Chapter 45

Terosa pondered for a moment, but soon came to her senses.No matter how much someone suited her tastes, she could not throw away her own pride.

Besides, the two of them seemed quite harmonious, so even wishing for a broken engagement felt like a vain hope.

'I'll probably regret this for the rest of my life. To give up a person like that just because of rumors...'

Terosa was swept away by faint feelings as she envisioned a regretful future.

If he'd just been a handsome commoner, or a fallen noble, she wouldn't even have entertained lingering feelings.

But her opponent was the child of a grand duke, and already prominent at social gatherings.

Had he recovered his health, wouldn't countless noble ladies have flocked to him?

'This is the worst mistake of my life. I probably won't forget even on my deathbed...'

"It's probably not so bad as that. Since we're engaged, we simply uphold courtesy toward each other."

"Isn't there a difference between courtesy and affection? You two look much too close just to call it courtesy."

"Perhaps we've grown accustomed to each other, having spent so much time together."

"But just because you've known someone for a long time doesn't mean you're necessarily close. Do you become truly close to your butler or your maids just by seeing them often?"

"... Regardless, I should maintain courtesy at all times."

"That's just as you say. But with courtesy alone, you can't truly grow close. You need to have at least a special feeling... to see each other sincerely."

"..."

Alter involuntarily fell silent, suddenly conscious of Brillie's presence.

From then until now, his feelings probably hadn't changed.

He was adapting to the situation against his will, so why couldn't he ignore those words?

"How are the wedding preparations coming along?"

"As far as I know, no plans have been made yet. We each have things to attend to, after all."

"Oh, really? Well... I suppose you must be busy. Lady Brillie belongs to the knight order, and Lord Alter, you must be studying magic."

"I'm focusing more on recovering my body than on magic."

"Are you still in poor condition?"

"Much better than before. But I need to recover further before the wedding, don't you think?"

"That's true. You must be thinking about heirs, I suppose?"

"Uh... I haven't really given that much thought yet."

Alter was briefly puzzled but quickly understood.

If someone is concerned about their health before marriage, it's natural to think first of spending the night with their betrothed.

Yet he had never pondered such things, considering it just a formality.

"Hmm... so you're planning to think about heirs later?"

"I think it's better that way."

"Hmmm... So you haven't discussed heirs with Lady Brillie?"

"We haven't set a wedding date yet."

"It's something you should consider. Spending a night together is... not an easy thing, you know? It's even harder if it'll be both your first times, don't you think?"

Terosa, wrapped in a somewhat heavy atmosphere, carefully gave her advice.She herself had studied various things for that first night.

It's not something to allow lightly to just anyone; she had to be fully prepared as it was to be shown to her partner for the first time.

The wedding night was, after all, the beginning of marriage, and would become an everyday occurrence.

"It may be difficult, but I don't think everything can go perfectly at first. It's not a one-time thing, so shouldn't you get used to it slowly?"

"That's one way to look at it. As spouses, understanding each other..."

"Terosa... what are you doing here?"

Brillie hurriedly returned and fixed her gaze on Terosa.

Terosa glanced at Brillie, then stood from her seat.

Through it all, Alter only maintained the silence, glancing between the two of them.

"... As you can see, I was having a conversation with your fiancé, lady Brillie. I suppose I'll leave now."

"You didn't say anything unnecessary, did you?"

"Oh my, what do you take me for? Shouldn't you be thanking me instead?"

"I don't exactly see any reason to thank you."

"Even if you're not grateful, the thought... perhaps you should consider the dignity of a noble lady a little more?"

"You do that as much as you want. I'm going to act as I always do."

"I don't mind either way, but shouldn't you try to be at least a little ladylike? If you realize your mistake too late, there's no way to undo it."

"I'll take care of myself."

"If that's the case... I have nothing more to say. Everyone reaps what they sow."

With a quick bow to the two of them, Terosa disappeared.

Brillie watched Terosa leave with suspicious eyes, then turned back.

"What did you two talk about?"

"Nothing important. She simply asked how my health was and other such things."

Alter recited calmly, concealing the conversation about heirs.

If Brillie learned of this, she would undoubtedly be displeased.

It seemed better for him to keep it a brief secret in his heart.

"She didn't pick a fight or say anything to upset you?"

"If she'd shown any such behavior, I would not have just accepted it. Even I have my pride."

"Ah... of course. I just wanted to make sure."

Although some doubts lingered, Brillie pressed no further.

She couldn't take a coercive attitude toward her fiancé.

Still, if she had resolved to marry, shouldn't she at least have a little consideration?

'Am I being too forceful? Hmm...'

* * *

The knight orders in the capital received a broad commission from the marquis' family and entered the field.

The head of the marquis' house used his rank to rally the other nobles who had been victimized.

