Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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The Argenta's military strength was largely divided into three parts.
Assassins who secretly eliminated anything that hindered the Argenta in the shadows.
The royal guard, the official military force of the Argenta.
And the enforcers who punished those who violated the Argenta's rules.
The head of the royal guard was the head of the family, Dielo Argenta, so in effect, 'Cleaner' Pielle, the head maid and leader of the assassins, and 'Enforcer' Rick, the leader of the enforcers and head of the intelligence department, could be considered the core members of the Argenta.
As such, they had absolute loyalty to Dielo Argenta.
Naturally, they sought to eliminate anything that could harm the head of the family first.
"I didn't expect the mistress to jump into the battlefield so completely."
And without hesitation, so quickly.
Pielle was surprised as she listened to the reports from the knights dispatched to District 4.
"Isn't she essentially an outsider? And she'll be leaving the family soon anyway."
The informant giving the report also had an admiring look on his face.
"So I didn't expect her to go that far. If the mistress hadn't been on the battlefield this time, we would have suffered great losses."
"A monster that uses magic, Redius Argenta might have had to self-destruct."
Rick, who was listening to the report, shrugged. Pielle frowned at his words.
"Not self-destruct, a rampage."
"Same difference. You die either way. Boom."
Rick, true to his nickname 'bright psycho,' grinned and spread his hands. Pielle sighed as she looked at him.
Not many people knew that Rick and Pielle, core members of the Argenta, were close.
In official settings, they were strictly formal with each other.
"She's more proactive in her work than I thought, and she understands the Argenta's family traditions well. The atmosphere must be very different from the Alloze."
For Pielle, who was even more exclusive towards outsiders, saying this was high praise. The informant reporting to the two bowed his head.
"It's such a waste that she's only here temporarily."
He was also an Argenta of the 4th floor, so he knew about the fake Pero plan.
At those words, Rick scratched his cheek.
"But even though it's temporary, it doesn't seem like the head of the family has any intention of letting the mistress go?"
"That's true."
Pielle replied absentmindedly.
"Why?"
The two asked each other the same question at the same time, their eyes meeting.
"The head of the family told me to tell her the secrets of the Argenta without hiding anything."
Pielle was the first to speak.
Either she'll remain a complete insider, or... he intends to make a sharp decision.
Rick, who understood the grim meaning of those words, tilted his head.
"Really? I thought differently."
"How so?"
Rick was always seemingly lighthearted, but he was a very perceptive person.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to be the enforcer and head of the intelligence department of the Argenta.
That's why Pielle respected Rick's opinion.
"I..."
Rick's expression turned serious.
When he had that expression, he was really serious.
Pielle also listened to him with a serious expression.
However.
"I saw love in the head of the family's eyes."
At the words that followed, Pielle rubbed her forehead. He's still Rick, even when he's being serious...
"No, really! Hearts were popping out, like, boom, boom, boom!"
"If you're going to talk nonsense, go make a report."
Pielle chased Rick away.
Regardless of what the two of them were thinking, the atmosphere of the Argenta was definitely starting to change.
Originally, Krua's perception within the Argenta was like this.
An outsider from the hostile Alloze family, who might leak Argenta information to the Alloze at any time.
But now it was different.
Although she came from the Alloze, she jumped into the middle of a dangerous battlefield for the sake of the Argenta and saved countless Argenta.
The way the Argenta looked at Krua Alloze, no, Krua Argenta, was completely changing.
"...Ah."
How did I get back?
I blinked.
I seemed to remember talking to Dielo and seeing the battlefield being cleaned up.
'The post-war processing will take quite some time.'
I also remembered hearing Redius's words and getting on the horse.
'Ah,'
And I think I staggered as I tried to get on the horse because my head was spinning.
At that time...
'Krua.'
It was Dielo who reached out to me. His expression of apology came to mind.
'You can rest now. I'll take you.'
He pulled me onto the horse...
"...Ah."
I didn't know because I had lost consciousness after that, but I guess I rode back on Dielo's horse.
I blinked my dry eyes a few times.
My mouth was parched as if all the moisture in my body had been sucked out.
I didn't have the strength to move a single finger.
"So this is the side effect."
It was said that after using powerful abilities, each person in the three families would experience different side effects.
Krua had never properly used her Water Manipulation Ability in the original story, so how would she know?
—Click.
At that moment, the door opened slightly and a maid with a wet towel entered.
When our eyes met, her eyes widened.
"...Madam?"
"Yeah."
She was a familiar maid. The maid, who quickly approached, examined me.
"You're awake. I'll go call the doctor."
"The doctor is fine."
I wasn't sick, just exhausted. I stopped the maid and asked something important.
"How is Redius Argenta?"
"Yes?"
The maid's eyes widened.
Did I ask too directly?
Well, Redius and I had never met before we crossed paths on the battlefield, so it would be strange to ask like this.
"I mean the field commander of District 4. No, not just the commander, but all the troops in District 4."
Lying down would only make me more tired.
Ugh, I raised myself up and asked the maid again.
"Are they all safe? What's the extent of the damage?"
Dielo must have returned safely, of course.
