At Adrian's blunt words, the emperor could no longer respond.
He, too, had been reaching his limit.
Today, he had finally planned to introduce his fiancée, Lady Garnet, to his younger brother.
The excuse he used to summon him from the North had been the Grand Duchess, but now that the Grand Duchess had been received, it would be even harder to see his face again.
'But of all days, why is she running late today without even sending word?'
Worried, the emperor had sent knights out midway, but there had been no response from their side either.
Whooosh --
A loud gust of wind rattled the windows.
At the sound, Adrian turned his head. The snow that had begun to fall that morning had now become a heavy blizzard, swirling furiously outside.
"On days like this, carriage accidents are quite common."
The emperor's wandering thoughts were abruptly cut off by Adrian's dry remark.
"Carriage accident?"
"The reason someone would be this late without any word is usually quite obvious."
Adrian tilted his chin toward the window, gesturing at the raging snowstorm outside. The emperor let out a bitter smile.
Of all days... today.
In the end, the emperor did not stop Adrian, who walked away after leaving a graceful bow.
After leaving the emperor's private reception room, Adrian headed straight to the Lady's Room located on the first floor of the Empress's Palace.
Originally, it had been the empress's formal reception room. But after more than twenty years without its mistress, people had gradually begun calling it the "
Lady's Room.
"
Since then, it had been opened for noble ladies invited to the imperial palace.
However, the room was empty.
Adrian stood in front of the vacant Lady's Room, then spoke.
"Where is the Grand Duchess?"
"Y-You mean Her Highness the Grand Duchess…?"
The two knights guarding the Lady's Room looked at each other in confusion.
The knight's expression stiffened slightly in response to Adrian's question.
His brow twitched, and his eyes shifted subtly.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The sound of the knights' heartbeats grew slightly louder, echoing in Adrian's ears.
He knew exactly what such reactions meant.
A lack of information.
What some might call a bolt from the blue.
"Ah."
Only then did he recall the scene when the emperor had issued the expulsion order. The attendants had guided Ione Clarke away.
Ione had hesitated, startled by the sudden dismissal, only to be pushed along without delay.
"Your Grace the Grand Duke…?"
"It seems I've come to the wrong place."
With long strides, Adrian quickly left the Lady Room.
Not long after, he arrived at the reception room on the first floor of the main castle.
It was a place where anyone visiting the royal castle could rest.
At just the touch of his hand on the closed door, the well-worn heavy wooden door swung wide open.
Inside, the only thing visible was Ione, leaning on the sofa with her eyes closed.
There were no knights guarding the door, no maids attending, and no waiting servants — not a single soul.
"....."
Adrian stepped into the reception room, which still carried a faint warmth.
Since nobles and members of the merchant guild alike passed through this space, the level of reception was not bad. However, t was definitely not a place suitable for hosting royals.
And yet, there she was — his wife.
Alone.
In such an open space, the Grand Duchess was asleep without a single guard.
In just a few steps, Adrian stood in front of Ione.
"...."
Before the sleeping Ione, was only a cup of tea, its color unusually pale.
The single plate for tea snacks was completely empty, and the teapot was nowhere to be seen.
Adrian's usually composed brow faintly furrowed.
The wife of Adrian van Preses, whose middle name '
van
' signifies the power inherited from dragons, was in such a state.
If the Emperor ruled the empire, then the one who carried the Van name protected it.
Though Ione was given the title of Grand Duchess by the Emperor, she was unquestionably the Grand Duchess.
The maids and servants had disrespected the proud name of 'Van.'
"How dare they."
Adrian's pupils sharpened like blades, his irises splitting into two.
The proud blood of the dragon surged through his veins, igniting wave after wave of fury.
The long-dormant feeling was unfamiliar, sharpening his senses even more.
He wanted to drag the guilty here immediately, force them to kneel, and make them remember their place — those reckless hands and that willful mind...
"Ah."
Adrian's anger, which had been spreading relentlessly, suddenly halted.
His thoughts abruptly stopped the moment his gaze landed on Ione.
For a moment, he had forgotten someone was here.
Ione Clarke.
His timid and unscrupulous wife.
Pushed by the weight of prestige, she had appeared and eagerly accepted the lavish conditions proposed by the Emperor.
But after signing the contract, did it finally sink in?
"Please limit this marriage to three years."
