Baden (2)

Right after returning from Hell, Alicia tried to move the way she used to when she was there, unaware of her current physical state.

She attempted to jump down a twelve-step staircase all at once and even considered leaping from the third-floor balcony.

She did jump the staircase.

Normally, it would’ve been easier than breathing.

But the moment she jumped, Alicia realized something was terribly wrong.

Her body felt heavier than it ever had.

As if someone below was tugging her ankles down, her leaps didn’t lift properly.

She struggled to control her movements midair, and her limbs flailed out of sync.

The landing sent a shock through her ankles, as if they would snap.

That solidified it—her body was not the same one she remembered.

The maids barely managed to stop her before she threw herself off the third-floor railing.

It was strange.

Had she lost all ability, she could have dismissed everything in Hell as a dream.

She might’ve convinced herself those vivid memories of flesh being torn apart were some kind of mental illusion.

But the techniques were still ingrained in her body like second nature.

She just couldn’t move the way she calculated.

Her athletic ability had deteriorated.

Strength, speed, agility, perception—

All her physical prowess had reverted to what she remembered from when she was nineteen.

It felt like all the power she’d built with magic stones had drained away.

It wasn’t fair.

It felt like everything she’d earned through pain and effort had been stolen.

She tried to think positively, telling herself she’d start over from the beginning, but the injustice lingered.

She had the skill, the form, the technique—yet lacked speed and strength, which made her feel inexplicably frustrated.

Her body didn’t respond the way she expected, and it was maddening.

She told herself maybe this was better than starting from scratch.

But she couldn’t forget what had been taken.

If she had magic stones now, she’d devour them without hesitation…

But magic stones didn’t exist in this world.

And yet—

Suddenly, a rough-cut magic stone appeared before her blurred vision.

That’s—!

A long shadow fell over her face as she lay sprawled on the ground.

At some point, a tall man had approached and now stood beside her.

On the button of his cuff gleamed a gem identical to the raw magic stones in her memory.

“Are you asleep?”

A voice laced with exasperation fell over Alicia’s face, lying under the sunlight.

It was the voice of Reichardt.

Realizing that the shadowed face belonged to the Grand Duke of Tessen, Alicia jumped up in shock.

“Y-Your Y-Y-Y-Your Grace?!”

Alicia stammered as she had when she was a child.

“Yes.”

The Alicia of the past would’ve frozen in shame the moment she stuttered.

She would’ve stopped breathing, gone dark in the eyes, and lost all composure.

Her heart would’ve pounded painfully and she likely wouldn’t have been able to move.

She might’ve even fled in panic.

But now, though she stammered badly and felt embarrassed, Alicia didn’t panic.

She was startled and unsure what to do, but she managed to speak in a flustered voice.

“H-How d-did y-you… get h-here…”

Her tongue felt twisted as she continued to stammer ridiculously.

Still, Alicia did her best to keep speaking.

“I came for the title conferment ceremony.”

Alicia hurriedly collected herself and sprang to her feet, brushing leaves from her dress.

Her voice wavered as she tried to sound proper.

“S-Since w-when were y-you here?”

Her voice rose and fell rapidly, making anyone listening feel sorry for her.

Her red face and flustered expression betrayed her embarrassment.

But it was impressive that she didn’t hide it or run away.

“Since the moment you were riding your horse standing up.”

Reichardt answered sincerely.

“…What?”

Alicia froze.

Her hand paused mid-motion as she tried to fix her hair flattened from lying in the grass.

Her frantic efforts to pick leaves off her dress stopped.

All her visible and invisible movements halted at once.

What would she say if he pointed out what she, the daughter of a marquis, had been doing rolling around in the dirt?

In her otherwise empty head, curses of humiliation echoed loudly.

“I hadn’t heard that Echeveria would be a military base.”

“…Huh?”

At Reichardt’s words, Alicia let out a dumb sound again.

His face was as dry and expressionless as the Marquis of Rain’s.

Yet, something in his tone sounded mischievous.

But his face was so impassive, Alicia couldn’t tell if he was joking or truly disappointed.

“What exactly were you doing?”

Golden eyes calmly regarded her.

Alicia, trying not to avert her gaze, replied:

“Uh, j-just exercising… Your Grace, d-did you come alone? Without any attendants?”

“Just exercising.”

Repeating her words, Reichardt looked up at the tall tree.

His gaze moved from the tree to the nearby wall, then back to Alicia.

Alicia gave an awkward smile.

It felt like the awkwardness between her and the Grand Duke was building by the second, but she stubbornly ignored it.

Her heart beat strangely fast.

Probably just from being so startled.

“Sounds like the sort of exercise best left to the special cavalry.”

Alicia kept smiling, though it was forced.

