Lord Baby Runs A Romance Fantasy With Cash [EN]: Chapter 269

I narrowed my eyes at my brothers.

“Honestly, you can’t just freeze them like taxidermied animals. All you know how to do is kill them all at once with an area-of-effect attack.”

“It’s… it’s the same result!”

“No, it’s not. You can do it. You just haven’t tried.”

“It’s cooler to kill them instantly without leaving a trace.”

My brothers whined, insisting they were cool too.

They’re so fun to tease.

* * *

Sensation returned to the tips of my fingers.

Tiriel slowly began to regain consciousness.

‘I don’t want to…’

All that awaited her upon waking was endless despair and pain.

So, she wished to remain unconscious forever.

‘Ruatisha!’

At that moment, the last memory before she fainted flashed through her mind, and her hazy consciousness instantly cleared.

The memory was fragmented and jumbled due to the intense pain.

However, she clearly remembered Liriel trying to kill Ruatisha.

What happened after that?

Did she escape safely?

Tiriel forced her eyes open.

The first thing she saw as her blurry vision focused was,

“Tiriel! You’re awake?”

Ruatisha.

A face full of worry.

The moment she saw that face, tears inexplicably burst out.

She thought she had no strength left to cry.

Ruatisha was startled and wiped away her tears.

When she still didn’t stop crying after a while, Ruatisha hugged Tiriel and began to pat her back.

Being held in the arms of her closest friend made everything feel distant.

The countless things that had happened to her after encountering the evil spirit felt like a dream.

But she knew it was reality.

She couldn’t go back now.

“Sniff, I, I’m now—”

A monster.

She could still feel the strange power dwelling within her body.

The moment she recognized it, Tiriel collapsed.

She opened her mouth without knowing what she was saying.

The words she had repeated over and over during the countless hours of torture by Liriel.

“Ru, Ruru. I, I did something wrong. That thing I asked you back then— I’m, I’m sorry. Sorry, sniff…”

Because she was this kind of being.

Because she was this kind of monster.

So, for a moment, she, a monster, tried to make herself comfortable with her friend—.

“Tiriel.”

Tiriel flinched and looked at Ruatisha as strong hands gripped her shoulders.

The focus returned to her eyes, which had seemed to be wandering in her memories.

Ruatisha confirmed that Tiriel recognized her and said in a firm voice.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re still my precious friend. You didn’t say anything to Liriel, did you?”

Tiriel stopped breathing and stared at Ruatisha.

It felt like a cowardly excuse, so she didn’t say anything, but how did she know?

“So, you don’t have to be sorry to me. Rather, I should be thankful to you.”

“…”

“I’m really grateful, Tiriel.”

Tiriel’s eyes wavered at the sincere words of gratitude.

Slowly, a smile spread across her face.

The lump in her heart that seemed impossible to dissolve began to melt little by little.

Not following Liriel’s words and keeping her faith with her precious friend.

It wasn’t just about protecting friendship.

It was a resolution not to give up on being human.

If she let go of that, she felt like she would really become a monster.

Tiriel had tried so hard to protect her humanity.

And Ruatisha recognized that.

“Ruatisha.”

Tiriel gripped Ruatisha’s hand tightly.

Her eyes were clearer and more vivid than ever.

“Kill… kill me.”

If she died now, at least she could die as your precious friend, not a monster.

Ruatisha stared at Tiriel for a moment, then flicked her forehead with a ‘thwack’ sound.

“No.”

Tiriel looked at Ruatisha, feeling the slight pain in her tingling forehead.

A slightly angry expression.

She knew.

How selfish a request she was making right now. Still…

“I—”

“I like happy endings.”

Ruatisha said firmly, holding Tiriel’s hand back.

“It was the same when I read books. I hate it when the male and female leads are happy because of someone’s sacrifice.”

She would never let anyone go like Lady Aizelle again.

