11 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
The Grand Duke's Bride is a Warrior from Hell 11
The moment the door closed.
Count Rokaz, Roderick, and Daisy's faces, far away, stiffened uncomfortably.
Even Alisha, whose eyesight wasn't good as if she were in hell, could see their troubled expressions, but it seemed the Grand Duke couldn't.
Reikart gestured inside with his hand, as if guiding Alisha, who was looking at the closed door.
Alisha sat at the tea table, feeling like a guest.
"Discuss the investiture ceremony preparations with Count Rokaz. His Majesty prefers a white dress, and Her Majesty prefers sky blue. Lord Echeverria traditionally favors light pink, because the Echeveria Flower Lake is pink."
Reikart, sitting across from Alisha, opened the chest he had snatched from in front of the detached palace.
"Tea..."
"No tea, thank you."
Jewel boxes emerged one after another from the chest, which was similar in width and length but tall.
The man carelessly took out the jewels from the luxurious, gold-decorated jewel boxes as if he were scattering scribbled papers.
He didn't seem to care that the gold decorations were being scratched and damaged.
"This is..."
Alisha had deliberately asked the Grand Duke for greedy, precious items.
But she hadn't really expected it to happen.
She had said those things hoping to appear like a greedy and avaricious woman.
Above all, she was already set to receive a lot.
"Open them."
She hesitated to touch the ornate jewel boxes.
"What are these?"
Reikart opened the jewel boxes one by one in Alisha's stead.
"This is Duchess Marguerite's Ruby set."
Inside the jewel box were a tiara, earrings, a ring, and a necklace decorated with large rubies and small diamonds.
When all four jewel boxes were opened, the dazzling scene was almost blinding.
Among the colored gemstones, the intensely colored rubies each emitted light, showing off their beauty.
"They're pretty."
Alisha gave her honest impression.
"Wear them at the investiture ceremony."
"Me...?"
"It's not something I should do."
He seemed to have made another joke just now, but the atmosphere was so quiet that she couldn't laugh.
"What should I do with them after using them at the ceremony?"
"There's no need to return them."
Alisha tried to lighten the awkwardness with a playful remark.
"Don't tell me they're mine?"
"Yes, they're yours. Duchess Marguerite's Rubies are traditionally a set with the Echeverria title. The previous counts seem to have gifted them to their countesses, but the count himself can wear them, so use them yourself. Wear them as much as possible when attending formal events in the future."
Alisha stopped smiling and immediately replied.
"Yes."
Her face was resolute as she looked at the rubies.
Reikart loosened his lips and said,
"Is it something to be so serious about?"
His own face had been serious until just now.
"Yes."
Alisha retorted with a stern face.
"How much do you currently know about the Imperial Family? Such as His Majesty's sibling relationships?"
It wasn't a difficult question for a noble lady.
But it was also difficult to answer without hesitation.
"The late Emperor had five grown sons, including His Majesty the Emperor. Among them, the Second Prince, Duke Belz, died in an accident seven years ago, and there are the Third Prince, Marquis Lennox, the Fourth Prince, Count Istevna, and Grand Duke Tessen. None of the male siblings share the same mother. The First Princess, Princess Louise, Duchess Ririn, is the only sibling with the same mother."
Alisha answered as if she had prepared.
"It's at a level where you don't need to learn separately. But I can't send away the tutor from the Imperial Family. The investiture ceremony is said to be a banquet where the Imperial Family members are introduced to the new family, and the new family receives greetings. Contact the Grand Duke's Residence when the dress color is decided."
"Yes."
Reikart diligently passed on the information he knew.
"The investiture ceremony will be held in the Great Hall."
"...Yes...?"
"The Imperial Family and relatives are gathering, so why would they gather in a small place? Josefina barely stopped the Empress from opening the Grand Theater and compromised."
Reikart's face was visibly tired as he spoke.
Alisha was involuntarily surprised by the sudden appearance of Princess Josefina.
"Yes."
The scale of the news the Grand Duke was delivering was so large that she couldn't figure out which part to go over.
"The season has changed."
The flow of the conversation suddenly changed.
"It has."
Alisha said meaningless words to buy time.
What would be good to tell him?
This period was a major turning point in Alisha's past life, so she had a lot of information about the surrounding circumstances.
"I have a question."
Reikart said, as if making a preemptive strike.
"Wait a moment, Your Highness. What I proposed was not that Your Highness would ask questions, but that I would predict what I know. I may not be able to answer the questions."
Alisha couldn't know everything.
She was confident in the trends around this time, but she also clearly knew her own limitations.
"It's alright. Even if you can't answer, it will be treated as one prediction."
"I'm not alright with that. But I can't keep the opportunity open if I can't answer. Questions about the future are once per season. I will decide whether to treat the question as a prediction or not after hearing it. If there are opportunities left, I will arbitrarily convey the prediction for that season."
Reikart nodded in agreement to Alisha's words.
Because it was a matter that couldn't be left in writing, they repeatedly confirmed that each other properly understood their words.
Alisha looked at the man, implying that he should ask a question.
"When will it snow this winter?"
There were quite a few important events around this time.
There were also many impressive events.
Alisha managed her expression, trying not to let a laugh escape, and opened her lips.