There was a legendary tale of the Western Army’s special cavalry—

Twenty cavalrymen and the Grand Duke of Tessen had charged into enemy territory and collapsed their formations.

Despite their small numbers, they achieved remarkable results because they weren’t just ordinary soldiers.

The top 28 riders of the Western special cavalry were said to be the Grand Duke’s personal guard, each capable of facing hundreds alone.

“You said you came for the title conferment?”

Alicia felt a nervous twitch coming but forced her smile to stay.

“Yes. I heard Lady Alicia was resting in the garden and didn’t want to disturb you, so I dismissed the attendants. It was my mistake. It wasn’t their fault. I should’ve waited when the maids warned me, but I insisted on coming alone. I mean, how many people could really stop me? Are you alright?”

“Yes. Of course. I’m fine.”

To Reichardt’s long explanation, Alicia responded with short, firm replies.

“It’s a relief.”

It really wasn’t.

Alicia quickly walked ahead of Reichardt.

The Grand Duke didn’t point out the rudeness of stepping before a royal.

He waited silently for Alicia to speak, smiling—but not really.

“Next time, please send someone ahead. Preferably one of my people. It’s really troublesome when you just show up like this.”

“I’ll be careful.”

Reichardt replied agreeably.

Alicia maintained her smile to the end.

“I would appreciate that.”

“Aren’t you going to remove the leaf and straw from your head?”

“…Pardon?”

Reichardt pointed to Alicia’s left ear, her right elbow, and the top of her head.

“Straw on your ear and elbow. A leaf on your crown.”

“Where?”

Alicia quickly brushed her elbow.

Then swept near her ear.

Just as he said, a long twisted piece of straw came off in her hand.

“Not there. A little to the side.”

Alicia fumbled behind her head, brushing repeatedly past a leaf stuck like an antenna at her crown.

“Here?”

Her hand movements, searching for the star-shaped leaf atop her head, looked both pitiable and amusing.

“A bit more to the side.”

“Here?”

Watching her fingers dance around the leaf, Reichardt stepped closer.

“Excuse me.”

Preoccupied with finding the leaf, Alicia hadn’t noticed him approaching.

She only realized how close he was when she felt fingers brushing hers as he touched her head.

At the contact, Alicia froze.

Reichardt plucked the leaf and promptly stepped back.

He held it out to her.

“Thank you.”

Alicia reached for the leaf, offering her thanks.

Its short stem caused their hands to brush.

His hand quickly withdrew.

Seeing him deliberately avoid her touch stirred something in Alicia, but she didn’t comment.

“Shall we go in?”

It was early winter, and even the air of the imperial capital Baden had turned cold.

“Yes, you said you came for the title conferment ceremony.”

“There are things to give, things to confirm, and things to receive.”

As the two left the garden, Daisy approached with a much stiffer expression than usual.

Behind her stood the visibly pale servants of the marquisate.

Next to them stood what seemed to be the Grand Duke’s attendants, lined up in perfect order.

“Roderick.”

At Reichardt’s call and extended hand, a large-built officer at the front stepped forward.

The Grand Duke’s aide looked like a giant bear, with a strong jaw and thick brows.

Despite his military appearance, his manner was refined like a young nobleman.

“I’ll escort you myself.”

“Stand back.”

The Grand Duke took the neatly squared box from his aide’s hands.

At a glance, it almost looked like he’d snatched it.

“We’ve prepared tea in the annex.”

Quick-witted Daisy promptly stepped up to speak.

As she tried to guide them to the annex, Reichardt brushed past her and said,

“Stand back.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The man climbed the annex steps as if it were his own home.

Watching the high-handed guest’s back, Alicia mouthed the word ‘talk!’ to Daisy.

Daisy blinked rapidly to show she understood.

She peeked at the Grand Duke on the annex steps, then glanced at the line of servants.

Following her gaze, Alicia noticed an unfamiliar noblewoman.

Their eyes met, and the lady offered a polite greeting with her gaze alone.

“Lady Alicia, this is Countess Rocaz. She will be your temporary tutor.”

The voice came from behind, where Alicia thought Reichardt had already entered the annex.

Countess Rocaz was about to formally greet Alicia.

Alicia was just about to return the greeting when—

“Later.”

A cold voice cut through the moment from behind Alicia.

Countess Rocaz gestured politely, signaling Alicia to go ahead without concern.

“I’ll see you later.”

Alicia gave a brief nod and walked toward the annex.

Royalty.

They really were a breed that thought everything should go their way.

As she passed the man waiting at the door, Alicia thought thoughts that could get her in trouble if heard aloud.

She stepped into the annex.

With a firm gesture, Reichardt closed the door behind her.