7 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
The Duke's Bride is a Warrior of Hell 7
Reikart broke the silence.
Knock, knock, knock.
The carriage wall resounded violently once more.
"Aren't you getting out?"
Reikart said, pulling his horse away from the carriage.
Alisha, as if suddenly awakened from a dream, withdrew her vacant gaze.
"Get out. Your Highness, about our marri—"
Alisha, raising her slumped body, tried to speak again to the face visible through the narrow window.
It was strange that the other party didn't respond when she had conveyed such an important message.
Perhaps he hadn't heard, so she spoke a little more slowly this time.
"Get out."
Reikart said curtly, straightening up from where he had been leaning into the carriage window.
The beautiful face that had been visible through the narrow window disappeared, and only his well-proportioned upper body remained.
Even that vanished with the sound of hooves.
"Marriage... Didn't he hear? Thirty isn't an age to be hard of hearing."
Alisha muttered to herself and lowered the window she had raised.
It wasn't quite winter yet, but the weather wasn't as pleasant as spring.
She laid Daisy, who had been lying by the carriage door, directly on the seat and placed a cushion under her head.
She also carefully wrapped the poison needle that had fallen under the opposite seat in a handkerchief and kept it safe.
After tidying up the inside of the carriage, Alisha opened the door and stepped outside, pausing for a moment.
The coachman was lying comfortably on the driver's seat.
The reins he should have been holding were neatly arranged to one side.
A bundle of fresh grass had been placed in front of the four horses, presumably by someone.
The four horses, enjoying the taste of the grass, didn't even pay attention to Alisha.
They weren't particularly friendly, anyway.
Alisha felt a strange sense of disappointment and turned her gaze away.
The knights who should have been guarding the carriage and their horses were by a large tree.
The knights were asleep, leaning against the tree, and the horses were tethered to it.
There was a grassy area around the tree, and the horses were leisurely grazing, neighing softly.
It seemed they had deliberately chosen a spot where the horses could easily eat grass.
It was a kind and thorough arrangement.
The distance from the carriage to the tree where the knights were was quite far.
In front of the tree where the sleeping knights had been placed stood a company of knights holding flags embroidered with the Tessen crest.
There weren't many of them.
But they were all armed cavalry.
The figure at the very front of the knights saluted Alisha as she got out of the carriage.
Alisha didn't react.
With the clatter of hooves, a long shadow fell over Alisha.
"They merely dozed off for a moment."
Reikart said, dismounting from his horse.
The man, who had seemed tall while on horseback, still appeared robust even after dismounting.
Considering his status and position, the Alisha of the past, with her weak nerves, might have taken hesitant steps backward.
It wasn't strange to remember her first impression of the man as immense.
Alisha saluted Reikart as he dismounted.
"I formally greet you, Your Highness. I am Alicia Lane. As you may already know, I am Sirius, who sent you a letter without your permission. I am honored that you have granted me an audience. Will you accompany me to see the Dolore Seven Rocks Ruins?"
As he listened to Alisha's words, Reikart removed the gloves he was wearing.
"Is that a question I can refuse?"
It was a sarcastic remark, questioning why she was presenting it as an offer after summoning him all the way here.
"Have you already been to the Dolore Ruins? I apologize, but if you would wait here for a moment, I will quickly go and take a look before returning. As you may surmise, I requested to see you because I have something to say to you. Just a moment here..."
Alisha replied to the royal with a seemingly easygoing attitude.
"Let's go."
Reikart didn't listen to all of Alisha's generous words.
Alisha's response to his sarcastic remark was completely unexpected.
He had expected her to be apologetic and subservient, but instead, Alisha was saying that he didn't have to go if he didn't want to.
Then, she boldly asked him to wait for a moment.
There wasn't enough basis to get angry at her rudeness, but there was something unsettling about her attitude that he couldn't simply ignore.
Anyone who flaunted their royal status would have been angry at her impudence, but Reikart didn't want to be that kind of person.
He strode ahead without considering the lady's discomfort with her long dress.
The Dolore Ruins were on a hillside.
Noble young ladies usually received assistance from servants even when descending the stairs of their own homes, let alone walking on rough paths.
So, he expected the distance between them to widen after only a few steps.
"Has Your Highness ever been to the Dolore Ruins before?"
Lady Reine, whom he had expected to stop after a few steps and ask for help, was walking briskly in her long skirt.
"It's my first time. And you, Lady?"
Reikart slowed down slightly, watching Alisha walk at a steady pace.
"It's my first time as well. I've been to the Great Temple, but not to the ruins. The Dolore Seven Rocks were originally a sundial, I hear. From morning to evening, it's the time of the living, and at night, it's the time of the dead. They say that during the hours when the sun is up, no non-human can enter the ruins."
"It is known that humans should not enter the ruins at night, but they are merely large stones."
"The Great Temple wouldn't like to hear you say that."
"The people who come to wish upon the first sunrise of the new year are a major source of income for the Great Temple. Perhaps it's their main source of income."
