Archmage's Restaurant - Chapter 47: Hidden Faces and the Dessert (3)
“How on earth did this happen, Berna? How did that useless boy become so full of himself?”
“But… F-Father, Grayke is rightfully the property of the Grayke family. It’s time to stop….”
“What did you just say?”
Count Dedran’s face turned a furious shade of red at his daughter’s unexpected defiance. He glared down at Berna and then slapped her hard across the face.
*Slap!*
The sharp sound echoed through the room as Berna collapsed to the floor.
“I-I’m sorry! But… but….”
Count Dedran looked down at his daughter with cold eyes and grabbed her by the hair, lifting her head roughly.
“This is all because you failed to bear a son for Grayke. And now you dare defy me? You’re crushing all my hopes? You useless girl.”
Berna didn’t even dare to look up at her father’s face; her body simply trembled with fear. Fear had completely taken control of her.
Despite being the second daughter of a noble family, Berna had never been treated as a person from a young age.
Count Dedran had always treated his daughters as tools.
To Berna, her father was nothing more than a terrifying, untouchable figure.
Marrying Berna off to Count Grayke was just another way to use her as a tool.
Despite the fact that Count Grayke’s first wife had passed away, Berna, who was twenty years younger than him, was forced into the marriage to help Count Dedran take control of the Grayke family.
She wasn’t a concubine; she had been married legally after the death of the first wife, becoming the second wife of the Grayke family.
Berna, born as Count Dedran’s daughter and now known as Grayke Berna, was merely a pawn in a political marriage.
“Father…”
Count Dedran clicked his tongue in disgust as he threw Berna’s hair back to the floor and paced around the room, still seething.
“I don’t forgive useless people, even if they are my own flesh and blood. Do you want to spend the rest of your life locked in that tiny room?”
As a child, Berna once asked to learn music and was punished by being locked in a tiny, windowless room for an entire month.
The memory of that isolation, darkness, and fear flooded back to Berna, and her face contorted in terror.
“The fact that you didn’t bear a son for Grayke already ruined my plans, but the only reason I didn’t cast you aside is that you were supposed to turn that boy into a puppet. Instead, you’ve been neglecting your duties, leaving everything to our allies, and now you say it’s best to give up? Don’t be ridiculous, Berna. This is your last chance.”
Count Dedran’s anger didn’t subside as he pulled a small vial from his coat. For Berna, as his daughter and as a tool, this was the only way she could prove her worth.
If she failed in this, he would discard her without hesitation. She knew too much, and therefore was too dangerous to keep.
So, Count Dedran decided to give her one final opportunity.
“Listen carefully, Berna. You’re going to give this to that boy and make sure he loses his mind. If you fail, you’re worth less than a monster’s meal. Do you understand? This is the moment to repay the debt of bringing you into this world.”
Count Dedran genuinely believed that. He thought that giving her life was enough to justify using her as a tool. In a world where so many starved to death, he felt that simply allowing her to survive was reason enough.
Just as an emperor with many children cannot love them all—indeed, might even pit them against each other—Count Dedran valued his offspring even less.
He had been born without empathy, driven only by his own interests and desires.
“That’s impossible. How could I… do such a thing to a perfectly fine child…! He’s just started to find his own path…!”
“And with how much you’ve already embezzled from Grayke’s taxes, what do you plan to do if you don’t?”
“Wasn’t that the work of the nobles in Grayke who conspired with you, Father? And even so…”
Berna couldn’t continue.
Count Dedran had stomped on her head.
“Berna, Berna. It’s as if you committed the crime yourself. Would you rather be stoned to death by the citizens of Grayke? Do you think that boy will spare you when he finds out about the taxes? He won’t care that you’re not his real mother. You’ll be the one they blame, and you’ll die for it. So give him the potion. It won’t kill him. I can’t have him dead—if he dies, I can’t control Grayke as I wish.”
“…”
Berna bit her lip so hard that blood began to seep out.
“I’ll give you one week. If you fail to do it by then, you are no daughter of mine, Berna.”
Having issued his threat, Count Dedran dusted off his coat and left the room.
Berna wasn’t always this timid. But growing up under the cold, calculating rule of Count Dedran, who saw everything and everyone as tools, it was impossible for her to develop any other way.
She spent her childhood under his oppressive gaze, which naturally made her personality more reserved and fearful.
While she lived with her father, she had no memory of ever smiling. She didn’t even know how.
Her marriage into the Grayke family was part of Count Dedran’s grand plan.
One day, a territorial dispute erupted between the cities of Grayke and Dedran. The incident escalated all the way to the capital, leaving Count Grayke with no choice but to concede to Count Dedran’s demands. As a result, he was forced into a marriage he did not want.
