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    Chapter 73: Banquet of Blood (6)


    Humans are creatures who, once ustomed to familiarity, naturally be careless.


    I suppose I’m no exception.


    Perhaps I’ve been lulled into a false sense of security by the familiarity of being able to handle things thus far, forgetting her true nature for a moment.


    Kaeram is a demonic sword.


    Not a benevolent holy sword that aids its wielder in achieving noble goals, but a malevolent weapon with a tendency to lead its wielder into chaos and destruction, ultimately aiming to consume them.


    It never offers an easy path but rather brings hardships upon its wielder.


    Due to the eavesdropping barrier, I couldn’t hear the conversation between the prince and Aschel.


    Therefore, I had to take Kaeram’s words at face value and act ordingly.


    From what she described, the prince’s n roughly goes like this:


    Using the forbidden summoning ritual called ‘Marite’, create a battalion of assassins,


    Initially infiltrate as simple musicians, then initiate the operation with additional assassins nted in the banquet hall,


    Utilize summoned creatures simr to hellhounds to stir up chaos in the pce and eliminate the predetermined targets using the ‘Daze Stones’ ced in advance.


    It wasn’t so much surprise as it was incredulity.


    If this is truly a n concocted by the Crown Prince, who can be considered the next ruler of the empire, and Aschel, who is called the second guardian of the continent, would people believe it?


    The Daze Stone is an artifact strictly prohibited not only for its use but also for its creation by the Imperial Magic Society.


    Of course, not everyone is subject to this prohibition.


    If one has the means to cover up its usage, even if it’s discovered, and if one holds the status that guarantees your identity to be hidden, then ultimately, instead of being prohibited, it bes an avable artifact.


    We should consider that our omnipotent first prince of the empire meets all these conditions.


    Setting aside all that, I couldn’t help but wonder.


    Why would Louisnel, the Crown Prince, and Aschel cause such chaos in the pce?


    Setting aside the turmoil in the pce, what could be the reason for giving us that stone and causing us such distress?


    Because they see us as a threat?


    It seems too abrupt for that.


    While there may be some doubts, I have not yet done anything to pose a definite threat to Aschel.


    There hasn’t been any direct interaction with Prince Louisnel, and Princess Arin has done nothing significant other than diligently attending the academy.


    So, were they perhaps nning to use us as sacrificial pawns to concoct some other scheme?


    This seems quite usible.


    The youngest of the royal family and the youngest of the ducal family.


    Although they may not have power or influence, they still hold titles of status.


    In other words, they’re perfect for being used as an excuse to do something.


    If they were considering assassinating us amid the chaos and then shifting the me onto someone else, it might be somewhat possible…


    But this is just spection and not certain.


    In the end, it’s difficult to ascertain their true intentions in the current situation.


    But…


    I think I made a mistake.


    Looking back now, shouldn’t I have first understood the intentions of the demonic sword by my side, rather than those of those guys?


    “What’s the scheme, Kaeram?”


    I asked, raising my suspicions, and sheughed as if incredulous.


    pWho would think I gave you false information? I told you. They decided to pass the Daze Stone not through themselves but through my third party, who knows nothing. One to the young princess, and one to you!]


    Right, that’s correct.


    As it turned out, Princess Arin actually had the Daze Stone in the pendant she wore around her neck.


    ording to Kaeram’s words, it was likely sent to her by the prince as a gift.


    Then what about me?


    Coincidentally, I didn’t receive anything.


    Or rather, I hadn’t received anything.


    The moment I heard those words, I knew exactly who was supposed to pass the Daze Stone to me.


    It was undoubtedly Emily.


    However, not only did she not give me the Daze Stone, she didn’t give me anything at all.


    Was it intentional?


    In my opinion, she just forgot.


    Entering the pce for the first time in her life, she was so overwhelmed with wonder that she probably forgot to pass anything to me.


    It’s typical of her to do something like that.


    Sure enough, hidden within Emily’s pocket disguised as a butterfly bowtie was the Daze Stone, and I immediately smashed it on the spot.


    If things had gone ording to their n, they would have med Emily.


    Did they expect me to hand it over while showing my face to them?


    Sure enough, it was clear from the beginning that they brought her with a specific purpose in mind.


    Although I didn’t expect her to be such an immature and naive maid…


    Anyway, I didn’t mishear Kaeram’s words.


    If there’s a problem, she wouldn’t speak about it.


    Both the princess and I, relying on a third party who knows nothing, for that stone…


    Wait.


    Suddenly, a thought pierced through my mind sharply.


    “A third party?”


    As mentioned earlier, the Daze Stone is an artifact prohibited byw in the empire, its creation itself being impossible.


    Even if the prince decided to use it, since itsmercialization was banned long ago, there wouldn’t be any of those stones within the empire.


    So, what should I do?


    It’s simple.


    I just need to obtain or receive it from where the stone is.


    It refers to the only group on this continent that still makes and uses the Daze Stone without any hesitation.


    Those who have no constraints or restrictions when ites to magic.


