I Will Disappear, Grand Duke

The emperor's actions were in Fernan's hands from the beginning.

 “Your Highness, we have captured all the spies.”

 A border zone knight from the northern part of the Grand Duchy came and reported.

 Fernan, who was scanning the border defense, put down the documents.

 Then, he grabbed his sword across the bookshelf and left the barracks.

 The outskirts of the wilderness where the sunset light sets.  Behind the barracks where the garrison was located, a dozen knights were kneeling bound.

 They were all knights under the Emperor.

 As Fernan passed, he casually ordered while looking at the faces of the knights.

 “Kill them all.”

 They were all just dwarfs.  If held on to them, they wouldn’t be of any use.

 "Ah!"

 Those who were cut by the sharp blade fell one by one with a flurry.

 Eventually, the sword was raised towards the trembling knight at the very end.

 At that moment, Fernan raised his hand and stopped the execution.

 “Gasp.”

 The surviving knight gasped and looked up at him.

 Fernan leaned towards the knight who was shaking like an aspen and met his eyes.

 “Go and tell your master.  I'm going to refuse the national marriage, so he doesn’t have to mess around anymore."

 It was necessary to keep at least one alive as a warning to the emperor.

 The knight relentlessly nodded his head at the cold words.

 When Fernan, who straightened up, nodded, his knights began to clean up the blood-stained ground.

 A lot of time was delayed.

 It was late at night when Fernan returned to the villa after completing all border affairs.

 As usual, he was going in the direction of Julia's bedroom, but he stopped.

 It was because he remembered that he was wearing clothes that smelled of blood.

 Fernan then turned and headed to his bedroom, taking off his clothes one by one.

 Suddenly, the jacket fell to the floor and someone knocked on the door as he began to unbutton his shirt.

 "Come in."

 Even with permission, the door did not open immediately.

 Meanwhile, Fernan, who took off his shirt completely after undoing the cuff buttons, opened the window.

 Then the door opened.  The sound of footsteps entering the room was somewhat cautious.

 Realizing that it wasn't his lieutenant, Fernan slowly turned his head.

 A slender figure entered his gaze.

 “Julia?”

 "Ah….”

 Surprised to see Fernan’s naked body, Julia quickly lowered her head.

 Fernan strode towards her, who had stopped.

 “Why aren’t you sleeping at this hour, what happened?”

 At this time, she was always asleep. He was thinking of going to watch her for a while after changing his clothes and washing his body clean.

 Julia answered quietly while still keeping her gaze on the ground.

 “I have something to tell you…  I was waiting for you to come back.”

 She lowered her head, so her face was hard to see.  Fernan opened his mouth slowly, keeping his gaze on her forehead.

 “I’ll wash up soon, so sit back and relax.”

 He was concerned that the smell of fishy blood would offend Julia.

 After confirming that Julia nodded calmly, Fernan headed to the bathroom.

 Then, raising her eyes, Julia looked at the back of the overbearing man who entered the bathroom.

 There was a long wound that ran across the back, which was covered with muscles, under the wide-open shoulders.

 When she entered the room a little while ago, traces of cruelty were engraved all over his body in the moonlight.

 She had no idea that he had so many scars on him.  It was the first time she had seen his body.

 When did those wounds occur?  Was it during war? 

 For some reason, her heart started to pound.  The image of him, whom she had only considered perfect and strong, gradually shifted from within her.

 Julia stood far away, unable to sit down, and looked down at the floor.

 After some time passed, Fernan reappeared.

 “Julia.”

 A low voice descended.  At that moment, Julia raised her head and looked at his body covered by a thin shirt.

Looking at her still standing, Fernan came closer and lightly held her hand.

 Julia, who was gently led by him, sat down at a table, and he sat down opposite her.

 Fernan stared intently at her face with a calm gaze as if waiting for her to open her mouth.

 Hiding the complicated emotions floating in her head, Julia opened her lips.

 “…  Your Highness, do you still want me to be with you?”

 She wanted to ask Fernan one last time. Was he willing to let her go?

At this moment, Julia hoped that he would say no.

 Then, they would be able to go their separate ways comfortably.

 But tearing her wish, Fernan answered without hesitation.

 "Yes."

 “… ”

 “It’s okay to do nothing. Just, stay by my side.”

 Julia held her hand tightly placed on her lap.  Now hearing his answer, she couldn't figure out what he was feeling.

 It was troublesome and heavy.  Julia took a small deep breath and then she looked straight at him.

 “What if I said I wanted to leave?”

 Her blue eyes shone brightly.  Fernan did not avert her gaze, and softly touched his lips.

 “…  I will send you anywhere.”

 After a moment's hesitation, he said,

 “If you want to leave just because you don’t like being by my side, I can’t listen to it.”

 Julia lowered her eyelids with a distant expression for a moment.

 As expected, he didn't seem willing to let her go.

 She slightly moistened her dry lips and changed the subject in a brief moment.

 “Then send me somewhere else. I feel stuffy here.”

 That seemed good.  It may be a challenge wherever she went, but at least if it wasn't this place, it would be easier to leave.

 The reason why Julia wanted to leave Fernan was very different from the beginning.

 When she first came here, she thought he dragged her by force, so she tried to run away.

 After that, when she found out that there was a misunderstanding in her opinion, the truth was a little shaken.

 He was different from before, and he treated her so well that it was unfamiliar to her.

 But now, the shaking has completely disappeared.

 When she saw the deep scar across his back a while ago, Julia felt the weight of the war he had gone through for the first time.  Such a distinct pain was engraved on the back of this man who had led the many years of war to great victories.

 And maybe the painful wounds were only part of what he had been through.  Now, Julia was able to fully understand beyond understanding.  The reason why he treated her harshly in the past.

 He could never have seen her as good among those who had tortured and oppressed him. He must have felt repulsed and pushed out.

 Perhaps it was still the case today.

 She wasn't sure that if she stayed by his side like this, such a situation would not be repeated again.

 As long as the Marquis was still holding out, her existence would still be a factor that suppressed Fernan.  So, breaking up like this was best for both of them.

 After thinking about it, Julia asked him again.

 “Will you listen?”

 Fernan's eyes gleamed as if examining her sincerity, and then calmly returned.

 “Where do you want to go?”

 Julia lowered her eyelids and pondered for a moment.  Then she soon recalled that one of his estates was a coastal city.

 It was a long way from this Grand Duchy.  There were plenty of ports there, so it might be easier to go somewhere else.

 “….the sea.”

 "Sea?"

 “Yes, I want to go to a place with a view of the ocean.”

 In response to her answer, Fernan, who nodded, spoke without a single thought.

 “There is an estate in the west called Seyref. I’ll set up a mansion where you can see the sea."

 It was a gentle permission. Julia tried hard to maintain a calm face and expressed her gratitude.

 "Thank you."

 There was nothing more to say, so Julia, who was about to get up, suddenly stopped.

 And as she pondered for a moment, she lowered her gaze, and then opened her mouth again.

 “If I go there…  Would you like to go see the ocean together?"

 It was meant to reassure him, but it wasn't just a lie.

 She really wanted to walk on the beach with him before she left.  Perhaps it would be the last time with him.

 At her quiet request, Fernan's eyes engraved with moonlight flickered slightly.

 He looked at Julia's face as if he was carving it into his eyes, and replied one step later.

 "Yes, as much as you want.”

 At that moment, Julia got up from her seat.  In the meantime, the night deepened and the room got a little darker.

 Fernan also got up and accompanied her on the short way back to her bedroom.

 The sound of footsteps echoing through the quiet hallway continued slowly.