Chapter 205: An Ill-fated Relationship (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 205: An Ill-fated Relationship (11)
In the cellar beneath the grand temple of Iries.
The missing women of the Imperial Palace were hidden there. The group was diverse, consisting of maids, a viscount's wife, a count's wife, a duke's wife, and more.
Their one commonality was the anxious murmuring that rippled through them, their faces etched with fear.
"What in the world is happening..."
"Will we make it out of here alive...?"
"Lady Iries, please watch over the Empire..."
A few of the women kept glancing nervously at the vampires guarding the entrance to the cellar.
Their gazes were not kind.
From their perspective, these were the villains who had stormed the Imperial Palace and imprisoned them in this place.
In reality, Hailey's bloodkin were protecting the women from other vampires.
But the women didn't know that, and the vampires saw no reason to tell them. After all, when it came to handling humans, no emotion was as convenient as fear.
‘What is going on...’
And Lorraine was one of those trembling women. Her eyes darted around as she tried to make sense of the situation.
‘They don't seem to plan on harming us right away...’
If they did, they would have done it back at the palace instead of going through the trouble of bringing them all the way here.
‘They're standing guard in shifts. Are they hiding us?’
Hiding them from what?
Why were they going to such lengths in the first place?
She had too little information to deduce anything. Ignorance turned to fear, and fear bred stress.
Lorraine instinctively wrapped her arms around her stomach.
Her belly had grown enough that she was visibly pregnant.
‘No matter what happens, I have to protect my child.’
As she steeled her resolve, a warm hand rested on the back of her own trembling one.
Startled, she turned her head to see a beautiful woman with brilliant silver-blue hair looking at her with a warm gaze.
"Are you worried?"
"Y-Your Majesty..! I-It's just..."
"It's all right. It's only natural to be worried. Who could possibly remain calm in a situation like this?"
"..."
"Still, let's try to have faith and wait. There are many capable and strong people out there, aren't there? Everything will be fine."
The Empress spoke with an elegant smile. Influenced by her smile, the other women began to calm down.
Just as the Empress said, the Empire's formidable army was standing strong outside.
Among them were the women's own men.
They thought of their dependable lovers or husbands and managed to quell the fear creeping up inside them.
But Lorraine could not.
The man who was supposed to protect her wasn't here.
‘Cloud...’
That man, superior to any of the other women's men, was absent precisely because he was so exceptional.
Just as she bit her lip in sorrow...
Aaaargh-!
A scream echoed from the stairs.
"What? What's going on!?"
The vampires guarding the women rushed up the stairs. But the screams didn't stop even after they went up. The desperate cries continued for some time, and when they finally faded, only the sound of heavy footsteps descending the stairs echoed through the cellar.
The women, thinking the Imperial army had come to rescue them, shed tears of joy.
"Serves those filthy bloodsuckers right." "Do they know who I am to pull something like this?" "Don't even think about dying peacefully."
Excited voices erupted from all around.
The Empress, who must have been terrified herself, let out a deep sigh of relief.
Amidst it all, only Lorraine remained tense, swallowing hard.
She might just be a pregnant woman now, but she was once an active member of the Hero's party. That's why she could notice something strange about the fight that had just occurred.
‘I heard the vampires' shouts and screams, but not the voice of their opponent.’
Perhaps the knights had defeated the vampires so overwhelmingly that they didn't even need to make a sound.
But Lorraine knew all too well that reality wasn't so convenient. As she expected, the ones who came down the stairs were not Imperial soldiers.
"So this is where you all were hiding."
Werewolf assassins appeared, their blood-soaked black robes fluttering.
The women were thrown into a panic.
They weren't fools; they could tell these weren't Imperial soldiers. Judging by their cold expressions, it didn't seem like they were here to rescue them, either.
Thanks to that, the women's triumphant mood instantly vanished.
As they cowered and watched cautiously, the last remaining vampire in the cellar stepped forward.
"Sigrid's assassination squad. Which unit?"
In response, a giant of a man, nearly two meters tall, answered from among the assassins.
"Unit 1."
"So you're the leader. Are you acting on Sigrid's orders?"
"No. We are acting on orders from Lord Gis. He commanded us to find the women who disappeared from the Imperial Palace."
"...We are moving and guarding them under Lord Hailey's command."
The implication was clear: I'm following the orders of someone higher-ranking than your master, so get lost. The leader of Unit 1 simply nodded.
"I am aware."
"...What?"
"I said, I am aware, Lord Krapa."
The leader flicked his greatsword, shaking the blood from its blade.
"Our master is displeased with Lord Hailey and his bloodkin for their passive role in the plan. The other lords feel the same. Lord Hailey's bloodkin were scheduled to be... dealt with once the plan was complete."
The leader and the eight other assassins gripped their weapons and took their stances.
"I suppose there's no harm in dealing with you a little early."
"You bastards..."
Krapa gritted his teeth as he faced the assassins, who were ready for battle.
He was one of the stronger members of Hailey's bloodkin. However, he wasn't strong enough to fight and win against an elite assassination unit of the Snake Venom Society—let alone Sigrid's entire Unit 1.
He might be able to take one or two of them with him to the afterlife, but that was his limit.
Krapa glanced back at the women.
"What is this situation...?"
"Gis...? Why is he looking for us?"
"He's a lecher, obsessed with women! H-He's going to molest us...!"
The mention of Gis's name in this strange situation sent the women into a sudden panic.
Even the composed Empress lost her calm, her eyes trembling.
...Logically, the right choice was to abandon them and retreat.
He couldn't sacrifice his noble life for mere humans.
But he could not back down.
"The very survival of our bloodkin rests on the safety of these hostages. I'm entrusting this task to you."
