A Mad Lady’s Confession - Chapter 54

“Damn it, Matthias! Do you even know what time it is right now?”

Klaus came out into the reception room, still unable to wipe the traces of sleep from his face, tightening his robe as he walked.

The day had already broken, and it was more than late enough for the Crown Prince, who should serve as a model for the empire, to be awake. But unless he had a scheduled morning audience or meal with the Emperor, Klaus slept in as long as he pleased.

Matthias, who could not possibly be unaware of that habit, had dared to wake him, and it put him in an extremely irritable mood.

Matthias, who had been sitting on the reception room couch with his gaze fixed outside the window, turned his eyes to the tall man frowning deeply. To the Crown Prince of this empire, the lord he would one day have to serve, his cousin by blood and childhood friend.

“What did you talk about when you met my wife yesterday?”

At this early hour, early only for Klaus, the voice that barged into the Crown Prince’s chamber and asked straight to the point without even a proper greeting or preamble carried a strange chill.

Klaus, who had been about to sit in the elegant armchair, flinched for a moment but soon answered calmly as if nothing had happened.

“I told you yesterday.”

He picked up the teacup brought by the head attendant, took a sip of the hot tea, and continued, “I just exchanged greetings. I couldn’t attend your wedding, so since I saw her face, I simply greeted her, that’s all.”

“You called her out into the middle of the forest for that? You could have done it in the tent set up near the fishing grounds.”

“Do you not know what that fishing tournament means? It’s being held because of that brat Lady Charlotte gave birth to, and you expect me to go there on my own?”

“So you came to a fishing tournament you didn’t even want to attend, and the reason you deliberately called Eleanor out was….”

As if to emphasize the rest of his words, Matthias left a pause.

“Just to exchange greetings? Even though there are countless opportunities if you wanted?”

The gaze meeting his grew sharper with each word Matthias continued. It felt like a pointed needle stabbing somewhere deep inside Klaus.

Klaus swallowed dryly and instead acted as if he were getting angry.

“Hey, Duke Nielsen. What you’re saying right now, are you implying I called your wife out with some kind of ulterior motive? Do you think that even makes sense?”

When Matthias only stared without answering, Klaus grew more agitated and added, “Ha… this is ridiculous. Matthias, who was the one who put that woman by your side?”

As if reminding him, Klaus continued, “Me. I was the one who bowed my head to you and pushed that crazy woman onto you, just in case she stirred up trouble like a hornet’s nest.”

“….”

“Greeting her, yes. To be honest, I’ve always felt sorry toward you. I only wanted to show proper courtesy, even if just for a moment, to the woman who is by your side like that.”

“Klaus.”

“What?!”

“What exactly happened two years ago?”

“…What?”

Matthias’s eyes slowly swept over Klaus’s face.

His complexion was so pale it looked unhealthy, dark shadows lay under his eyes, and the skin at the corners of his mouth was dry and peeling. Even considering it was early morning and he had not applied his usual makeup, it was not a state befitting the Crown Prince.

“Your former fiancée, Young Lady Düsseldorf, was attacked, and the culprit was identified. The one to be punished was clear, and that price has already been paid, so the matter ended cleanly. Besides, you weren’t directly involved in that incident, were you? Then why is it that you couldn’t simply ignore Brynhill’s request to properly reinvestigate what happened two years ago?”

“…Like I said, I just didn’t want to stir up a hornet’s nest.”

“What exactly is inside that hornet’s nest?”

“….”

“I’m asking why you had to go so far as to grant me all sorts of privileges just to have me silence Brynhill.”

Even back then, he had thought it strange. But Matthias had had no reason to dig into it, nor had he particularly wanted to. He had simply weighed the one-year engagement against what he would gain and accepted the deal. But now, the situation was different.

“Speak. What exactly did you do two years ago that you’re so desperate not to stir things up?”

“…Did that woman say something?” Klaus asked cautiously, testing the waters.

Ha. If she would say anything at all, that would be better.

He thought of the woman who had been lying alone in a dark room for three days already. Her hair soaked with sweat, her small face occasionally muttering incoherent nonsense.

“Did she say she knows something? That she remembers?”

“Klaus.”

“Fine, I’ll be honest. I called her out because I wanted to ask about what happened two years ago. Why she did it.”

“That’s all?”

“Of course I’d be curious! I wanted to know why that woman did something like that! Do you have any idea how difficult things became for me in high society after that incident? It was a scandal I never wanted!”

So agitated that he began coughing, Klaus grabbed a napkin from the table and cleared his throat before continuing.

“So… I only asked why she did it two years ago.”

“….”

“Like I said, I didn’t want to stir things up. Like you said, it was already a finished matter, and I didn’t do anything wrong, so if it gets dragged up again now… damn it, Matthias! You know how my father sees me!”

