Tessen (6)

The forest originally had no name.

It was Alicia who began calling it the Musto Forest.

She requested that the Musto Forest be made safe.

She didn’t stop at simply requesting it—she proposed specific solutions.

Alicia called it the “Musto Forest Purification.”

The Tessen soldiers, however, referred to it as the “Monster Extermination Operation,” or sometimes the “Monster Extinction Operation.”

The border units guarding the western forest and marsh had all lost family to the monsters living there.

The soldiers stationed within Tessen had similar pasts.

They had lost friends and family to beasts that seemed not of this world.

That’s why Tessen praised Alicia’s “Monster Extermination Operation.”

Though Alicia found the words “extermination” or “extinction” absurd, whether it was purification or extermination didn’t matter.

She gave names to many things after arriving in Tessen.

Beyond the vast hills within the walls of the Tessen stronghold were forests and marshlands.

At the end of the hills stretched a long path into the forest, where a pure white castle stood.

Alicia named it “White West Alik.”

Using White West Alik as a landmark, the west side was forest, and the east was marsh.

The marsh still remained unnamed.

Alicia called the western forest the “Musto Forest.”

Because many Musto trees grew there.

Though not officially called that, any Tessen soldier knew what Musto referred to.

It was the only valuable thing in the monster-filled forest.

The core of Alicia’s extermination plan lay in ecosystem disruption.

The Musto tree bore fruit that was the main diet of a gentle beast called the Lusa.

What was useful for making the Musto paralytic poison wasn’t the fruit, but the tree’s leaves—so Lusa and humans could coexist.

The problem lay in the Lusa’s excrement.

When they ate Musto fruit, their droppings would occasionally contain a white stone-like object called Kallao.

Kallao was said to be similar to squash and edible by humans.

The idea of eating a crop birthed from animal waste made listeners grimace.

According to Alicia, Kallao was favored by herd-beast monsters like the Gottlan, Eto, and Fenya.

Predators like the Kakan or large carnivorous monsters appeared in the forest to prey on those herd beasts.

Thus, Alicia claimed that once the existing monsters were eradicated, managing Kallao would keep future herding beasts in check.

Many were baffled.

Wasn’t exterminating the current monsters the biggest challenge?

Alicia said she needed no special help—just permission to enter the forest.

Reichardt gave Alicia the Grand Duke’s First Friend Token.

The Grand Duke’s First Friend had the authority to command both the forest border guards and the Grand Duke’s personal guard.

On the first day she received the token, the pack of Etos around the lake was wiped out.

With each passing day, their numbers dropped.

By the third day, they were nearly extinct.

Thus, one by one, creatures of the forest ecosystem vanished.

And so, today came.

Alicia led the final Gottlan pack into the trap-rigged clearing.

She didn’t force herself into the center.

Even without her support, the Tessen soldiers could now fight the beasts well.

Instead, Alicia tracked and eliminated any Gottlan that broke away from the pack.

The horse she’d ridden for over a month now chased monsters without command.

Her spear struck the Gottlan’s weak point with precision.

Hit on the left ear, the Gottlan shrieked—“Screeech!”—and staggered.

Alicia leapt from the horse as it passed.

Her spear sliced through the air and severed the creature’s right leg.

It was a clean motion.

Sensing Alicia had dismounted, the horse turned back.

At the familiar whinny, Alicia shook the blood off her spear and approached it.

As she mounted again, a series of piercing Gottlan cries rang out.

“Screeech!”

“ScreeEEEch!”

“Screeech!”

The source wasn’t far.

Among the escapees was the actual leader of the pack.

The yellow-eared Gottlan—she was female.

The yellow-eared ones protected the young or immature members.

When the pack was under attack, they preserved their bloodline for the future.

They also led the pack’s unique group cries.

The Gottlans’ scream could temporarily deafen human ears— and at the same time disrupted cognitive ability.

“Let’s go!”

Even for the Gottlans, releasing sound as an attack wasn’t easy.

It was rare. They only did it when their lives were truly at stake.

“Quickly, quickly!”

The total annihilation of a Gottlan pack wasn’t complete until the fleeing yellow-eared one and her companions were taken out.

That task always fell to Alicia.

Since they fled, they always moved separately from the lured pack.

Alicia had never explained this in detail to anyone else.

She assumed she would handle it.

But in the chaos of battle, things sometimes diverged.

She was frustrated at herself for not planning for that.

With lips pressed tight, she spurred her horse onward.

“Screeech!”

A sharp cry echoed from beyond the trees.

The wind picked up as Alicia’s horse raced between them.

As they entered a small clearing, the air reeked of blood.

The horse, familiar with Alicia’s clean strikes, turned its head away at the stench.

“Shh.”

Alicia calmed the horse and dismounted.

