CH 35

Rosalie turned her attention back to the map, painstakingly clearing her mind of the thoughts that cluttered it. Ever since she was a child, she had been criticized by those around her for her cold and inflexible nature.

However, her personality had ingrained itself so deeply within her values that it was difficult to change, despite the constant reprimands.

As Rosalie raised her head, ready to concentrate once again, she heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

The door opened, revealing Erudit. She hadn’t seen him much since he broke down in tears in front of her and had only received reports. They both seemed busy, and Rosalie’s mind was preoccupied with training and preparations for the territory war.

“Your Grace, do you have a moment?”

“Have a seat.”

Rosalie pushed herself up out of her chair and went to pull the string to call for someone, but Erudit waved a hand.

“No, thank you for the tea. I won’t take up much of your time.”

As they sat down on the couch, facing each other, Erudit placed a box he had been holding on the table and pushed it towards Rosalie. Rosalie asked, looking at the not-so-small box curiously.

“What is it?”

“Open it.”

When she opened the box, she found a black dagger and a gold ring. She picked up the dagger and examined it closely. Sheathed in a fine leather scabbard, the dagger was black to the hilt.

“Gilbert said it was made of the finest materials.”

As Rosalie pulled the golden ring out of the box, Erudit continued.

“If you wear that ring, you can summon the dagger into your hand instantly, wherever it may be.”

“That’s amazing.”

Rosalie’s right hand, clad in the golden ring, suddenly held the dagger that had been drawn from its sheath. Seeing her fascinated gaze fixed on the ring and dagger, Erudit smiled slightly.

“It’s my gift. Please… come back victorious.”

“Thank you. I will win and come back.”

Rosalie said with a smile, and Erudit adjusted his glasses. Behind the glasses, the corners of his eyes were turning red.

Evening came quickly, and Emma’s expression was tearful as she attended Rosalie’s bath in the steamy bathroom. Rosalie, soaking herself in the bath water, opened her mouth.

“I told you not to worry.”

“I’m not worried. I know that the Duchess is strong.”

However, despite her answer, Emma’s eyes seemed like they would burst into tears at any moment. Ever since Rosalie had told her about the territory war a while ago, she had been wearing a sad expression and hadn’t left her side.

“Take care of the mansion while I’m gone. I’ll trust you.”

“Yes… yes!”

In the end, Emma couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, and as night fell, she fervently prayed to the bright moon for Rosalie’s safe return.

And so it was that night, in the early hours of the morning, when everyone was fast asleep. However, Bella, who had not yet gone to bed, was wandering restlessly in outdoor clothes instead of her nightgown.

“Nathan, darling! Let’s go.”

Bella knocked on Nathan’s door in the room next to hers, but there was no answer. Finding this odd, Bella pushed the door open and stepped into the room.

But there was no warmth in the room, only an icy chill.

‘What’s going on?’

Panicked, Bella searched every corner of the room, but there was still no sign of Nathan in the room.

“Bella!” 

Callie urgently called out to Bella as she searched the room. Bella hesitated at the call then quickly left the room. She didn’t know what had happened, but her escape came first.

Bella came out of the room with Callie and they left the mansion, climbing into the carriage that had been prepared for her. The carriage drove off in silence, without even a shout from the coachman.

“Where’s Nathan…? Could it be that he ran away first? What a coward!”

Muttering to herself, Bella yelled out in frustration, and Callie tried to calm her down. Suddenly, Bella started laughing.

“Hahaha! It doesn’t matter. I can start a new life.”

In any case, she had successfully escaped, and the carriage was filled with the Duchy’s fortune. It was clear that she was the true winner of this game.

Suddenly, the carriage came to a stop.

“What?! Why did the carriage stop?”

Bella sharply exclaimed. At that time, the coachman screamed, followed by a quiet stillness that filled the air. Bella swallowed hard at the sudden tension in the air, then the carriage door swung open with a creaking, grisly sound.

“Get out.”

Outside the open carriage door stood Rosalie, leading her knights. Bella trembled as if she had seen a ghost.

“You, how did you…?”

“Sir Aaron.”

At Rosalie’s command, Aaron and Toronto entered the carriage and forcibly pulled Bella out with a vicious grip.

“Ah! Let go of me!”

Then, Bella fell to her knees in front of Rosalie, with Callie also kneeling beside her. Bella tried to rise, but she couldn’t move as Aaron’s sharp sword was pointed at her throat.

“Where are you going in such a hurry?”

Rosalie spoke nonchalantly and gestured to the knights. They immediately began to take out the boxes filled with Bella’s belongings from the carriage. Bella greedily shouted as she watched the boxes being taken out.

