26 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
“A woman like an ox… Ugh, it hurts.”
While Judith was groaning, a tapping sound echoed from below her feet.
Swallowing her pain, Judith tapped the tea table with her hand.
As if in response to the rhythmic sound containing a promise, a similar echo returned from below.
The sound of old wooden stairs being stepped on was followed by the creaking of hinges.
The lower part of the cabinet where colorful threads and fabrics were stored opened, revealing white, chubby faces.
“Judith, did the guest leave?”
“Can we go out now?”
The two faces peeking out were identical, as if they had been molded from the same cast.
Seeing the twins, Judith returned to her usual expression.
“Flora, go downstairs and call Bran.”
“Okay, I will.”
The two children slipped out of the passage and returned the cabinet to its original position.
Flora went down the stairs, and Agnes approached Judith.
They were young children who didn't even reach an adult's waist.
“Agnes, go to your room and prepare for the trip. You know what to do, right?”
“Wow. Are we going on a trip?”
At Agnes's shout, Flora, who was supposed to have gone downstairs, called out.
“A trip!”
“A trip!”
Agnes repeated the same words after hearing Flora's voice.
Then, she dashed to her room to start preparing for the trip.
“A trip?”
Bran, dragged by Flora's hand, said as he climbed the stairs.
Bran was against the young twins learning to hide in emergencies and the agreed-upon signals.
He disliked them hiding like this, and he hated that they were learning to imbue ordinary knocks with meaning.
“Uncle Bran.”
“Judith. Is it because of the guest who just left?”
“It's not that.”
Judith stopped, hesitating over what to say.
She couldn't tell Bran what Alicia Lane had said.
There was no proof.
But she couldn't dismiss it as nonsense either.
Judith knew a way to verify Alicia's words, but she didn't want to.
She would rather have seen a ghost.
“Uncle Bran.”
“What is it, Judith?”
Bran took off the leather apron he hadn't had time to remove, having been hastily dragged by Flora, and smiled kindly.
He was always waiting with that smile.
He had been waiting for eight years.
“I want you to take over the Master position, Uncle Bran. I'm…”
“Judith, you are the successor. The fact that you know what you're about to tell me is proof that you are the successor.”
Bran spoke with a gentle but firm tone.
“I’m… still young.”
At Judith's urgent words, Bran slowly shook his head.
“It's okay. There's plenty of time. Don't rush. You don't have to if you don't want to. You can take your time.”
Bran had been consistently telling her to take her time, as he would be waiting for the past eight years.
He patted his niece's shrinking shoulders and smiled.
Judith couldn't hold back and said,
“They are coming.”
Bran's face, which had been gentle all along, hardened.
But he quickly regained his composure.
“Everything depends on your decision. Judith, I am a cowardly person. I don't want to steal my niece's share, nor do I want to take on my niece's share. Let's go on a trip first. Are there any orders that need to be delivered immediately?”
Bran was a kind and gentle uncle, but he was more stubborn than anyone else in the world.
“Only the order from the new guest who came today. What about you, Uncle?”
“I've already finished the items, so I'll open the terrace workshop and put a name on it. Where shall we go for our trip?”
Bran, with a good-natured face, spoke generously as if he were going on a relaxing vacation.
Judith, who had been biting her lip, hardened her expression.
“The Imperial Capital, Baden.”
There was a mailbox for the Croa Clan there.
There was the Clan Master's room.
And Judith's parents' graves were also there.
In the suburbs of the Imperial Capital Baden, there is a wall called Croa.
The stone wall, which was black as if scorched by fire, had a rough surface and was very long and thick.
Here and there on the black wall were traces of dents.
At some point, the dents became larger, and a locked box was planted in the hollowed-out space.
A boy who came to play near Croa jokingly left a note in the locked box, locked the box, and went back.
[Who are you?]
The next day, the boy opened the box without any expectation.
Inside the box, surprisingly, was a pouch with beautiful embroidery and a note.
[If you want an answer to your question, put 1 silver in the pouch.]
The boy hesitated for a moment.
The pouch with the unique embroidery seemed to be quite expensive.
The 1 silver requested in the note was not a large sum, but he didn't want an answer so badly that he would spend 1 silver.
He was suspicious that he might just spend the money and not get an answer.
After much deliberation, the boy put 1 silver in the pouch and locked the box again.
When he went again the next day, the pouch was gone, and a short letter was left.
[This is the land of the Croa Clan.
Croa answers as much as it is paid.
If you pay the price, Croa will even look into the mind of the person you are curious about.]
The black wall of Croa, which has been with the Empire since its birth, has been dormant for eight years.
Numerous boxes have not received either the price or the answer to their questions.
It began in Benedict Era 346. From the extra edition that Carl Lissman, the youngest son of the great scholar Lissman, read a strange document in the Academy's grand auditorium.
Carl Lissman read a document that began with the sentence, 'Do you know the secret of the Croa Clan?' at an important event commemorating the achievements of his father, Lord Lissman.
