#165 Exit (1)
I strode purposefully toward the railing.
Marquis François D’Huem spoke kindly to the unfamiliar girl.
“Thérèse, greet the Prince.”
“…I am Thérèse D’Huem. I greet His Highness, Yeseo Fenetian, the Moon of the Holy Kingdom.”
The young lady, who appeared to be in her teens, bowed to me.
If she was a D’Huem, there was a high probability she was one of the Marquis’s three younger sisters.
Because the only members of his family I knew were Sir Ervé D’Huem and Lady Antoinette.
“Hello. Excuse me.”
I gave a brief greeting and squeezed between the siblings.
I knew it wasn’t polite, but this was more urgent.
The Marquis looked at me with a bewildered gaze, but I ignored it and peered over the railing.
Crack! Crunch! The shrubs groaned as they broke.
“…Okay, I got him! Bring the rope!”
“Ugh, let go! Do you know who I am?!”
“Take off his helmet! Start with the helmet!”
Ha… A sigh of relief escaped me at the sight before my eyes.
The Duke’s soldiers swarmed into the flower bed, pinning down and subduing ‘Armor Guy’.
He was sprawled out somewhere around the midpoint between the balcony I had entered and the balcony to the right.
Duke Cecil Blancarte’s words about closing the castle and catching the suspicious person on the spot were true.
Tension instantly drained away, and strength left my shoulders and legs.
Lady Thérèse, frightened, clung tightly to the Marquis.
I leaned my whole body against the railing and glanced to the right. And I was startled.
“That’s…”
“It’s Duke Sarnese. He entered with me! This child loves his Phantom of the Pad-de-Trois [a type of ballet dance] costume.”
The Marquis explained from the side in his usual tone. The young lady relaxed her expression and smiled slightly.
But I couldn’t smile with them.
The Duke, who was alone on the right balcony, was frozen as if surprised by someone’s visit.
The uninvited guest roughly tore off his skull mask and glared at him.
Black bat-like wings and blue hair curled up like goat horns.
And Qing-gray [a bluish-gray color] eyes shining like Markab [a star in the constellation Pegasus] in the autumn night. The Demon Young Lady.
“…Cristel.”
I muttered.
She must have followed me, knowing I was chasing a suspicious person.
I didn’t know if it was fortunate or unfortunate that Cristel had checked over there for me.
I couldn’t hear the words, but the atmosphere was obviously bad.
I swallowed hard and squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them.
I needed to calm down. I had to calm my mind and sort things out.
“…”
So, after hearing Bakari’s revelation, we looked for a suspicious person reeking of the ‘shadow of death’ and the ‘stench of conspiracy’.
The guy kept asking, ‘Did you plant the tulip bulbs well?’ as if he was trying to contact someone. As if that was some kind of code.
Then, following someone, he passed through here, where Marquis D’Huem was, or over to the balcony where Duke Sarnese was, and threw himself into the flower bed.
This suggested a few things.
First. Maybe one of the two great nobles really… had some unspeakable scheme and conspired with Armor Guy.
“Let go! Give me back my helmet! Damn it! Get out of here!”
“Goodness, it’s the Young Duke!”
“This is a disaster. Call the Knights Commander!”
‘Oh my.’ Marquis D’Huem was horrified. My mouth dropped open.
Below, an unimaginable mess was unfolding.
The first-floor terrace was already packed with onlookers.
Balconies everywhere were filled with guests. I muttered in confusion.
“That’s Robert Blancarte.”
…Second. It was also possible that he used the balcony only to escape after finishing a conspiracy with a third party.
I quickly raised my head and looked at the Marquis.
The light pink eyes, shining in the moonlight, did not avoid me.
“Marquis, was the Young Duke here until just now?”
“Unfortunately, I did not enjoy such a pleasure. I was chatting with Thérèse. I’m late with the introduction, Your Highness. She’s my youngest sister!”
He said, shielding the young lady.
Thérèse rounded her eyes, which were just like her brother’s, and buried her face in his shoulder as if embarrassed.
I couldn’t find the words to say. It was then.
-Rumble!
Something like thunder rumbled from beyond the mountains.
