Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 68

“……”

Marquis Halloom could scarcely believe his ears.

Was this truly the same perpetually groveling, idiotic prince now displaying such defiance?

He could understand fear in the banquet hall courtyard, but this? Now?

‘…Has he decided I’m useless?’ he wondered.

If Ash judged his previous actions solely as a means to secure the throne, then this new attitude was clear. He had been deemed a discarded pawn.

The realization sent a surge of blood rushing to Marquis Halloom’s face, previously so blank.

‘How dare you, you impudent…!’

Even after being manipulated into treason by Prince Eron, he had provided Ash with food, shelter, protection, and treated him according to his supposed future status…!

How dare he threaten him now?

Marquis Halloom’s eyes became fiercely bloodshot.

The conference room door creaked open, and a soldier entered.

“Reporting!”

The soldier, intimidated by the oppressive atmosphere, cautiously approached Marquis Halloom and spoke.

“Last night, an unidentified group entered the territory. The guards failed to stop them.”

“……”

Marquis Halloom’s demeanor was thunderous, but the soldier, oblivious, continued.

“It’s unknown who they are, but they are believed to be cultists….”

“Is that the problem now?!”

Marquis Halloom’s hand lashed out, striking the helmeted soldier’s face.

The soldier’s head snapped back, staggering. Marquis Halloom, looking at his own torn skin, gritted his teeth.

Ash, who hadn’t fully grasped the soldier’s words, widened his eyes.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!”

Marquis Halloom snatched the soldier’s sword and plunged it into his neck.

The sound of bone grinding and skin tearing filled the conference room, followed by the soldier’s strangled scream.

The nobles and Ash froze, paralyzed with shock.

As the soldier’s body slumped to the floor, Marquis Halloom gasped for breath.

“Did you say I should take responsibility now? Your Highness?”

“……”

“If we’re going to be so strict, Your Highness also bears responsibility! You incited treason, lost troops, and allowed an unidentified group to enter! You must answer for that!”

At that moment, a commotion erupted outside the door.

The nobles glanced back and forth between Ash and Marquis Halloom as the door burst open, revealing a familiar group.

A handsome man with turquoise hair and eyes, and a middle-aged man with a sturdy build.

The Nordics.

The very ones who had transformed the mansion’s front yard into a scene of carnage during the banquet.

“No, Nordics?”

“W-What brings you here…!”

“Soldiers…! What are the soldiers doing? Why aren’t they stopping them….”

The nobles’ voices trailed off as they saw the state of the soldiers behind Aum and Kudan.

They were lying collapsed in the doorway.

Their faces paled, and they tried to scream, but….

“We wish to resolve this quietly. If you make things complicated…, we will silence you… permanently.”

“……”

The nobles fell silent.

Aum wore a satisfied expression as the conference room fell silent.

‘They’re frozen solid.’

Especially Marquis Halloom, who was rigid with fear.

As the main instigator of this mess, he was now facing the people he least wanted to see.

‘But, it looks like they had a fight?’

Right below Marquis Halloom, a soldier was twitching and bleeding.

Aum barely suppressed the laughter that threatened to erupt.

‘What a mess!’

These fools, wasting soldiers at a time like this?

Truly foolish.

Aum masked his true feelings and moved with practiced grace.

He raised his right hand to his chest, stepped his left foot back, and bowed his head in a perfect aristocratic greeting.

“Marquis Halloom.”

“……”

“Our lord wishes to see you.”

“M-Me…?”

“There will be no harm. Just….”

Aum raised his head and narrowed his eyes.

“Just a conversation.”

***

“…Prince Ash? He came here a while ago.”

Lapel tapped his chin thoughtfully.

“So the rumors were true.”

The rumor of Prince Ash’s death.

But beyond that, they had received word that he was returning to the Roden territory.

They heard that refugees were relying on Prince Ash and following him.

‘But what happened?’

Lapel turned his head, observing the square of the Roden territory.

“I, I didn’t know!”

A guillotine stood prominently, a prisoner in tattered clothes restrained before it.

“I didn’t know he was a prince! This punishment is too harsh! I, I just-!”

“Execution-!”

The guillotine blade fell, and the prisoner’s head was severed.

‘Brutal, seeing an execution as soon as we arrive.’

They heard it was the execution of a refugee who had been rude to Prince Ash and a guard who had stopped Prince Ash at the checkpoint.

“The atmosphere has become even more oppressive.”

Territory residents were selling goods on the street, trying to eke out a living.

But their faces were etched with anxiety and distrust.

‘Is it because of the execution just now?’

The purpose was likely to instill fear in the territory residents and quell any potential unrest.

But how long could this reign of terror last….

“…We saw something unpleasant as soon as we arrived.”

Paul averted his eyes from the beheaded prisoner.

He noticed movement in the alleys.

Hungry people, or those contemplating robbery, lurked in the shadows, their eyes gleaming with desperation.

Paul cast a pitying gaze.

‘Will things improve after the war ends?’

Then, he witnessed an unusual scene.

‘What is it?’

In the narrow confines of an alley.

A small crowd had gathered.

All of them appeared weak and ill.

They were kneeling, hands clasped in prayer, before a woman.

