Transmigrated as Baron, Married with my Lovely Maid-Chapter 24

Two days have passed since the "ritual" between Cecile and I was completed.

Monitoring by the Vermillion healers revealed that Cecile’s natural immune system had significantly improved, resulting in a rapid and complete recovery. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Cecile no longer suffered from the effects of her own poison.

She was even able to resume her normal activities.

In the throne room, Leysha and I awaited Cecile’s arrival.

"Baron Atreus Vermillion. Mistress Cecile requests permission to make a formal appearance." said one of the soldiers guarding the throne room.

"Yes, come in," I said, sitting on the throne.

Leysha stood beside me, holding Cecile’s usual twin swords.

Since Cecile fell ill with the poison, she had become extremely weak and fragile, unable to use her signature Shadow Step and twin swords.

But I’m confident she’s able to use them now, thanks to her independence and fast recovery.

CREACK

The throne room door opened, and Cecile entered.

She looked just like the first time I met her, dressed in black combat attire with gold accents and mystical ornaments, like a high-ranking warrior.

However, her golden eyes were no longer as bloodthirsty as usual, but soft and determined.

Her face was brighter than usual, and her steps were more determined and steady as she approached me.

"Baron Atreus Vermillion..."

Cecile knelt down, bowing respectfully, something I never expected from the arrogant and conceited former Baroness.

Well, she was my mistress, and she chose it herself, so I didn’t have to worry about whether she was faking it or not.

"It’s time we repair the damage and move towards a better future, Cecile," I said, giving Leysha a quick glance.

Leysha understood even though I was giving her a wordless order.

She bowed her head briefly, then walked over to Cecile, who was still kneeling, handing her her twin swords.

"Th-this is...?!" Cecile looked surprised to see Leysha offer her her twin swords.

"Your weapons, which are also your trademark as an Assassin, Cecile," I said, trying to reassure her.

"I-I... I don’t know if I deserve to—"

"You deserve it, Cecile. If you want to correct the wrongs of your past, don’t degrade yourself again. Hold your head high and face this reality with grace. I, Baron Atreus Vermillion, am always by your side."

Cecilia was stunned by my assertiveness.

She swallowed hard, suppressing any lingering doubts, and then accepted her twin swords back from Leysha with a bowed fist.

"Thank you, Baron Atreus Vermillion... I will definitely use them well...!"

Good.

I could sense her determination, not in her statement but in the confident look in her eyes.

I rose from the throne room chair and walked toward the throne room door.

Behind me, Leysha and Cecile walked slowly after me.

Before reaching the throne room door, I paused for a moment to stare at Baron Chev, or more precisely, the ice statue of Baron Chev that was still in the throne room.

Looks like I’ll have to ask Alex to clean up this useless ice statue later.

"Baron Atreus... if I may, I would like to destroy this ice statue," Cecile said suddenly.

Leysha and I stared at Cecile for a long moment.

Neither of us felt the slightest hesitation when Cecile made that statement.

"You want to destroy your brother’s ice statue?" Leysha asked, confirming.

"Yes, Leysha. Baron Chev is indeed part of my family, my own brother. But I know the Thornvale family has come to an end since I have completely surrendered myself as Mistress of Baron Atreus Vermillion. It is rightful for me to deal with Baron Chev, the remaining of Thornvale, with my own hands, because this is purely my decision from the bottom of my heart," Cecile replied confidently.

"...that means you’re ready to take responsibility for whatever decision you make, right?" I asked again to confirm.

"Yes, Baron Atreus. I’m ready to take responsibility for all my decisions."

"Good. That’s what I wanted to hear from you, Cecile."

Leysha and I stepped aside for a moment, giving Cecile room to execute the ice statue of Baron Chev in the throne room.

Until now, Cecile had always believed that Baron Chev was still alive, even though he was frozen like that.

In reality, Baron Chev had been dead for a long time.

The ice statue was simply Baron Chev’s corpse, frozen like an ice statue.

Cecile walked calmly until she stopped about a meter in front of the ice statue, then slowly drew her twin swords.

Cecile closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before carrying out the execution.

Two seconds later, Cecile immediately opened her eyes again, then immediately executed a deadly and swift slash that was hard for my eyes to capture.

All I saw clearly was Cecile sheathing her twin swords again.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

The statue of Baron Chev shattered, disintegrating into hundreds of neatly cut, perfectly undamaged ice shards.

Not finished there, Cecile also trimmed her long golden hair to shoulder-length with one of her swords.

