4 - The Duke's Bride is a Warrior from Hell
The Grand Duke's Bride is a Warrior from Hell 4
Alisha had spent nine years there.
For Daisy, today would be just another ordinary day.
It would merely consist of opening the door to check on the lady she served in the morning, but for Alisha, it was a reunion after nine years.
Suddenly, she wondered.
What had become of this place during the nine years she spent in hell?
How old was she now, anyway?
The stifling and complicated reality that surrounded her before she fell into hell came to mind.
The Grand Duke wouldn't have left the family alone after the promised bride disappeared.
However, even though the family was said to be struggling, the surrounding scenery was no different from the last time she saw it.
No, rather…
Daisy, who had opened the door and walked inside, offered a greeting.
Daisy stood precisely in the space between the door and the console.
She placed her right hand over her left, neatly near her navel, bent slightly at the waist, and then straightened up.
Whether Alisha was in front of her, still lying in bed, or by the window, Daisy, who regarded rules as absolute truth, always gave her morning greeting in the prescribed place, as she had been taught.
With her gaze lowered, she spoke calmly and respectfully.
"Good morning, Lady Alisha. Did you sleep well?"
Whether Alisha answered or not, Daisy, having finished her greeting, would now proceed to tidy the bed.
"……."
Alisha approached Daisy, making a soft tapping sound, heading towards Daisy, whose next destination was clear.
Alisha stood in front of Daisy and stared intently at her face.
Daisy wasn't the type to make jokes at Alisha for acting differently than usual, but she also wasn't the type to ignore someone who had come right up to her.
"……."
A maid's daily routine was packed.
If she didn't follow the set schedule, her bedtime could be pushed back by an hour or two.
Before that, if she failed to meet the intermediate schedule times, she would be summoned by the head maid, scolded until tears streamed down her face, and have her pay docked.
Precious time was flowing by in awkward silence.
Daisy tried not to look directly at the person staring intently at her face.
A maid should be like air, present but unnoticed, by her master's side.
A maid who made movements outside of her prescribed actions was not proper.
"……."
But Daisy couldn't help but glance at the face that seemed to be piercing her cheek with its gaze.
It was the first time she had been looked at so intensely by violet eyes.
Daisy wondered if she had accidentally gotten something on her face, but she couldn't move rashly.
"Is something the matter, Lady?"
"Uh…"
The lady Daisy served rarely spoke.
She didn't express her desires, which sometimes made it difficult to attend to her.
But she never suddenly resorted to violence or acted violently, so the frustration was not a problem.
"Is something the matter?"
Daisy tried hard not to show her bewilderment.
Alisha's intense gaze gradually became vacant.
"Daisy. How old are you now?"
She thought there would be no more surprises.
But as she sensed that something was mixed up, her thoughts seemed to freeze.
Alisha racked her brain, which wasn't working well.
"Are you asking about my age? After autumn, I will be 24 years old. Why do you ask, Lady? ……Lady?!"
Alisha blinked her eyes several times as if her soul had left her body.
Daisy was five years older than Alisha.
That meant Alisha was currently 19 years old.
"I'm… 19 years old…"
Alisha was 27 years old in her last memory here.
She had been spending her time in hell for nine years.
There was a four-month time difference between there and here.
Alisha, who had been frozen, staggered backward.
Daisy quickly grabbed her swaying body.
Excluding the time she had fallen into the abyss, she had roughly gone back to the time before she had stayed in hell.
Her head was buzzing with complicated thoughts.
Alisha, who was leaning on Daisy for support, turned her body and looked at the full-length mirror.
There was her 19-year-old self.
Perhaps because of too much thinking, her head felt empty, and strength drained from her fingertips.
As Alisha's body lost its balance, Daisy supported her and called for help.
"Lady Alisha!"
Alisha heard the sound brushing past her ears and willingly accepted the blurring vision before her.
She didn't want to force herself to come to her senses.
It seemed better to give her head, which was struggling with excessive thoughts, a rest.
Above all, she had suffered for the past nine years, having her arms and ankles eaten whole, so she thought it would be okay to rest a little.
"19 years old."
Alisha mumbled softly and fell into sleep.
What woke Alisha was a noblewoman's delicate voice.
The sound was not clear.
The sound echoed as if she had her ears submerged in deep water.
"……Alisha is……."
Even though the sound was unclear, Alisha knew exactly who was saying her name.
Alisha frowned as she felt a soft hand touching her forehead as she slept, trying to wake up.
It had been a long time since she had such a peaceful sleep.
Perhaps because she didn't want to wake up from her sweet sleep, her eyes wouldn't open easily.
Her eyelids kept trying to close.
"Lady?"
When Alisha opened her eyes, Daisy was the first to greet her.
Alisha felt the soft woman's hand, which had been touching her forehead, slowly retreat as she woke up.
Beyond the neatly drawn canopy of the bed, the Marchioness's head maid and maids were standing in attendance.
Next to them, the maids and servants from the South Manor were also lined up.
Daisy, who was holding a basin of water, gestured to Annie.
She handed the basin to Annie, and an elegant hand stopped Daisy, who was about to come to Alisha's side.
"Are you awake?"
"Yes…"
Alisha, seeing Daisy's troubled face, wiped her eyes with her hand.
