The Isolated Marchioness Just Wants to Make a Living - Chapter 217

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Part 2, Episode 22
* * *
That night.
Brisa had fallen asleep early—she’d spent a great deal of energy in her confrontation with Gillab Divostan for the first time in ages.
Maximus was alone with Alpheus in his quarters, catching up on old times.
Wine glasses clinked softly between them.
“I wish I could tell you in detail how Brisa has grown all these years, but truthfully, I know very little about it.”
Maximus tilted his glass and spoke.
“You see, Brisa remained confined to Sears Territory. It’s only natural, given your absence.”
“Didn’t they invite her quite often from the Northern and Southern Regions? Everyone held her in such regard….”
“She declined their invitations. I believe Brisa lived under an obsessive conviction that she ‘must remain safe at all costs.’ After all, she was your only guardian.”
Alpheus lowered his eyes with a troubled expression.
Maximus continued.
“It was an intense resolve never to waste your sacrifice. She avoided anywhere remotely dangerous.”
“Still, didn’t people from the North and South visit her often? Leopold went to Sebon, didn’t he?”
“Well…….”
Maximus rolled his eyes.
In truth, there were few people in the Southern Region who would seek Brisa out.
Cheria was imprisoned, Delmia traveled the entire continent, Shania managed the territory, Harrison went to Sebon, and Isabela…….
“Isabela tried her best to look after her, but visiting Sears often was difficult—the Northern Region’s circumstances were dire. There were cattle problems, and illegal Warps were installed most heavily there, so she was occupied with remedying those issues.”
“Ah…… then she must have been nearly isolated in her territory…….”
“Not quite isolated. At least Brisa visited the Magic Tower often to see you.”
“Only the Magic Tower?”
“She did go to the Western Region occasionally, but always with a large retinue of guards. Even so, she only went to the Grand Duke’s Residence. She offered various advice on the Western Region’s crops, but rarely ventured into the field herself.”
Even as he explained, Maximus felt a bitter taste.
He too had wanted to care for Brisa properly. Yet she had not come to the Imperial Palace.
Anais had wanted to summon her and speak with her, but Maximus had stopped her.
“That child has no fond memories of the Imperial Palace, Mother.”
The girl who sat silent as a doll beside the Empress Dowager and Empress.
The young lady who cried out Alpheus’s name in anguish in the grand banquet hall.
“It would be better not to summon her. Of course, demonstrating an alliance with House of Sears would be politically advantageous, but still…….”
Then Anais had spoken thus.
“I simply received a letter from her and lent her a sword—I merely wished to speak with her more. Political advantage? I hadn’t thought of it in such terms…….”
Maximus felt like garbage.
But what could he do when calculation followed naturally from his thinking?
Powerful princes with strong backing lined his ranks. If any of them became Emperor, Maximus would be expelled forthwith.
Outstanding in ability yet lacking backing—such was the fate of men like him. His support among the Empire’s people ran too deep for him to live quietly.
‘Surviving is truly difficult.’
Maximus sighed deeply.
“Still, everything has remained safe all this time—isn’t that truly fortunate? Brisa showed wisdom. Had she wandered about and suffered injury somewhere, how grieved you would have been.”
In the meantime, Alpheus pressed his mechanical arm briefly against his brow, then spoke slowly.
“…… Not everything has remained safe.”
“Hmm? Did she suffer injury somewhere?”
“Her heart has been deeply wounded.”
Alpheus spoke with measured deliberation.
“She’s overly protective of her body. She tries by every means to remain confined to Sears Territory. She wasn’t always like this. She used to love visiting new places, seeing new crops, and trying new methods in unfamiliar environments.”
Now that he mentioned it, that did seem to have been the case. Even when younger, she’d traveled eagerly—to the West, the South, the North, everywhere.
“I thought she’d stay longer in the East. She seemed to want to try seaweed farming. But she kept asking to go home.”
Alpheus continued, eyes downcast.
“She probably anticipated the Russell Count Territory’s poor circumstances. So she took plenty of supplies as a ‘gift.’ But that’s unlike Brisa.”
Maximus quickly grasped the situation.
