RAMHM Chapter 79

I'm Granting Your Wish

Adrienne on that day, smiling so brightly when he'd said he would help. Adrienne just hours ago, looking at him with such numb eyes. The memories rising one after another—it hurt. It hurt.

Rhodness stopped the recollection and stared at Bardenaldo. When his feelings for Adrienne had developed from attraction to friendship, from friendship to love, deepening until they could deepen no more. When he'd seen the name Adrienne Swan Pirreta among the list of young ladies being discussed as Crown Princess candidates and felt that creeping unease. The person who had keenly noticed and listened to his confession had been this very older brother standing before him—Bardenaldo.

'Not Adrienne.'

'Hm? Why not?'

Bardenaldo had smiled playfully, but gently.

'She's the person I want to be with. There are plenty of other young ladies. Not Adrienne.'

'First love?'

The only selfish desire of his entire life. The first wish he'd ever revealed since birth.

'Yes. I don't know about anything else, but I absolutely cannot yield Adrienne.'

'...Does the Princess know your heart?'

'Th-that... I'll tell her soon. So you can't. Please.'

What had Bardenaldo said as he gazed at him steadily? He'd pressed down on his younger brother's head—barely reaching his own height—stroking it as if he found him adorable, then shrugged his shoulders.

'Shall this older brother help you?'

"Rhoan."

The more Bardenaldo's excuses continued, the more devastatingly Rhodness's face crumbled. Realizing no words could calm him, Bardenaldo's voice grew more desperate.

"What must I do for you to forgive me?"

Rhodness let out a low groan. Resurrect Adrienne's corpse buried in the ground? Tell him Bliea was actually Adrienne, so go find her directly, kneel, prostrate yourself, slit your own throat in apology? Turn back time, undo the moment you trampled my heart and coerced Novian?

The more he thought, the more desperate it felt. Who would compensate for Adrienne's despair? He wanted to mock his past self for the arrogance of believing he could provide that compensation.

Now he had become—in one stroke—the younger brother of someone who had contributed to Adrienne's death. All those past days spent doing his utmost to protect Bardenaldo felt like arrows aimed straight at Adrienne. The despairing thought ricocheted wildly—that even trivial, unrelated matters might somehow be connected to Adrienne's death.

'What do I do now?'

The heart that hadn't wavered even upon hearing about Adrienne occupying another person's body now shook mercilessly and burned pitch-black.

That sentiment—that he didn't care if she was some insignificant creature or anything else—had transformed into the terror that Adrienne could never forgive Bardenaldo's sins.

Could Adrienne, who had cast aside even Novian whom she'd loved, accept him? Could that fragile, deeply wounded person look at him without thinking of Bardenaldo?

"Rhoan, please..."

The more Bardenaldo pleaded, the deeper the anguish and despair became. Why didn't he deny it? Why did he only beg forgiveness as if confirming what Novian Trovika had said—Rhodness wanted to scream the question.

"Just how—"

As Rhodness's silent lips finally opened, Bardenaldo's tense face came into view. Rhodness wore an expression stripped of even the faintest smile.

"—do you intend to repay this sin?"

But the heart threatening to collapse completely—he couldn't gather all the pieces.

"I was just coming from helping wrap up the funeral arrangements."

Bardenaldo's earnest answer, his docile face—it only made Rhodness more desperate.

"I heard the Princess was originally so frail it wouldn't have been strange for her to die at any time. I'll beg the Princess's forgiveness after my death, and beg yours while I'm still alive. If it can comfort your heart at all, I won't oppose that noblewoman who resembles the Princess becoming an Imperial Consort either. I'll help."

'Brother.'

His lips pressed together, wouldn't part.

"The living must go on living, mustn't they? It's all my fault... Please don't stain your hands with your own flesh and blood's blood, giving others grounds to attack you. Resent this older brother."

'Brother, Adrienne... didn't die.'

"Even if Mother were still alive, she would have said the same thing."

'She didn't die—she lived, and saw and felt everything you coerced and Uncle committed.'

