Chapter 127: Just Show the Result (1)
After finishing their conversation with Marquis Branford, Ghislaine and the group followed the butler to find Rosalyn.
Soldiers were evenly stationed throughout the marquis’s residence, making it clear that escaping was out of the question.
Belinda nervously tugged on Ghislaine’s sleeve and whispered, “Young Master! What on earth are you thinking? How did things get so out of hand?!”
Out of the blue, he comes in saying he’ll treat her daughter’s condition if they grant his wish. It was an utterly ludicrous proposal.
‘Well, he was always like this. But now, the stakes are way too high. Trying to strong-arm the kingdom’s most powerful figure!’
Among the nobles, those with a nasty temper would execute a servant for a minor mistake. The more power they had, the more brutal they tended to be.
‘You can’t think of this like the Mage Tower. At least the mages aren’t reckless enough to kill nobles…’
And crucially, Marquis Branford wasn’t in a position where he desperately needed Ghislaine’s help like the mages did.
‘Ugh, I’ve grown too lax since nothing eventful has happened at the fortress lately.’
Recently, Ghislaine had been met with success at every turn, making it easy to overlook any trouble he might stir up.
‘I should have asked what was going on before we came to the marquis’s house!’
Belinda bit her nails, glaring at Ghislaine.
Gillian lowered his head to hide his gaze and checked for an escape route. “If things look like they’re about to go wrong, please let me know. I’ll lead the way.”
Despite everyone’s worries, Ghislaine just smiled.
Seeing Ghislaine’s confident grin, everyone could only sigh in exasperation.
As usual, they had no choice but to hope for success somehow.
Claude began to devise a plan to take the marquis’s daughter hostage if things went south.
‘Given the marquis’s temperament, I doubt it would work… but you never know.’
It was basic to learn about the target if one planned on kidnappings.
Marquis Branford was widely known, even Claude from another kingdom had heard of him.
However, he didn’t know much about the marquis’s daughter, Rosalyn.
Claude cautiously asked the butler beside him, “So… what kind of person is the young lady?”
“You might not know her since you’re from the North. She was quite famous in the capital some time ago.”
“For what?”
Claude held his lips together, hoping it wasn’t for swordsmanship or magic. Otherwise, it would be a lot harder to take her hostage.
“Surely it’s not about swordsmanship or magic, right? That would make it hard to take someone hostage.”
The butler continued with a look filled with regret.
“You’ve been incredibly bright since childhood. After the return of the Marquis’s wife, you took care of all the family’s affairs yourself.”
“Didn’t you handle anything besides household chores?”
The butler frowned and snapped back.
“How dare you dismiss the Marquis’s events as mere household matters! Being the Chief Officer of a territory, you have no idea how difficult it is to manage a noble house!”
“Ah… I’m sorry…”
Claude scratched his head and mumbled. The butler glared at him and continued with his explanation.
“Ahem, anyway, that’s not all. You also support various organizations.”
The butler, filled with pride, began to explain just how impressive Rosalyn was.
“Speaking of our Young Lady…”
Ghislaine’s close associates couldn’t hide their astonishment as they listened to the butler’s explanation.
The titles attached to her were so numerous they could hardly believe one person could hold them.
‘Patron of the Cardenia Textile Guild.’
‘Patron of the Cardenia Mason Guild.’
‘Patron of the Cardenia Carpenter Guild.’
‘Patron of the Cardenia Sculptor Guild.’
‘Patron of the Cardenia Glasscraft Guild.’
‘Patron of the Cardenia Natural Philosophy Society.’
‘Patron of the Cardenia Astronomy Society.’
‘Former Vice President of the Kind Ladies’ Reading Discussion.’
‘Former Vice President of the Kind Ladies’ Tea Tasting.’
…and so on.
From natural sciences to literature, arts, and philosophy organizations, the fields where she held power and influence were vast.
Even after falling ill, she continues to support and be involved in these operations.
Claude kept his mouth tightly shut, rolling his eyes around.
‘So the one going for treatment is that kind of person. If things go wrong, we might all be in deep trouble!’
The butler, as if to say there was even more, continued with fervor.
“Moreover, what about her character? She is always calm, kind to everyone, and has a heart so gentle that she never once uttered a harsh word.”
“A kind heart, you say? That’s rather comforting to hear.”
Claude’s eyes sparkled. With such a personality, she might just spare his life if he made a mistake.
“Of course! She regularly offers basic supplies to the needy in the capital. If it weren’t for her illness, she would have accomplished even more by now.”
Ghislaine’s close associates were already captivated, gasping in admiration at the butler’s words.
The more they heard, the more impressive she appeared. Wasn’t she holding significant power just like her father, Marquis Branford?
However, Ghislaine seemed completely uninterested, her expression blank.
No, she looked as if she had no interest at all. It didn’t even seem like she was listening to the butler.
Claude sighed, glancing at her.
‘Where on earth does that confidence come from?’
He could never understand such arrogance.
Still, at least it was a relief to know the Young Lady had a good personality.
Belinda seemed somewhat reassured and asked in a softer tone.
“By the way… I heard you were getting married soon. Even with your illness, you were planning to go through with it?”
There were countless people paying close attention to every move of the House of Branford.
Rumors that the Marquis’s daughter was about to get married had already spread widely in the capital.
The rumor about the Marquis’s daughter getting married was already widely spread in the capital.
Even Ghislaine’s group, who had just arrived in the capital, were aware of it.