Scattered along the edge of the clearing were mangled Gottlan corpses.

Had it not been for the context, one could not even tell they were once Gottlans.

Thud!

A blunt impact, like a water pouch being struck, rang out.

The stench of blood intensified.

Alicia, still soothing her horse, was taken aback by the face she saw beyond the fallen yellow-eared Gottlan.

“…Your Grace?”

A man stood with one hand covering his ear, his face deeply furrowed.

In his other hand was a blood-soaked axe.

Reichardt leaned on the heavy weapon like a cane.

“……”

Reichardt, too, was surprised.

His amber eyes were fixed on Alicia.

“Why are you here?”

At Alicia’s question, Reichardt didn’t answer.

“……”

The amber eyes were fixed on Alicia’s legs, visible beneath a skirt barely a handspan long.

His shocked expression was as if he’d seen a demonic heretic.

Alicia belatedly understood the situation.

“Ah, this?”

“Were you attacked…?”

The amber gaze reluctantly found her face.

Though he looked at her now, it didn’t seem like he’d completely forgotten the skirt.

“Well, not exactly, but… if we trace the cause back, I suppose it’s not entirely unrelated…”

Alicia rambled.

She had forgotten all about this in her rush.

“What do you mean?”

Reichardt asked as he wiped the blood from his axe.

“When you jump off and on horses, leap through trees, and sprint fast, skirts can be a hassle.”

“If you weren’t attacked, that’s a relief.”

“Yes…”

Alicia responded awkwardly.

When Reichardt spoke, his eyes stayed strictly on her face.

His unwavering gaze made her feel intensely self-conscious.

It was as if her cheek might burn through.

“Now that it’s all over, shall we return?”

Alicia forced herself to speak, wanting to escape the discomfort.

“I’d like that, but it seems we need to wait a moment.”

Reichardt answered while still staring only at her face— as if shifting his gaze anywhere else would be a grievous sin.

When Alicia was about to ask what he meant, he suddenly turned his eyes sharply.

His horse lay panting among the fallen Gottlans.

Alicia turned away—

She could sense that the horse clearly didn’t want her to approach.

From the bundle on her own horse, Alicia pulled out a cloak and put it on.

It was a double-layered garment.

The lower half was lined with silk matching the color of her dress top.

Reichardt’s gaze, as if entranced, followed her as she donned the cloak.

Alicia examined the horse, stroking its brow.

“Looks spotless, right?”

She spoke while keeping her attention on the horse.

“Did you strike it?”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t a riding jacket and trousers be better?”

Reichardt proposed sincerely.

Alicia whispered while gritting her molars.

“Daisy won’t let me wear them, says it undermines a lady’s dignity. She believes a lady should always ride sidesaddle. Daisy would probably think the world was ending if I wore pants and used both stirrups.”

Alicia grumbled like a student complaining about a strict teacher.

In truth, Daisy had suggested cutting the skirt just below the knees.

But what she actually brought was a skirt a handspan longer than promised.

Alicia had then trimmed it further, up above her thighs, as she entered the forest.

It was simply easier to move in.

But unlike the burning heat of hell, Tessen was cold.

Very cold.

Comfort was nice—but she couldn’t ignore the chill.

“I’ll have a jacket and trousers sent to you.”

“Daisy would—”

Alicia was about to protest emotionally.

“Just wear the cloak over them when she’s watching.”

Reichardt added a condition, like a compromise.

Suddenly, all those arguments about skirt lengths and trousers with Daisy felt meaningless.

Alicia nodded.

“All right.”

Just then, the collapsed horse stood back up.

“Shall we go?”

Reichardt patted it gently.

Alicia fetched her own horse from the side.

They didn’t mount, but instead walked slowly through the forest.

The corridors of Lilizet Villa were cloaked in darkness.

In that darkness, shadows moved silently.

Not a single sound or presence.

Three masked figures didn’t even exchange hand signals.

Every movement followed a preset plan.

The operation was flawless.

Upon reaching the final staircase, they exchanged glances.

Their target was just ahead.

From here on, stealth was less important than speed and results.

The leading masked figure ascended quickly and opened the door.

The two behind darted into the room.

Thud. Thud.

The plan was simple—the leader opened the door, the other two entered and secured the target.

But what followed wasn’t the sound of searching—

It was chaos.

The third masked intruder immediately sensed something had gone very wrong.

His two comrades lay convulsing on the floor.

They were unconscious and trembling, as if poisoned.

But that wasn’t the real problem.

They weren’t the only ones who had found the target.

In a corner near the window, another pair of masked figures lay collapsed.

Standing in the center of the room, dressed in warm nightclothes, was the Lady herself.

The assassin was a professional.

He had studied his target thoroughly.

But now, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

Standing before him— was the target, awaiting him.