Episode 6

Leonard was reclining in a chair at his office, utterly exhausted from the workload of the past few days.

It had already been several months since he'd arrived at the Northern fortress to manage the situation. After numerous battles, the kingdom of Azur finally conceded defeat and withdrew its troops.

Yet, he still had to deal with all the paperwork and traitors who had been hiding spies.

It was an unpleasant job, but someone had to do it—he planned to return soon as he was slightly worried about how Olivia was faring, knowing there were many curious nobles who would surely go to the mansion to meet her and attempt to forge a connection with Leonard through her.

He estimated it would take another month before he could head back, so he had sent a letter informing them of his impending return.

The next morning, he paid a visit to Viscount Miller, who had been passing on information and sheltering spies from the kingdom of Azur.

Upon arriving at his house, Leonard instructed the soldiers to gather all the household members in the garden. They quickly rounded everyone up, and the viscount's family, including Viscount Miller himself, were assembled.

Viscount Miller was surprised and dazed, not understanding what was happening. Seeing Leonard, he went pale and began to sweat despite the chill that day.

Seeing him, Viscount Miller immediately realized why he was there.

"Good morning, Duke of Forest. What honor brings you here? Why have you ordered us all out of the house?"

"You truly do not know why I am here?"

When Leonard said this, the viscount's fears were confirmed, and he began to tremble with terror.

"No.. My lord, I do not know the reason for your visit."

"Sam, tell him why we are here."

The soldier he had called took out a written order from his bag and began to read aloud.

"For harboring spies from the kingdom of Azur and for facilitating the exchange of information, Viscount Miller is stripped of his title and accused of treason against the crown."

"My lord, you cannot do this to me; I declare my innocence against these charges."

"You know very well that you are guilty of what you are accused, and are aware of the fate of traitors."

Viscount Miller fell to his knees, begging for mercy.

"Please have mercy, My lord! Spare my life..."

As Leonard drew his sword, the viscount tried to run, but Leonard was quicker. The viscount didn't even have time to rise before Leonard decapitated him. The viscount's head rolled on the ground, drenching it in red, and those present gave a muffled scream at the sight.

"I hope this serves as a lesson to all. Any traitors conspiring against the kingdom of Alicante will face the death penalty."

Viscount Miller's family was paralyzed with fear, dreading that they might suffer the same fate.

But nobility was necessary, so instead of killing them all, he appointed the viscount's nephew Damian Miller as the new Viscount.

After that, he visited two more families, encountering essentially the same situation—despite their proclaimed innocence, they eventually pled for their lives.

Leonard returned to the fortress at dusk with an unpleasant sensation from the blood staining his clothes.

Upon his arrival, the servants were alarmed to see him covered in blood and rushed to prepare his bath.

Entering his room, everything was ready, so Leonard instructed the servants to leave him alone. They departed quickly, and in the bathroom, a tub full of water with essential oils and rose petals awaited him.

To him, it seemed utterly foolish to prepare such a luxurious bath when one was covered in blood—it was a waste.

After cleansing off all the grime, he changed and requested a servant to serve dinner immediately as he still had a pile of work that had accumulated over the past days.

After finishing all the paperwork and dealing with all the traitors, he started to plan his journey home.

The return trip was quite calm, and he took the chance to sleep, knowing there would be much work awaiting his return.

The journey home took a week as the weather had turned and they had to stop at a small village to rest.

Arriving at the capital, he first went to the palace to report all that had occurred during his stay in the Northern fortress, to the crown prince.

After Leonard recounted the essential points, the prince inquired:

"And, has the duchess been informed of your return?"

"I haven't yet had the time to go to my house; I've just come back and thought you'd want the report as soon as possible."

"Of course, but..."

"If you arrive this way without notice, you don't give me time to prepare anything for your return."

That had been Leonard's intent—he hadn't announced his return date because that would surely have led to a parade, which was not to his liking.

"Well, now if you will excuse me, I must depart. It's been a long trip and I wish to return home and rest."

"The duchess will be quite surprised to see you. By the way, many nobles have come to your mansion hoping to meet the new duchess, but none have been received due to the duchess's poor health, prohibiting her from having visitors."

"You ought to present the young duchess soon, or rumors will start to circulate about her."

"I'll consider it."

Leonard made a brief bow, then left the palace and returned to his mansion.

As he entered, he encountered a somewhat perplexing scene, and the servants were very surprised, halting their tasks to bow to him.

All except one, who hadn't noticed his arrival—a young woman with long, tumultuous chestnut hair dressed in a white shirt and blue trousers that outlined her figure.

What struck him most was that this young girl was his wife, up on a ladder changing curtains, consulting the maids for their opinion.

"I see you've had quite the fun in my absence, my little duchess."

Leonard said with a hint of annoyance.

At the sound of the duke's voice, she turned her head so sharply that she lost her balance. He had to move quickly to catch her in his arms before she hit the ground.

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