CHAPTER 85

"Why haven't they arrived yet?" Alicia wrapped her head in her hands and collapsed onto the desk, groaning in pain.

"It's been a month since I sent the letter, and there hasn't even been any message, let alone arrival," she lamented.

It had been over a month since the unpleasant communication from Count Gaidar had arrived.

They must have arranged for someone to depart by now, so they should arrive here soon.

"Please have a little more patience and wait."

Duncan, the old knight, looked at Alicia, who was sobbing on the desk, with a sympathetic gaze.

There would surely be impending threats, making things confusing.

However, Duncan knew very well that this was the time when vassals like him had to intervene to correct their lord.

"You always have to prepare for the worst. That way, you can handle everything with a humble attitude."

"...Maybe I should just go marry over there."

Alicia, who had been speaking in a grumbling tone with her lips sticking out, began to laugh ironically, as if it was funny even after hearing what she had said.

"It's a ridiculous idea."

"...Yes."

Count Sigmund Gaidar sent Alicia a letter asking her if she would marry his eldest son.

The Gaidar family was one of the most prominent families recently, and above all, it bordered Deomar, so it was a proposal worth considering at least once from Alicia's point of view.

However, the problem was that there was no sign of respect for the Hainal family in the letter.

If Sigmund genuinely wanted a union between the Gaidar family and Hainal family, he would not have sent a marriage proposal that felt like a notice.

Although the flattery in the letter was sweet, it didn't promise anything for Hainal's future, and the unstoppable war that Count Sigmund had waged so far was a good example of his greedy nature.

In other words, the proposal sent by Count Sigmund was poison that shouldn't be swallowed.

"There are only thieves around."

"...Lady Alicia."

Alicia knew very well.

Bayezid is also not treating them with simple favor.

There was no such thing as unconditional allies for the weak.

"We'll have a chance to stand up on our own if we just have time."

At Duncan's words, who was trying to somehow give her strength, the only Hainal who was weakly slumped on the desk straightened up.

"Yes. We should try until we can."

It wasn't shameful to crouch down when you had no strength.

If there was nothing in your hands right now, you had to borrow it somehow, and Alicia was willing to pay the price for it.

"But is it this difficult to ask to borrow a squire who is not even a knight?"

However, the boy she had requested from Bayezid still had no contact and was not even seen.

"...It's just one squire."

But he wasn't just an ordinary boy.

He was the boy who had defended the honor of the Hainal family in that day's duel.

And the boy who wiped her parents' graves with his own hands after receiving her handkerchief.

"Lady Alicia. It is reported that the people from the Gaidar family have arrived at the estate."

When everyone around her revealed their dark intentions towards the territory of Deomar, there was only one person who could help Alicia out of pure obligation.

"I understand."

And Alicia was still waiting for that boy.

※※※※

There were men entering the entrance of Deomar.

There were more than ten men, all of them knights in excellent armor.

"Looks like a backwater village."

The man standing at the forefront of the group looked around with a disdainful look.

"And it's too quiet."

Untidy thick eyebrows, broad shoulders.

And even though he is smiling, he looks belligerent.

The young man, confidently exuding his aura without bothering to tidy it up, seemed unimpressed by the territory he had laid eyes on, as if it were beneath him.

It is a territory based on diplomacy rather than war, and agriculture rather than commerce and industry."

"That sounds boring."

The man with a bulky body seemed to lose interest in the explanation about Deomar coming from the side and scratched his head.

"I just have to stay quiet, right, Godin?"

"You should at least greet them."

"Just a greeting is enough?"

"Act interested, engage in small talk."

"Sigh."

Stephen, the eldest son of the Gaidar family.

He was someone who did what he wanted without hesitation, and also had a natural talent for refusing things he didn't want to do.

"I don't want to do such a bothersome thing."

Just thinking about it made Stephen's temper flare up suddenly, and the knights behind him involuntarily tensed up.

"You must fulfill your duty to your bloodline."

But Godin, who was directly facing Stephen's momentum, just smiled calmly.

A knight hiding a sharp sword behind his always smiling face.

That's why he was a man you couldn't face and smile back.

"...Alright."

Seeing Godin, who showed no signs of being shaken by his aura, Stephen could only sigh as if resigned.

Sending Godin, who was practically his father's right arm, meant that his father was taking this matter seriously.

"They say she has a beautiful appearance."

Godin knew well that Stephen was a man who could not be appeased only by suppressing him.

"They say there's hardly any noblewoman around here worth comparing to."

"....Oh really?"

A Western blooded person who is honest about his desires and doesn't hesitate to do what he wants.

Stephend inherited Sigmund's temperament completely, nodding in acknowledgment as if he understood the carrot Godin had laid out for him.

"I feel a little motivated."

It was a tedious and uninteresting task, but at least there was one thing that sparked Stephend's interest, which was fortunate.

At the edge of Stephen's sight, knights with the banner of the Hainal family were approaching.

※※※※

"Wow."

The first words Stephen uttered upon seeing the woman with the aquamarine hair sitting above were words of admiration.

"I've heard about you through rumors, but indeed, rumors are just rumors. The beauty before me now cannot be contained in mere words."

"..."

