IDEFP 119

Chapter 119

The gazes that fell upon me were markedly different from the praise that had been showered upon Adrian moments before.

Even if it had been four years ago, I had been notorious in the capital for my scandalous relationships.

And now, someone with that reputation was being asked to bless the couple who would stand at the highest position in the Empire.

What an ironic situation.

If even I found it confusing, I could only imagine how bewildered the nobles filling this hall must have been.

If possible, I wanted to escape this exhausting situation as quickly as I could.

My warm homeland.

My father, Dick, and my companions.

And even Noah.

There were so many familiar faces I wanted to see.

I opened my eyes clearly and looked at Adrian and Yurie.

“May the two who will become the sun of the Empire be blessed, and may the Blessing of Light follow them.”

At the same time, I brought my hand out from beneath my cloak.

Red energy coiled around my hand before flying toward the two of them like butterflies.

Then it gently settled over them like a soft drizzle.

The sight was so sacred that everyone present was captivated.

And so, contrary to my concerns, I thought the Founding Festival was finally coming to an end.

How naïve of me.

A chill ran down my spine.

At the same time, I sensed killing intent coming from the direction of the stage.

From where the imperial representative was standing.

I immediately turned my attention toward that direction.

Since long swords were forbidden inside, I instinctively prepared to unleash magic at any moment.

The nobles, unable to sense the killing intent, looked at me in confusion.

“What are you doing?”

Someone who could no longer stand watching finally called out to me.

At that very moment, the wall behind the representative shattered.

The beautiful diamond embedded within it broke into countless fragments.

And from inside emerged a monster of grotesque proportions.

Its upper body had the face of a human, but its lower body was segmented like an insect.

Its forelegs in particular were razor-sharp, shaped almost like scythes.

Before I could even fully frown at its disgusting appearance, the monster swung one of its forelegs.

The representative was sent flying and slammed into the wall.

That seemed to be the signal.

The nobles, who had been frozen into silence by the unbelievable sight, began screaming.

“Aaaah!”

They hurried toward the doors in an attempt to escape the hall.

But for some reason, the doors would not open.

One after another, they abandoned all dignity and began pounding desperately on them.

“Open this door right now! Let me out of here!”

The hall, where a classical orchestra had been playing only moments ago, instantly descended into chaos.

Only screams remained.

And yet, strangely enough, Adrian and Yurie remained unnaturally calm.

Knights surrounded the two of them the moment the monster appeared, protecting them.

But this was the worst possible situation.

Today was probably the very situation Adrian had dreamed of his entire life.

On the day he came closer than ever to the throne—

A rift had appeared at the very heart of the Imperial Palace, breaking through a Blessing that had protected the Empire for hundreds of years.

Before he could even ascend the throne, he could lose his sovereignty under accusations of sacrilege.

So why—

At that moment, my eyes met Adrian’s.

He pulled up the corners of his mouth and smiled.

His eyes seemed to say:

Show me what you’ve got.

Only then did I begin to understand.

I turned my attention toward the monsters crawling out from within the wall and carefully examined them.

Judging by their size, this should have been a large-class rift.

But there had been no warning whatsoever.

And considering the unnatural, artificial appearance of the monsters, I realized that the scene unfolding before my eyes was exactly the trap I had feared.

And as though to prove it, one of the monsters that had been attacking indiscriminately suddenly met my gaze.

Its pitch-black eyes stared directly into mine.

Then it simply ignored me and moved on.

That alone was enough to shift the entire atmosphere of this terrible situation in Adrian’s favor.

Adrian drew his sword and cleanly severed the monster’s neck in a single motion.

Then he pointed the tip of his sword at me.

“You’ve finally crossed the line you should never have crossed.”

His theatrical tone instantly drew every gaze in the hall toward me.

I remained silent.

The nobles looked at the Grand Mage standing arrogantly before the Crown Prince’s sword.

Their eyes darted around rapidly.

Before long, it seemed as though a single scenario had formed in all their minds.

Their faces twisted one after another.

“No way. My goodness. No matter how reckless she is, of all places, here…?”

“B-But if it’s Isabella…… If it’s that woman with the power of a demon……”

As though to give certainty to those trembling with fear, Yurie suddenly collapsed to the floor.

Her beautiful face was covered in tears.

She looked like a saint who had just witnessed an unspeakable tragedy, her expression filled with sorrow.

“Isabella, I told you to hold yourself back just this once. I know you hated me, but how could you do something like this……”

“L-Lady Yurie!”

