5. One Step Towards Hell

〈Do you think you’re something special just because you’re marrying into the Grand Duke’s family? You’re going to the barren North, where survival through winter is hard without our family’s support!〉  

〈Apologize.〉  

〈Insulting me is a family matter. But you’ve insulted the North, where I will live after my marriage. That, I cannot forgive.〉  

Annette’s voice echoed—the voice of the eldest daughter of the Poche family.  

Was the reason she had requested a private meeting with him tonight merely to show him the scene of her fighting with her younger sister? However, at that time, Annette’s voice seemed genuinely filled with anger.  

‘Why?’  

Could she truly believe the North is the land she will live in from now on, as she said?  

Impossible. They hadn’t known each other long enough to build a bond, and she had never even set foot in the North before. There was no way she could already have affection for it.  

‘Is it boldness or exceptional acting skills?’  

If it was boldness, the Marquis had raised a remarkable woman. If it was the latter, she could become a great con artist.  

“Thank you for your efforts.”  

Daniel approached and attended to him. Darius removed his mask. The face of the young Grand Duke, which had been hidden behind the silver mask, was finally revealed.  

His face, framed by raven-black hair, gleamed white under the moonlight.  

If Caitlyn, who had mocked Annette for marrying into the North, had seen him, she might have reconsidered and died of jealousy. His appearance was so outstanding that it would have driven her mad with envy, knowing Annette was marrying not a gloomy Grand Duke but a handsome one.  

“What is your impression of the South on your first visit?”  

“They’re all fools dulled by peace.”  

In response to Daniel’s question, the young Grand Duke answered coldly.  

Extravagant food without restraint, an attitude that never considered the possibility of war.  

“I’m curious how many of these idiots would survive if even a single Northern snowstorm hit this place.”  

“The South is a place where one can live without any preparation. It’s different from our North in every way.”  

In their North, those who do not prepare for winter are never allowed to survive.  

“But even in the South, there seems to be at least one person who knows how to think.”  

Annette Poche.  

She was different from the other fools of the South, drunk on peace. She clearly knew whom she was marrying and where she would live in the future.  

It was as if she had already donned a sturdy armor in preparation for the Northern cold.  

She was cold and composed.  

“A woman said to be trampled on by the second wife’s children and living quietly?”  

The Grand Duke let out a small scoff.  

How could anyone call her a woman who couldn’t even speak her mind?  

“Apologies. It seems there was some confusion in the reports.”  

Daniel wore an awkward expression.  

Though he apologized, Daniel couldn’t hide the laughter bubbling up from within.  

“Miss Annette seems to be a wonderful person. I was worried, but it’s a relief.”  

Until they had arrived at the Marquis of Poche’s estate, Daniel had repeatedly advised caution, saying they couldn’t know what schemes the Poche family might be plotting. Seeing how he had already softened, Darius felt displeased.  

“I thought only the informants had lost focus, but it seems you’re the same, Daniel. Have you already let your guard down after tasting the South’s peace?”  

The Annette who had boldly stood up to Caitlyn earlier had left an impression. But that was all.  

“Don’t forget who shed blood for our North.”  

It hadn’t even been a year since the previous Grand Duke had died.  

They had been so busy managing their territories that they barely had time to see each other as father and son.  

〈Darius, be happy.〉  

As he lay dying, the former Grand Duke had wished for his happiness one last time.  

Some might see marriage as the first step toward happiness in life.  

‘But the purpose of this marriage is solely to secure food supplies from the South.’  

Thinking of the starving people in the Northern territories, Darius could easily give up something like his happiness.  

‘A woman from the Southern family that ruined the North.’  

He had not the slightest intention of sincerely trusting a woman from the Poche family.  

* * *  

‘That Annette girl has been acting strange lately.’  

Annette’s nanny had been a maid in the household since Annette was born. Without a mother, Annette had been timid from a young age, always obeying without a word when scolded. She had been an easy child to raise.  

‘She’s been like this ever since it was announced the Grand Duke would visit. Acting all high and mighty just because she’s getting a husband!’  

Even now, it was the same.  

When it was announced that the Grand Duke would visit, she had suddenly ordered her to clean, saying her room was too shabby. Clearly, she had grown arrogant now that she had something to rely on.  

‘There’s no time left to fix the habits of a girl who’s about to leave anyway!’  

The nanny scrubbed the floor irritably. It was then that something shiny in the slightly open drawer caught her eye.  

