5 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
Alisha and Marinne, the Marchioness's dinner appointment was canceled.
After telling Alisha to trust her, the Marchioness went straight to the Head of the family.
What kind of conversation took place in the Marquis's study was unknown.
The Marquis issued a South Manor entry ban to Marinne, the Marchioness.
The Marquis had issued the same order to Marinne, the Marchioness before.
The reason Alisha couldn't meet Marinne, the Marchioness until she was six years old was due to the Head of the family's order.
The Head of the family, who had banned Marinne, the Marchioness from entering the South Manor, summoned his two sons and Alisha to his office.
Since the Head of the family was a busy man, Alisha ended up waiting with her half-brothers in the reception room next to the office.
"Young lady."
"Thank you, Marsha. Please add plenty of milk and sugar."
"Yes, I will prepare it for you."
Alisha always drank it the way she was given.
Otherwise, she would just nod, agreeing to whatever was offered first, but today, Alisha specified exactly what kind of tea she wanted.
Not only that, but she even asked Marsha, who had brought the tea, for more things she needed.
A smooth voice echoed from across the table.
"Milk and sugar in tea. You're still young, Alisha."
Alisha's face, which had been looking at the teacup with milk and sugar added with satisfaction, turned cold.
It wasn't a particularly malicious remark.
It wasn't picking a fight, and she knew the other person wasn't a bad person.
But it was a subtly unpleasant way of speaking.
Harry tried to cover up Alisha's noticeably stiff expression with a sly smile.
"Nineteen is young. I guess you think twenty-one and twenty-four are old."
Alisha said, throwing a stern look at Harry and Felix.
Harry's face, who had been trying to defuse the awkward atmosphere with a laugh at the unexpected reaction, hardened slightly.
Felix, who had been silent, hurriedly put down his teacup.
"I didn't say anything."
"I assumed you agreed since you were silent. Do you think twenty-four is young?"
Alisha looked at her half-brothers with a gaze that seemed to imply, 'You guys are really old.'
It also seemed like she was saying, 'You guys are just young punks.'
It was difficult to know what words were contained in her gaze.
Only the emotion of disdain was clearly visible in her purple eyes.
"Twenty-four is plenty young."
Felix said sternly, picking up his teacup.
"Twenty-four is old enough. For a woman, twenty-four is past the marriageable age. For a man, just a year or two more and he's gone..."
Alisha, who had unintentionally been pushed back to marriage at twenty-four and had a past of wanting to avoid marriage before suddenly falling into hell, sent a firm gaze.
Harry stopped talking at the cold stare.
"Twenty-one is old then."
Alisha said. It was a concluding tone.
She had a smiling face, but for some reason, it looked like she was cursing.
"Alisha, why are you so sensitive today?"
"Sensitive? Are you insulting me right now?"
"No, I said you were sensitive. When did I say anything insulting?"
"The word 'sensitive' sounded negative. Isn't it?"
"I was just stating my opinion. Why are you twisting it?"
Harry said with a bright smile, trying to be playful.
"Brother, you're being very sensitive today. You're commenting on every single thing I say. You seem really sensitive."
Alisha retorted with a face that seemed to be asking, 'You said being sensitive isn't an insult, right?'
"...I'm sorry."
"You're apologizing so suddenly, it seems like I hurt you, brother."
"Hurt? No, let's just get along."
Harry strongly denied it.
"Are we not getting along?"
At Alisha's words, Harry gave Felix a look, signaling him to do something.
"Actually, we're not that close."
Felix said nonchalantly, shattering Harry's expectations.
"You're really not helping."
"You're the same. Hmm, well. As for our relationship, we can just get along from now on."
Felix grumbled at Harry and then smiled at Alisha.
Considering his personality, which rarely smiled, it was a very proactive attitude.
"Right. Come to think of it, according to tradition, you're the next Small Council member."
Harry, who had been looking at Felix with dissatisfaction, quickly put on a smooth expression.
The tradition of the North wasn't a one-person system with the Head of the family, but rather, the family members involved in the family's affairs had the right to speak and offer opinions on how to proceed with matters.
It was only since the current Head of the family became the Marquis that it had become closer to a one-person system with the Head of the family.
Even before, the family members had the right to speak, but making decisions and taking responsibility was the Head of the family's responsibility.
"Felix. Please tell me honestly. How far has the Head of the family progressed with the engagement with the Barker family?"
If there were no major changes, Felix would become the next Marquis.
He was currently preparing to take over the family business by the side of the Head of the family, so he knew the Head of the family's intentions and the status of the decisions being made.
"The discussion with Count Barker's family is finished. All that's left is the Imperial Family's permission and announcement. Has your mind changed?"
After hesitating for a moment, Felix spoke honestly as Alisha had requested.
"Actually, I never had any intention from the start. The stage that the Head of the family and my brothers prepared was so obvious that I noticed it as soon as I saw it. You guys were too insincere. The men that my family mentioned at my mother's Tea Party appeared in front of me one after another by chance. I figured I'd be decided on among them, so there was no point in me doing anything. Thank you for your honest answer today, brother."
Alisha leaned her upper body towards the tea table and whispered in a lowered voice.
After finishing her words, Alisha stood up.
She had come to the reception room by the Head of the family's order.
