episode_0007

The 3rd Duchess of the Northern Province, Remyang Winterfell.

As the youngest daughter of the Winterfell Ducal family, who ruled over the Northern Province, she had two older brothers, two older sisters, and a widowed father.

She was not only the hostess of the Northern Province and the protagonist of the 56th annual Engagement Ceremony, a deeply rooted tradition of the Winterfell Ducal family.

Furthermore.

She was known as the Northern Province’s secret, an unknown woman shrouded in mystery.

“Who exactly is the 3rd Duchess?”

“No one has seen her, so how would anyone know?”

“Maybe. Perhaps she will reveal her identity at this Engagement Ceremony.”

“Rumors say that her face has been disfigured by a recent outbreak of a disease. Why else would she hide?”

“Nonsense. Some say she’s hiding her beauty because it’s too remarkable.”

“No, it’s because she has a deformity, missing an arm.”

Secrets breed rumors.

And rumors tend to revolve around stark contrasts.

A beauty beyond compare, a disfigured woman, a one-armed deformity, and the like.

The prevalence of negative rumors was due to the innate human desire for sensationalism.

Thus, it was a natural progression for the 3rd Duchess to be labeled as the “deformed one-armed woman.”

Of course, her family, the Prime Minister Galwood, and the maid Marion were aware of the truth behind the rumors.

Neither the deformity nor the disfigurement.

And unlike the rumors that never once revealed her true identity, she had a passion for learning that led her to attend the Royal Academy under the guise of Erinshire, a noblewoman from a distant border territory.

Not even Logan Winterfell, of the Winterfell Ducal family, could quench Remyang’s burning thirst for knowledge.

From a young age, Remyang loved to explore and learn, and once she learned to read, she became engrossed in books.

Subsequently, she began to show a keen interest in academics and soon became consumed by a thirst for knowledge.

This, in turn, deepened Logan’s worries.

Despite offering her all kinds of toys from around the continent, and providing her with various ancient texts, he could not handle his daughter, who quickly mastered everything.

In the end, Remyang set out into the world, seeking the Royal Academy as a source of knowledge to quench her thirst, and had to confront and clash for several months.

As a father who had to protect his daughter, he could not allow it.

It was all because of a curse placed by the chieftain of the Northern Barbarian tribe, who disappeared into the back alleys of history after a long war.

“I told you it’s not allowed. Until the curse expires, I cannot expose you to the outside world.”

Despite Remyang’s tears and pleas, Logan Winterfell remained firm, blocking her with a stern heart.

But like a flower losing its light and withering away, Remyang slowly began to dry up with her thirst for knowledge, and eventually, Logan had no choice but to give in.

Where would a father be who would let his daughter wither and die under an uncertain curse?

“You must never reveal your name. You must never reveal your true identity. Do you understand?”

“Dad is so worried, it’s written all over his face. Who would think I’m a Northerner when my face is so flushed like this?”

“Right. Anyway, please be careful. If anyone bothers you, contact me immediately.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll send you a letter once I arrive!”

And so, Remyang Winterfell entered the Royal Academy, immersing herself in the cradle of knowledge she had longed for, spending three years in pursuit of learning.

Of course, three years was not enough time to quench her long-standing thirst, and in her heart, she wanted to pursue a doctoral program under a renowned professor. Sadly, she couldn’t do so.

Because she had promised her father exactly [3 years].

So, buried in libraries and laboratories, she spent three years with another desire in her heart, and returned to the Northern Territory.

“Our daughter, congratulations on your graduation.”

Logan was overjoyed.

With his daughter safely returned and the curse, with little time left, seemingly passing, Logan couldn’t help but be happy. He couldn’t bear to see the hellish three years recorded on his daughter’s body.

Likewise, Remyan didn’t show it or say anything for her father’s sake.

“Hoho, just words? You should give me a congratulatory gift!”

“Alright, alright. What do you want?”

“Kyaa~! I’ve written a list of things I want when you come! Here!”

“…W-what is all this?”

“These are basic materials and tools needed for experiments!”

So, when Remyan returned to the Northern Territory, she set up a huge research lab in the upper level of the Second Grand Fortress and began to immerse herself in experiments rather than learning.

To her.

“Conjugal match? I’m not interested in that….”

The competition to find a conjugal bond seemed unappealing to her.

Not only disinterested, but it seemed childish, boring, and bothersome.

“Now that the curse is over and the conjugal energy has filled up, it’s time to find a conjugal bond.”

With no justification to reject the long-standing tradition of her family, Remyan had to become the protagonist of the conjugal match, and as she casually skimmed through the main list that Gelwood kept pushing, her eyes fell on four names.

Deran Kelid.

Blund Rosfel.

Kyle Belaon.

Elden Lafellion.

