99 - The Bride of the Great Lord is a Warrior from Hell
“Didn't the family send the lady on a trip or something like that?”
“No.”
“Ah. Well, it doesn't matter. Lady, run away quickly!”
Ingrid said in a very low voice.
“Pardon?”
Alisha was certain that Ingrid's memory state now was different from Ingrid's in the morning.
“There will be girls wearing bonnets outside, but you have to pretend you can't hear them if they talk to you and run away. You might get caught if you accidentally mix words with them.”
“I'm sorry, but…”
“Why? Are you worried about not having money to live on if you leave here? Don't worry.”
Ingrid looked at her slender hand and took off the ring with the largest jewel, pressing it firmly into Alisha's hand.
The face that took off the ring didn't seem to know what kind of ring it was.
“Madam?”
The ring Ingrid had just given to Alisha was the one Reikart had given her as a birthday present.
Yesterday, Ingrid said that the ring would be meaningless after she died, but she hoped it would be the ring she spent her last moments with.
“Take it, it's okay. I have a lot of these. Uh, where were we? Ah, yes. Run away from here. You could end your life if you're not careful. Never believe what the bonnet girls say. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“This ring won't last long.”
Alisha watched Ingrid, who kept looking back at the door, worried that someone would come and find out.
“Remember what I said. First, run away from here and sell the ring. When you have money, hire about 10 knights and 10 workers. There's a place called Restin, which is called the end of Tessen, and the mountains there are rugged. There's a valley named Blueville. Doesn't Blueville give you a feeling?”
Ingrid was consistent whether she had her memories or not.
She was a kind and cheerful person.
Alisha was surprised and touched that Ingrid, who was a stranger to her now, was being so friendly.
She treated her like a friend she had known for 10 years, even though they had just met today.
“I'm sorry.”
But she didn't know, so she shook her head.
She didn't feel anything at all.
What was in Blueville?
Ingrid comforted Alisha, who answered dejectedly, and smiled.
“It's okay, you might not know. That's Salt Mountain.”
“Yes…?”
Ingrid, who had been speaking in a secretive voice, quickly gestured to Alisha to lower her voice when she was surprised.
“Salt Mountain. I know, I know. It sounds like a ridiculous story, right? But it's true that there's Salt Mountain around Blueville. That ring must be quite expensive, so at least give it a try. You need something to live on if you run away from here.”
Ingrid kept trying to get Alisha to run away.
“Do I really have to run away?”
Alisha asked carefully.
Ingrid stared at Alisha with an inscrutable face.
Her weak body seemed to be at its limit, so she recommended the sofa.
Alisha skillfully helped Ingrid to sit on the sofa.
Ingrid looked at Alisha, who was sitting next to her, with pitiful eyes.
“Lady Alisha.”
“Please call me Alisha.”
Ingrid spread a kind smile and voice.
“I'm Ingrid, Alisha. Don't ask about my status. How old do I look now? 50s? 70s? Surely not 80s? …I'm actually 28 years old. But I'm in this state. Do you know why? Because I married a cursed husband.”
28-year-old Ingrid didn't seem to like her husband.
“I know. I know I sound crazy. But you have to believe me. You have to run away from here quickly.”
Ingrid repeatedly advised her to run away.
Alisha blurted out at her sincere advice.
“That husband, he's a bad guy.”
“Oh my… You have a very generous personality. It's a big deal to say that here, Alisha. Don't say that anywhere. But it's not wrong. That guy is bad. That guy is bad, and those guys are bad too.”
Ingrid clenched her wrinkled hands and spat out her dissatisfaction.
Ingrid, who looked like she was about to get angry, smiled bashfully.
“I've never seen anyone with purple eyes before. My face might be ugly, but can I see it up close? It's amazing.”
“Go ahead. Your eyes are also beautiful, Ingrid.”
Ingrid, who was looking into Alisha's eyes, chuckled.
“You're saying the same thing as my husband.”
“Because it's true.”
“Before I got married, everyone told me my eyes were pretty. But not now. I don't think so either. My husband says he loves me when he sees this old face, but I think it's a lie. Is he saying that because he feels sorry?”
Ingrid glanced at the door and said gloomily.
“Could it be sincere?”
“It's hard to say this, but he's a bad guy, but he's really handsome. He looks like a statue. His personality isn't cute, but his face is the best. I think he's the most handsome of my husband's brothers.”
Ingrid lowered her voice even more and whispered.
Alisha felt something familiar and replied.
“His personality isn't cute?”
“After I got married, I suddenly aged rapidly. What would people say? Cursed woman. Cursed bride. But that uncute guy, my husband, says it's all his fault. Isn't he stupid? Why is he telling me that? I was already suspecting it.”
Alisha nodded in agreement to Ingrid's words.
He looks like someone.
“He's a guy who doesn't say more than ten words a day, but he's crying and telling me he loves me, so I can't believe it. Isn't that right? I'm an old woman, and he's so handsome… I can't believe he's crying. He must be trying to make up for it with tears.”
