90 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
Grand Duke’s Bride 90
Josefina looked much more relaxed, thanks to a few days of rest.
Having washed and dressed, she politely thanked the knights gathered in the main dining hall.
And she shouted her resolve to her comrades, who were caught up in a strange tension and excitement, anticipating the battle.
It was as if her listless moment from a few hours ago had been a lie.
Alisha offered Josefina a second dinner.
Josefina had barely eaten in the dining hall while she was talking, so she quickly sat down at the table.
“Princess, I have something to tell you,” Alisha said, cutting her meat.
“Please do.”
Josefina, looking apprehensive, slowly recalled all the favors she had received so far, and steeled herself not to be disappointed even if Alisha told her to leave.
“When I sent you the letter, I thought this might happen,” Alisha said, her voice filled with self-reproach.
“Thank you so much for the letter, Alisha.”
Josefina expressed her gratitude instead of saying it wasn't her fault the war had broken out.
“Princess, if I hadn't been betrothed to Grand Duke Tessen, I would have been betrothed to Gregory Barker. Perhaps…”
If that had been the case, Alisha would be in Josefina's position now.
Josefina, understanding what Alisha was trying to say, wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“Don't worry. I made sure Gregory won't get up again.”
Josefina said proudly and confidently.
And she had every right to.
The hint Alisha sent to Josefina in the letter was to sever the connection between Josefina and the Barker family.
She had tried to eliminate an innocent victim before eliminating the Barker family.
Unintentionally, she had passed her burden onto Josefina.
Alisha had thought that Josefina, upon receiving the letter, would investigate Gregory Barker and declare the engagement off.
But Josefina was much more proactive than Alisha had anticipated.
She had sliced up her deceiving fiancé on the spot.
“I was really impressed when I heard the news. I would have applauded if I had been there,” Alisha said with a small smile.
But the guilt on her face hadn't completely disappeared.
Josefina spoke to the face still marked with guilt.
“Even if Alisha hadn't given me the letter, I would have eventually found out and ended up where I am now. What's important to me is that Alicia Lane is helping me now. Thank you for not ignoring me.”
Alisha broke into a comfortable smile.
“Yes, well then. Commander Josefina. I will report on the war situation. Shall we go to the study?”
“Okay.”
Josefina said energetically, stuffing the remaining three pieces of meat into her mouth at once.
The troops of Count Barker's family were arriving at the Gali Plain one after another.
Perhaps because the Imperial Palace was so close, the soldiers of the Barker family behaved like docile sheep.
But their spirit was not as tame.
The troops brought by the Barker family dyed the edge of the Gali Plain black.
90 knights. 2600 infantry.
It was a much higher number than expected.
“I will lead the vanguard,” Josefina said loudly after hearing the number of enemies.
Naturally, there was opposition from the knights, saying it couldn't be done.
“Go ahead,” Alisha agreed, sipping her iced tea.
“Lady Alisha!”
“Countess!”
Josefina's escort knights were flustered and raised their voices.
“Instead, there is a condition, Princess. I will have Shieldbearers surround you. Expose your face to the enemy.”
Josefina blinked at Alisha's words.
It was an incomprehensible statement.
The knights, who were about to get angry at the absurd suggestion, wondered if Alisha was refusing Josefina's opinion in a roundabout way.
“I will. I trust Alisha.”
Josefina, who had been silent for a moment, said with a bright smile.
“Lady Josefina!”
“Quiet, Duka. My ears are going to burst. I said I trust Alisha.”
Josefina elbowed her escort knight and left the spot.
“……”
Alisha, who had become the center of attention, just sipped her cool tea.
Alisha didn't expect Josefina to accept the bizarre proposal.
She had just said it.
But Josefina showed a strange faith and accepted the offer.
Well, it didn't matter.
After all, Alisha had no intention of fighting a war.
In the past, the Marquis Rein family had won the war against the Count Barker family, but it was a victory that left only scars.
During the war, the great families of the north continued to decline.
The family fortunes declined uncontrollably.
Alisha was not a fool to walk the path of hardship again.
“The news is a bit late.”
The only concern was that time was running out.
Three men entered a dilapidated street in Imperial Capital Baden, a place that seemed impossible to exist.
The three men were wearing cloaks and hoods.
It was to hide their faces and clothes.
The man at the very back took out a letter from his pocket and checked it.
[Reina, or Alena.
Early 20s. Looks younger than her age.
Slender build.
Brown hair. Brown eyes.
Scar or wound on her right eye.
Possible leg injury.
Singer.
Has a mysterious voice.]
The letter contained a description of a woman.
“This is the last place left.”
Following Roderick, who was leading the way, one of the men constantly looked around.
“Can… can people live in a place like this?”
A musty smell rose from the back alley after the rain.
The door, made by fitting broken wood together, and the mud walls of irregular sizes looked like they would collapse as soon as you stepped on them.
Roderick did not respond to Marquis Istevna's words.
“This way.”
The good-natured and sociable Marquis Istevna must have experienced many different places.
But he had never been to a slum where houses were connected like ant nests.
In the corner of the alley, there was a child scooping up stagnant muddy water and eating it.
“Don't.”
Before the two royals could step forward, Roderick quickly warned them.
