Chapter 2
Looking back now, it was strange how little time had passed between my first meeting with my husband and our marriage.
The Kingdom of Dochilia had been defeated.
It was early on a winter morning. After spending the night worrying about my father, who had gone to war, I had finally managed to fall asleep.
Knock. Knock.
The sound of someone knocking at the door woke me. Still groggy, I shuffled over to answer the unexpected visitor.
“Who is…?”
A pristine white uniform.
Golden buttons.
A stiff collar fastened all the way to the neck.
It was a naval uniform.
The moment I saw it filling my view, my face lit up with joy.
“Father?”
I hurriedly lifted my head.
But before I could even savor that brief happiness, the smile vanished from my face.
The man standing before me wasn’t my father.
Beneath the navy cap was a stern expression and an unnaturally rigid posture.
A terrible premonition washed over me.
Sleep disappeared instantly, and instinct told me the truth.
The soldier standing before me had come to deliver bad news.
The man slowly removed his cap.
The features hidden beneath its shadow gradually came into view. His blue eyes reflected the morning sunlight, gleaming like the sea.
His tightly closed lips finally parted.
“Are you Edith Prim, the only daughter of Isaac Prim?”
“…Yes.”
My eyelids trembled.
Without realizing it, I clutched my clothes tighter, trying to hide my emotions.
After confirming my identity, the man continued in the same detached tone.
“I have come to deliver a death notice. Petty Officer Isaac Prim of the Royal Navy of Dochilia passed away on December 18, 1824, at approximately 2:15 p.m., after succumbing to illness while serving on the battlefield.”
His dry, emotionless voice suited the cruel announcement all too well.
I blinked slowly.
…What had I just heard?
Everything except the man faded into darkness.
The bustling sounds of the street disappeared.
“What did you just… say…?”
It had to be a mistake.
It had to.
Or perhaps I was still half-asleep and had imagined it.
Taking a slow breath, I forced myself to ask again.
“I think I must have misheard you. Could you please repeat that?”
“I am deeply sorry to bring you such news.”
No hope returned.
“That… that’s impossible. How could Father…?”
He had written to me constantly.
Telling me he was safe.
Telling me that although Dochilia would likely lose the war, he believed he would be able to come home and see me soon.
So how could this…
My vision turned white.
My legs gave out beneath me.
Just as I was about to collapse—
“Careful.”
The man grabbed my arm with surprising strength and pulled me upright.
Only after I had regained my balance did he release me.
“…Thank you.”
I wasn’t even sure why I had thanked him.
The words came out automatically.
When I slowly looked up, he was quietly studying my face.
He spoke in the same impassive voice.
“Your father’s body has been transferred to Naval Headquarters. You must verify his identity and complete the insurance claim procedures. Please report to Naval Headquarters at Müsen Harbor within one week.”
Summoning every ounce of strength I had left, I nodded.
It was all I could manage.
The world went dark again.
With an absent expression, I quietly closed the door.
“This can’t be…”
Finally alone, I slowly sank to the floor.
That was my unforgettable first meeting with my husband—
Johannes Schultz.
After hearing the news of my father’s death, I was barely in my right mind.
Part of me knew I had to go identify his body.
The other part knew that once I did…
I would have to accept that he was truly gone.
So I shut myself inside the house, delaying it for as long as I possibly could.
But mercilessly, the one-week deadline the naval officer had given me arrived in the blink of an eye.
It had felt both unbearably long…
…and heartbreakingly short.
I didn’t even have the energy to check my own appearance.
After forcing myself together, I changed into suitable clothes and left the house.
The streets were quieter than usual.
Normally I would have found that strange, but I was too distracted to notice.
“Naval Headquarters…”
Following the map the officer had given me, I continued walking.
As I drew closer to my destination, loud, chaotic voices rang painfully in my ears.
“How disgraceful. In this day and age…”
“He deserved it.”
People muttered things I couldn’t understand.
As I continued forward, I saw that the harbor was packed with people.
Could they all be here to identify the dead…?
Well, after losing the war, it was only natural that there would be countless casualties.
As I looked around, I noticed rows of navy personnel standing along the roadside.
Among them, one man immediately caught my attention.
With an indifferent expression, he stared straight ahead.
As I watched him, he turned his head.
The golden naval insignia on his cap caught the sunlight and flashed brightly.
Squinting against the glare, I lowered my gaze—
—and met a pair of vivid blue eyes.
It was him.
The naval officer who had delivered news of my father’s death.
Since I had found the person I was looking for, there was no reason to hesitate.
I hurried toward him.
