The Countess Lives Twice in the Apocalypse-Chapter 61: Sixty
The sky slowly brightens, going from a deep shade of purple to a soft blue. The first rays of sunlight begin to appear on the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and gold.
In the town of Philipia, the sun’s rays first peek over the rooftops of the houses, casting long shadows in the still-dark yet bustling streets.
The light begins to wash away the darkness, revealing the familiar sights of the town.
"Distinguish the torches!" A knight screamed on the top of his lungs, reminding his fellow knights to do their morning tasks.
With the knights getting rid of the fire of the torches, the colors of the sky become more vibrant with streaks of pink and purple blending together like a painter’s palette. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
The sun’s rays reflect off of windows and glint off of metal, creating a dazzling display of brightness. The adults begin to stir, emerging from their homes and looking around, beginning their day with the promise of the sun’s warmth.
"Time to check the seedlings, Flip!" A man’s voice echoed in the morning air, excited to start his day by the plot of land at the back gates.
"Reload the arrows!" Another knight barked out an order, "Get ready for the horde!"
The awake knights busied themselves with the weaponry, pulling out the bows and arrows from the cart and passing them to their fellow knights.
The light of the sun spreads out, casting long, slender shadows across the landscape as the town comes alive, the sounds of footsteps and voices adding to the symphony of the sunrise.
Soon, the sun is fully above the horizon, its brilliant glow illuminating the world below.
"Read the posters on the billboard by the town square, people! The Countess has arrived last night and will start her inspection in a few hours!" A loving elderly man was screaming, notifying the town’s folks about the arrival of their supposedly leader.
"Goodness! I haven’t clean my room just yet!" A woman said in a hushed town, reading the poster in the wooden billboard.
"It looks like they brought more people last night." Another town woman muttered, "We already have too much mouth to feed and they brought in another?"
"House inspection? For what? These are our houses! Why do we need to share our houses with those women?!" A man hissed, glaring at the poster.
"Look, the Marques has added something on the bottom!" Another woman exclaimed, pointing the obvious to her fellow town folks.
"Those who are against the house inspection that will be conducted by the Countess. I suggest holding back your tongues if you don’t want Duke Zacharias of the east to do the inspection in your own houses instead." A woman read out loud for the others, and it has them gasping in shock.
"A Duke with a mere Countess?"
"The Countess was accompanied by a Duke? What a shocking news!"
"But isn’t the Countess travelling with her little sister? What does that say about her?"
"That’s the only thing you lots are concerned about? The Marques literally said that the Duke of the east will be the one to do the inspection if we dare speak about our displeasures!" A frail old man exclaimed, his voice shaking and raspy.
"Why are we even letting someone else inspect our houses anyways? A woman at that? What would a woman know something about houses? They are not the one who build the houses in the first place! The men did— what?!"
The man who was huffing and puffing his chest out was silence when someone tapped him in the shoulder, making him turn around and growled at the person, but turned pale when that person turns out to be Marques Ebonics himself.
"Do you want to repeat what you just said?" Merlot has a smile on his face, but the cold and apathetic look on his eyes were enough to make the grown man swallow.
"I.. I said nothing, my lord." The man stammered out, lowering his head.
"That’s not what I heard though." Merlot frowned at him and turned to the knights following him, "Throw him in one of the cells. I’ll let Jannah deal with him once she’s awake."
"My lord?!" The man let out a startled yell, "What I said was true! What would a woman do with a house inspection if she—"
"I heard enough." Merlot let out a tired sigh before gesturing towards the man once more, "Don’t give him anything to eat or drink today and make sure that he will be cuffed to the wall."
"Understood, Marques Ebonics." Arthur nodded his head, grabbing the man by the collar and tugged him quite roughly, not sparing the man a glance when he let out a gagging sound.
Arthur is the largest and burliest man in the Duke’s knights that survived. No one really wants to struggle against him due to the fear of being beaten black and blue, rendering men who doesn’t know him personally speechless.
With the man being dragged away and with Arthur being known as one of the Countess’s new appointed knights, there’s no guarantee what kind of treatment that man might receive from the knight.
Merlot waited patiently for Arthur and the man to disappear from his sight, and once they did, he turned back to the crowd, successfully startling them.
"If you don’t want to feel embarrassed by letting one of the formidable and honorable knights of our kingdom see your dirty houses, I suggest to start cleaning now because Jannah is a very punctual person." Merlot’s warning was enough to disperse the crowd in panic and hasty movements.
He watched them scrambled to get to their houses, leaving their sons and daughters standing in front of the billboard.
He let out a sigh, rubbing his temples, if he knew that they’re still men in Philipia that looks down on women then he would have cleared the town before Jannah arrived.
Merlot is a firm, loving, and devoted husband to his wife, he doesn’t look down on her nor does he treat her like she’s just thing.
He treats his wife like a queen and he has Jannah to thank for because she was the one who matched them.
Women do wonders that men can’t comprehend with their brain and Merlot is a firm believer that women can do what men do or even do better than them.
He won’t tolerate any men who would look down on women so to set an example, he needs to send them down to the town’s small prison.
This is the least I could do to save their life. Merlot thought to himself as he glanced at the man who walked out of the small mansion next to the town hall.
He might do something worse than not letting them eat for a day if those men were to insult Jannah in his presence. Merlot raised a hand, rubbing his temples once again.
The image of Duke Eulicies this morning is still stuck in his mind.
From the start of the meeting with Jannah, the Duke stands tall and proud behind her, as if it’s his rightful spot.
His black hair framing his angular face with a pair of deep purple eyes accompanied by an intense gaze that betrays his angelic and charming appearance.
His expression is cool and neutral, his features betraying no emotion and not showing any reaction, but his eyes would glitter with a hint of disdain as he look at Merlot.
The menacing and calculating gaze of the Duke was evident from the get go.
Duke Eulicies stand in obvious disdain, his body posture straight and tensed as Merlot silently got size up, trying to gauge the Marques’ weaknesses and intentions.
It is clear that the Duke doesn’t trust him. More so, when he asked Jannah questions that seem to offended the Duke more than his friend.
If looks could kill then Merlot would have been a corpse in that chair inside the town hall’s office.
He felt a shiver run down his spine at the thought of it.
"My lord." A knight called out to Merlot, causing him to flinch slightly and turn around to look at the person who required his attention.
"Sir Alejandro and Dante got summoned by Duke Zacharias. He told me to let you know that he borrowed them." Polo stated, both of his arms stiff by his side as he report what he was told.
"I see." Merlot could only let out a tired sigh, "Just give what the Duke wants and don’t anger him, okay? You must stay alive at all cost, Polo."
"Yes, sir?" Polo’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, not sure what the Marques was implying.
"Good." Merlot sighed once more and gestured towards the children in front of the billboard who were trying to read the posters, "Have two people entertain these kids in the school. I haven’t asked Jannah what to do with them so distract them for now."
"Yes, sir!" Polo enthusiastically agreed and excused himself, running towards the direction of the front gates.
Merlot watched the knight before he turned around to walk towards the mansion.
He left his wife asleep inside their bedroom and he still has to ask for forgiveness for being harsh on her during the meeting with the Rafelon sisters.
On his way there, he bumped into the green haired maid with lavender eyes, the one who was standing beside Jannah during the meeting.
"Where are you off to?"
"To my lady’s room." She answered with a happy chirp.
