Ch.74Again, you? #5

—Roque Killinear made an irreversible choice due to madness.

This rumor, sparked by the official protest lodged by Duke Krauser, struck the entire kingdom like a thunderbolt. The Killinear family, already bound to Krauser by unfavorable ties, had once again provoked his ire—and in the worst possible way, by allegedly attempting to assassinate the Grand Duke.

People whispered among themselves.

They had touched the duke’s most sensitive nerve—a man whose love for his husband was so profound it bordered on madness. Wasn’t Albus Killinear currently confined to a monastery because of issues related to this very matter? Whatever else might be overlooked, provoking Grand Duke Krauser would never end well.

As they said, Helena’s protest was incredibly fierce and chilling. Despite knowing this was all part of their clandestine arrangement, Luke almost believed their deal had fallen apart due to the sheer intensity of her reaction.

“So, what will you do about it?”

Unlike the previous situation with his fiancée, where their relationship could have broken at any moment, this incident occurred after Zion had officially become Grand Duke. The weight of the matter was both similar and different.

Luke proposed the following response to Duke Krauser’s letter: sincere apology and compensation. Simple but entirely appropriate—a standard approach where the sincerity of the gesture could influence the recipient’s mood.

First, Luke decided on his brother Roque’s execution as if it were the obvious choice. Outwardly, he appeared agonized at the thought of beheading him, but inwardly, he was desperate to eliminate this troublemaker as soon as possible.

“Stop! Stop this! It wasn’t me, I tell you!”

Roque Killinear shouted at the top of his lungs as he was dragged away bound with ropes. His indignation was understandable, given that he truly hadn’t committed the crime.

But his mistake began when he commissioned Luke Killinear’s assassination—the very cause of this fabrication. Had he quietly accepted his fate and lived out his days in confinement, he might have at least ended his life as the eldest son of a ducal family, however stifling that might have been. Instead, he provided Luke with the opportunity to use him.

“Luke… you bastard!”

Even as they reached the square within Killinear territory, his rage hadn’t subsided. The conspicuously erected guillotine and Luke waiting before it with feigned solemnity only provoked him further. Others might see Luke as a man devoted to his brother, but Roque knew all his actions were mere performance.

“Brother… why did you provoke Duke Krauser? Though the Krauser family is indeed our enemy—having exiled our father and killed our brother—this was not the way.”

“Shut up! You’re probably dying to burst into laughter while still keeping up this pretense!”

Before ascending the scaffold, Roque trembled with fury as Luke, flanked by two men holding ropes, furrowed his brow deeply. He had come ostensibly for a final conversation, and Roque was so disgusted by Luke’s hypocrisy that he momentarily forgot to beg for his life.

“As you said, the Krauser family is our enemy! Yet you join hands with such enemies to frame and eliminate me! Are you truly of Killinear blood?”

“Your anger is justified. But the opponent is an undisputed duke of this country. Moreover, he fought our exiled father in a legitimate duel, so his position is righteous. If you wanted revenge, you should have chosen another method.”

“For you to lecture me with false concern… how utterly despicable!”

Roque’s reputation was at rock bottom, while Luke’s—the brother who supposedly cared deeply until the end—soared to the heavens. Knowing Luke as he did, Roque realized no one would believe his explanations. With death imminent, he had no more cards to play.

Justification, reputation, time.

Roque lamented his lack of all these as he climbed the steps.

“Hear me, everyone!”

As Roque was forced to kneel with his neck positioned on the wooden block and preparations for the execution were completed, Luke signaled the executioner to wait. Standing beside the scaffold, he raised his voice.

“Today, my heart feels torn as I must execute my own brother, the firstborn of Killinear, by my own hand. But Duke Krauser’s anger runs too deep and fierce to let this pass!”

Luke performed as if his heart were breaking. He clutched the fabric near his heart as if wringing it, deeply furrowing his brow and deliberately contorting his expression. It was a performance worthy of a master actor.

“You all know of Duke Krauser’s protest! Facing the wrath of a duke who is also one of the continent’s greatest powers head-on would spell doom even for House Killinear! This may be sad and humiliating, but it’s an inescapable reality, as you all know!”

He emphasized the inevitability of the situation repeatedly, working to sway the crowd gathered to witness Roque’s execution. Though arrogant, he understood the necessity of cultivating public support and sought to solidify it further.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Everyone knows how fiercely protective Duke Krauser is of his husband.”

“Even that young lady who died back then—she unknowingly provoked Grand Duke Krauser when he was her fiancé and met her end because of it.”

The people nodded in unison as they listened to Luke’s speech, quietly exchanging their opinions. Though both were dukes, Killinear’s power had diminished after their recent troubles, while Krauser’s relatively peaceful domain had grown stronger.

The people understood this reality. Though they lacked formal education, they had enough sense to grasp the basic power dynamics, having survived by their wits day by day.

