Alice looked up at suddenly, sharp and alert again. "What do you think, Julies?"
I blinked, then cleared my throat. "About what, My Lady?"
"About this so-called vigilante." Her gaze bored into mine. "Do you think he’s a hero?".
My mouth went dry.
She was staring at so intensely, as if she could peel back my skin and see right through the bones. I felt a chill crawl down my spine—not from the morning breeze, but from that gaze.
Every fiber of my body scread to play it safe. Say sothing vague. Neutral. That’s how you survive around nobles, especially one as sharp as her.
But I was tired.
Tired in the bones. Tired in the soul.
So I said the first thing that felt honest.
"...I think he did what needed to be done."
Alice raised an eyebrow, but didn’t interrupt.
"He wasn’t chasing glory," I continued, my voice quiet, "and he didn’t ask for praise. He just... acted. When no one else would."
I looked straight ahead, avoiding her eyes. "Bjron was a monster. Everyone knew it. But no one lifted a damn finger. If soone finally ended that madness... then maybe, yeah. Maybe he is a hero."
Silence stretched.
I instantly regretted opening my mouth.
My hands clenched behind my back, half-expecting a scathing remark or a quiet dismissal.
But instead, she... laughed.
A short, dry chuckle that held no real amusent.
"’Did what needed to be done,’ huh?" she murmured, sipping her tea again. "That’s what they always say. Until the blood spreads too far."
Her gaze wandered to the garden. "One day, this ’hero’ might find himself hunted. The sa people cheering his na now will be the ones calling him a murderer tomorrow."
I didn’t reply. What could I say to that? She wasn’t wrong.
But she wasn’t entirely right either.
She set the cup down, and her fingers gently tapped the porcelain.
"I still rember that day...Maybe it’s been 3 months by now. It was before you beco my attendant.
Now I was getting curious.
Because by my calculations, it was the ti that ga hasn’t started yet so i don’t have any knowledge of it and that’s why I am curious.
"About what My Lady?
Alice looked up to . There was chill in her gaze and maybe but if anger too.
But for what reason?
After a mont, Alice let out sigh and answered the question of mine.
"We recieved the evidence of the Bjron cris....He left samples on the victims bones...His fingertips more specificlly after he done butchering them and throwing away bones after eating them.
This them was ’Humans’ that were butcher by Bjron.
Alice eyes sharpend dengerously at those words but she continued saying it.
"It was hard to find the culprit but my father assigned a mage and a few church’s to find and identity the culprit."
There was paused for mont, Alice’s voice lowered, but each word struck like cold steel.
"The mont the results ca back... I rember standing in my father’s study, listening as the mage explained it all—how they pieced it together. A spell to trace residual soul fragnts. Divine confirmation from the priests. And then..." She exhaled sharply through her nose, lips curling in a bitter smile. "A match. The bones belonged to missing villagers—eleven of them. All human. And the one thing they shared in common?"
Her gaze t mine again. "Bjron."
A beat of silence passed between us.
I felt my jaw tighten. Even though I’d suspected it—hell, known it in my gut—hearing it laid out like that still twisted sothing inside .
"And your father?" I asked quietly.
Alice nodded slowly, her fingers curling into her skirt. "If I hadn’t steeped in at that mont, then Bjron might have been dead long ago."
I slightly frowend at her words.
"What’s that supposed to an, My Lady?"
At those words of mine, Alice slightly lower her head in Sha and continued.
"After knowing who was the culprit was, I told my father I will be one who will capture him and brought to justice. I was being childish at that mont....I wanted make na for myself but more then that I wanted to kill Bjron. After presuding my father, I got permission.
Alice paused there. Her voice had been steady, but I could see her hands trembling slightly in her lap. Whether from anger or regret, I wasn’t sure.
She finally looked up again, eyes distant now. "I took a squad of knights—six of them. All of them experienced. All of them trusted."
She swallowed.
"We found him within two days. Living alone at the edge of the forest, acting like nothing had happened. Like he wasn’t a monster." She clenched her jaw. "Sohow he got wind of it that we are coming for him and make a run for it."
Alice’s fingers curled tighter, knuckles white now. Her voice was quiet—far too quiet for what she was saying.
"We chased him through the woods for half a three days. The chase was a long and tiring, we would have gotten him but at that mont North climate changes, Snowstorm hit hus hard. We couldn’t see anything beyond few footstep. He took tha advantage of that and vanished.... After The Snowstorm was gone we looked for him but we didn’t find anything....That was my first and only failure that I never forgave myself for," Alice finished, her voice barely more than a whisper.
The breeze stirred again, ruffling the edge of her sleeve. Her eyes didn’t move from the garden.
I stood in silence, letting the weight of her words settle.
I never thought I’d see Lady Alice—cold, sharp, decisive Alice—speak with such rawness. The guilt etched into her voice... it wasn’t sothing I was used to hearing from nobles. Especially not her.
And yet, it made her more human.
"I see," I said softly, unsure what else I could offer.
"No," she murmured. "You don’t."
Her head turned slightly, and her eyes t mine. They weren’t cold this ti. Just tired.
Silence stretched again, longer this ti. A few petals from the garden trees fell between us, dancing on the wind.
"...Did your father bla you?" I asked.
Her eyes flickered. "He didn’t have to. I blad myself more than he ever could."
I swallowed, not knowing what to say.
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