The Princess’s Final Wish Before Her Time Runs Out - Chapter 71

Rashid flipped through the documents with a blank expression. He was working, but making no real progress.

Unlike his usual self, who moved through tasks at a furious pace it was taking him far too long to turn a single page or finish even the simplest matter.

Ever since returning from the Imperial Palace, he had stopped leaving the ducal estate. The man who once searched desperately for Tericia now spent his time drifting between his office and her room, lost in thought.

Adler clicked his tongue quietly as he watched him.

‘What in the world is he thinking so deeply about?’

It seemed like Rashid wouldn’t even notice if the documents were taken from his hands.

Adler knew better than to say anything at times like this. Silence was the best choice. So, he turned back to the stack of work in front of him. Not that it was getting any smaller.

‘Lady Tericia… where could you have gone?’

Watching his master, whose very presence now seemed to carry a weight of quiet rage, made Adler miss her even more—the only person who might be able to bring Rashid back to his senses.

He was sighing inwardly when Rashid suddenly looked up, as if something had just clicked in his mind.

“Someplace close. The place closest to me…”

Muttering almost to himself, Rashid suddenly sprang to his feet. Papers scattered off his desk and onto the floor.

“I’m such a fool…”

A bitter, incredulous laugh escaped him. He let out a string of muttered curses under his breath, repeating words that all meant the same thing—how stupid he’d been.

Adler frowned as he watched his master go from sighing to half-laughing in disbelief.

“I need to go get Tericia.”

“But… do you even know where she is?”

Rashid didn’t answer. He simply walked out.

At that moment, Harris was approaching the office with a tray of light food, hoping to coax Rashid into eating. He paused in surprise as they nearly bumped into each other.

“Prepare a horse.”

“I—yes, at once!”

Harris gave a quick nod and turned to the attendant behind him to ready a horse. Then, hurrying to Rashid’s quarters, he quickly returned with the Duke’s outer coat in hand.

“Your Grace, at least take this with you.”

Without a word, Rashid took the coat and shrugged it on as he moved swiftly outside. The horse was already waiting at the front entrance.

“Your Grace! Where are you going?”

Adler came rushing out moments later, clearly alarmed.

“I know where she is.”

“What?”

“If I ride without stopping, I can reach her in a day.”

Adler furrowed his brow, trying to make sense of it.

“One day’s ride… to someone close to you…”

Repeating Rashid’s words to himself, Adler suddenly felt like he’d been struck with a realization.

It couldn’t be—surely not that place. It felt too emotionally distant, too complicated for her to seek refuge there.

But… maybe not.

“If you have nowhere else to go, come to me.”

That was what he had said. Maybe… just maybe.

Like Rashid had moments ago, Adler found himself caught between doubt and possibility.

And in the end, he sighed in resignation.

After all, what did it matter? It was better than watching the entire household fall into despair.

“Bring her back with you.”

“Please do. I swear, if this keeps up, I won’t live to see old age.”

“Make sure the estate is in order while I’m gone.”

“Yes, Your Grace. But please… return with Lady Tericia.”

Even Harris, usually full of chatter, held back and responded with quiet sincerity. The servants who had come out to see him off shared the same silent hope in their eyes.

Rashid glanced over them once, then spurred his horse forward.

He was afraid that if he arrived too late, she might be gone.

He was afraid—genuinely afraid.

“What do you want me to do?”

“……”

Tericia’s question was met with silence.

Despite his years of experience, the Lord of Hespelt was even harder to read than Rashid.

“…Rashid is the Duke now, so ultimately, everything will be his decision. But before that happens, I think you should be clear about your own heart.”

His voice was calm and steady. So natural that Tericia didn’t know how to respond.

‘Can I really stay by Rashid’s side?’

She wanted to ask—but couldn’t bring herself to say the words aloud. Her lips parted and closed several times, but in the end, she lowered her gaze without speaking.

The Lord of Hespelt looked at the young woman before him—his stepdaughter.

‘She’s not a child anymore.’

She wore a crisp white blouse and a dark dress that accentuated her slim waist. Graceful and poised, she was undeniably a beautiful woman.

She sat upright, deep in thought, and for a moment, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She looked so delicate, so breakable, it stirred a protective instinct in him.

‘Perhaps that’s what drew Rashid to her.’

His son, who had once struck a deal with his father and pledged loyalty to the Crown Prince, all for the chance to stay by her side. Rashid was not the kind of man to give up on a goal so easily.

“Whether your name was removed or not, the truth remains—you are, and always were, part of the Hespelt family.”

Surprised by the unexpected statement, Tericia looked up at him.

Despite the years that had passed, he looked almost the same as the day she first came to the ducal estate. Still, she now noticed the soft graying of his black hair, and the fine lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before.

His expression, though calm and composed, still held that quiet dignity—different from Rashid, but just as strong.

