CH 75

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The Great Hall was cleared up quickly. All of the assassins who rushed to the emperor while pointing out Yulif were caught. As the situation worsened, they began to commit suicide by biting the poison hidden in their gums. 

Roana saw the intruders falling one by one, spitting their blood, and quickly gave an order.

“Everyone left behind must be captured. Put a cloth in their mouth.”

“All right!”

Yulif mentioned in advance that the assailants must be kept alive. It’s not even ‘captured alive’, but the expression ‘keep them alive’ was eerie, so her hair stood up. However, even without Yulif’s orders, Roana was going to save even one. Because she was very suspicious of the movements of these intruders.

‘At first I thought you were aiming for the lord… You suddenly run to His Majesty and commit suicide? Did you prepare the drug in advance?’

The thing that bothered her the most was that they shouted Yulif before rushing to the emperor.

Derek tapped her arm as Pionia’s knights gagged the intruder’s mouths.

“What the…what’s wrong with you?”

“Ahh!”

Derek groaned as Roana, who had been habitually threatening him, asked him not to touch her and twisted her hand softly.

In other people’s eyes, Derek would look like Canaren, and it wouldn’t seem to be a problem, but it wasn’t for Roana. The two were seeing each other’s real self, not fantasy, because of the ring they were wearing.

“Th-the ring…”

“Ring?”

It was then that Roana noticed a faint light flickering on the ring. A blush flashed across her face. The light from the ring was a signal from Yulif.

“I’ll take a look outside and come back.”

“Yes!”

“Your Grace. They have also become calm, so why don’t you set the burden free now?”

“Outside the hall, the remnants may be looking for an opportunity. We will release the shield after checking it.”

Deltinus glared at Roana as if to kill inside the shield. It was a blatant provocation that it wouldn’t be strange for him to rush in and bite the back of her neck if the protective film was released. As Roana ran away, she came out of the hall. She headed to Yulif’s office.

“Uh-huh, no matter how bad the relationship is, why do you look at your real brother so terrifyingly?”

“Why are you so late?”

“Ahhhhh!”

Roana grabbed the doorknob and sat down. Yulif walked out of the dark corner of the office with no lights on. This one was equally terrifying, but it was even more terrifying than Deltinus because it looked like something other than a human because of the blue glow in the eyes in the dark.

Roana leaned on her doorknob and staggered to her feet.

“Can’t you pretend to have some presence? My heart will fall…”

“Report the situation.”

A cold sweat ran down her back at the sound of her cool voice. This was not the time to joke around. Roana’s survival instincts quickly made a decision. Roana quickly corrected her posture.

“Not long after the ceremony started, the intruders broke in. The number is estimated to be around 30, and there were no deaths among the guests, including His Majesty the Emperor, His Majesty the Empress, and His Highness the Crown Prince. There have been many injuries.”

“The intruders.”

“There were deaths during the suppression process, and as the situation worsened, quite a few committed suicide with the prepared poison. The last time I checked, there were seven people alive.”

“That would be enough. You can take the ring off.”

“Thank you! Is it okay if I keep this ring and study it when I have time?”

Yulif nodded his head briefly as if to take care of it and took the lead. As if Roana had been waiting for him, she removed the ring and put it in her pocket before she followed him. A small leaf was attached to the end of Yulif’s hem.

‘Where have you been? …And why are you in a terrible mood? Did you fight with Canaren again?’

“My lord, I have a question for you.”

“If it’s a nonsensical question, it would be better to not ask it.”

“…There are a lot of things I haven’t done yet, so please be patient because my life is precious.”

Roana licked her lips again and bit her mouth. The two quickly walked to the hall while maintaining silence.

Yulif entered the hall through the door, which had lost its function when more than half had been blown away. A sense of intimidation emanating from him weighed heavily on the air in the hall and the crowd. He calmed the tumultuous atmosphere just by appearing and walked unwaveringly towards Deltinus.

People forgot to breathe and watched how much Yulif could do.

“My wife looks tired. Bring the duchess to her room, Orcard.”

“Yes? Ah, yes!”

Roana, who had temporarily stiffened at the unfamiliar title of duchess, disappeared with Derek.

