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Chapter 3:
The people who had torn apart the peaceful life of her gentle father, kind mother, beloved little brother, and devastated the Alfred estate were spies from a neighboring kingdom.
It was an open secret among the nobility that relations with the neighboring country had begun to deteriorate during the previous king’s reign. It was also well known that those relations had never truly recovered.
At one point, rumors had spread that war might break out between the two nations, but those fears were dismissed the previous year when the neighboring kingdom sent a diplomatic delegation. According to official reports, nothing unusual had happened.
But that information had been false.
Among the noble families, whispers circulated that the delegation had secretly reported back to their king that there was no intention of restoring relations with Glorious. Some even speculated that war would inevitably come someday.
The neighboring kingdom had meticulously planted spies throughout Glorious to monitor its activities.
The one who discovered their existence was Adora’s father, Illian Alfred.
Realizing the danger, Illian had secretly begun investigating the enemy nation’s movements. When the neighboring kingdom discovered this, they dispatched assassins to the Alfred estate.
Adora learned all of this by pure chance.
One night, she overheard a secret conversation outside a study whose lights were still burning. Inside were the elder members of the Alfred family who had become her guardians.
Listening to their hushed voices, she finally learned the truth behind the tragedy.
And she also learned why nothing could be done about it.
The people responsible for nearly destroying an entire noble house were enemy spies. But exposing that fact would accomplish nothing immediately.
They could not demand punishment from another nation.
They could not invade enemy territory and vent their anger.
Because that would mean war.
War was suffering.
And one noble family’s tragedy could never outweigh the lives of an entire nation.
Perhaps war would come one day, but until then, it was better to postpone further tragedy.
Besides, the Alfred family was not powerful enough to shoulder such a burden.
And so the truth behind the massacre that had destroyed a family was buried.
Before anyone could even properly mourn, it was forced into silence.
That day, Adora made a decision.
She would choose the sword instead of the flowers her mother had wished for her.
People said that the living must continue on, carrying the memory of the dead in their hearts.
But Adora could never accept that.
The memories of that night remained as vivid as ever.
The pain engraved into those memories still gripped her heart.
The rage she had never been allowed to unleash still burned within her.
How could she simply forget and move on?
Only by making them suffer the same pain she had endured could she extinguish the fury consuming her.
When Adora turned fourteen, she cut her long red hair short and applied to become a royal squire.
A young noble lady with a delicate face, wearing trousers and a man’s haircut, confidently submitting an application left everyone speechless.
Since the founding of Glorious, no woman had ever applied to become a knight.
There was no law forbidding it, but it had always been an unspoken rule.
People would have been shocked enough if a one-legged man had applied.
A woman becoming a knight was simply unimaginable.
Naturally, the opposition was overwhelming.
People mocked her ambition.
They laughed at her.
But Adora passed the examinations and became a royal knight.
Years later, she fought in the war, personally beheaded an enemy commander, and became one of the heroes responsible for victory.
And so Adora achieved her revenge.
And earned her death.
* * *
The cook, now well into middle age, prepared one of his finest meals for her after such a long absence.
The dining table was filled with all of Adora’s favorite dishes.
After finishing the satisfying meal and wiping her mouth, Adora announced the decision she had made before returning home.
“…What did you just say?”
“I think I’d like to get married. Find me a suitable match.”
Crash!
Something shattered loudly behind her.
Startled, Adora turned around.
John stood frozen with both hands raised in midair. Several empty plates lay scattered at his feet—the obvious source of the noise.
Ignoring the broken dishes entirely, John stared at her with his mouth hanging open.
“M-M-Marriage? If my old ears haven’t failed me, did you just say you’re getting married, Miss?”
“Yes.”
“W-Why all of a sudden?”
She had expected that question.
So she answered easily.
“I think it’s finally okay for me to rest. Honestly, I’m already rather late.”
At her response, John’s hands began trembling violently.
Then his entire body started shaking.
Adora wondered if the news of her marriage was really that shocking. At the same time, she worried he might be ill after all the years she’d been away.
John muttered, “Marriage… marriage…” like a madman before fumbling inside his jacket and pulling something out.
A neatly pressed white handkerchief.
“Our young lady is finally getting maaarried!”
Then he buried his face in the handkerchief and burst into tears.
He cried loudly.
Very loudly.
It was difficult to believe this was the same dignified and composed butler she knew.
The cook beside him even had to pat his shoulder in consolation.
