84 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
“Already?”
“I thought I should ask my brother before I leave.”
Alisha usually called Felix by his name, ‘Felix.’
She addressed him as Marquis when she had a special request.
Recently, when Felix had achieved something significant, she called him Head of the family, or Head of the family-nim.
She almost never called him brother.
“What is it…?”
Felix was a little nervous.
There was a reason for the unusual address.
“Brother, don’t date the maids.”
Alisha said with a bright smile, in a tone that wasn't burdensome.
But her expression was a clear threat that she wouldn't let him get away with it if he did.
“…I, I’ve never done that… I’m not that kind of nobleman, Alisha.”
Felix was dumbfounded and felt wronged.
There were often noblemen who used their status to do dirty things, but he wasn't one of them.
Wasn't he?
Alisha scoffed inwardly.
Thinking about it again made her feel hopeless.
In the past, Felix, who had been pushed out of the line of succession, had been quiet for a while before suddenly becoming dissolute.
The end of his debauchery was a passionate affair with a married maid, causing chaos in the family.
It was impossible for him, who had almost become the heir to the Marquisate, to marry a maid.
The biggest problem was that the maid was married.
If Felix had been caught forcing an illicit relationship using his noble status, he would have been exiled from the family.
But when the relationship was discovered, the maid actively defended Felix, saying that she truly loved him.
Felix said that Lindsay was the only one who truly understood him.
The family was turned upside down.
There were many other things that drove them into further chaos, but she didn't want to think about them.
“No, I’m saying don’t date them.”
Alisha said without losing her gentle expression.
“…Okay.”
Felix didn't have much enthusiasm for dating.
He was always under pressure to continue the family line, so he didn't have the leisure to look elsewhere.
Alisha's request was even absurd to him.
“Don’t date married women either.”
“Ptoo!”
Felix, who was drinking tea, choked and coughed.
“Why don’t you answer, brother?”
“Al… cough, Alisha. I don’t do that.”
Felix really didn't miss dating.
It wasn't that he hadn't received confessions, and he had received quite a few handkerchiefs thrown his way.
But his top priority was to inherit the Marquisate.
“I’ll trust you.”
Alisha replied with a clear face.
Her face was overflowing with gentleness, but she looked ready to end him if he betrayed her trust.
That made it even scarier.
“I’ll do well.”
Alisha replied casually to Felix's resolution, as if she didn't believe him at all.
“They have a backer.”
Alisha said calmly, as if passing by.
Felix immediately understood who ‘they’ were.
Baron Miller and Viscount Brenel.
The vassals who betrayed Reine had a backer.
Felix had also suspected the existence of a backer, so he was watching the remaining Brenel family.
The Brenels did not react to the Millers' demise.
They showed little different movement than usual.
Rather, they actively acted as vassals of the Reine Marquisate, giving strength to the new Marquis, Felix.
It seemed that they already had a close communication network with the backer.
He was keeping an eye on the Viscount family, but there was no noticeable movement.
Alisha handed Felix a neatly folded note.
[7th Street, Wing Street.]
Felix, who had checked the contents of the note, was not greatly shaken.
He was surprised, but he didn't show it.
“So, are you going back to Baden?”
“That’s not the only reason.”
Alisha smiled ambiguously, anticipating the many things to come.
“Let’s see Mother often before you leave for Baden.”
“I’ve decided to go for a walk with Mother starting tomorrow. I’ll make time to meet with you too, brother. Oh, I want to sponsor Lord Elgin’s third son. It would be good if Reine could support him. Brother, write him a letter of recommendation for the Imperial Academy.”
Felix had many questions he wanted to ask, but he just nodded.
For some reason, he felt like he had to.
Alisha's 20th birthday passed quietly. Her family wanted to invite close friends to celebrate, but at Alisha's request, it passed as if nothing had happened.
The family and close friends, unable to resist Alisha's strong request, reluctantly left birthday presents as if they were carrying out a secret operation.
A birthday present also came from Reikart, who had left for Baden. Luxurious gifts, beautiful gift boxes, and colorful silk ribbons were the only things that indicated Alisha's birthday.
The fresh summer passed quietly, very quietly.
Alisha had decided to create the situation in the future, but she couldn't block everything in advance.
Judith was taking care of things on her own, but sometimes uninvited guests came.
The families of the former Grand Duchesses, who were aiming for the position of Grand Duchess Tessen, had not given up.
It wasn't like when she was in Tessen, or before she received Judith and the Croa Clan's help, when several teams came every day.
A few people would suddenly appear when she was about to forget about it.
But it was rare for assassins to infiltrate Reine.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing echoed in the darkness.
Alisha, who was in the glass greenhouse, sensed the presence and ran out into the Maze garden.
The assassins thought the garden was better than breaking the glass of the greenhouse, so they watched Alisha go out into the garden.
Two assassins with daggers rushed at her from the right at the same time.
The assassins were thrown into the trees of the Maze garden with a shock to their necks, without knowing why.
Alisha had taken a spear with her when she came out of the glass greenhouse, but the assassins who followed her didn't know that she had a weapon.
The archer who was lying in ambush lost his bow to a sudden blow to the face and fell under the tree.
The archer, who was trying to quickly get up after shaking off the impact on his face, reached out his arm to the bow that had fallen in front of him, but was hit in the back of the head by the spear shaft and lost consciousness.