“Excuse me, could you tell me where Naval Headquarters—”
“Ah!”
Before I could finish speaking, the surging crowd knocked me off balance.
Just before I was swept away—
the man caught me and pulled me toward him.
I ended up pressed awkwardly against his chest.
But with people still shoving from every direction, I couldn’t move.
“Th-thank you.”
“Naval Headquarters is on the opposite side. But the situation isn’t ideal at the moment. It would be better to wait a while before moving.”
“…What?”
When I looked up at him in confusion, he turned his gaze toward the front of the harbor.
Following his line of sight, my eyes widened.
A public execution…?
Beneath a rusted guillotine that had clearly gone unused for many years stood a middle-aged man.
His clothes were simple but made from expensive fabric.
His neatly combed hair remained immaculate.
Even the exposed skin on his face was free from scratches or bruises.
Public executions had been abolished long ago.
People had called them barbaric relics of a bygone era.
So why…
I was so shocked that I completely forgot how embarrassing it was to still be in a stranger’s arms.
Then the man’s low voice spoke above my head, leaving me even more bewildered.
“That’s the Duke of Schultz.”
“What? Why would the Duke…?”
There was no need for him to continue.
The spectators eagerly supplied the rest.
“My goodness. A public execution just for embezzlement? Isn’t that excessive?”
“Just embezzlement? He stole an amount equal to an entire year’s national budget! And no one even knows where the money disappeared to.”
I unconsciously swallowed.
An entire year’s national budget…
That was an unimaginable amount of money.
And it had completely vanished.
The Duke of Schultz had been known as a man of impeccable reputation—not only in Müsen, but even in the capital, Baden.
If someone like him had committed such a crime behind the scenes…
And with the kingdom having just lost the war…
The royal family had probably chosen public execution to make an example of him.
But…
“The Duke couldn’t possibly have done something like that…”
“It’s the official statement from the royal family. Everyone believes it.”
When I murmured to myself, the naval officer answered flatly.
Meanwhile, the spectators continued gossiping.
“I just feel sorry for the young Duke. They say he won countless victories during the war, so it seems they’re leaving him alone. He should be returning from the battlefield by now. I wonder if he’s heard about his father’s execution yet.”
“Why worry about someone else? Have you heard how enormous the war reparations are? If they never recover the stolen money, they’ll probably dump the entire burden on us through taxes!”
The heated arguments continued.
Some defended the Duke of Schultz.
Others mercilessly condemned him.
But one thing was clear.
The vast majority of the crowd gathered at the harbor harbored nothing but resentment toward the Duke.
I stared blankly at the sea of people.
Beyond the guillotine stretched the brilliant blue ocean.
The cloudless sky was heartbreakingly beautiful.
For a place where someone was about to meet his end…
It was almost too picturesque.
Perhaps that was the point.
To make him regret his crimes even more by surrounding his final moments with scenery he would never see again.
Had the Duke of Schultz truly embezzled that money?
If he had…
What was he feeling as he stood at death’s doorstep?
Regret at being caught?
Resentment?
Remorse?
Yet contrary to my expectations…
None of those emotions could be found in his eyes.
There was no indignation.
No fear.
No regret.
He simply wore the expression of a man who had accepted everything.
My fingertips grew cold.
My face turned pale.
If he were truly guilty…
He wouldn’t be wearing that expression.
Instinctively, I understood.
He’s innocent…
But no one would believe him.
Unless…
He was simply an actor talented enough to maintain his innocence until the very end.
Even so…
So what?
Even if the Duke of Schultz truly was innocent, there was nothing I could do.
Political interests far beyond my understanding were undoubtedly involved.
Still…
There was one thing I could do for him.
Leave.
I wasn’t heartless enough to treat the possible death of an innocent man as entertainment.
“I should be going now. You said Naval Headquarters is on the opposite side, right…?”
I awkwardly tried to turn away.
But the man’s grip on my arm tightened.
“The crowd is too dense. Trying to leave now would be dangerous.”
“But—”
At that moment, the blaring sound of a great trumpet cut me off.
One by one, the spectators fell silent.
Soldiers began marching toward the execution platform.
The synchronized sound of polished military boots echoed throughout the harbor.
“I guess they’re about to carry out the execution.”
Even as someone murmured those words, the man continued holding me firmly.
Then he spoke calmly.
“You shouldn’t watch.”
When I looked up at him, his large hand gently covered my eyes.
Then—
Crunch.
A horrifying sound echoed across the harbor.
Gasps and cries erupted from every direction.
Even then…
The man never once looked away from the execution platform.
It was a public execution—
one that belonged to another era.