The words surged up like vomit—that Adrienne's soul, unable to reach Avadelia, had witnessed all this filth and been wounded throughout, and was still being wounded now.

He cursed those past days when he'd considered it a blessing—the miracle of Adrienne existing not in Avadelia but in reality.

Not a blessing.

Not for her.

To her, Novian Trovika, Crown Prince Bardenaldo... and I, his blood relative—we must be despair.

The moment Rhodness saw the approaching palace gates, he couldn't breathe. His hands trembled with terror at how Adrienne might look at him.

The Grand Ducal Estate was in complete chaos. Upon hearing the news that Grand Duke Novian Trovika was being confined to the frontier by the Crown Prince's order, the eastern people rejoiced as if they could fly and immediately descended upon the Grand Ducal Estate.

Despite Gaspar's desperate pleading looks to restrain them, I simply let them be. If the eastern people wounded by both Novian and me could feel even a little satisfaction this way, I wanted to hand them clubs or torches they could light.

Imagining this place burning to nothing but ash—somehow it made me laugh.

Then the Grand Duchess's bedroom door burst open violently. It was Bianca, wearing a sneer.

"Your fate is as vicious as they come. Coveting another's place—what a fine sight you are."

The face pouring out condemnation hardened visibly the moment it saw my attire. Instead of the mourning clothes from before, I wore the Grand Duchess's elaborate dress. Bianca strode over and, before I could resist, grabbed and tore at my front with force.

"How dare you—on the day Adrienne is buried in the ground. Picking up something like this to wear. Just how low do you intend to sink?"

I silently gazed at beloved Bianca. Despite her fierce voice, her eyes trembled as if about to spill tears at any moment.

"Now I see it—I understand why that bastard Novian, who was dragged away wailing Adrienne's name, acted that way toward you. The shell alone resembles our Rien sickeningly well."

Bianca stripped the traces of Adrienne from my body as she ranted.

"...What if I told you I am Adrienne?"

At my impulsively spat words, Bianca's complexion changed as if she'd received a grave insult. The murderous intent suggested she might stab my heart if handed a sword.

"How dare you..."

Bianca's entire body trembling, her eyes rose red as if blood vessels would burst. Unable to contain her rage, she raised her hand high.

I resigned myself and closed my eyes. Smack! The sound came, but my cheek didn't hurt.

When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw Yona collapsed clutching her cheek, and Marge standing in the open bedroom doorway. She seemed to have rushed over upon hearing the Grand Ducal Estate news, but the timing was unfortunate.

"Y-Yona!"

Marge cried out softly and rushed to Yona. This time even Bianca flinched. Bianca clenched her still-raised hand into a fist, looked away from Yona, and glared at me.

"Would I believe you? No. Even if you recited all the names of my husband's eighth cousins, never."

Immediate answer.

"Don't you dare put that precious name in your filthy mouth again. Remember—I'm leaving you alone not because I forgive you, but because I know you can only live that way and will eventually crash to rock bottom."

Yona crawled over weakly and stood protectively in front of me again.

"Never appear before our eyes again."

Bianca looked between Yona and me, let out a scoffing laugh as if absurd, and left the bedroom. Marge quickly came over and draped a coat over my shoulders. Even Bianca's contemptuous face—I wanted to engrave it in my heart.

As she'd said, there might truly never be another occasion to appear before her eyes in Bliea's body.

"...Yona, are you all right?"

"Yes, Madam. Are you unharmed?"

Yona's cheek was swollen bright red, yet she only worried about me. When I thought that a maid I'd done nothing particularly kind for had thrown herself in front of me—the feeling was strange.

"KYAAAAA! Let go of this! Let go! What is this?!"

The moment I reached out with concern, a sudden scream fell against my ears. I told Marge to take care of Yona first and quietly stepped outside the bedroom.

Eastern people frantically gathering the Grand Duchess Adrienne's belongings to take east, and Gaspar running between them collecting things to send to Grand Duke Novian.