“In the end, all of this happened because of Count Clu. It wasn’t meant to hurt you.”

He paused there, his words trailing off.

From the beginning, perhaps none of this would have happened if, as Rashid once said, he had acted more decisively when his foolish younger brother tried to harm Tericia during the last hunting festival.

A bitter sense of regret filled him. Had honoring the will of someone already passed truly been more important than protecting the living—his precious children?

“…I cannot claim to be entirely without blame in all of this.”

At those words, Tericia looked at him with wide, startled eyes. It was rude to stare, but he said nothing, silently accepting her gaze.

“What… are you trying to say?”

Her question finally slipped out. This conversation, his attitude—it was all unfamiliar to Tericia.

Until now, not once had he treated her as a daughter. And yet now…

“……”

The Duke said nothing and simply took a sip of tea. When he set down his empty cup, Tericia silently refilled it.

With calm eyes, he watched the flawless, graceful movement of her hand. Then, with the same emotionless tone, he asked bluntly:

“Do you want to run away from Rashid?”

Tericia’s eyes trembled faintly at the sudden question.

“That boy won’t let you go. You already know how he feels about you.”

The kind of feeling that bordered on obsession.

The Duke withheld the rest and simply asked again:

“Even so—do you want to run away?”

“Your Grace…”

“If you wish it, I will help you escape Rashid. I will hide you in a place he could never find.”

Her heart sank.

She didn’t know how to respond. Her fingertips turned cold. Her hands, which had just been touching her teacup, began to tremble. She lowered them under the table and gripped her dress tightly.

She had drunk tea, but her throat was dry.

“I… I don’t understand what you mean.”

Even her voice shook, her words breaking mid-sentence. But she didn’t avert her eyes.

Though the color had drained from her face, Tericia still met the Duke’s gaze directly.

“Tericia.”

A rare smile appeared on his lips—one she had never seen before.

“There’s only one ducal house left in Latran—House Hespelt. Fifteen years ago, after the civil war, one of the great houses vanished, and now only ours remains.”

“……”

Tericia didn’t understand why he was suddenly bringing this up.

“From the Empire’s perspective, having only one great noble house left is both dangerous and convenient. If that noble house is loyal to the Emperor, it becomes the perfect shield. With a single large dog, the smaller ones fall silent. The Empire only needs to keep an eye on the big one—feeding and punishing it as needed.”

The Emperor had pretended to grant Hespelt wealth, all while planting seeds of discord.

He placed a woman everyone despised within the family so that Hespelt would be torn from within—filled with mistrust and doubt. If the mother failed to fulfill that role, then the daughter would.

“It may seem peaceful on the surface, but we are still at war with the Imperial family. In order to survive, we must remain vigilant. That’s why Hespelt grows strong and serves the Empire—not out of loyalty, but necessity.”

It was the first time he had spoken to Tericia at such length.

“The Emperor doesn’t like us.”

“Pardon?”

“Because we never obey.”

The Duke said this with the faintest smile, despite the emotionless tone. Only after a moment did Tericia realize it was meant as a kind of dry joke.

As she hesitated on how to respond, he continued.

“Still, we’ve behaved quietly since the civil war with House Verus fifteen years ago. And so has the Empire—though it hasn’t taken its eyes off us.”

“My mother took on that role, didn’t she?”

“Yes.”

The Duke gave a faint smile, apparently pleased by his stepdaughter’s perceptiveness.

That look, for a strange moment, reminded her of Rashid—and Tericia’s heart skipped a beat.

“As you know, House Boren has long-standing ties to the Imperial family. Though low in rank and looked down upon for its business dealings, its influence cannot be ignored.”

Tericia lowered her eyes slightly.

The Boren family had sent women to the Emperor in exchange for wealth and power.

Her great-grandmother had become the Emperor’s concubine herself to raise the family’s standing even further.

‘If Mother hadn’t married His Grace…’

Perhaps even Tericia would have been sent to the Imperial court one day. Her mother was certainly the kind of woman who would have done so for the sake of ambition.

“For me, back then—after the war—there was no reason to reject the dowry your mother brought.”

The Duke had accepted a woman from such a family as his duchess. It was the Emperor’s way of disgracing the ducal house in the most effective manner possible.

“You and your mother were already fulfilling your role just by spreading poison through Hespelt.”

“…I didn’t do that.”

“No. And Rashid was different too. He started defying the Emperor’s will just to claim you—together with the Crown Prince.”

A strange embarrassment came over Tericia. She looked away slightly, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

“I want Hespelt to survive. That’s all I’ve ever lived for. That’s why I married your mother.”

Tericia said nothing, quietly listening to what she already knew—but had never shared with anyone.

“To me, Hespelt is everything. If your presence harms my son and this house…”

He paused, locking eyes with her.

“Then I want you to disappear.”

His expression didn’t change. No emotion showed on his face. But his words were firm.

“Leave my son’s side, Tericia.”

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