Chapter 14
“I watched people busily running along the corridor, indifferent to the hustle and bustle against the walls.’’
Attached to the busy walls, I didn’t pay much attention.
“Masuda! Masuda is invading! Knights, assemble at the castle gate!”
People running around shouted to alert everyone, The residents of the Violetus Castle quickly moved, finding their familiar tasks.
The knights rushed to the castle gate, and those who didn’t know how to fight took precautions by herding livestock into the barns and seeking refuge in safe places.
“So, the rumors about frequent Masuda invasions are true.”
I tried my best to avoid causing harm to the busy people running around as I headed towards my room.
The slight intoxication that had been building up disappeared long ago, blown away by the cold wind. It had been warm in that small room until just a moment ago, almost as if it were a sweet dream.”
“I need to get the medicine.”
I also had to take refuge in a safe place, but before that, I had to get the medicine.
If the fight with the monster dragged on, my eye color might return, so it was a crucial issue.
I quickly ran towards my room. And there, in front of my room, I faced the back of a man in despair.
He didn’t say anything, but his hunched shoulders forward looked incredibly aagonizing.
“Laches?”
Why is the person who should be going to the main gate to command the knights struggling in front of my room like this?
Moreover, unlike his usual sensitivity, he didn’t even seem to notice me approaching.
“…I should have been the one to kill him first. Maybe things would have been different, Look! I should have killed him after all…”
Laches was constantly mumbling something, but it was all incomprehensible words.
Was he planning to fight the monster?
“Your Grace?”
As if teasing a ripe grape, Laches lightly tapped his broad back with his fingertips.
It was just a light touch, but Laches quickly turned his head as if surprised.
His eyes, which met mine, were wildly dancing, perhaps indicating some turbulent thoughts.
“Are you alright?”
Maybe the intrusion of the masurade had put him on edge, The usual arrogant and presumptuous demeanor was nowhere to be seen.
“Everyone is waiting for Your Grace….”
“Why are you here?”
“Well… because this is my room.”
Even with the obvious answer, Laches remained silent, Perhaps he was asking why I was not evacuating at the moment.
“I came to get something. I’ll just grab it and go to a safe place.”
Only then did Laches release a suppressed breath, exhaling heavily. The stiff shoulders, tense from exerted strength, loosened up.
“I thought it was happening again.”
Laches reached out his hand. His large, unhesitating hand enveloped my cheek.
While there had been playful gestures before, it was the first time I experienced such an intimate touch.
“Your Grace?”
“Uh, where did you go at this late hour?”
“Well… just a moment, please, can you remove your hand?”
I managed to push away the large hand that incessantly stroked my face, It must have lost all its chill in the cold wind on the way here.
The part of my cheek that his hand had touched felt warm, much like when I had sipped wine earlier.
“I went to see the knight.”
“Knight?”
“Sir Ronan.”
Upon hearing Ronan’s name, Laches’s eyebrows subtly furrowed.
“Why again?”
“I have something to tell you.”
“Just because of that, you got drunk and came looking for Ronan this late?”
The way he said it made it sound like he had gone to find a loved one he couldn’t forget while intoxicated.
“It’s not just that, It’s about Detor….. no, Count Deverti’s behavior, It seemed suspicious.”
“Count Deverti?”
The pupils, which had sunk a bit when Ronan’s name was mentioned, flickered even lower when Deto’s name followed.
“Earlier, I saw Count Deverti walking alone secretly, It’s late at night, and it didn’t feel right. We can’t just let a guest wander around alone, right? So, I immediately went to inform the knight. Ronan was the only knight around that I could approach comfortably.”
“No wonder Ronan was missing.”
“Yes, He quickly got ready and went after Count Deverti with the other knights.”
Rather than following behind Deto, it would be better to just step on Deto himself.
“I thought you had gone somewhere yourself.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Well, you…”
Laches closed his lips. It seemed like he couldn’t come up with a suitable answer.
“It’s hard for me to protect my own body. I’m not pure or just enough to throw myself into action, nor am I righteous.”
Although he spoke the truth, Laches’ face brightened considerably.
“That’s true.”
Beyond the corridor, where people were running anxiously, Laeces was quietly chuckling alone, seemingly finding something enjoyable.
“Yeah, That’s the kind of person he was.”
“What?”
“It’s a good attitude, Keep living like that.”
Keep living…
Startled, I widened my eyes at the unfamiliar words.
Had there ever been someone telling me to live? Even when the rumors about being on a death sentence in the empire spread, there was no one.
Even those who comforted me or cried, telling me to stay strong were all there was.
“They say knights are waiting at the castle gate, Do you want to go see?”
I asked, and Laeces turned his head. Following his gaze, I couldn’t quite figure out where he was looking.
He always seemed to be observing things that others couldn’t see.
“Fortunately, you don’t have to worry too much, It’s thanks to you that Ronan is moving quickly.”
“Thanks to me?”
“Well, just in case, pack your things and evacuate, It shouldn’t take too long.”
After tapping my shoulder twice, Laches turned and disappeared.
A man who had been contemplating whether to kill me was now telling me to live.
What is this gap?
“…Unique.”
I soon grabbed a robe and a vial of medicine, preparing for a situation where I might not be able to take the medicine.