Those who were outside fell silent as if they had been doused with cold water. Then,
-Kugugung…
“Ugh!”
“Aah!”
The ground shook, and screams erupted from inside and outside the castle.
The tremor, which had been as faint as a cell phone vibration at first, was gradually growing like an earthquake.
The Marquis hurriedly grabbed the staggering Thérèse and me and emitted mana [magical energy].
The look in his eyes, which I met for a moment, was utterly serious.
*
-Squeak, squeak, whine.
“No, nothing’s wrong. Hmm. No one’s hurt, right?”
I diligently coaxed and soothed the precious things that Benjamin had hurriedly brought from the castle tower.
Because the scaredy-cat Leah wouldn’t leave my arms, Demi and Perry were entrusted to Sir Johann and Ganael, respectively.
Ttuksim was turning into mocha bread on the Crown Prince’s crown.
About 30 minutes had passed since the sudden tremor.
All the guests invited to Blancarte Territory Castle, their servants, and the castle’s household members were gathered in the plaza.
Thanks to Marquis D’Huem’s ‘instant movement’ skill, I was able to evacuate here the fastest.
Eva’s eyes were wide awake as if she had completely shaken off her sleep, and Crown Prince Cedric and Cristel threw away even their wigs and stood by my side.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but David looked a little sad.
“Are you two hurt anywhere?”
“We’re fine. What about you, Your Highness?”
“I’m fine too.”
I exchanged a brief conversation with Cristel.
She was carrying Tete on her back and standing next to Duchess Isabel, and her expression wasn’t good, perhaps because of what had happened on the balcony.
Duke Sarnese was a few steps behind. Modeste Bakari, being carried on a servant’s back, was also visible.
“I can’t believe it. What’s going on?”
“It seems like a monster has awakened! The East is wild after all.”
“It’s not that uncommon. Something like this happened during a masquerade ball 8 or 9 years ago.”
The nobles, half out of their costumes, poured out words mixed with worry and excitement.
Mostly, they were loud because they were quite drunk.
The Duke’s soldiers were guarding everyone, encircling the wide plaza.
The borders were prone to friction, and the mountains had many monsters, so their faces were indeed stern.
“There, my mother is coming.”
Eva pointed to one place. We all turned our gaze at once.
Duke Blancarte, accompanied by her husband and the Knights Commander, was entering the plaza with swift and graceful movements.
Even though the situation was quite urgent, there was no flaw in her face.
The bound Young Duke Blancarte was dragged behind her.
The nobles fanned themselves with fans and whispered something.
“Your Highness.”
“Duke.”
The Duke showed a restrained greeting to the Crown Prince standing at the front of the group, then gave Eva a brief glance and began to speak.
“I am sorry to have caused such an ominous event on a day that should only be filled with joy and blessings. It has been reported that one of the two dungeons in the mountains within the territory has been opened unexpectedly. Currently, all the knights are on combat readiness. My goal and the Magic Tower’s goal is to suppress the monster horde and seal the dungeon by dawn.”
“…”
Her tone was as indifferent as reading a lunch menu.
However, only our group was silent, and the nobles were now loudly buzzing and sharing their anxiety.
Judging by the fact that the crystal bell was silent, the distance between the monsters and the Territory Castle was considerable.
I blinked and met the Crown Prince’s gaze. His orange eyes shone with a calm light.
In the Toegye Gong worldview, ‘dungeon’ meant a very nasty cave swarming with monsters.
It was mainly located on high mountain ridges and required special attention like an active volcano.
The dungeon that opened in Marquis D’Huem’s territory during the Great Monster Subjugation was one that opened once a year, and because the subjugation was carried out on time, the territory residents could live in peace.
I learned from Eva that the two dungeons in Duke Blancarte’s territory were also thoroughly managed.
Although it was not a regularly active terrain, the Magic Tower located deep in the jungle could immediately detect the appearance of monsters because it sensed mana 24 hours a day.
Then is this a coincidence? That the dungeon burst when the two main characters were in the territory?
That couldn’t be. I whispered.
“It’s highly likely due to the Divine Object.”
“That must be it.”
The Crown Prince replied in a low voice.
What people recognized as a Divine Object was only the Hyegeom of Mars that he possessed.
