Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 179

☆ Chapter 179 ☆

Lady Aizelle swallowed hard, beads of sweat trickling down her temples.

“…Lady Chavonne, if you had something to say, there were better ways than this. This is hardly proper etiquette.”

“Do you think I went to all this trouble just to have a little chat?”

“If this were merely an attempt at conversation, I would have overlooked it.”

Muriel Chavonne burst into laughter at those words.

“I certainly misjudged you, my lady. To speak of etiquette and my position even in this situation… Well, it was a good try. Those with much to lose might have thought twice.”

“…”

“But if I cared about such things, I wouldn’t have confined you in the Imperial Palace, would I?”

Seeing Lady Aizelle bite her lip, Muriel gave a deep smile.

That smile made Aizelle realize the truth.

Muriel Chavonne wasn’t here to persuade or threaten her.

‘She’s here… to kill me.’

And she certainly had the power to do so.

A burning sensation rose in her throat.

‘No. Don’t cry. Please, think.’

“The ending is the same. You have two choices: to die painfully, or to die a little more comfortably—”

‘Now!’

Taking advantage of Muriel’s self-absorbed moment, Lady Aizelle threw her shoe.

“What are you—!”

While Muriel angrily knocked away the shoe, Lady Aizelle leaped out of the carriage.

She didn’t know where to go or if she could even escape.

But she couldn’t end up being toyed with inside a carriage with no escape.

She now understood what it meant to run with every ounce of strength she had.

She didn’t even feel the pain of her bare feet pounding against the dirt ground.

There was no sign of anyone following behind.

‘I’m—’

“Keuhuk!”

Her body collapsed forward even before the suffocating pain took hold.

Burning with agony, Lady Aizelle looked down at her stomach.

A bright red thorn protruded through her abdomen.

“Ah, heu, eugh…”

It was different from the energy that had been injected into her body without a trace in the Imperial Palace.

When she clutched her stomach, her hand came away wet and sticky.

The reek of blood.

“Ah, ah, heu…”

“So, you’ve made your choice—to die painfully.”

Clack, clack.

Muriel slowly walked towards Lady Aizelle.

“Even though you were a bit annoying, I didn’t want to kill you because it would be troublesome.”

Muriel roughly grabbed Lady Aizelle’s chin and met her gaze.

“You pulled off a very cute stunt today, didn’t you?”

Muriel smiled, seeing Lady Aizelle’s pale face.

“Eavesdropping like a rat. Did Princess Paeraton tell you to do that?”

“N-No, I…”

A gush of blood trickled down her mouth.

“You should have chosen the right person to follow. You would have lived a long and peaceful life if you had just stayed quiet.”

Muriel’s thumb stroked Lady Aizelle’s cheek as if pressing down on it.

Following that touch, the blood on her lips spread across her pale face.

“Farewell.”

“Heok!”

Another thorn pierced through her back.

“Ah, heu, ah, no… No, ha, heuek…”

Her consciousness blurred with the intense pain.

Her words were mixed with her breath and wouldn’t come out properly.

Lady Aizelle’s pupils lost focus and blurred.

Thud.

Muriel released her hand, and Lady Aizelle’s body collapsed powerlessly to the ground.

Bright red blood began to pool around her like a puddle.

‘…Am I dying?’

If it hurts this much, then yes, I’d rather it end quickly.

I just want to die right away—

It was the moment her lifeless eyes were about to close.

‘No!’

Lady Aizelle glared.

Tears streamed down her hardened cheeks.

These were different tears from those caused by the pain.

‘I don’t want to die.’

I want to live.

There are still things I want to do, things I want to accomplish…

Not yet.

Not yet.

In her blurry vision, she saw Luatisha smiling brightly as she held her hand.

The cocoa we drank together then was so delicious.

The snowflakes visible through the window were lovely.

When we ran outside and flopped down on the thickly piled snow.

The sharp chill that dug into her neck, back, and wrists.

And how warm it was when we looked at each other and laughed loudly.

“…Huh?”

Muriel, who had lost interest in Lady Aizelle, felt something strange and turned her head.

Swish, swish, swish—

Lady Aizelle was moving her trembling arms and crawling forward.

The ground was stained red, following her dragging, heavy body.

“Heh, she’s still moving even after all that? I thought she was just a noble lady raised like a hothouse flower.”

Muriel chuckled.

“Humans are like bugs, after all.”

It was the moment Muriel reached out towards Lady Aizelle.

Swae-aek!

Muriel hurriedly retracted her hand at the energy that cut through the air.

‘This energy is—’

“Could it be a spirit? No, that can’t be…”

Muriel tensed up and looked ahead.

A titmouse [a small, active songbird] the size of her palm was rapidly flapping its short wings, glaring at her.

‘A real spirit?’

It didn’t look threatening at all, but Muriel steeled herself even more.

“…So there are still those who can handle spirits.”

She gritted her teeth.

“Aftanes, that bastard’s power is persistent.”

The power of spirits was the opposite of hers.

Muriel took another step back, watching the spirit’s movements.

The titmouse, flying around Lady Aizelle’s eight cardinal directions, soared up vigorously.

Following its trail, an energy like the breath of night rippled.

‘A spirit circle…! Damn it, this is annoying.’

She never expected to be held back here.

Bright red energy emanated from Muriel’s hand.

“Pii!”

The titmouse cried sharply and spread its wings.

The energy was blocked by the circle and disappeared.

Taking advantage of that momentum, the titmouse shot forward towards Muriel.

Horrified, Muriel covered her hand with energy and struck the titmouse.

If the spirit’s energy is too strong, she might not be able to use her hands, but this is the only way for now—

Thud.

“…?”

The titmouse, hit by the energy, flew away as it was.