In the end, with an enormous bounty on the line, the knight order could not refuse the request.

'I don't like night shifts much.'

Though displeased, Brillie was making her rounds between the mansions of the nobles.

Since the target always operated only at night, the knight order had to match that pattern.

But with no way to predict where or when the culprit would appear, it only felt like a waste of time.

'Hunting down one thief, and this is what it comes to...'

The marquis and other nobles alike had all been burgled by the mysterious thief.

Some had been robbed twice or more, and some had suffered considerable losses to their family fortunes.

Ultimately, they called on every renowned knight order they could to hunt the thief down.

'This way, we can't make any progress at all.'

Brillie knew well how pointless this was.

Even nobles with their private soldiers hadn't been able to stop the thief's invasions.

Would merely increasing the number of troops really unveil any clues?

'Maybe it'd be better to spread false rumors and lure the thief to a specific location?'

There was a consistent pattern to the thief's crimes.

Only nobles had been targeted, the thief had built quite a reputation, and had to have support from the common people.

Anyone meeting all those conditions would certainly be approached by the thief.

'But if I do that, the thief might just get spooked and refuse to appear...'

Deploying a large force is bound to attract attention quickly.

Moreover, since only noble mansions were being patrolled, the thief would surely notice the change.

No matter how skilled at thievery, with so many soldiers, the thief couldn't act so nonchalantly.

'I don't even want to be doing this. The outcome is already obvious, isn't it?'

Brillie chased away a faint drowsiness and gazed up at the sky.

Moonlight shone down, lonesomely scattering its light in the center of the sky.

With starlight sparkling everywhere, it was as if someone had painted a beautiful landscape.

'I should try to persuade the captain... hmm?'

Brillie paused, then sensed a faint presence.

Sometimes there were people out in the streets at night, but this particular presence was not so easy to dismiss.

In fact, it felt as if someone was intentionally trying to conceal themselves, which only increased her suspicion.

"From now on, we'll change our patrol route. Follow me."

"Huh?"

"But..."

Brillie began to dash in the direction of the presence.

The other knights seemed briefly confused, but quickly sprang to action.

Surely, the vice-captain's instincts had detected something.

'Am I really just stumbling across the thief here? Is that even possible?'

Even as she doubted her own judgment, Brillie moved forward unhesitatingly.

The thief had been bold and cunning so far.

If he feared nothing, he might even try to deceive Brillie and the knight order themselves.

'If he really has no fear, then for certain...'

"Well, you found me again. A lady who wields a sword is quite intimidating."

Someone was sitting atop a wall, looking down at Brillie.

By instinct, Brillie put her hand on her sword hilt, and the other knights silently glared at the figure.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"If you mean... revealing my presence?"

"No thief would ever make himself obvious. Have you got business with me?"

"Not exactly business. Just thought I should see your face once."

Clarke tilted his head and answered leisurely.

Last time, he had run into the grand duke's daughter by chance and escaped quietly thanks to her unexpected leniency.

Still, he seemed to have lingering thoughts, hence this deliberate encounter with the second daughter of the Illenat ducal house.

"Are you oblivious, or just unafraid?"

"If I had to choose, I'd say I'm unafraid. You couldn't do this sort of thing if you were frightened, right?"

"So you showed yourself because you're confident I can't catch you?"

"Of course. No matter how amazing you are, lady, you can't catch me."

"... You really have no fear. Maybe you need to get a bit cut to come to your senses?"

Brillie coldly assumed a stance, her eyes frosty.

If she wanted to recover the stolen goods, she would have to capture the thief alive.

But if he kept running, she would have no choice but to attack, even if it meant risking injury.

"Wow... that murderous intent. Not eager to die, so perhaps I should run now."

Clarke grinned shamelessly and sprang off.

He scaled the wall in an instant.

But Brillie, unfazed, gave immediate chase.

"Uh..."

"How is she doing that?"

"We'll take the detour and pursue them!"

The senior knight quickly issued orders, observing the motions of both Brillie and the thief.

Amazingly, Brillie was scaling the wall just like the thief.

She was a bit slower, but merely using the same technique was impressive.

"Whoa, you're really keeping up this time?"

"Hoo... I hope you're ready for what's next."

Now standing on the rooftop, Brillie unsheathed her sword.

She had mimicked the thief's technique after observing it for just a moment.

Though hastily learned and imperfect, it let her barely keep pace.

"You're not scary, you're just a monster. Maybe you should calm down, for your fiancé's sake?"

"You're really asking for it. Should I tear that mouth first?"

Brillie glared, releasing murderous magic power toward Clarke.

Clarke immediately sensed the danger, seized by an instinct to escape.

"Whoa... looks like I messed with the wrong person..."

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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