Chapter 33
Chapter 33
"Let's go, Count."
Philip spoke heartily from behind.
"I've set the five sacks of wheat over there. Let's head over together."
"Hohohoho! I was just glancing around, and it certainly wasn't because of five sacks of wheat! But how in the world did House Sears come by wheat?"
Wheat was a crop that didn't grow in the central region.
Even five sacks would be extremely precious.
Last night, I had told everyone this.
"If outsiders ask, just say you don't know."
There was no need to advertise that the matter involved black mages.
Sure enough, Philip answered exactly as instructed.
"Ahaha! It's all thanks to our Lady Brisa, who graduated second in her class from Capital Academy, speaks five languages, has impeccable court etiquette, and has even been invited to a banquet hosted by Her Majesty the Empress Dowager! How could the likes of us ever fathom the depths of her wisdom!"
I didn't think I'd told him to go that far.
Anyway, Alpheus carried me in his arms all the way to the marquess's residence.
Dangling in his grip, I pressed him.
"Explain what happened."
I was too curious about the circumstances, so I threatened him into explaining himself first.
"Otherwise I'm getting down."
The war hero surrendered immediately.
"You see, I survived thanks to your gift. But the poor Awakening Herb, well, it ultimately met its glorious end."
"It was already dead and dried."
"Thanks to it, I saved the Second Imperial Prince and we all survived, but then the Warp broke down. Waiting around endlessly with all my limbs intact would have been, well, too shameful to the Awakening Herb I keep in my heart."
"You mean the one you keep in your stomach."
I answered calmly and quietly set a goal for my relationship with Alpheus.
He was the protagonist of this world, and there was nothing to gain from being on bad terms with him.
As Mother had advised, if I bared my claws, the only one who'd lose was me.
Alpheus was now the master of House Sears, and I was effectively in the palm of his hand.
'That's why I gave him the Awakening Herb in the first place.'
In the end, the Awakening Herb had helped him, so as a first step it wasn't bad.
'I'll be able to get along with him peacefully enough.'
Unlike the original novel, the Second Imperial Prince had survived, and Alpheus hadn't fallen into darkness.
But there was a side effect.
The clothes Alpheus was wearing hadn't turned dark either.
Unable to bear it any longer, I looked at the flower-patterned handkerchief fluttering in front of my eyes and said,
"Let's untie this hideous flower-patterned handkerchief right now."
Getting along reasonably well was different from living without being able to speak my mind.
I had saved him from a crisis. I was qualified to say this much on behalf of everyone.
"It's an eyesore."
Alpheus looked flustered.
"Huh? This is, well, it embodies my conviction that we must protect beautiful nature......"
"Keep your convictions in your heart. Not in your fashion."
"Wait, don't pull on it. It'll tear!"
"That saves me the trouble. I was planning to shred it and throw it away anyway. It mustn't be recycled by mistake."
He'd gone to the imperial palace with that handkerchief around his neck. Truly, it was a tragedy for House Sears and an act against the public good of the empire's people. I had to do my utmost to prevent a recurrence.
'Alpheus was the Marquess Sears now, though.'
Besides, since I'd effectively prevented him from turning dark, I felt a certain sense of responsibility.
'It seems protecting the family name is still my job.......'
I might not have inherited the title, but my surname was still Sears. That meant my reputation was affected by Alpheus too.
'My precious reputation, which I protected by holding back laughter and tears so people wouldn't call me mad!'
If things continued like this, Alpheus would obviously be completely disregarded in noble society.
Receiving the knights' silent looks of encouragement, I went on.
"If you're going to use that face from now on, go get a refund from God. Put it toward House Sears's finances. No, never mind. Let's refund your soul and keep the face. That would be best for House Sears's future."
"Is that possible?"
"I'm going to start looking into it tomorrow. I just added it as a candidate for my new academic plan."
"Um...... You're joking, right?"
"Also, you'd better not make that 'um' sound in the middle of speaking. It's far too uncultured for a marquess's manner of speech."
"Really? Got it. I'll fix it right away. Um...... How can I fix...... Ah, oops."