Only the assassin who was following behind for backup realized that Alisha had a weapon.
The Marquis family's lady was holding a black, huge spear.
There were eight assassins in total.
All but the backup were first-class assassins.
As soon as the assassins revealed themselves, two were knocked out and the archer was taken care of.
Four first-class assassins rushed at Alisha at the same time.
Alisha took a step back and swung her spear.
The sound of the spear deflecting the thrown darts rang out, clang! clang!
At the same time, the assassins who had ambushed her fell backward like leaves swept away by the wind.
The backup sensed that the request had failed.
He quickly gave up and turned around.
It was a movement that completely silenced his footsteps, like an assassin.
But he couldn't even take three steps before falling forward with a loud thud!
As he fell, he felt a terrible dizziness.
It felt like he had been poisoned, rather than being attacked by a spear.
“These guests have no loyalty.”
Alisha slowly passed by the fallen assassin.
The night, which had been filled with intense sounds for a while, became quiet as if nothing had happened.
Alisha, who stopped in the Maze garden where only the sounds of insects were heard, spoke into the air.
“Ren.”
The dark shadow of the tree rippled.
“…Yes, Lady.”
The outline of a man who stepped out from the shadow of the tree answered after a short silence.
“Please clean this up.”
Alisha said lightly.
Judging by her tone, it sounded like a request to clean up an empty teacup.
“I will drug them and make them drug addicts before disposing of them. I have confirmed a facility in front of the last cliff where drug-addicted patients are confined.”
Ren offered politely.
“That’s great.”
Alisha praised Ren, tapped her back with the spear shaft, and walked out of the Maze garden as if taking a stroll.
The sound of the spear shaft tapping her delicate back was very cheerful.
“……”
It sounded like something a backstreet fencing instructor would make, but Ren didn't argue.
He visually checked the assassins hanging in various places in the Maze garden.
In Tessen, Alisha often smashed the assassins' hands, arms, or feet, but she didn't do that these days.
She ended it by neatly cutting their tendons.
The best guests in the industry would never be able to hold a sword again.
If Ren found an assassin whose tendons were not cut enough, he would cut off their hands or feet.
Alisha was kind to her guests, but he was not the type to carefully dispose of trash.
Ren collected the trash in leather bags, loaded them onto a carriage, and moved.
Inside a shabby warehouse that had been rented in advance, there was a hidden door leading to the basement.
Ren personally fed the unconscious trash medicine, securely guarded the door to the underground prison, and sighed.
The assassins would lose their memories from the drugs, and only their ferocity would remain, causing them to fight each other and become exhausted.
After leaving them for a few days, he would abandon them at the facility in front of the last cliff, and they would take care of it on their own.
“I can’t do this alone anymore.”
Ren muttered in a tired voice as he got into the carriage.
He decided to write letters to his friends.
The clattering sound of the empty carriage running on the dark night road echoed hollowly.
Anne Brenel was standing in front of the mirror.
Barefoot, wearing a flimsy mint-colored dress that showed her ankles.
The apron with the large front pocket worn over the faded dress was for maids.
The toes in the mirror wiggled.
A calm voice spoke slowly.
“Roots, healthy.”
The ankles revealed below the dress wriggled slightly.
Her knees and waist moved creakingly.
Then the movement continued to her shoulders, elbows, and wrists.
Her right wrist twisted.
“Ouch. Worried about the motor skills of the upper right branch.”
Her gloomy voice was low and quiet.
Even when complaining of pain, she didn't feel much emotion.
Her bare feet took a step closer to the mirror.
Her hair, red from root to tip, looked somewhat dry, but there was no damage.
“Leaves, healthy.”
Her long hair was long enough to reach her waist.
Anne roughly brushed her hair with a sparse brush and tied it into a single bundle.
The lips looking into the mirror sighed.
A face that was so white it was almost pale.
The freckles lightly sprinkled on her nose became more prominent after she tied her hair up.
“You live with the face you’re given.”
Anne wondered if it would be a good idea to apply the pink powder that Cynthia used to her bloodless white face.
But that was too much of a desire.
It hadn't been long since she had stopped putting fertilizer and dirt on her face.
The lips that had been staring at the pale face in the mirror slowly opened.
“Lady Anne.”
The face in the mirror smiled like a kind lady.
“Yes.”
Anne burst out laughing at the sight of herself calling out and answering herself.
“Work like a cow today too!”
Anne clenched her fist and shouted at herself in the mirror.
Her lifeless expression and calm voice made it a pity.
But if she didn't do something like this, it would be difficult to endure being alive.
Anne is the eldest daughter of Lord Brenel.
Anne thought of herself as a gardener.
And she was the black sheep of the Brenel family.
“Anne!”
Cynthia shouted from the first-floor hall.
The loud voice that echoed throughout the house continued several times.
“Anne!”
Cynthia Brenel's mood had been terrible lately.
After being quiet for a few days, she became more ferocious than before.
It was as if she was angry that the surrounding creatures were breathing.
‘Giant Woolly Cicada.’
Anne quietly crossed the hall, thinking reckless thoughts inwardly.
“You called, Cynthia.”
Anne stood politely in front of Cynthia.
“What are you doing! You’re so lazy. Can’t you move faster?!”
Cynthia hit Anne's arm with the fan in her hand.
Anne silently endured the violence.