All Chapters of No Longer Your Puppet, Duke : Chapter 171 - Chapter 180

192 Chapters

Grief and the Traitor's Footsteps

The scream of sheer desperation pierced through the thick stone walls, echoing faintly from the direction of the castle's main building.Its shrill, raspy sound carried a pain so profound, enough to make anyone's blood run cold instantly.Derrick, who had been standing near the window in the corner of the room since yesterday, stood up abruptly. His heavy footsteps paced rapidly toward the iron-barred window, his eyes glaring intensely at the towering wing of the Grand Duke's residence in the distance."That voice—" Derrick clenched his fists tightly until his knuckles turned pale, letting the veins on his arms strain. "That's Rose's voice, isn't it?! What did you do to her?!"Eden, standing tall behind the room's door—guarding from the inside—did not budge in the slightest.His face, carved like hard stone, showed no shift in expression. His eyes stared blankly straight at the front wall, ignoring the tension boiling inside the room.Derrick turned sharply, glaring at Valthorne's chi

Grief and the Traitor's Footsteps (2)

Crash!The heavy wooden door of the mediation room was shoved open roughly by Kaelus. Derrick, standing anxiously near the window, turned around instantly upon hearing the door bang open."Kaelus!" Derrick lunged forward two steps with a demanding expression, before Eden swiftly raised his iron-armored sleeve to block the Duke's path. "What on earth happened?! What happened to Rose?! I heard her screaming from here!"Kaelus raised his right hand slightly, making a silent gesture for Eden to lower his arm and step back. The Grand Duke's red eyes, now dim and ringed with dark circles, looked straight at Derrick without any intention of hiding anything further."Miscarriage," Kaelus said briefly. His voice sounded flat, yet heavy with suppressed grief. "We lost our baby."Those simple words struck Derrick like a devastating blow to his chest. The black-haired man's breath caught instantly, his eyes widening in disbelief as he stared at Kaelus's pale face. "What... what did you say? Misca

A Wounded Heart

A light snow fell endlessly from the grey Northern sky. The white granules landed softly upon the garden courtyard, blanketing the petals of the pink peonies that had just been covered by a fresh mound of damp earth.There, upon the cold stone bench, Roselyn sat alone. She sat motionless like a porcelain statue. The thin cotton dress she wore could not ward off the freezing air, and a pile of snow had begun to settle in her lap."Rieta, why did you leave your mistress alone?" From behind the corner of the wooden-latticed corridor, Kaelus stood frozen. His tired red eyes stared at his wife’s small back from a distance."Your Highness," replied Rieta, who had just stepped closer carrying a tray bearing a pot of warm herbal tea and a fur cloak. Her voice sounded anxious. "My Lady has refused to go inside for over

A New Star

The piercing cold from the garden gradually faded as soon as Kaelus led Roselyn across the threshold of the castle’s main entrance.The family dining hall, usually quiet, was now illuminated by the warm glow of thick candles set into the stone walls. On the long, sturdy wooden table, several servants had served bowls of warm meat soup with gentle spice aromas, freshly baked wheat bread, and tender cuts of roast meat. There were no overpowering scents; everything was served specifically to whet Roselyn’s appetite, which had vanished earlier."Eat a little, Rose," Kaelus said as he pulled out a chair for his wife.Roselyn sat down slowly, keeping Kaelus's thick fur cloak draped around her shoulders. Although her throat still felt dry and painful from her tears in the garden, she forced herself to pick up a spoon. She knew that to avenge her child, her physical body could not break down."You should eat too, Kael.""Of course, Rose."Kaelus took a seat nearby. In quiet tranquility, the

The Aroma of Chamomile from the Duchy

The silence of the private library in the castle's west wing felt far warmer than the corridor whipped by the snowy wind. Behind a cedar wood desk illuminated by the glow of candles, Roselyn sat gazing at the pages of a border territory map spread out before her. Yet, her focus frequently wavered.Her mind kept drifting back to the image of the empty bed and the suffocating pressure that had not fully evaporated from her chest.The sound of hushed footsteps broke the silence.Roselyn looked up and was slightly surprised to see Derrick walk in. The dark-haired man carried a small wooden tray bearing a porcelain cup that emitted a thin wispy vapor mixed with a sweet floral aroma unfamiliar to the North."Kaelus allowed me to walk freely through these halls," Derrick said, breaking the awkwardness as he stepped toward the desk. "And I took advantage of that freedom to cause a little chaos in your kitchen by making tea."Roselyn tilted her head slightly. "You ... brewed tea yourself?""D'