Muriel’s lips curled up as she saw the titmouse’s bewildered eyes.

“…!”

“Ha! It can’t use its power properly?”

A sense of victory began to settle on Muriel’s face.

“It’s already weak from being in a powerless state, and on top of that, it gathered all its energy to set up a circle.”

Muriel’s gaze went to Lady Aizelle inside the circle and then back to the titmouse.

“And yet it dares to block my way?!

The energy emanating from Muriel’s hands surged towards the tiny bird.

The titmouse flew precariously, but it was already exhausted.

“Piiiii!”

Muriel gripped the bird tightly, a sinister smile on her face.

“To think I would catch a spirit with my own hands. This is a very rare experience.”

‘He will be very pleased.’

Muriel squeezed her hand tightly.

“Tell me. Who is your master?”

But the titmouse kept its beak tightly shut and said nothing.

“Well, fine. I can find out in time.”

Muriel approached Lady Aizelle with a sinister smile and reached out her hand.

But.

Chijijik!

“Tch.”

Muriel clicked her tongue, seeing the tips of her fingers turn black and crumble.

“It must have been a great spirit originally? To see how strong the circle’s power is.”

It’s better this way.

If it’s such a powerful spirit, there will be much to learn.

“How foolish. If it hadn’t set up the spirit circle, it might have been able to stop me.”

She herself wasn’t in a state to use all her power, so this spirit would have had a chance.

Muriel took a deep breath and reached out her hand.

No matter how strong the circle’s power is, if the spirit that set it up is sealed, she can break it.

Muriel began to pour her power into the spirit circle.

It was a crude but sure method.

The conflicting energies created what seemed like a typhoon around the spirit circle.

“…Heuek…”

Lady Aizelle struggled to turn her head.

She saw the titmouse caught in Muriel’s hand.

Pibyo-byo-byo, pibyo-byo-byo, the small bird cried sadly.

‘If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have called it.’

That small bird was now in danger because of her.

Lady Aizelle tried to suppress the tears that were about to burst and forced a smile.

“…I… I… love… you… I…”

She struggled to move her unmoving lips.

I don’t want to die.

I want to live.

I don’t want to die.

I want to live, I must live—

But even if I die.

“…I love you, Mom and Dad…”

I want to tell them.

Whether that little bird will understand her words. Whether it can even hear her from there.

Even if it understands everything, it won’t be able to tell them.

No, this is just meaningless muttering.

I know.

Still.

‘…I’m glad there’s someone to listen to me at the end.’

At least I can talk,

I’m not dying alone on the dirt floor.

“…Thank… you.”

Kwaaaang!

“Piiiiiiii!”

The spirit circle shattered.

Muriel staggered and wiped away the sweat that had formed on her brow.

Even though it was a circle made by a spirit that couldn’t properly use its power, it was hard to break.

Muriel caught her breath and ordered her subordinate.

“Hoo, search that woman’s body thoroughly. We can’t have any evidence left behind.”

Muriel sighed deeply, watching her subordinate search Lady Aizelle’s chest.

It’s over.

First, she needs to go to the hideout to recover and report the spirit to Him.

It was the moment Muriel completely relaxed.

“Aheuk…! Keok!”

Bright red blood gushed from Muriel’s mouth.

“That damn bird…!”

She was caught off guard, having used almost all her strength to destroy the circle, so the impact was great.

The opposing energy had struck the core properly.

The bird that escaped from Muriel’s hand staggered and couldn’t fly properly.

It must have squeezed out its last remaining strength.

Even as she bled from her nose, Muriel reached out towards the bird.

‘I can’t let it get away like this!’

She has to catch it, even if it’s too much.

But the staggering bird’s figure blurred and soon disappeared completely.

‘Reverse Summoning?’

“Damn it!”

Muriel spat out blood and gritted her teeth.

* * *

[Warning!]

[Your possession has sustained severe damage.]

[Would you like to summon your possession?]

I was startled by the sudden warning window and jumped up from my seat.

“Lulu?”

My dad, who was having tea time with me, looked at me with surprised eyes.

“I-I’ll be right back from the bathroom!”

I rushed out of the tearoom.

I walked as if running and arrived at the bathroom, then immediately locked the door.

‘Summon.’

[Error!]

[The possession’s power is too weak to maintain its form!]

[Forcibly stored in the 〈Storage〉!]

‘What?’

I quickly opened the storage.

There, in addition to the items I had received so far, was a Hermes Jjack drawing.

The problem was that there was a very large bandage on the Hermes Jjack drawing.

‘What happened to it?’

The Hermes Jjack was freely roaming around, acting as a contact network for Echen and many others.

‘Why is it hurt?’

I wanted to take it out, but only the notification that it couldn’t maintain its form reappeared.

“…Did someone attack it? Why?”

Normally, the Hermes Jjack is invisible to people when it moves.

But it was attacked?

Is it someone who can see spirits?

But why did they attack it?

Everything was full of unknowns.

I paced around for a while and then washed my face.

‘…Let’s calm down for now.’

My heart wouldn’t calm down because the child was suddenly hurt.

I washed my hands and face at the sink and returned to the tearoom.

But.

‘Huh? The atmosphere is…’

It was clearly different from when I left the tearoom a little while ago.

As soon as I opened the door, my family stared at me with stiff expressions.

“What, what’s wrong?”

My chest fluttered with anxiety.

“Lulu.”

Dad reached out to me.

I felt a little relieved when I held his big hand.

Strangely, the more he stroked my hair calmly after lifting me up and placing me on his lap, the more the subsided unease rose again.

“What’s going on?”

“Calm down and listen.”

“…”

“Lady Aizelle…”

Lady Aizelle?

Why is Lady Aizelle coming up here?

“…has passed away.”