, whenever she dined with him, she had often vomited up what she ate.
“Even with morning sickness, you must eat, Your Grace.”
Oberok spoke the usual words.
Lincia nodded and forced herself to swallow.
She tried not to notice, yet her gaze kept drifting to where Julius sat.
“Your Grace, you do not look well.
It would be best for you to retire.”
Oberok instructed her to rest, but Lincia shook her head.
Harvich had not come.
She could not leave before he did.
“…This is a celebration for me.
I cannot.”
Her voice was frail.
Though she wanted to endure, her body would not obey.
As Lincia exhaled roughly, Tereo suddenly rose from his seat.
“I will escort her.
For a physician’s consultation, a guardian is required.”
Oberok was a physician, but as an unmarried man, he needed a guardian present to examine her.
So even when relations were strained, Harvich had always been present during her monthly visits from the imperial doctor.
“…And what right do you have?
We will call another married physician.”
“I cannot trust the Grand Duke’s physicians!
All of you wish only for Her Grace to miscarry!”
Tereo snapped irritably.
“My lord, do you know what you are saying?”
The growing commotion was unwelcome.
“…I am fine.
The Grand Duke will be here soon.
I will go when he arrives.”
Though she tried to sound confident, Lincia felt her vision blur.
Dizziness, she knew too well, churned her stomach.
She instinctively placed a hand on her belly.
She feared for her child.
“I hear I am being considered as the guardian knight for the child to be born.
That gives me the right.”
“And yet, I was told the Grand Duke refused that matter.”
“First, Her Grace must rest.”
“I will go with the physician.”
The voice was chillingly sweet.
“Julian Seviac.
I was acquainted with Her Grace during our academy days.”
Lincia was handed over to Julian’s care.
Or rather, into Julius’s.
It was unsettling to walk beside the man who had triggered her dizziness, but she had no strength left to resist.
Her steps faltered as though the ground itself was swaying.
“Your Majesty, what brings you to the North…?”
Oberok seemed to recognise quickly that the disguised man was Julius.
A man who rarely stepped forward was now speaking up for him.
“If he is the Seviac Viscount, he can be trusted.
I believe he has children.”
Impossible.
Julius Durand had never married.
Even if Lincia lived a cloistered life, there was no way she would not know of the Emperor’s marriage.
“I came to see my sister.
She never answered my letters, nor came to see me at the palace.
I had no choice but to come myself.
I wanted to talk with her, but today that seems impossible.”
Lincia’s eyes trembled.
*Talk?
What could he possibly want to say?*
She remembered the last words they had exchanged.
“Yes.
I hope you will remain as quiet there as you are now.
Do not try to do anything.
Remember, it is a life I spared.”
Lincia had done just that in the Grand Duke’s household.
She had been quiet, done nothing.
She had never once gone against Julius’s will.
And though unintended, she had even followed it by bearing no child.
“…Why me?”
“Because I wanted to see you.”
