“Haa, haa....”
Breathing heavily, Lady redia moved forward, her expression growing increasingly anxious as she glanced around.
“...Damn it.”
Whitney’s aura was clearly coming from sowhere far away, but ever since the shop’s structure had shifted into a maze, there was no sign of an exit.
Of course, even with redia’s abilities specialized in destruction and firepower, she could still use basic sight-enhancing magic.
“Kikikiki!”
“Kihihihi....”
The problem was that with the creation of the maze, the countless rooms were now filled with dummies that looked like clones of Whitney and the emperor.
And although the creatures that jumped at her every ti she opened a door weren’t real threats to her, they were still troubleso, being summons called forth by a senior mber of the Shadow Union.
– Kadeudeuk....
Dealing yet again with the dolls that popped out of the room, redia quietly ground her teeth, her eyes flushing red.
‘I should just destroy everything at once....’
Considering the terrifying aura she felt just monts ago, redia guessed sothing serious must have happened, and her nerves were on edge.
For a mont, she considered blowing the entire shop away and simply recovering a battered Whitney, thinking that would resolve things.
But soon, redia shook her head and changed her mind.
‘...His face is the only good thing about him.’
If anyone who knew Whitney's frightening face heard that thought, they would surely doubt their ears, but redia was completely serious.
The Whitney she had seen earlier, his face hidden behind a mask, was honestly her type.
Of course, worrying about ruining that face wasn’t exactly appropriate for such a dire situation — but that was love for you.
Love had the power to turn even the smartest woman in the world into a fool in an instant.
“Kieeeeeek!”
‘I really should have blocked the emperor at the auction....’
She created a spray of ruby-like shards, shooting them forward like a shotgun.
Having quickly dealt with the incoming dolls, redia bit her lip hard and moved onward.
‘I could have easily paid 12 billion....’
For an ordinary noble house, 12 billion would have been an unimaginable fortune, but it was different for redia.
The one and only ducal house of the Empire, passed down through the ages, possessed a fortune that overflowed with absurd excess.
Even though redia had little affection for her family beyond the overwhelming power it granted her, the imnse wealth was sothing she genuinely appreciated.
‘What on earth is the emperor planning to do to Whitney...?’
The problem was, the emperor — the one being in the Empire who could outmatch her in both political power and wealth — had purchased her man.
Of course, redia also understood that Whitney’s purchase had been part of his plan.
But still, wasn’t it risky to assu the emperor hadn’t seen through their identities from the start?
And recalling the true nature of this shop — a depraved establishnt hiding behind a glittering na — only made redia even more anxious.
‘I’ve only ever held his hand....’
Thinking that, she suddenly recalled the kiss he had given her on the forehead.
But now was not the ti to be distracted by such mories.
– Sharararak....
“......?”
At that mont, just as redia’s face darkened with worry, sothing climbed onto her shoulder.
“......Hik?”
Glancing absentmindedly down at her shoulder, redia suddenly trembled all over, letting out a sound unbefitting her usual deanor.
– °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Kkyu?
A familiar-looking spider was perched there, its disgusting legs twitching.
“......?”
Seeing it, redia turned pale, too frozen even to scream, and then slowly furrowed her brows.
– Kkyu!
As repulsive as it was, the spider raised one of its legs and pointed toward the right fork in the path.
“You’re telling ... to go that way?”
Finally realizing that this was the monster Whitney had tad back at the academy, redia asked in a disgusted tone.
– Kkyu!
“...Ugh, fine, just stay still.”
The spider happily wobbled from side to side atop her shoulder, and redia resisted the urge to fling it off with superhuman patience, turning toward the indicated path.
‘But sothing’s strange.’
With a puzzled expression, she tilted her head.
‘Why is there pure white energy coming from the spider?’
Before, when she first encountered it, the spider had radiated a monster’s pure aura.
But now, the spider on her shoulder exuded a familiar white energy, one she recognized from the Order of Light.
‘No, it’s mixed with darkness....’
That narrowed it down to one suspect.
The Saintess, who should be holed up in the Holy State right about now....
– Shashashak!
“...Kyaa!”
While frowning and lost in thought, redia shrieked when the spider's leg brushed her face.
– Kkyu?
Glaring fiercely at the spider as if she would kill it, she saw it simply tilting its head again, pointing once more toward a fork in the path.
“...Haa.”
Sighing deeply, redia reluctantly moved in the direction the spider indicated.
‘Tch. So many people are watching you.’
Just as she muttered that, the spider's gaze was indeed connected in real-ti to soone lurking far away in the Holy State — but that was another story.
