Trigger warning: Rape

“Lord Dexter—!”

“Father…”

Much to Spencer’s shock, Dexter readily admitted to it.

“Originally, I intended to take care of everything on my own. But halfway through, Thomas became aware of my intentions and offered his cooperation. I couldn’t refuse.”

“Enough!”

Thomas pleaded, but Dexter smiled as if to stop him.

Is ‘honorable’ the precise word for it?

Charlotte began to speak.

“—Sir Dexter, just as you might double-cross an assassin, His Majesty has determined that your cooperation is necessary for the future of this country. He was thinking of making people pay for their past crimes in ways other than publicly.”

Like Pascal, Dexter had been the Marquis of Allport even before the rebellion. In fact, his past was more sinister than Pascal’s.

However, after a certain incident, the marquis became a changed man.

“And yet, you used people to instigate the count and his wife to manufacture a crop failure in the East. This is an act that threatens the wellbeing of the people. I never thought that you, of all people, would do such a thing. After all, you cherish your people a lot.”

At first, even Charlotte couldn’t believe that Dexter was the mastermind. Instead, the entire time, she was just seeing an alternate version of himself.

For those who knew his past, the marquis, who was devoting his utmost to the people of his territory and striving to bring prosperity to the kingdom, was like an entirely different person.

As the change occurred after the rebellion, they would have assumed that the rebellion was the reason for his change of heart.

Still, that wasn’t the case.

Dexter exhaled. His gaze was downcast, as if he was reminiscing about the past.

“A long time ago, in order to further solidify my authority, I offered my daughter to the previous king as a concubine.”

The Kingdom of Lymore had practiced monogamy since its founding, but harems created through the desires and power of the royal family had existed since ancient times. As such, kings had surround themselves with concubines. Adultery was frowned upon, but for the sake of preserving the royal lineage and preventing a worst case scenario, an inner palace had been maintained for many generations.

Regardless, even if a concubine became pregnant, a safe delivery was unlikely. In some cases, the queen of that era would scheme to ensure her own child’s succession. In other cases, it was the kings themselves who took actions that contradicted their justifications for having their harems by forcing their concubines to take contraceptive pills or induce abortions as necessary.  This was because not only did concubines become unable to engage in sexual activity when pregnant, it also lead to the deterioration of their figures.

Apparently, during the reign of the previous king, a notorious tyrant, and the reigns of his predecessors, a considerable number of concubines were welcomed.

The concubines weren’t who necessarily wished for such either. Aristocratic ladies were often offered as a tributes by their families who sought to gain the king’s favor. Commoners renowned for their beauty were sometimes abducted and sold for large sums of money.

Once Frederick ascended the throne post-rebellion, the inner palace was demolished and the former concubines were freed. Only a measly few remained in the royal castle for employment.

At that time, Dexter was popular among his people, and commoners his territory, for he had been tirelessly working on the development of his territory and beyond. Not a shred of evidence could be seen of his embezzlement and smuggling. He was that crafty.

Only after his daughter became a concubine did some begin to question his true nature.

The man had forsaken his daughter at the drop of a hat. 

Nevertheless, Dexter garnered sympathy from the people. They bemoaned that if he went against the king’s decree, his family and territory would have been in danger. Eventually, any suspicion regarding Dexter being cut from the same cloth as the king or other aristocrats faded.

Charlotte was one of the few aware to the full extent of his misdeeds.

Although the incident took place before Charlotte was born, she has been educated about the purging as the princess.

At home, Dexter was doting and overprotective towards his son, his heir, and abusive towards his daughter, whom he raised as a submissive tool.

Dexter was the worst father ever, willing to sacrifice his daughter to protect his family and territory.

“It went against the young lady’s wishes, I assume?”

“Indeed. My daughter wailed, begging me over and over again, but I sent her to the inner palace regardless. I thought it would be an honor. I thought since she came from a marquis family, she would live a luxurious life.”

