Chapter 95 Rumors Arise
"What!?"
Even Friedel looked at Anne in surprise. She had never mentioned this before, and he had no idea.
Anne told them about how the Titan family was just an empty shell that couldn't sustain itself, so the old lady and others hired an assassin to get rid of her so they could swallow her dowry. At the end, she sneered coldly, "But they probably didn't expect that I knew how to use a sword and could subdue and capture that assassin. In the end, to clear themselves of guilt, they had no choice but to force a family elder to commit suicide and take the blame. They probably still hold a grudge against me."
"But they should think about it - if I really were just a lady who only knew how to appreciate tea and flowers, with no ability to resist an assassin, then the Virlet family would truly have no one left, and the family's honor and responsibility would have been destroyed that very night."
Friedel slammed his fist heavily on the table. "Damn the Titan family! Treating the Virlet daughter like that, and disrespecting Lord Skoda!"
An old warrior couldn't help but tear up, gritting his teeth and saying hatefully, "Lord Friedel, let me go capture those two, Holden and Candy, and chop off their heads. I want them to pay with their lives!"
Anne quickly stopped them. "Uncles, calm down. They are Imperial Knight Commanders after all, we can't just kill them. Besides, I've already divorced Holden. Our two families have no relationship anymore, so whatever they do can't implicate me."
Metodi gritted his teeth, trying to hold back, but couldn't contain himself. He'd been carrying a wooden stick all day - now he gripped it tight, trying to snap it in frustration. When that barely helped, he finally roared in anger. "But we can't just let Miss Anne be ruined by trash like that!"
Anne froze, and being stared at by the surrounding elders and Friedel, her cheeks immediately flushed red with embarrassment.
"I, I..."
It involved privacy, and Anne really had trouble speaking about it, but seeing how Metodi's words had made the old warriors murderous again, she could only force herself to speak. "Holden went off to war before our wedding was even over. When he came back, he already had Candy with him. He and I never..."
After speaking, she lowered her head, feeling like her cheeks were burning up. Yet Metodi and the others seemed relieved and comforted her, "Good that you weren't ruined. Can't let that kind of filth take advantage."
"Bah, what's so good about that kind of man? Miss Anne, there are plenty of good men in this world. From now on, we'll keep our eyes open. If you trust us, we old folks can help you check them out and absolutely won't let any weird men near you!"
Anne felt embarrassed and at a loss. When she turned to look at Friedel, she saw both tenderness and barely suppressed amusement in his eyes.
She felt inexplicably annoyed. "Forget it. None of this affects me anyway. I never cared much for Holden, so why would I be sad? Right now I just want to focus on the battlefield. His Majesty trusted me enough to make me Knight Commander directly, bypassing grandfather. So I'll give it everything I have - crush Zotfort and the Viller Empire, protect Soth territory. That's what a Virlet should do."
Friedel smiled. "Indeed, as the new Duke of the Virlet family and the new Knight Commander of the Ivy Knights, you must continue like this. As for the other matter, I've already sent someone else to inform His Majesty. His Majesty should reinvestigate. Anne, more people will be willing to help you, so you just need to stand up straight with your chest out and do what you want to do."
The old warriors listened in confusion, but Anne's eyes reddened slightly. She nodded gratefully at Friedel. "Thank you."
Anne knew that Friedel was telling her that after His Majesty learned of the suspicious points regarding Candy and that battle in the southern theater a year ago, he would reinvestigate. Even if they knew the truth, they couldn't tell His Majesty directly.
What others say versus what one investigates personally are two different things.
If Anne spoke up, His Majesty would believe her, but he would also suspect she was using this to suppress Candy, which would be bad for her future.
But since it concerned the Virlet family, His Majesty wouldn't let it go. He would eventually find out, and how to deal with Candy and handle Zotfort would be a matter for later.
What she needed to do now was focus on the current eastern battlefield.
But over the next two days, Anne clearly felt people watching her and whispering.
The rumors reached her ears easily enough. Anyone she asked would stammer out the same story - people were saying Anne got her Knight Commander position by selling her body. How else could a woman rise so quickly in the knights?
Although the knights who fought alongside Anne could testify for her and were willing to speak up, there were still too few of them. No matter what, they couldn't suppress the vicious voices. Instead, others would ask these knights with lewd smiles if they also had an affair with Anne, making them too angry to speak.
Some even ran near the Ivy Knights pretending to chat. One said, "Why do you think she won't be a proper noble lady and insists on mixing in the army for fame? Now without doing anything, just spreading her legs, those knights willingly give her all their military merits. Why should she get that?"
"That's a funny question. Of course it's because of that face and that status. Lord Skoda was such an amazing person, and the daughter he had is incredibly beautiful too. For goods of that level willing to sleep around, plenty of people would beg for it. Never mind military merits - I bet they'd give their lives for it. Otherwise, if you swap in another woman spreading her legs waiting to be screwed, how many people would be willing?"
"Damn, when will these nobles stop their promiscuous habits? It's us reinforcements who suffer. We rushed here day and night from the capital, so tired the horses can barely stand, and then Prince Friedel, just to make that young lady smile, gives her all the military credit, making His Majesty think she's the only capable person on the eastern battlefield. It's ridiculous. He even gave Prince Friedel Lord Holden's command authority. Bah, who knows how many people hate them behind their backs."
"Even if they hate, they should find the right target. I heard that young lady is now the Knight Commander of the Ivy Knights. They'll have plenty to suffer later. Propping up such a noble lady, I think the title of the Empire's First Knights will go to someone else."
"Might as well call them the Princess Knights then, more fitting for them, hahaha!"
The Ivy Knights in the tent finally couldn't take it anymore and rushed out shouting, "Who's there!?"
The two people talking outside immediately ran off without a trace.
This kind of situation happened more than once. A few times it was even heard by knights led by Anne, who got so angry they smashed their cups and grabbed their swords and shields to rush out and fight.
But rumors have a way of taking on a life of their own. When spread enough, some people will believe them. So when Anne came to the Ivy Knights again, she was actually blocked outside.