Something New

The days at Castle Valthorne passed slowly beneath an endless blanket of snow. Time worked in its own quiet way to sweep the grief from the corners of the cold corridors.For Kaelus and Roselyn, accepting the loss and the bitterness of Cedric’s betrayal was not something that happened overnight. However, there was now a sense of resignation that no longer felt painful whenever their eyes met.On the other hand, Derrick D’Arest’s presence in the Northern fortress never truly thawed. The knights and servants of Valthorne could not easily erase the memory of how the Duke of the South had once carried Roselyn away.Suspicious glares and meals served without the slightest bit of warmth became Derrick’s daily routine. The man accepted it without complaint, considering it a small price to pay to red

Silent, No More

Morning at the Northern border greeted them with a piercing cold breeze carrying thin flakes of snow. In the main courtyard of Castle Valthorne, a grand procession of knights and horse-drawn carriages stood ready in majestic formation.Kaelus stood beside the quicksilver-plated royal carriage, ensuring every detail of their security was flawless. The silver-haired man's hands were busy adjusting the clasp of the thick fur cloak wrapped around Roselyn's delicate neck."Don't let the cold wind seep into your dress, Rose," Kaelus whispered, gently caressing his wife's cheek."Kaelus, you've adjusted my cloak's clasp five times already," Roselyn chuckled softly, looking up into her husband's red eyes with deep warmth."I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable during the j

Orange Haze

The map of the Capital had already been refolded twice on the sturdy desk, but Cedric was still unsatisfied. A sharp furrow creased his brow as his fingers traced the territorial borderlines.He stared intently at the drawn layout of the barracks on the eastern side—a sector far too exposed, far too close to the outer gate's access point. The tip of his pen came to a halt on a single point, tapping against the thick parchment with a rigid, maddeningly repetitive rhythm.Behind him, candle shadows swayed rhythmically against the cold stone wall."Three hundred Silver Wolf Knights, Your Majesty," Molton reported. The old man stood with his back deeply hunched, a posture that had clung to him tighter with the passage of time. "They departed the Northern border early this morning. Meanwhile, the D'Arest family's contingent has taken the Southern route separately."Cedric tilted his head slightly. His pen halted completely, soaking a drop of ink that spread across the paper."Separately, i

Two Masks Facing Away

His footsteps, usually firm and decisive, slowed. His shoulders relaxed, and his tone softened into a gentle warmth—as if belonging to an entirely different man.He walked over and knelt without hesitation on the cold wooden floor before Isabella’s chair. Cedric took both of his wife's hands—smooth yet distinctly cool to the touch—and wrapped his fingers tightly around hers."Sitting in the dark again," he chided softly, a hidden thread of concern lacing his words. "I have told the servants time and again that they must light the room's lamps before twilight falls.""I sent them out," Isabella replied with a faint smile. Her beautiful crimson eyes angled slightly past Cedric’s shoulder rather than looking directly into his face—a minute detail that never failed to send a sharp pan

The Quiet Stairs

Not a single noble stood lined up in welcome on the front steps of Hera Palace. There was only a row of servants standing frozen in place, and Molton bowing as deeply as he could.Roselyn stepped down from the carriage door as Kaelus’s fingers quickly supported her elbow. Her thick, fur-trimmed cloak fell to her waist, but beneath the black fabric, her belly was no longer rounded like it had been a few months ago.A few senior servants stole glances at Roselyn’s stomach. Sensing the sudden, uneasy shift in the atmosphere, they hurriedly lowered their heads again.Roselyn caught the subtle anomaly with absolute clarity. She merely offered a faint, cold smile, as if nothing suspicious was worth noting.Kaelus did not miss the palace servants' glances either. Hi

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