72 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
The Grand Duke's Bride is Warrior of Hell 72
"I'm okay. Alisha is okay too, right?"
Reikart said, his hair covered in dust.
"I'm fine..."
Alisha alternated between looking at the collapsed royal box and Reikart's nonchalant face, gasping for breath.
Her experience in hell had made Alisha bolder.
After returning from hell, she realized the environment had changed, so she was being more careful than before.
Reikart, on the other hand, threw himself around recklessly.
Even more so than Alisha.
Reikart dusted off his dusty hair a little more thoroughly and said,
"Sorry for startling you."
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I felt the railing breaking and grabbed onto the curtain. Sorry."
"You don't have to apologize to me. Just don't do it again."
"I won't. But..."
Reikart trailed off, looking at the hideously broken wreckage.
"You'll have to pay your respects to the Emperor."
"Yes, I suppose I will."
"I think I'd like Galler."
Reikart blinked blankly at Alisha's unexpected words.
Galler?
The Barony of Galler, one of Count Juma's vassal territories.
Galler was known for its fertile land, but it wasn't that important.
It was strange that someone who had destroyed the opera house would ask the Emperor for a territory.
Reikart didn't ask what she meant.
He couldn't imagine what the result would have been if the railing had broken with a little force while the Emperor and Empress were there.
"Will Galler be enough?"
"Galler is enough. I hear the peaches are delicious there."
It wasn't Galler, but the capital, Juma, that was famous for its delicious peaches.
Reikart didn't argue.
He seemed to understand something, but he didn't pretend to know.
"I'll take you to the carriage. I can't escort you all the way to Ludern. I have to go receive Galler."
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness."
Alisha politely expressed her gratitude at Reikart's words.
The Emperor's study was quiet.
There were even more books in the massive bookcase-like room.
There were more books stacked horizontally on top of the shelves than before, as they couldn't all fit in the bookcase.
The Emperor, with the imposing bookcase behind him, leisurely drank his tea.
"What did you say?"
Reikart, sitting across the Emperor's desk, also leisurely drank his tea.
"Your Majesty, the central royal box in the opera house has collapsed."
The chamberlain reported the terrible news with a gentle face.
"..."
Reikart just sipped his tea.
"When?"
The Emperor set down his teacup with a clatter.
"Immediately after the banquet."
The chamberlain said in a warm voice.
He didn't seem like someone who had been with the Emperor in the collapsed royal box.
"Reikart."
"Your Majesty, the entire railing section fell off. It's difficult to do with one person's strength in a short moment. Even if it were possible, wouldn't you have to cut through the marble like cutting tofu? The cut surface has traces of being old and broken for an unknown reason."
The chamberlain gently interjected at the Emperor's sharp call.
Reikart quietly put down his teacup.
"Did you call me?"
"How did you know?"
The Emperor asked, waving his hand to dismiss the chamberlain.
The chamberlain left the study with a smooth, fluid movement.
"Just because."
Reikart picked up his teacup again.
"Just because?"
"Let's just say I heard it."
The Emperor frowned at the suspicious words.
"What does that mean?"
"It wasn't me, Your Majesty."
"I know!"
The Emperor shouted at the face that was pretending to be nonchalant while drinking tea.
"How long are you going to keep grilling me?"
"Thank you, brother. You're the only one for me."
The Emperor was still creasing his beautiful face.
Reikart secretly grimaced at his brother, who had the strange ability to utter gentle words while frowning.
"Galler peaches are delicious, I hear."
The Emperor immediately understood Reikart's words.
He frowned, then looked puzzled, then suspicious, and finally said with a doubtful face.
"Who said that?"
"Everyone says so."
The Emperor stared at Reikart, who was acting suspiciously, for a long time.
It was common for Reikart to deal with accidents in this way.
But it was unexpected for him to demand a reward for something he had solved.
He would accept the reward well if the Emperor gave it to him as a token of appreciation, but he had never asked for it first.
Moreover, the place he wanted was so unexpected.
Also, Galler was one of the places he was paying attention to because there was a succession problem in the capital, Juma.
The Reikart the Emperor knew wasn't the type to worry about such things.
"If you want it, I'll give it to you. The Baron of Galler happens to be vacant, so I'll give it to my beloved brother. Thanks to you, we finished the Opera of the Night safely today."
"Thank you for Your Majesty's grace. Please send the patent of nobility and the seal to the Grand Duke's Residence."
"I will."
Reikart was about to step back, but turned around again.
"Brother, are you going to the Empress?"
"I have to."
"The person who told me that Galler peaches are delicious said that if Your Majesty didn't give me Galler today, you would definitely give it to me tomorrow, if not tomorrow, then the day after, if not the day after, then a week later, ten days later. They said I would definitely receive it within ten months. What does that mean?"
Alisha's words just before getting into the carriage had strangely stuck in his mind.
The Emperor stopped moving at Reikart's words.
"Didn't you understand?"
The Emperor, who had been completely still for a moment, jumped up and strode across the study.
"No, honestly, I don't... Your Majesty? Where are you going?"
The Emperor, who seemed about to run straight out, turned back and grabbed Reikart by the collar.
