The territory was turned upside down.
Starting with the knights who had served beneath Richard, a great many people were purged.
Servants and butlers were either dismissed or relegated to dead-end posts, while disciplinary action was taken against the vassals.
It was such blatant suppression that even the most oblivious person could recognize it.
And this was the result.
The Grand Duchess and Vlad stood before me.
“I greet the Grand Duchess.”
I bowed magnificently with an exaggerated flourish, as though I were an actor upon a stage.
Their expressions were vicious.
They looked as though they had encountered their mortal enemy.
Lilian, in particular, had veins bulging across her forehead. Her desire to chew me apart was written plainly upon her face.
“To act as though you know nothing. Your shamelessness is beyond description.”
“My apologies, but I truly do not understand what you are referring to, Grand Duchess. If it would not be discourteous, might you explain what brings you here?”
GRIND.
Watching her grind her teeth was immensely satisfying.
Why was she getting angry?
She liked aristocratic manners, did she not?
I had even drawn out my words and spoken like a proper noble for her.
She somehow maintained her composure and spoke.
“Indeed. What would be the point of speaking to a fool who knows nothing?”
She flicked her fingers toward me as I stood blocking the door to Father’s office.
“Move. I shall speak with His Grace directly.”
“My apologies, but I cannot allow that.”
“What?! Who are you to dare decide whether I may or may not enter?!”
“His Grace ordered that he would meet no one without a prior appointment.”
“I am his wife and the mistress of this territory! Move aside!”
“I cannot do that.”
The argument between the Grand Duchess and me continued.
The veins in her neck bulged as she shouted at me to move.
“You insolent brat!”
She swung her hand to slap me across the face.
GRAB.
“I told you clearly. You may not enter without a prior appointment.”
“Y-you bastard!”
She struggled to pull free the arm I had caught.
But she could not break my grip.
“Release that hand!”
Vlad seized me by the collar, breathing heavily.
“It’s been a while, Brother. Have all your injuries healed?”
“Stop playing around and release that filthy hand. She is not someone a bastard like you may touch as you please.”
“Playing around?”
Our gazes met.
Fear spread over the rage that had been burning in his eyes moments ago.
It seemed he had remembered being beaten nearly to death by me.
I lowered my voice and whispered beside his ear.
“Who do you think is playing around right now?”
“Y-you bastard!”
“Keep holding my collar. Let’s see what happens.”
I released my killing intent.
Vlad flinched and unconsciously retreated a step.
“Ghk!”
He ground his teeth at the realization that he had been frightened.
“I’ll correct that insolent behavior!”
Vlad raised his fist.
I stared at him without blinking.
His fist, as large as a pot lid, swung toward my face.
“Enough!”
A low voice came from inside.
Vlad’s fist stopped directly before my nose.
“Enter.”
The office door opened.
I released the Grand Duchess’s arm.
Rubbing the place I had held with her opposite hand, she entered the office.
“Consider yourself lucky.”
Vlad spat out the words and released my collar as though throwing it away.
He passed me and entered the office.
“I wonder which of us was lucky.”
I opened and closed my left hand.
Had Father called us even a moment later, Vlad’s abdomen would have been pierced first.
He had probably sensed it too.
Otherwise, his steps would not have trembled as he entered the office.
“Pietro! You enter as well!”
CLICK.
The door slowly closed behind me.
“Your Grace! How could you treat me in such a way……?!”
“Wait.”
The Grand Duchess’s furious cry was silenced by a single curt gesture from Father.
“Pietro.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Hand over Fang.”
“Here it is.”
I returned Fang after cleaning it thoroughly.
Father accepted the old, worn sword and drew it from its sheath.
The broad blade and gray fur emerged as Fang revealed its true form.
“Hmm?”
Father examined the blade closely with an indifferent gaze.
It was as though the Grand Duchess and Vlad did not even exist.
“I clearly told you not to use it.”
Damn.
He noticed.
For a moment, I considered lying and claiming I had not used it.
“My apologies. Someone dared disobey your order, so I used it to make an example of him.”
“Ahem.”
Father cleared his throat in displeasure and returned the blade to its sheath.
The sword that had looked capable of cutting through anything returned to the form of an ordinary, old, weathered weapon.
CLICK.
He placed it inside the display case hanging on the wall.
“We shall discuss this later.”
“Understood.”
Whew.
I survived for now.
The Grand Duchess stared at Father and me with an incredulous expression.
It seemed she had never even dreamed that he might lend me Fang, the symbol of the head of the family.
Naturally.
Even I had not expected it.
Father finally withdrew his gaze from me and looked toward his lawful wife.
“Did you not have something to say? Go ahead.”
The Grand Duchess seemed shocked by Father’s indifferent voice.
She stared blankly for a moment before regaining her senses and speaking.
“Why are you treating me so cruelly?”
“What are you referring to?”
