Episode 89. Duel (1)

I can’t see her anywhere. Allen, who had been wandering around Mountberne County under the pretext of finding Marie, steeled herself against her flagging spirit. Just wandering around like this and letting the day pass would be a waste; it wasn’t a knightly thing to think. Did wearing women’s clothing that one time have this much of an impact? The knightly image she had been trying to maintain was constantly unraveling.

Having searched all the places Marie would normally go, Allen sat down on the roadside and sighed. Where could she have gone…? Time was passing quickly, and in just an hour or two, the sun would be setting. I really think I’ve looked almost everywhere… Did we somehow miss each other? Thinking that might be the case, she decided to start searching from the beginning again. She re-entered the main castle, enduring the gazes of the servants.

Arriving at the main castle, she remembered a place she had forgotten. The farthest place from the entrance, the highest room. The only place she hadn’t checked was the room where Marie had stayed to care for Henry. Allen thought that if she wasn’t there, she would give up for today and just have dinner, and started climbing the stairs. Fortunately, as she got closer, she could hear what sounded like people talking, so it seemed she had come to the right place after all.

Soon, she saw the door she had been sitting with her back to, sick and tired of it. From inside, she could faintly hear the sobbing voice of the Countess. Could something be wrong? She could also hear the occasional familiar male voice. Allen thought that Count Mountberne must have woken up. Just like she had done for over ten days, she stood with her back to the door, blocking anyone from entering. She couldn’t disturb the long-awaited reunion of her lord and his wife. She was just as much of a disturbance. She was determined to protect this place, even if it meant staying up all night, so that no one could disturb the Mountberne couple’s time.

“Say something!”

“…. Nuna…”

But as she listened carefully, something seemed strange. Normally, the door was so thick and tightly closed that the sounds from inside were not easily heard. But for some reason, the dignified Countess was shouting so loudly. Moreover, the content was a bit odd.

‘Say something?’

Did she really mean to just say something, or had the Count already done something wrong? It couldn’t be that the Count had become mute, as she could hear him responding. But how long had he been awake, and it wouldn’t be easy to do something wrong while lying motionless. And as far as Allen knew, the Count was much older than the Countess. But “Nuna…”

Allen didn’t have a habit of interfering in other people’s arguments. She just tried to fulfill her duty as a knight, thinking, “I’m deaf-I didn’t hear anything.” But she couldn’t help but worry about what was happening behind the door. The bits of information that were leaking out, and the Countess’s sobbing after shouting. They probably didn’t know Allen was here yet, so it would be wiser to pretend she didn’t know and move on. For her own sake, it was best not to show her face when her lord or his wife were in a bad mood.

But Allen couldn’t do that. More devoted to chivalry than the average knight, she was too upright to simply ignore a situation where an injustice might have been done to someone she knew. Above all, wasn’t Marie a noblewoman, a lady? How could she call herself a knight if she heard a lady’s cries and did nothing? Even setting aside her personal affection for Marie, as a knight, she couldn’t ignore it. Clearing her throat, which hadn’t made a sound for hours, she opened the doorknob.

Kkieok-

“Are you here?”

Opening the door, what Allen saw was completely different from what she had expected-Marie, in tears, resenting or blaming Henry. The gaunt Count, who seemed like he would never open his eyes again, was glaring at the Countess with bloodshot eyes, and the Countess was being forcibly violated by the robust and youthful Count-nim, shedding tears. …Huh? Two Heads of the Family?. Confused and unable to grasp the situation, Allen drew her sword to protect the tearful Marie.

“Stop it right now, you devilish bastard!”

“Allen? Wait. It’s not like that…”

Allen felt even greater fear that the devil knew her name. Could demons really see through people’s hearts?

“Shut up, you demon! Trying to violate the Countess while wearing the mask of the young Count-nim!”

“I’m Edward! I’m not a demon!”

“E-Edward?”

Thinking that, she looked at the robust Count again and could easily recognize that he was Edward, who resembled the Count, not the Count himself. Suddenly witnessing the Countess she served being violated, Allen was momentarily confused by Edward, who looked similar to the Count. Allen recalled Franchello telling her yesterday that Edward was the Head of the Family-nim’s younger brother. He certainly did resemble him. The reason she had been puzzled when she first heard his name was that it was strange for a noble man with that appearance to have a different surname than Mountberne. …To think she hadn’t realized they were related to the Head of the Family just because their surnames were different.

“Sir Edward… I presume. But if that’s the case, I can’t forgive you even more.”

“No, I never violated my sister-in-law…”

“I’m disappointed, Sir Edward! For a knight to tell such blatant lies, let alone uphold chivalry!”

Wasn’t the Countess clearly repulsed? Just because he was stronger than a woman, he was forcibly violating not just any woman, but his own sister-in-law. And he was shamelessly denying the facts while still having his thing stuck inside her. What was the difference between stabbing someone with a knife in your hand and denying the murder without even pulling it out?

“I’m telling you, it’s not true!”

“If you’re just going to keep lying, shut your mouth!”

Allen looked like she was about to chop off Edward’s head right there. Fortunately, Marie and Edward were having sex on the opposite side of the door, near the window where Marie always sat, relative to the bed where Henry was lying, so she was just brandishing her sword easily. Everything just looked like Edward’s cowardly and shallow trick to Allen.

“Come here right now and pay the price for your sins like a knight!”

“No, it wasn’t rape, it was consensual! We did it because we both wanted to!”

“…Now you’re even tarnishing the Countess’s honor…!”

“Nuna! Explain it!”

“…”

Allen understood whose mouth the word “Nuna” had come from inside. How could he not be ashamed to call someone who looked younger than him “Nuna,” even if she was his sister-in-law in terms of rank? And now he was even claiming it was consensual, saying that the Countess had cheated on her husband. It was utter nonsense that Allen couldn’t accept. How could the dignified, virtuous Marie Mountberne cheat on her husband? She had steadfastly maintained her chastity, refusing to accept any man other than her husband, even when she needed an heir or when the Count had collapsed.

“Ah, I’m really going crazy…”

Allen, with anger rising to the top of her head, approached even closer with her sword drawn. Marie, who was just crying in shock from being raped and couldn’t say anything, only reinforced Allen’s conviction. Even if the actual reason was a bit different, that’s how it looked in Allen’s eyes. At Edward’s appearance, who didn’t admit his guilt until the very end without any honor, she swung her sword.

“Ai! Hey, someone’s going to get hurt!”

“That’s what I’m hoping for it to be you!”

Feathers scattered every time Allen swung her sword. After swinging her sword a few times like that, Allen, who had calmed down slightly like the rising and falling feathers, lowered her sword and said.

“…As a knight, I will give you a chance to prove yourself with a duel as your last honor.”

Allen held out Edward’s sword to him. It was his sword that Edward had taken off for a moment because it was getting in the way during sex.