“T-Those’re… not a monster, are they?” Fleur whispered, her face pale. Most of the nobles in the imperial garden reacted similarly to her.
On the table in front of Carlotta was a birdcage made of white iron bars. Through the bars, birds that looked like black lumps pecked fiercely.
It doesn’t even seem like ordinary monsters. Diana frowned slightly as she stared at the unfamiliar monsters.
Before her regression, the second princess, Carlotta, had always been unpredictable, making it hard to foresee her actions. Why did she come here? Diana tensed at the thought of the monsters and the second princess being a bad combination.
In the meantime, a few people who were familiar with Carlotta mustered the courage to approach her through the murmuring crowd.
“Your Highness the Second Princess. It’s been a while.”
As Carlotta turned her head to look at the friendly greeting, she lifted one eyebrow slightly after glancing up and down at the person. “Who are you?”
“Ah, t-that’s… we met at the second concubine’s birthday banquet last time…” The person mumbled, feeling humiliated by the clear indication that Carlotta did not remember them. Fortunately, Carlotta responded nonchalantly with an “ah” shortly after.
“I remember. It’s been a while.”
“It’s an honor that you remember me. By the way, what are these?” Overcoming his embarrassment, the person pointed to the birdcage, his curiosity greater than his shame. Those nearby, also curious, discreetly listened in.
Carlotta, as if waiting for the question, answered proudly. “These are mutated monsters captured by the first princess during the last subjugation. I liked their appearance, so I’m raising them as an ornamental pet.”
A silent shock spread among the people. Stuttering, the person asked again. “Mu-Mutated monsters as pet birds?”
“Yes.”
“But isn’t it dangerous?”
“What are you worried about? I can easily subdue such trivial mutated monsters.”
“Ah…!”
The people finally remembered that Carlotta was a low-rank earth elementalist and let out a short exclamation. Although she was only a low-rank elementalist, few individuals among common people possessed such qualities, so there was a touch of admiration in their eyes.
Carlotta, standing in the center, raised the corners of her mouth satisfactorily. Yes, this is how it should be. Feeling proud, she lifted her chin.
Enjoying the people’s attention and interest, Carlotta glanced slyly at Fleur, who had a pale face. Hmph. Serves her right. Carlotta, having achieved her goal of attracting attention by bringing troublesome monsters, snorted.
Unbeknownst to her, Carlotta harbored feelings of inferiority toward Fleur, the first princess consort. Despite not lacking in status or appearance compared to Fleur, people always subtly praised Fleur among the two peers. The constant comparison as a member of the imperial family of the same age was already annoying enough. What bothered her more was Fleur’s expression of discomfort whenever people belittled Carlotta while praising Fleur.
“Being his daughter, she’s just like Duke Wibur, utterly pretentious. She’s doing it all to mock you.”
Carlotta remembered clearly what her mother, the second concubine, had said. She had learned that the members of Duke Wibur’s family hid their filthy intentions behind angelic smiles.
Fleur, a member of Duke Wibur’s family, pretended to be humble but was clearly mocking her. Therefore, Carlotta couldn’t stand the attention people gave to Fleur.
Charlotta had come here today because the maids had praised the harmony between the first princess consort and the third princess consort, which annoyed her. Both the first princess consort and the third princess consort were political adversaries of Rebecca, contributing to Carlotta’s hostility.
To divert people’s attention to herself and show off her abilities, Carlotta brought the monsters she received from Rebecca. Despite her calm façade, Carlotta flinched every time the birds in the cage pecked their beak.
Feeling she had garnered enough attention away from Fleur, Carlotta stood up and called for a maid with a gesture. “The sunlight is harsher than I thought, so I’ll be going inside. Also, get rid of the—.”
However, at that moment, the iron bars of the cage, fiercely pecked by the monsters, snapped under their sharp beaks. Before anyone could react, the monsters poured out through the broken bars, their beaks wide open, rushing toward Carlotta.
“Gnome!”
With a flicker of magic, a low-rank earth spirit, Gnome, appeared just in time to block them. Contrary to her bold claims, Carlotta’s abilities were barely sufficient to protect herself from the rampaging monsters.
The nobles who had come out for a leisurely stroll were thrown into panic and screamed.
“K-Kyaaaah!”
“Save me!”
“Call the imperial guards!”
As the commotion grew, the imperial guards, who had been on standby nearby, appeared. They were shocked to see the monsters attacking people wildly.
“What is this…?!”
“No time to dawdle! Protect the people immediately!”
“Yes!”
The knights of the Second Order, led by Duke Yelling, each summoned their spirits to block the monsters.
One of the knights, recognizing Fleur and Diana amidst the chaos, ran toward them, terrified. “Why are you two here…! You must leave immediately!”
“Thank, you.” Fleur, with a pale face due to the sudden situation, tried to maintain a calm voice.
While the knights held off the monsters, Diana, supporting the relatively weaker Fleur, sought to leave the garden with the help of one of the knights.
Kieeeek! At that moment, several monsters, having noticed them, flew towards them. The knight hastily summoned his spirit.
“Saelist!”
A mid-rank fire spirit appeared in mid-air, blocking the monsters’ path. However, the knight, inexperienced with summoning mid-rank spirits, was outnumbered. Soon, Saelist was torn to pieces by the numerous claws, crying pitifully before disappearing.
“Gah!”
The knight vomited blood and staggered from the backlash of the spirit’s unsummoning. Seizing the moment, the monsters lunged at Diana and Fleur like prey.
“Diana!” Fleur instinctively shielded Diana, hugging her protectively.
At that moment, Diana, who had been momentarily frozen, looked at the monsters extending their beaks toward Fleur and moved her magic. Yuro.
Swish— With her blue-violet eyes darkening, fine violet lines appeared in the air, shredding the monsters. The event happened silently and subtly, unnoticed by all but one person.
Kieeeek…! The monsters dispersed into the air like shattered shadows, crying sharply. One of the monster fragments fell like a snowflake, landing on Diana’s shoulder. Diana flinched greatly and looked down at her shoulder.
What just…
“Diana, are you okay?” Fleur, who had turned her back on the monsters while hugging Diana, asked worriedly, surprised that the expected pain didn’t come.
Regaining her composure, Diana quickly smiled. “I’m fine. Thank you for protecting me, Fleur.”
“The monster disappeared, but what was all this about…?” Fleur sighed in relief, still trembling.
The monsters, who had been rampaging madly, were almost subdued by the knights, so there was no need to escape urgently.
Avoiding Carlotta’s surprised gaze at her using Fleur’s shoulder, Diana fell into serious thought. As she touched her shoulder, she bit her lip. It was definitely the aura of dark attribute spirit…
What she sensed briefly from the mutated monster was the same aura as the spirit she controlled.
* * *
More than two weeks had passed since the monsters rampaged in the imperial garden. The emperor scolded Carlotta severely for handling the monsters recklessly and ordered her to reflect on her actions.
Since Carlotta was practically under Rebecca’s command, the emperor’s punishment was a blow to Rebecca’s honor. Thus, Tania, nervous about Rebecca’s recent discontent, bowed her head in front of Rebecca, who was smiling coldly.
“So…”
“…”
“You still have nothing to say today.”
Tania felt a cold sweat running down her back at Rebecca’s elegant voice.
Oof. I hope that Knight and his spirit recover. Is the author just skipping past Diana having to explain how the monsters attacking her just disappeared?
Thank you for the chapter! I will happily read this for the romance and intrigue regardless of any possible plot holes. 😋