18 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
Grand Duchess of Tessen is a Warrior of Hell 18
#6. Tessen
A fierce wind slammed into Alisha's face.
The curls Daisy had painstakingly put in her hair since dawn were loosened and blown away by the wind.
The wind blew into the bodice of her dress, which was made to fit snugly without any gaps for the cold air to seep in.
The short nap of the velvet was battered by the rough wind, falling in different directions.
The full skirt of the dress fluttered and scattered with a frightening sound.
Alisha spurred her horse on, plunging into the wind.
She hadn't worn any hair ornaments or jewelry for this very moment.
At Alisha's urging, the sound of hurried hooves followed behind the roughly galloping horse.
"Ray... Dy... Al, Al... Li...!"
It was difficult to shout while facing the headwind blowing at maximum speed.
A handful of cold winter wind rushed in through her parted lips.
"Ray, Ray... Dy!"
It was even harder to speak because she had to use honorifics and polite language for the name she had to call.
Every time she barely managed to shout 'Lady' and tried to shout the next sound, a chilling wind poured into her nose and mouth.
If there was a gap between 'Lady' and 'Alisha', it would be a failure.
She couldn't call the future Grand Duchess by her first name alone.
"Lady Re...!"
Juan tried to shorten it as much as possible by shouting the Reine family name.
But it was just as difficult to shout while riding a horse at full speed.
'Hey!'
The knights of the guard, breathless as they rode, cursed with their eyes.
If they were from the same guard, they would have shouted with anger hundreds of times over.
"Re... Ugh, idy!"
Every time he opened his mouth while riding a horse at full speed against the headwind, agony washed over him.
In fact, just riding the horse was already difficult.
The frigid northern wind, already in winter, savagely lashed at his cheeks as he rode.
The guard's anger naturally turned to an easier target.
'Hey! You punk!'
Eyes reddened from being beaten by the cold wind glared at Roderick.
Flushed faces shouted silently.
'She's the eldest daughter born in 200 years from a great noble family in the North, so we have to treat her as slowly and carefully as possible!'
'Don't complain even if she takes a break every three steps!'
'She's probably never lifted anything heavier than a soup spoon, so don't show off your brute strength!'
Roderick Rosa was the eighth son among the nine sons and seven daughters of a Baron.
The Baron, a soldier, was strict with family discipline.
Living among his already grown brothers and married sisters, and younger siblings, Roderick became skilled in reading situations and using his wits.
Roderick's greatest talent, which he volunteered to Tessen at the age of 15 to find his own way, was his survival skills.
The reason he became the Grand Duke's aide at a young age was also thanks to his ability to maintain appearances while taking good care of what he needed.
Within Tessen, Roderick Rosa's information was highly reliable.
His words had value.
Today, that high level of trust in him was being scratched away.
"Lady... Disperse!"
Roderick, ignoring the resentful and questioning gazes, sent a hand signal as he rode.
The guard, who had been running in formation even while panting, broke formation and followed Alisha.
"Lady!"
Alisha heard the change in the sound of the hooves following her and looked back.
Her hair, flying wildly in the rough wind, was cumbersome.
Through her vision obscured by her hair, she saw the guard scattering and speeding up.
"Looks like I'm running away."
Alisha, who had been turning her face to look back as she rode, released the reins.
Roderick and Juan turned pale as they saw Alisha gathering her flying hair into one and tying it with a long string.
"Lady, ahead!"
"Look ahead... The reins!"
The two shouted short words with pale faces.
"Lady, the reins!"
"Look ahead!"
"Lady, ahead! Ahead!"
The guards shouted wildly as they saw Alisha riding dangerously.
Their desperate voices were pitiful.
Alisha smiled brightly as she saw their faces, which looked as if they were about to cry.
"It's okay!"
Alisha, having tied her hair, raised her voice as she looked back.
'It's not okay! It's not okay at all!'
'Look ahead, you miss!'
'You have to look ahead when you ride a horse! Who taught her to ride a horse!'
Only after seeing Alisha lower her hand from her hair and grab the reins did the guard put down their desire to cry.
But the strange sense of injustice grew even stronger.
The Tessen Estate, with its long history, was vast.
As history would have it, there were many places to see.
According to Roderick's plan, they were going to start by looking around the keep, the central tower.
But from the beginning, it was different from the plan.
Something felt uneasy from then on.
Originally, the guard had prepared an open carriage for a drive for the Lady.
After the Grand Duke's permission was granted, Alisha, who had entered the Estate, said she would ride a horse instead of a carriage.
The knights of the guard politely followed the words of the future Grand Duchess without showing any signs of displeasure.
They had been warned by Roderick early on, and there was no reason to object since riding a horse was also simpler.
They also thought that it would take a long time for the Lady to ride a horse since she was wearing a dress with a full skirt.
Roderick recommended an extra horse that he had prepared in advance.
For a brief moment, the knights hesitated.
Should they call the Lady's maid?
Would it be okay to call a servant?
Some of the maids were often afraid of horses.
But it was questionable whether they should have a strange servant attend to the high-ranking Lady.
The knights' questions were not resolved.
