The reason I remained in the Grand Duchess’ mansion without Noevian was simple. The reason I followed Ephero and Victor to the welcoming ceremony. The reason I provoked Doris by saying that I had become the Crown Prince’s aide. It was because I had not yet found Doris’s person.
Her already wrinkled face suddenly crumpled as if she was dumbfounded. As Sophie's body, which had been hunched over, slowly straightened, Jonah's low scream rang out. Sophie, who had confirmed my face, was no longer a frail old woman who looked old and on the verge of death. She was still short, but when her hunched back straightened, she became as tall as Marge.
“Hey!”
Marge stepped back in shock. A strange brown hair with blonde spots, and dark eyes with light. A wrinkled face, but a woman who didn’t look as sickly as before. The woman’s eyes sparkled with amusement and she gestured to one of the men. A few teeth were missing, and a more terrifying blade cut the rope that had tied my ankles and the hem of my dress like a sack. My legs, which had been in pain because of the lack of blood flow, tingled as if they were screaming. As the sinister gazes that had been examining my ankles lingered there, Jonah hurriedly covered the hem of my skirt.
“Madam Blie, I will... untie the rope.”
As the laughter broke out at my expression of pain, Jonah quickly whispered. How are you going to solve it? What are you going to do with all these people...?
“It is only right that a fox, who dares to offend the higher power, apologize with her life.”
It wasn’t the familiar wheezing voice. It was a witch-like voice babbling ominously in the deep mountains, or even deeper than that, in a cave. A man nearby roughly untied the knot of the gag on the back of my head. I bit my dry lips and staggered to my feet. The moment I got up, I felt my wrists, which had been tied behind my back, being free, and I flinched. Jonah stood behind me without a care.
“It’s funny to hear that since there’s no one higher than me here.”
“You cheeky bitch.”
As I held back my dry throat, feeling like it was going to burst, I immediately started swearing.
“Did Doris Castagna tell you to kill me?”
Sophie's eyes widened. Her expression made her feel empty. I kept three maids, Marge, Jonah, and Marie, in the Grand Duke's residence to watch over the servants. Those who didn't know the situation would have thought that I was the only one left in the Grand Duke's residence, causing trouble and replacing the servants one by one, but that wasn't the case.
“Doris must have been in a hurry.”
Doris moved faster than expected. I heard from Noura that today was the day of her and Bardenaldo's union, and she would be busy preparing for His Majesty the Emperor's birthday later on...
“As you said, the lowly one has come this far, so I have always been on guard.”
"What?"
It was a blatant lie. All I could believe was that Neil, who arrived at the Count's residence late and confirmed that I was gone, would follow the trail of the wrecked carriage and come here, or that he would go to the Grand Duke's residence and notice my absence and search the area.
“I knew Doris would come out like this, so I took steps to make sure that if I died or went missing, either of those two things would make Doris suspicious. He’s probably on my trail by now.”
“That’s nonsense! Don’t move your tongue!”
“How rude!”
The new scream did not come from me. It was unexpectedly Marge who stopped Sophie, who was approaching with her shining blue sword.
“...The last?”
Marge stood in front of me, trembling.
“Even if you hadn’t become the Grand Duchess! You served her and might continue to serve her in the future! How could you do this! What did the Madam do to you? Even though the Grand Duke had banished the man who only served food in the Grand Duke’s residence to the remote region, he didn’t kick her out but respected her instead! How dare you...How dare you...!”
Ah, Marge! Everyone except us was laughing at Marge's every word, but not me.
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret, and just get out of here! Don’t touch a single hair on our lady!”
The screeching admonition, which was like a scream of terror, was pitiful and at the same time very touching. The pale, middle-aged maid stood up with her bare body, her eyes bloodshot.
It was the first time that Marge, who was smaller than me, seemed so big. Marge was not one of Blie's, but rather the maid who had initially treated me like a madman, so the feeling was even more different. The thought that it would be great if I could find out even a little bit of the truth by provoking myself with the determination to die quickly disappeared from my mind. The urge to not lose the precious people I had gained by entering this body like a fool boiled over.
The short circuit that had been simmering with anxiety exploded like a volcano as he poured regret into it. He wanted to throw all the words he had said just a few hours ago into the trash can.
“Why did I say something like that..."
When he recalled the face of the woman who had been trying to comfort him, his head felt like it was going to burst. A terrible self-loathing took over his whole body. When he finally galloped toward the search party that had found the trail and discovered numerous hoofprints, his heart was on the verge of stopping.
“Your Highness, Your Highness! Don’t go ahead so hastily when you don’t even know how many there are!!”
When Rhodnes investigated the disappearance of Baroness Kuroseda, he remembered those who had left traces like this back then. Wasn't Baroness Kuroseda someone whose death was a done deal?
