In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 58

The deeper Caelus’s feelings for her grew, the more his twisted possessiveness and inexplicable anxiety sharpened his mind. No matter how much he repeated that the past and present were different, he couldn’t help the emotions that carried over.

Seeing her made him feel at peace, so much so that he thought, “This is happiness.” He was grateful and enamored by a woman who accepted his desires at any time with joy.

But when that beautiful face quickly turned indifferent or cold and drew a line between them, memories of the past resurfaced as vividly as if they had happened yesterday, and his mood twisted. He was on edge, fearing she might reject him and turn her back on him again. He was anxious that someone would take her away from him.

He was afraid that she might regret her choice and return to them, only to die again.

“Ha… It seems I’ve caught a madman’s disease.”

He felt as if he wasn’t normal anymore. Despite knowing she was stronger than anyone, why did he feel so uneasy?

The more he fell for Bellona, the more his anxiety grew, expanding in size. It felt similar to the emotions he had when looking at his mother as a child. The fear that she might suddenly disappear from his side gnawed at his reason.

“Ha…”

“Your Grace, it’s Akon.”

“Come in.”

Ever since entering the office, Caelus had been standing by the window, and only now did he sit at his desk, gazing at the piles of documents.

“Your Grace, the nobles of Camirus have arrived.”

“They arrived sooner than expected this time.”

Caelus’s eyes gleamed sharply at Akon’s report.

A long time ago, the current emperor of Fidentia, Celios Ekkion, declared an extensive territorial war immediately after ascending to the throne. In his youth, the man had harbored an extraordinary ambition to subordinate all nations to the empire.

He went to the battlefield himself, boldly defeating enemies and erasing countless nations from history. However, the one that tripped up the advancing empire was none other than the “Barbarian Nation,” the Kingdom of Kellicus.

Having been invaded several times, Kellicus used a poison they had invented in battles against the empire. Without any information on the poison, the imperial army had no choice but to retreat, leaving behind many casualties.

Even Celios was gravely injured in that fierce battle. The place where he barely escaped with his life was Camirus.

In the past, Camirus had been a small sub-kingdom. Unlike now, it was a beautiful, peaceful nation. The gentle king and queen of Camirus took care of the dying Celios with all their heart. The princess of Camirus, who cared for him the most, was none other than Empress Minelia, Caelus’s mother.

During his stay in Camirus, Celios fell in love with the beautiful and kind Minelia. After recovering his health, he allied with Camirus and returned to the empire with her. The empire then temporarily ended the prolonged war, needing to recover from the damages suffered and reorganize its forces.

Not long after, they held a grand wedding, and Minelia became the empress of Fidentia. The loving couple soon held a lovely child in their arms, and they believed their love would be eternal.

Celios cherished Minelia so much that he named their child “Caelus,” meaning “the dwelling place of the gods.”

“Caelus” was the old name of “Camirus.” Minelia, who had received boundless love, followed and trusted only Celios in the empire, where she knew no one else.

The two passionately loved each other, unaware of how insignificant that love would turn out to be.

Caelus snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes growing heavy and dark. Thinking of seeing those who had betrayed his mother and him again twisted his mood.

He had no intention of forgiving those who had sold their country and led their liege to their doom for money, even in this life. He had no desire to revive this country for the sake of those nobles who only sought to fill their own pockets while letting the people starve.

The people, who had long been neglected, had scattered to neighboring countries. The few that remained would soon leave as well. More than anything, the fallen Camirus, which had lost its former glory, was no longer his mother’s country to Caelus.

Thus, he had no reason or desire to care for it. It was merely a suitable base to expand his power.

“Where are they now?”

“Her Grace has taken them to the reception room.”

“What?”

Caelus, who had risen abruptly as if about to rush out, hesitated for a moment.

Perhaps this was a good thing. If he resolved matters here, Bellona wouldn’t insist on going out. Or, it might be better to make them reveal their true nature so she would give up on changing this place entirely.

***

“How long have you been here without even checking on the people? Do you not realize that without the people, there is no country?”

“You must have brought supplies from the empire. You didn’t come empty-handed, did you?”

“Of course not. There’s no way His Majesty would neglect an allied nation. This place belongs to whom, and you came empty-handed?”

The nobles, talking as if they were coming to retrieve something they had left behind, looked at Bellona with unabashed arrogance. As always, her face remained expressionless.

Only Eshil, standing behind her, nervously tapped her foot, glancing at Net beside her. Then one old noble blatantly looked Bellona up and down, clicking his tongue.

“Is this really how the Grand Duchess presents herself? Are you planning to welcome delegations from other countries like this as well?”

“I heard you were a knight. I suppose it’s true.”

“Is the Grand Duke’s situation so dire that you can’t even afford a proper dress?”

They had started by demanding money, then ridiculed her status, and were now treating her like a beggar to her face. Bellona, who had just returned from riding, was still dressed in trousers rather than a gown when meeting the nobles.

While it was true that her attire wasn’t fitting for the Grand Duchess greeting nobles, that did not give them the right to behave so disrespectfully toward her. The nobles in front of her simply looked down on her, young and of humble origin. Her silent composure likely made her seem contemptible in their eyes.

While pondering how to deal with them, one young noble finally crossed a line that should not have been crossed.

“Instead of sitting there like a clam, say something! Or did you fall completely out of His Majesty’s favor and come with nothing? Is that why the Grand Duke is hiding from us?”

Her eyes, which had been indifferent, turned icy. There was no need for further hesitation. Bellona slowly stood, tilting her head back as she let out a sigh. She looked each of the nobles over before curling one corner of her mouth.

Suddenly, the expressions of the nobles twisted in displeasure at her sudden change in demeanor.

“Ahem! Your Grace the Grand Duchess!”

“Yes, I am the Grand Duchess. But do you know who the Grand Duchess is?”

“W-what! What kind of question is that?!”

Bellona extended her hand, and Net hurried over, bowing respectfully as she presented a sword with both hands. Bellona took it casually, meeting the gaze of each noble in turn, as if memorizing their faces.

Realizing something was wrong, the nobles fell silent, their eyes darting about nervously.

With a relaxed expression, Bellona placed the sword on the table, then sat back down arrogantly, crossing her legs.

“Since it seems you don’t know who I am, let’s have a serious conversation.”

While the younger nobles turned red and purple with embarrassment, the older noble who had criticized her attire simply smiled leisurely.

“It seems you’re finally ready to talk.”

“Yes. However, I am a knight by birth, so at times my sword may speak before my words. Please mind your language from now on.”

“Surely you aren’t threatening to kill us?”

“As you know, I am a knight who clearly distinguishes between friend and foe. I’ve been trained to cut down my enemies without mercy. If I deem you my enemy, I may do just that. However.”

Bellona’s gaze shifted to the young noble sitting at the end of the table—the one who had insolently mentioned Caelus. His face turned deathly pale as he averted his eyes, unsure of what to do.

“Since you are nobles of Camirus, you cannot be my enemies. So there’s no need to be so frightened.”

Seeing the nobles visibly relax, Bellona gripped the sword’s hilt, issuing a final warning.

“But if you insult the Grand Duke one more time, I will consider it treason and execute you in my own way.”

“Wh-what do you mean by your own way…?”

One young noble cautiously asked, clearly scared after all the things they had said.

With a gentle smile, Bellona kindly explained once again, “I will cut off your tongues and limbs. Don’t worry, I won’t kill you.”

Even the old noble who had maintained a relaxed smile all along seemed genuinely shocked, his smile vanishing. The atmosphere in the reception room grew tense in a different sense than before.