As Alisha rubbed her eyes, a slender arm reached out and tried to help her up.
The former Alisha would have been flustered and not known what to do.
The only Marchioness in the North.
Marinne, the Marchioness Reine.
Marinne Alexandra Ernst Reine.
As a child, Alisha always felt guilty towards the Marchioness.
The current Head of the family was known for his promiscuous affairs since he was a Baronet, perhaps because he was the family's rare only son.
Even after marrying the Marchioness, his bad habits did not improve.
Alisha had no memory of her biological mother, but she knew her situation exactly.
Until she was six years old, she lived only with nannies in the South Manor.
Alisha could not forget her first impression of the Marchioness.
The woman, whose waist seemed no wider than a handful, subdued the knights who tried to stop her with a smiling face, threw the Head of the family, who had rushed over, to the ground, and ran into the South Manor.
After elegantly sweeping back her disheveled hair from arguing with the Head of the family, she smiled like an angel at Alisha, who was holding a wooden ball with a flower painted on it.
'Hello. I'm your mother.'
Alisha knew about the Marchioness early on thanks to her talkative nannies.
She had been taught to greet the Marchioness with 'Greetings to the Marchioness' when she met her.
That day, Alisha quickly hid behind the nanny's skirt and couldn't say a word despite the urging from those around her to greet her.
"Did you sleep well?"
The Marchioness helped Alisha get up and handed her a glass of water.
She seemed pleased that Alisha had not avoided her help and gave a faint smile.
"Yes. Thank you."
Daisy and Annie, who was holding the basin of water, were watching the mother and daughter's conversation with anxious faces.
They were relieved that Alisha was unusually able to continue the conversation with the Marchioness without stammering today, but they were also puzzled.
Alisha, who used to make the other person and the people watching even more uncomfortable with the most uncomfortable expression in the world, was speaking smoothly, albeit briefly.
What's wrong with our Lady?
"Alisha."
At the Marchioness's call, Alisha lowered the glass of water she had been holding to her lips.
In the past, Alisha continued to have an awkward relationship with the Marchioness until she was over twenty.
In front of the Marchioness, Alisha felt guilty, ashamed of her biological mother's existence, did not trust the Marchioness who tried to be kind to her, and felt sorry for her.
"Mother."
Even after she became a little closer to the Marchioness, she couldn't easily change her title.
She couldn't dare to call her that.
The words that lingered in her mouth because she didn't have the courage were only conveyed in letters.
One of the things Alisha regretted after suddenly falling into hell was not having called her mother directly.
She still thought that it was an undeserved call for an illegitimate relationship, but some sociable friends even called their friends' mothers 'Mother' just fine.
So, she thought it would be okay to be a little greedy.
Silence fell in the spacious room.
The Marchioness, who had been smiling at Alisha, had a surprised look on her face as if she had been struck by lightning.
She had two sons who called her mother every day.
Seeing the Marchioness's face trying to regain her composure and trying to smile, Alisha thought that she had done well to call her, even though she was terribly embarrassed and ashamed.
Her face felt as hot as if it were burning, so she thought it must be flushed red.
"……Yes. Do you need anything more……."
The Marchioness, who was about to continue speaking, turned around and covered her eyes with her hand before lowering it.
The Marchioness, who turned around again, wore a bright smile.
"Just one more glass of water, Mother."
Alisha pretended not to notice her burning cheeks and held out the glass of water she was holding to the side.
"Of course, I should. Have you been tired lately? Alisha. I heard you collapsed and rushed over. I was worried. If you have any difficulties, tell your, Mom."
The Marchioness quickly chattered as she refilled the glass with water and handed it over.
Uncharacteristically of the Marchioness, her words jumped around.
It was refreshing to see the woman who could scold the butler with just a word without even frowning once flustered.
"Mother."
"Yes, did you call me?"
"Has my betrothed been decided as Gregory of the Barker family?"
"You're still young, Alisha."
The Marchioness hesitated as she spoke, wondering whether to overlap her hand with Alisha's.
Alisha carefully took the Marchioness's hand, which was approaching.
In the past, the Marchioness had not said a word about Alisha's betrothal.
When the Head of the family decided on Alisha's betrothal and gave the order, she would only invite her to her room and serve her a cup of tea, but she would not say anything.
Thinking about it now, it seemed that the invitation at that time was the Marchioness's consideration to hear Alisha's opinion.
She didn't know exactly what time it was now, but it seemed that the Head of the family had chosen the Barker family since he had Alisha make her debut in society.
Judging by how quickly the betrothal with Gregory had progressed, the remaining candidates were just spares.
Daisy's birthday had passed, and it wasn't hot outside, so it was probably the time when the opinions of both families had been coordinated.
It was difficult to overturn the engagement when only the announcement of the betrothal to the Imperial Family and the declaration to the world remained.
"I don't like Gregory, Mother."
"I didn't like it either. Leave it to me. ……Won't you have dinner with me tonight?"
The Marchioness, who was about to pat Alisha's shoulder and leave the room, chattered in a passing tone.
Perhaps because she felt awkward adding the last words so suddenly, the Marchioness gave an awkward smile.
Alisha offered polite words towards the awkward smile.
"Thank you for the invitation."
She wanted to give the confident smile that the Marchioness was showing, but smiling was a foreign concept to Alisha, both in the past and now.
