29 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
Grand Duchess's Warrior of Hell 29
Alisha waved her hand as if to say it was a joke.
"When did Your Highness fall asleep?"
"Not long ago."
"Everyone's clothes got wet on the way here, so I'm sure you'll allow them to rest for a moment, right? I'll just go see Your Highness's face while the maids rest."
At Alisha's words, Henrik could only give an awkward smile.
"You shouldn't go around with wet clothes on a cold day. However, I cannot know Your Highness's intentions..."
Baron and Baroness Langs were perfect at their work.
They rarely hesitated to speak.
Alisha was puzzled.
Henrik was Reikart's closest aide, so he was the kind of person who would move like his hands and feet when the Grand Duke was ill.
But now, Henrik's attitude seemed reluctant to go near the Grand Duke.
Saying she would go see Reikart's face was out of curiosity.
A man who was stabbed by a sword and shot with arrows, yet left no scars and was called a demon, was sick.
A somewhat twisted curiosity to see the real person of the ailing man.
But the atmosphere was strange, and she felt she had to check if Reikart was really sick.
It didn't seem like he had been attacked by someone and was in danger or poisoned.
However, the attitude of the Grand Duke's people was not normal, so she couldn't just leave.
Alisha gestured to Henrik as if to lead the way.
"Lady Alisha. Actually, I made a mistake and was dismissed by Your Highness."
"It's okay if I go in alone. I'll just see his face and come out."
"Since you say so, Lady, I cannot dare to stop you. I will escort you."
Henrik, who had been faintly resisting, suddenly changed his attitude and actively guided Alisha.
Alisha followed Henrik, gesturing to Daisy to rest.
Daisy, Annie, and Liz watched Alisha, who was fulfilling her duty as a betrothed, with pleased faces.
Connie, who always agreed with the three, was suppressing an uneasy expression for some reason.
As Henrik had said, Reikart was asleep.
Not only Reikart, but the entire Breguet House seemed to be asleep.
There was not a single page attending to the Grand Duke, nor a knight or guard coming to report.
Henrik's attitude of opening the door to the bedroom was as if he was careful even with his breathing.
She wondered how sensitive Reikart was when he was sick.
The door opened without a sound.
Henrik pointed to the direction to go.
There were no obvious words like 'this way' or 'here'.
Alisha nodded to indicate that she understood and walked inside, lowering her footsteps as much as possible.
She had vaguely thought that Grand Duke Tessen's bedroom would be desolate and huge.
As expected, the scale was ridiculously large.
Moreover, the elements were beautifully decorated: a place to bring close people, a place to be attended to, and even a personal tea table.
Passing through the draped area and going inside, a space with a bed was revealed.
Reikart was asleep in a luxurious and elegant bed.
The bed was excessively ornate.
Yet, the face of the man sleeping there was the most eye-catching.
It was a face that she never got used to, no matter how many times she saw it, and admired every time.
The man's face was more like a sculpture than a person, so she thought his sleeping appearance would be the same.
But he was also human.
His face, tired from being sick, was covered in sweat.
His lips were also dry and chapped, showing clear signs of illness.
His pale face occasionally gasped for breath.
So, he has times like this.
Alisha took out a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped his pale face.
She was surprised that the skin that touched her fingertips while wiping away the sweat was too cold.
Then she realized.
She didn't know because she had just come in from outside, but the room was too cold.
The only place in the house where fires were lit was in front of the entrance, not just the Grand Duke's bedroom.
It was strange that they didn't light a fire in a house with a patient.
No matter how sensitive the Grand Duke became when he was sick, she wondered if they couldn't even light the fireplace.
There was no sign that a doctor had examined him.
Not only that, but she couldn't find any signs of caring for the patient.
If she hadn't been told in advance, she would have immediately called the servants and questioned them, but she didn't act rashly because it might have been ordered by the Grand Duke.
Alisha, knowing it was presumptuous, placed her hand on his sleeping forehead.
The face that had been gasping for breath became a little more peaceful.
At first, she thought it was a mistake.
But seeing that his face, which had been pale to the point of being blue, was getting better from moment to moment, it didn't seem like a mistake.
Alisha recalled the day she first met Reikart.
The man, who looked somewhat ill, had asked her for her hand.
Recalling the memory of that day, she carefully placed her hand on Reikart's sleeping hand.
Was he the type whose illness would be cured by human touch?
But why didn't anyone keep him by their side?
Alisha looked around, one hand on Reikart's forehead and the other on his hand.
Seeing that the man's complexion had become much more comfortable, Alisha took her hand away and stepped back.
She went to the fireplace, lit a fire, moving as quietly as possible, closed the curtains tightly, and left the room.
He was a strange patient.
The sky was dark all day.
It rained non-stop.
Just when she was about to forget, thunder shook the world.
Alisha gave up on the idea of going outside and sat down to read a book.
When she stopped reading for a while, she wrote letters to her family and employees.
When memories came to mind, she recorded important events or information that occurred at certain times so that only she could understand.
Alisha lay down not too late.