Before the rebellion, the position of women in the Kingdom of Lymore was weak. At that time, only a measly few could go against the decisions of the head of the family, less so if they were nobles.

“The king gladly took my daughter in—but six months later, my daughter was killed.”

“…I see.”

Charlotte had heard about that too.

“Although she was favored by the previous king for a while, his affection soured after she disobeyed him. Without any backing in the castle, she soon fell prey to the previous king’s wife and died of poisoning.”

“Yes, that’s indeed what happened.”

The previous king took an immediate liking to the beautiful daughter of the marquis and often invited her to his bedchamber. Thus, the previous queen grew resentful and subjected her to endless torment.

Furthermore, the previous king had a sadistic nature, so he was far from gentle to his concubines. Resistance only fueled his lust and thirst for conquest. Other than the hierarchy of status, there was also the inherent difference in strength between men and women, so women ended up his victims. Not even the servants of the previous king were spared, their heartrending cries echoing from within the castle almost daily.

Raised as a daughter of a marquis, there was only so much humiliation she could endure. One day, she resisted with all her might, and ended up scratching the previous king’s face. Enraged, he violently ravaged her before ultimately abandoning her. His favor shifted to other concubines in no time. A few days after that, she met her demise at the hands of the previous queen.

It was a very tragic and unreasonable death, yet not uncommon for that time.

The previous queen was never punished. No trial was held, and the remains of the marquis’ daughter were returned to her family.

In the inner palace, countless lives had slipped away.

Many of the concubines who had survived until the day the inner palace was dismantled suffered from debilitating mental illnesses. Some had developed a deep-rooted fear of the opposite sex, to the point that merely seeing or hearing a member of the opposite sex caused them to have a breakdown.

Frederick provided compensation to those who were made into concubines and their families, and ensured that they would live as comfortably as possible.

Meanwhile, Dexter hadn’t received anything.

He was ineligible.

He willingly offered his daughter as a concubine, knowing that her life and dignity would be in jeopardy. As such, he was determined to have been a perpetrator. Compensating him would have gone against the wishes of his deceased daughter.

“I never thought that my daughter would be killed. I was certain that she would earn the king’s favor and solidify my position.”

“In such an environment, anyone could die regardless of their status.”

Allport was a famous family with a long history, but it didn’t matter to tyrants. To them, they themselves were absolute.

“You’re right. I ignored the danger. …It was only days after my daughter’s death that I realized how precious she was to me. I realized it too late, and by that point, there was nothing else I could do besides grieve.”

Perhaps being drawn by memories, the darkness in his eyes, eyes which had lost their light after losing his beloved daughter, was overpowering.

Seeing Dexter as he was only infuriated Charlotte.

“A father who never cared for his daughter realized his mistake after her passing? How convenient. You gave her away like unwanted goods to curry favor with the previous king.”

“…To each of their own, but I only did it on the premise that ‘I wouldn’t lose her.’ Certainly, it didn’t justify me treating her like a property.”

“And because of that, you only came to realize your mistake after losing her. Ridiculous. You’re beyond salvation. Above all, I feel sorry for the victim.”

Charlotte’s tone of voice and facial expression completely expressed her disdain for Dexter.

“As a granddaughter of the previous king, I find it strange that you’re acting like a victim. There’s a limit to how selfish one can be. Even though you were nothing but a perpetrator to your daughter.”

Seeking the previous king’s favor, Dexter sent his daughter to such a cutthroat place.

He did it out of his own selfishness, that much was clear.

Of course, the one who took her life was at fault. However, from his daughter’s perspective, once it was decided that she would join the inner palace, it must’ve been akin to being told, ‘I don’t care if you die.’ by her own father.

Even if he did not in fact account to the possibility of her dying, his true intentions could not be proven with any certainty.

“Yes, and therefore, I deserve to die.”

He spoke without any hesitation.

---

***T/N: Well said, Charlotte, well said.

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