82 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
The Grand Duke's Bride is a Warrior from Hell 82
Roderick shook off his complicated feelings and replied,
"Yes, I will look into it carefully."
Reikart liked and respected his betrothed.
And as much as that feeling, he valued the logic of power that sought to control the nobles as a member of the Imperial Family.
"Leave."
At Reikart's command, Roderick bowed and withdrew.
As he left the Grand Duke's room and walked down the hallway to his own room, someone called out to him.
"Yo."
Looking towards the source of the sound, Roderick guessed the reason Reikart had dismissed him.
"Oh. How is it living in Reine?"
"It's fun. Compared to Tessen, this place is a land of peace."
Juan said with a smile.
"Isn't everywhere like that compared to Tessen?"
"Ah. That's right. I came to deliver the Lady's message, so I'll be going."
"Go on in."
Roderick raised his hand in greeting and watched Juan enter the Grand Duke's room.
The Imperial Family placed a guard knight next to their beloved betrothed to use as a spy.
Living as a member of the Imperial Family was tough.
"I don't know why, but I have a feeling it'll be useless."
Roderick muttered to himself without realizing it.
The walk that the new Marquis Rein, Felix Lane, and Grand Duke Tessen, Reikart, embarked on ended cleanly.
After the walk, Reikart gathered the Marquis Rein and his vassals and conveyed the Emperor's words.
"The Marquis Rein will have much to do to become the new Head of the family and lead the family. I believe that your oath of allegiance will continue from the previous generation. I hereby recognize Felix Henry Lane as the new Marquis Rein. The Marquis Rein shall come to the Imperial Palace in Imperial Capital Baden within a year and swear allegiance to me."
The gifts brought by Grand Duke Tessen and the Imperial delegation were exceedingly generous.
"I thank you for the Emperor's grace. I, Felix Henry Lane, shall obey the Imperial command."
Felix bowed towards Reikart, who was seated at the head of the table.
"We thank you for the Emperor's grace."
"We thank you for the Emperor's grace."
The vassals of the Marquis Rein family, standing behind Felix, lowered their bodies and raised their voices.
Everyone was in a slightly bewildered state.
The affairs of the territory were the affairs of the territory, and most prioritized the oath of allegiance between the Emperor and the nobles.
The Emperor's action of granting a grace period for the oath of allegiance possessed extraordinary generosity.
That also meant that the Emperor was confident in his imperial authority.
"Marquis Rein, I hope you will lead Reine well. Who among your vassals are you thinking of taking with you when you go to swear allegiance?"
Reikart came down from the head of the table and offered words of congratulations.
He added a question as if passing by.
"I will go with the Count of Echeveria, Alicia Lane."
"I look forward to being invited to the Marquis Rein's banquet."
"It would be a great honor for the Marquis Rein family if Your Highness the Grand Duke would accept the invitation."
Reikart and Felix exchanged words lightly.
Passing by Felix and leading Roderick outside, Reikart frowned.
"It seems the Marquis Rein is not ordinary, as Your Highness said."
Roderick said in a lowered voice.
Everyone was surprised by the sudden Imperial command.
In such a time, it was unusual to accurately give the answer the questioner wanted to hear in a casually thrown word.
"Dismiss the surroundings and have Alicia come."
At Reikart's whisper, Roderick naturally moved to a position that obscured the Grand Duke's face.
"Can you make it to your room?"
"Stand next to me."
Reikart's face was no different from when he was sitting at the head of the table.
Roderick stood next to Reikart and looked for the Grand Duke's knight with his eyes.
The guard knight on patrol made eye contact with Roderick.
"Go to Juan."
The knight moved immediately at Roderick's words.
No other words were needed.
If a messenger went to Juan and said that Roderick had sent him, Juan would take care of the rest.
Alicia was dividing the perfume to be sent as a sample.
The perfume from the luxurious perfume bottle was being poured little by little into plain bottles.
And much of the perfume flowed down the tilted, ornate bottle, soaking the desk.
It seemed that more was being spilled on the desk than was being transferred.
Daisy couldn't bear to watch the perfume, worth dozens of gold coins per drop, flowing down.
She understood that it was a necessary task, but Alicia's hasty gestures made her feel frustrated for some reason.
She wanted to offer to do it herself, but she hesitated to speak, thinking that Alicia would want to do it herself since it was an important task.
Alicia's hand moved boldly.
"Uh..."
Perfume poured out of the mouth of the rabbit bottle wearing the Black Pearl Crown.
About half of the perfume filling the bottle spilled onto the desk.
"Ah, Lady, shall I do it?"
Daisy hurriedly approached Alicia.
She couldn't stand back any longer.
She didn't forget to boldly wipe away the perfume, which was worth a fortune per drop.
Since she couldn't pick up the already spilled perfume, she had to let go of her attachment.
"Would you?"
Alicia quickly handed the perfume bottle and empty bottles to Daisy and stepped away from the chair.
Daisy carefully moved her hands, careful not to spill even a drop.
At that moment, Alicia, who had stepped aside, examined the items containing the scent.
Scented fans, scented pouches and decorations, and scented candles.
The items were difficult to cut and make into samples, so she decided to send them whole.
Alicia's gaze stopped at the largest and most luxurious of the scented candles.
The Imperial Golden Incense Candle.
A betrothal congratulatory gift sent by Duchess Belz.