He had already warned them several times.
Once you enter the slums, no matter how heartbreaking, unbelievable, or shocking the sight, you must not give a single coin.
The moment you give something, think that you will be stripped naked here today.
Although he was pretending to be an ignorant royal, Marquis Istevna did not do anything foolish.
Reikart also seemed shocked and hesitated, but did not make any particular move.
Roderick was on high alert because he was the only escort.
It would be nice if they could leave this to their subordinates.
He didn't like the diligence of the two royals who had bothered to come out themselves.
The three men stood in front of a house.
Although it was unsightly with mud splattered on it, only that house had white paint on its gate.
“Here it is.”
Roderick said as he knocked on the door at the same time.
“Come in.”
A faint voice echoed from inside.
Roderick opened the door without delay.
Creak, the old door opened with a tearing sound.
But the terrible sound was soon erased.
A sweet lute sound echoed from inside the door.
“Welcome, travelers. Welcome to Reina's house.”
The woman's voice, welcoming the guests, was more beautiful than the lute sound.
The woman was sitting on a chair that looked like it would break at any moment.
“Two coins if you listen from outside. One silver coin if you come inside and listen. Three songs for one gold coin. By the way, I'm really good at singing.”
Unlike her heavenly voice, the woman had a gruesome scar on one eye.
Her face looked young, but her hair was mixed with white, making it difficult to estimate her age.
Her shoulder-length hair was jagged at the ends, making the woman look even more mysterious and playful.
The three men immediately went inside the house and closed the door.
Roderick took out three gold coins and placed them on the table.
The one brown eye looked up at the three men anxiously.
It was an eye that knew that great fortune was connected to great misfortune.
“Knights…?”
Roderick realized that the woman was in her 20s with a very young appearance.
Her white hair and subtle atmosphere were the result of terrible hardships that ordinary people could not experience.
Her scarred eye seemed unable to open at all.
Her body, sitting in the chair, was so fragile that it looked like it would break if she fell.
One ankle was twisted abnormally.
Roderick gestured to Reikart.
“We came from the Barker family.”
Despair fell on Reina's face at the deep, echoing voice.
Her hand lost strength, and the lute fell to the floor.
“Knights, I'll give you all the money I have…! Please kill me! Please… Let me die here!”
The three men did not move for a moment at Reina's bizarre request.
Marquis Istevna slowly took off his hood.
“You're wrong, you should ask to be saved.”
To Reina, who had only spent time in the gutter since she was born and was living in the slums, Marquis Istevna's face looked like an angel from a sacred painting.
“……”
Reikart and Roderick also took off their hoods.
Reina's eyes could not hide her surprise.
An, angels.
Roderick, who read Reina's lips, which were unable to make a sound due to embarrassment, cleared his throat.
“It seems we found the right person. Will you come with us, Lady Reina? By the way, we are not angels. We are two royals and one knight. I will support you.”
Reina was even more surprised by their true identities.
Roderick easily picked up Reina.
The sun rose on the Gali Plain.
Josefina's camp, standing with Ludern Castle behind them, was all on horseback.
The Barker family's camp on the opposite side had ant-like infantry in front.
The side with the larger number, Barker, was the first to move.
The infantry, bought with money, stood a little crookedly, but they walked forward with the overwhelming feeling given by their enormous numbers.
When Josefina, who was at the head, was about to step forward.
Boo!
A horn sounded long from the Baden side.
Soon, 5,000 cavalry, holding the Imperial Standard, the Emperor's flag, and Grand Duke Tessen's flag, moved as if they were one body and revealed themselves.
Both sides were puzzled by the appearance of the Imperial army.
“Oh my god, what is that…”
“Isn't that an axe?”
A horrified voice flowed out from the Barker family's camp when they saw the armed Grand Duke Tessen approaching.
No one in the Empire had ever seen Reikart ready for battle.
His appearance alone disrupted the camp.
“Stop the battle!”
At Roderick's cry, the supreme commander of the Barker family's camp ran forward.
A gorgeously dressed general shouted.
“What does that mean!”
Roderick raised his voice without backing down.
“Soldiers of Count Barker, listen! Count Barker has committed the heinous crime of kidnapping and imprisoning innocent people. He sold the people he detained to foreign countries for money for his own benefit, so he is no different from a slave trader!”
A flustered voice flowed out from among the people.
Roderick continued to shout.
“The Empire does not allow human trafficking. All of Barker's sins have been revealed. Therefore, His Majesty the Emperor has dismissed Count Barker and taken away his title. Put down your weapons and obey the Imperial order!”
Count Barker's soldiers were agitated but could not immediately follow the Imperial order.
The generals and knights put forward by the Barker family were holding them back.
“General, are you not going to step down?”
Reikart, holding an axe, approached the supreme commander of Count Barker.
Two steps with the stride of a horse.
“I, I can't believe it…”
Count Barker's supreme commander was a knight of the Count's family.
If the Count was a criminal, he would inevitably be involved as well.
The Count's commander could not finish his words.
Whoosh!
Without warning, Reikart's axe moved horizontally.
The commander's neck was cut off, and his head flew away, spraying blood.
The dead commander would not even have known that he was being attacked.