"I will be able to fulfill my duty this season. It will not snow this winter. Instead, there will be an unusual blizzard from the last week of March to early April."
It was a prediction filled with certainty.
It was as if she had seen what would happen in the future.
Reikart got up without mentioning his strange feelings.
"I'll be going."
The man, having finished his business, walked his own way without looking back even once.
"Your Highness."
Reikart stopped at Alisha's call.
"What is it?"
Alisha, following Reikart as he left, spat out the words she had been holding in her heart the whole time.
"Your Ornamental Cufflink are unique. What are they?"
Alisha secretly swallowed hard.
Her face shone as if she had seen something delicious.
She hoped the sound echoing in her throat wouldn't leak out.
Reikart looked down at his cuffs.
"They are Ornamental Cufflink passed down to the Grand Duke Tessen."
"To Grand Duke Tessen?"
What was on the end of the man's sleeve was definitely something Alisha knew.
It felt like she would gain strength if she broke the outer shell and ate it.
Could it be that he didn't know its identity?
"Tessen has the same thing as this, but it will be difficult to find."
At Reikart's words, Alisha wanted to run to Tessen right now.
"Tessen."
Alisha's eyes sparkled intensely for a moment.
Her eyes, which had been emitting a sparkling light, looked at Reikart intensely.
"......"
She had the illusion of hearing words in the gaze.
Tessen!
Reikart naturally avoided the gaze that was intensely staring at him.
"By the way, is it true that there's a Golden Chamber in the Lilliese Detached Palace?"
Alisha grabbed him with a question as he tried to leave.
She suddenly realized as she asked the question.
Tessen was a land rich in gold mines and diamond mines.
Even though Tessen was in a remote location, it received attention because of the western border and the enormous mines.
Tessen was called the land of curses and the land of death, but visitors had steadily continued to visit Tessen.
Tessen was also the Imperial Family's largest gold trading partner.
The land of gold and death.
It wouldn't seem strange if there was a Magic Stone Mine there.
"There is no Golden Chamber."
Reikart replied, looking at Alisha's eyes, which were fluctuating with anticipation.
"I see..."
There was no way such a place could exist in the world.
It was only natural that there was no such thing as a Golden Chamber, so Alisha wasn't greatly disappointed.
But she felt regret that it wasn't true after hoping for it.
"There is no Golden Chamber, but there is a Yellow Diamond Room instead."
Reikart calmly said after enjoying Alisha's disappointed face.
A deep silence fell between the two.
Alisha, who had lost her words for a moment, hurriedly spat out a question she had always had.
"Is it true that rough diamonds roll around in the streams in Tessen, and small jewels are scattered on the streets?"
"No. There is very little gold in the lower reaches of the river that connects to the swamps. But you have to be able to read the terrain where the gold will collect, and you also need tools to extract it. I'll be going now."
Reikart left the reception room while Alisha was lost in bewilderment.
"Gold rolling around on the streets...?"
Alisha opened her mouth only after she was alone and a long time had passed.
She belatedly realized that she hadn't given the Grand Duke a proper send-off according to etiquette.
She didn't even greet the Grand Duke because he had suddenly appeared, and she realized this when it was time for dinner.
The Emperor's office was an extremely personal space.
There were only a few people who could enter it.
The late Emperor, who was known to be particularly affectionate to his children, had opened his office to his children, but the current Emperor did not.
The current Emperor even called his ministers to the Audience Chamber when he met them.
Even the brothers who had received titles and left as dukes and marquises after the current Emperor ascended the throne were rarely invited to the office.
"Come in."
The Imperial Chamberlain guided Reikart to the Emperor's office without asking separately about his visit.
The Emperor's office was small for an Emperor's office.
It felt cramped beyond being small.
Except for the wall with the door, three sides of the room were densely filled with bookshelves.
A large table was placed in the middle of the space, which was like a huge study.
The Emperor was sitting in front of the table, which had ornate carvings on each corner.
The bookshelves and table occupied most of the space in the room, leaving almost no space left.
Four luxurious chairs were placed on the wall with the door.
Two of the chairs had backrests, but the other two did not.
"Sit."
The Emperor said to his younger brother, who had entered the room, without even greeting him.
There was a velvet-decorated armchair in front of the chair where the Emperor was sitting and the large table.
The comfortable chair, covered in velvet and with a wide backrest, was a great consideration.
"Did you see the request I sent?"
Reikart didn't express his gratitude and buried himself in the small sofa chair.
"Increase the number of soldiers on the western border. It's too sudden, Grand Duke Tessen."
Tessen's soldiers had to fight against many things.
The fierce cold of the north in winter.
The acrid dust wind and dust storms blowing from the west all year round.
The nomadic tribes based in the northwestern steppes.
Clans and clan members who were not tied to the land and gathered according to beliefs, ideologies, and money.
Even beings whose existence could not be officially announced.
"The northwest is already winter. Tribes with good mobility will come to plunder food."
"Aren't there already enough soldiers stationed there?"
"The more soldiers in Tessen, the better. Alchemist Clans often cause disturbances when they move around the end of the year and the New Year. You never know what kind of accident will happen. Also, Lua will rise as soon as the new year begins next year."