"Simple. Every time you make an 'um' sound, get hit on the calf, and it'll be fixed in no time."
I looked down at Alpheus's excessively sturdy calves.
Alpheus frowned and asked again.
"What...... did you say?"
"Don't worry. If you apply ointment, it won't scar. We have plenty left at home."
At those words, even Wendy, who had been hastily disposing of the discarded flower-patterned handkerchief behind us, froze.
After a brief silence, Alpheus slowly asked.
"Could it be...... that you got hit on the calves too?"
Good heavens. Surely he wasn't putting me on the same level as himself.
I snorted and replied.
"At least I wasn't hit over something like 'um.' In my case, it was 'uh.......'"
There was a big difference between "um" and "uh." In my opinion, anyway.
But Alpheus's eyes went wide.
"When in the world?"
"When I was six."
"What? Which damn bastard laid a hand on a little kid like that......."
"My mother."
I said it flatly.
Behind us, Wendy quietly pressed a hand to her forehead.
I felt Alpheus's body go rigid.
I tilted my head to the side and reassured him.
"Well, she's already passed away, so I won't be suing her for attempted murder."
"I, I see. Um, let's hurry inside and sleep. A child shouldn't be up this late."
"Well, if you keep making 'um' sounds, I'll be up even later pointing them out."
And so, when we arrived at the marquess's residence.
The maids came rushing out in a crowd, and just then Alpheus said,
"So, Bribri, I'm only asking now. How have you been? Did anything happen? Was anything hard for you?"
Wait. I thought I'd just heard something truly strange, dreadful, and horrifying.
"......Bribri? Don't tell me you were...... calling me that?"
"Huh? Uh....... As a nickname, isn't it cute?"
Alpheus winked once again.
"You can call me Big Bro Alphi too. How about it?"
The three-pronged assault made my head spin.
I took a moment to catch my breath. Then I said to the maids,
"Call Rangsi. I need to allocate a budget to send to the temple."
"Pardon? To the temple?"
"Yes. We need to dispatch a priest."
Holding back tears, I made a decision for the Sears Marquisate.
"For the honor of House Sears, we have no need for a soul like this, so I intend to reserve an exorcism rite that will leave only the shell."
"Bribri......."
"What are you doing? This is urgent."
Alpheus was defeated by my resolute decision.
"Sorry, Brisa! I'll call you Brisa!"
"From now on, keep the evil spirit in your heart well sealed. If it wakes up, there'll be serious trouble, so manage it carefully. Now, put me down."
Alpheus set me down as if regretful.
I brushed off my skirt with a few pats and looked up at Alpheus.
The same platinum-blond hair as mine, and sky-blue eyes.......
Originally, I had never known how to rely on family.
Even when I had to remain alone in the territory and prepare for isolation, I hadn't been greatly flustered. That was because I had never trusted anyone in the first place.
'You mustn't trust family.'
I steadied myself.
'In the original novel, Alpheus and Brisa never spent time together. There's no telling how he might change now.'
Mother had ordinarily cherished me greatly. But on nights when her madness flared, she didn't even recognize my existence. She would rampage like that and end up locked in her room.
Father was no different.
Father had never once given me a warm look, busy as he was searching for his eldest son. One day, drunk, he had only said this.
"While you live here in comfort with your mother...... there's no telling what hardship my child is enduring right now. So, Brisa, the very act of paying attention to you makes me feel guilty."
Even in that moment, all I could see was Father's back. I didn't want to see his turned back again.
Rather than that, I would close my heart first and just live reasonably, peacefully.......
"Huh? Ain't that the marquess? No, in the middle of the night, am I seein' a ghost? How'd you go and die? What unfinished business brought you all the way here?"
Rangsi came running out from inside the marquess's residence.
"I just came running; I'm not dead. I don't have any unfinished business yet. Ah, it's just that I haven't eaten dinner......."
Wait.
"I'm just a little hungry, haha."
What? He was hungry?
He'd struggled away from home and finally arrived back...... and he was hungry?
My eyes flashed.
This was unacceptable.