“What is this…?”  

Compelled by curiosity, the nanny opened the drawer.  

Annette had tried to hide it, burying it among clothes, but her attempt had been clumsy.  

Inside was a jewelry box, left ajar and displaying the brilliance of the treasures within.  

‘So Annette must have gotten back the items she relentlessly demanded from Miss Caitlyn.’  

The nanny began taking out the items one by one. Rings, necklaces, bracelets—all of them were top-quality goods.  

Among them, a blue emerald necklace particularly caught her eye.  

‘Annette only recently got these items back… She wouldn’t notice if one of them disappeared, would she?’  

The nanny gulped. The emerald necklace in her hand gleamed seductively.  

* * *  

Bang.  

Returning to my room after a short walk, I found the nanny cleaning as I had instructed.  

“Nanny.”  

“Ah, Miss Annette.”  

The nanny flinched like a guilty thief caught in the act.  

“Have you finished cleaning the room?”  

“Y-Yes…”  

The nanny answered softly, avoiding my gaze more than usual.  

“Hmm…”  

When I ran my finger along the window frame, dust that hadn’t been thoroughly cleaned stuck to it. The nanny anxiously watched as I rubbed my fingers together with a blank expression.  

“Come to think of it, this room is so old and shabby that cleaning doesn’t even make a difference.”  

I scoffed, belittling her efforts. My dismissive words made the nanny’s face twist with displeasure. Showing such dissatisfaction in front of her master—she still hadn’t fixed that arrogant habit.  

“What are you doing? Go. Stop wasting time here.”  

“Y-Yes, Miss Annette.”  

The nanny hurriedly left the room, as if she had something to hide.  

As soon as she was gone, I opened the drawer. Inside was the jewelry box I had deliberately left there, gleaming brilliantly.  

“Not as foolish as I thought.”  

The items had been touched, but none of the valuable treasures inside were missing. Disappointingly so.  

Had she taken even one item, I would have exposed her theft and had her immediately expelled from the Marquis’ estate.  

〈Keep even one of my belongings, Caitlyn. On the day I become the Grand Duke’s wife, I’ll make sure all of society knows about your sticky fingers.〉  

The day I fought with Caitlyn and pulled her hair, I had gone to her after Darius left and warned her firmly.  

I told her if she wanted to be known as a petty thief in society, she should keep holding onto my belongings. Caitlyn, crying and wailing, returned all my jewelry.  

〈Some things are still missing, but I’ll overlook it out of sisterly affection.〉  

Compared to what I intended to take from the Marquis Poche’s estate, a few missing pieces of jewelry were nothing.  

〈Do you know how many of my belongings I had to sell to replace those jewels?〉  

〈Do I care? Who told you to lend them out so freely?〉  

That day, Caitlyn returned the jewelry box to me with swollen eyes, as if she were giving away pieces of her own flesh.  

Her frustration and helplessness had been immensely satisfying to me.  

Revenge is watching the person who humiliated you squirm beneath you.  

In that sense, I was dissatisfied with the nanny’s cautious choice.  

‘If I were to demand the nanny’s dismissal now, Marquis Poche would likely fire her.’  

Annette was the nanny’s master. If I claimed she disobeyed my orders and behaved insolently, the Marquis would dismiss her to preserve my dignity as the future Grand Duchess.  

‘But that would just look like a spoiled noble girl throwing a tantrum.’  

Without solid justification, the nanny would leave the estate and spread rumors about how unfairly she was treated. People would assume Annette was a wicked girl who fired the nanny who raised her.  

That wasn’t the outcome I wanted.  

The nanny deserved to be shamed.  

She should be barred from ever stepping foot in a noble household again, left to deeply regret looking down on a motherless girl.  

“How should I punish her properly…”  

Though too timid to actually steal the jewelry, the nanny had clearly been tempted.  

Her unfocused eyes when I entered the room had revealed her desire. Eyes clouded with greed. She was a foolish woman, shaken by a simple test.  

“One shouldn’t desire what they can’t handle.”  

I chuckled softly. As long as I was Annette, I wouldn’t let anyone who underestimated me go unpunished.  

“Nanny, come here.”  

I rang the bell to summon the nanny back.  

“Nanny, thank you for all your hard work. Since it’s almost time for me to leave, I’d like to repay you.”  

I smiled brightly. It was a step pushing her toward hell.