Webtoon 31

## Chapter 31

**Chapter 31** of the Webtoon was published on Ridibooks in South-Korea. See here for a full overview of all media related to this chapter.

## Synopsis

This chapter focuses on Griselda and Winfried's point of view. Winfried visits Griselda after the banquet, and shares how Johannes had provoked the duke, after the duke had joked about marrying off Giovinetta. After the story, Winfried proposes to Griselda, but she rejects him, and begins telling him a story of her own, about when the duchess first arrived at Gustave and gave birth to the twins.

## Summary

Winfried returns to the tower drunk, after having attended the banquet, and is greeted by Griselda. "The lady I serve is no longer here. It would not be proper for me to attend." He shares what transpired at the banquet:

* "How much do you think Earl Milo is willing to pay for his heir, your grace? The ransom is yours to set of course, but the negotiations must be quite difficult. I head we practically gave no quarter. Is it true no knight that crossed the young duke's path survived? The young duke may have earned prestige from this war, but how will he repay the loyalty of his knights for mustering their old bodies to war?"
* Winfried: *(What a sly fox…)*
* Duke: Did we wage this war for money? We were able to teach that arrogant Milo a a lesson, and for that I'm pleased. He must know the price for encroaching on Valdemar land by now. Still, I do wish that my beloved son would learn to be more generous to his future vassals. This war may not have been fought for money, but I had hoped he would understand why his father wishes to give his finest to old friends who risked life and honor to fight alongside us. It's not as if I have any daughters left to marry off!

At their provocations, John leaves in an abrupt yet composed manner.

"I knew John had been acting strangely, but I was still caught off guard when he left the room in such a huff. John was never one to show his emotions so openly like this. And when he returned to the hall, it took me a moment to realize that the head he'd so callously tossed belonged to Milo's heir. Can you believe it? He killed the earl's son while we were in the middle of negotiating his ransom! However, even after such an outrage, do you know what my brother said to our father's face?"

* You sold her off because you were blinded by their money. I've endured the past year by working myself to the bone, but I doubt you'll ever understand, father.

After finishing his story, Winfried erupts in laughter at the memory. Griselda tells him to return to his chambers as he's too drunk, but he then goes down on his knees, but she rejects the ring. "Please believe me, I truly do love you. … you just said it. You and I know everything. But there's something you don't know, and I do. Somethign that happened over 20 years ago, when the duchess first came to Gustave castle. The bridal party was more pitiful than simple. The beautiful Ducommun bride on a scrawny horse, her handmaid, and a donkey carrying their luggage was the whole affair. A few years later, news came that all of her brothers had died in a battle, and the infamous inheritance of the Ducommun family was brought to Valdemar where the sole remaining Ducommun lived."

The duke decides to keep the sarcophagi in "the old chapel, in the castle's southern wing, where the ancient gods were once worshipped." "Then the duchess gave birth to the twins, nine months after the stone coffins arrived at Gustave castle."

## Trivia

* Winfried has never seen a freshly decapitated head before, only rotting ones on spikes.