Ever since that incident, Adrian had been branded with disgraceful titles.
"The Emperor's Mad Dog."
"The Noble Butcher."
To think that such names would be given to none other than the Dragon's Chosen!
The Emperor did everything he could to erase the stigma attached to Adrian, but it was all in vain.
His frantic efforts only served to heighten the public's fear.
Adrian insisted it was a pointless endeavor, but the Emperor was just as stubborn.
And so, two years passed.
Then, last spring, after a minor disturbance at a banquet, the Emperor finally admitted defeat and gave up on his stubborn attempts to explain things away.
Because of that, Adrian let his guard down.
By the time he learned that the Emperor was searching for a Grand Duchess, everything was already over.
And so, the woman he ended up meeting... was Ione.
Adrian took a slow, steady breath.
She was said to be the daughter of Baron Clark, whose estate was tucked away in the southern territories.
A woman recommended as Grand Duchess because of her unwavering devotion in caring for her ailing mother.
But words grow more poisonous as they pass from mouth to mouth.
There was no need to imagine how the events of three years ago had been twisted and spread in the South — it was obvious.
As for the capital… it had long since moved on from the shock of those events.
Although the capital had regained stability, proper news likely hadn't reached the far corners of the South.
To the Grand Duchess, he was probably still "
The Noble Butcher."
"...."
Adrian took a step back, widening the distance between them, and gestured toward the window with a tilt of his chin.
"It's time to come to your senses. From here to the Grand Duke's estate, we have to use the warp gate and then ride another two hours by carriage. With this snow, who knows how much longer it'll take , we should leave now."
His voice was calm and emotionless, no different from usual.
"I've lost it! I'm crazy! I really can't take this, seriously!"
Sure, she might have screamed out of surprise upon seeing Adrian in her half-asleep state — but even so, this was excessive.
There was no other way to describe it than a full-blown meltdown.
Seeing her recoil as if she'd come face-to-face with a bug, Adrian erased the smile he wore out of habit and replaced it with a cold expression.
"I must be crazy. What's with the screaming? Might as well go ahead and hold a death ritual if I really want to die!"
Adrian hadn't even gotten into the carriage yet — he was the only one accompanying her.
Thanks to that, Ione was free to completely lose it inside the carriage on her own.
"All I ever wanted was a long and healthy life! Not to be brutally killed off according to the plot!"
Ione smacked her head hard against the carriage wall.
Before she ended up in this world, she had been the kind of person who could easily handle staying up for three nights straight.
With her slim figure, people often assumed she was weak, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
She had always made up for her lack of stamina with sheer willpower.
That's how she'd lived her life. So when her body gave out on its own, like now, Ione often found it baffling.
Just like this very moment!
"All I did was wake up early and move around a bit — and I was already dozing off without even realizing it!"
She didn't even notice when she'd fallen asleep.
"I thought I was getting better…"
she muttered, unable to hide her gloom.
Thinking back, it hadn't been long after she arrived in this world that her body started betraying her.
Back then, she'd collapse more than once while trying to care for her sick mother.
"The sickly beauty
" was, after all, one of the classic traits of a female lead.
When her body couldn't keep up, she had no choice but to rely on her mind.
You know the type — the classic frail female lead.
But here she was, a side character with no sense, trying to steal the "
sickly beauty
" trope!
Her family was already on the brink of collapse — even working day and night wouldn't be enough to turn things around.
So Ione grit her teeth and trained her body relentlessly.
Lately, everything had seemed fine. She thought she'd finally recovered.
And yet… she collapsed at a moment like this.
"Dear villagers, my own body has just activated self-harming friendly fire!"
She felt like crying, but the tears wouldn't come.
"And here I am, struggling in the lowly 'ex-wife' side character position… To all the seniors out there who ended up in villainess roles — how did you survive this nightmare?"
"Haa...…"
Whoooosh—
Leaning weakly against the carriage wall, Ione pricked up her ears.
Through the thick walls, she could faintly hear the sharp whistle of the wind and the heavy thud of snowflakes pelting the carriage.
"…Of course this would happen."
She'd only ever seen snowstorms in documentaries — she had never experienced one in real life.
And now she was headed to the Northern Territory, a land so harsh that the capital's cold didn't even compare.
A flicker of anxiety crossed her mind, but it didn't last long. She calmed herself by recalling the original story.
"There was never any mention of Ione freezing to death."
Surely the same plot that could casually pair off side characters into marriages wouldn't let her die from the cold.
The thought brought her a small sense of relief.
She didn't know how long she had waited, leaning back into the plush seat — but eventually, Adrian returned.
"Did I keep you waiting long?"
The moment he opened the carriage door and offered her that smooth, practiced smile.....
Thump.
A strange sound echoed in her chest, almost like… a flutter of excitement.
"Will there ever come a day when I get used to that face…?"
Bathed in the light erupting from the warp gate of the Imperial City, the Grand Duke's massive carriage vanished.