Because it was Dielo who brought me here.
"Ah, Redius Argenta has already been here."
"What?"
My eyes widened.
If he's already been here, how many days have I been lying down?
"Was I unconscious for a long time?"
"You were unconscious for about a day and a half."
Oh... No wonder I had no strength.
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them, and the maid said.
"The damage to the forces in District 4 you mentioned is minimal. There were many minor injuries, and it would have been a major loss if it had turned into a long-term battle, but..."
The maid bowed deeply and said.
"Thanks to the support from the mistress, there was no major damage. Field Commander Redius Argenta wanted to express his gratitude separately, but he had to return to District 4 due to urgent field command."
"That's a relief."
I finally sighed.
My body was a bit stiff and about two days had been lost, but Redius Argenta's survival alone would be a great help to the Argenta.
A pleasant smile came to my face.
"How's Dielo?"
"He returned without any problems and is carrying out his schedule. He stopped by to check on the mistress in between his appointments."
It wasn't hard to imagine his worried face.
I sighed.
He would probably be very concerned about me.
Our contract marriage didn't include the condition that I had to risk my life and go to the battlefield in an emergency.
"Tell him I'm fine too."
"Understood. But the head of the family ordered that you must call a doctor when you wake up..."
The maid added cautiously.
That was typical of Dielo's cautious nature.
I eventually nodded.
"Okay. Call the doctor, and go report to Dielo."
"Yes. For the Argenta."
The maid bowed politely and stepped back. It was a precise movement.
"...'For the Argenta'?"
I quietly searched my memory.
It was the first time I had heard such a formal greeting since coming to this mansion.
But starting with that maid, the other servants started using the same greeting.
"Madam, this is Doctor Nias."
"Ah, come in."
Doctor Nias, who came in very carefully and examined me, as well as the Argenta maids and knights who followed him in to attend to me, were the same.
"I obey the order."
"For the Argenta."
Listening to them all greet me like that, one by one, made me feel strange.
I was definitely an outsider in the mansion until recently, but did I feel noticeably closer?
Why all of a sudden?
It was Pielle who came into my room to check on me as soon as the doctor left that resolved my question.
"The mistress's appearance on the battlefield seems to have been very impressive to the Argenta."
In fact, I didn't think that the mistress, who hadn't been here for very long, moving the knights would be seen favorably by the servants.
Of course, the scene was a sea of water and my Alloze power was effective in that environment, but in the first place, going there was practically my insistence.
'Since it's a waterside, shouldn't the Alloze, who controls water, go?'
If that wasn't forced, what was it?
But I had to save Redius Argenta, even if it meant becoming a spoiled mistress who made unreasonable demands.
That's why I pushed it through.
"...Why?"
That's why I couldn't understand.
No matter how good the result was, unless there was someone who had seen the original story like me, this action was reckless.
No matter how confidently I went to war, I didn't even know I could control water that much.
At best, I thought I could barely pull Redius Argenta out of the mess.
How would I know that my blood would boil as soon as I saw the water?
"Because it was a dangerous battlefield."
As I thought about the scene, Pielle replied.
"I heard that the mistress jumped into the battlefield without hesitation."
She bowed to me briefly and continued.
"Even the Argenta are afraid before they burn themselves for the Argenta, but the mistress didn't. Rather, you jumped into the battlefield more boldly than the Argenta."
Pielle smiled faintly.
My eyes widened.
I knew that Pielle, the 'Cleaner' of the Argenta, always drew a line between herself and others.
But that smile clearly contained genuine friendliness.
"They think the mistress has fought her 'first battle.' I think so too."
"First battle?"
"Yes."
—Click.
The door opened and a maid with a tray carefully placed a bowl of soup in front of me.
Pielle said as she served me my meal.
"It's a test to become an Argenta."
So it's not just about having the ability?
According to the original story, at least in the Alloze, just having the ability to control water was enough to become a knight of the Alloze.
"It's a test where those who have the ability and want to become Argenta are released onto the battlefield without weapons. So that they can only survive with their own flame."
"...!"
So you're just going to let people who can't fight properly die?
"Survive, or die. They have to overcome that gateway with their own strength. If they die, the ability they have becomes part of the head of the family, but if they survive, they become a member of the Argenta."
Even though she was talking about a life-or-death situation, Pielle's expression was calm.
"It's a test to ask if they have the confidence to burn themselves for the Argenta, if they are ready. To become a True Argenta."
It was an impressive statement. I repeated softly.
"Become an Argenta..."
I understood the strange sense of unity among the Argenta people that I had felt before.
It was probably because of their custom of only accepting those who had fought their 'first battle' as Argenta.
"It's a strange feeling."
After finishing the soup, I said as I looked at Pielle, who was wiping my mouth.
"I don't know when I'll leave this place."
I already knew that it wouldn't be long, but I couldn't show that I knew.
"..."
At my words, Pielle simply bowed briefly without saying anything.
That night. Maybe it was because I had slept for a day and a half, but I couldn't sleep.
So I embarked on preparing for the future for the first time in a while.
"Bring me a map of the continent."