That’s why she attached WBD [Walk Back Device – a device that allows the user to return to a previous point in time] and SSS [Super Status Saver – a system that saves the user’s status] to Tiriel, and even though she noticed the anomaly, she answered the question about the Chi-soo system [likely a reference to a game mechanic or system].

“It’s not a sacrifice. I—”

She was already a monster from birth.

But she had lived as a human and considered herself human.

So, she wanted to die without losing her identity as a human.

“Tiriel, you are a person.”

“…!”

“You will continue to be a person in the future. Even if you do something very bad, the fact that you are a person will not change.”

“But—”

“What are friends for?”

Ruatisha smiled at Tiriel.

“We get sulky, and sometimes we bicker and fight, but in the end, we reach out and help each other in the most important moments, right?”

That smile was as confident as ever.

Tiriel felt the sunlight returning to the hope she had forgotten at some point.

“Tiriel, just like you helped me, I will help you too.”

If it’s Ruatisha, if it’s my friend, she might be able to do something.

I just wanted to believe it.

No, I could believe it.

Even if despair swept over her like waves and she was submerged in it like the sea.

If she held Ruatisha’s hand, she could always come out to the sunny surface.

Just like that first day we met.

* * *

“Oh my gosh!”

Exclamations burst out from among the people who had been watching Ruatisha through the video stone with bated breath.

“Was, was that even possible?!”

“It is extremely difficult to purify the evil energy fused within the body!”

“It can’t even be compared to purifying the evil energy released outside!”

“To think that the Paeraton Duchess possesses that much power…!”

The priests couldn’t help but be amazed.

“Th, then Tiriel is—”

“Don’t worry too much. It will take time to recover her health, but there won’t be any major problems.”

Heartfelt tears streamed down Count Adersen’s face.

He looked at his daughter and bowed deeply to Marquis Tarenka.

“Thank you for saving my daughter.”

“You should thank my granddaughter, not me.”

“Of course. But I also thank you, Marquis. It couldn’t have been an easy decision to send your granddaughter to such a place.”

“I can’t break my granddaughter’s stubbornness.”

Marquis Tarenka waved his hand as if to say it was nothing.

Nevertheless, Count Adersen raised his head only after bowing once more.

Marquis Tarenka looked at his granddaughter in the video.

Eyes closed in concentration.

Her long hair fluttered like a flag of victory.

The scarlet evil energy scattered and sparked like embers at Ruatisha’s touch.

A scene that seemed to come straight out of a sacred painting.

“As expected, the real saintess was the Paeraton Duchess. I knew it!”

“To think they tried to frame such a person as a demon!”

“The real demon was the vicious Liriel!”

“She set up this whole scheme to kill the real saintess with the power of Pasa!”

“I wondered why she was so obsessed with the Paeraton Duchess earlier, but now I understand.”

“There’s nothing more to interrogate!”

“Keeping her alive will only cause more trouble! Isn’t she not even human in the first place?”

The people gathered in the conference hall unanimously spoke of Liriel’s death.

Soon, the Emperor’s lips opened.

“Liriel has committed the heinous crime of deceiving the people of the Empire by falsely claiming to be a saintess. Furthermore, she even attempted to harm the saintess, Duchess Paeraton, by using her position. Also…”

The Emperor’s words continued at length.

“…Therefore, she is sentenced to death.”

There was no opposition to the verdict.

Rather, everyone bowed their heads as if it were natural.

In fact, Liriel was not even human, so this verdict was meaningless.

It was merely a procedure to officially execute the sentence and present it to the people of the Empire.

The people of the Empire also had the right to know about this matter directly.

“Furthermore.”

The Emperor’s eyes sharply scanned the conference hall.

“I order an investigation into those involved in this matter as well.”

* * *

A storm of blood raged.

Liriel’s execution was certain, and those who had followed and defended her, becoming her hands and feet, were also imprisoned in jail, sorting out the rights and wrongs.

All the media cried out that the Empire could only be rebuilt by severely punishing those involved in this matter, and the people of the Empire were more keenly aware of this incident than ever before.

