---
It had been a truly exhausting day.
After Malena left, Eileen spent her time in a flurry.
The people gathered outside had scattered when Michele fired a second shot.
Michele, hit a stem exactly and knocking an orange from the tree, held the still-unripe fruit in his hand and smirked.
"Now that the rumor that there’s shooting here spreads, no one will dare bother you."
Dismissing the soldiers, Michele stayed at Eileen’s for dinner.
And, of course, he didn't forget to add to her anxious thoughts.
"By the way, Madam.
When will you move to the Grand Duke's residence?"
"I’m not...
Madam yet..."
"Is it so bad if everything is going for the better?
I need to practice in advance, after all.
Madam, Madam."
"..."
After dinner, Michele, using his experience as Prince-kun's former servant, tidied the house in an instant and left.
Left alone in the sparkling clean house, Eileen sat on the sofa for a short while.
Every knight of the Grand Duke was a valuable asset.
To waste their time on such useless matters...
It really was extremely inefficient.
*‘His Grace hates that most of all.’*
Cesare considered wasting time the most foolish of acts.
And yet, because of me, such a thing was already happening.
Feeling her self-confidence sink lower, Eileen shook her head.
Rising from the sofa, she headed to her father's bedroom.
Taking a breath, she knocked on the door.
"Come out.
How long are you going to sit in there?"
Movement was heard behind the door.
Creaking, her father finally opened the door and came out.
He looked pathetic.
Instantly, the repulsive image of his body flashed in her memory, but she forced it away.
"The guests seem to have left."
Her father tried to act as if nothing had happened.
As if nothing had transpired between them.
Previously, Eileen would have accepted this gesture of reconciliation.
But today she didn't want to.
She decided to go directly to the point.
"Why did you do that?"
Her father's eyebrows jerked.
Unable to hide his irritation at his daughter's defiance, he barked:
"I had no intention of selling you!"
Eileen flinched and stepped back.
But, gathering herself, she stood her ground firmly.
Even in such a situation, her father held himself confidently.
"I just needed to urgently resolve some problems.
His Grace, of course, will help you, so everything was calculated.
In the end, everything turned out just wonderful, didn't it?"
Her father gave a fake cough and stole a glance at Eileen.
"Now you will become the Grand Duchess."
From his look, it was clear: his daughter would become the Grand Duchess, and he was already anticipating untold wealth.
*‘This is why I didn't want to get married.’*
Eileen imagined her father causing a scandal and shaming Cesare's name.
Perhaps for Cesare it would be a trifle.
But the thought that she would become his weak spot tormented her.
"I'm going out for a bit.
I'll just have a beer and come back."
Her father, grabbing his hat and coat, left.
He was avoiding an uncomfortable conversation simply by leaving.
It had always been this way.
Even during her mother's life, when they argued, he would bark and then leave.
And Eileen remained to calm her enraged mother.
*‘But at least for a while he won't be gambling...’*
It seemed he had spent almost all the money received for her in that expensive-looking tavern.
Continuing to reflect, Eileen lowered her shoulders under the weight of the sudden melancholy.
To keep from sinking into gloom, she decided to breathe the night air in the garden.
Near the orange tree, she should feel better.
Throwing a shawl over her shoulders, Eileen went out into the garden.
Sitting on a wooden chair, she stared dejectedly at the grass.
*"Marriage is a reality."* Those words had turned out to be completely true.
She didn't even know what to do with her father.
And it wasn't just about money, which made the situation even more difficult.
The House of Elodd had once been wealthy, but her father had gambled away the entire fortune.
The best way out would be his reform, but that seemed almost impossible.
Worry followed worry, and Eileen's thoughts returned to today's conversation with Malena.
"..."
Eileen opened her left hand and looked quietly at her empty ring finger.
Malena had ground her teeth, indignant at how it was possible—the wedding had already been announced, yet there wasn't even an engagement ring.
She had scolded Cesare, calling him reckless to the point of cruelty.
Since the wedding was inevitable, Cesare would give a ring eventually.
Just not now.
*‘I can't ask him to buy it right now.’*
Although the marriage was a deal, the scales had already tipped to one side long ago.
She already owed Cesare so much that she couldn't ask for a ring.
That would be too brazen.
It was more correct to trust him and wait.
Thinking about Cesare, she suddenly remembered something else—the smoke in that tavern where she had gone to look for her father.
The Empire strictly prosecuted drugs, but it mainly concerned opium.
Things like hashish were treated more leniently.
Cesare, sensing the smoke, had said nothing, so apparently it was some kind of legal mixture...
She was deep in thought.
Suddenly, the dark garden was illuminated.
It was the headlights of a car.
From a familiar military vehicle, soldiers in uniform stepped out.
Ordinary people were frightened at the sight of the military.
But Eileen, who was closer to the soldiers than anyone, rose happily from her chair.
The soldiers who entered the garden saluted her respectfully.
"Lady Elodd."
Hearing the address, Eileen froze for a moment.
But, without showing it, she replied:
"Good evening."
"His Grace the Grand Duke is calling for you."
"Now?"
"Yes.
We will escort you."
Eileen lowered her head to hide her expression.
Then she slowly clenched her fists to hide the trembling in her hands.
After her kidnapping at twelve, Eileen had undergone intensive training under Cesare.
He’d told her:
*"If I want you brought to me, I won't send just anyone.
At minimum—those you know by face."*
But most of the soldiers who had come for her, she was seeing for the first time.
The face was familiar only on one, and he stayed at a distance.
And the form of address was suspicious.
Usually the soldiers called her "Lady Eileen." Rarely did anyone address her by the title "Lady Elodd."
*‘Something is wrong.’*
To become the Grand Duchess meant becoming a target for Cesare's enemies.
But who would dare?
No, now was not the time for guesswork.
Eileen thought quickly.
"Then I'll just quickly change.
Wait, please."
It was better to first run into the house.
Eileen had already turned to leave when—
"Wait."
She was caught by the wrist.
Eileen flinched and yanked her arm back.
The soldier, not expecting resistance, let her go.
She dashed into the house, slammed the door, and locked it.
From outside, they began to bang furiously as if trying to break the door down.
In her haste, Eileen stumbled and nearly fell.
Loaning against a table, she ran.
There was a small loophole in the yard.
If she could get out through it, she could escape...
The sound of breaking glass made Eileen flinch.
The soldiers burst into the house, having broken a window.
The familiar soldier was the first to dash forward, caught her by the back of the neck, and yanked.
Eileen hit her back against his chest.
One of his arms wrapped around her waist, the other squeezed her throat.
"Ack-ack!"
The grip was iron.
He squeezed her carotid arteries, and Eileen's body immediately went limp.
Her hands, which had tried to break free, hung helplessly.
Deprived of oxygen, she was losing consciousness.
Darkness floated before her eyes.
*‘I must run...’*
With this last useless thought, Eileen lost consciousness.