It was a direct order from Lord Hailey, one that concerned the fate of his entire clan.
He had to protect them, even if it meant death.
As Krapa showed signs of using Blood Magic, the leader of Unit 1 smirked and raised his hand.
The women trembled at the sight.
They could all too easily predict what would happen next.
Lorraine, too, gripped her self-defense dagger, her breathing ragged.
The leader lowered his hand.
"Unit 1. Eliminate Krapa and take all the women..."
The leader stopped mid-sentence and twisted his body to the side. Swish. A hidden weapon flying from behind grazed his cheek. He swung his greatsword toward the direction it came from.
Clang!
The massive blade collided with a short sword aimed at his neck.
The owner of the sword didn't resist the force of the greatsword, instead letting it send her flying backward. She kicked off the wall, did a somersault in the air, and landed opposite the assassins.
Only then could the women get a clear look at the person who had attacked the leader.
A girl with short black hair, dressed in black robes similar to the assassins'.
"Shedia...?"
Lorraine murmured, her eyes wide. Hearing the small voice, Shedia turned her head and waved with her characteristically blank expression.
"Cloud sent me to rescue you!"
Seeing her somewhat childish demeanor, Lorraine let out a hollow laugh. She might look like that, but her skills were the real deal. The tension draining from her body, Lorraine relaxed her grip and lowered the dagger she had been clutching.
"I see... Cloud is back..."
He didn't forget me. He came to protect me.
Tears welled up in Lorraine's eyes. As she sniffled, Shedia tilted her head.
"Are you crying?"
"Who's crying... hic..."
"It's not because I did something wrong, right? You can't tell on me to Cloud later!"
"I told you I'm not crying..."
Lorraine sniffled.
Lorraine wasn't the only one surprised by Shedia's sudden appearance.
"So you were alive. I expected as much... But why show yourself now? If you managed to escape the organization's eyes, you should have stayed hidden for the rest of your life."
At the question from the leader of Assassination Unit 1, Shedia's gaze turned to him. She narrowed her eyes, then tilted her head.
"Who are you?"
"...I am First, the leader of Assassination Unit 1."
"First? That's a weird name."
"It's not a name, just a number assigned by our superiors for easy identification."
"Isn't that a name?"
"It is not."
First flatly denied Shedia's words.
"We were not granted names. You are the only werewolf to have been bestowed a name."
Shedia, the only one who could wield the Shadow Arts, a lost technique of the vampires.
She received special treatment among the werewolves.
"When you went missing, it caused quite a stir within the Snake Venom Society. Lord Kelidon, who was responsible for taking you out, was severely reprimanded."
"Really?"
Shedia asked back with an innocent face.
First sighed with a displeased expression.
"To think that is the werewolf who was granted a name... Hah, still, I have to follow my orders."
First took a silver bell from his robes.
The Bell of Domination.
Werewolves who have been 'educated' since childhood automatically enter a command-receptive state upon hearing this bell ring.
It was originally a tool used by vampires to control werewolves, but after Shedia's disappearance, the unit leaders were specially permitted to carry one.
So that they could bring her back, should they ever encounter her.
First rang the bell.
Tinkle, tinkle~.
The clear sound echoed throughout the cellar.
The werewolves' ears twitched at the sound. First was no exception, though since he was the one ringing it, he didn't fall into the command-receptive state.
He said, "Shedia. I forbid you from committing any hostile acts against Assassination Unit 1. Furthermore, from this moment on, you are assigned to Unit 1 and will follow my orders..."
"No."
"You will foll— What?"
"I said no!"
Shedia repeated herself loudly so he could hear. First's expression went blank. He shook the bell again and gave Shedia another command.
"I said I don't want to."
But the response was, once again, a refusal.
"H-How is this...?"
The effect of the Bell of Domination is absolute for any 'educated' werewolf.
Countless werewolves had dreamed of freedom and rebellion, but all of them had knelt before this bell.
Without a single exception.
And now, that exception was standing right before his eyes.
First's eyes wavered.
Shedia placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, a pose that naturally emphasized the moonstone necklace she wore. The werewolves' eyes widened when they saw it.
"I-Is that a moonstone?"
"Yep!"
"I heard those are incredibly rare... Why do you have one?"
"I worked hard and Cloud gave it to me!"
Shedia said with a proud smile.
The werewolves were dumbfounded. Setting aside the fact that she was working for a hero from another kingdom, they couldn't comprehend how she could get a moonstone just by 'working hard'.
If that was all it took, everyone in Assassination Unit 1 should have been wearing a moonstone necklace.
Their faces soured with an unwarranted sense of injustice.
"...Right. If you have a moonstone, I can understand why you'd show yourself now. But it was still the wrong decision."
First gestured to his unit members. At his signal, they began to spread out.
"The moonstone may block mental domination, but it's just an item. Once we take it from you, it's over."
It was true that Shedia received special treatment, but that was only because she could use the Shadow Arts.
Of course, she was strong, but the individual members of Assassination Unit 1 were no pushovers either.
That's what they thought, and it wouldn't take long for them to realize how wrong they were.
"...Take it?"
Shedia's aura changed completely. Her gentle face hardened, and a menacing killing intent radiated from her.
"My moonstone?"
Her icy gaze swept over Unit 1. The members flinched and shuddered wherever her eyes landed.
Something was wrong.
By the time their instincts screamed a warning, it was already too late.
A long, single-edged sword slowly emerged from Shedia's shadow. A blade with no crossguard separating the hilt from the steel. The moment she gripped its handle, the lanterns lighting the cellar went out all at once.
"...Absolutely not."
Shedia.
A companion trusted by Cloud.
And the foundation supporting that trust was her overwhelming martial prowess.