Confession (6)

“We couldn’t get anyone close to the Countess of Loire in Touraine, so we changed tactics. We began collecting superficial information. Someone who lived in Jaime for a long time said that the Countess, who rarely goes out, looked like a very old woman. Around eighty, perhaps? She seemed extremely frail. Then, by chance, we found a caregiver sent from the Great Temple who once looked after her during an illness. She said she served the Countess about ten years ago, and even back then, the Countess already appeared to be in her eighties.”

Judith wore a look that practically screamed, “Isn’t this strange?”

“Maybe… it’s just that when you get older, your appearance doesn’t change much…”

At Alicia’s suggestion, Judith shook her head vigorously.

“After meeting with the caregiver, we confirmed that the Countess of Loire has been moving between Jaime and Touraine for some time. According to residents near her manor in Touraine, she began spending winters there about twenty years ago, and even then, she looked to be in her eighties.”

That her aged face hadn’t changed in twenty years, ten years, or even now—

It was uncanny.

“That is definitely strange.”

Judith nodded at Alicia’s dazed response.

“Finding detailed information about the Countess has proven difficult. So, we began tracing her through time. And eventually, we found someone who said he met her when she first arrived in Touraine—about 26 or 27 years ago. He was summoned to help with some urgent work at her estate, and even then, she looked to be in her eighties. He said that back when he was a young man, she already appeared as an old woman. And now, as he nears his fifties, she still looks the same—an old lady. That’s how he remembers her so well.”

Alicia’s eyes wavered uneasily.

“That’s…”

It was truly bizarre.

“We went further back, and there was a rumor that before coming to Touraine, the Countess of Loire lived in Oriée. So we sent an agent there. But since Oriée is close to the western border, there’s too much movement of people, and we couldn’t find any trace.”

Judith’s face clouded with bitter frustration.

“Good work.”

Alicia replied, her brow deeply furrowed.

Oriée.

Oriée lay between Tessen and the mainland.

Technically, it was part of the Grand Duke’s domain.

“Lady Alicia, are you all right?”

Judith asked cautiously.

Though Alicia’s eyes were open, she looked like someone lost in a dream.

The Countess of Loire was a mysterious figure.

Her age made it impossible for any scandal with the Grand Duke to be true.

It was also hard to believe she was a hidden concubine of the Emperor.

Yet there was clearly some connection between the Countess and the royal family.

A former concubine of the previous Emperor?

Perhaps someone from the generation before that.

…Or maybe the previous Grand Duke of Tessen…

Thoughts tangled and shot off in every direction.

Concubine. Royalty. Marriage.

The Grand Duke’s late marriages. The early deaths of his duchesses. The many weddings that followed.

Alicia, the seventh bride.

A man who disliked marriage in the present—

Yet ironically, one who would go on to marry again and again.

A flurry of thoughts surged in her mind, until she formed a hypothesis.

“Judith. Please find out if there’s any connection between Tessen and the Countess of Loire. Be cautious if you approach—she’s being looked after by the Great Temple.”

Even as she spoke, Alicia lacked certainty.

Her request was vague, but Judith didn’t refuse.

She, too, found the mystery of the Countess hard to believe—and wanted to uncover the truth.

“Yes, I’ll take my leave.”

At Judith’s bow, Alicia only gave a small nod.

The thought that had entered her mind wouldn’t leave.

“…So that’s why…”

If her hypothesis was right, everything made sense.

Above all, Reichardt’s behavior became understandable.

And if she was right, she didn’t even want to imagine how cruel he might act toward her in the future.

Lately, Alicia had been spending more time alone.

Though a lady had many duties, she reduced her public appearances to a minimum.

She declined Marquess Rain’s dinner invitations, postponed outings and visits from others.

Only Marchioness Marine had visited briefly.

Instead of changing into three different dresses daily—morning, afternoon, and evening—Alicia now wore just one.

She mostly stayed in the library.

But unlike before, she didn’t read or write letters.

She did nothing at all.

She was simply lost in thought.

And in that time, the days flew by.

The soft start of spring had turned into full bloom before she knew it.

It was one of those days when the air brushing against her cheek was distinctly warm.

Alicia finally stepped outside.

It had been nearly a month.

A celebration was being held at the imperial palace—

The birth of Princess Dorothea, the Emperor’s first child.

As someone soon to be part of the imperial family, Alicia couldn’t be absent.

Gossip had been brewing for weeks about the rift between the Grand Duke of Tessen and his intended bride.

As she stepped down from her carriage and boarded the palace’s prepared one, watching eyes whispered quickly.

But Alicia paid them no mind.

She was lost in thought.

“……”

Alicia formed a hypothesis.

The Countess of Loire had first appeared in the noble registry around thirty years ago.

At the time, both the current Emperor and the Grand Duke of Tessen were just children. So it was safe to say she had no direct relation to them.

Could she be a hidden concubine of the former Emperor, or the only surviving one he spared?

