Chapter 133: It’s Not a Difficult Request. (1)
Marquis Branford furrowed his brow as he surveyed the dark room.
“Looks like a real mess.”
The stench mixed with the smell of blood revealed just how serious the situation had been.
Rosalyn, lying on the bed, appeared much thinner and in poor condition compared to two weeks ago.
“Open the window.”
Swish!
The knights who followed the marquis opened the window, though they left the curtains undrawn just in case.
As the wind blew in and stirred the curtains, several servants rushed to shield Rosalyn from the light.
Ghislaine sat with his arms crossed in one corner of the room. His eye bags were dark; he looked exhausted.
“Young Master! Are you okay?”
“My Lord!”
Ghislaine’s close associates hurried in to check on him.
“Young Lady!”
The dismissed butler rushed in with a worried expression.
Startled by the sudden commotion, Rosalyn slowly opened her eyes and propped herself up.
“Ah…”
She let out a sigh, a complex mix of relief that it was over and the lingering pain from her ordeal.
Rosalyn pointed directly at Ghislaine and spoke.
“Arrest that guy immediately…”
Now that it was over, capturing him was fair game. Her mind was filled only with thoughts of repaying the pain and humiliation she had suffered.
“What are you doing? I said to arrest him right now!”
At Rosalyn’s outburst, the knights looked unsure and turned to the Knight Commander.
Toleo silently gestured for them to move. The knights quickly blocked the exit and began to encircle the area.
As the atmosphere turned tense, Ghislaine’s close associates put on their best poker faces and subtly surrounded him, keeping watch.
“Younger Master! What are we going to do now?”
Belinda whispered urgently, but Ghislaine merely wore a tired expression and said nothing.
Claude clicked his tongue inwardly, preparing for the worst-case scenario.
“If it comes to that, I’ll have to take one of those two as a hostage.”
However, Toleo wasn’t just anyone who had casually climbed to the position of Knight Commander in the House of Marquis.
As soon as the knights noticed suspicious movements from Ghislaine’s group, they were ready to jump in at a moment’s notice for Rosalyn and Marquis Branford.
Just as the tension peaked between the two sides, Marquis Branford spoke with a casual expression.
“Take off your mask.”
Rosalyn scoffed and nodded her head.
He nodded.
“Right, even this ridiculous treatment needs to show results to have any justification. The result is obvious, though.”
She roughly removed her mask and tossed it aside.
The window was open, but she didn’t feel the need to hide her face at all right now.
After all the torment she had endured, what was a bit of sunlight now?
“Done! Did you all see? Now grab her! Hurry!”
Rosalyn yelled with narrowed eyes, but no one moved.
“Oh…”
They merely uttered strange sounds, as if flustered or astonished.
Rosalyn shouted in a voice filled with rage.
“What is everyone doing right now! Are you saying you won’t move without Father’s orders?”
“Ah, Young Lady… Young Lady! Young Lady!”
The butler grabbed Rosalyn’s hand tightly, shedding tears.
As if that was the cue, the servants and knights in the room gasped in unison.
Surprised by the unexpected reaction, she was left speechless.
“Why, why is this happening? Why does everyone…”
Rosalyn swallowed hard. Suddenly, a realization flashed through her mind. Her heart began to race.
Looking around, she gestured to the servants blocking the window.
The servants hesitated but cautiously moved aside.
Sunlight streamed in through the gap in the curtains, illuminating Rosalyn’s cheeks brightly.
She flinched at the warmth but realized she felt no pain and gently caressed her face.
“Could it be…?”
Suppressing both anxiety and hope, she struggled to speak in a choked voice.
“Get… get me a mirror…”
As if they had been waiting for those words, the servants hurriedly brought a mirror.
They held it close so she could see her own face clearly.
“Ah…”
It had been so long since she last saw a mirror. The reflection felt strange to her.
With disheveled hair and clothes stained with blood, she looked less like a noble lady and more like a woman from the poor district.
But that hardly registered in her mind.
Rosalyn touched her cheeks with trembling hands.
Sharp features and clear skin were visible.
There were still a few faint red spots remaining, but it wasn’t concerning.
“My, my face…”
Even with sunlight on it, there was nothing wrong. She stared at the mirror in disbelief over the unbelievable results.
The butler continued to cry, speaking in a trembling voice.
“Young Lady, you’re all better now. You’re all better now. The treatment really worked.”
He wiped his tears and continued speaking in his usual calm tone.
“Bring the clothes you will change into right away.”
At the butler’s gesture, several servants quickly left the room.
“Ah…”
Rosalyn couldn’t gather her thoughts.
Could it be that the torture-like treatment actually worked?
“Is this… a dream? Everyone is… playing a prank… right?”
Having not expected anything from the beginning, she felt an even greater shock at the current results.
If this were a dream, there could be no more cruel nightmare than this.
Rosalyn looked at Ghislaine, stammering her words.
“Is this… a lie? Is this… some kind of hallucination from a drug…?”
“Hallucinations with something like that…”
“That’s not it.”
Ghislaine approached Rosalyn and said with a playful grin.
“The treatment is complete. It must have been tough for you, but you really held on well. You’ve done great.”
With those words, Rosalyn eventually lowered her head.
A tear fell from her eye.
“Ah…”
Rosalyn clutched her chest. The pain she had suppressed exploded forth.
At last, she was free from this devilish illness.