Giving a one-time supply of food to a struggling territory was not Brisa’s style.
She typically leveraged each territory’s unique characteristics to creatively solve their survival problems.
Yet now Brisa had simply done the minimum at Russell Territory and departed—even though she was not incapable of devising new solutions.
The fact that she’d prepared supplies from the outset meant she’d never intended to help thoroughly.
“She couldn’t remain composed even during a simple Half-human, Half-beast Taming, and grudged offering advice on a withered Tomato Field.”
“Mm.”
Maximus quickly understood the situation. He spoke slowly.
“When you collapsed before her eyes, Brisa was barely thirteen. Frankly, isn’t it understandable that she’d never want to be exposed to such circumstances again? Now that you’ve awakened, wanting both of you to stay in a safe place might be entirely normal.”
He paused and asked.
“Is that why you’ve decided to stay here longer?”
“Yes.”
Alpheus nodded.
“I don’t wish to see Brisa continually imprison herself because of that day’s memories. I don’t want her living in hiding, unable to spread her wings because of those Dark Mages. Since I can protect her, I want her to experience the world freely.”
If things continued as they were, Brisa would no longer even visit the Magic Tower and would remain locked away in Sears Marquis Territory. Because Alpheus had returned.
If Brisa said, “I’ve done my part in Sears—let the Imperial Court handle the rest,” no one could argue against it.
Even if she shut herself away against the threat of Dark Mages, insisting, “My sibling and I will simply remain hidden here.”
She’d ventured out once and nearly lost someone precious. Moreover, Sears Territory now lacked for nothing.
“In fact, the Russell Count Territory seemed to hope we’d stay longer. If she were her former self, Brisa surely would have examined the territory further or offered some words about the crops. But she kept asking only to go home. Yet that won’t lead to Brisa’s happiness in the long run.”
Alpheus spoke with bitter resignation.
“The Russell Territory is unfamiliar, so one could forgive her hesitation there. But here, the Western Region remains comfortably close, and Gillab Divostan is Brisa’s longtime friend.”
It was something Brisa would have been horrified to hear.
“So I thought it would be good for her to stay a while longer and recall the past when she ventured into the world. That’s why I asked to remain longer, and it seems you saw through it.”
Maximus nodded.
He recalled the reception day and spoke slowly.
“That day was a ‘failure’ for Brisa. And most people who fail shrink back. Not everyone can, like you, turn failure into a stepping stone toward success. You should have realized that much when you threw yourself at the Empress Dowager.”
“…… I thought if many people stood beside her, it would be all right.”
Alpheus spoke with a sigh.
“But Brisa spent more time alone than I expected.”
True, she was with the Territory Residents, Knights, and Maids of Sears—but they weren’t people upon whom Brisa could lean or grow intimate.
“Well, I didn’t anticipate Leopold and Harrison leaving for Sebon either…….”
Embarrassed by this, Maximus drained his glass in one gulp.
In truth, Alpheus had trusted Maximus as one of his companions, yet this was nearly the first time he and Brisa had properly met…….
“I have nothing to say. But in my defense, I too wished to see Brisa often—it was simply difficult given the circumstances.”
He spoke with genuine apology.
“With an engagement in place, a single man visiting frequently would be burdensome for Brisa.”
That was his sincere feeling.
Had Brisa only not been engaged to Leopold, he would have checked on her often.
Brisa was his war comrade’s sister, his benefactor, and someone he must protect for the Empire’s future.
But if he visited without particular business while Leopold was away, only harmful rumors would spread.
“In fact, that’s why I’m seeing Brisa now after such a long time.”
He spoke bitterly.
“I didn’t realize she’d grown so much…… I was truly surprised. She’s become a real beauty.”
That too was sincere.
The Brisa he met after years was breathtakingly beautiful.
He knew adulthood approached, and had there been no engagement, he couldn’t have handled the crowd of suitors descending upon her.
“By the way…… do you happen to know when the Nogen Vice Duke will return?”
Maximus asked carefully.
“You’ll soon be of one family, after all.”
…….
Hmm?
For an extraordinarily rare moment, Alpheus fell silent.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————