Ah, seeing Cecile with shoulder-length hair like that was truly refreshing and pleasing to the eye.

"I’m finished, Baron Atreus," Cecile said, bowing her head to me.

"Whoa, I didn’t expect you to cut your hair too, Cecile," I said with a relaxed smile.

"Yes... a new future as a new woman, Baron Atreus."

"Heh... that short hair really suits you, Cecile."

"R-really...? I’m glad you like it, Baron Atreus..."

I just smiled at Cecile, who was blushing.

Leysha, Cecile, and I continued our journey to the main park in the center of town.

Cecile said the park was usually used by royal envoys to announce important matters.

Coincidentally, I did have something important to announce that the citizens of Thornvale, along with the remaining Thornvale soldiers.

Something they urgently needed to know.

*

"Everyone... Baron Atreus Vermillion has arrived...!"

In the carriage, I could already hear the enthusiastic voices of the Thornvale residents welcoming my arrival.

Since the recovery process had been proceeding steadily and orderly, many Thornvale residents were no longer affected by the effects of the mass poisoning from the poison gas.

Even the blue sky at this afternoon looked clearer as the fog of poison gas that had obscured the sky for several days was thinning and disappearing.

From the carriage window, Leysha and I saw many small children, probably around 10 years old and up, running after my carriage to the stage in the city park.

They were all smiling and enthusiastic, as were the young adults who walked briskly after me.

Well, I never imagined they’d be this reactive positively.

"Baron Atreus... they’ve accepted you. They no longer insult and mock you like they did when you first arrived," Leysha said, smiling gratefully.

"Yes, Leysha... but there’s still something I need to do because we’re bringing someone important..." I replied, glancing at Cecile, who still looked thoughtful.

Even without words, Leysha nodded, understanding what I meant.

"Cecile, calm down. I’m sure they’ll understand as long as you have the confidence to improve..." Leysha tried to reassure Cecile.

Cecile just smiled, no words coming out of her mouth.

More accurately, she was strengthening her mental state because she knew the citizens of Thornvale would be angry and upset upon seeing her return after all this poison-related chaos.

"Baron Atreus, we’ve arrived at the city park."

Alex’s voice, heard from outside the carriage, made Cecile, Leysha, and I brace ourselves.

"Cecile, wait here. You’ll come out after I call you. Understand?"

"Y-yes, Baron Atreus..."

Leysha and I went out first, and were immediately greeted by the cheers of the Thornvale residents.

"Baron Atreus Vermillion...! Thank you for your help...! We’re no longer sick from that damn poison...!"

"Baron, thank you for the meat and milk...! It turns out the beef and milk from the Vermillion territory are truly delicious...!"

I couldn’t help but smile at the cheers of the Thornvale residents.

Holding Leysha’s hand, I walked toward the stage that had been prepared, as I hadn’t expected so many Thornvale residents to be in the city park.

Even as I was on the stage, I could see that even at the far end, there were still Thornvale residents eager to meet me.

"Everyone...! Calm down...! Allow Baron Atreus Vermillion to announce this very important news...!" Alex shouted loudly, causing the enthusiastic cheers and shouts from the Thornvale residents to cease.

If I were to roughly calculate, the total number of Thornvale residents filling the city park would probably be close to a thousand.

I had to be extremely loud because there were no microphones or megaphones here.

But fortunately, I had magic.

With the help of wind magic, I could make my voice high and clear.

"Everyone...! Thank you for your welcome...! I wish you all good health so that together we can end the chaos caused by this deadly poison! I’m sure most of you thought this deadly poison gas was beyond our control, but with our faith and hard work, we can fight back! Be grateful for those of you who are still alive! Let’s rebuild this city! Don’t let it be filled with dead people!"

"OOOHHHH...!"

The Thornvale residents immediately cheered, welcoming my statement.

I was pleased to see their enthusiasm return.

They’ve grown, no longer stressed and depressed when the poison’s effects were still so intense in the past.

I even saw many Thornvale soldiers among the crowd in the city park, which meant they had also come to believe in Vermillion.

The rest, which aren’t seen on the city park, are loyalists of Baroness Cecile Thornvale.

They probably observing me from outside this city park, waiting for the opportunity to kill me, but I had to take this risk.

That’s why I gathered them here, to settle my business with those loyalists.

"Citizens of Thornvale...! We are about to usher in a new era...! Therefore, allow me to introduce my new mistress, the symbol of Vermillion’s greatness in this city of Thornvale! Mistress Cecile...! Come out!" I exclaimed loudly.