Ingrid fluttered her hand near her eyes as she spoke.
Her eyes turned red, as if they were filling with tears.
“Did you cry?”
Alisha quietly said, pretending not to notice Ingrid's tears.
Ingrid nodded.
He looks a lot like someone.
Alisha tried to hold back her furrowed eyebrows.
When she thought about it, it wasn't strange.
Grand Duke Tessen had to endure the same pain.
He had the commonality of having a detached appearance among his family.
He plunged others into tragedy with the shackles of punishment.
So it wasn't strange that they resembled each other.
Ingrid, who saw the young Reikart, took good care of him, and it was understandable that the two people's bond deepened.
“I think it's sincere that he loves you.”
“Is that so? Anyway, you should run away quickly. Be sure to find Salt Mountain and become rich. You shouldn't marry Reikart… Reikart? …When I knew Reikart, Lud was…”
Ingrid's green eyes trembled as if they were staggering.
Alisha could tell that the Lud she was talking about was the late Grand Duke Tessen.
“Ingrid, are you not feeling well? Would you like to close your eyes and rest for a while? I'll get you some water.”
“Thank you… I think I need to lie down for a while.”
Ingrid, who was confused, was helped by Alisha and lay down on the long sofa.
Alisha spread out a blanket and covered her, then left the room.
It seemed like Ingrid needed some time to think alone.
As Alisha was leaving the study, she found Reikart standing in front of the door.
“Are you going inside?”
“A little later.”
“I'll get you some water. And this.”
Alisha handed Reikart the ring she had received from Ingrid.
“Thank you.”
Reikart was about to say something, but he expressed his gratitude.
Alisha realized the question he was about to ask.
How much time does she have left?
Ingrid didn't have much time left.
Alisha didn't say it, but Reikart felt it as if he had heard the answer.
Alisha squeezed Reikart's hand once and left.
“……”
Reikart couldn't take his eyes off the ring he had given to Ingrid.
Ingrid, who had fallen asleep and woke up, regained her memory.
She conveyed that she had shown a sight that she couldn't show and solved her meals and rest in her room.
After much deliberation, Alisha visited Ingrid's room.
“Come in.”
Ingrid was sitting propped up in bed.
When she saw Alisha, she moved aside.
“Are you resting?”
The ring that Alisha had given her was on Ingrid's hand, whether Reikart had returned it or not.
“Well, my whole life was resting. You don't have to worry. I'm just hiding because I'm a little scared.”
Ingrid said, patting Alisha's hand as she approached.
Alisha stared blankly at the wrinkled hand overlapping her own.
She wondered if it would have some effect on Ingrid, just as Reikart had been relieved of his pain by touching her.
But even if Ingrid held Alisha's hand or hugged her, she was not affected at all.
Alisha knew that she couldn't solve everything.
She thought about having Ingrid eat Magic Stone, but she couldn't say it.
It was difficult to bring it up rashly.
She thought it would be more disappointing if the results were different from what she expected.
“Alisha, am I scary to you?”
Ingrid asked Alisha, who was silent.
“……”
Alisha just shook her head.
In fact, she was scared.
If she didn't know the future, she would have run away following Ingrid's words.
But she couldn't answer honestly.
“Alisha is different from me. I was scared of myself. Every time I looked in the mirror, I was so scared that I had all the mirrors in the room removed.”
A bitter smile spread across Ingrid's face.
“I aged day by day after I got married. I couldn't believe it, and one day I tried to die. The only thing that changed in my life was marriage, so I suspected that marriage was the cause of my pain. The late Grand Duke treated me really well. That's why I suspected it even more.”
Alisha couldn't say anything.
“He was sincere to me, and I took that sincerity for granted. Isn't it natural? He's the one who made me like this. I hated and resented him, taking his sincerity for granted. Every time, he cried and apologized to me. He said that if he had known it would turn out like this, he would never have married me. Ray wouldn't want to marry Alisha either, would he?”
Alisha, who was listening to Ingrid's words, slowly nodded her head.
“Yes, because he likes me. He said he won't marry me.”
“He didn't cry?”
“He cried.”
Ingrid, who heard Alisha's words, let out a light laugh.
“The guys who become Grand Duke Tessen among the imperial men seem to be crybabies. They always start with tears when they apologize. But they're good guys. Ray is especially a good kid.”
Ingrid said, twirling the ring on her finger.
“Yes.”
Alisha recalled the words that Reikart had conveyed with all his heart.
‘Don’t marry me.’
His words were really for Alisha.
“Will you stay by Reikart's side? He's a very lonely and desolate being.”
Alisha thought that Ingrid's words now might be her last words.
“I will.”
Ingrid, who saw Alisha answering without hesitation, smiled shallowly as if she was in trouble.
Ingrid, who was leaning against a large cushion, tilted her body slightly to the side.
Alisha also leaned her upper body slightly towards Ingrid.
“Get married in 50 years. Thank you for coming to me. Thank you for coming to that child.”
Alisha smiled as she listened to the words conveyed by the weak voice.