At Belanda’s question, the butler responded a bit displeased.
“Honestly, if it weren’t for health issues, there wouldn’t be any discussions about marriage with such a family. The young prince is well-known as a playboy in the capital… ahem, what am I saying?”
“Oh, so she has no choice but to marry someone she doesn’t like because of health reasons?”
“Well, it’s not just that…”
The butler stammered, trailing off.
Claude clicked his tongue inwardly and changed the subject.
“Still, since he is a nice person, I’m sure you will get along well with your husband. It’s a great blessing for the House of Marquis to have someone as wonderful as you. Hahaha.”
The butler continued to praise her without pause, but at those words, his expression suddenly darkened.
“…That used to be the case.”
“…?”
Before Claude could ask what he meant, the group arrived in front of Rosalyn’s room.
Knock, knock.
The butler carefully knocked on the door. A small voice came from inside.
“…What is it? It’s still too early to eat.”
Hearing the voice, Claude suddenly felt something was off.
He sensed an unknown hatred and resentment in the low, suppressed voice.
‘Something’s strange. Why does her voice sound like that?’
Claude was not the only one who sensed something wrong.
Ghislaine also frowned and tilted her head to one side.
The butler cleared his throat awkwardly as if to ease the awkward atmosphere and said loudly.
“We have a guest.”
“…A guest?”
“Someone has come at the Marquis’s command to check on the young lady’s skin. It’s Baron Penris.”
“…Send him away.”
She said irritably.
However, the butler couldn’t just leave it at that.
The Marquis had already ordered Ghislaine to begin the treatment. No one in this mansion could defy that order.
Not even Rosalyn herself.
The butler sighed deeply and spoke again.
“It is the Marquis’s order.”
“…I told you to send him back.”
“I’m sorry. I will open the door now. Everyone, be cautious.”
“What? Cautious about what…?”
The butler closed his eyes tightly and flung the door open. He then immediately dove behind the door to hide.
The following servants quickly huddled behind the butler.
Whoosh!
As soon as the door opened, something flew out from the dark room at high speed.
“Huh?”
Ghislaine tilted her head with a bewildered expression.
The object flying straight toward her swerved past her face and headed straight for Claude behind her.
“Ugh!”
Claude shut his eyes in surprise. Luckily, Wendy, who was next to him, quickly snatched the oncoming object.
“A candlestick?”
Wendy held a beautifully decorated candlestick in her hand.
If it had hit Claude’s face, he would have been seriously injured.
He chuckled in disbelief.
‘What the heck! They said she was gentle and kind!’
That was a ridiculously violent way to greet someone, to the point of questioning her humanity.
Noble ladies never act this way in front of others.
Not only would it disgrace themselves but also their family.
Yet, the daughter of the Marquis behaved so nonchalantly about it!
What do you mean, I can’t just take it easy!
The butler, looking embarrassed, kept clearing his throat while making excuses.
“Ahem, this is not how she usually is… she’s been a bit on edge lately…”
‘From the way she perfectly avoided the door, it seems like this has happened more than once.’
The servants were clinging tightly behind the butler, trembling in fear.
When Claude narrowed his eyes and stared, the butler subtly turned his head and lowered his gaze.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to question what was going on, a sharp voice burst out from inside the room.
“I told you to go away! What more treatments! Just leave me alone!”
Whoosh!
Something kept flying out from the dark space.
Candlesticks, books, cups, bowls, frames, pottery, incense burners—anything with weight came flying indiscriminately.
The butler and the servants were still huddled by the door, trying to avoid the situation. All the flying objects were aimed at Ghislaine’s group.
But they were no ordinary people. They dodged or batted away everything that came at them.
Soon, a panicked voice rang out from the room.
“Who are you? What do you want! Do you want to die? Get out of here before I tear you apart! Butler, what are you doing! Call the soldiers!”
It was shocking to hear such harsh words from someone who supposedly had never sworn before; the phrase “tear apart” came out so naturally.
“It’s… unexpected…”
Ghislaine was truly taken aback by the situation.
There had been no mention in the records from his previous life that Rosalyn Branford had such a foul temper.
Though their reasons for being startled were different, his group looked at the butler with the same dazed expressions.
Clap.
The butler subtly closed the door again and cleared his throat.
“Ahem, we should give the young lady a moment to cool off.”
Claude couldn’t hold back any longer and pressed him.
“No, you said she has a good character and a good heart! She never swears!”
“…That was before.”
“What did you say?”
“Before she fell ill, she was practically an angel. Trust me.”
“Wow… this is ridiculous.”
The way the butler spoke so confidently felt unusually brazen. Claude was left speechless in sheer disbelief.
Even with a temperament like that, he was blindly defending the young lady he served.
After a moment, the room fell quiet. The butler wore an awkward smile.
“She should have calmed down by now.”
Creak…
The butler cautiously opened the door.
This time, thankfully, nothing flew out.
Ghislaine’s group finally felt relieved and cautiously inspected the situation inside the room.
There stood a woman, her back to the darkness.
Her attire was simple and didn’t match that of a marquis’ daughter.
She wore a mask to cover her skin and gloves on her hands.
The light from the corridor illuminated her mask through the opened door.
Through the mask’s gaps, a sharp gaze glared at the people.
Gulp.
Everyone swallowed dryly but couldn’t dare to step inside.
Rosalyn slowly opened her mouth. Her voice, suppressing emotion, filled the dark room.
“Leave. Before I kill you all.”
