Chapter 61
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Intrusion
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“Who goes there?”
*Clank.*
In the heart of the Jewel House.
The moment the female knight guarding Elise’s room sensed a presence down the hall,
she immediately gripped her sword and spoke in a cold voice.
“Ah, um, I’m sorry if I disturbed you.”
“I believe I asked who you are.”
“As you can see, I’m a maid here.”
“I don’t recognize you among the maids.”
“I usually work on the outer grounds. But the lord took the inner-court maids to the party today, so I was called in temporarily.”
An elegant maid’s uniform.
A small, slender frame.
And long bangs that covered her eyes.
Though not particularly striking, the maid had a cute face upon closer inspection. The knight asked quietly,
“So, what is your business?”
“Ah, I just thought you might need a little something to eat, working so hard late into the night.”
“—Unnecessary.”
The knight said curtly.
From nobles trying to curry favor with the Vlad family to commoners hoping to seduce a noble and change their fortunes,
she was used to turning all sorts of people away at the door.
“W-Well, how about some wine, then? There’s a special vintage the lord instructed us to serve.”
“I said I have no need…”
But just then,
the knight couldn’t help but pause.
It wasn’t just because she felt sorry for the maid, who looked so dejected after being refused.
While not of the Vlad main line, she too was a high-ranking vampire with proud and cold blood.
The problem was the bottle of wine the maid had brought, along with some ham, cheese, white bread, and pastries.
Or more precisely, the aroma wafting from it.
The bottle was sealed with a cork.
And yet, the scent was so vivid, sweet, and viscous that she could faintly perceive it.
The moment the knight caught a whiff of that wine and swallowed without realizing it,
the maid turned.
“I understand. If you have no need for it, Sir Knight, then I’ll be on my way…”
“Wait.”
“Yes?”
“…On second thought, I find I am thirsty. I’ll have just one glass of wine.”
“Ah, yes!”
As if she had never been dejected,
the maid opened the wine bottle with a bright face.
The aroma instantly intensified, not just seeping into her nostrils but seeming to stir her very brain. Swallowing again,
the knight thought.
She was only accepting this so as not to disrespect the goodwill of the lord’s family.
She would taste it, and if there were no issues, she would present it to Elise.
Even if it tasted bad, the aroma alone made this wine worth offering.
So, just one sip.
No, just one glass to taste.
Having made her cool-headed judgment, she reached out slowly, her eyes mesmerized by the blood-red wine being poured into the glass.
And then…
***
“Good work, you little liar.”
“…”
“I didn’t know you were such a good actor. You could get a job as an actor or a maid later on.”
“Are you… making fun of me?”
“No, I’m serious.”
“That’s even more pathetic.”
“What’s pathetic about it? I think it’s your calling.”
The maid sighed in front of the female knight, who was now slumped by the door, fast asleep and clutching an empty wine bottle.
No, it was Naru, disguised as a maid, who suddenly turned his head.
He looked at Dion, the one who had rummaged through the inner quarters to find the maid’s uniform and the food and wine, and asked,
“By the way, what exactly did you put in that wine?”
“That? Nothing much. Just a light sleeping draught I made by mixing my Trait with some magic.”
“…For a simple sleeping draught, that knight’s reaction was a little strange.”
“I added a special little potion.”
What kind of potion could so instantly turn that resolute female knight of the Vlads into a drunken dog,
and also allow him to boast with such confidence that she would definitely drink it?
Naru was truly curious.
But, as was only natural, Dion ignored Naru and grabbed the doorknob.
“Alright, you’re on lookout duty.”
“Even if you ask me to, I have no idea what excuse I’d make if we get caught in this situation…”
Leaving the mumbling Naru behind,
Dion silently and carefully entered the room.
And he saw.
From the carpet on the floor to the ornate bed, the plush sofa, and the fireplace with its crackling fire,
a room where everything was lavishly decorated, and…
in the center of it all,
in front of a table holding an empty wine bottle,
slumped against the sofa, sleeping soundly,
was a girl in a red dress with golden hair more beautiful than all the room’s decorations and furniture combined.
—Elise, the Blood Princess.
‘Hmm. I don’t know whether to call this expected or unexpected.’
Deep sleep was a staple of high-ranking vampires.
Especially how much Elise cared about her dignity and loved her sleep.
As her fiancé, in name at least, he knew a fair bit about her, so he’d naturally expected to find her sound asleep in bed.
He had even prepared a Plan B for the worst-case scenario of her being awake.
But to find her passed out from drinking…
It was unexpected in many ways.
‘Then again, it’s not that surprising.’
Dion let out a soft chuckle.
Elisabeth Vlad.
A noble girl of the Vlad direct line, an object of everyone’s envy.
But Dion knew.
He knew just how arduous her life, which seemed so pampered and easy, had actually been.
And how much more arduous it would become.
Pushed out of the succession contest.
She would try to enter the Labyrinth Academy, but
an accident during the entrance exam would kill 99% of her classmates.
Even after that, she’d be swept up in all sorts of hardships, a future where she would never know abundance or peace.
Of course, that was the story of the first playthrough.
The second playthrough was a bit different, but…
if asked whether that life had been easy, he couldn't possibly say yes.
‘I did get to see a lot of interesting sides of our little pushover.’
Even though she survived the entrance exam accident,
she ended up fleeing before she could even graduate,
fighting fiercely against her own kin.
…Right up to the moment she met her end during the Calamity War.
Her tragic life, where she suffered even more than before but received no reward.