That day, strange documents were read at several academies and recitals besides Carl Lissman.
The document spoke of the Croa Clan, a vanished information group that knew everything in the world.
The formal name of the Croa Clan is the Croa Hexagon Clan.
As the clan's name suggests, Croa was led by a council of six, including the head of the clan.
Up to this point, it was a story that everyone who was interested in the Croa Clan knew.
The strange document that appeared three years after Croa's black wall sank into the ground said that the clan was made up of a council of twelve.
In Benedict Era 334, six farmhouses and shops near the capital were attacked simultaneously.
This day was said to be the day when the Croa Council of Six was purged.
Then, eight years later, between 342 and 343, three villages were massacred by bandits.
Two of the villages were for disguise, and the massacre of Tessen Entai was the real purpose.
It was an attack to eliminate the last successor of the Croa Clan Master who was hiding in Entai.
The traitors of the Croa Clan worked tirelessly to find the key to enter the Croa Clan Master's room.
They never found the master key.
The strange document said at the end that the traitors would not need the key to the Master's room.
The Croa Wall collapsed because the Master's room was attacked.
The one who attacked the Master's room, causing the Croa Wall to collapse, confessed that he was the one writing the strange document.
[Traitors.
I bury everything deep in the ground so that you can put down your ugly lingering attachments.
Neither you, nor I, nor anyone in the world will be able to find the key to open that place.]
The strange document about the Croa Clan spread and caused a stir for a while.
Explorers made a fuss to find the Croa Black Wall and the Clan Master's room.
Some high-ranking nobles were desperate to find the Croa Clan Master's room.
People who were trying to find the Croa Clan Council of Twelve families written in the strange document and those who impersonated them were rampant.
“It was a mess.”
Alicia, who had been lost in thought, muttered to herself.
It was strange to recall what had happened a few years later.
The results that Alicia knew might come true, but they might not.
If the present was changed, the future would inevitably change.
She didn't know how much she had changed.
A change in a very small element could make a big difference.
It was sometimes frightening and scary that she was changing not only her own future but also the future of others.
Because good things in front of her don't always turn out well in every direction.
“Fire!”
“There's a fire in the Emerald Tower!”
Alicia avoided her fiancé, who was doomed to misfortune, and asked Reikart Tessen for marriage.
She pushed away the misfortune that was imminent and gained wealth and glory.
She also got what she wanted.
At the same time, she was receiving unexpected attacks every day.
“There's not a single quiet day.”
Alicia put down the book she was holding and got up from her chair.
Alicia's new enemies were not one or two.
The problem was that she knew there were many, but it was difficult to predict the scope of the enemies.
That's why she went all the way to distant Entai herself.
She needed the help of an information group that was not on anyone's side.
It would be even better if the relationship was based on trust or faith, not on buying with money.
“Isn't it that they can't find the Master's room key?”
While Alicia was grumbling, the door burst open.
“Lady!”
“You have to get out now!”
Daisy, Annie, and Liz rushed into the room.
In their hands were handkerchiefs soaked in water and large bundles.
Annie handed Alicia one of the wet handkerchiefs and made her bring it to her mouth.
Daisy quickly packed valuables.
Liz stored the valuable items that could not be taken away on one side and put on a large padlock.
“Fire! Everyone, get out!”
Outside, people were busily running around, announcing the emergency.
“The east wing's barricade is down. Get out quickly!”
Juan and the knights were waiting outside the door.
“Lady Alicia, this way!”
Alicia was surrounded by her maids and headed outside.
She had thought that she might be openly ambushed soon.
The attack was much faster than expected.
The method was also different from what she had expected.
She never thought they would set a fire.
Alicia, who was in the carriage, asked Juan, who was guarding the window.
“Isn't the fire in the tower?”
“We don't know how the fire will spread, so it's best to stay away for now. Let's go to Tessen Estate. The close maids and workers have finished preparing. All the other workers have also come out of the building.”
“Let's go.”
Alicia made a decision immediately.
Juan evacuated everyone outside.
Everyone left the detached palace except for the manpower to put out the fire in the tower.
The carriage carrying Alicia headed to Tessen Estate, and the detached palace staff were divided and sent to the spare accommodations.
The fire in the tower was not large.
However, the detached palace staff suddenly poured out, and the smoke spread, attracting attention.
Residents who came out to see the accident were seen everywhere on the streets.
The faces of those who were watching the Lilliese Detached Palace, where smoke was spreading, were filled with concern.
The expressions of Alicia and the detached palace people who were watching it were also not good.
The carriage quickly headed to the estate.
When they entered a sparsely populated forest path, the outside became agitated.
“Stop! If you move, I will attack! Identify yourselves!”
Juan, who was guarding the side of the carriage, stepped forward and shouted.
In front of him stood men and women wearing masks.
The two knelt before Juan on horseback and paid their respects.
Juan got off his horse and approached them after seeing the handkerchief placed on the man's hand.