But in fact, a Divine Object was also dwelling in my body, and Cristel was the same, and Ttuksim, who everyone thought was just ‘the Prince’s cute wren,’ was just that.
Including the Divine Bow of the trees in the forest, there were a total of five Divine Objects in one territory.
Monsters showed an instinctive aggressiveness towards Divine Objects, so it wasn’t strange that the sleeping dungeon had exploded.
…Could this be what Nikki was talking about?
-That’s right. But you must not forget the most important existence.
I was reminded of the warning that Divine Objects were getting stronger as they gathered together, and that it was impossible to know what would happen if they really met.
I gently rubbed the area near my heart that he had pointed to.
Cristel, as if she was worried about that, reached out and covered the back of my hand.
A chuckle escaped.
“I’m fine.”
“Still.”
She whispered. For some reason, the back of my head was tingling. The Duke’s words continued.
“I have no authority to stop guests from returning to their respective residences or territories. However, I recommend that you stay in the castle until noon, as the monsters that come out of the dungeon may cover the mountain paths. That should be enough for me and my knights to deal with the small fry.”
“This is madness. I’m getting out of here.”
An old man grumbled as he put on his jacket.
Some nobles agreed with her and made a loud noise.
The Duke nodded as if to respect their decision.
In movies, the people like that are always the first to…
No, he’s an elderly person, I shouldn’t think like this. I quickly shook my head.
“And there is one more thing I would like to say.”
“Isn’t this an emergency, Duke?”
Someone blurted out. It was a complaint that the speech was getting too long.
The Duke continued to speak without batting an eye.
“As you may already know, my son Robert, who is here, has… tarnished the honor and caused a scandal to His Highness the Crown Prince and His Highness Prince Yeseo, who is a guest of His Highness. I am ashamed to say that he has often tarnished the family name before. And today, he even committed trespassing.”
“…”
This time, everyone shut their mouths and stared at us.
I felt my neck getting hot.
I tried not to be too conscious of the gazes of strangers and tightened my jaw.
Eva, who was standing next to me, had the same expression.
“Therefore, my husband and I have decided that Robert is not qualified to be the successor of our family.”
“Mother! Duke!”
The Young Duke shouted in a cracking voice.
The Young Lady was seen clenching both fists tightly.
She seemed to be barely refraining from grabbing Elizabeth’s arm or mine.
Even in the midst of all this, I smiled as I looked at Eva.
After all, children grow up well if everyone helps them.
“That can’t be!”
“From this moment on, my second child, Eva, will be the Young Duke Blancarte.”
“Wow!”
The nobles burst into exclamations. Even though it wasn’t the right situation, some even applauded.
Eva smiled brightly like a night-blooming cereus [a flower that blooms at night] in the middle of the night and looked up at me, then hugged my waist as if she was doing a body check.
It hurt a little, but I was much happier than that.
“Hahaha.”
-Squeak!
Leah licked Eva’s cheek, Cristel whispered congratulations, and Elizabeth gave the Young Lady a kiss on the head, saying she had worked hard.
Small golden grains sprang from the child’s body.
She seemed to be unable to control the ether [a magical energy] because she was so happy.
And the Duke and his wife watched our appearance with a truly detached, somewhat troubled gaze.
I stroked Eva’s back and bit my lip.
I had heard that there were parents without maternal or paternal love, but how could they be so businesslike?
“Then you may disperse. Your Highness, if you allow me, I will escort you to the castle tower. I will report as soon as the situation is over. I will also convey the results of Robert’s interrogation.”
At the same time as the Duke’s words, the nobles began to scatter.
The Crown Prince nodded, and the Young Duke, who had been the Young Duke until a minute ago, screamed with a flushed face and kicked his feet in the air.
The Knights Commander, unable to watch any longer, gagged his mouth.
It was a last resort to protect the dignity of the owner.
“Let’s go to your room, Your Highness. I will prepare a bath for you.”
I nodded at Benjamin’s words.
Among the throng of people scurrying about with all sorts of decorations, I saw Duke Sarnese and the D’Huem Marquis siblings getting into a carriage.
Those people… Can I only let them leave?