The Determination to Expel the Daughter-in-Law
Twenty years ago.
“If the prince returns to the palace, we’re all dead. We fled after receiving that money from His Majesty under the pretense of serving the prince, only to be sold as slaves. If the prince tells them we were the ones who did it…”
“Damn it. I knew the empire was finished, but now it looks like we’re the ones who’ll go down with it. I never expected the imperial family to rise again.”
“There’s only one way. Kill the prince and shut his mouth.”
Three middle-aged men sat together, heads bent low as they plotted how to erase the evidence of their crimes.
One was fat, one tall and lanky, and the third had dark circles under his eyes. They were palace officials desperately searching for a way to cover up what they had done.
“But if it comes out that we killed the prince, not only our lives but our families will be ruined.”
“Don’t worry. We’ve been thorough. No one here saw our faces. We deliberately drove every stray from Hasets out of the area.”
Ten-year-old Lesban sat crouched in the corner, listening silently to their words.
His thick, golden eyes appeared to register nothing.
Yet if one looked closely, the hellfire burning inside them was unmistakable.
Even though the palace had supposedly been rebuilt, there was no way it could be anything but hell.
With humans like these swarming everywhere.
The men who were now discussing how to take his life were the so-called loyal retainers of his so-called father.
The men who had once sneered at the eyes of his dead brothers.
They had abused the boy, treated him like a slave, and tried to sell his life for profit.
If the empire’s restoration had not frightened those former enemies into sparing Lesban’s life, the boy would have died long ago.
“As long as the prince is dead, we’ll be free. It never happened. The prince died at the hands of the rebels, and we tried to protect him…”
“Yes. We tried, but we failed.”
“The money’s all gone. Hahaha.”
They were men who cared only for their own advancement, who prayed for the empire’s collapse.
And most humans were no different.
A deep, layered contempt for humanity had been accumulating for a long time.
“Then bring him. You prepared soldiers, right?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what kind of man the emperor is, but if the prince is dead, he’ll investigate thoroughly. We have to make it perfect. Just kill the soldiers too.”
They stepped out of the warehouse.
Lesban remained exactly as he was.
His ankles were already chained.
He quietly closed his eyes.
The pain, anger, and resignation he had endured over the years had piled up inside his small chest until they formed a mountain.
He knew that one day it would become a volcano, but he also knew that right now, survival itself was a struggle.
*If the opportunity comes…*
Then the warehouse door opened.
It was not their footsteps, so Lesban lifted his gaze.
A slender pair of feet and a girl who looked as light as her steps appeared.
She had her silver hair, as clear as moonlight on a deep night, tied into two braids.
Her eyes were as pure and blue as a lake he had once seen long ago, and her cheeks were as white and smooth as if she had never known hardship.
From the very beginning, her clothing did not belong here.
***
On the grand balcony of the imperial palace, Leona Klaus, dressed in a gown that left half her firm chest exposed, was having breakfast while reading the newly arrived documents.
The documents contained information about Esika’s past.
[Three years ago, she seduced Duke Kalian Klaus and forced her father, Baron Brigitte, into a marriage alliance with the duke. Because Baron Brigitte’s health was failing, he agreed to the marriage to secure his daughter’s future and hired a matchmaker.]
Leona’s gaze lingered on the first sentence for a long time.
There was not a trace of warmth in the eyes Esika had once directed at Kalian Klaus.
Leona continued reading the documents.
[It was a marriage arranged for a massive dowry, but Esika Klaus received no attention from the duke and did not even attend the wedding night. It is estimated that she was constantly abused by Leona Klaus, the dowager of the Klaus family.]
At the word “wedding night,” Leona’s eyebrows twitched.
She continued reading about Esika.
As Esika had said, Leona had no idea how many knights the Klaus family had, but Lesban had seen through every single one of them.
However, he had no interest in the internal affairs of the family unless it involved Esika.
Lesban had more than enough material just from the official reports.
“…”
At the bottom of the information were details about evidence of abuse.
Descriptions of cruel and blatant methods and the things she had lost because of them.
The story of a woman who had entered the duke’s house with grand dreams only to become a despised servant ignored even by the maids and locked away in a back room.
The information providers were maids who had been dismissed or retired from the Klaus family, and they all pointed to the dowager’s abuse and the duke’s indifference.
[The duke is an extremely filial son who believes only his mother’s words. He hates even the touch of his wife because of his resentment toward her.]
And the final line stated that after Esika suspected her friend Borin Inesi of being the duke’s lover and rushed to confront her, she was pushed by the duke and injured her head.
[After that, the duchess stopped paying attention to the duke and became distant.]
The final sentence was written based on information received from the most recently retired servant.
Leona crumpled the paper, and as she poured her aura into it like pouring aura into a sword, the paper turned to ash.
On the surface of his cold golden eyes, the landscape of a forgotten past briefly flickered.
His red lips twitched.
“…What should I do with you?”
***
“Listen.”
Hans, having neatly straightened his collar, entered the dowager’s receiving room.
Leona Klaus’s complexion was healthy, as if she had not collapsed from anemia just a day earlier.
As Hans bowed deeply to her, she pointed with her chin to the seat opposite her.
*As expected… She seems to be in a foul mood.*
In the morning, the lady-in-waiting had placed the teaspoon slightly crooked, and she had slapped the woman’s cheek.
One maid was receiving treatment for burns from hot tea.
“…”
Fortunately, the teacup in front of Leona was not steaming.
At the same time, Hans felt a slight resentment toward Esika.
It was reckless to offer such things when her mood was already bad.
“An investment proposal arrived from the bank?”
“Ah, yes. It says they’re building a large-scale warehouse in Chwihen, and the nobles of the capital Torus are investing ahead of schedule… Even though you’re not feeling well, I came to ask for your permission.”
Esika had ordered Hans to immediately ask the dowager for permission to invest in the warehouse.
“The Dowager of Alhemitz and the Dowager of Palmania also said they would participate in the investment…”
“Of course. The Klaus family must move first.”
Leona answered immediately, even though the investment amount was as large as the total they had invested in Chwihen before and would be quite burdensome.
“Proceed with the investment at once.”
Hans blinked in surprise.
He had not expected Leona to agree so easily.
Even though her mood was foul, it seemed she thought this investment must not be missed.
“I understand. However, the family’s finances are not in good shape, so we may need a loan.”
“…You mean we have to borrow money?”
“We can secure about five million rings by mortgaging the Temes mine.”
Hans conveyed Esika’s instructions to Leona exactly as she had said.
The Temes mine was the only mine in the Klaus territory and a tiny fortune that made up more than half of the family’s income.
After a moment of hesitation, Leona opened her mouth with an unpleasant expression.
“It’s unfortunate that we lack funds right now, but if the Emperor’s decree announcing the construction plan for the western hub in Chwihen is issued…”
The corners of Leona’s mouth lifted slightly, as if she were displeased.
“The profits will be dozens of times the money we invest.”
“In that case, we will proceed.”
Hans accepted the approval, but he felt uneasy somewhere.
It was an established fact that Chwihen would become the western hub of Turesian Empire.
Yet why was the Duchess of Klaus, who claimed to want to control the Klaus family, proceeding with a seemingly successful investment through the dowager?
Hans could not understand Esika’s plan.
But once he had decided to join her, he could no longer turn back.
It was good for Hans if the Klaus family did well.
“If this investment succeeds and the duke’s warehouse is filled with goods…”
Leona’s lips twitched poisonously.
“I will drive that wicked woman out of the family.”
Recalling yesterday’s humiliation, Leona’s eyes gleamed sharply, and Hans flinched.