He was the empire’s only Crown Prince. A position that had once been a blessing to Klaus was now under threat. Because of a newborn infant who was only a few days old.

“I know it’s because I’m lacking. I shouldn’t have entrusted something like that to you….”

Klaus raked a hand roughly through his hair, looking troubled.

“But I had no choice. I was cornered too, and at the very least, I didn’t want to get entangled in a scandal I didn’t even cause.”

Strangely enough, Klaus’s excuse was something only Matthias, born and raised as a noble, could fully understand.

The nobles of this vast empire of Römern valued honor and reputation as if they were their very lives. Ironically, while they committed all sorts of disgraceful acts behind the scenes, they spent their entire lives worrying over even the smallest blemish on that outward appearance.

“The more you have, the more even trivial things start to bother you. That’s the kind of people we are, isn’t it, Matthias?”

As the man before him continued to listen in silence, Klaus’s voice grew heavier with emotion.

“There’s too much to lose, and far too much at stake…. That’s why I became overly cautious. …Not being able to suppress my curiosity… yes, that was my mistake.”

Klaus lifted his eyes slightly to check Matthias’s face. Even this morning, the handsome face, clean-shaven without a trace of stubble and impeccably neat, was so beautiful it felt unfamiliar every time he looked at it, despite having seen it his whole life.

“…Matthias. How about you stop now?”

A small crack appeared on the elegant face that had remained level and composed at every word until now. In the gaze that met his as if asking back, a slow-burning anger lingered, but Klaus failed to notice it.

“There may be a set time limit, but at this point, she probably won’t be shunned any further in high society. Whether it’s a year or a few months, what matters is that she was once the wife of the Nielsen family. Remarrying won’t be difficult either.”

“….”

“As your lord, it has always troubled me that such a great stain was left on the name of Nielsen. What kind of family is Nielsen? It is the greatest pillar supporting Römern. It felt as if everything those excellent former dukes of Nielsen protected was collapsing. …I feel too guilty toward you as well, so I can’t ask any more of you. So it would be best to divorce—”

“Klaus, you’re overstepping.”

“…What?”

“I don’t recall ever giving you the right to speak about my private life.”

“Duke Nielsen!”

“If, as you say, it is the greatest pillar supporting Römern….”

“….”

“If you bring that down, where exactly will you stand?”

Matthias had always been appropriately courteous, maintaining proper decorum between ruler and subject. Even words bordering on insubordination left Klaus unable to openly show anger.

Because the spark he had failed to read before was now burning fiercely, as if it might engulf him at any moment.

Moreover, this was not merely a threat. If he were to become Emperor one day, he would still need the powerful backing of Nielsen. Nielsen was the very foundation of this empire. Not von Bernstorff.

Matthias stood and fastened the buttons of his jacket.

“I’ve been quite rude this early in the morning. I apologize for showing such disloyalty.”

The words, spoken in a voice that held no apology whatsoever, were devoid of sincerity. Morning sunlight streamed through the window, clearly illuminating Klaus’s face as he stared blankly at him.

Matthias’s gaze shifted to the door set into the wall of the reception room. He could roughly guess what lay beyond it.

“…I am deeply concerned about Your Highness’s health.”

“….”

“I will take my leave now.”

Matthias gave a brief bow and strode forward. When he had crossed about half the reception room, he suddenly turned back as if something had come to mind.

“Oh, and.”

The eyes that looked back were as cold as before.

“Don’t ever call Eleanor that woman again.”

Klaus could not say a single word until Matthias’s firm, upright footsteps left the reception room entirely.

The feeling that everything those excellent former dukes of Nielsen had protected was collapsing.

Turning Klaus’s words over in his mind, Matthias thought about his family. When he accepted the one year with Eleanor, he hadn’t thought that way.

He believed he could control it, and to Nielsen, a woman who would stay for no more than four seasons was no different from a coat of arms forged from iron, something that could not be marred.

But now the situation had changed.

“Ha, sob… what, what do I do… I… what do I do….”

The woman, covered in blood and wailing in the middle of the night, had shaken even him, who was not easily stirred by emotion.

It had become unclear whether the woman’s mind was sound, and whether she would refrain from sudden actions as she had promised him.

To someone like him, who disliked risk, the woman had now become a clear danger.

“….”

Send her away.

Matthias made that decision.

That is the best choice. He has already taken enough risks up to this point, and since he has gained everything there is to gain, it should end here.

Let’s divorce while giving her as much alimony as possible and keeping the matter from causing a stir in society.

“…Because it’s for everyone’s sake.”

The moment he spoke the words out loud, it sounded like the right answer.