10 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
Alisha, the Grand Duke's Bride 10
Immediately after returning from hell, Alisha hadn't grasped her physical condition, so she tried to move as she had in hell.
She tried to leap down twelve steps at once and jump from the third-floor railing.
She did manage to jump down the steps in one go.
It should have been an easier movement than breathing.
Alisha realized something was terribly wrong the moment she jumped.
Her body felt heavier than the weight she was used to.
It was as if someone was grabbing her ankles from below, hindering her leaps.
It was difficult to control her movements in the air, and her limbs seemed to want to move independently.
After jumping down the steps, she felt an impact that threatened to break her ankles.
Thanks to that, she clearly realized that her body was different from what she remembered.
She was stopped in time from jumping off the third-floor railing by the maids who looked after her.
It was strange.
If she had lost all her abilities, she might have thought the events in hell were just a dream.
She tried to convince herself that the vivid sensation of being eaten alive was something she experienced only in her unconsciousness.
However, the knack for using her body was ingrained in her like a habit.
It was just that her movements didn't follow her thoughts and calculations.
Her athletic ability had become pathetic.
Strength, speed, agility, perception.
All her physical abilities had returned to what they were when Alisha was 19, as she remembered.
It felt as if all the power she had built up with Magic Stones had been drained from her body.
She felt wronged.
It felt like she had been robbed of everything she had worked so hard to gather.
She tried to think positively, telling herself she could start all over again, but the sense of injustice didn't disappear.
Her technique was ingrained, and she was skilled at using her strength, but her lack of speed and power made her frustrated at times.
It was distressing that her body didn't move as she expected.
Having the knack might be better than starting from scratch, but it was hard to forget the regret of what she had lost.
If only she had Magic Stones, she would find and devour them…
Magic Stones didn't belong to this world.
Suddenly, a raw Magic Stone intruded into Alisha's blurred vision.
That's!
A long shadow fell over her sprawled face.
A tall man approached Alisha, who was lying down, having approached unnoticed.
The decoration on the man's cufflink was identical to the raw Magic Stone in Alisha's memory.
"Are you sleeping?"
A disapproving voice fell upon Alisha's face, lying in the sunlight.
It was Reikart's voice.
Alisha, realizing that the shadowed face was Grand Duke Tessen, was startled and sat up.
"G-G-Grand Duke Tessen?"
Alisha stuttered badly, as she had in her childhood.
"Yes."
In the past, Alisha would have been mortified the moment she stuttered, her mouth clamped shut.
She would have felt breathless, her vision would have darkened, and she would have been unable to find her bearings.
Her heart would have been pounding as if it would burst, and she would have been too flustered to move.
She would have been lucky if she hadn't run away, at a loss in front of the other person.
The current Alisha, although she stuttered badly and felt ashamed, didn't panic.
She was surprised and didn't know what to do, but she continued to speak in a flustered voice.
"H-H-How did you get here…?"
A ridiculous stutter continued, as if her tongue had gone wrong.
Still, Alisha tried hard to speak.
"I came for the knighting ceremony."
Alisha gathered herself up from the ground and quickly stood up, frantically brushing the grass off her dress.
Her voice, trying to be polite, trembled anxiously.
"W-W-When, when did you get here?"
Her voice, rising and falling rapidly, made the listener feel sorry for her.
Her flushed face and embarrassed expression were honestly revealed, conveying her shame directly to the viewer.
It was surprising that she didn't hide her embarrassment and didn't run away, but endured.
"Since the lady was riding standing up.""
Reikart answered faithfully.
"Pardon?"
Alisha stopped moving for a moment.
The gesture of trying to revive her hair, which had been flattened by lying in the grass.
The busyness of her own, busy removing the grass attached here and there.
All the things that were visible and all the things that were busily rolling in the invisible place were temporarily stopped.
How would she answer if someone pointed out what the Reine Marquis's lady was doing, sprawled on the ground?
Only a long, embarrassing curse echoed in her empty head.
"I haven't heard that Echeveria would become a military base."
"Pardon?"
Alisha made a dazed sound again at Reikart's words.
The face looking at Alisha was as dry as Marquis Rein, who was famous for having no expression.
The words that such a man gave were strangely playful.
But his expression was so bleak that it was hard to tell if he was joking or if he was really disapproving.
"What were you doing?"
Golden eyes stared at Alisha.
Alisha tried not to avoid the eyes looking at her and said.
"O-Oh, just exercising… But, did Your Highness come here alone? Without any servants?"
"Just exercising."
Reikart, repeating her words while staring at Alisha, turned his gaze and looked up at the large tree.
His gaze, sweeping from the large tree to the fence next to it, returned to Alisha.
Alisha smiled awkwardly.
It seemed that awkwardness was piling up between herself and the Grand Duke, but she desperately ignored it.
Her heart was pounding strangely.
Perhaps it was because she was too surprised.
"That's the kind of just exercising that would be good to have the special cavalry do."
Alisha continued to force a smile.
There was a legendary story that the 20 members of the Western Army's special cavalry and Grand Duke Tessen had entered the center of the enemy camp and destroyed the enemy ranks.