Not impossible. But the previous Emperor had been as politically shrewd as the current one.

While the current Emperor was under pressure for not having a legitimate heir, he still manipulated his siblings and nephews with mere gestures, using the promise of succession as bait.

Duke Lirin, Marchioness of Vels, Marquis Manners—

There were countless puppets dancing to the Emperor’s tune.

And the man who taught him that ruthless education? The former Emperor.

That same man would never have left behind someone who could become a burden to his heir.

Then suddenly, a different suspicion came to Alicia.

The former Grand Duchess of Tessen.

What if the Countess of Loire was the former Grand Duchess?

Then everything made sense.

Reichardt had repeatedly rejected the idea of marriage with Alicia.

“Do you even understand the fear of a marriage vow?”

“Another marriage, again.”

Marriage.

He spoke of it like he was cursed.

Reichardt Tessen, the current Grand Duke, was tethered to Tessen.

So was his predecessor.

The Grand Duke of Tessen suffered unbearable pain during the rise of the second moon, Rua.

There were no rumors of curses plaguing the current or former Grand Duke.

Alicia had no clear knowledge of the former Grand Duke—he was too far in the past.

But Alicia had her memories from the first round.

People believed the Grand Duke stayed in Tessen during certain times to guard the western border, but in truth, he could only endure his excruciating pain while in Tessen.

Eventually, the Grand Duke began staying away from Tessen for long stretches—and that began right after marriage.

Even in the first round, Reichardt had been one of the last imperial men to marry for the first time.

After that, he married six more times, and Alicia was set to become his seventh bride.

He despised marriage.

And yet, he had married.

Perhaps his pain had reached a breaking point.

Inversely, that meant the curse placed on the Grand Duke of Tessen could be alleviated by marriage.

That explained why the imperial family kept trying to arrange his marriage.

Even now, the Emperor and the royals constantly pushed him toward it.

Reichardt loathed marriage for some reason.

If the Countess of Loire was the former Grand Duchess, and her current state was the result of marrying the former Grand Duke…

Then young Reichardt would have seen what happened to her.

That explained his absolute aversion to marriage.

If the Countess truly was the former Grand Duchess, even the mystery behind the Grand Duke’s marriage vows would make sense.

The Grand Duke suffered inexplicable pain at specific times.

But when he married, the pain was lifted—only to be transferred in another form to the Grand Duchess.

In the case of the Countess of Loire, that form was aging.

She looked like an eighty-year-old woman ten years ago, twenty years ago, thirty years ago.

In the first round, the Grand Duchesses of Tessen died strangely fast.

Not exactly from illness, but from misfortune.

Those already sick weakened quickly. Those who left Tessen met tragic accidents.

Some suffered health problems from trying to escape the hardship of life in Tessen.

If the Countess of Loire was the former Grand Duchess, then all of it clicked.

But… was that even possible?

Alicia couldn’t let go of her doubts.

Could something as simple as a marriage vow really transmit a curse of such magnitude?

Curses varied, but could someone who was likely in her twenties at the time end up aged into an old woman from a curse?

It made sense logically—but not emotionally.

Alicia continued to question and challenge her own theory, trying to be sure.

Just then, a woman with rich reddish-brown hair approached.

“Oh my, who do we have here? Alicia!”

The woman, her hair styled to emphasize the red hues, smiled broadly with bold red lips.

“It’s been a while, Lady Alicia.”

Standing beside her was another woman with a haughty expression.

Charcoal-black hair, pale skin, a sharp jawline, and dark eyes to match her hair.

She had clearly applied oil to tame the cold, severe look her features naturally gave off.

Her appearance unmistakably marked her as someone from the northern region.

“Alicia, I’m so disappointed. Once you started gaining popularity, we thought you might reach out first. But not a single word?”

“Truly.”

The two women exaggerated their familiarity with Alicia.

Especially the one with brown hair.

But both had clearly stepped in to block Alicia’s path.

“Seeing you like this brings back memories. Remember, Alicia? Back then, aside from being the only lady of the Rain family, you didn’t really know how to do anything. You didn’t say it at the time, but it seemed like the title of Lady Alicia weighed heavily on you.”

“You look much better now.”

Until just moments ago, Alicia’s face had been subdued in thought.

Now, she quietly studied the two women who had suddenly appeared.

She recognized them at last.

“Of course. You’re the future Grand Duchess, after all. And the Countess of Echeveria! It’s something we never imagined before. I guess women really do need to find the right man.”

The one laughing as she cozied up was Cynthia Brenel.

“I don’t want to admit it, but it’s true.”

The one chiming in with irritating commentary was Angela Miller.

“……”

Back when Alicia couldn’t even make eye contact with others, when she froze in her tracks if she saw someone coming down the hall, when crowds left her helpless and anxious—these two had been assigned by the Rain Marquessate from loyal vassal families to assist her.

They were supposed to have helped the small, timid Alicia.

…Supposed to.

Grateful?

As if.