"Alisha?"
Harry called out to Alisha, who was trying to leave the tea table.
Hearing his voice, Marsha approached Alisha, who was about to leave.
"Young lady."
"Marsha. Tell the Head of the family that I suddenly don't feel well and won't be able to see him. The tea was good. Brothers, please give my regards to mother for me."
Alisha opened the door to the reception room and left the room without waiting for the servant.
The door closed with a thud.
"...Did she look sick?"
Harry, who had been blankly watching the closing door, looked at Felix and asked.
"No. She just seemed very different from usual."
"Right, did you hear? She called us brothers. I feel like I finally have a sister now. It's the first time I've seen Alisha talk so much."
"I wish you would talk less."
"Oh, Felix. Where are you going?"
"Our sister asked us to give her regards to mother for her. The Head of the family must have been in a bad mood and made his children feel uncomfortable by having them wait in the reception room, so this is enough to show respect. Are you going to stay here?"
Felix stood up and straightened his clothes.
"Look at him trying to drag me in because he's uncomfortable leaving alone."
"Just stop talking."
"Everyone likes it when I talk."
Harry expressed his frustration with his whole body.
He lamented why he had suddenly become an outcast.
"Young masters."
Marsha, who had been watching the two, approached them.
"The tea was good, Marsha. Tell the Head of the family that I left because he seemed busy. Only if he asks, though. There's no need to say anything if he doesn't ask. Felix said he probably won't be looking for me. Do you also dislike it when I talk, Marsha?"
Harry chattered quickly with a face armed with a smile.
"No, sir. If he happens to look for you, I will tell him as you instructed."
"See? Marsha doesn't dislike it when I talk. Right?"
Harry continued to chatter until he left the door.
Marsha supported Harry with a faint smile.
Felix, who had gone ahead of the two, shuddered at the voice clinging to the back of his neck and left the reception room.
Alisha, who had returned to her room in the South Manor, dismissed the servants.
After clearing the surroundings, Alisha headed to the study in the same clothes she had worn to meet the Head of the family.
"Starting with the first engagement."
The first engagement was the starting point that had twisted everything.
A fiancé embroiled in a scandal with a married woman was absurd.
If it were now, she would have hit the guy who said to proceed with the marriage as planned over the head with a hammer and ended the story, but she couldn't do that back then.
She couldn't let the engagement proceed as it was.
An engagement that had obtained the Imperial Family's permission and was announced by both families had power equivalent to a marriage vow.
"The Imperial Family, huh."
Alisha, who had been wandering around the bookshelf in uncomfortable clothes, went to the desk and sat down.
"Will it work?"
Alisha chose a white envelope decorated with lace.
She also chose paper with an ornate border.
While waiting for the quill to absorb the ink, she organized the complex thoughts floating in her head.
Alisha, holding the quill that had absorbed plenty of ink, wrote the letter without a single pause.
[To His Excellency, the Grand Duke.
I extend my congratulations on Your Excellency's first engagement.
While offering my congratulations, I would like to offer a word of humble concern.
I have heard through rumors that the noble lady of Graitz, who will become Your Excellency's blessed fiancée, is an extremely delicate person.
I offer these words out of concern for the health of the noble lady of Graitz's fragile body, so please be generous in your understanding.
If you have any words you wish to share with a mere wanderer, I humbly request that you grant me the glorious opportunity.
It is said that the Dolore Seven Rocks, where the west wind lingers, are spiritually powerful.
On the day autumn ends.
Sincerely, Sirius.]
The shining white outer envelope decorated with lace was extravagant.
The paper on which the contents were written was also high-quality paper that even nobles could not easily use.
The most problematic thing about the overly extravagant letter was the content.
"What is this letter?"
The man holding the letter said, unable to take his eyes off the bizarre content.
Two people were standing beyond the man's desk.
One was a middle-aged man with a gentle impression, and the other was a young man wearing an officer's uniform.
"Your Highness."
Henrik, the butler who managed the Tessen Grand Duke Residence, paused his benevolent face for a moment.
"Your Highness, this is not something to simply dismiss."
It was because the Grand Duke's quick-tempered aide had interrupted without waiting for Henrik's words again today.
"Rosa."
"Please call me Roderick, Henrik. Your Highness, according to what I have learned before reporting at Henrik's recommendation, it seems that this is not just a congratulatory card that can be dismissed as a mistake. Henrik also agreed. Henrik, please speak."
Roderick's words prompted Henrik to try to speak again.
"Does that mean that everything said by this Sirius, who could be a con artist or a royal family impersonator, is all true? Not just a con artist or a royal family impersonator who spreads the royal family's private life without permission, but a royal family blackmailer? What on earth is he? Is he even a high-ranking archivist at the Great Temple? I feel like my tongue will twist just reading this letter?"
The Grand Duke's words deprived Henrik of another opportunity to speak.
"Your Highness."
Henrik only offered a call filled with regret, feeling sorry for his master's attitude of being displeased with the luxurious letter.
"I am sorry. I have not yet been able to find out that far. If you give me time, I will definitely..."
Roderick unintentionally cut off Henrik's words again and reported to the Grand Duke.
As Roderick was about to make a pledge, the Grand Duke waved his hand to cut him off.