Count Grayke, who had deeply loved his first wife, the mother of the young lord, had never considered remarrying, not even taking a concubine. But under pressure from Count Dedran, he took Berna into his household.
From the beginning, everything had been orchestrated by Count Dedran.
Berna was merely a sacrificial lamb.
She was only twenty years old when she was married off. At the time, Count Grayke was forty, and the young lord was just four.
A twenty-year age gap.
Berna resigned herself to the fact that although her surroundings had changed, her situation had not. It was as if she had moved from one prison to another.
The only difference was that she now had to live with a stranger, hoping that her husband would not be as terrifying as her father. She prayed fervently for that.
However, Count Grayke never demanded anything of her as a husband. He spent most of his time in his study, and when it was time to eat, he dined with her and the young lord.
A week after her arrival, Count Grayke asked Berna:
“Do you not know how to smile?”
Berna had no idea how to respond to such an odd question.
“Pardon…?”
This one word was the best response she could muster.
“Do you love me?”
“…”
Berna couldn’t answer. She knew that if she spoke the truth and was sent back to her family, her father would not let her off lightly. That much was clear.
But she couldn’t bring herself to lie either.
“Why are you so tense? Of course, you don’t love me. We’ve known each other for less than a week. Where could there be any love?”
“That’s… y-yes.”
“We’re married now. But I don’t intend to force anything upon you. So relax and try to find some happiness here. We can’t undo what’s been done, but you don’t need to feel any obligation to someone you don’t love. Why don’t you try to enjoy life within the castle walls? Of course, I won’t abandon you, since we’re married. I’ll fulfill my duties as well, so please, take good care of my son. As long as you do that, I don’t mind what else you do. Do you think I’d expect your love, knowing how things are?”
Count Grayke smiled as he reassured her.
Berna had to think about his words for a long time before she understood what he meant. But the one thing she was sure of was that he wasn’t sending her back to her father.
In fact, Count Grayke made every effort to make her feel comfortable.
He believed that Berna’s inability to smile was because she had been forced into a political marriage due to her father’s greed.
He felt pity for her and treated her like a daughter.
Of course, Berna had never known how to smile. That was simply how she had grown up. There was a bit of misunderstanding on Count Grayke’s part, but Berna’s life in Grayke was peaceful and serene.
“Stepmother!”
The young lord had no memory of his birth mother, who had died in childbirth.
But in his early years, he was very attached to Berna.
Despite her youth and delicate appearance, Berna never smiled. Yet the young lord accepted her as his new mother with a pure and open heart.
Perhaps because he had no memories of his real mother, he found it easy to welcome her into his life.
The affection of both Count Grayke and his son was evident.
“I picked this for you, Mother!”
One day, the young lord made Berna a flower crown in the garden. For the first time in her life, she felt a surge of emotion.
But it wasn’t a bad feeling. It was the feeling of being alive, of truly experiencing life.
Count Grayke remained kind and gentle over the years. Because of this, Berna often felt like she was living in a dream. Eventually, the tea times they shared in the study after breakfast became the highlight of her day.
Count Grayke always smiled at her words, and the tea and desserts tasted sweeter because of it.
This place was nothing like Count Dedran’s oppressive household, filled with severity, violence, and fear.
“I want to learn to play an instrument… is that okay?”
Two years into their marriage.
After much thought, Berna finally made her first request of Count Grayke.
It was her one true desire since childhood.
She had once asked her father to learn music, only to be cruelly denied and locked away. She felt that learning an instrument was the only way to escape that lingering fear.
Count Grayke nodded easily at her request. In fact, he encouraged her, saying that it was good to have a hobby.
By the time the young lord was eight years old, Berna had become skilled enough to perform in a small concert. The young lord, just eight years old, clapped enthusiastically, as did Count Grayke.
As Berna watched that simple scene, she smiled for the first time in her life. For the first time, her lips curved upward. Then she cried almost immediately after.
But that moment was a turning point. Berna began to learn how to be honest with her emotions.
And as she did, she grew to love Count Grayke. But even then, their relationship never became physical. While she had learned to express her feelings, to exclaim, and to laugh, she had no idea how to confess her love to her husband.
Having never known love, she was only twenty-four years old. While she could now express her emotions and laugh, confessing her love to the man she cared for was an entirely different challenge.
So at some point, Berna began to feel content with the way things were.
The time they spent together.
Since Count Grayke was often busy with the affairs of the estate, the only time they really spent together was during their tea time, and Berna cherished that time dearly.
She genuinely loved Count Grayke and the young lord, as a husband and son.