    The Garam Kingdom’s Magic Society.


    It’s nothing for them to make a couple of Daze Stones.


    So, if there’s someone rted to them within the pce right now?


    There was only one person.


    “…Luna Rainriver?”


    [Our master seems to have finally caught on, huh?]


    Kaeram was looking at me with an unbearable devilish smirk, not implying that she was the culprit.


    Kellen, who came to see me before the banquet, clearly said there was some kind of scheme being concocted by the prince and Aschel rted to Luna.


    In other words, the target using the Daze Stone wasn’t just me and Princess Arin.


    Luna.


    She was also included in the targets.


    * * *


    After the masked man in ck eliminated all the viins, reinforcements from inside the pce arrived, bringing the situation to a close.


    “Still, thank goodness! The only member of the royal family who couldn’t make it to the shelter was Princess Arin, so His Majesty the Emperor was extremely worried!”


    “Is Father alright?”


    “He experienced a brief illness and had a seizure during the escape, but he’s currently resting safely.”


    “And what about teacher Silica?”


    “Ah, you’re referring to the eldest daughter of the Nigriti family. She’s also unharmed.”


    Upon hearing that Silica was safe, Alice let out a sigh of relief.


    “While I can’t exactly say it’s fortunate, the casualties from this incident are surprisingly minimal.”


    Alice asked, seemingly surprised.


    “Is that so?”


    “Yes. Before the pce forces even reached the Great Chamber, the masked viins had vanished without a trace. They were likely created using a magic called ‘Marite,’ so they could have disappeared over time, but from our investigation, most of them were injured and destroyed.”


    This indicated that someone had intentionally dealt with the viins and summoned creatures.


    At this, a natural thought came to the minds of the three women.


    “However, it’s not yet time to rxpletely. It would be wise for the princess to go to the shelter. We will take you there too, so would you pleasee with us?”


    “Yes, I will go with you.”


    Arin readily agreed to the escort.


    The disturbance caused by the viins at an event where everyone should be happy.


    Even though the situation itself seemed to have ended, Arin and Alice couldn’t shake off their unease.


    Who on earth, and for what reason, would carry out such an absurd act?


    Regardless of how things unfolded, thinking about the aftermath and how to handle the situation didn’t seem smooth at all.


    Unlike the two women, Luna’s gaze had been fixed on one thing since earlier.


    It was the broken pendant that had been around Arin’s neck until recently.


    There was a faint sensation of manaing from the red powder.


    Luna then pulled something out of her pocket.


    It was avish silver bracelet adorned with various jewels.


    “What are you doing, Luna? We should be going now…”


    Arin, who was approaching her, stopped momentarily.


    In the center of the bracelet was a red gem the size of an adult’s fingernail, which was strikingly simr to the gem that had been in Arin’s pendant.


    “That, uh, looks very simr to the one in my pendant. Where did you get it from?”


    “I, uh, received it from an associate of the society who apanied me to the pce…”


    She had also received it from acquaintances who suggested she wear it to the event, but she felt it didn’t suit her and simply kept it in her pocket.


    Since Luna had only seen Arin’s face during their first meeting, she had no idea there was the same gem in the pendant.


    Luna realized that this was definitely not just an ordinary gem.


    As she began to sense the familiar magical energy she often encountered at the academy, she heard footsteps approaching through the flower garden.


    “….?”


    Without needing to be prompted, she lifted her head, and not far away, she saw a man urgently rushing towards them.


    “Is that senior Cyan?”


    The man the two women had been searching for throughout the event.


    It was Cyan.


    He was sprinting towards them with all his might, as if trying to prevent a tragedy.


    His speed was so much faster than expected that the distance between them closed in an instant.


    “Luna, watch out!”


    Due to the somewhat flustered situation, Luna didn’t properly hear Cyan’s shouted words.


    “What?!”


    “Dodge!!”


    It was clearly amand to dodge.


    As she momentarily puzzled over why he was suddenly saying that, Luna soon felt danger looming behind her and turned her head.


    “…..!”


    It was the white-masked viin who hadn’t been dealt with yet.


    The viin raised a sinister sword as if about to strike Luna down at any moment.


    Instinctively, Luna tightly closed her eyes.


    *Swoosh!*


    “Aargh!”


    The heavy weapon swung with tremendous speed.


    But what it sliced through was just empty air; it didn’t hit anything.


    “Ugh…”


    The viin grunted in frustration.


    Upon hearing someone else’s groans, Luna cautiously raised her head.


    She could feel his fervent sweat and heat against her skin.


    “S-Senior…?”


    As soon as Luna opened her eyes, she knew.


    Just before the viin’s sword could strike, Cyan had leaped in to rescue her.


    Her body was securely held in Cyan’s arms, protecting her from harm.


    *Drip*


    A trickle of blood ran down his palm.


    Of course, it wasn’t hers.


    Lifting her head slightly, she could clearly see a deep cut on Cyan’s shoulder as if from the de, vividly marked against his skin.


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