And yet, she never lost her pride, even at the very end.
As he gazed at his fiancée—prouder and more aloof than anyone he knew—sleeping so peacefully,
he eventually let out another soft chuckle.
Dion slowly began to walk.
His original plan had been to make sure she was asleep with magic or a sleeping draught, but…
he decided against it.
It wasn’t just because his 3-star Class, 【Ghost Step】, allowed him to completely erase his presence.
Against an Elise who was dead drunk and asleep, it could have been an unnecessary stimulus.
And more than anything, Dion himself didn’t want to do it.
So, he simply walked quietly.
To pass by his soundly sleeping fiancée and enter the dressing room on the other side.
But before he could take more than a few steps,
Dion stopped again.
No, he had to stop.
“—It seems they’ve sent a somewhat competent assassin this time.”
“…”
As if she had never been drunk and asleep,
still in the same position, leaning against the sofa,
she lifted her thin eyelids, revealing crimson eyes.
“I shall acknowledge the trouble you’ve taken to invade a lady’s bedchamber, so do tell.”
Gripping her jade fan,
it emanated a vivid, blood-red glow.
Elise, the Blood Princess, asked languidly,
“What would you like written on your tombstone?”
“…”
While gathering an aura capable of crushing even a high-ranking Awakened One in a single blow,
looking at his fiancée, who was fully prepared to execute the intruder at any moment,
Dion thought.
He had seen and experienced many sides of Elise, but now that he thought about it, this was the first time he’d seen her look so murderous.
***
The assassin stood frozen.
As if the night gear and face wrap weren’t enough,
he even wore a white half-mask over his eyes. Looking at the boy, Elise thought,
‘To have honed your skills to this level at such a young age is impressive, but unfortunately for you, you chose the wrong target.’
Whether her opponent was truly young,
or simply belonged to a species with a small physique,
she did not know the answer.
Odobaekryeong was vast, home to all sorts of races, from yokai to dolls.
But Elise didn’t bother racking her hungover, hazy brain to figure it out.
A mere outsider.
A gatekeeper she’d ignored.
A maid she’d trusted for years.
After all, she’d had more than one or two people try to take her life before.
If she had concerned herself with the circumstances and identities of each one, she would never have survived this long.
And so, Elise swung her fan without hesitation.
Or rather, she was about to swing it.
“My apologies for this sudden visit, Lady Elisabeth Vlad.”
“…?”
“I have come on urgent business. Would you please forgive my rudeness?”
Before she could even move,
the opponent greeted her politely.
From the left arm placed over his chest, to the slight, almost imperceptible bow of his waist, to his straight knees,
it was impeccably polite,
yet not at all servile.
It was the kind of formal greeting one might only see from a young master of the Baekdaesega. At this, she stopped her fan.
She narrowed her eyes, studied her opponent, and then let out a small scoff.
“Just what business could possibly be so urgent as to warrant such disrespect? Go on, spit it out.”
Whatever he had to say, it wouldn’t have mattered much if she had just ignored him.
But she couldn’t do that.
She was Elisabeth Vlad.
The proudest, most aloof heir of the Vlad family.
Since her opponent had shown her proper courtesy, she, too, had an obligation to maintain her dignity.
So, as she adopted a posture of at least hearing him out,
his face, his voice, even his scent—
everything about her opponent felt ambiguous as he asked politely,
“By any chance, are you aware that there are suspicious individuals around the Jewel House?”
“And what of it?”
“…”
“I am of the Vlad main line. This is to say, I am quite used to watchful eyes in the shadows.”
“Indeed, just as one would expect from an heir of the Baekdaesega.”
As if genuinely impressed,
the masked boy nodded and continued, even more politely.
“I was merely passing by when I noticed some suspicious individuals and stopped in to warn you, but it seems my concerns were unfounded.”
“Hmph. And you expect me to believe that?”
That he had only stopped by out of goodwill.
That he had snuck in here only to warn her directly, rather than going through the guards or her escort knights.
That he had no ill intentions whatsoever.
Elise scoffed at her opponent, who was spouting such polite nonsense.
“If you truly came in goodwill, then take off that mask and speak.”
“…I have my own circumstances, so I’m afraid that will be difficult.”
“Then there is nothing more to say.”
If he wouldn’t remove the mask himself, she would tear it off and see his face by force.
Seeing Elise’s cold declaration,
*this was all going as expected,*
Just as Dion thought to himself and was about to speak again,
*CRASH!*
“…Huh?”
“Hiek?!”
“S-Sir Knight! Sir Knight! There are strange assailants here…!”
“Ugh…? Wh-Who’s there?!”
*Clatter!*
“…”
“…”
Naru’s urgent shout.
The female knight’s groggy cry.
As an unexpected commotion erupted from outside the door, Dion remained silent.
Elise, who had been watching him with narrowed eyes, spoke quietly.
“Are those the ‘suspicious individuals’ you mentioned?”
“…It would seem so.”
“I see. So you didn’t come here for nothing after all.”
After a slow nod,
Elise stood up.
And started walking toward the door, speaking languidly.
“Follow me.”
“…”
“—I’ll decide what to do with you after we’ve dealt with them.”
—Due to the special effect of 【Class Changer】, a saved Class has been swapped with the current Class.
1. 【Liar】☆ + 【Detective】☆
→ 【Eccentric】☆☆
2. 【Lecher】☆ + 【Clerk】☆
→ 【Man of Taste】☆☆