67. The Emperor’s Trap

Clang! Clang!

After the banquet, the emperor’s study was filled with the sound of smashing.

He seemed like a person determined to break everything within reach out of anger.

The emperor was extremely furious.

From his perspective, Psyche receiving the Tarang merchant ship as a gift was a cause for anger.

“Clearly, I said I brought the Duke here by force!”

Since the Duke began to expand her influence, the emperor had been trying to find a way to bring her down every day.

However, finding a weakness in her firmly established position, built up since childhood, was no easy task.

Unable to find any public flaw, he eventually turned his attention to her private life.

And just at that moment, with rumors circulating about discord between the Duke and his wife, and hearing that Psyche had returned as the Duchess at an opportune time, the emperor wanted to use it to tarnish the Duke’s reputation even a little.

“Damn it.”

But nothing went according to his plan.

Whether the Duke and his wife had a good relationship or not, from the emperor’s perspective, the Tarang merchant ship falling into Psyche’s hands was a significant loss.

The trade of a whole country being toyed with by the hands of a mere Duchess was unheard of.

“It’s unacceptable.”

He thought he should immediately strip her of that authority.

In fact, Sandrine’s decision to give the merchant ship to Psyche was made after considering that the emperor would actually appreciate it.

After all, it was nothing less than the empire gaining passage rights to Silen Harbor.

But the emperor didn’t even want to give the Duke the satisfaction of noticing that.

“I never liked it from the start.”

The emperor wanted to possess the merchant ship by any means necessary.

And he wanted the Duke to kneel at his feet.

Suddenly, he remembered the day a few years ago when the Duke had threatened him, boasting about his successor as the head of the Duke, when Psyche had run away.

At that time, he had thought that as long as his relationship with the Duke did not deteriorate, everything would be fine.

Since the Duke’s influence had not yet become too overwhelming, he had just let it pass without much concern.

“Leighton might know something after all.”

The emperor could see nothing in front of him now. More than the next emperor or the prince’s safety, he wanted to bring down the thorn in his side, the Duke.

He cruelly considered pushing his son Leighton into the Duke’s family, even if it meant using the crown prince to bring down either the Duke or the Duchess.

Then he suddenly remembered the look in the Duke’s eyes as he looked at Psyche.

“Perhaps…”

He wondered if targeting Psyche instead of the Duke could be a shortcut to destroying the Duke.

He slapped his knee at the thought.

Then he quickly called for his aide.

“You called, Your Majesty?”

“Assign surveillance to the Valentine Duchess.”

“Pardon?”

The aide was surprised, but tried not to show it as he asked.

“Find out everything about the Duchess.”

“….”

“Her taste in clothing, favorite foods, minor habits, demeanor—anything will do.”

“Understood.”

“Ensure detailed reports on when she wakes up, what she eats, where she goes, and who she talks to.”

The peculiar order left the aide with many questions, but as always, he was not allowed to ask them.

“As you wish.”

“And summon the Crown Prince.”

The thought of ensnaring the Duchess filled him with sudden delight.

Perhaps he could use the Crown Prince to break the relationship between the Duke and his wife.

❖ ❖ ❖

Psyche returned to the mansion feeling very unsettled.

Even after the party ended, she had decided to spend some time with Kili, who wanted to stay with her.

But aside from that, Psyche couldn’t shake the feeling that recent events in her life didn’t feel quite real.

It seemed like just a short while ago she had been thinking about standing alone without the Duke, without the name ‘Duchess’.

And now, it had happened so quickly.

She fell into deep thought as the carriage headed back to the Duke.

“Now…”

Now, there was no one who didn’t recognize her, even without the Duke.

In recent days, her name had become far more famous than the Duke’s.

Of course, she wasn’t satisfied with just that.

As she contemplated her future once again, she noticed Kili fidgeting with Clint’s robe in front of her.

Kili was so reluctant to part with Psyche that she decided to stay at the Duke for a while longer. Because of this, Sandrine postponed the day of their return by a few days.

He glanced around the somber atmosphere inside the carriage and hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Sir.”

It was a weighty voice for someone so young.

Clint, who was sitting by the window, resting his chin on his hand and looking outside, turned his head at Kili’s serious voice.

With a determined expression, Kili, who seemed much older than her age, reached out her hand and spoke.

“If I leave for Tarang, please don’t fight with my sister.”

“Sister?”

“Yes, Lady Psyche!”

Surprisingly, Kili’s way of addressing Psyche had changed from “Mother” to “Sister”. Clint, looking at Psyche sitting meekly in front of him, responded with a somewhat resigned tone.

“She is a lady, and I am sir?”

“Yeah. Aren’t you, sir?”

“…Fine.”

Whether he felt a little unfairly treated or tried to reason logically, Clint soon gave up.

Kili added another comment.

“Just like last time, let’s not fight.”

Kili had been bothered by the memory of Psyche and Clint fighting unintentionally. She wished they wouldn’t fight. She didn’t want Psyche, who she felt a special bond with like a mother, to be sad.

As Clint and Psyche remained silent, feeling sorry, Kili added again.

“Mom Sandrine said so.”

Blushing, Kili spoke confidently.

“If you did something wrong, admit it, and it will be okay.”

“…Okay.”

“Frankly speaking, she said that half of all fights in the world would decrease!”

Lately, it seemed that Sandrine had taught Kili a lot since she hired a governess.

“So, sir, always tell our sister the truth, okay?”

“…Fine.”

At Kili’s words, Clint suddenly felt uncomfortable and closed his mouth.

To avoid Kili feeling uneasy for no reason, Psyche quickly intervened.

“Why? Kili is right, so please listen to her.”

“…Fine.”

Then Clint glanced toward the window again and spoke softly enough for only Psyche to hear.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if honesty could solve everything?”

“What do you mean?”

“Mom said she hated hurting people, whether it’s murder or anything else.”

“She did.”

Suddenly wondering why he was bringing up past events, Psyche looked puzzled.

“Look at that.”

“…?”

Seeing Psyche’s puzzled expression at his contradictory words, Clint shrugged. Then, instead of answering, he turned his gaze towards Kili and teased her.

“No, this little one seems to be trying to teach the adults.”

He pretended to hit Kili lightly with a pretend scolding expression.

In response, Kili smiled mischievously.

Then she snuggled against Clint’s knee and started playing with his buttons.

“Sir, why are the buttons on your clothes so many?”

“It’s proof of being an adult, being able to button up alone.”

Hearing their nonsensical conversation, Psyche burst into giggles.

For some reason, she felt like she was witnessing the scene she had longed for in the past.

Psyche quietly observed Clint talking to Kili.

He seemed so different from when she first met him.

But he was also someone who knew how to perfectly disguise himself.

In fact, he had never shown his true feelings to her, and he was not the type to talk about his feelings or emotions openly, so she never thought about delving into his sincerity.

So lately, Clint seemed completely new to Psyche.

Like when he got angry in front of me.

‘He seems to be quite good at playing with children, isn’t he?’

It was like seeing him with Kili.

Psyche imagined what it would be like if they became parents.

At first, she realized that even though their relationship started with a contract, raising a child together meant more than just a contractual relationship.

Being parents meant not measuring benefits from each other.

Simply providing a good environment wouldn’t necessarily make them good parents.

Vaguely, Psyche thought about her future with a child.

The image of herself as a mother… and the somewhat distant figure of Clint beside her felt a bit surreal.

‘We… don’t know much about each other.’