“Don’t touch those! They’re mine!”

She screamed. Bella, who had been screaming for a while, suddenly turned her head and glared at Rosalie.

“Did you think I didn’t hire someone to protect me? They must be on their way here right now, you foolish Rosalie!”

Rosalie chuckled sarcastically in response to Bella’s arrogant words. It was truly hard to tell who was the foolish one. They had already cleaned up Bella’s hired people, completed their mission, and were on their way back.

“I suppose my knights are that weak in your eyes. They’re already finished.”

“What…?”

Bella asked in disbelief, and Aaron, beside her, snorted loudly and proudly.

“You shouldn’t underestimate the Dukedom of Judeheart’s Knights! It’s a shame that things didn’t go according to your plan, Bella!”

Aaron laughed, seemingly delighted. As his laughter grew louder, Bella’s eyes trembled with agitation. Callie pleaded from behind, begging for her life. Rosalie spoke to Bella with a cold tone.

“The place you need to go to is the Duchy’s prison.”

“How the hell did you know?!”

As Bella screamed in despair, Rosalie moved her mouth. From her mouth came the name of the man who had whispered his love to Bella. 

“Drag her away.”

“Ahh! This can’t be happening! Nathan—!”

And just like that, Bella was dragged relentlessly into the duchy’s underground prison by the Knights’ merciless gestures. Thus, Bella’s grand plans crumbled powerlessly on a moonlit night.

⊱⊱⊱────── {.⋅ ✧✧✧ ⋅.} ──────⊰⊰⊰

Three days remained before the expected declaration of war. Aaron, Toronto, Whitney, and Joey, an elite member of the firing squad, entered the office with serious expressions.

Joey was a knight who distinguished himself in the firing squad with his quick judgment, wide vision, and swift movements that belied his bear-like appearance.

The four people moved closer to the table as Rosalie spread the map.

“The Marquis of Windell will send half of his knights back here first to raid ours.”

Rosalie pointed to a cluster of low mountains on the map. The Marquis of Windell was a greedy, cowardly man, but he was also competitive. Even in the original story, he had sent half the knights off on a diversionary raid to endanger the Duchy of Judeheart. Aaron frowned and muttered.

“He’s using the same old tactics.”

No one looking at the map questioned the source of the information; the men gathered in the office had put their trust in Rosalie.

“The firing squad will ambush them here first.”

“Are we attacking first?”

Toronto asked, and Rosalie’s lips twitched upward.

“Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense. The mountains where the enemy will pass are very similar to the ones our firing squad has extensively trained on. They won’t even consider that we would launch an ambush.”

“Is the firing squad enough to make up for half of the Marquis’ knights?”

“Joey is the Beta team. I divided them into Alpha and Beta teams and trained them day and night for the ambush. I trust my firing squad.”

As Rosalie explained, Aaron recalled the intense training that the firing squad soldiers underwent day and night. He couldn’t fathom how far ahead she had planned.

“And after dealing with them, we will regroup here.”

All eyes followed the direction of Rosalie’s finger on the map. The destination of her finger was the anticipated frontline battle area. If Rosalie’’s plan went as intended, only half of the enemy forces would remain in the frontline battle, giving them a significant advantage.

“And we will win this war.”

Rosalie lifted her gaze, slowly moving her eyes away from the map. The determined glint in her eyes sent a shiver down the spines of the four individuals facing her. Through that gaze, the conviction of victory in her eyes overwhelmed and drove away any vague fears they had about the war.

And three days later, the Marquis of Windell declared the territorial war.

All the Knights assembled at the first training grounds stood with a tense air of power, clad in silver armor. Even Rosalie could feel the fear that pierced through the thick armor worn by the Knights.

“Are you afraid of the territorial war?”

“N-no!”

The vague feeling of fear in the knights’ throats choked off the answer that was about to burst forth.

“Are the knights afraid of battle?”

“No!”

The response to Rosalie’s question was few. Some knights even bowed their heads, their fingertips twitching.

“The knights I see don’t suit the word ‘fear’. You endured that hellish training because you are brave and valiant knights. You are the knights of the honorable Dukedom of Judeheart, and you are going to win that war.”

The knights who had bowed their heads looked up again at Rosalie’s words. She stopped talking and took a deep breath. Soon, her voice grew louder and filled the training ground. 

“I will ask again. Are the knights of the Duke of Judeheart afraid of the territorial war?”

“No!”

A resounding answer filled the training hall.

“Then, prepare to march.”