The son of the Lord of Bohemia, Santana Andreas.
When Duchess Kattlena first heard about him from her daughter, two emotions rose in her heart.
One was the sorrow of a mother for her daughter, who would suffer due to the large framework of national policy.
And the other was curiosity about the man named Santana, who had stolen the heart of her stubborn and inflexible daughter.
According to her daughter, Santana was originally the daughter of a noble family and a princess of the empire, just like Cazerose. He had hidden his identity and had become a Paladin, but after being embroiled in the corruption of the Church, he was ultimately excommunicated and returned to his position as the heir of the Count’s family in Bohemia.
His background was quite unusual.
Moreover, he seemed to possess the ideal image of a priest that Cazerose often spoke of while also having the ability to solve seemingly impossible problems with all sorts of unique methods.
Of course, it couldn’t be taken at face value just by listening to her daughter, but hearing such a story, the Duchess showed some interest in this man called Santana and commanded to look into him more closely.
And the result was now.
It was naturally stirring feelings of anger within her.
Shortly after Cazerose had left, Santana was greeted by his fiancée, as if waiting for the moment.
In the Duchess’s eyes, it was clear that this man must have been toying with her daughter.
“This filthy bastard… How dare he toy with my beloved daughter’s heart like this? I absolutely can’t forgive him. I must make him pay…”
Grinding her teeth, the Duchess began to express her anger towards the man known as Santana.
At that moment,
Watching the Duchess, Arachne, a woman who served as both her guard and secretary, quietly asked her.
“Well then, Duchess, what should we do about this situation? Should we inform Princess Cazerose?”
“Hmm… Is that really the best course of action?”
The Duchess pondered seriously, somewhat calming her anger at Arachne’s question.
However, after a brief moment of consideration, she slowly shook her head and reached a conclusion.
“No, for now, let’s keep it a secret. After all, if we tell the truth, she won’t fully believe us and will just try to escape to confirm the facts. It’s better to stay quiet and pretend we don’t know anything.”
“I understand what you mean.”
Of course, speaking about the truth could lead Cazerose to give up on that man named Santana.
However, even if she wanted to use that method, the timing still wasn’t right.
Cazerose was already in an emotionally sensitive state.
At such a time, she would not listen to what they had to say and instead would only become more agitated.
In the worst-case scenario, there was a risk she could succumb to despair and make an extreme choice.
In that regard, the Duchess decided to observe for now while considering possible ways to deal with the man who had left a significant scar on her daughter’s life.
But no matter how furious she got, she also knew she couldn’t take rash action regarding the situation.
As a Duchess ruling over the Sofia region, the former capital of the Great Dragona Empire, she held substantial power within the empire and had enough capability to send an army to Bohemia for a war at any moment.
She could mobilize an impressive 20,000 soldiers directly, and if she combined forces with nearby lords, they would exceed 40,000.
Of course, there were economic powers like the Turk Empire and Hungary Kingdom nearby, so she couldn’t just act recklessly. However, if she truly wanted, wiping out Bohemia, which hadn’t even healed from past war wounds, was certainly within reach.
And yet, she lamented that it was impossible to turn this thought into reality.
‘As much as I want to mobilize my army and sweep Bohemia away, just as I told Cazerose, I can’t interfere with western matters recklessly. I cannot shatter the empire’s fundamental framework with my own hands.’
Given that the support Cazerose had asked for in Bohemia was impossible, she found herself unable to destroy Bohemia either.
However…
That didn’t mean she had any intention to simply let Bohemia be…
To be exact, she had no intention of leaving that bastard named Santana alone.
‘I usually don’t like these dark methods, but I might have no choice now.’
Conducting matters of state or county between nations was currently impossible.
But that was only an official appearance.
Carrying out actions through unofficial channels was entirely possible, and there was no worry of harming the nation.
Fortunately, there was a general named Turun on the Dragona Empire side with considerable recognition. However, to handle things perfectly, she would need someone even more capable.
And…
Duchess Kattlena was someone who held the power to command such individuals beneath her.
“Arachne.”
“Yes, Duchess.”
“Go get those people… Blood and Soul. There’s an important mission to assign.”
“…Understood. I will do that.”
With a slightly tense expression, Arachne respectfully bowed her head at the Duchess’s words.
Shortly after she left…
Duchess Kattlena began to release a calm yet chilling smile while exuding a quiet killing intent.
‘Now then… Shall I observe how capable this well-regarded ability that my daughter praised is?’
*
“…Am I wrong?…”
Lying in the room, Cazerose repeatedly pondered endlessly.
However, in this moment, no matter how hard she thought, she couldn’t come up with anything viable.
She couldn’t even think of a way to escape this place, let alone help Santana, who was struggling alone…
In her current state, she felt utterly devoid of adequate answers.
‘No matter how I think about it, if my mother keeps acting like this, I won’t have any options…’
Even though she held the title of princess, she was just the young, unimportant, and uninfluential daughter, not an heir, meaning she had no real power.
In the past, she had been able to leverage her position as the youngest to get her parents to listen to her. But now, expecting that kind of support was unrealistic.
Moreover, since her mother was someone who couldn’t compromise, changing her mind once it was made up was nearly impossible.
‘Really… What could make my mother so stubborn? I’ll never become the kind of mom like that.’
Thinking this, Cazerose lamented her own powerless state as she rolled around on the bed.
In that moment…
While lost in such thoughts, a single fact suddenly began to emerge in her mind.
‘No. Wait a minute. Now that I think about it, there is one way… to break my mother’s stubbornness…’
The probability wasn’t high at all.
After all, this method involved using someone whose face didn’t even appear in her mind.
If the other side dismissed her as someone they didn’t know, it could end right there.
Yet…
Cazerose recognized she had no choice and, in a desperate scenario, reached for her quill.
‘Fortunately, I have a means to send a letter to that side secretly. It might take some time, but…’
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