"Listen carefully, Reikart. Don't say what you just said anywhere or to anyone. Tell the real owner of Galler that I will forgive them even if they take Juma. I'm going to Eleanor."
The Emperor ran out of the study as if he would break down the door.
Once outside, he called out to the chamberlain in a loud voice.
Reikart, left alone in the Emperor's study, stood blankly.
Then he realized.
"A nephew...?"
The reason why the Emperor had no choice but to give Reikart a reward in the end.
A valid reason to give him what he wanted when he found out someday.
The certainty that he would definitely receive a reward within ten months.
The Empress was pregnant.
It was a joyous occasion for the Imperial Family, but there had been many accidents inside and outside the Imperial Palace recently.
The birth of another Imperial heir was something that should be widely publicized, but in the current situation, it was better to remain silent.
He understood why the Emperor had turned back and grabbed him by the collar after trying to storm out of the study.
He understood Alisha's consistently confident attitude.
He was amazed that the Emperor had immediately noticed what Alisha's words meant.
He was even more amazed by Alisha's consideration in saying that he could tell the Emperor what she had just said before getting into the carriage.
Court politics were still not for him.
Reikart shook off the chilling sensation and left the Imperial Palace.
Summer was approaching, and it was getting light early in the morning.
A bright blue dawn.
A knight on horseback came to Ludern.
The guards of Ludern Castle immediately let the knight, who had arrived in the early morning long before dawn, into the castle.
According to procedure, guests had to leave their vehicles outside and enter on a carriage provided by Ludern, but that was not possible.
The captain of the Ludern guard headed to the castle with the visitor.
"Lord!"
Alisha was awake early to go to the Zephyr Clan.
The preparations were just finishing.
"Who is it?"
Alisha turned away from the mirror at the voice calling from outside.
"I'll go see."
Daisy, who was helping with the preparations, left the dressing room.
Alisha re-examined the dress she was wearing today.
The dress had a cream-colored base with a light pink color subtly spreading like waves.
The cream color gave it a clean look, while the pink color eliminated the monotony.
When she moved, the colors rippled, making it look like waves were moving.
"Lady."
Daisy, who had left the room, returned almost immediately.
Daisy's face was pale.
"Daisy?"
"Lady, it's a knight sent by Marquis Rein's wife. It's ready, so please go to the next room. Quickly."
Daisy urged, opening the door connecting to the room next door.
Alisha was pushed into the next room.
"Lady Alisha."
As soon as Alisha entered the room, the knight, who was already kneeling on one knee and paying his respects, hurriedly opened his lips.
The knight who had come running from the Rein march's territory smelled of earth and cold wind.
"Has something happened to the Marchioness?"
Alisha forgot to show courtesy to the visitor and spoke.
"Marquis Rein has fallen from his horse. He fell badly and his time is running out. The damage to the entire left side of his body is so great that the doctor says there is no hope. There is not much time left, you must go quickly!"
The knight spat out the words quickly, despite his tired face.
"..."
Alisha felt like time had stopped for a moment.
The world was moving very slowly.
Only she was alive and moving, and everything around her seemed to have stopped for a moment.
In the frozen world, Alisha felt like she was the only one moving.
Alisha moved faster than ever.
But everything, even the air, felt heavy and hindered Alisha.
"Lady!"
Alisha stopped trying to sit on the chair and ran straight out of the room.
"Lady Alisha!"
"Lady!"
Voices calling Alisha poured in from behind and from the side.
Alisha ran without paying attention.
She went out the open door and down the stairs three or four steps at a time.
Her body, bound by time and earth, felt heavy.
She was moving with more urgency than ever, but she was not satisfied with her movements.
Alisha, who had rushed out of the castle in one breath, got on the horse that the captain of the guard had been riding.
Alisha, who had mounted the horse, left Ludern as it was.
Alisha rode the horse frantically.
Father, Marquis Rein's accident was not planned.
This shouldn't have happened.
But something that shouldn't have happened had happened.
Something was wrong.
People were raising their voices from all sides to stop Alisha, but Alisha did not stop.
She urged the horse to go faster, even a minute faster.
The cream-colored dress fluttered violently in the dawn wind.
"Lady Alisha! You can't go alone! Daisy, pack your bags and come to Reine! Send Sven to the Grand Duke's Residence! What about the messenger?"
Juan shouted, watching Alisha's back as she rushed out of Ludern like the wind.
"I'll follow you after changing horses!"
The messenger shouted back and asked the captain of the guard to give him a horse.
"I'll follow you right away!"
Daisy packed her bags and distributed tasks to the maids.
Liz woke Sven up, the messenger prepared a horse to change to, and quickly established the rules of conduct for the servants and maids in the absence of the lord.
Annie picked out Alisha's personal belongings to pack.
Juan ran to the stable, got on a horse, and left Ludern.
He set out with only minimal armament.
The sound of hooves pounding in his ears was fierce, but he couldn't pick up speed easily.
He was worried that Alisha was going too far ahead alone.
"Lady!"
Juan shouted, knowing that he was not within earshot.
The distance between Alisha and Juan was not narrowing.
Alisha looked like a small dot to Juan.
If it weren't for the fluttering cream-colored dress, he would have already lost track of Alisha's location.
Alisha, running frantically, had already arrived at the Baden border.