When he remembered that his last conversation with Adrienne had been like that, he could no longer control himself.
It's not your fault. I knew Doris would make a move at any moment. This was my trap. I didn't know her person would reveal their identity in such a drastic way. It's just that the timing is a little bit earlier.
"..."
My throat felt so tight that I had to keep my mouth shut for a moment.
“So I can’t stand it anymore.”
Maybe it was because he was holding me so tightly that I couldn't even breathe, but I couldn't push away his hard, trembling chest. He was like a swamp that pulled me in even more the more I tried to escape.
“I’m not your friend.”
I stopped squirming in his arms. His sudden declaration hit me like a shock. I took a deep breath as I felt a lump of blood rising in my throat. What could it mean?
The butler Gaspard was the Crown Prince’s person. The maid Annie was the Duke of Castagna’s puppet. Who was Doris?
I would have to provoke Doris to reveal her identity. Although I was taken aback by the sudden attack, it was as good as meeting the leader of the Grand Duke’s demons.
“...Are you laughing?”
“...Are you laughing?”
Her already wrinkled face suddenly crumpled as if she was dumbfounded. As Sophie's body, which had been hunched over, slowly straightened, Jonah's low scream rang out. Sophie, who had confirmed my face, was no longer a frail old woman who looked old and on the verge of death. She was still short, but when her hunched back straightened, she became as tall as Marge.
“Hey!”
Marge stepped back in shock. A strange brown hair with blonde spots, and dark eyes with light. A wrinkled face, but a woman who didn’t look as sickly as before. The woman’s eyes sparkled with amusement and she gestured to one of the men. A few teeth were missing, and a more terrifying blade cut the rope that had tied my ankles and the hem of my dress like a sack. My legs, which had been in pain because of the lack of blood flow, tingled as if they were screaming. As the sinister gazes that had been examining my ankles lingered there, Jonah hurriedly covered the hem of my skirt.
“Madam Blie, I will... untie the rope.”
As the laughter broke out at my expression of pain, Jonah quickly whispered. How are you going to solve it? What are you going to do with all these people...?
Instead of adding a word, Jonah stepped back behind me with a frightened expression and hid her body. At the same time, Sophie laughed softly and threw off the robe she was wearing. She had a leather belt with several daggers attached to her waist, and in her hand, she held a sword similar to the ones the men surrounding her were holding.
“It is only right that a fox, who dares to offend the higher power, apologize with her life.”
It wasn’t the familiar wheezing voice. It was a witch-like voice babbling ominously in the deep mountains, or even deeper than that, in a cave. A man nearby roughly untied the knot of the gag on the back of my head. I bit my dry lips and staggered to my feet. The moment I got up, I felt my wrists, which had been tied behind my back, being free, and I flinched. Jonah stood behind me without a care.
“It’s funny to hear that since there’s no one higher than me here.”
“You cheeky bitch.”
As I held back my dry throat, feeling like it was going to burst, I immediately started swearing.
“Did Doris Castagna tell you to kill me?”
Sophie's eyes widened. Her expression made her feel empty. I kept three maids, Marge, Jonah, and Marie, in the Grand Duke's residence to watch over the servants. Those who didn't know the situation would have thought that I was the only one left in the Grand Duke's residence, causing trouble and replacing the servants one by one, but that wasn't the case.
I only sent away those who seemed the least like Doris to other places for a while. No one paid attention to the titular head maid, who was always shut in her room. The same was true for me.
“How dare this lowly thing dare to use the honor of the noble one...!”
“How dare this lowly thing dare to use the honor of the noble one...!”
“Doris must have been in a hurry.”
Doris moved faster than expected. I heard from Noura that today was the day of her and Bardenaldo's union, and she would be busy preparing for His Majesty the Emperor's birthday later on...
“As you said, the lowly one has come this far, so I have always been on guard.”
"What?"
It was a blatant lie. All I could believe was that Neil, who arrived at the Count's residence late and confirmed that I was gone, would follow the trail of the wrecked carriage and come here, or that he would go to the Grand Duke's residence and notice my absence and search the area.
“I knew Doris would come out like this, so I took steps to make sure that if I died or went missing, either of those two things would make Doris suspicious. He’s probably on my trail by now.”
“That’s nonsense! Don’t move your tongue!”
“How rude!”
The new scream did not come from me. It was unexpectedly Marge who stopped Sophie, who was approaching with her shining blue sword.
“...The last?”
Marge stood in front of me, trembling.
“Even if you hadn’t become the Grand Duchess! You served her and might continue to serve her in the future! How could you do this! What did the Madam do to you? Even though the Grand Duke had banished the man who only served food in the Grand Duke’s residence to the remote region, he didn’t kick her out but respected her instead! How dare you...How dare you...!”
Ah, Marge! Everyone except us was laughing at Marge's every word, but not me.