Reikart had told her not to come out of the Tech House, but Alisha was planning to visit him again tomorrow.
She had also made an appointment to visit.
The Langs family, who were taking care of the Grand Duke, were puzzled by Alisha's words that she would come to visit.
They were even startled when she said that she had turned on the fireplace because the room was dark.
Henrik and Connie took turns asking if there were any difficulties in turning on the fire.
When she said that nothing had happened, the two said with moved faces that they would be very sorry if she came again tomorrow.
It was already late at night.
Listening to the sound of rain hitting the window, Alisha fell asleep.
Outside in the dark, storms and light rain alternated.
When the rain weakened.
Creak.
The entrance of the Tech House opened quietly.
Bare feet stepping up the stone steps moved hastily.
Despite moving carelessly, the rain-soaked feet did not make a loud noise.
Water marks remained abundantly wherever the feet passed.
Reikart managed not to fall as he staggered through the dark hallway.
Spreading footprints and small noises that he would not have left if he were himself yesterday, he instinctively moved his steps.
He headed without stopping to the room where the owner of the Tech House stayed.
He recalled the words he had said the day before as he turned the doorknob.
Reikart cursed his ignorant self from a few days ago and turned the doorknob without hesitation.
The doorknob turned smoothly.
The room, filled with the smell of books, paper, and ink, was quiet.
Alisha was asleep.
Reikart, seeing her face asleep in the bed, stopped for the first time since leaving his room.
The pain of his whole body burning, the pain of being stabbed by thousands of knives, the cold skin that contradicted the burning sensation.
Even while gasping for breath in the immeasurable pain, he could not reach out to the bed.
But he couldn't go back either.
"..."
Alisha felt a presence in her sleep and opened her eyes.
But her sleepy eyes soon closed again.
Alisha, who was about to fall back asleep, realized the open door that she had seen in her closing vision and raised her body.
Alisha, who had raised her body defenselessly, was surprised to see under the bed.
"Your Highness?"
Reikart, with a pale face, was kneeling on the floor next to the bed.
His whole body was wet as if he had been rained on.
"Alisha, your hand..."
Reikart pleaded, exhaling a breath filled with pain and suffering.
The man had come to the side of the bed, but he remained far away from the head of the bed.
"Your Highness."
Alisha, flustered, went down from the bed at the pitiful request and took the hand that was reaching out to her.
As soon as their hands touched, Reikart let out a long breath.
His face, with the suffering somewhat gone, looked at Alisha.
Alisha, seeing her reflection in the amber eyes that were trembling uneasily, held the man's hand even more tightly.
"Don't let go of my hand."
The earnest words were puzzling.
"..."
Alisha nodded.
It was difficult to take her eyes off the face that was fixed on her.
She couldn't think of what to say at all.
She had the illusion that she couldn't do anything.
"I'm sorry."
Reikart apologized politely.
"Your Highness."
Alisha was embarrassed by the very existence of the man who had suddenly come in the middle of the night.
She wanted to ask what was going on.
"Don't let go of my hand."
Reikart whispered in a desperate voice.
He looked like he would cry soon if she let go of his hand.
Alisha nodded again.
The man always tried to keep a certain distance from her.
She felt like she could say a mean word to such a person's desperate request, but she couldn't.
She had no energy to think of refusal or nonsense at the words that rang out so desperately.
Reikart, relieved to see Alisha's nod, smiled faintly.
He let out a sigh full of fatigue and slowly collapsed onto Alisha.
"Yo, Your Highness...?"
Alisha did not let go of his hand and caught the man who was pouring down on her with her whole body.
The cold body did not move on top of Alisha.
The heartbeat spread out from the cold, frozen body and beat against Alisha's ears.
Alisha remained still for a long time, listening to the throbbing sound.
Reikart regretted the moment he opened his eyes. At the same time, he did not regret it.
The pain before his eyes was too terrible to simply regret it.
On the other hand, the comfort that Alisha's hand gave was too sweet.
The sun shone through the window as the day dawned.
The ceiling visible in the open view was a stylishly designed wooden pattern.
The Tech House was built in preparation for the Grand Duchess to give birth to an heir.
From the beginning of the mansion, it was decorated with bright paintings.
Most of the ceiling was decorated with luxurious flowers or sky paintings, making it a place where splendor stood out.
The only place with such a simple wooden ceiling was the study.
"..."
Reikart realized that he was lying on the long sofa bench in the study.
Alisha's room was the deepest part of the second floor, and the study was in the corner of the first floor, so it was surprising that he had been moved here, but it was not impossible.
He could easily imagine Alisha lightly carrying him on her shoulder and coming to the study.
His betrothed was a brave lady.
Reikart savored the quietness in his head.
He let time flow by, enjoying the peace a little more, a little more, in this unbelievable reality.
This moment felt like a lie.
It was the first time that the terrible pain that had been tormenting him since he was 14 years old had been completely suppressed.
Reikart turned his face to find Alisha.
Alisha was sitting next to the bench, holding Reikart's hand tightly, and was asleep.
His kind betrothed was even diligent.
All the fireplaces in the study were lit.