“Do you truly not know? The knights who guarded Vladimir and me, the butlers and maids who attended us, and even the cooks who worked in our kitchens have all either been dismissed or transferred to insignificant posts! How can you do such a thing so suddenly without saying a single word?!”
“Mother is correct! Because of what you have done, even commoners passing by mock us as kites with their strings cut! We must demonstrate the family’s authority to those arrogant wretches—”
“Silence!”
Father’s roar.
“Who do you believe is staining the family’s honor right now?!”
His mana-infused voice thundered through the room.
Vlad fell silent as though his tongue had been stolen.
Even though the shout was not directed at me, its power was enough to make my legs tremble.
“Madam.”
The Grand Duchess could not raise her eyes even when Father called her.
Only then did she seem to realize that something had gone terribly wrong.
“Look at me.”
Father carefully lifted the Grand Duchess’s chin.
“Y-Your Grace…….”
“Why did you do it?”
“Wh-what are you referring to?”
“Do you not know what I am asking?”
“I-I truly do not understand what you mean…….”
“Is that so?”
Father released his hand.
The Grand Duchess staggered as though all the strength had drained from her body.
RATTLE.
Father opened a desk drawer and removed several documents.
THUD.
Ledgers and letters fell at the Grand Duchess’s feet.
“Th-these are……?!”
“Read them.”
With trembling hands, she picked up the letters.
Assassinations, narcotics production, human experimentation.
Every filthy order the Grand Duchess had issued was recorded within them.
“I shall ask again.”
Father’s gaze pierced her.
“Why did you do it?”
“Y-Your Grace.”
“You were already the Grand Duchess. What more did you desire that drove you to commit such atrocities?”
“Th-that is not…….”
“Why?!”
CRASH—!
Father’s furious fist shattered the desk.
It had been a luxury item handcrafted by an artisan from the finest timber, yet it broke apart like a thin wooden board.
Gasp.
Everyone in the room drew a breath.
It felt as though an enormous beast had appeared before us.
Our survival instincts rang alarms, demanding that we flee immediately.
“Why did you do it?”
“This is all false!”
Vlad, who had been cowering, suddenly raised his voice.
“How dare you speak before—”
“Mother could never have committed such acts! Those documents must have been fabricated!”
He continued speaking despite Father’s murderous presence.
He genuinely appeared to believe that his mother could not have done such things.
His gaze hurriedly swept across the room before landing on me.
“You!”
His thick finger pointed toward me.
“What?”
“You must have fabricated the evidence and framed Mother!”
What an absurd accusation.
Let us concede a hundred or even a thousand times that he believed his mother was innocent.
The evidence was quite clear, but he had never been particularly logical.
Still.
He was turning the blame upon me?!
“How dare you frame the mistress of the great Fenrir Duchy?!”
SLAP.
His glove struck my face and fell to the floor.
“I challenge you to a duel!”
“What? Are you requesting a trial by combat?”
“I shall defeat you and prove Mother’s innocence!”
Trial by combat.
When a dispute arose between two parties, right and wrong could be determined through a duel.
This had become troublesome.
Once challenged, I could not withdraw.
Backing down would amount to admitting that I was a coward.
That culture was firmly established not only in battle-obsessed House Fenrir but throughout the Empire.
“It seems you’ve already forgotten my personality.”
I answered his murderous glare with one of my own.
“Fine.”
CRACK.
“Let’s have some real fun.”
Both Vlad and I turned toward Father.
Although we had been interrupted, Father had originally been interrogating the Grand Duchess.
He released a deep sigh.
The situation had unexpectedly changed because Vlad had suddenly lost control.
“Very well.”
However.
“I permit the duel.”
Father was not the type to cancel a duel.
If anything, he was more likely to encourage one.
“You shall face each other using swords alone. Anyone who employs another cowardly method shall immediately lose.”
If anything, he was more likely to encourage one.
“When will the duel begin?”
“Now.”
“I also wish to begin immediately.”
“Very well. The duel shall take place in the arena, and I shall personally preside over it.”
Father’s sharp gaze swept over both of us.
“Regardless of the outcome, you shall immediately accept the result. Anyone who refuses shall have his neck severed by my own hand.”
“Y-Your Grace!”
“Silence!”
The Grand Duchess attempted to interfere out of concern for her son, but there was no stopping Father now that his rage had reached its peak.
“State what you wish to claim.”
“I shall prove Mother’s innocence and demand punishment for the bastard who framed her!”
“I ask that everyone involved in this matter be punished according to the evidence that has been revealed.”
“Good.”
Father called for the Head Butler.
“Bring the swords they will use.”
“Understood, Your Grace.”
Head Butler Alfred bowed respectfully and hurried outside like an arrow.
Father looked sharply between Vlad and me.
“Do either of you have any final words?”
“I shall win without fail and prove Mother’s innocence!”
Vlad shouted confidently.
“And you, Pietro?”
“None.”
Every gaze turned toward me.
I smiled with complete confidence.
“I’m going to win anyway.”
The time for the duel was approaching.