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret, and just get out of here! Don’t touch a single hair on our lady!”
The screeching admonition, which was like a scream of terror, was pitiful and at the same time very touching. The pale, middle-aged maid stood up with her bare body, her eyes bloodshot.
It was the first time that Marge, who was smaller than me, seemed so big. Marge was not one of Blie's, but rather the maid who had initially treated me like a madman, so the feeling was even more different. The thought that it would be great if I could find out even a little bit of the truth by provoking myself with the determination to die quickly disappeared from my mind. The urge to not lose the precious people I had gained by entering this body like a fool boiled over.
My heart was pounding fast. I had always been amazed by Blie's health since entering this body, but today was the first time that my hands were tense with such strange excitement. My eyes kept being drawn to the daggers hanging from Sophie's waist.
“Take it easy, Madam...”
Jonah's voice, whispering as lightly as the wind, lifted my confidence that had fallen to the ground to the very tips of my head and made my blood boil. It was strange.
“Get out of the way of the lowly things.”
Sophie, who had spat out coldly, pushed the door without hesitation and quickly approached me. The old woman, who was not sick, was clearly an assassin who had once been active. Her eyes, filled with murder, were difficult to see as ordinary people. The sharp, blue blade rushed straight at me. And then a miracle happened. When I heard the sound of metal friction that seemed to rip my ears, I shivered instead of getting goosebumps.
"This...!"
Was it because the old woman didn’t have enough strength, or was it because this Blie’s amazing health was overflowing today?
“Take it easy, Madam...”
Jonah's voice, whispering as lightly as the wind, lifted my confidence that had fallen to the ground to the very tips of my head and made my blood boil. It was strange.
“Get out of the way of the lowly things.”
Sophie, who had spat out coldly, pushed the door without hesitation and quickly approached me. The old woman, who was not sick, was clearly an assassin who had once been active. Her eyes, filled with murder, were difficult to see as ordinary people. The sharp, blue blade rushed straight at me. And then a miracle happened. When I heard the sound of metal friction that seemed to rip my ears, I shivered instead of getting goosebumps.
"This...!"
Was it because the old woman didn’t have enough strength, or was it because this Blie’s amazing health was overflowing today?
My hand, which had hurriedly stepped aside, miraculously pulled out the dagger from the old woman’s waist and faced the icy sword. Not only that, just as my body remembered, the hand that held the dagger tightly stabbed the old woman’s hand without hesitation and brought the blade to the back of her neck.
Everything happened in an instant. It was like hurriedly dodging an approaching carriage without even thinking. It was an extremely natural and reflexive action. The old woman’s eyes, distorted in pain, bulged as if they were going to pop out. At the same time, my hand that wasn’t holding the dagger tightly grabbed the old woman’s collar and thrust the dagger straight at her. The situation was reversed in an instant.
“It’s not me who’s going to die, it’s you.”
I spoke coldly to the old woman's eyes, but at the same time, my heart throbbed. It was strange.
'Blie, what the heck are you... doing?'
Even some of the men who hadn't drawn their swords all at once prepared for battle. What was even stranger was that, rather than being afraid, a strange confidence arose in me that I could easily defeat three or four of them if only Marge and Jonah weren't there. At that moment, a slight vibration was felt in the warehouse where only a small amount of light was streaming in. The sound heard in the tense state of imminent danger made everyone's nerves tense.
“Someone is coming. There is no time to hesitate. They will kill all the women and even the maids.”
“What, what did you say?!”
Bang!
“It’s not me who’s going to die, it’s you.”
I spoke coldly to the old woman's eyes, but at the same time, my heart throbbed. It was strange.
'Blie, what the heck are you... doing?'
Even some of the men who hadn't drawn their swords all at once prepared for battle. What was even stranger was that, rather than being afraid, a strange confidence arose in me that I could easily defeat three or four of them if only Marge and Jonah weren't there. At that moment, a slight vibration was felt in the warehouse where only a small amount of light was streaming in. The sound heard in the tense state of imminent danger made everyone's nerves tense.
“Someone is coming. There is no time to hesitate. They will kill all the women and even the maids.”
“What, what did you say?!”
Bang!
The moment Sophie's panicked voice was heard, a cold winter wind blew into the warehouse with a loud noise. Not only the men who had been approaching with fierce faces, but even my own expression turned pale. There was a man who stood with his back to the moonlight and broke the heavy wooden door with a single kick.
“Adrienne!”
It was Rhodnes.
“Adrienne!”
It was Rhodnes.
***
Rhodnes let out a silent scream as he saw the writhing carriage wheels and the knights lying down, barely holding on to their breath.
'I'm your friend too. I'm mad because you keep making new friends while you don't even use your good friends.'
His dry hands carelessly swept over his face, which had completely drained of its color.
“You crazy kid.”
