Chapter 119
Chapter 119
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: Microwave (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Beep——!"
"This way?"
Following the ice oriole, I arrived at the mansion where Marquis Elvin was throwing his birthday party.
In truth, even just getting nearby, the massive crowd made it impossible to miss.
The problem was how to get inside.
I could force my way in, no issue there, but I still had one more day left.
If a big commotion broke out, the library and everything else might shut down, so if possible, I wanted to slip in quietly and check things out.
"Welcome, Lady Ipxelati. Shall I take your luggage?"
"No, thank you. It's a gift for the marquis."
"Then, just a quick check to ensure it's not dangerous. If you would."
Not quite ironclads, but armed soldiers guarded the entrance, and identity checks were thorough.
I wasn't some secret organization's elite agent, so I had no disguise mask or infiltration tools prepared.
As I pondered what to do——
Thud.
"Ah, sorry…… Caroline?"
"Yes?"
I bumped into someone invited to the party and reflexively called out Caroline's name.
The moment I turned to check her face, a massive gravitational pull drew my gaze downward involuntarily.
But the hair color was different—it wasn't her, so I apologized immediately.
"Caroline?"
"……I must have mistaken you for someone else."
"You know her? Who are you?"
"Name's Louis."
Yet she seemed to know Caroline too.
She even asked my name first.
Her attire and rosario marked her as from the Temple of Light, so I reluctantly answered.
Then, this stranger's small mouth gaped open, and she grabbed my cheeks with both hands.
"I'm so damn jealous……."
"Pardon?"
"Wow…… She kept whining about you meddling, how you weren't her type, all lies. What a bitch. Some of us never get a single blessing in life, and she's overflowing with it."
"What are you talking about……?"
She definitely knew Caroline.
And this nameless woman made an unexpected proposal.
"Louis? Want to get in there?"
"Yes, I……."
"Follow me."
She slipped her hand into the gap in her clothes—somewhere rather immodest—and pulled out a small invitation.
"I've got an invite."
She strode confidently toward the guards, who snapped to attention and saluted.
—Welcome, Saintess! To think you'd grace us in person—the marquis will be thrilled. Would you perhaps give a speech?
—What? I'm not here for that old geezer. I'm here to eat. Oh, right. This guy's my escort. Let him in?
—Anyone not on the list is…….
—Then forget it. You know I'm cautious and rarely show up to these things.
—Please wait a moment. I'll check with upstairs.
Ah, the empire's saintess.
A short while later, as if by magic, the guards let us through.
"Come on in."
"You sure this is okay? They said……."
"Of course not. But it's all part of Hella's will, I suppose. More importantly, do you know where her ancestors lived? Even the general region."
Her demeanor seemed desperate, but unfortunately, that wasn't something I could answer.
"Sorry, no idea."
I immediately began searching the party hall.
Weaving through nobles, I scanned the dais, but Erzebet was nowhere in sight.
As I placed a hand on the second-floor stair railing to survey the area——
—Kyaaah!!
A familiar scream echoed.
A brief silence fell over the hall.
But the gathered nobles quickly resumed their chatter, and the orchestra played on.
I headed straight for the stairs, but the saintess who'd let me in blocked my path.
"Upstairs is Marquis Elvin's private quarters. His loyal steel forces guard it—no one gets up there alive."
"Does this happen often?"
"If you're from the empire, you'd know it happens constantly."
Looks like Caroline had told her about me.
But I ignored her warning and stepped onto the third floor.
As she said, dozens of ironclads lined the hallway, steel hounds baring their teeth at us.
I confirmed the ice oriole crying toward the door beyond one last time, then pocketed it.
"What did Caroline say about me?"
"You? Clueless, pushy, shameless, arrogant, always chasing skirts…… a total scumbag."
"Harsh review."
"But deep down, she doesn't hate you that much? For people we truly despise, we just say one word: heretic or infidel."
The saintess made no effort to hide her disgust for the marquis beyond that door, calling him such.
"Sadly, no judgment has ever come down on that heretic. His shell is too thick."
"Maybe it already has……."
"Pardon?"
I took a step forward and activated my intrinsic magic circuit.
No matter how tough they were, they weren't tougher than me.
"Or maybe it's coming down right now."
The moment the black dragon-armored warrior appeared, the situation resolved itself.
