Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Dagger Maid (1)
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The Imperial Palace Assault Incident.
It was a historic event that made a tremendous contribution to shaping the backdrop of the game Luminor Academy.
And that made sense, because this incident brought about three major changes to the overall story of Luminor Academy.
One of them, as I mentioned earlier, was the trigger that made the imperial family sense a crisis from the demons' movements.
As a result, the academy expanded its enrollment not just to prepare for wars between nations, but also to counter the demons.
They shifted from an elite intake dominated by nobles to one prioritizing talent and skill.
This change in recruitment criteria altered the noble-to-commoner ratio among freshmen from the previous 8:2 to nearly 6:4, and over the years, it would reshape the academy's overall atmosphere.
The second event was how "Moonshadow Princess Seraphin" rescued "Inferno Agnes," who had nearly lost her life in the monster wave.
Just like Orion had appeared in the Rose Hall earlier that evening, he must have scouted capable nobles in the original history and rallied them against the monster wave.
And Agnes, just like in this world, would have answered Orion's call and joined the operation to repel the wave.
But even Orion couldn't easily predict exactly how many monsters would swarm which areas.
I remembered that while he blocked the north gate of the palace—expecting the heaviest assault there—the west gate unexpectedly faced an even greater horde.
Of course, since it was just backstory and not an event the protagonist experienced directly, my memory might not be spot-on.
Anyway, Seraphin swooping in to save Agnes, who was cornered at the west gate—that was the second event.
This became the moment Agnes pledged her loyalty to Seraphin, leading to the Elizabeth family formally entering the imperial fold in the true ending.
"......"
"Ah, ah, ah...."
And the final event was the death of Ridge Lynn Auguste, right here in front of my eyes.
Her death in this monster wave would fill the Auguste family with betrayal toward the imperial family, setting the stage for Karaham to orchestrate the "Seraphin Kidnapping Incident" in his third year.
Of course, since the assault itself was the demons' doing—not the imperial family's—it might seem odd that they ended up allying with the demons who killed Ridge.
But the Auguste family had plenty of reasons to feel betrayed by the crown.
Because Ridge had a "future where she wouldn't die," depending on Seraphin's choice that day.
"Moonshadow Princess Seraphin" was a character who wielded various moon-related powers, true to her title.
One of those was her precognition, limited to nights of the full moon, allowing her to glimpse the near future.
In other words, Seraphin knew Ridge would die... and chose not to save her.
To be precise, it was less "wouldn't save" and more "couldn't save."
Seraphin only had one body, and saving Agnes at that moment meant abandoning Ridge.
Someone might wonder: If she foresaw Agnes and Ridge in danger via precognition, why not just exclude them from the party from the start?
But Seraphin's precognition wasn't some overpowered, omnipotent ability.
First limitation: She couldn't choose what future to see; it simply showed her one.
Second: It always forced a "choice" upon her.
It started as a hazy vision in her mind, gradually sharpening over time—that was how her precognition activated.
By the time the scene clarified enough to understand the situation, she was left with no option but to pick one of the two futures presented.
In the "Imperial Palace Assault Incident," the two futures Seraphin saw were: saving Ridge Lynn Auguste,
or saving Inferno Agnes Elizabeth Blaze, as mentioned earlier.
And at that crossroads, Seraphin chose the future where she saved Agnes.
I have no idea why she picked Agnes over Ridge. That detail never came up in the game.
But the key point is that, at that pivotal moment, Seraphin chose the daughter of Viscount Blaze over the daughter of Margrave Auguste.
As a result, Ridge met her end amid the monster horde without Seraphin's aid.
Later, when the Auguste family learned of the forked paths in Seraphin's vision, it became the decisive spark of betrayal.
The Auguste family were margraves who had guarded the empire's western frontier for nearly three centuries.
In contrast, Agnes's Blaze family was merely a lesser branch of the Elizabeths, holding a mere viscountcy.
From the Augustes' perspective, after three centuries of loyalty, the empire had prioritized a viscount's daughter over their heir.
It was only natural that this led to a sense of betrayal toward the Argentia Empire itself.
Of course, looking far into the future, saving Agnes benefited humanity more than saving Ridge.
Her survival allowed her to thwart numerous threats at the academy, and she played a key role in the demon lord subjugation that secured victory.
But that was separate from the Augustes' rage and betrayal.