After a long pause, Alicia drew her sword and cut the Golden Incense Candle in half.
The waist of the large and beautiful scented candle was sliced, making a snapping sound.
Daisy, who was carefully pouring perfume, glanced sideways.
She froze like a stone at the sight that entered her field of vision.
"..."
Duchess Belz's Golden Incense Candle was the most precious of the gifts Alicia had received as she became a member of the Imperial Family.
Its symbolism was incomparable to anything else.
Daisy momentarily froze as she watched the beautiful scented candle being cut in half as if it were folding.
Drip, drip, drip.
The sound of water dripping came from somewhere.
"Daisy, the perfume is spilling."
Alicia, who had cut the Golden Incense Candle in half, said lightly.
"Gasp!"
Daisy, who was always lacking in expression, let out a pitiful sound at the sight of the ten or so drops of perfume she had spilled.
Just as Alicia was about to offer words of comfort.
"Lady Alicia."
Juan's voice was heard from outside the door.
There was a hint of urgency in his voice.
"Clean up and go to Ruo, Daisy."
"Yes."
Alicia spoke to Daisy as she opened the door.
Daisy quickly tidied up the messily placed items.
"Your Highness..."
Juan spoke as soon as the door opened.
The face with which he spoke was anxiously distorted.
Just as Daisy was Alicia's old friend and family, Juan was Reikart's close friend and comrade.
She could tell without asking why his expression was not good.
Alicia left the room without hearing more.
"I'll go see. Juan, help Daisy here."
Alicia said briefly and ran.
As she left the South Manor and ran to where Reikart was, Alicia suddenly regretted it.
"Lady..."
The servants who recognized Alicia bowed, but she couldn't respond.
She wanted to cut down on even a single moment if she didn't want to regret it any more.
The area around Reikart's residence was quietly empty.
Alicia ran through the building she had looked around several times and headed straight for Reikart's room.
At the sound of the door clicking open, the man sitting on the sofa raised his face.
"Have you come?"
Reikart said with a calm face.
Soft fingers wrapped around his cheek as he was about to add the words, "You're fast."
A shadow fell over his lips, which were about to ask if she had run.
Alicia's lips, panting from running, touched Reikart's lips as she let out a ragged breath.
The soft lips that covered the lips that were about to whisper paused for a moment.
"......!"
Reikart also stopped.
He experienced what it meant for time to slow down for a moment, and then for time to stop.
The world was too quiet.
This kind of world was rare and special to him since he was 14 years old.
The surroundings were quiet, but Reikart's head was noisy.
It wasn't noisy with the unpleasant noise he always heard.
Reikart was able to hear the sound of his heart racing, having run from a distant place.
His head was ringing with the sound of his own heart beating even more violently.
The sound was so loud that Alicia seemed like she would hear his heartbeat.
In the silence, Alicia gently stepped back.
"...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that..."
Alicia, who had taken a step back, had a face that didn't quite know what she had just done.
"You don't have to apologize."
Reikart said with an expression that was difficult to read.
He was slightly out of his mind.
His head was strangely clear.
At the same time, his heart was beating so hard that his head was throbbing with pain from the blood rushing to it.
He got up without realizing it.
Alicia looked at Reikart, who had approached, defenselessly.
The face that was always amazing came close to Alicia's face.
Soon, lips touched lips.
A strange resonance spread through the purple eyes as if they were filling with water.
"I've said it many times, but I like you."
Reikart took a step back from Alicia and confessed.
"......"
Alicia's lips moved as if they were about to open, then closed.
Reikart did not add the whisper to go out with him, which he always added after confessing that he liked her.
He wasn't that much of a fool.
After a long silence, Alicia's lips hesitated and opened.
"Me too..."
Reikart was in a time that had stopped.
Rather than stopping, the moment was flowing so slowly that he could see everything.
The small movements of the lips fluttering and opening were meticulously piercing his gaze.
He could clearly see the subtle trembling of the purple eyes looking up at him.
He was saddened by the delicate vibration of the shoulders gently vibrating with the breath he exhaled.
It seemed that only the words conveyed by the warm voice were everything in the world.
Reikart, who had been still for a moment, smiled as he heard the sound of his own heart beating violently and Alicia's heartbeat.
His head was throbbing with the sound of his heart, but there was not a single piece of pain.
Alicia had never seen Reikart smile so brightly.
The face of the man spreading a bright smile came towards Alicia, who was lost in thought.
"Say it again."
There was a face spreading a smile right in front of Alicia's nose.
"...M-me too..."
Since returning from hell, Alicia had not been ashamed of stuttering or being embarrassed.
People could make mistakes or stutter.
She had become someone who could do what was necessary when she was worried about whether to speak or not.
She had come to clearly convey what she wanted to say.
Confession was something that the other person could not know unless it was made.
Perhaps Reikart could guess since he could hear all sounds if he wanted to.
But it was clearly different from hearing the confession from the person in question.
Alicia was going to confess.
But she was shy and overwhelmed, and her mouth wouldn't open.
So she took advantage of the other person's confession.
Even if it seemed cowardly, she wanted to convey her feelings.
She thought that if she could confess again, she would be able to say it properly.
"I like you too, Alicia."
Reikart confessed repeatedly with a bright smile.
He did not urge or force her.
Alicia regretted not confessing to Reikart as she ran here.
The future had changed and anything could happen.
So she was going to confess as soon as she saw his face.