Her desperate attempt to escape was quite a spectacle.
Adrian looked at Ione with renewed eyes.
Her beautiful black hair contrasted sharply with her pale, almost ghostly white skin.
The long lashes cast a delicate shadow.
Her finely detailed features were undoubtedly beautiful.
But perhaps due to a lack of vitality, if it weren't for the shallow rise and fall of her chest, she might as well have been dead.
"Don't kill her,"
the Emperor's earlier words suddenly came to mind.
"Miss Clarke is pitiable, you know."
"Madam."
Though she lay as if lifeless and lacking any sense of propriety, she did look quite pitiful, just as the Emperor had said.
"Madam, please wake up."
Even at those words, her closed eyes did not open.
With a soft sigh, Adrian reached out and gently lifted the sleeping Ione in his arms.
Her body felt so light it was hard to believe she was an adult woman.
Is this normal...?
The weight was so light that when Adrian adjusted Ione and held her tightly, her tightly closed eyes suddenly fluttered open.
"Ah, you're awake—"
"Huh?"
At the strange sound, Adrian paused mid-sentence and looked down to meet Ione's gaze.
"Gah!"
Pale as if she had seen a ghost, Ione shuddered violently.
"W-what have I done! I must be crazy!"
Her clear, piercing scream rang out with surprising volume.
Startled by the unexpected scream, Adrian froze.
In the moment, Ione twisted her body and slipped out of his arms, trembling.
Before Adrian could even grasp her properly, she quickly escaped his hold and straightened herself up.
"S-sorry, no, what on earth is this...?"
Covering her mouth, Ione stared at him in shock.
Seeing her clearly disgusted expression, Adrian lightly furrowed his brow.
Acting like she had stepped in something unpleasant.
"..."
People generally treated him in one of two ways: with fear or with respect.
But he swore this was the first time he'd been treated like this.
Adrian van Preses
.
Adrian van Preces was the empire's only magic swordsman, a peerless talent. With his noble bloodline as the first in line for the throne and the blessing of the dragon, he possessed an almost inhuman, strikingly handsome appearance.
And yet, the woman who had become his wife treated him like this...?
How could she be so consistently rude?
"This can't be right... Am I still half-asleep or something?"
Muttering words he couldn't understand, Ione raised her hand and pinched her own cheek.
"Ugh!"
Adrian's thoughts abruptly stopped at her groan.
"What are you doing?"
Without mercy, Adrian tore Ione's hand away from her cheek.
But by then, the white cheek already bore a red handprint.
"This isn't a dream."
"I haven't been diagnosed of any illness, though."
Adrian clicked his tongue softly, unable to hide the sarcasm in his voice.
It was then.
At the edge of his gaze, he finally saw Ione's true expression—the one he had missed.
A pulse racing faster than normal, dilated pupils, a stiff, rigid neck.
And in her vivid green eyes, a clear refusal toward him, and unmistakable fear.
"Ah."
Adrian recalled the infamous reputation he had long forgotten.
"The noble executioner."
Three years ago, after he willingly decided to dirty his hands, the label had stuck to him relentlessly.
It didn't bother him much, but every now and then, it annoyed him.
Just like now.
Ten years ago, the young emperor ascended the throne. Contrary to the concerns around him, he ruled the empire with skill and maturity.
His decisions were reasonable, wise, and even considerate.
Under the reign of the young emperor, the empire experienced an unprecedented era of prosperity.
In a world where a better tomorrow was taken for granted, the people of the empire naturally hoped for an even brighter future.
However, the problem was that the nobles also held absurd hopes.
"He may seem smart, but he's just a child!"
"If we flatter the young emperor well enough, maybe we can hold him in our grasp."
Their delusions grew too large, and ultimately led to ruin—three years ago.
The nobles treated the emperor, who was well into adulthood, as if he were the same child he was ten years ago.
They never remembered that, even at a young age, he had skillfully thwarted their dark schemes.
"If he dares to covet the throne, have him swear allegiance to the Duke, Your Majesty."
They failed to realize that their greed, which crossed all boundaries, did not only affect the emperor.
To dare doubt the '
Van
' name.....
Watching silently, Adrian drew his sword.
If you start making exceptions when setting an example, the slaughter becomes meaningless.
Adrian never made exceptions—he wiped them all out.
Countless people met their deaths because of him.