The Voiceless Duchess - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

After growing weary of the years-long standoff and oppression from both the Valdrant Empire and the Temple of Sidus, the people of Nordvant were eventually cornered in the north. It was said that it was more difficult to look at the faces of the Nordvant than the faces of the Imperial family. Thus, their former glory and honor was forgotten, and there was no one left to recognize them.

One day, a Nordvant noble exclaimed, “Look at the result of being pushed into the north, Father! How dare that good-for-nothing infertile man mock Nordvant? And Prince Joseph didn’t even try to stop him! After guarding the north for two thousand years, this is the kind of insult we get? We’re worse than guard dogs…!”

Over the several hundred years since the Nordvant people were cornered in the north, their influence over the region had only grown. The Margraves were revered here, even more so than the Emperor of Valdrant or the Pontiff of Sidus.

Werner and Lohengrin had grown accustomed to such gazes of awe since they were children and took them for granted. However, when they entered the social circles of the capital city of Bern, the gazes of those people were completely unfamiliar to them.

Confusion, doubt, contempt, wariness, mockery…

And the root of all these reactions was ignorance. Werner and Lohengrin were outraged by the status of Nordvant within the empire that they had encountered firsthand. They could somehow understand the others’ reactions, but ignorance was something they could not tolerate.

How could they not know anything? Who do they think allowed them to live in comfort and warmth? While they slept soundly in their beds, the people of Nordvant lost eyes, had their arms torn off, and sacrificed their lives.

After witnessing their ignorance, Lohengrin and Werner made a pact with each other to change the attitude of the nobles from the central region. Where previously they had attended banquets only once or twice a year, they increased their attendance at such events, exchanged gifts with others, and began to build relationships.

Werner’s engagement to Adelaide of Dorn and Lohengrin’s engagement to Dietrich of Gideon were also part of this strategy.

However, their relationship with Gideon had now changed. Who should they reach out to now? Was there anyone they could reach out to?

‘…!’

Lohengrin, who had been leaning against the bay window lost in thought, suddenly jolted up in surprise. A small crack appeared on the ring she had been fiddling with.

This was no ordinary ring. It was a sacred object that her maternal uncle Concerto had personally created by infusing it with his divine power to prevent the Sidus priests scattered throughout the empire from noticing Lohengrin’s immense power.

When did it break? Could it be…

Lohengrin bit her lip and recalled the face of the man she had met during the day. That meaningful gaze and smile of Carlisle Ansgar.

Could he have noticed? No, the ring might have been intact then. The time she was the most uncontrollably angry was when she confronted Dietrich. Even if it had broken before that, an ordinary person wouldn’t have felt anything. But could she really be sure that Carlisle was an ordinary person?

Lohengrin, who had been tightly gripping the broken ring, let out a long sigh. How pathetic she looked, worrying all alone by the window in the dead of night.

She would have to write to her uncle tomorrow and prepare to be scolded. Lohengrin leaned her head against the window frame and laughed at herself.

* * *

“Is there still no news from the noble houses?”

“Nothing about Nordvant or Gideon, no.”

“Nothing?”

On the night he unexpectedly encountered Lady Lohengrin, a secret report was delivered to Carlisle.

Lady Lohengrin had appeared at the secret illegitimate child’s residence that Dietrich Gideon had hidden in the Sixth District of Bern.

Was that why she had suddenly appeared in Bern? He had laughed at how quickly she had found out, but…

Carlisle immediately sharpened his senses to the movements of Nordvant. He needed to get his hands on this information before it reached Berthold.

“Nothing at all, it’s completely quiet.”

“That’s strange.”

There was no way those stiff-necked people would tolerate the existence of an illegitimate child.

They would either kill the child or drag the young duke by the hair to the Imperial Palace and declare the annulment of the engagement. Either way, they would have caused a huge commotion.

However…

‘What are they thinking?’

The Margrave wasn’t in Bern yet, so he was out of the question, but the Nordvant woman in the mansion was being unusually quiet.

Carlisle twirled the pen in his hand with an inscrutable expression.

This wasn’t what he had expected. Gideon and Nordvant needed to be separated so that he could corner Gideon even more. The 2nd Prince Joseph had been ousted and those fools couldn’t let go of the now-worthless person…

Tsk, Carlisle clicked his tongue and flipped through the documents in front of him. It was a report that Michael had submitted that morning.

“Anyway, let’s leave that for now. What about this?”

Michael Moyer, who had been buried in paperwork the whole time, let out a long sigh.

“Only a handful of people have access to her private space, and she hardly has any outside activities. Her security is so thorough that even the ravens that enter her inner sanctum turn pale at the mere mention of the word ‘lady.'”