Adora sat there blankly until she noticed John clutching the left side of his chest.
“Calm down, John.”
“Sob! I’m perfectly fine! Th-this old man’s heart won’t stop over something like this! Hic! Our young lady is getting married!”
“…”
Learning that her butler possessed such delicate emotions left Adora completely bewildered.
If she ever got married twice, he looked ready to die from experiencing joy and sorrow simultaneously.
When he declared that he could now die without regrets, Adora wisely chose not to add anything further.
After finally regaining his composure, John suddenly adopted a solemn expression.
“Don’t worry, Miss! No, Master! I will find someone who is more than worthy of you!”
“R-Right. I’m counting on you.”
Adora responded awkwardly and turned away.
At some point, the dishes had all been cleared from the table and replaced with a steaming cup of tea.
As she lifted the teacup by its handle, she couldn’t help regretting one thing.
She had been away from home far too long.
* * *
News that Adora Alfred was seeking a marriage partner spread throughout the kingdom.
The announcement caused a tremendous stir among the nobility.
The Alfred family name had long since lost much of its former prestige.
But the value of Adora Alfred herself was entirely different.
As a woman, she had risen through sheer ability to become Commander of the Green Knights.
After the war, she was celebrated as a hero and had even earned the king’s trust.
Though she had now retired from knighthood, marrying her promised tremendous advantages.
After making their calculations, noble families began sending marriage proposals one after another.
Soon, proposal letters flooded the Alfred estate as though the nobles were competing against each other.
The news spread once again across the kingdom, fueling public fascination with “Adora Alfred’s Marriage.”
And naturally, people began wondering:
Who would she marry?
That curiosity eventually reached deep into the royal palace.
To one particular man.
Surrounded by crimson roses stood a palace seemingly hidden within their beauty.
In the richly scented garden, a man with an impeccably handsome face slowly surveyed the sea of red blossoms.
His snow-white hair glittered beneath the sunlight, carrying a beauty as strange and ethereal as snow falling in spring.
Adjusting his newly tailored clothes, he dismissed the gardener approaching him and carefully admired each flower that had been lovingly cultivated day after day.
Then he began selecting roses himself.
The loose cuff of his sleeve fluttered like a butterfly with every step.
A gardener presented him with a single rose whose stem had been trimmed and thorns removed.
Morning dew still clung to its freshly bloomed petals.
The man buried his nose in the flower and inhaled deeply.
The rich fragrance filled his senses.
He surrendered himself willingly to that scent and smiled faintly.
And just as the bouquet of roses in his arms grew fuller,
so too did the excitement blooming within his heart.
* * *
Adora stared blankly at the densely written pages before her.
To be honest, all she could think was:
White paper, black ink.
She skimmed through the detailed contents without much interest until she reached a section boldly demanding the transfer of family rights and authority.
At that point, she looked away.
Her gaze drifted toward the mountain of letters piled on her desk.
Beside them sat countless bouquets, filling the area around the table.
They had been delivered throughout the morning by representatives of various noble houses.
John had no need to search for potential marriage candidates.
The letters stacked before her were all marriage proposals.
Some particularly impatient nobles had even included portraits.
Others were more shameless, already outlining how assets and benefits should be divided after marriage.
Apparently, they were so confident their proposals would be accepted that they included remarkably detailed demands.
And all this had happened only a few days after John began searching for candidates.
“There are… a lot of flowers.”
The bouquets were just as overwhelming.
Some were massive arrangements that relied solely on volume.
Others arrived in expensive decorative vases adorned with elaborate designs.
Never in her life had Adora received so many flowers.
There were enough varieties gathered together to create an entire flower garden.
“Some even sent jewels and other valuables,” John added. “But I assumed you wouldn’t appreciate such gifts, so I returned them.”
“Good. You made the right choice.”
Adora was honestly bewildered.
She was twenty-seven years old now.
For a knight, she was still relatively young.
For a noblewoman, however, she was well past the usual marriageable age.
She had even resigned from the only position that could truly be considered her greatest asset.
She had expected finding a suitable partner to be difficult.
Yet the response had been overwhelmingly enthusiastic.
Apparently, news of her intention to marry had spread across the entire kingdom to the point where there was hardly anyone who hadn’t heard about it.
The attention felt excessive.
Still, she decided to view it positively.
After all, having more options wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
That thought, however, changed completely the very next day.
To be continued…
