85 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
“I’m sorry, Cynthia. I was going to clean the garden. Is there anything you need me to do?”
At the calm voice, Cynthia frowned.
“Are you a gardener? Or a florist? Why are you going to the garden?! Get ready to go out!”
“Yes, Lady Cynthia.”
Anne replied humbly, her face lowered.
She didn’t object at all, didn’t ask where they were going, just gave a submissive answer.
“They’re all just stupid.”
Cynthia grumbled, elbowing Anne as she passed.
Anne staggered but followed Cynthia.
Anne’s mother was Lord Brenel’s first wife.
Her mother’s family was an untitled noble family with money, and Lord Brenel had a title and needed money.
It was a typical political marriage.
But the relationship between the couple didn’t seem too bad.
Anne was born in the first year of their marriage, and Anne’s mother visited her parents’ home before giving birth.
That’s where the misfortune began.
Lord Brenel’s wife contracted a sudden epidemic while visiting her parents.
Lord Brenel refused to allow his wife to return to the family.
Anne’s mother gave birth to her while infected with the epidemic.
Her family members who stayed by her side also died from the epidemic.
Lord Brenel neglected the child born in a place where the epidemic was rampant.
When the only nanny who hadn’t contracted the disease brought Anne to Viscount Brenel’s residence after several months,
the Lord had already taken a new wife.
The new wife was Cynthia’s mother.
Lord Brenel was wary of Anne, who was born amidst the epidemic.
He was afraid that he would catch the disease if he touched Anne.
Naturally, there was no funeral for Anne’s mother.
Anne was Lord Brenel’s eldest daughter but was thoroughly neglected.
The following year, Cynthia was born.
Soon after, Julie, Isabel, and Dario were born.
From the time she could walk, Anne took care of Cynthia and her three siblings.
The most violent of the four was Cynthia.
Julie was the most similar to Cynthia.
Isabel was often kind, but just when Anne was about to trust her kindness, she would humiliate her in front of people.
So Anne was as wary of Isabel as she was of Cynthia.
Dario was a hungry glutton.
Anne didn’t know that she and the four siblings were half-siblings until she was 10 years old.
She thought that her surname was Brenel because she belonged to the Brenel family.
‘Rosa. Why isn’t Rosa Rosa Brenel?’
Rosa told Anne that it was rare to have a family name.
‘Little miss is Lord Brenel’s daughter, so she’s Anne Brenel.’
Only then did Anne realize that she was Lord Brenel’s daughter.
Even then and now, Anne called her own father, Lord Brenel, ‘Lord.’
‘Unlucky brat.’
Cynthia would often pull Anne’s hair and hit her head.
‘Jinxed thing.’
‘Disgusting bitch.’
‘Demon who devoured her mother.’
She learned that she was the eldest daughter of the Brenel family at the age of 10, but nothing changed.
What Anne learned as she grew up was to endure pain, or to not make a sound even when she felt pain.
She became more patient after learning that Cynthia and her siblings disliked Anne’s ginger-red hair.
The symbol of the Brenel family was ginger-red hair.
Anne’s hair was a ginger-red color that was easily recognizable.
Cynthia had strawberry blonde hair.
The red color gradually decreased as it went to Julie, Isabel, and Dario.
Although she had the red hair that symbolized the family, Anne’s role was to be bullied and serve Cynthia.
Anne couldn’t even read.
‘What am I going to do, being illiterate?’
Anne would often tease her pitiful self while looking in the mirror.
She didn’t just give up because she couldn’t read.
Anne was happiest when she was in the garden.
So she learned the work of the Anchor Tree garden and steadily did odd jobs to become friendly with the gardeners.
Even though she could only recognize pictures, she picked up and read books about plants.
But she didn’t have much time to focus on garden work.
“Can’t you do it right?!”
It was because Cynthia would suddenly call her like this and make her serve.
‘I need to dig up the potatoes tonight or early tomorrow morning.’
Anne habitually thought of things to do in her head while being abused.
Anne’s joy these days was that the potatoes she had planted in the spare land were growing well.
“I’m sorry, Lady Cynthia.”
Anne was wiping the dust off Cynthia’s shoes.
When her hand slightly brushed against her ankle, Cynthia acted as if she had been cut by a knife.
‘Noisy Giant Woolly Cicada.’
Anne tried to immerse herself in her own thoughts when dealing with Cynthia.
But she wasn’t just daydreaming.
Perhaps because she had grown up reading people’s faces since she was crawling, Anne was good at reading the atmosphere around her.
It must have been an instinct for survival.
The reason Cynthia was acting like she was having a seizure these days was because of the ruin of Baron Miller’s family.
The reason she had been quiet for a few days was because she was frightened by the sudden downfall of the Miller family.
It was natural for her to be surprised since she had a close relationship with the Miller family.
Even Anne, who had no acquaintance with them, was surprised by the downfall of Baron Miller’s family.
Anne had sensed the chaotic atmosphere within the family early on.
For a while, the family was in high spirits.
It was right after Cynthia debuted in the Imperial Capital Baden’s social circles.
The inflated atmosphere was also related to the Miller family.
The two families seemed to be working hard to get a line to the Imperial Capital.
Both Brenel and Miller were vassals of Marquis Reine.
There was nothing wrong with getting a foot in the Imperial Capital, but it was dangerous to act against the Marquis Reine family.
Then, Marquis Reine died in a fall from his horse.
But no one in the Brenel family was worried about the accident.
Something smells fishy.
Anne’s survival instinct warned her of danger.
Anne tried to grasp the situation by forcibly approaching Julie and Isabel, even while being ridiculed by them.
Brenel and Miller were trying to get a line to Marquis Manners’ family, who were the prime minister’s family.