Her face was concealed by a black veil, obscuring her features, but she possessed a striking presence with her contrasting black and white hair.

‘Who…is she? Is she a nun?’

She exuded a mysterious and unsettling aura. It felt wrong to label her as a nun of the Holy Order…?

Did she sense Paul’s gaze?

The woman receiving prayers turned her head and looked directly at Paul.

Just as Paul felt a strange unease, Lapel placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“…Eek!”

Startled, Paul yelped involuntarily.

Everyone on the street turned to look at him.

Paul blushed, embarrassed by his distraction, and snapped at Lapel in a vain attempt to cover his discomfort.

“What are you doing!”

“Why are you angry? What, did you find a girl you’re interested in?”

“…N-No, who’s angry!?”

“You’re flustered, so it must be true! Well, it’s the age when you’re most interested in the opposite sex! So, who is it?!”

Lapel looked around with a playful grin.

Then, as if spotting something, Lapel exclaimed.

“Ah…beautiful. Is she a goddess!?”

At those words, Paul furtively glanced back at the alley, but she was gone.

“……?”

What? She’s not there…?

Disappointed, Paul turned back to Lapel.

But Lapel was looking elsewhere.

A woman was walking through the market street, amidst the stalls and bustling crowds.

A woman with neatly braided turquoise hair and the same striking eyes as Aum.

She wore beautiful white armor.

Paul, who had been staring blankly, shook his head vigorously.

‘W-Why am I acting like this today?’

Paul, regaining his senses, looked around.

Everyone was looking at the woman. But somehow…, their expressions differed from Lapel’s.

Unlike Lapel, who wore a favorable expression, the territory residents were sending looks of shock and fear.

Why were they doing that? Why were they directing such looks at such a beautiful knight…?

‘Come to think of it, she’s a Nordic?’

Could it be that they were reacting that way because she was a barbarian?

Paul, whose perspective had broadened since meeting Hoon, a Nordic, felt uncomfortable with the territory residents’ reaction.

“…Should I talk to her?”

However, he was even more uncomfortable with Lapel’s superficial judgment based solely on appearance.

“She’s beautiful. If I were only 10 years younger….”

“…Albert, do you know you’re starting to resemble Lapel more and more?”

“Hmph, Paul, what do you take me for? It seems like the lady is looking around because she doesn’t know the way, isn’t it the duty of a knight to help?”

Lapel curled up the corners of his mouth.

“Then we must help! Lady! Knight Lapel! I’m coming to meet you!”

“Didn’t you give up your knighthood?!”

Lapel ignored Paul’s remark and pushed through the crowds, forcing his way through.

Inevitably, Paul and Albert followed him.

“Lady! If you have time, would you like to have a drink alone in a quiet place… I mean, a cup of tea!”

At Lapel’s words, the knight, who had ‘something’ hanging on her shoulder, stopped and tilted her head.

A pure appearance and a reaction like an innocent child.

‘She’s my ideal type!’

Lapel tried to calm his pounding heart and spoke confidently.

“You seem to be a stranger, is this your first time in this territory? If you don’t mind, I’ll give you a tour!”

“Lapel! What are you doing! You’re being rude to the knight!”

“That’s right. Lapel! Isn’t the knight troubled? In that case, you should say, ‘Lady, if you don’t mind, may I escort you?’ That is [K. N. I. G. H. T. H. O. O. D.!]!”

Albert seemed excited and was scolding Lapel.

Paul covered his head as if he had a headache looking at the two knights.

“This is not the time for that! It’s rude! It’s rude!”

The knight blinked her eyes at Paul’s shout.

Her appearance was so captivating that Paul momentarily forgot his words.

The knight, Cancun, opened her mouth.

“Are you…talking to me now?”

It was a clear and pure voice.

“Yes? Ah! Yes…! S-Sorry. My party is being rude…!”

“No. It’s okay. I’m sorry, but did you say you would guide me through the territory earlier?”

It was a knightly tone, contrasting with her clear voice.

Still, Paul felt his heart pounding at her refreshing smile.

“Yes…! I-It doesn’t really…matter! We don’t seem to be that busy…!”

He had long forgotten that he had to quickly return and report to the prince.

“W-We can guide you…a little bit….”

At that moment, Paul’s mouth was blocked by Lapel’s hand.

“P-Paul…don’t say any more.”

His face was strangely stuttering and pale.

Paul, angered that the conversation with the knight had been interrupted, pushed away Lapel’s hand and shouted.

“What do you mean! Don’t say any more… Besides, you said earlier that helping the lady is chivalry! From the looks of it, this knight seems to be here for the first time, so a guide is….”

Lapel’s face grew paler with each word Paul spoke.

“Lapel?”

Sensing his strange reaction, Paul tilted his head and looked at Albert.

“Albert?”

He was also speechless. His mouth hung open, and his eyes were wide with shock.

“What…?”

Lapel and Albert’s eyes were fixed on one point.

‘A pole? Is it a spear? But…to carry three of them….’

Is she stronger than her slender body suggests?

…With that thought, Paul’s gaze traveled up the pole. And when he reached the end, what he saw was…

‘A corpse?’

A burnt corpse, its entire body melted and charred, was impaled on the skewer.