The path to the ruins was much steeper.
It wasn't a good place to walk in a dress.
"The Great Temple wouldn't like to hear you say that either."
Reikart slowed his pace a little more.
Nevertheless, the distance between him and Alisha remained constant.
He stopped walking.
Alisha stopped walking as well.
"Should I call you Sirius? Or Lady Alisha?"
"We're not in a position where we need to decide on a special title, are we? I think this is it. Excuse me for a moment."
Alisha averted her gaze from the face that kept drawing her attention and tried to focus on the massive ruins.
Large rocks, as tall as a person, were arranged in a circle on the flat ground.
Walking under the sunlight of the new year on New Year's Day was one of the customs of the Dolore Ruins.
It wasn't New Year's Day now, so the ruins were quiet.
Ever since returning from hell, Alisha had been questioning her own existence.
Was she perhaps not human? Was something wrong with her?
As the Duke said, the stories passed down about the Dolore Ruins were merely superstition, and she wouldn't be able to distinguish between human and non-human by walking inside the large sundial.
She knew they were just large stones, but her feet were tense as she stepped into the ruins.
Alisha, realizing that nothing was happening as she entered the ruins, burst into a long laugh.
It wasn't a cynical feeling of 'it's nothing special,' but rather a relieved 'thank goodness,' even though she had expected it.
Reikart, with a slight frown, was watching Alisha laugh inside the ruins.
Rustle, rustle.
As she went deeper into the ruins, an unpleasant sound, like insects eating leaves, grew louder, causing a tingling sensation in her head.
She thought she had gotten used to it by now, but it was hard to bear when the sound was amplified.
He suppressed the urge to touch his forehead and stepped into the ruins.
Alisha, who had entered the 6 o'clock direction of the sundial, waved to Reikart as she headed towards the 9 o'clock direction, where only the rubble of broken rocks remained.
He had heard that the girl born into the Rein Marquis family almost 200 years was shy.
In the past, the Alisha he had glimpsed seemed not only passive but always frightened.
But now, the smiling face that called herself Sirius and sent him letters was far from shy.
Her attitude of calmly accepting his words, as much as the letters that seemed to twist the tongue when read aloud, was also strange.
He recalled the sudden proposal Alisha had made in the carriage earlier.
"Lady Reine."
"Alisha is enough."
Reikart ignored both the absurd proposal floating in his head and the ominous sound gnawing at his mind.
"Don't we have something to say to each other, Lady Alisha?"
"I have a request to make of Your Highness."
"How did you find out about the imperial marriage? Who sent you to me? Whose bizarre taste in stationery is that?"
Reikart bombarded her with questions in response to Alisha's short words.
"I learned about the imperial marriage. It's my 'special' ability. I chose Your Highness as the suitable person. If I had to answer who sent me, that someone would be me. Isn't the stationery suitable for a wedding congratulation card, chosen to be splendid and beautiful?"
Reikart frowned deeply.
"Special what?"
"A special ability. Your Highness, please marry me. Then I will give you four prophecies a year."
Reikart's expression became even more menacing.
"Not that again..."
Alisha realized from the man's grumbling that he hadn't missed what she had said earlier, but rather ignored it.
With a face that said he had heard all sorts of nonsense, Reikart turned and left the ruins.
He had left the ruins, but the amplified sound didn't subside easily.
In fact, it seemed to be getting worse.
He stopped and covered his head with his hands.
"Your Highness?"
Alisha followed Reikart out of the ruins.
One could not speak to a member of the imperial family before they spoke first, nor could one touch them without permission.
But she couldn't leave someone who looked like they were about to collapse.
The moment Alisha grabbed Reikart's hand, the terrible sound that had been filling his head stopped abruptly.
"...!"
Reikart stopped moving, experiencing true silence for the first time in a long time.
He felt a sense of comfort in the unfamiliar silence, but only for a moment.
He pulled his hand away from Alisha's.
The unpleasant noise returned to his mind.
It was as if the silence from before had been a lie.
"Your Highness, are you alright?"
Alisha grabbed Reikart again, who was frowning deeply.
Then the ominous noise disappeared.
"What are you..."
Reikart looked at Alisha with a wary expression.
"Yes?"
Alisha wondered if his amber eyes had somehow recognized her secret, and she nervously looked away, feeling guilty for no reason.
Suspicious eyes scanned Alisha from head to toe.
Feeling threatened by his gaze, Alisha tried to let go of the man's hand and step back.
A large hand firmly grasped the hand that was trying to escape.
"What do you want to do with me?"
"Marriage... I will give you four prophecies a year..."
Reikart slowly released Alisha's hand that he had been holding.
"How can I believe those prophecies?"
Alisha's voice slowed down as she saw the man's face contorting.
Reikart gave up on what he was about to say and shook his head.
"Wait a moment."
The man sat down on a bench with a hardened expression.
Alisha hesitated for a moment, but gave up her thoughts at the gaze directed at her and sat down at the end of the bench.
Unlike when she saw him in the carriage, he didn't look well.