Amidst the confusion, the noisiest place was the room next to the bedroom I'd exited—Novian's bedroom.

Annie was brimming with hope. She'd heard that some noblewomen pushed their maids or ladies-in-waiting into their husbands' bedrooms and let them handle things as they saw fit. Was this one of those situations?

The position of next Grand Duchess that Duke Castagna had promised her two years ago had already fallen through. The sweet offer to have her adopted into one of the vassal families, restoring her noble status—that too. If that had been the intention, it would have happened already. Tasks that seemed to be progressing had all been suspended, and that unexpected obstacle Bliea Acacia had appeared and torn through the mansion.

Annie needed to find her own way to survive. Recalling how Bliea had dismissed all the maids she kept close and given Annie alone permission to freely use the dead Grand Duchess's dressing room—she even felt grateful. But Annie had no intention of obediently submitting to that woman's wishes. She was confident she could captivate Grand Duke Novian.

At the thought of comforting her master who mourned his dead wife in the bedroom, Annie was carefully washing her body in the spacious bath.

Unfortunately, the bathroom was excessively soundproofed, so she heard none of the commotion inside the Grand Ducal Estate. The moment she finished grooming herself and struggled alone to pull on her clothes, angry people burst in.

"KYAAAAA! Let go of this! Let go! What is this?!"

People who'd barged into the Grand Duke's bedroom without permission roughly dragged her out and threw her down.

"...What's happening?"

"M-Madam! Madam!"

"Good heavens."

Annie crawled toward Bliea emerging from the adjacent bedroom. Bliea wore only an underdress with a coat barely draped over her shoulders, but Annie was too panicked to properly observe.

"S-suddenly these strange people—!"

"They're not strange people—they're the late Grand Duchess's relatives, aren't they?"

Sharp gazes from the crowd poured onto Annie. The same cold stare that had pierced that woman just hours ago. Only then did Annie look around at the chaos. Eastern people rummaging through like it was their own house, and fully armed knights. ...The premonition wasn't good.

"What's this woman doing here? Just what state has this household been in?!"

"What on earth were you thinking?! Wearing clothes our Adrienne might have worn, in the Grand Duke's bedroom!"

At the eastern nobles' uproar, Annie became mute as if she'd swallowed honey and looked at Bliea Acacia. Hands clasped desperately together.

"Annie, I ordered you to help finish the funeral arrangements—why are you coming out of His Grace's bedroom?"

"...Madam?"

"And that outfit..."

"Wh-what do you mean! You clearly told me—"

"Don't tell me, on the final day of the Grand Duchess's funeral... you were trying to seduce the Grand Duke?"

The woman's horrified face was no different from a demon's.

"Butler, this girl seems to want to attend to His Grace—grant her wish."

Before Gaspar could say anything as he stood with his mouth hanging open speechlessly, the knights who'd been occupying and ransacking the Grand Ducal Estate seized Annie's arms.

"This is insane! Let go! What is this?! Wh-where is His Grace? How dare you in the Grand Duke's estate—!"

"Poor Annie. The Grand Duke has committed sins and is currently heading to some corner of the northern frontier."

It felt like the world was collapsing. Only then did the murmuring voices of the eastern people torment her ears.

"Criminal Novian Trovika."

"Even His Highness had no choice but to abandon him..."

"Just how many women did he bring into that bedroom..."

Annie stared dumbly at Bliea Acacia approaching her. The woman whose eyes were filled with pity as if viewing the most pitiful thing in the world brought her face close to Annie, whose arms were held.

"...You wanted to be at the Grand Duke's side?"

"!"

"I'm granting your wish—what are you dissatisfied about?"

She whispered low enough to raise goosebumps, then her lips curved into an arc as they left Annie's ear. Annie's trembling eyes slowly looked up at the woman moving away from her. The woman wearing only an underdress, disheveled appearance with just a coat barely thrown on—at first glance she looked pitiable. But...

'...Crazy woman.'

In the woman's pale green eyes, glinting blue with determination to cast Annie into hellfire, the intent roiled.