The Female Knight of Doom - TFKOD 27: Who Is the Decoy?

Prior to visiting the earl’s mansion, Alice needed to first stop at the Red Light District.

Per usual, she handed over three gold coins, and Madame Lulu’s face lit up with a smile.

This time, she was prepared ahead of time. She had purchased a bright dress for two silver coins from a second-hand clothing store in the Red Light District, which had previously been worn by a prostitute.

She brought it back to the inn, washed it, and then brought it to Madame Lulu.

Although Madame Lulu expressed some discontent with her bringing her own clothes, she still graciously provided free makeup.

“I cannot risk tarnishing my reputation by bringing a woman with poorly applied makeup to Lord Rachel’s mansion,” she remarked.

Upon Alice’s second visit to the earl’s mansion, he finally appeared to acknowledge her presence, often casting his gaze in her direction during conversations with others.

In an attempt to appear alluring, she hastily struck a pose, despite her lack of familiarity with such behavior, resulting in an unsuccessful performance.

Had there been a mirror before her, she would have surely recognized how absurd she appeared. However, lacking a mirror, she remained self-assured.

The earl seemed to find Alice intriguing, offering her a smile from afar but refraining from approaching her. Instead, he methodically greeted each arriving guest individually before eventually retreating after fifteen minutes, leaving her bewildered and disappointed.

Alice began to feel a sense of unease after two fruitless attempts to infiltrate the earl’s mansion.

Having been away for over a month, her living expenses and contributions to Madame Lulu had already depleted more than a dozen gold coins.

In her youth, she viewed every gold coin as a significant sum, but now that she was fending for herself, she realized the swiftness with which even a hundred gold coins could be spent.

If she didn’t see any improvement, maybe she should return to her lodging and switch to a third-class room.

The third-class accommodation was only priced at sixty copper coins, with breakfast costing an additional ten copper coins.

However, nowadays, she would just leave the inn in the morning and purchase cheap and tasty hot fried bread with sausage from a street vendor for three copper coins.

Despite its simplicity, she had not been very active lately. Even though she ate less, she didn’t seem to feel very hungry.

She appeared more like an ordinary young girl, so as not to reveal her strong hunger or unusual eating habits and risk others realizing she was a mercenary.

On the third Friday, Alice went back to the Red Light District for the third time with her clothes and three gold coins. She had become a frequent visitor to this place and was well-acquainted with the route.

Madame Lulu always welcomed her warmly with a smile, “Taking so much money from you makes me feel guilty. However, I assure you that this time you will definitely gain something.”

She inquired Madame Lulu about her intentions, but the latter merely chuckled without providing an explanation, concealing her laughter behind her feather fan.

She trailed behind her and the other girls as they made their way to the earl’s mansion with little optimism.

The feast commenced, and the earl exchanged pleasantries with the attendees as was customary.

However, after a quarter of an hour, he pivoted unexpectedly and proceeded not towards the exit, but directly towards Alice.

Alice’s initial intention was to converse with the earl upon arriving, but upon witnessing his approach, she found herself slightly anxious.

Scanning the room, she realized she was the sole individual he was approaching.

She drew in a deep breath and stood up straight.

The earl approached and stood intimidatingly tall in front of her.

He reached out and lifted her chin, gazing at her small face, “I heard you have feelings for me?”

She wondered who informed him about this, perhaps Madame Lulu was trying to assist her to earn ten gold pieces. She, not having the chance to process anything else, was eager to converse with him.

When the earl inquired directly, she simply nodded in response.

He leaned down slightly and accused, “You told Madame Lulu that you encountered me in the royal capital. When have we ever met? You deceiving little one.”

Alice might have felt anxious after being exposed in a lie by the earl himself.

However, his tone had a hint of closeness and he didn’t appear angry or interested in holding her accountable. Rather, he seemed to be teasing her to see how she would respond.

If she didn’t handle this situation well, she was concerned about disappointing Madame Lulu’s “good intentions.”

In a moment of panic, she impulsively said, “I’ve dreamt about it.”

Upon uttering those words, she was impressed with her own ability to deceive.

It was true that she had picked up on the mercenaries’ rehearsed love phrases towards the tavern waitresses. These skills could come in handy at some point.

Perhaps her charm was so powerful that the earl couldn’t resist but chuckle.

“In that case…” He leaned in close to her ear and softly completed the rest of the sentence, “…would you care to join me upstairs?”

He spoke in sophisticated language and was hesitant to be direct, yet his true intentions were clear to everyone.

It was surprising to see that the virtuous earl had a hidden lewd side.

On the other hand, Alice, not being the head of the Moral Review Committee, did not aim to criticize his character. She had come to seduce him and was not going to miss the chance to be alone with him.

As a result, she extended her hand and nodded discreetly.

Taking her hand, he successfully lured her in.

Alice wasn’t certain if she was the lure or the one doing the fishing, but it didn’t matter to her.

Even if she was just the bait, she was determined to catch the big fish.

With his usual elegance, the earl guided her up to the second floor. Although she had been to the mansion before, this was her first time going up to the second level. The servants blocking the stairs moved aside when they saw her following him, showing her respect.

Everything proceeded without a hitch.

Regrettably, even though the second level was restricted to the general public, the earl wouldn’t have left the crown in the hallway. Otherwise, she would have easily pushed him aside, grabbed the crown, and made a run for it.

