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Chapter 72: Banquet of Blood (5)
Including Arin, as well as Alice, Luna, and the knights.
Right now, they all shared the sa thought.
That masked man, at least, wasn’t allied with these villains.
The energy he exuded was noticeably different.
Unlike the eerie feeling from the white-masked villains, who seed devoid of humanity altogether, this person felt human but sohow also gave off a strange sensation of being far superior to re mortals.
However, no one could discern his true identity.
-Splatter
A spectacular sword dance unfolded beneath the moonlight.
Fluttering flower petals added to the spectacle, creating a srizing scene.
The masked man swiftly dispatched the villains surrounding him.
At tis, his speed was so fast that others couldn’t keep up.
Even as he engaged in direct combat, he seamlessly moved to the rear, navigating the space with ease.
Two minutes passed.
It took only that long for dozens of villains to be completely obliterated.
It was an unbelievable sight, accomplished by just one person, without any help or support from others.
His gaze suddenly turned towards Arin and her group.
eting his gaze, Arin felt as if all her senses had stopped, and her trembling legs couldn’t seem to leave the ground.
“D-Don’t co any closer!”
The knights stepped forward, swords raised, blocking the path to the princess.
“Identify yourself imdiately and explain your presence here! Otherwise, you’ll be considered an enemy…”
-Swish
Before the knight could finish his sentence,
the masked man disappeared from their sight.
-Whoosh!
A strong gust of wind suddenly blew in.
The knights realized too late that the masked man had already passed them.
“…!”
Alice and Luna also found themselves overtaken in an instant.
His physical form ultimately arrived right in front of none other than Princess Arin.
They say when people are too shocked, they can’t even speak.
Arin, in her confusion, took a step back, losing her balance as her steps tangled.
“Ah!”
As Arin was about to fall helplessly,
-Thunk
The man’s gentle touch supported her back.
“……!”
The faces of the two ca naturally closer.
Arin’s face flushed red, and the man raised his hand without hesitation.
His hand aid right at her chest.
“W-What are you doing?!”
Arin, flustered, was about to struggle, but then sothing fell from her body.
-Plunk
Gems scattered and twinkled like falling raindrops.
What the man caught was the pendant Arin had been wearing.
-Crack!
The red gem that had captured everyone’s attention shattered into pieces the mont it landed in his hand.
The man simply tossed the remnants of the gem to the ground.
“Princess!”
The vigilant knights rushed over, concerned.
“Are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?”
There was no way she could have been injured.
All the man in the mask had done was snatch the necklace hanging around her neck.
Arin stood there in a daze, her face blank with astonishnt.
“And, what about that person?”
It felt as though she had just erged from a brief illusion.
A midsumr night’s dream couldn’t be this fleeting.
The man in the mask had completely vanished from everyone’s sight.
* * *
“Aaaah!”
Emily and Nana shouted as they dashed away desperately, screaming for their lives.
Brian followed closely behind, ensuring their safety.
“What on earth are those things? Why did they suddenly appear and attack us?”
Just a few minutes ago, when screams were heard from the banquet hall, I went to see what was happening.
Suddenly, the masked figures attacked Emily and others.
With the entire palace in chaos, we had no choice but to trust our feet and flee.
“Do these people hold a grudge against us, knight? Why else would they keep chasing after us, innocent as we are?”
“Well, I’m not so sure. I don’t think we’ve done anything particularly bad, but then again, maybe we have…”
“Why is this knight so indecisive? Ugh! What was our lord thinking, bringing along such people!?”
Emily vented her frustration while fleeing.
Their frantic escape soon ca to a halt as they encountered an impassable wall.
“A wall?!”
Trapped with no way out, Emily’s face twisted in despair.
“Well, this might just be for the best!”
Instead of reaching for the longsword at his hip as if it were a good on, Brian drew a dagger from his cloak.
Though outnumbered five to one, Brian showed no signs of faltering.
In fact, he appeared quite confident.
“Are you out of your mind, Sir Brian? How do you plan to handle so many on your own?”
“Don’t worry, Miss! If I can’t handle this much, how will I ever protect our lord in the future?”
With a determined resolve, Brian charged forward.
Utilizing his senses to the fullest while minimizing his movents was the most efficient theory he had learned over the past two years for subduing enemies.
In essence, all it took to eliminate five foes was five strikes.
Brian swiftly dispatched the masked adversaries with precise and efficient movents.
Without a mont’s hesitation, the enemies fell.
Watching the scene unfold, Emily couldn’t believe her eyes.
Her naturally flushed cheeks were just an added bonus.
“Are you hurt anywhere, Miss?”
“Is that what you want to say to ?”
A completely different deanor from just monts ago.
The awkward scratching of the back was quite incongruous.
“Grrr…”
A chilling sound sent shivers down Emily’s spine, and Brian tightened his grip on his sword.
Soon, heavy footsteps, not human but beastly, echoed around the corner.
Erging from the shadows was a massive hellhound, its sharp teeth poised towards Emily and her companions.