A young attendant, having seen them off, dashed back toward the main estate as if flying.
The young attendant soon came face-to-face with the head steward, who had been anxiously pacing in front of the main estate.
"How did it go?"
"They've departed, sir,"
the young attendant replied firmly.
At his words, the old man's face lit up with relief — nearly euphoric in its intensity.
"Then go quickly and fetch His Majesty the Emperor."
At the urgent command, the attendant once again took off at a swift pace, disappearing from the steward's view.
Left alone, the steward raised a hand and roughly wiped down his weathered face.
It had been a truly dreadful ordeal.
The Grand Duke, calmly enjoying tea with the Emperor, had suddenly declared he would return to his territory — and take the Grand Duchess with him.
While the steward was away preparing the warp gate with the court mages, disaster had struck.
By the time he returned from checking the warp gate, the air on the first floor of the estate was thick and heavy — almost as if soaked in water.
If that atmosphere had a color, it would've been a deep, blood-dark red.
As the steward recalled it, a chill ran down his spine, and a wave of nausea rose in his throat.
He hadn't even had time to issue any orders — his instincts had already flared at the faint, metallic scent in the air.
And just then, a young attendant came running toward him, face completely drained of color.
"Steward! Something terrible has happened—! The Grand Duke—!"
"Let's go!"
With just that one word, the steward bolted after the young attendant at full speed.
In the past forty years of serving the Imperial family, the steward had never once lost his composure.
But now, his breath caught painfully in his throat as he ran, his heart pounding in panic, his fingertips icy cold.
The place he headed to was the reception room.
It was located just past the front entrance on the first floor of the estate, across the courtyard.
Gasping for breath, he flung open the reception room door — and was met with such a horrifying sight that his legs buckled, and he sank down without realizing it.
There stood the Grand Duke, sword drawn, and four fallen maids lying on the floor.
The Grand Duke, calmly holding his sword downward, looked lonely and isolated, a stark contrast to the violent scene.
"What happened?"
Only after hearing the composed voice did the steward regain his senses.
"I have been rude."
With trembling hands, the steward steadied himself and struggled to stand.
"I asked what happened."
Still, the Grand Duke didn't move an inch, but the steward felt as if his throat was being strangled.
Darkness clouded his vision as if the lonely figure before him would snap his neck any second.
Desperately, he forced his dry lips to move.
If he couldn't answer, his life would be over.
"Y-Your Highness, the warp gate is ready."
Hiding his true feelings with practiced skill, the steward tried to divert the Grand Duke's attention.
Though shocked by the sudden scene after three years of calm, he was still the steward — responsible for the vast Imperial estate.
He had endured the calamity three years ago and cleaned away the rivers of blood.
The steward tried to focus on the radiant man before him, recalling who he was dealing with.
The Grand Duke — a strange man who carried on the name of Van, coldly detached and highly rational.
"He isn't someone who would act cruelly without reason."
Judging the situation calmly, the steward bowed a little deeper.
"The Grand Duchess is waiting for Your Highness."
It was a polite yet desperate plea to stop here.
The steward trusted Adrian's reason.
Three years ago, Adrian had acted with absolute coldness.
He was neither compassionate nor merciful, but at the same time, he never crossed the line.
That made his punishments all the more severe.
Bowing his head, Steward Sebastian's eyes briefly glanced at the condition of the maids, then tightly pressed his lips together.
"Sebastian."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Adrian, who had been staring down the gleaming white blade, flicked the hilt to straighten the edge.
Swish.
Sheathing his sword, Adrian stepped out of the reception room and brushed past him, adding:
"Rather than pleading for unreasonable mercy, it's far more efficient to teach the subordinates their place."
"Of course, Your Highness.
"
After the massive shadow that had fallen over him passed by, Sebastian slowly straightened and saw him off.
All the way to the estate's front gate.
He bowed once more, showing full respect to the Imperial family until the Grand Duke was out of sight.
And now, in the present moment.....
Sebastian waited anxiously for the Emperor.
Adrian knew exactly how to set an example most effectively.
The maids were not dead, and the Emperor's skill was excellent.
Still, Sebastian's heart was restless.
Though no one dared to treat the maids in front of the Grand Duke, the sooner the treatment started, the better the chances of recovery.
If fortune smiled, they might even save the damaged tongues and hands.
Sebastian let out a deep sigh.
"What in the world…."
The fallen maids had been serving the young lady Ione Clark, who had just become the Grand Duchess today.
When Sebastian saw their faces earlier, his vision went dark.
The girls who had served the new Grand Duchess were from a proud family loyal to the Emperor.
They had survived the turmoil three years ago by maintaining absolute loyalty to the Emperor, and their pride was unmatched.
They revered Adrian, who single-handedly swept away all those who had acted insolently against the Emperor.
To them, Adrian was like a living god.
No one dared approach him, and they would never tolerate anyone insignificant standing near him.
To them, Ione Clark was nothing but filth sullied onto the Grand Duke.