In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 59

A smile that could not be hidden spread across Caelus’s face as he arrived early at the reception room.

He had worried that she might start acting like a naive imperial, bowing and scraping before the nobles just because her status had changed.

‘As expected, she didn’t disappoint.’

She was an amazing woman. No, she was a magnificent woman. What pleased him even more was her heart that, no matter the situation, always thought of him first.

Of course, he knew her actions stemmed from loyalty, but it was still enough to make him happy.

That loyalty was still her heart, after all.

When he gestured with his fingers, Akon, who had heard everything happening in the reception room with him, approached with a bewildered look.

“Don’t forget that I saved your limbs and your honor.”

Akon, understanding what he meant, wore an awkward expression, and Caelus, chuckling at his subordinate’s inability to hide his emotions, lightly patted his shoulder before finally entering the reception room.

The moment Caelus entered, the nobles, who had been frozen, stood up abruptly.

Unlike when they had first met Bellona, they bowed politely, bending at the waist.

“Greetings to Your Grace, the Grand Duke.”

“Welcome.”

Bellona also stood and bowed her head modestly, while Caelus nodded coldly and naturally took the seat of honor.

Pretending to have just arrived, knowing nothing of the situation, he pointed at the sword lying on the table.

“What is this sword, dear?”

Just as Bellona was about to answer, a voice filled with excitement interrupted.

“Exactly, Your Grace! How could this be considered proper etiquette? To draw a sword against nobles who have come out of concern for the well-being of the people—what kind of conduct is this from the Grand Duchess, who should embrace the people with love?”

The middle-aged noble, emboldened by Caelus’s cold attitude toward Bellona, poured out his grievances.

Soon, others began to raise their voices, recounting Bellona’s actions.

When Caelus turned his gaze to her as if to ask if what they said was true, Bellona bowed her head. “I apologize, Your Grace.”

Caelus’s brows furrowed. As he looked back and forth between the two of them, the nobles’ faces slowly began to brighten.

Convinced that even the Grand Duke disliked his Grand Duchess of low birth, they looked at Bellona, her head bowed, and smirked arrogantly.

“This is why those of lowly birth—Ugh!”

The noble’s eyes bulged, unable to finish his sentence, and the nobles who had been laughing haughtily froze in shock.

Akon, who had been waiting at the entrance, had swiftly approached the young noble and placed a blade to his throat.

“Watch your words. If you dare speak disrespectfully to Her Grace again, your tongue will be the first to go.”

Caelus stifled a laugh at the sight of Akon showing such murderous intent. It seemed the actions Bellona had taken today had swayed his loyalty.

Unlike Caelus, who found this amusing, the nobles became visibly anxious under the sudden chill that swept through the room, their eyes darting nervously to Caelus.

“Hmm, what shall we do, dear?”

Caelus broke the short silence, casually asking Bellona as he looked at her.

She slowly turned her gaze, looking indifferently at the young noble who had insulted her status.

“I’ve told you repeatedly, haven’t I? Show no leniency. What use are dogs that change masters for food?”

“Your words are too harsh, Your Grace. We are the nobles who protected this nation until your arrival.”

In the midst of it all, one elderly noble spoke with a surprisingly calm voice, and Caelus turned his gaze to him, smiling leisurely.

“Count Nobilis, it seems your mind has grown feeble with age, unable to grasp the situation.”

“I hadn’t expected Your Grace to remember me. You were so bright even as a child, and now you’ve grown so splendidly. You truly resemble Empress Minelia in both appearance and intelligence.”

Suddenly, Caelus’s golden eyes sharpened with murderous intent.

Hearing his mother’s name from the lips of a traitor filled him with unbearable rage.

The sound of his teeth grinding echoed through the room, and Bellona’s eyes narrowed.

Something was strange.

It was clearly his first time in the Grand Duchy, yet how did they know each other? Moreover, considering that he even knew Empress Minelia, it was clear they had known each other for a long time.

It didn’t seem like their relationship was a good one, given that a man so skilled at hiding his emotions was openly expressing his murderous intent. It suggested there was something hidden between them.

Bellona decided to figure out the nature of their relationship later and focused on dealing with the current situation first.