“This can’t be happening! Why is there a hellhound inside the palace?”
With frontline experience, Emily couldn’t help but panic, and Brian, faced with a supernatural entity for the first ti, couldn’t hide his tension.
“That’s… a demonic monster?!”
Amidst the chaos, Nana, who had been sleeping, suddenly stepped forward.
“Nana…?”
Interrupting to ask what she was doing could wait for a mont.
“Sniff sniff!”
She suddenly started sniffing as if trying to catch a scent, her nose twitching.
*Sigh*
Then, with an inexplicable smile, she seed to savor the taste, resembling nothing less than a ravenous beast consud by appetite.
Soon, with a aningful gaze, she muttered softly, “Looks delicious!”
Just as she revealed her grown white fangs and was about to pounce,
*Crash!*
A nearby window shattered with a loud noise.
“…!”
Through the broken window a man in a black mask.
His identity remained a mystery for now.
Thud!
“Krrr”
Sudden appearance of a stranger didn’t faze the fearless little puppy, who barked bravely,
“What’s this?”
*Bam*
As if annoyed, he simply kicked him out the window.
“Phew…”
With a deep sigh, he tossed away the mask.
“Papa!”
The man behind the mask, sporting a rather disgruntled expression, turned out to be Cyan.
“Y-Young Master?”
Without waiting for a response to his call, Cyan simply slumped to the ground.
* * *
Having been tirelessly wandering around the palace, the only thought that crossed my mind was how darn exhausting it all was.
Oh, it’s so tiring.
Not so much physically drained, but ntally exhausted.
I never imagined I’d end up burdened with such annoying tasks, where it feels like there’s no escaping from these ominous thoughts.
“Y-Your, I an, Master!”
With a bright smile, Nana leaped into my arms.
But didn’t she just seem like she was about to approach the hellhound a mont ago?
Must be my imagination, right?
“What are you doing now, Master?”
Emily, who had rushed over at so point, imdiately intervened between and Nana.
“Are you really going to do sothing big? Where in the world is there a maid who embraces her master? I an, why have another maid besides ? Are you really crazy, Master? And how did you deal with the hellhound earlier…!?”
Where in the world is there a maid who asks her master if he is crazy?
Right now, I couldn’t afford to listen to her complaints.
“Enough. Emily, did you receive sothing from soone?”
“Receive sothing? Oh right! I forgot to give you sothing earlier…”
She pulled out a bow tie from her pocket.
Before she could give it, I snatched it and crushed the jewel embedded in it.
– Crack
The gem that was on the bow tie shattered into pieces.
Without hesitation, I tossed it out the window.
“What, what are you doing, Master?!”
A shocked Emily grabbed by the collar and shook vigorously.
“That was a gift from Lord Aschel! What are you going to do if you ruin his present like that!”
It is because of this rock that you’ve been chased by the monsters all this ti.
Daze Stone.
It’s one of those artifact stones that can contain human magic.
It looks like just a flashy red gem on the surface, but in reality, having it is akin to committing suicide.
The magic contained within the stone periodically emits a srizing aura that can srize other beings.
In simple terms, just having it makes you a target for marionettes and monsters.
So, whether it’s the princess’s side or their side, they’ve probably been quite harassed by those puppets until I arrived.
Well, she’s not soone who would understand even if I explained it, so it’s probably better to just leave her alone.
“Brian?”
“Yes, my Lord!”
“Go to my room and bring a change of clothes. There should be a tuxedo similar to what I’m wearing now.”
“Yes, understood!”
“What? Why are you asking a guardian knight instead of a maid to do that? That’s sothing a maid should do!”
What’s with her again?
“Please, sir! It would be inconvenient if you bring it all wrinkled, so I’ll accompany you!”
I don’t know what to do in front of the true maid.
Emily was asserting her pride in strange places.
“Oh? Then I’ll co along too!”
Nana also followed them, saying she would go.
Three of them are going just to get a piece of clothing.
With Brian there, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Well, it’s not like I’ll be alone just because you guys are leaving.
[…….]
anwhile, Kaeram was leaning against the wall, silently watching as I rested.
Her strange gaze and smile made her look like a devil with a poker face.
“Why are you looking at like that?”
[Oh, it’s nothing. I just wonder if it’s okay to be so relaxed!]
From the tone of her words, it seed more like she was enjoying it than worrying.
“All the marionettes in the palace have been dealt with. The summoned creatures too, and we destroyed all the Daze Stones you ntioned, so the remaining task will be handled by the palace knights.”
[Destroyed all the Daze Stones? Do you really think so?]
“Of course. You must have told …….”
Suddenly, I had a flash of realization.
A chilling warning from the demonic sword, a sensation I hadn’t felt in a while.
That was definitely not a joke.
“One in the princess’s pendant, and one in the butterfly necktie Emily was going to give … Wasn’t that it?”
There’s no way I misheard.
There were indeed Daze Stones at the two points she ntioned, and I destroyed them.
That’s how it should be, how it had to be.
Why is Kaeram laughing right now?
[I never said there were two, did I?]
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