The special cavalry who jumped into the enemy camp with the Grand Duke were only 20 in number, but they achieved amazing results because they were not just ordinary soldiers.
The top 28 members of the Western Army's special cavalry were Grand Duke Tessen's personal guards, and it was said that one cavalryman on horseback could face hundreds of enemy soldiers.
"You said you came for the knighting ceremony?"
Alisha felt like she was going to cramp, but she maintained the smile on her face until the end.
"Yes. I heard that the lady was resting in the garden, so I came to avoid disturbing her, but it seems it was a mistake. It's not the servants' fault. I should have waited quietly when the maids guarding the front stopped me. But I insisted on coming in alone. How many people can stop me? Are you alright?"
"Yes. Of course. I'm alright."
Alisha answered Reikart's long words in short and concise succession.
"That's a relief."
Actually, she wasn't alright at all.
Alisha overtook Reikart, who was about to move, with quick steps.
The Grand Duke didn't point out the rudeness of blocking the path of royalty.
He was smiling, but he wasn't really smiling, and he waited quietly for Alisha to speak.
"Next time, please send someone ahead first. Preferably someone of mine. It's difficult if you suddenly appear like this."
"I will be careful."
Reikart answered readily.
Alisha maintained her smile until the end.
"I would appreciate it."
"Aren't you going to take off the leaves and straw from your hair?"
"Pardon?"
Reikart pointed to Alisha's left ear, right elbow, and head with his fingertips.
"There's straw on your ear and elbow, and a leaf on the top of your head."
"Where?"
Alisha hurriedly swept her elbow with her hand.
Then she swept her ear.
As the Grand Duke said, a long, twisted straw came out in her hand.
"Not there, a little to the side."
Alisha, having shaken off the straw, groped the back of her head.
Her hasty hand repeatedly brushed past the leaf stuck on the top of her head like an antenna.
"Here?"
The gesture of searching for the star-shaped leaf stuck on the top of her head was pitiful and funny.
"A little more to the side."
Reikart, watching the leaf and Alisha's fingers avoiding each other, took a step closer.
"Excuse me."
Alisha, who was busy looking for the leaf, didn't notice the approaching person.
Only after feeling the touch of fingers brushing her hair did she see that Reikart had come close.
Alisha stopped moving at the touch of his hand.
Reikart snatched the leaf and immediately returned to his place.
He held out the leaf he had taken off.
"Thank you."
Alisha reached out her hand for the leaf and expressed her gratitude.
Because the stem of the leaf was short, Reikart's hand brushed against Alisha's fingertips.
The man's hand quickly retreated.
Alisha felt a vague emotion as she watched the other person consciously avoiding her hand, but she didn't bother to add anything.
"Shall we go in?"
It was early winter, so the air in Imperial Capital Baden had become chilly.
"Yes, you said you came for the knighting ceremony."
"I have something to give you. There are parts to confirm, and things to receive."
As the two came out of the garden, Daisy, with a much more hardened face than usual, approached.
Behind Daisy were the Marquis's servants, looking pale.
Next to them, people who seemed to be the Grand Duke's people were standing in neat rows.
"Roderick."
Reikart called out, reaching out his hand, and the adjutant with the largest build, who was standing at the front, approached.
The Grand Duke's adjutant, who was like a big bear, had a strong jaw and stern eyebrows.
Compared to his typical military-type appearance, his actions were delicate and elegant, like those of a nobleman's son.
"I will serve you."
"Step back."
The Grand Duke took the square box from the adjutant's hand, who was courteous to his master.
At first glance, it looked like he was snatching it away.
"Tea has been prepared in the detached palace."The quick-witted Daisy quickly spoke."
Reikart brushed past Daisy, who was trying to guide the two to the detached palace, and ordered.
"Step back."
"Yes, Grand Duke Tessen."
The man climbed the stairs of someone else's detached palace as if it were his own home.
Alisha glanced at the back of the overbearing guest and mouthed 'Speak!' to Daisy.
Daisy blinked her eyes quickly to convey that she understood.
Daisy soon examined the place where the servants were standing, stealing glances at the Grand Duke climbing to the detached palace.
Alisha, following Daisy's gaze and turning her face, discovered an unfamiliar noblewoman.
The noblewoman, who met her eyes, greeted her with her eyes only.
"Lady Alisha, I am Count Rokaz. I am the lady's temporary tutor."
Reikart, who she thought had already entered the detached palace, spoke from behind the two who were exchanging glances.
Count Rokaz was about to formally greet Alisha.
Alisha was also about to receive the Count's greeting.
"Do your greetings later."
A voice like pouring cold water rang out from behind Alisha.
Count Rokaz politely gestured for her to go in without minding him.
"I will see you later."
Alisha gave a short greeting and headed for the detached palace.
Royalty.
It's like a race that considers it natural to do whatever they want.
Passing by the man who was waiting for her in front of the door, Alisha let out a thought that would be a big deal if anyone heard it.
Alisha entered the detached palace.
Reikart closed the door of the detached palace with a firm attitude.