Marquis Elvin's prized ironclads and steel hounds crumpled like discarded practice sheets from exam period.
Beast legs far surpassing human reaction speeds turned to scrap in an instant, and steel armor that no blade could pierce crumpled whole.
Without any finesse or tricks——
The steel army the kingdom had desperately sought to acquire was slaughtered in seconds, leaving Erzebet to doubt her eyes as she slumped in the wrecked room.
She barely noticed the ice oriole beeping and kicking at her knee.
"Y-You…… Who are you……! How dare you before me…… Gahk!"
The marquis, lightly grabbed by the throat, couldn't cast a single spell before passing out.
Only then did he release , revealing Louis's face, and she sighed in relief, closing her eyes.
In the end, as she'd suspected, he wasn't just a simple canteen owner.
"Louis……."
"Things weren't going well, right? You hired me as an escort, so no complaints now."
"That's not the issue right now……."
Indeed.
She'd expected strength, but not like this.
He'd beaten Averett, but this was power enough to take on the entire Hooksclo Knights.
"Why hide your strength?"
"I didn't hide it. Those in the know know."
"But the royals knew and didn't tell me."
"Take that up with them. One thing matters to me."
Protecting his canteen, Louis drew the line.
He was right.
From their first meeting, Louis had never bowed to Erzebet.
Not even as a non-mage to his kingdom's princess.
The biggest question boiled down to one: Who exactly was Louis?
"What's your true identity?"
"……."
"Louis……."
As he stayed silent, Erzebet stepped closer.
And repeated what she'd told the marquis.
"I want you. As a loyal knight at my side."
"……."
"Title? Medal? Stay with me, and you can have it all."
"……."
"If it's something else…… N-Not right away, the person's feelings matter! Might take time…… but I could give you the proper reward promised to you."
The royals hushing his identity was suspicious.
There must have been some reason their engagement fell through.
Erzebet guessed he was a noble knight who'd earned great war merits but been cast out without reward.
Or not so noble, but strong regardless.
"So tell me who you are. I promise to make sure you get that reward."
With that, she closed her eyes, waiting.
Hoping he'd take her hand as before and swear.
But no answer came for a long while.
As embarrassment turned to irritation, Louis spoke.
"Princess, are you prepared for war?"
War.
Erzebet's amber eyes widened at the word.
As her head slowly lifted, she saw Louis's expression.
Stoic, yet laden with deep anguish.
She'd seen it before.
'Ah.'
During the magic counterwar, summoned to Lehel's office.
The face Lehel had shown when she asked Louis's identity.
It was identical.
"……If I am?!"
Her voice rose, agitated.
With tensions high against the Holy Kingdom, perhaps he was testing her.
"I'm not afraid of the Holy Kingdom."
"Not talking about the Holy Kingdom."
"Huh? Then…… the demons?"
"Maybe…… not even them."
"Hey, Louis!!"
Unable to hold back, Erzebet flushed and snapped.
"If you hate me that much, just say so! Was breaking our engagement just because you didn't like me!? I was floored hearing my fiancé was a canteen owner. I held Piy all night lamenting!!"
"I didn't refuse because I hated you, Princess."
"Really……?"
"Yes. Circumstances. So let's do this."
Louis smashed the regenerating scrap heaps as he spoke.
"I can't be your knight. But leaving empty-handed after training hurts you too. Your grades dropped last semester thanks to Adella, right? So at least take the ironclads."
"But the marquis won't talk."
"There's another place with the blueprints."
"You don't mean……."
The first-class restricted archive in Uzet Great Library.
But access was impossible; she'd given up long ago.
"Someone needs the royal family's—your—cooperation. Sharing the ironclad blueprints would earn full credit."
"You can really steal them?"
"I'll convince her. Got a dinner meetup anyway."
Louis pulled a booklet from Erzebet's clothes, pointing to the safehouse location.
"When he comes to, he'll look for you, so hide here your last day. We'll set a proper meeting when we return to Skandal."
"Wait, Louis."
As they exited the marquis's mansion, Erzebet grabbed him.
"I'll find out who you are."
"……."
"Even if I have to beat my father, I'll uncover the truth. And force that reward into your hands."
"……Impressive."
Louis ruffled the fuming Erzebet's hair and turned away.
"Please give him one for me too."