‘Is the Brenel family going to ruin itself?’
The Imperial Capital and Reine were far away.
The Marquis Manners family was powerful in the Imperial Capital, but they couldn’t exert their power in the far north.
Lord Brenel and Baron Miller had done something absurd.
A while ago, the flowers in the Anchor garden were falling everywhere.
It was strange.
What was even stranger was that a few days later, the Miller family was ruined.
Something dangerous was happening.
‘Should I pack all the money I have now and run away to some countryside?’
Anne didn’t want to be swept away by the sinking family while hesitating.
Lord Brenel was short-sighted and had a quick temper.
Cynthia resembled the Lord and was not very bright.
Cynthia herself thought she was very smart, but she wasn’t at all.
She had an even quicker temper than the Lord, and her judgment was poor.
Until now, she had only seemed normal because Lady Miller had been manipulating her from the side.
With Lady Miller gone, she was completely out of control, even in front of outsiders whom she had been somewhat wary of.
She had a personality that made her easy to fall into a trap and be killed.
‘I’ll dig up the potatoes tonight and go straight to the next village.’
Anne made up her mind.
“Lady, look over there.”
“How unlucky… Hey, move!”
Cynthia swung her knee when Anne tried to wipe the other shoe.
Cynthia clicked her tongue and passed Anne, who had fallen on her bottom.
‘Fall flat on your face, Giant Woolly Cicada.’
Anne quickly got up and muttered curses under her breath.
Cynthia didn’t fall.
Instead, with a face like she had bitten into a bitter persimmon, she bowed to the group approaching from the other side.
“Lady Alisha, it’s been a while.”
Anne and the maids also bowed their heads beside Cynthia.
Alisha Reine?
Anne thought, her face lowered.
This Tama Forest was in the Brenel family’s territory.
It was far away from the Reine Marquisate.
There were many places to visit in the Marquisate, so there was no reason to come here.
It was strange but unexpected that Alisha Reine had come here.
“It’s been a while, Lady…”
“It’s Cynthia.”
“Ah, that’s right. Lady Cynthia. The forest is beautiful.”
A warm voice spoke softly to Cynthia.
But only the tone was soft, and the content of the conversation was perfect for turning Cynthia inside out.
Anne pressed her lips tightly.
Cynthia acted like a queen within the Viscountcy.
There was no one in the family who didn’t know her name.
Alisha’s words, as if asking for her name, were a clear provocation.
Anne had heard a lot about Alisha Reine.
The Lady born in the Reine Marquisate after 200 years.
Anne also wanted to see the Marquisate Lady at least once, but the Brenel family would never allow it.
She was glad to see Alisha, who would become the Grand Duchess Tessen, even from over her shoulder like this.
According to Cynthia, Alisha was an incompetent person who had only been born into a good family and couldn’t do anything.
But according to rumors, Alisha Reine was known to be like an angel.
Anne knew from Alisha’s first words that she was known to be an angel, but she wasn’t a pushover.
Of course, she wasn’t the incompetent person Cynthia had described either.
Perhaps Alisha had come to Tama Forest to check on the Brenel family.
‘Maybe…’
The Reine Marquisate was like a king here.
They might have already noticed the vassal’s betrayal.
“Who is the Lady next to you?”
While Anne was lost in thought, Alisha, who was standing in front of Cynthia, sent her gaze over.
When a smile spread slightly on her cold face, she became innocent and gentle.
Anne blankly stared at the smiling face and purple eyes.
“……”
The reason Alisha acknowledged Anne was because she was the only one among Cynthia’s servants who wasn’t wearing a maid’s uniform.
Although it was old, faded, and out of fashion, Anne was wearing a neat dress.
Cynthia narrowed her eyes and growled lowly at Anne.
“Get lost.”
“I’m sorry, Cynthia.”
Elbowed by Cynthia, Anne bowed and stepped back.
“Lady.”
The maid standing next to Alisha whispered.
Surprise appeared on Alisha’s face as she listened to the words.
Her purple eyes moved and looked at Anne.
Alisha smiled and said to Anne.
“Lady Anne.”
Anne paused at the unfamiliar call.
No one ever called Anne ‘Lady Anne,’ even as a joke.
“……I, I’m…”
“Who’s the Lady!”
Cynthia, who seemed like she would be polite, couldn’t suppress her temper and shouted loudly.
Alisha widened her eyes at the rude shout.
“Lady Cynthia. Isn’t the red-haired lady next to you Lady Anne, the eldest daughter of the Brenel family? So, Cynthia’s older sister.”
Alisha was not surprised by Cynthia’s rude attitude and spoke politely.
“……”
Anne was so flustered that she froze.
‘Lady Anne.’
Every time she heard the honorable call, goosebumps rose on her back.
It was the first time she had been called so kindly by anyone.
“Who’s the older sister…! Lady Alisha. You don’t seem to know our family’s affairs well. She’s not worth paying attention to.”
Cynthia shouted, then remembered who she was talking to and spoke with an unpleasant face.
She tried to get Anne to leave with a look.
“Cynthia. You’re being too harsh to your sibling, even if you have different mothers. Lady Anne, it’s nice to meet you. You are Lady Patricia’s only daughter. ‘Masquerade’ written by Lady Patricia is my favorite book.”
Until now, no one had told Anne about her mother.
It was because it was strictly forbidden in the Brenel Viscountcy.
“Do you… know my mother?”
Anne said, forgetting that she was afraid of Cynthia.
“I haven’t actually met her, but Lady Patricia’s bestsellers are essential books for ladies in society. The social etiquette I know is the same as what I learned from the books written by the Lady.”
Alisha said kindly with a smiling face.
Anne felt a strange emotion and opened her lips.