And today.

“Die, you monster!”

“How dare a monster pretend to be a saintess!”

“A wicked and cunning demon!”

“You tried to kill our saintess?!”

“The temple must awaken! It’s outrageous that you didn’t recognize the real saintess, but you sided with the demon who tried to kill her!”

People flocked like clouds, spitting and throwing stones at Liriel.

Thwack!

A stone thrown by someone hit Liriel’s temple directly.

Even as red blood flowed thickly, Liriel’s eyes shone more fiercely, glaring at the people with venomous eyes.

At that appearance, which showed no sign of remorse, people were even more enraged.

Trash and piles of stones poured down on Liriel.

I watched the scene from inside the carriage.

Was it an illusion?

Despite the distance, it seemed like Liriel and I made eye contact at that moment.

But it wasn’t an illusion.

Because Liriel’s face contorted the moment she recognized me.

The sight of Liriel being criticized was miserable, but considering what she had done, I didn’t feel any sympathy.

I raised the corners of my lips.

‘How is it? Are you satisfied? People are looking at you just like you wanted, right?’

Today, Liriel’s execution ceremony was attended by far more people than her saintess inauguration ceremony.

“Ruatisha Paeraton!”

Liriel thrashed wildly as if she had recognized the movement of my lips.

“Stay still!”

“How dare you utter the saintess’s sacred name with that dirty mouth!”

“You haven’t even repented even in this state!”

The executioners immediately pressed Liriel to the ground.

Liriel, who had lost her powers, couldn’t even resist.

In that state, Liriel raised her head sharply and looked at me.

“—”

The moment her lips moved, a blue blade flashed in the air—.

Sid covered my eyes.

“I can’t let anything dirty be in my master’s eyes.”

When the hand that had been covering my eyes was removed, I saw Sid’s handsome face.

And.

[Congratulations!]

[You have defeated the agent of Kayas Edel!]

[Praises for you resound throughout the Empire!]

[As the people of the Empire recognize you as a saintess, a group of people feel wronged!]

Wronged?

‘Could it be Liriel’s cronies?’

Identify who they are and wipe them all out on this occasion—.

[We are different from those who are only now calling the Duchess a saintess!]

[Our Chicken Church has always believed in the Duchess!]

[The Duchess who spread Chicken God [a popular food item, likely fried chicken] to this land is the true saintess! Long live the saintess! Long live!]

[A word from the Chicken Church: Are there any plans to spread other flavors of Chicken God to this land?]

“…”

Sigh.

I guess I have no choice.

I have to deploy Garlic Soy Chicken.

It was the moment I smiled, looking at the following notification.

[A 10,000 Cash Gacha Ticket is gifted to you, whose influence has exploded ★]

Sid suddenly brought his face close to me.

“Sid?”

“Why are you so dazed?”

“…It’s just, I feel a bit strange.”

Liriel, who I thought was a saintess when I only heard rumors, was actually not even human, but a being that threatened humanity.

I uncovered that fact and even took her down.

It felt like one grand chapter had ended.

In terms of romance fantasy, now that I’ve overcome adversity, it feels like all that’s left is to be lovey-dovey with the male lead…

That’s when it happened.

“We’re alone in this narrow carriage.”

Sid leaned his upper body towards me.

Swoosh—.

His large hand gently rested on the window.

Naturally, I was trapped between Sid and the carriage seat without any room to escape.

“Are you thinking about something else?”

His purple eyes in his elegant eyes gazed at me intently.

‘No way.’

Even Sid’s breath is handsome.

If that’s not the case, there’s no way my heart would be pounding so much just from being this close.

Dugun dugun [onomatopoeia for a heartbeat].

I pressed my chest for no reason and tried to calm down.

The timing seems really good right now.

Isn’t this the perfect time to kiss?

I opened my mouth, trying not to show too much anticipation.

“Then don’t let me think about anything else.”

Sid’s pupils dilated for a moment, and then his eyes deepened the next moment.