<Chapter 34>

“Actually, under the Duke’s orders, we recorded the moment when the Prospective Duchess received the divine oracle using a crystal orb.”

“W-what?”

The shocking confession made an unintentional, strange sound escape my mouth.

“You recorded the moment I received the divine oracle? When?”

“It was during the second divine oracle. When you first visited the restored chapel……”

“Ah, that time?”

I had no idea. Thinking back, I was kneeling before the Oracle Tablet then, with Kei standing behind me. If they wanted to record something, they certainly could have done it unnoticed.

“But… are you even allowed to tell me this? Didn’t the Duke tell you to keep it secret?”

“He did instruct us to record it discreetly, but he didn’t forbid us from confessing it.”

Isn’t that basically the same thing?

“I only followed the orders of the lord I swore allegiance to. However, since I now serve the Saintess, I couldn’t shake off the guilt of doing something so underhanded. I’m sorry. If you wish for me to resign as your guard, I will do so immediately.”

“No, it’s fine. You were just following orders, right? I mean, the Duke probably doubted me—after all, I went from being an outcast Saintess candidate, practically kicked out of the Great Temple, to suddenly becoming the Saintess.”

“……I apologize.”

“Why are you apologizing? Haha, I told you, it’s fine. Actually, I’ll even give you penance. Your penance is… keeping this conversation between us a secret from the Duke.”

“Penance? Just that?”

“Yes, that’s more than enough.”

You’re dead meat, Duke.

I made a mental note to use this against him if I ever found myself in a tricky situation.

At the time, I thought that was the end of confessions related to the Duke’s orders. But then…

“I apologize, Prospective Duchess. In truth, from the start, I was assigned to monitor you…”

“I’m sorry, Prospective Duchess. Remember when I suggested taking a walk in the garden? That was actually because…”

This man!

I get that he was suspicious of me, but what was with all the sneaky moves?

You’re not getting away with this, seriously!

*  *  *

In the capital, the Monster Duke was considered a symbol of ridicule and contempt. However, in the North, he represented fear and terror.

While people in the capital only knew of the Monster Duke through rumors, in the North, he ruled as a lord. Because of this, even uttering the word “Winstein” was met with caution in the North, despite it being the name of their own region.

“Did you hear? During the last hatching season, His Grace singlehandedly defeated an astonishing number of monsters…”

“As long as the Duke is here, we don’t have to worry about monsters. Whenever the hatching season comes, you realize there’s no more reliable lord than him…”

The capital labeled Duke Winstein a monster because of his unusual, deformed body. But in the North, he had already earned that title long before, thanks to his overwhelming feats during the hatching seasons.

Usually, Temenos hid his deformed body under masks, gloves, high-collared shirts, and long pants. But during the hatching seasons, this was not the case.

When fighting monsters, he did not conceal his inhuman form. His skin, covered in scales, was harder than steel. His elongated claws were sharper than the finest blades.

When he leaped from the fortress walls into the fray, unleashing his primal instincts, even the monsters trembled and fled in terror.

The accounts of his overwhelming prowess spread from one knight to another, fueling the Monster Duke’s infamy.

Naturally, baseless rumors intertwined with the stories.

That he murdered his predecessors to claim the ducal title, devoured monsters alive, and wasn’t even of Winstein blood—none of the rumors were short of horrifying.

Because of this, the North’s residents avoided discussing the Monster Duke altogether. If their chatter somehow reached his ears, they feared they’d face dire consequences.

So they pretended he didn’t exist. Even when rumors about him surfaced, they turned a deaf ear.

But one day, a new rumor began spreading across the North—not about the Duke but about his Prospective Duchess.

“Have you heard? The Prospective Duchess from the capital…”

“Didn’t she already pass away? I heard the Duke killed her…”

“Goodness, where did you hear such nonsense? Do you know how amazing she is right now?”

“Amazing? In what way?”

“You know, she was recommended by His Majesty the Emperor to become the Duke’s wife as a Saintess candidate. But it turns out she’s not just a candidate—she’s the actual Saintess!”

“What’s the difference?”

“It’s a huge difference!”

For over 300 years, the people of the North had abandoned their faith. To many, the mere notion of a god’s existence was faint.

When they heard a Saintess candidate was coming from the capital to marry the Duke, they didn’t fully grasp the significance.

