Episode 51

The Crown Prince’s eyes were strikingly deep red.

“……”

I had never heard of such a curse before.

And when I thought about it, the final owner of the “Tears of the Sun” was ultimately Jenna.

In the original story, Lucion had given the jewel he received from Peter to Jenna as a gift.

The reason the conversation about the gladiatorial tournament and Peter came up was because of the scene where Lucion gave the “Tears of the Sun” to Jenna as a gift.

The fact that the Crown Prince gave the imperial family’s treasure to his lover became a hot topic among the public.

‘If there was such a bad legend, why did he give the jewel to Jenna?’

I wondered if it was a rumor circulating only within the imperial family, but why did he bother to tell me that?

I still felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

As I hesitated to answer, Lucion soon smiled slightly and spoke to me at the end of the music.

“It’s just a legend, so there’s no need to take it seriously. It was an honor to dance with you, Lady Drenihan.”

“Oh, yes. The honor was mine.”

I released the hand I was holding with him, stepped back, and bowed.

Just then, a noble who wanted to talk to Lucion appeared, and he left me with a light greeting.

Left alone, I was lost in thought for a while.

‘Lucion is definitely not in his right mind.’

Meeting Jenna must have softened him a lot.

He used to have such a cold side to him.

He didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives, but he was a person who instinctively raised one’s guard.

“Would you like a drink, my lady?”

At that moment, a waiter passing by offered me wine.

I nodded, feeling thirsty after dealing with Lucion.

At that moment, I felt a piercing gaze from afar.

Orzen, who met my eyes for a moment, quickly looked elsewhere.

‘Could it be that Orzen sent the waiter?’

I expected him to pull some kind of trick today, but this was too obvious.

Moreover, I had once fallen victim to poison in tea at my awakening celebration.

They must have known I wouldn’t fall into the same trap again….

‘There’s no harm in being cautious.’

I only pretended to drink the wine the waiter gave me.

“What kind of wine is this?”

“It’s Ansley wine, my lady.”

I nodded at the waiter’s response.

“I’ve heard that the wine from the Ansley estate is delicious, and it indeed is.”

I pointed towards Orzen, who had been looking at me like a restless puppy.

“It seems that Lord Douglas over there also wants some wine.”

“Oh, yes. He keeps looking this way. I’ll go to him then. Please enjoy your time.”

The waiter politely bowed and headed in the direction I pointed.

I opened my fan and watched Orzen and his wife.

The waiter I sent also offered them the same glass, and the two subtly glanced this way before drinking the wine.

Perhaps thinking I suspected them, they deliberately emptied the wine as if to show me.

‘There’s no need to be so exaggerated….’

I looked at them pitifully as they even shook the empty wine glasses above their heads.

Just then, a voice called out to me.

“Lady Sierra.”

“Ah, Lady Silla.”

It was the first time I had seen Silla since the hunting festival.

She had been very worried about me when I returned from the forest, but at the time, I couldn’t have a proper conversation with her.

“I was worried you might have been hurt after the hunting festival, but you seem fine, which is a relief.”

“Thank you for worrying about me. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

When I spoke with a smile, Silla also smiled, looking relieved.

“Oh, by the way, Lord Arzen was looking for you, Lady Sierra.”

“Arzen?”

While Arzen was briefly away, I had been led to dance by the Crown Prince.

So it made sense that he was looking for me.

“I just saw Lord Arzen heading to the terrace over there.”

“Ah, thank you, Lady Silla.”

I thanked Silla, who urged me to go quickly, and headed towards the terrace she indicated.

“Arzen.”

And as I opened the terrace door wide and called Arzen’s name,

A sudden rush made my body move forward.

The sound of the terrace door closing with a bang echoed behind me.

Blinking for a moment in the fierce wind, I found myself standing in the middle of a pitch-black forest.

When I turned around, the door was nowhere to be seen.

I could see the lights of the banquet hall in the distance.

I was standing in a forest a little way from the banquet hall.

“What on earth is this….”

Thump, thump.

At that moment, I heard the sound of someone walking towards me from afar.

Instinctively, I took out the purple magic stone from my pocket.

[Just in case, take this with you.]

Before leaving the Grand Duke’s castle, Ludwig had given me a teleportation magic stone he carried.

It was a magic stone that could instantly transport me to the Grand Duke’s castle.

It was an heirloom that only the Grand Duke and his heir could possess, and Ludwig had given it to me as a precaution.

“Who is there?”

I gripped the magic stone tightly and stepped back.

The tall man approaching from afar was wearing a black robe.

The murderous aura emanating from him felt like it could slice through my skin.

“……”

When the man revealed himself under the moonlight, I widened my eyes.

Half of his face was covered in black markings.

An assassin. And not just any assassin….

‘A dark mage.’

He summoned a magic sword with black energy.

“I will make sure you die without pain.”

At the assassin’s chilling voice, I was about to activate the magic stone when—

Clang!

“…Sir Desar?”

Desar and the assassin were locked in a fierce confrontation.

The assassin, clad in a black robe, used dark magic.

A black mist-like aura emanated from the assassin.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the two charged at each other.

Desar and the assassin’s swords clashed incessantly.

Their swords, moving at lightning speed, narrowly missed each other.

Though evenly matched, the assassin used dark magic to limit Desar’s attack range.

‘I need to create an opening.’

I closely followed the movements of the two, waiting for the moment when Desar’s fierce attacks would force the assassin to retreat.

“……!”

The assassin was momentarily taken aback.

I had turned the ground beneath the assassin’s feet into ice.

Losing his balance on the slippery ice, the assassin sustained a minor injury from Desar’s sword as he tried to close in.

“Ugh-.”

The assassin, irritated by my interference, sent a burst of dark magic my way.

As the black energy rapidly approached, Desar quickly stepped in front of it and deflected it.

“This isn’t who you should be fighting,” Desar said, and the two clashed again.

In a split second, Desar moved and slashed at the assassin’s body.

“Gah!”

Attacking the previously injured area, Desar caused the assassin to groan in pain.

Desar was much, much stronger than I had anticipated.

Even without it being revealed that he was the son of the Tower Lord, he wielded both magic and swordsmanship effortlessly.

Though not as prominent as Ludwig or Peter, I could faintly see the sword aura.

He was holding his own against a well-trained assassin.

“……!”

Just then, another masked man appeared in front of the assassin.

Desar quickly parried the incoming thrust and stepped back.

The opponent wasn’t alone.

One, two, three. A total of four.

More figures in black robes appeared, just like the assassin.

“Ha, my uncle must be very determined,” I said in exasperation.

Hiring not just one, but four assassins using dark magic.

This was a gamble for him too.

The crime of using dark magic was severe.

If discovered, the entire family would face execution.

Was he aware that this final card might lead to his own downfall?

Two might be manageable, but handling four was too much for Desar alone.

Watching Desar deflecting the attacks coming our way, I took out the teleportation magic stone Ludwig had given me.

Using this would transport Desar and me to the Karsian estate. We wouldn’t be able to catch the mastermind behind the assassins.

But we couldn’t resolve things with Orzen here and now.

There would be more danger ahead, but for now, we had to retreat.

Just as I decided to use the magic stone before Desar could get hurt,

Whoosh—

A dagger aimed at the assassin’s heart flew through the air.

Enveloped in a blue aura, the dagger’s sharpness was clear even in the deep darkness.

“……!”

The seasoned assassin narrowly dodged the dagger, stepping back, visibly startled.

I widened my eyes, looking in the direction the dagger had come from.