“In this situation, I had to make a choice! Even if it meant cutting down my own brother with my own hands—a heart-wrenching act—I did it to protect our territory and all of you!”

Otherwise, no one could predict how Duke Krauser’s anger might manifest and sweep through their territory. Attempting to assassinate a Grand Duke carried an immensely heavy responsibility—especially when that Grand Duke was Krauser.

“Ah! My lord…”

Someone covered their mouth with both hands, eyes sparkling with emotion at Luke’s tearful expression. The image of a man swallowing his pain to execute his own blood relative for everyone’s safety struck them as profoundly moving.

“Regrettable and perhaps humiliating… but I could not directly confront Krauser. If war broke out, no one could guarantee our safety! Even His Majesty could not give a definitive answer to such a matter!”

Hoo.

Luke paused there, seemingly to catch his breath, and looked around. He was pleased to see all eyes fixed on him, completely absorbed in his words.

Everyone gathered there found Luke’s reasoning sound. Few in the kingdom, or even on the continent, could hope to match Duke Krauser in direct confrontation. Though Killinear’s influence remained considerable, in terms of raw power, they were indeed outmatched by Krauser.

“And broadly speaking, our conflict would mean a loss of the nation’s strength! Though Killinear and Krauser walk different paths due to our differing views, I understand that we must unite when truly necessary!”

For the greater good.

Luke used this as his reason, claiming to swallow his tears and execute his own brother to appease Krauser’s anger and preserve the kingdom’s peace.

Peace. What a wonderful word.

For the common people who only wished to live day by day in tranquility, it was a most welcome sound. They respected Luke for his willingness to avoid war when possible, even if sometimes conflict was necessary.

“Luke! Luke! Luke!”

Casually calling a noble by name was a grave act of disrespect—an offense punishable by death. This was especially true for a duke.

Yet, beginning with one person’s disrespect, the chanting of Luke’s name grew louder and louder. The air vibrated and the ground seemed to tremble slightly with the sound. Their emotions had grown so intense that they forgot protocol, compelled to shout his name.

Disrespectful fools.

But I’ll overlook it today.

Luke almost frowned but decided to generously forgive their rudeness, pleased that public sentiment was so strongly in his favor. It was a good enough day to easily overlook such minor irritations.

Silence.

As the entire square fell into silence at one man’s gesture, Luke, the man who had created this phenomenon, slowly opened his mouth.

“Carry out the execution.”

.

Despicable.

I shook my head as I heard the news of Roque Killinear’s grand execution. It wouldn’t have felt so unsettling if that were all, but the quantity and quality of the items he sent as an “apology” were blatantly excessive.

Though he had used us to achieve his goals, broadly speaking, he was still our family’s enemy. Such lavish treatment from an enemy… really…

“It’s hard to put into words.”

“Hmm? What is?”

Helena, who had been checking the items sorted separately in the spacious warehouse, tilted her head and asked.

“Luke Killinear. Even considering the false premise that he targeted my life, this is too much. These are all luxury items one would typically keep close and cherish.”

“That may be true, but I don’t think it’s bad. Especially this.”

Helena lifted a rather plump glass bottle with both hands, beaming with delight. It contained a liquid that resembled clear, pure blue blood. I believe I’d heard it was a medicine made from refined troll blood.

And the effect of this medicine was none other than an aphrodisiac.

“With this, Zion could embrace me for a week straight without tiring… it’s not just a dream…”

“How right you are. But considering the Grand Duke is already quite vigorous, with this medicine, ten days might be possible, not just a week.”

Ten days?! Helena’s face flushed as she looked alternately at me and the troll blood, startled by Ellen’s cheeky interjection. Her increasingly bold comments made me sigh, though I understood her feelings.

“Ahem! Anyway, Zion doesn’t seem too pleased about this?”

“Perhaps because he sees through the blatant attempt to curry favor, or maybe because it’s uncomfortable receiving gifts from the Killinear family.”

It could simply be a bribe sent to wash away past grievances and maintain a reasonable relationship. Viewed that way, it might be easy to accept, but the effectiveness of the method was too irritating.

Though I was the fabricated victim, the proportion of items suitable for Helena, the actual Duchess of Krauser, was too low. Proportionally, there were too many items meant for me—troll blood, black silk, and so on.

Though it may sound excessively arrogant even to myself, he seemed to understand that catering to me and elevating my status was more effective in pleasing Helena. This suggested that the person in charge, though an arrogant aristocratic duke, knew how to read the room.

“Sigh.”

What’s done is done.

I was grateful that Luke’s gifts allowed me to roughly gauge his character, and I hoped to avoid entanglement with him, preferring to remain like strangers who had never met.

While there might not be major problems in the grand scheme of things, one thing was certain—getting involved with him would only lead to troublesome complications.