Finally, she could emerge from the darkness and see the light.
Even though she tried not to cry, the sorrow she had been holding back surged forth, and tears flowed unexpectedly.
“Ugh…”
“My lady…”
The butler watched as Rosalyn stifled her sobs, tears streaming from his eyes.
Even the cold-hearted Marquis Branford remained silent at this moment.
“Um, I think it would be good to give the lady a little time to gather her emotions. She can’t even cry freely because of us, can she?”
Belinda clicked her tongue and broke the silence. The butler eagerly nodded in agreement.
“Y-Yes. Let’s step back for a moment. Quickly, quickly.”
People cautiously backed away, glancing at Marquis Branford.
The Marquis silently gazed at Rosalyn for a moment before turning and leaving the room without a word.
“Come on, let’s hurry out.”
Pushed by the butler, everyone rushed out of the room.
As the door closed, Rosalyn’s sobs grew louder.
“See? It’s like everyone lacks common sense or empathy…”
Belinda muttered, glancing at the Marquis, and quickly shut her mouth under his gaze.
He smirked and looked at Ghislaine.
“Truly a success in treatment. I admit, your skills are remarkable.”
It effectively meant he lost the bet, but he didn’t feel as bad as he thought he would.
His daughter, who had suffered for so long, was finally treated; he couldn’t complain about that.
Ghislaine merely shrugged her shoulders in silence.
The butler was the first to approach Ghislaine and bowed deeply.
“Thank you! Truly thank you! The Baron’s medical skills are the best in the kingdom! Please forgive the rudeness from earlier!”
‘No, that’s not it.’
If this goes wrong, it might spread as rumors of a great healer. What if all the nobles start coming around?
‘Oh, come on. No way.’
Ghislaine felt unsettled but maintained a confident exterior.
Her close associates finally showed a relieved expression.
Belinda glanced at the Marquis’s face and smirked.
‘Look at that grumpy expression. If you’ve got any complaints, bring it on.’
In this atmosphere, even the scary Marquis wouldn’t dare act carelessly towards them.
Claude clicked his tongue inwardly. While he was happy to have avoided a crisis, he still didn’t understand what had happened this time. It felt like common sense was paralyzed.
‘Wow, it’s truly astonishing every time. Is this really going to succeed?’
He narrowed his eyes and scanned Ghislaine from head to toe.
‘No matter how I look at it, it seems like half-baked knowledge.’
The antics Ghislaine performed felt as though she had simply pulled the answers to problems out of thin air.
A bizarre phenomenon where she produced results without even knowing the reasons behind them.
I am a strange phenomenon.
How on earth could this happen? Despite having experienced it several times, I still couldn’t understand it.
Marquis Branford frowned upon seeing the boisterous Ghislaine and his group.
“Tell Rosalyn to come find me later. For now, gather the retainers. We will finalize the transaction with Baron Penris.”
“Oh!”
At the Marquis’s words, the people around him let out a small gasp.
To say they were finishing the work meant acknowledging Baron Penris’s contributions and agreeing to his demands.
Everyone was filled with curiosity about what Ghislaine might ask for and glanced at him eagerly.
*
A little while later, the main retainers of the House of Marquis gathered in the great hall.
The butler politely guided Ghislaine and his close associates.
Marquis Branford sat in the highest seat, resting his chin on his hand as he looked down at his guests.
“It was quite a surprising result. I thought it was just bravado, but it seems you’re not just some fool talking.”
The retainers who heard this raised their heads in astonishment. It was a surprisingly generous compliment from the usually stoic Marquis.
“Although your methods were peculiar, a promise is a promise. Now, tell me what you desire.”
Everyone looked at Ghislaine with curious expressions.
It was unlikely that someone of such power as Marquis Branford would entertain small requests.
Just how big of a favor was Ghislaine trying to obtain to be so brazen?
The hall was filled with tension and curiosity.
Ghislaine took a deep breath and lifted his head.
“I’m not asking for something that big.”
Marquis Branford nodded indifferently.
“Sure, don’t hesitate, just tell me. Whatever you want will mostly be possible.”
Ghislaine smiled lightly, as if relieved.
“I would like you to be my guardian.”
“……What?”
Marquis Branford asked in shock.
Not only him, but everyone around him also gaped in surprise.
Marquis Branford asked again for confirmation.
“Did you just say you want me to be your guardian?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t misphrase it like asking for sponsorship?”
“No, I didn’t?”
“Ugh….”
Marquis Branford’s usually expressionless face was flushed with disbelief.
Even those nearby looked at Ghislaine with expressions similar to their lord’s.
Only Belinda cast a proud gaze at him.
“Wow, our Young Master is amazing!”
Ghislaine had been taught in childhood that if you received one, you should take two.
However, he never thought he would boldly declare he would drain everything until the day he dies.
Especially to such a fearsome Marquis.
“Who did he learn from to be so crafty?”
As Ghislaine stood confidently after making such an outrageous request, Marquis Branford let out a low murmur.
“Hmm….”
Asking for mere sponsorship is one thing, but claiming to be a guardian is an entirely different matter.
If he became a guardian, then no matter what trouble Ghislaine caused in the future, Marquis Branford would have to take responsibility and resolve the situation.
He claimed he didn’t want anything big, but wasn’t he implying that he would draw on this whenever he needed it in the future?
This guy was not just brazen; he was exceptionally audacious.