Despite his rugged appearance, Stephen was quite adept at serving up refined words, but Alicia was already feeling discomfort towards him.

Stephen's attitude towards addressing Alicia, despite having the formal title of a Baroness, seemed too casual, especially considering he was addressing the owner of an entire territory.

"It's a pleasure to meet you for the first time. Lady. I am Stephen of the Gaidar family."

".....Welcome. Lord Stephen Gaidar."

Despite the formal title of a viscount, Stephen addressed Alicia simply as "Lady."

Duncan, who stood beside her, sent sharp energy to pressure Stephen, but Stephen, the party concerned, just smiled and brushed it off.

"You've traveled a long way. It would have been better if you had given notice in advance."

They were people who couldn't be pressured by mere momentum.

However, Alicia Hainal, the rightful owner of Deomar, had an obligation to dignify herself as the owner.

"Wouldn't it have been necessary to coordinate this marriage proposal in advance? I think it was a bit hasty to come here so suddenly."

While her hair color was aquamarine, the tone of her words flowing from her tongue was icy blue.

Alicia succeeded in wearing the colors of nobility, at least on the outside.

"I'm a little disappointed with the attitude the Gaidar family showed me."

As Alicia said, sending a letter would naturally not establish a marriage or engagement between nobles.

However, Gaidar had already sent Stephen, the concerned party, to Deomar without even considering Alicia's intentions. This was undoubtedly a discourtesy towards Alicia, no matter how one looked at it.

"Our Count said that there will be relationships that begin through meeting."

"Are you saying that a meeting between noble families would proceed so hastily?"

Duncan, irritated by Godin's ambiguous words, felt a strong urge to vent his frustration with a curse or two. To the old knight, Lady Alicia was as precious as his own daughter.

"Don't be too harsh. Our Count treasures Lady Alicia so much, so he sent his son directly to avoid losing her to someone else."

However, you should not get angry carelessly.

Their sudden intrusion undoubtedly had an intention behind it, likely to build their own pretext.

"I apologize for disregarding etiquette and procedure to some extent. However, the presence of Lord Stephen here, as the eldest and heir of the Gaidar family, implies significance. He is more than capable of filling in for any procedure that might be deemed lacking."

As Godin said, sending the family's eldest son to this event also meant that Count Sigmund gave it great meaning.

If Alicia were to disrespect him here, it would undoubtedly lead to public criticism of the Gaidar family.

"Don't be too angry. We're here to deliver good news."

Alicia clenched her skirt tightly, watching Stephen's affable smile.

Uninvited guests carrying a burdensome and difficult pretext of a proposal. Their intentions were clear, and their actions were uncomfortably evident. Alicia did her best to endure.

"Welcome, everyone. Please rest for now in the prepared accommodations..."

"I'd rather have a private conversation with Lady Alicia first."

Pioneers have no scruples. If they want something, they want it without hesitation.

"I would like to greet your parents first, but the situation seems unfavorable."

And to obtain, they spare no means or methods.

Alicia's water-colored eyes rippled as she looked at Stephen, who was even talking about her now dead parents.

"How dare you..."

Patience is a virtue for everyone, but even that has its limits. 

If one continues to endure even after crossing the line, it is merely an act of self-abasement.

"Where do you think you are..."

The ruler of Deomar, the sole Hainal, stood up from her seat, ready to vent her anger at the insult she couldn't tolerate.

"The knights of Bayezid have arrived!"

Just as Alicia was struggling to maintain her composure through patience, the butler burst into the lobby with a loud voice. 

From the employer's point of view, it was no different from tying the owner's mouth shut, but the butler was already allowed to do this and had to do it.

"They have just arrived at the mansion."

The butler had a pale complexion and was breaking into a cold sweat due to the sharp aura emanating from the knights behind him, but he was trying his best to do his job.

"Let them in!"

Duncan's preparations for contingencies had paid off, and the pitiful butler managed to finish his duties to the best of his abilities.

With Duncan's urgent shout, the lobby of Deomar opened its doors on its own accord.

Through the gradually opening door, there stood the men.

They wore fur-lined cloaks typical of the north, exuding the sharp and cold aura characteristic of northern knights, much like the place they hailed from.

"It's been a while. Baroness of the Hainal family, Lady Alicia."

And the one-eyed knight standing in front of them and bowing his head politely.

The knights of Bayezid have come to greet the mistress of Deomar.

Unlike the knights of the west, the knights of the north were treating the owner of Deomar with courtesy.

"······."

Alicia looked at the boy who made eye contact with her without bowing his head.

The blue eyes were looking at Alicia with the same unwavering gaze as before.

When she gave up everything, the boy entered the battlefield alone carrying her honor.

"Apologies for the delay."

The boy standing before the lobby, with a slightly different qualification from the other knights present, belatedly bowed his head in greeting.

"I have come here now in response to your call, Lady Alicia."

Stephen had no right to address Alicia as "Lady."

But the boy standing in the lobby had the right to call her "Lady."

Because he was the only one she allowed.

"Welcome, knights of Bayezid."

With Alicia's nod, the door to the lobby was closing.

All those who needed to be present were now here.

Those who came for a justification and those who came with a justification in their hands were looking at each other.