With a hardened expression, she grabbed Net’s sword from the table.

Then, looking at the nobles, she finally answered Caelus’s question.

“I thought they’d understand if I spoke to them as fellow nobles, but I was foolish.”

The nobles’ eyes trembled violently at her words, which seemed to imply something. As Bellona’s earlier warning echoed in their minds, fear began to spread across their faces.

Suddenly, a memory of Empress Violentia’s words from long ago resurfaced in her mind.

“Nobles are cunning and sly, unlike ignorant commoners. The quickest and most reliable way to control them is to instill fear rather than feed them. Make an example of one to ensure the others don’t even think of betrayal, and the rest will pledge their loyalty without a word.”

True to her ambitious nature, Violentia preferred fast and efficient methods. Though Bellona had not wanted to admit it, she now understood the cruel empress’s merciless actions a little better.

‘Fear.’

Indeed, nobles only listened when they were terrified.

Bellona repeated Violentia’s words, which the empress had spoken when abandoning her, to the nobles before her.

“I was taught that disobedient hunting dogs should be beheaded and cooked. I never imagined the day would come when those words would resonate with me.”

When she stepped forward, the nobles, who had turned pale, began to shrink back.

As if preparing to cut their throats at any moment, Bellona moved, but Caelus grabbed her wrist.

When she lowered her gaze, he looked up at her with a gentle smile and asked,

“Would you dirty those beautiful hands with blood, dear?”

The Grand Duke’s eyes, which had once been cold, now overflowed with affection as he looked at his wife.

Already knowing his intentions, Bellona replied with a faint smile, “I intend to leave no leniency, as per Your Grace’s wishes.”

“Y-Your Grace!”

A young noble, desperately seeking mercy, called out, and Caelus’s golden eyes instantly turned cold as he gave an unspoken command to Akon.

In that instant, the blade at the noble’s throat swung without hesitation.

Only then did the man realize what had happened to him, clutching at his throat with wide eyes before collapsing to the floor.

The nobles’ faces turned deathly pale at the sudden turn of events.

“Why do you keep interfering in my conversations with my wife? Are you fools who only learn when blood is spilled?”

Caelus cast a disdainful glance at them, and the nobles lowered their eyes, trembling.

Finally realizing they were at death’s door, one noble hurriedly fell to his knees. “P-please forgive our insolence, Your Grace. We will obey any command, even at the cost of our lives!”

As the middle-aged noble prostrated himself, the other nobles quickly followed suit, pleading for forgiveness.

“It seems you have mistaken whom you should be apologizing to.”

Realizing the meaning behind Caelus’s words, the nobles swiftly turned and bowed to Bellona.

“P-please, Your Grace. Spare us just once. If you give us a chance, we will be completely loyal—”

“Bring me an inventory of your family’s assets.”

“…What?”

“I will measure your loyalty with that.”

The nobles stared at her with dumbfounded expressions, as if they hadn’t understood her meaning.

Bellona then turned her gaze to Count Nobilis, who stood alone, unaffected, and spoke with a sneer.

“I understand your intentions well, Count Nobilis. Sir Akon, take Count Nobilis to the underground prison.”

“Why not kill me now, too?”

The man smiled as if unafraid of death, and Bellona kindly answered him once again.

“I have too many questions for you to die just yet. I want to know why this country ended up in this state, and who you serve now… I have so many questions.”

The wrinkles on the old man’s face hardened for a moment, and he soon forced a smile back onto his face, that of a kindly old man.

“Even if you torture me, you won’t gain anything. Age only brings more stubbornness.”

“Do you think I would torture an elderly count?”

Matching his smile, Bellona looked at Count Nobilis and gave Akon his orders.

“Send knights to capture everyone in Nobilis’s estate.”

“Your Grace!”

At last, the relaxed facade of the old noble shattered.

Just then, Caelus, who had been silently listening, rose with a satisfied smile.

Ignoring the nobles’ gazes, he wrapped an arm around Bellona’s waist and kissed her cheek.

“You’re so impressive, I can’t help but fall for you over and over. I want to go for a walk with you right away.”

In the cold atmosphere, only the temperature between the two of them began to rise.