If my eye color changed due to not taking the medicine, I would need the robe.
“Guide me to the safest place! I’m a guest, so it’s only natural, right?!”
The footsteps that were heading towards a safe place came to a halt at the sharp shout, It was a voice that couldn’t be forgotten even if one tried to.
“Move aside! What can bugs like you do by living! The world would be better off with just me living than you lot!”
“Eek! Miss!”
“You guys should act as bait to lure in danger when I’m in trouble!”
As I moved towards the voice, Delia, who was unleashing curses at the employees of the Vivalenthus Castle, came into view. Despite the cold, she remained steadfast, wearing nothing over her thin indoor dress.
“Miss, just in case, the shelter we prepared is spacious.”
“Just because it’s spacious doesn’t mean I have to be in the same space as you all, right? Do you even know who I am? The bloodline of the guardian who helped establish this empire for the first time! The Pallow family!”
She seemed determined to enter the shelter meant for everyone alone.
“The shelter is designed so that anyone can use it fairly in case of a monster invasion, as the Duke…”
“If a guest like me dies or gets hurt, won’t the Duke be in trouble too? Your job is to protect me safely without even scratching my fingernail!”
There was a time when I thought of her as a friend, It was embarrassing to think back on those days.
‘If you were so scared, you should have hidden in your big brother’s arms and stayed safely in the capital.’
I subtly lowered my head and approached Delia. Oblivious to my presence, she continued her rant.
I considered pushing her from behind. Anyway, it would only be a spectacle for the maids in the corridor, but for a brief moment, it would be refreshing.
I inhaled deeply and whispered softly behind Delia.
“I heard Count de Verveti was with some woman all night, Does Miss Pallow know about it?”
It was a quiet murmur, but it was enough to reach Delia’s ears. Unable to ignore the words, Delia turned her head sharply.
I slipped away to the opposite side of where Delia turned, seamlessly blending in with the maids.
“Now, who said that just now?”
Delia’s face turned pale, It seemed that the betrayal of a lover was more frightening than the intrusion of a spy. It was a natural reaction.
“Who said that just now?”
Dettor, the man who whispered love to Delia when he met me, was the one. So, there was no rule against whispering love to other women while being with Delia.
Judging by Delia’s reaction, it seemed that she was aware of this fact.
‘It’s not interesting if it just ends with a push on the back only once.’
If it were an ordinary relationship, they might have laughed it off, saying that such a comment was unthinkable. However, these two were different.
Even if they were to get married, Delia would never be able to let go of the thread of suspicion for her entire life. She would live her life in anxiety, gnawing at herself.
Waiting for the seeds of anxiety and suspicion that I had planted in Delia’s heart to sprout was all I could do.
Betray me and live the rest of your life gnawing at yourself.
“Dettor… Dettor, where are you right now? Has anyone seen the Count de Verti who came with me by any chance?”
No one answered Delia’s question, Since Dettor had left alone late at night, it was natural that no one knew his whereabouts.
When no one who had seen Dettor came forward, Delia seemed to realize that this wasn’t the time for wrestling with maids, and hastily changed her steps.
“Dettor! Where are you, Dettor!”
As Delia disappeared, the maids who had gathered to hear insults approached me.
“Um… Thank you for helping, Lea.”
“I’ll keep what happened a secret. Thank you, I was so scared…”
“Me too… When I heard about bugs, I wanted to cry.”
Rather than helping the maids, it was an act committed to seeking revenge on Delia.
However, when the expression of gratitude came back, it felt awkward for some reason.
“You don’t have to thank me, It was noisy, that’s all. If anyone asks, just keep it a secret that I said it.”
Since there was no occasion to hear expressions of gratitude, I spoke the truth. Strangely, the eyes of the maids looking at me became even more shining, as if they were looking at a hero who had saved them.
“You… you’re really cool, Lea.”
“Of course! Miss Palow isn’t even my mistress, I’ll definitely keep it a secret.”
It seemed like some serious misunderstanding was piling up, It was a moment when I was about to correct the misunderstanding.
-Whoosh!
In the distance, the sound of a horn blowing loudly echoed.
Everyone who was bustling about stopped in their tracks and looked out the window.
Caught in the commotion, I also leaned my head out the window.
“Fortunately, It seems to have ended safely.”
Someone sighed in relief, speaking softly.
Even though it was night, there was more light outside than darkness.
A blazing fire was driving away the darkness.
Those who had kept livestock in our barn were releasing them, and people who had been fleeing in haste were now laughing joyfully.
“It looks like Ronan took care of it!”
Ronan’s blond hair fluttered in the wind, His face and clothes were stained with what seemed to be the blood of a monster.
“Ronan… didn’t he go to follow Dettor?”
But why was there monster blood on Ronan’s sword?
“What on earth happened?”
Ronan returned and approached Laches to exchange a brief conversation. As Ronan reported, Laches’s face gradually twisted into a terrifying expression.
At that moment, Ronan, who had gone to the same path with me, returned along with other knights and someone else.
It was a familiar face.
“…Dettor.”
Dettor, holding the large horns of a goat in his arms, was coming back with a frightened expression.
It was the horn of the goat that calls monsters.