When they were out of sight, the earl’s hands became more daring, encircling her slender waist, forcefully opening the door to a nearby bedroom, and pushing her onto the bed.

Alice fell down right on cue, but her gaze didn’t meet his; instead, she quickly scanned the room.

It appeared to be just a regular guest room with no occupants; the precious crown was evidently not there.

However, she wasn’t concerned—she never expected to discover it so effortlessly anyway.   Plus, she was alone with the earl now, so it was just a little more challenging.

Earl Rachel showed no interest in flirting with a young woman dressed like a streetwalker.

He shut the door, walked over to the bed, lifted her skirt, and attempted to kiss her. Alice pretended to wrap her arms around his neck, but in truth, she was carefully maintaining a distance between them, making sure his lips didn’t touch hers. With her other hand, she raised her skirt, pretending to be eager to assist him.

The skirt was raised to her thighs as her hand reached for the belt she had fastened earlier, swiftly pulling out the dagger.

Having already mastered the art of using knives and weapons, she deftly flipped over and subdued the earl on the bed with her strong body, placing her knee on his chest and holding the blade to his throat.

“Raise your hands and stay silent, Lord Rachel,” Alice commanded firmly.

Even though her dagger is equipped with a magical gem, it functions as a regular dagger until a specific purpose prompts its activation, which is quite practical.

A sudden twist of events took place, but the earl appeared unfazed. At her request, he revealed his hands where they could be seen.

His composure unsettled Alice, prompting her to address the issue directly, “Where is the crown?”

“The crown?”

“Your late wife’s crown.”

“Ah, so that’s your objective. Was it Duchess Felix who sent you?” Earl Rachel inquired calmly, despite the knife at his neck.

Alice showed no fear when it came to him trying to guess her client; regardless of her approach, he always managed to identify the person interested in the crown.

However, she made it clear that she would not respond to his inquiry directly, and instead got straight to the point, “Enough with the games, just give me the crown.”

He smiled gently, “If I had the crown in my possession right now, I would gladly hand it over to you. Unfortunately, it is not.”

She tightened her grip on the blade, “Then where else could it be if not with you?”

She exerted too much pressure causing him to cough twice, with a drop of blood emerging from the wound.

He spoke in a hoarse tone, softly articulating, “You are solely interested in the crown. If you truly harm me, it will not be beneficial for you either.”

His statements were accurate.

Even though the duchess had promised Alice knighthood and protection in return for returning the crown, killing the earl would complicate matters. Despite any previous promises, the duchess could not risk a conflict with the entire northern nobility over her—this would likely lead to a large-scale war.

If the duchess intended to resolve the issue through warfare, she wouldn’t have employed Alice.

Contemplating this, she slightly relaxed her grasp, allowing him to communicate more easily.

Observing this change, the earl once again smiled, “Be kind, my dear Alice, release me, and I will assist you in locating the crown.”

Hearing her true name spoken by him caught her by surprise.

Alice had fabricated a false name when Madame Lulu inquired about it while she was at the brothel.

She believed that even if Madame Lulu had disclosed this information to the earl, he should not be aware of her true identity.

Unbeknownst to her, upon her first visit to Madame Lulu’s brothel, she was given three gold coins. Before she could even finish changing into her prostitute attire, Madame Lulu had already sold her.

Madame Lulu kept the money and promptly dispatched a sly messenger to the earl’s residence to share the news.

Alice’s true identity was uncovered by the earl’s associates within a span of forty-eight hours.

She thought she was being discreet, not realizing that every action of hers was being observed.

Alice was taken aback by the turn of events and in her moments of hesitation, the earl took advantage of the situation.

Earl Rachel, as a noble, received martial arts training since childhood, honing his skills to a decent level. Despite his lack of real combat experience, he found himself somewhat rusty.

Paired with Alice’s formidable strength, he was immobilized by her control.

Observing she was lost in contemplation and confident in her reluctance to kill easily, he took advantage of the moment to break free from her grasp.

With a single directive, more than twenty armed guards swiftly emerged from all directions.

Aware of Alice’s recent promotion as a Special Grade Mercenary at just seventeen years old, the earl did not underestimate her.

The individuals had been lying in wait nearby for quite some time, and upon hearing the command from the earl, they encircled Alice.

Instantly, the tables were turned.

She had received a blessing from the God of Doom, granting her significant strength, but she was outnumbered by the opposition and had only a dagger to defend herself. Without her great sword, she knew she would be at a disadvantage if a fight broke out.

Luckily, the earl seemed to have informed them of something beforehand, as they merely surrounded her without making any aggressive moves.

Alice tightly held onto the dagger, feeling somewhat uncertain of her abilities.

While she believed she could manage to escape based on strength alone, she hesitated to leave without seizing the crown. Additionally, her true identity had been revealed, making it impossible to return to her mercenary union job—she would be forced into a life of constantly evading capture.

On the other hand, if she fell into the hands of her current captors, she feared the consequences, especially since they were under the earl’s jurisdiction and he held the power to execute her legally if he wished.

As she paused in uncertainty, a voice she recognized unexpectedly spoke in her ear, “Do not fight back.”

The voice whispered by her ear, as though it originated from a different realm. Alice briefly questioned if she had misunderstood.

However, the voice repeated, even more distinct this time.

“Do not resist. Follow them. Have faith in me.”