'Friend, it's good. It's good to know the truth. No matter what happens to us in the future, it's good to be fucking friends for now. But... Today is a little difficult.'
“I’m not satisfied with even having one....”
'I'm your friend too. I'm mad because you keep making new friends while you don't even use your good friends.'
His dry hands carelessly swept over his face, which had completely drained of its color.
“You crazy kid.”
'Friend, it's good. It's good to know the truth. No matter what happens to us in the future, it's good to be fucking friends for now. But... Today is a little difficult.'
“I’m not satisfied with even having one....”
The short circuit that had been simmering with anxiety exploded like a volcano as he poured regret into it. He wanted to throw all the words he had said just a few hours ago into the trash can.
“Why did I say something like that..."
When he recalled the face of the woman who had been trying to comfort him, his head felt like it was going to burst. A terrible self-loathing took over his whole body. When he finally galloped toward the search party that had found the trail and discovered numerous hoofprints, his heart was on the verge of stopping.
“Your Highness, Your Highness! Don’t go ahead so hastily when you don’t even know how many there are!!”
When Rhodnes investigated the disappearance of Baroness Kuroseda, he remembered those who had left traces like this back then. Wasn't Baroness Kuroseda someone whose death was a done deal?
'Am I your friend?'
When he remembered that his last conversation with Adrienne had been like that, he could no longer control himself.
***
In the warehouse filled with murder, Rhodnes’ gaze was fixed on me clearly. At first, it was a relief close to joy, and then it was anger, and his eyes, which were clearly filled with murderous intent for someone he was looking for, were filled with chilling murderous intent. His gaze slowly moved to the cracked lips that clearly showed signs of being gagged and the white wrists that clearly showed signs of being bound.
Naturally, before his knights, who were following him noisily, could even arrive, his boots trampled the man closest to me and crushed his face with the force of his grip. He didn’t even draw his sword. Not only I, but the men immediately recognized the identity of the person whose eyes were gleaming in the darkness. There was no way they could deal with someone who had survived fighting dozens of monsters alone.
Those who had lost their will to fight before they could even draw their swords were crushed by his bare hands, and they ran out of the warehouse in panic. Even that would have been suppressed by the knights who had rushed in and surrounded them.
After dealing with the four or five people around me who had not been able to escape in time, Rhodnes then grabbed Sophie’s head that I was holding with one hand and threw her into a corner like trash. My hand, which was trembling but still holding the dagger tightly, was immediately caught in his rough hand. My tense body collapsed along with the dagger that fell with a clang. I couldn’t see his face well because he had his back to the light. However, I was hugged by him so tightly that it took my breath away.
“Adrienne, Adrienne...”
When I smelled his body odor mixed with the smell of alcohol, sweat, and the lavender scent that always came from him, I was finally able to relax.
“It was all my fault.”
A rough, low voice as if everything had been torn apart, came out like a sigh.
“I should have taken you back to the mansion... because I said something like that to you...”
The body of Rhodnes, who was hugging my collapsed body while still sitting down, was shaking even more than mine, which had just been subjected to such terrible treatment.
“Because of me, a cripple, you...”
“Adrienne, Adrienne...”
When I smelled his body odor mixed with the smell of alcohol, sweat, and the lavender scent that always came from him, I was finally able to relax.
“It was all my fault.”
A rough, low voice as if everything had been torn apart, came out like a sigh.
“I should have taken you back to the mansion... because I said something like that to you...”
The body of Rhodnes, who was hugging my collapsed body while still sitting down, was shaking even more than mine, which had just been subjected to such terrible treatment.
“Because of me, a cripple, you...”
It's not your fault. I knew Doris would make a move at any moment. This was my trap. I didn't know her person would reveal their identity in such a drastic way. It's just that the timing is a little bit earlier.
"..."
My throat felt so tight that I had to keep my mouth shut for a moment.
“So I can’t stand it anymore.”
Maybe it was because he was holding me so tightly that I couldn't even breathe, but I couldn't push away his hard, trembling chest. He was like a swamp that pulled me in even more the more I tried to escape.
“I’m not your friend.”
I stopped squirming in his arms. His sudden declaration hit me like a shock. I took a deep breath as I felt a lump of blood rising in my throat. What could it mean?
It didn’t sound good, as I remembered Rhodnes, who had been angry with me just hours before. Our throbbing chests were pressed together, and even though I was held by his hot body, I felt a chill for a moment. A growl, like the groan of an animal, immediately penetrated my ears.
“I’m not your friend. I don’t want to do that anymore.”
I froze. As I met his gleaming red eyes, I realized that his declaration did not mean that he was disappointed in me... but that he meant something else.
“I’m not your friend. I don’t want to do that anymore.”
I froze. As I met his gleaming red eyes, I realized that his declaration did not mean that he was disappointed in me... but that he meant something else.
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