While they were thinking about their concerns, Alisha lightly climbed onto the horse.
They thought they saw her hand reaching the reins and the hem of her skirt brushing against the stirrup, but she had already mounted the horse.
From then on, everything was different from the original plan.
There was a large square in front of the central tower.
The luxurious fountain, sculptures, and intricately arranged gardens made one forget the harshness of Tessen.
Alisha, who had mounted the horse, turned away from the central tower.
The horse's head, which had been facing the central tower, turned in the opposite direction at Alisha's gesture.
The Twin Towers with golden ornaments on top, the Yellow Tower guarding the three greenhouses.
The second central tower, called the Child Tower, was built in a similar shape and reduced in size in a straight line with the central tower.
Alisha sped past the many towers that were symbols, history, and pride of Tessen.
Alisha left the magnificent towers standing in various places behind and headed for the gentle hills.
She rode the horse at full speed down the slopes of the open hills.
At the end of the hills were forests and swamps.
"Lady Alisha!"
The forest, known as the Grand Duke Tessen's promenade and hunting ground, was said to be full of mysterious herbs.
There were also rumors that gold and diamonds rolled around in the streams of the forest.
It is known that Tessen and the Imperial Family do not know what lies deep in the forest, which occupies a long oval-shaped area.
Officially, Tessen did not station troops on the forest side of the wall.
There were many rumors about those who tried to destroy Tessen or sneaked into the forest side of the wall in search of gold and diamonds.
But I have never heard a story of anyone successfully stealing gold and jewels from Tessen.
Instead, there were many stories like this.
A great thief succeeded in infiltrating the forest side of Tessen's wall by climbing the western cliff with amazing skill.
But it has already been three years since he sneaked in, and no one knows if he is dead or alive.
At the end of the hills, there was a long, narrow path.
The narrow path leading to the deep forest was hidden by large trees and shadows from the middle.
And in the forest, there was a pure white castle.
I could tell where the invisible path was leading.
"West Allic..."
The pure white castle was surrounded by tiered marble walls.
The dazzling stone walls were surrounded by an emerald lake.
The high and low stone walls and the pure white castle were reflected as they were on the clear surface of the lake.
The forest castle was as dazzling and beautiful as if it were from heaven.
But I didn't believe what I saw.
Alisha knew the same hellish thing as that.
"Lady, you cannot go any further."
Roderick, who had always been gentle and polite, said matter-of-factly.
"Is that place..."
Was about to ask, 'Is it hell on earth?'
Ding! Ding! Ding!
A loud bell rang from the outpost on the border between the forest and the swamp.
As many armed soldiers as there were guards came out of the seemingly small simple outpost.
"Protect the Lady! You must get out of here."
Roderick, who had been speaking stiffly just now but had not lost his composure, tried to turn Alisha around with a nervous face.
Not only the soldiers at the simple outpost but also the guards were preparing for battle.
The sound of bells could be faintly heard from the tower beyond the hills.
Come to think of it, there were small obstacles all over the hills.
Some were so severely destroyed that only a few scattered stones remained.
Alisha could tell that the bell that had just rung was a signal to prepare for battle.
The soldiers who came out of the outpost ran into the forest.
It was a familiar sight.
"Damn it... It's coming!"
Juan, who had been standing guard next to Roderick, who was talking to Alisha, shouted.
When I turned my gaze to Juan's shout, a black figure jumped out of the forest.
The trees that had been standing peacefully fell down with a cracking sound.
"Circular defense!"
Juan shouted again.
The guards quickly ran in a circle with Alisha and Roderick in the center.
Thump! Thud! Thump! Thump.
The sound of a giant's footsteps, overwhelming the heavy sound of hooves, shook the ground.
A beast with an appearance as if a huge rock had been forged into a living creature leaped forward.
"Spears!"
The guards threw their spears at the black Stone Beast that had jumped up.
An unpleasant sound rang out as the metal of the spear collided with the beast's body.
Clang!
Everyone gritted their teeth at the sound of the spear blade being ground away.
"Kakan?"
For a moment, Alisha wondered if she was dreaming with her eyes open.
She stared blankly at the demon beast she hadn't seen in a long time.
She wondered if there might be Magic Stones in Tessen.
She thought there might be demon beasts in Tessen since Magic Stones were inside demon beasts.
But it was a little different when a vague thought became a reality and unfolded before her eyes.
From the pure white West Allic Castle in the forest to the demon beast.
Everything felt like a lie.
Alisha understood that everyone around her was acting with a desperate and serious attitude.
"You must run away when we make it retreat! Forget what you just saw!"
"Madam, pull yourself together!"
"That's not real, it's a ghost, Madam!"
Everyone was fighting for their lives and talking nonsense.
Alisha was puzzled by the guard's 'Madam' call, but she didn't argue because it was an emergency.
She seemed to understand why they were calling something that clearly had a shape and was moving in front of her eyes a ghost.
The distance between the guards, who were running their horses and stabbing their spears at Kakan, and Alisha in the center was widening.
It was just one collision, but the speed of the guards circling around was slower than before.
Alisha turned her horse's head and snatched a spear that someone had dropped in the air.
