'Why is she smiling at him? Did that old horse join the bitch?' If anything, Bella was a little afraid. After all, he was also a fifth-grade knight, just like her husband.
Although a part of the knight corps followed her words without fail, Guntur was still the commander of the knight squad. And if he joins that bitch... Bella didn't want to think about it.
"Guntur." To Bella's utter relief, Thyra's voice sounded anything but cordial. "Is that how you choose your man to protect the domain of the Viscount?"
"Young miss…" Guntur was as calm as it could be. "Can you explain what has happened?"
"These men…" Thyra moved between the kneeled-down people, "Did you train them to become knights or bandits?"
"What did you say?" Guntur didn't respond, but a knight did.
*Slap*
A sudden crisp slap shocked everyone, even Thyra. To her surprise, the force made him lose his footing and fall to the ground.
'Why, general?' The knight looked back at Guntur with a question in his eyes.
"If you don't want to tarnish my reputation more, shut up."
"But she is…."
"Throw him in jail for disrespecting the eldest miss. Don't give him any food."
When Guntur gave the order, it was immediately carried out, and the knight was dragged outside.
The entire area was covered in silence. Even Thyra was taken aback by such simplicity.
She wanted to taste Guntur, who was from a neutral faction. However, she had never expected such a result. It was like he tried to draw a clear line.
"My lady, if they have really broken the law, I will punish myself."
Thyra looked at Guntur, understanding why most knights followed him without asking questions. For now, she decided to forget about Guntur.
'If I follow his pace, it will hinder the plan.' Thyra claimed herself, asking Guntur, "Can you tell me what is the punishment for the knight who aimed his swords at his master?"
"Death." There wasn't a single shard of hesitation in his words.
"What are you doing?" However, the anger was generated from the expected source.
When Thyra looked at Bella, she said, "They tried to kill me," with no trace of the slime on her lips.
"What proof do you have?"
Thyra's laughter sounded sharp in everyone's ears as she said, "Mother, are my words not enough?"
'I am not your mother.' Bella almost shouted out loud. She glared at Thyra, refuting, "Can't you just make it up? After all, it is not the first time you have lied."
From what she had learned from Hure and the memories she was recovering, she realised that the real Thyra was not a liar. It was Bella who had bent her truth to make them bluffs.
"Mother!" Thyra shouted, but her voice returned to normal: "Can't you believe me a little? Don't you love me anymore?"
Everyone knew the answer but was too surprised by Thyra's over-the-top performance to react.
"It is because you act like this that these knights tried to create some friction between us."
'What the fuck is she talking about?' Bella looked at her old servant only to find she was similarly stunned.
"Let me tell you, mother." Thyra explained, "They attacked me as I was alone in the room. They even said you have sent them to kill me."
"What?" Bella didn't need to find out if Thyra was lying or making up. She knew there was no way her knights were dumb enough to say our name out loud.
Before deciding what to say, Thyra added, "But there is no way that is the truth."
"Huh!"
"Even if others don't know, I know how much my mother loves me. There is no way she would do that. And even if she did…." Thyra paused, looked at Bella and added, "Her man won't be dumb enough to say it out loud."
'Yes,' That was what Bella wanted to say, but felt sometimes sounded wrong when she heard it from Thyra.
"That's why I believe it was someone else's plan. And when we searched, we found the proof."
Thyra pulled out an emerald necklace from the pouch. "I think I have seen my mother wearing this. Can you take a look at this?"
Thyra gave it to her, along with the pouch and a few other jewellery pieces.
"This!" Bella was visibly shocked. "... is mine."
"I knew it." Thyra was excited. She looked at Guntur and added, "These knights had raided the mansion before coming to mine to kill me. If I am not wrong, they might have done some there too."
"YES," a dim-witted maid shouted from the back, "they have attacked the eldest young master and knocked him out. The second young master was attacked and was tied, and if the guard hadn't noticed, he would have…"
"... r**ed." That she wanted to say but didn't dare to.
'That little shit,' Bella wanted to curse out, but Thyra had already grabbed her from the herd of main mansion servants and taken her in front.
"See, it is as I had expected." Thyra looked at the frightened maid and asked, "Was anything stolen?"
The maid had already realised that she had made a mistake. She turned towards the old maid, only to find she was glaring at her. Although the madam was calm, she knew she was angry too.
"Did you notice if anything was stolen?"
"The young master's room has been ransacked, and…" She looked at Bella before adding, "My lady's room too."
"See." Thyra proved her point. "Jullia, bring it."
As she ordered, Jullia brought a couple of bags. When she dropped the bag, gold coins spilled out.
"They stole all these things. Then decided to attack me."
Bella knew they wouldn't do that. These knights came from her father's family undercover. After all, their family served her father's ducal family for generations. There was no reason even to question them. But she was not sure how to refute it.
"But my lady, how do you beat so many knights? Most of them are eight grade knights. One of them is even a seventh-grade knight."
'Good Job,' Bella praised in her mind. After all, there is no way she should be able to beat them.
And it was the same question Guntur was curious about too. Although he didn't order them, he knew how strong they were. Someone is hiding in the area of his jurisdiction, and he has to know.
"Oh!" Thyra smiled at the old servant and said, "It looks like age really made you wiser."
"Huh!"
"I never talked about their grades. Yet you discern it very clearly. I don't think Guntur would not be able to do so with just one look."
"I…" She knew she had made a mistake.
When she was thinking about how to correct herself, help came from an unexpected place.
"My lady, you have talked about the knight's grade," Jullia said.
"Did I?"
Hure responded from the other side, "Yes, my lady."
"Oh! I am still frightened by the attack. I didn't notice. I humbly apologise."
Every one of them knew she didn't, and that was what surprised them the most.
And to the old servant, the light curve at the edge of Thyra's lips looked incredibly terrifying.
'Is this the young lady?' On the other hand, Guntur couldn't read her anymore. It was very surprising a noble would apologise to a servant without batting an eye.
"Jullia is the answer to your question. She is a former royal knight. She and the two adventurers I just hired saved my life."
Thyra didn't want to expose their identities. However, she knew she wouldn't be able to hide her own power without doing that.
Bella stared at her with her fist clenched tight. Although she understood Thyra knew everything and was just playing with it, she didn't forget to add, "You shouldn't have taken in these adventurers. They would do anything for money. What if…"
"What if they tried to kill me?" Thyra ended Bella's question and answered with a smile, "Mother, our knight is trying to kill me. For me, getting someone who won't betray me as long as I have money is better."
Another wave of silence enveloped the crowd.
Thyra's voice was especially loud as she said, "Now that I have proved it, It's time to decide their punishments."