***
How long had they walked with the spider’s guidance?
“...Hmph.”
Finally reaching a dead-end, redia stared at a lone door ahead with wary eyes.
“If this is a trap, I’ll rip off all your legs.”
– Kkyu....
“...Ah, no! Don’t go hiding!”
As the terrified spider tried to hide inside her sleeve, redia quickly shouted to stop it.
– Kkyu!
The spider obediently climbed back to her shoulder and wobbled again.
“.......”
Her eyes briefly flashed red.
– Jjeojeojeok....
Cracks began forming in the door ahead.
“Hah, they even put up a barrier.”
Seeing the complex glyphs glowing on the door’s surface, redia snorted and moved forward.
– Jjaenggeurang...!
Placing her palm against the barrier, she shattered it into countless fragnts with a single touch.
“I’m not falling for the sa trick twice.”
After the troubles she had during the academy’s midterm exams, she had secretly studied barriers on her own.
Her thod — physically smashing magical barriers — was so like her: direct and completely ignoring traditional magic theory.
– Bang...!
Now, only a simple wooden door separated her from Whitney.
Not bothering with finesse, redia kicked it down.
It wasn’t exactly sothing a noble daughter should do, but redia’s martial skills were more than enough to overpower an ordinary knight.
“Whitney!”
The mont she entered the room, she called out desperately, expecting Whitney to be suffering under the emperor’s abuse.
“......?”
But what she saw made her pause in confusion.
“...Lady redia.”
Whitney stood perfectly fine.
That was one thing — but the scene inside the room was bizarre.
“You’re... late? Haha....”
“......!?”
At Whitney’s feet, a woman in a strange costu was lying flat on the floor, getting stepped on.
“What... what is that?”
“...Hm.”
Moreover, Whitney was casually holding the woman’s leash in one hand.
“What on earth are you doing here?”
“...Who knows?”
“Wait, hold on. You....”
But what caught redia’s attention even more than all that — was that Whitney’s eyes were wide open.
“You can open your eyes now?”
“...Ahahahaha.”
***
“Sotis, Lady redia, when you make that expression... it’s just adorable.”
“.......”
“Isn’t it? At least, that’s what I think.”
Whitney, eyes wide open, spoke in a voice filled with laughter.
redia instinctively flinched.
‘...What is this?’
Whitney always made childish jokes that gave her goosebumps.
But now, his tone, though light, carried an underlying pressure.
“D-don’t joke around.”
“Sure, I understand.”
“...Can you just explain what happened?”
redia quickly composed herself and asked.
“My negotiation with the emperor went well.”
Whitney smiled lightly.
“My hand played out perfectly. From now on, the emperor will cooperate with us unconditionally.”
His smile and tone returned to normal, yet the aura he emitted with his open eyes was still overwhelming.
“...I see.”
Had it been anyone else, their legs might have given out just listening to him.
“What about that woman?”
Lowering her gaze, redia asked while looking at the woman lying on the floor.
“Why is she being stepped on by you?”
The woman, dressed in an outfit only seen in shady establishnts, barely flinched occasionally, face planted against the floor.
“Oh, she’s the emperor’s pawn. Tried to sneak an attack on during the negotiation.”
“...One of the emperor’s shadows?”
“Yes, so I subdued her.”
Accepting Whitney’s explanation with a nod, redia still looked at the scene suspiciously.
“...And that ridiculous costu?”
“Don’t misunderstand. She was disguised as one of the shop’s employees.”
“And the leash...?”
“There weren’t any restraint tools around. Improvised.”
“...Hmmm.”
After another round of questioning, redia seed doubtful but eventually let it go.
“Suspicious, but fine. I trust you. You’re not the type to fool around in a place like this anyway.”
“Hahaha....”
“...Honestly, I thought you were fooling around with the emperor.”
Muttering to herself, she snickered.
“There’s no way that prideful emperor would wear such a ridiculous outfit and a dog collar.”
“The hair color doesn’t match either. And she has a slave’s mark.”
As redia’s comnts continued, the woman underfoot trembled faintly — but it was barely noticeable.
“Anyway, she dared to attack you, right?”
“.......”
“That’s outrageous.”
Smiling coldly, redia approached.
– Slap...!
She grabbed the woman’s hair and lightly slapped her cheek.
The woman’s eyes quivered fiercely.
“Know your place.”
redia whispered icily into her ear.
“Ahahahaha....”
And at the sa ti, Whitney whispered cheerfully into her other ear.
“...How does it feel, Your Majesty?”
“......Ugh.”
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