Especially for a family like theirs, with generations of loyalty to the Argentia Empire—the sense of betrayal hit like a critical blow. They say fans turned haters are the fiercest.
That backstory explained why Seraphin fell so easily to Karaham in the "Seraphin Kidnapping Incident."
...Anyway.
This intro dragged on, but here's the point:
In this "Imperial Assault Incident," Ridge was originally supposed to get caught in the monster attack and die.
Yet here she was, in this shelter.
Which meant this shelter would soon face a monster assault itself.
The moment I saw her face, a brief thought flashed through my mind.
"...We're fucked."
Thinking about it, the original story had several other nobles dying or getting injured besides Ridge.
Brainless monsters wouldn't single her out specifically.
It was more plausible that she was just one casualty swept up in the raid.
In short, this "shelter" would fail to hold back the monster wave, and monsters would pour in.
Ridge would likely get caught in the chaos and die.
Above all, my life was at risk too. With noble heirs panicking and scrambling for survival once monsters breached, it'd turn into total mayhem.
And right now, I was a pathetic maid with zero combat power—not even a dagger to my name. Protecting myself would be tricky enough.
"Of all times, Orion had to take all the capable fighters with him...."
The people here alone couldn't repel the incoming assault.
Sure, most were nobles who could cast basic spells, but expecting panicked heirs to cooperate? Fat chance.
Even Karaham wasn't here, probably drafted to help block the wave.
As my chest tightened, picturing the inevitable chaos after spotting Ridge,
a hesitant voice called out from her side, now that we'd noticed each other.
"Um, um, um... You're Young Master Ethan's fiancée... right...?"
"...Yes. Good to see you again, Miss Ridge."
"I-I'm so sorry about earlier.... I had no idea you were the young master's fiancée...."
"...No, it's fine. Everyone makes mistakes."
"I-I promise I won't be rude like that again!"
...Why the hassle?
I brushed off Ridge as she bowed apologetically over that past issue.
Instead, I seriously pondered how to keep both her and myself alive in this mess.
She was a fairly prominent character in Luminor Academy, after all—letting her die right in front of me felt off.
More importantly, saving her could butterfly away some major headaches in the future worldline.
"If I pull that off, at least I could prevent the Augustes from betraying overnight."
The Auguste betrayal dealt a serious blow to the empire in Luminor Academy's world.
Lest there's misunderstanding: I had zero interest in seeing the game's ending.
That was for the protagonist "hero" and other main characters. I wanted no part in the main story.
All I wanted was a peaceful, stable daily life in the Argentia Empire.
No waking up to monster raids turning villages to ash, no cities falling to demons forcing mass evacuations.
That way, I could step off the story's rails and live stably as an adventurer.
Saving one person to nullify the Auguste betrayal? That alone would be plenty.
"If only Ethan or Karaham were here—this would be a breeze."
Those two could protect a couple of girls no problem, but they'd both been pulled for wave duty.
Excluding the palace guards, I was the only one here capable of meaningful combat.
...Well, "capable" was a stretch.
I'd barely hit level 6—stronger than a rookie estate guard, maybe.
Against monsters, I could scrap evenly with a level 7 Black Rabbit.
I didn't know the exact levels or numbers of the monsters hitting the palace in the "Imperial Assault," but the 10-20 guards here couldn't hold them off—that much was sure.
So, they weren't weaklings killable with a mana arrow or shockwave.
My most reliable hitter was "Mana Blast," sure, but...
"Can't just spam this willy-nilly."
Betting everything on that one all-or-nothing spell had too many downsides.
Casting a massive AOE like Mana Blast in front of everyone would draw unavoidable attention.
Worse, if monsters kept coming after, I'd be tapped out and helpless.
Best bet for staying low-key while protecting me and Ridge? Something like a dagger.
If we were near the kitchens, maybe—but in the main hall? No chance for...
"......Ah."
Wait, maybe there was.
In this situation, I might snag a "dagger" Lilith could wield.
In Luminor Academy, the weapons Lilith could equip as "daggers" had a broad definition.
Not just kukris or machetes—frying pans and ladles counted too.
Anything with a handle and a blade of decent length synergized with her as a "dagger."
Maybe even Ridge had one.
A "dagger" Lilith could use in combat.
"Miss Ridge."
"Y-Yes!"
"By any chance... do you have a knife?"
"......Pardon?"
Even in a fantasy world brimming with swords and spells,
a noble lady probably carried at least a decorative dagger for self-defense, right?