With those words, Yurie fainted.

Her attendant beside her immediately called out loudly and helped support her.

That seemed to convince the others, because the murmuring grew louder.

“Now that I look at it, those monsters weren’t attacking Isabella at all.”

“She was famous for following the Crown Prince around for years. They say a dog’s habits never change. No matter how much she pretended otherwise, she could never hide her true nature.”

“That’s right. She’s a witch. A mad witch who thought the Empire had driven her into the East.”

This was a stage carefully prepared by the two of them.

And I was the prey that had stepped onto it, wrapped in a fur cloak made from God-knows-what kind of animal.

So that’s what they were doing with all those mana stones.

I had known they were gathering an enormous quantity of mana stones.

And yet, foolishly, I had walked into this place of my own accord.

A knight approached me from behind, silently attempting to ambush me.

I froze his movement, reached into his arms, and pulled out the long sword he was carrying.

Sharp screams erupted from several places around the hall.

I ignored them and stood facing Adrian, whose sword was already pointed at me.

“I wonder whose idea this was. Isn’t the use of black magic considered treason?”

“Don’t let yourself be bewitched by a witch’s words!”

Adrian snorted.

At the same moment, silence briefly settled over the hall.

Then someone’s quiet gasp seemed to serve as the signal.

The knights rushed toward me.

I threw off the fur cloak I had been wearing, blocking their vision, and slashed straight through the opening beyond it.

While the knights hesitated, I sprinted toward the doors.

The nobles crowded around them screamed and scattered, parting like the Red Sea.

I poured mana into the sword and split the doors in two.

The doors opened, and the nobles poured outside in a desperate flood.

Adrian scoffed, apparently believing I was making one final desperate attempt to escape.

“Dying here is the only way you can protect your family now, Isabella.”

“That’s something I should be saying to you.”

I shook the blood from my sword and looked at him.

“I never expected you to cause something like this during your own appointment ceremony. Why are you doing this to me? Do I really look powerful enough to steal your position from you at any moment?”

Adrian gave a derisive laugh.

“I’m simply putting everything back where it belongs.”

“What?”

With those words, Adrian charged at me.

Our swords clashed.

Meanwhile, the monsters slipped through the open doors and escaped into the hallways beyond.

The moment my attention was drawn toward them, Adrian seized the opening and pushed forward with all his strength.

“Stop pretending to be the righteous one!”

His voice was filled with fury.

“That’s my role. All of it! Don’t take it away from me!”

At the same time, he swung his sword with tremendous force.

But the strength behind the blow threw off its trajectory.

Instead, an innocent knight was struck by his sword and collapsed.

That was when I finally realized something was wrong with Adrian.

He continued swinging his sword as though he could no longer control the strength coursing through him.

Blood splattered everywhere.

The lights shattered one after another, plunging the hall into darkness.

The only light remaining came through the open doors.

Realizing that something was seriously wrong with Adrian, I called out quietly.

“Did you go mad from using power beyond what you can handle?”

I deliberately provoked him.

But Adrian acted as though he couldn’t hear me.

He merely muttered like someone intoxicated by an overwhelming sense of duty.

“If everything simply returns to its proper place, the Empire will last forever.”

“……”

I realized there was no point trying to reason with him.

I crossed swords with him again.

I had underestimated Adrian, thinking he would be easy to handle.

But his strength was more evenly matched with mine than I expected.

No.

I was slowly being pushed back.

Then I noticed something.

The mana stones scattered throughout the dark hall were flickering.

Every time our strength collided, the mana stones decorating the hall resonated with one another.

So that was why he’d seemed unnaturally strong from the beginning.

He was using the mana stones throughout the hall.

Before long, cracks spread across my sword.

Then it shattered completely, spinning away in a wide arc.

Adrian’s face brightened with the intoxication of victory.

“Return to the earth beneath the Caliban Empire, Isabella.”

His voice sounded strangely different from the one I usually heard.

But before I could think about it any further, Adrian brought his sword down without hesitation.

I didn’t look away even for a moment as I prepared to defend myself.

I watched the blade descend toward my face.

Just as I thought I was about to be struck—

A bare hand suddenly reached out and caught his sword.

The thick hand that had appeared between us in the blink of an eye belonged to someone I knew all too well.

The man stood with his back to the light, breathing heavily.

Then he spoke.

“I didn’t interrupt for no reason, did I, Isabella?”

Noah’s crimson eyes gleamed.