"What...? Baroness Cecile, you say...?"

"B-Baron Atreus must be joking...! There’s no way he would bring that troublesome person here! People are already fed up with Baroness Cecile’s chaos...!"

My exclamation immediately startled everyone.

At first, they thought my words were just a joke, but when the door to my carriage opened and Cecile stepped out, everyone fell silent in shock.

"Oh my...! Cecile is still alive...?! I thought she died with Chev...!"

"Why are you here, Cecile...?! Get lost...! My parents and my brothers died because of the poison you made, you bastard...!"

"BOOOOO.....!"

Insults and jeers came like a tsunami, crashing down on Cecile.

Cecilia lowered her head, seemingly hesitant to answer my call.

But after seeing me, she seemed deaf to the taunts.

From the look in her golden eyes that sparkled in mine, I could tell she was going up on stage to fulfill my request.

"Everyone...! Quiet...! Give Mistress Cecilia a chance to speak...!" Alex shouted loudly, trying to calm the clamoring citizens of Thornvale, but they were all already annoyed and angry with Cecile.

And they started throwing rocks and eggs at Cecile.

I saw Cecile look resigned as she watched the rocks and eggs nearly hit her.

But I couldn’t stay silent.

"Leysha, protect Cecile to the stage," I said quickly.

"Yes, Baron Atreus."

Leysha immediately agreed.

She ran over to Cecile and immediately activated her magical shield, enveloping her and Cecile.

Fortunately, the magical shield formed quickly, completely blocking the hail of rocks and rotten eggs.

The booing from the Thornvale residents intensified as Cecile stepped onto the stage.

Although Alex and the soldiers tried to calm the residents’ anger, it seemed uncontrollable.

Cecile, who had initially seemed confident, was now stunned, almost losing her spirit as the Thornvale residents were truly furious with her.

"Cecile... I know this is hard, but don’t run away from this. Admit all your mistakes right here and right now. Be responsible as far as you can," I said firmly.

Cecile was silent for a moment, but after looking at me for a long moment, she finally gathered her courage.

She took a deep breath, then exhaled, repeatedly until she calmed down.

"THORNVALEE CITIZENS...!"

Cecile’s shout was so loud and thunderous, it shook the city park for a moment, causing the cheering and jeering Thornvale residents to freeze in shock.

"I KNOW THIS IS ALL MY FAULT FOR CAUSING YOU WITH SUFFERING, TORMENT, AND EVEN LOSING YOUR LOVED ONES....! AT THIS POINT, I TRULY THANK VERMILLION FOR HELPING THORNVALE RESURRECT AND APOLOGIZE FOR THREATENING AND DISTURBING VERMILLION AND DISSAPOINT ALL OF YOU! I HEREBY DECLARE THAT BARON CHEV IS DEAD BY MY HANDS, AND THORNVALE IS LOST! THIS TERRITORY IS OVER VERMILLION! LONG LIVE VERMILLION!"

The thunderous shout rang out again, louder, clearer, and everyone fell silent.

Cecilia seemed to almost lost all of her voice from shouting so loudly.

Tears welled up in her eyes, but even with her heart aching, she forced herself to reiterate the truth everyone in Thornvale needed to know.

"I HAVE BECOME MISTRESS VERMILLION...! THE THORNVALE NOBLE FAMILY IS ENDED...!"

"Ohhh...!"

"Baron Chev Thornvale is dead...! Thornvale is over...!"

"Long live Vermillion...!"

Well, Cecile’s last declaration was quite firm, and everyone was moved by it.

All the accumulated anger dissipated because Cecile had admitted her mistake.

The downfall of Thornvale and the rise of Vermillion—everyone in this city park had been hoping for that.

But amidst the bustle of people in the city park, I heard the footsteps of armored soldiers approaching from a distance.

The sound came from a line of armored soldiers in black cloaks, walking straight and orderly.

Even from a distance, I could feel a powerful aura of pressure, so much so that the citizens of Thornvale stopped cheering and were terrified by the sight of the line of soldiers.

"Baron Atreus...this is dangerous. They are assassins who’re loyalists to Baroness Thornvale," Alex warned.

Well, I never expected those assassins to be so bold and direct as to meet me here.

But I knew they weren’t here to meet only me, but also Cecile.

I saw Cecile look tense at first, but gradually, she calmed down.

However, with the assassins’ angry aura drawing near, I had a feeling this park stage was about to become a bloody battleground.