The names that shouldn’t have been on the main list were written there.

“How.”

Remyan Winterfell.

It was from that moment that the ignorant scholar, who knew nothing but academics, became interested in the juvenile conjugal match, where research and experiments were better than men.

**

“…What? Someone has withdrawn?”

At Gelwood’s words, Remyan’s mysterious blue pupils filled with astonishment.

She could only be surprised.

Someone who had given up everything to become a person of the Grand Court, who had gone through the preliminaries and the main match to reach the final stage, had given up.

And knowing that there had never been a final candidate in the history of the conjugal match who had withdrawn, Remyan’s eyes wavered.

The final evaluation match called the Cohabitation was starting tomorrow.

It meant that the time had come to erase one by one the records of pain engraved over the past three years.

“Who… declared withdrawal?”

After confirming the main list, she had made plans to erase the records of pain.

However, there was a change in the plans.

It was natural for Remyan’s eyes to be filled with astonishment and confusion.

And.

“Elden Lafellion, Your Excellency.”

When Gelwood mentioned the name of the person who declared withdrawal, skepticism crept into Remyan’s eyes.

Elden Lafellion.

Could that reckless fool have noticed something?

It seemed unlikely.

He was the only one among the four who did not wear a mask, and he was a fierce man who did not hesitate to do dirty work for his own gain and willingly wielded a knife.

Especially, his withdrawal from the match, which he had participated in for the reconstruction of the declining family, was an incomprehensible act.

Or could he have heard something?

‘But… I only know Father, Gelwood, and Marion as Erinshia.’

Moreover, during the painful three years spent as Erinsia Velrok, only the maid Marion knew about the recorded scars.

Father and the advisor have not shown or revealed anything.

Family, advisor, maid.

Among the three, no one would have leaked.

Even though the time spent together was not long, the maid Marien was as trustworthy as anyone.

There was absolutely no involvement in Elden Raphellion’s withdrawal declaration.

“What did Father say?”

“Due to exceptional circumstances, if the Grand Duchess wishes, she has allowed a private meeting with the candidate. Even though it is before the final evaluation.”

“…Is that so.”

“Yes. All decisions are left to the Grand Duchess’s judgment.”

Le Myung was lost in thought.

He knew that he could never meet the candidate before the final evaluation.

It was a strict rule of the engagement ceremony, a forbidden sanctuary.

The candidate’s unprecedented withdrawal declaration was a violation of that long-standing sanctuary.

“What about the advisor?”

“You mean Elden Raphellion’s words?”

“Did you see something?”

Le Myung, who knew about Gelwood’s abilities, asked.

Even though they briefly met during the main assessment, he had seen through Elden Raphellion’s worries.

And.

“I told the Grand Duchess, but…”

At Gelwood’s observation that he seemed to have changed like the Northern Revenant of May, Le Myung stood up from his chair.

He put down the experiment flask containing the red liquid.

She was a girl with an innate curiosity that dug deep into questions.

If her investigative curiosity was not cooled down like lava, she would become a girl who couldn’t control the danger of curiosity.

And it was for that investigative curiosity that she had risked the curse and headed to the Royal Academy.

The candidate’s sudden withdrawal declaration had become a strong suspicion for her, and the observation that he had changed like the Northern Revenant of May was like lava that would erupt if not cooled down.

Above all.

‘There’s no way he changed.’

To Le Myung, who knew better than anyone what kind of person Elden Raphellion was, the Northern Revenant of May was a story that he couldn’t even believe as a joke.

It was almost as if there was a problem with the advisor’s eyes… Why else would he be so confused?

And he shouldn’t change.

He hadn’t waited for tomorrow to hear empty apologies.

Even if the punishment he had to bear was the lightest of the four, a sin was a sin.

And atonement is also a law that must be carried out by the one who committed the sin.

That’s why Elden Raphellion shouldn’t change.

‘I have to see for myself.’

There must be something.

The sharp intuition of an investigator was already tingling.

“I’ll go.”

In the end, Le Myung had to move forward with the mask of what he would have to wear from tomorrow, and.

“…I didn’t expect you to walk in person. Nice to meet you, Grand Duchess.”

Le Myung, who faced Elden Raphellion behind the mask, unable to control the investigator’s desire, blurted out.

With a sharp voice of an optical engineer in crisis from the start of a dedicated experiment.

“I didn’t expect you to walk in person. Nice to meet you, Grand Duchess.”

Le Myung, who faced Elden Raphellion behind the mask, unable to control the investigator’s desire, blurted out.

With a sharp voice of an optical engineer in crisis from the start of a dedicated experiment.

“What the heck?”

A question where emotions took precedence over calm.

A question that seemed to have discovered a puzzle to solve.

To that, Elden scratched his chin and thought.

Hmm.

What is it?