“Do you know Sir Klein? The knight commander’s cherished protégé?”

“Of course. He was transferred to the patrol unit after losing one eye. Why?”

“Well, his eye is perfectly fine now—thanks to the Saintess!”

“What?”

Nearly everyone in Winstein knew of Klein, the knight commander’s pride and future successor, before tragedy struck. The commander sought countless doctors to heal his eye, but none could help.

“And it’s not just Sir Klein. Remember Sir Walton? He lost both hands to frostbite during an avalanche while clearing snow…”

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yes! The Saintess healed him. I saw him wielding a sword with my own eyes!”

As miracles unfolded across Winstein Castle, curiosity about the Prospective Duchess grew.

People began learning about what it meant to be a Saintess candidate and how a Saintess was chosen.

“Saintess candidates are those whom God has blessed, granting them divine power.”

“And among those candidates, God chooses one—the most beloved of all—and grants her godlike power. That’s the Saintess!”

“Then why would someone so extraordinary come to the North?”

Given Winstein’s vast size, verifying the rumors was difficult. As the stories traveled, they were embellished to suit people’s tastes.

Eventually…

“They say the Saintess went on a hunger strike to come to the North.”

“A hunger strike? Why?”

“When the Duke visited the capital for his succession ceremony, the Saintess apparently fell for him at first sight…”

And so, even this kind of rumor began to spread:

“What? The Saintess fell in love with the Duke at first sight?”

*  *  *

When Temenos inherited the title and became the Duke of Winstein, the nickname “Monster Duke” had already spread across the empire.

People might not have known his name, but they were well aware of the infamous title. With such a label branded on him, no effort on Temenos’ part could improve his reputation.

Thus, Temenos paid no mind to whatever rumors circulated outside.

Since he had chosen to shut his ears to the world, David saw no point in addressing the external gossip either. After all, it was true that Temenos bore the blood of a malformed demigod, making it impossible to issue a decree banning the spread of such rumors.

People would only mock the “Monster Duke” further for attempting such a thing.

In any case, no one dared to openly ridicule or insult Temenos in public.

For that reason, David only occasionally checked on the public opinion circulating around Winstein Castle.

This time was no exception.

Already busy as he was, his life had grown even more hectic as he prepared for Temenos and Inosensia’s wedding. He was so overwhelmed that even two bodies wouldn’t have sufficed.

Thus, he only caught wind of the ludicrous rumors concerning Inosensia within Winstein Castle long after they had spiraled out of control.

He promptly dispatched his subordinates to the bustling streets of Winstein to investigate the matter.

Three days later, just two days before the wedding, David sat with his head in his hands, groaning in frustration over the absurd findings.

The rumors claimed that Inosensia had fallen in love with Temenos at first sight when he visited the capital twelve years ago. They said she had longed for him ever since, leading her to volunteer for the vacant bride candidate position and come to the north.

“How on earth… Why am I only hearing about these rumors now?”

The divine Saintess favored by God and the monstrous Duke cursed by Him—a romance where the Saintess unilaterally harbored affection for the Duke had captivated the public’s imagination.

Perhaps they should count themselves lucky that the gossip didn’t suggest the Monster Duke had kidnapped the Saintess outright.

As the loyal head butler sworn to Winstein, David grappled with whether this situation would benefit or harm Temenos.

“If such baseless rumors have spread this far… there’s no telling how much more they could spiral out of control.”

Rumors were like that by nature.

Interfering recklessly in an attempt to quell them could backfire, turning one plus one into a hundred with preposterous outcomes.

After much deliberation, David took a report summarizing the current rumors in Winstein Castle and presented it to Temenos.

“…Inosensia fell in love with me at first sight when I visited the capital twelve years ago? She’s been cherishing that love ever since, and when the bride candidate position opened, she volunteered and came to the north? Is this what’s being said?”

“Yes. I tried to suppress the rumors, but there was only so much I could do.”

Previously, Temenos had ordered that Inosensia be treated with the proper respect befitting a prospective duchess.

However, during the time he hadn’t been paying attention, damaging gossip about her had spread through the mouths of many.

Expecting a severe reprimand, David squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head.

But Temenos reacted differently than he had anticipated.

“How on earth did they know…?”
 

<To be continued>

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