Deltinus had no choice but to stare at the approaching Yulif with fierce eyes. Because of the thin protective film surrounding him, it was impossible to clench or make a fist, let alone touch a single hair on Yulif.

“It feels like I’m trapped, not protected.”

“It’s not a feeling, it’s a fact.”

“Ha. You’re shameless too. I can’t believe I was treated like this by my brother when I came to bless my brother’s future. What would people think of the Duke if this fact became known?”

“Wouldn’t you point your finger at me as a shameless person who has betrayed the duty of his subjects and the duty of his blood?”

Yulif looked straight at Deltinus and twisted one corner of his mouth.

“Of course, it’s a story for if Your Majesty came to congratulate me sincerely.”

“You’re talking in a disrespectful way, as if I had other intentions. How dare you.”

“You’ll see if I dare or not from now on.”

Yulif turned around and snapped his finger. One of the intruders, who was sitting facing the wall, was dragged by a large invisible hand, as if snatched away.

Yulif pulled out his gag and grabbed his chin strongly to keep him from biting his poison. His black gloved fingers ran through his mouth, finding the poison hidden behind his molars.

Yulif puts the assassin’s jaw down. He was there to get an answer.

“What was the attack for?”

“Keu, heugh… W-we… For the future of the empire, to assassinate the emperor…!”

“Who gave such an order?”

“Yuli, Yu… Yulif Rubius! It was Duke Rubius!”

People’s eyes turned to Yulif. If what the assailant said was true, it meant that Yulif dared to attempt treason.

Deltinus smiled with a smile of conversion, and Yulif placed his hand on the assailant’s head with an unchanging, dry expression.

“Ah, ah, uh… Hhhhhhhhhhh.”

“They’re being controlled by magic.”

“Aaaaaagh!”

A light flashed from Yulif’s hand. As the light seeped into his head, the man screamed in pain and struggled. Yulif held his head tightly with one hand, immobilizing it.

After a while, the assassin stopped screaming.

“I will ask you again. Was it really Duke Rubius who gave the order?”

“…N-no. The one who gave the order was not the Duke, but the, arghhh…”

At that moment, dark red blood spurted out of the man’s eyes, nose and mouth, who was muttering with a crawling voice. The assailant died without leaving a final scream. Yulif, who looked down with cold eyes at the fallen man and his blood splattering on the floor, lifted his finger again.

“Next.”

“I don’t know anything. I do not know! I don’t know anything! Please save me. Please spare my life!”

“Do you want to claim that you have entered the castle without knowing anything, wearing such clothes?”

“Save, save me. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know this…! Please forgive me! Have mercy on me!”

The assailant, with his arms tied behind his back, pounded his forehead on the floor, begging for his life. The face with the mask removed was not unfamiliar to Yulif. It was often a knight who came to convey the gloom of Deltinus. Once upon a time, the duke ranted about his lack of respect for the emperor. It seemed that he had been treated quite well by Deltinus.

‘You must have been in a hurry. To mobilize even his subordinates who were close to him.’

Otherwise, he was confident that this operation would be a success.

Yulif’s shoes stomped on the penitent knight’s head. The knight bit his lips and struggled. His disgrace was far greater than his pain. He thought he could do anything to stay alive and shook his head, but it was the first insult he had ever had his head stepped on in front of people.

“I know who you are.”

“…Save me, keugh, please!”

“Even if you close your eyes, your master will not spare you.”

The knight’s eyes moved silently and looked at Deltinus. Similarly, Deltinus, who was looking at the two of them, moved his mouth slowly.

‘Die quietly. Go away.’

The knight clenched his teeth. What Yulif said was true. Even if he kept his loyalty, he would die at the hands of Deltinus. He can’t be exploited and die a miserable death. Even if he died, he won’t die alone! The knight cried out in evil.

“In addition to the brainwashing magic, there is one more magic at work! As soon as the truth is revealed…”

Unfortunately, the knight’s words did not continue to the end. The information he put in his mouth was also classified as the ‘truth’. The knight died pouring out blood like a monster for the first time.

There was silence like death in the Great Hall. The faces of those who witnessed the end of the two assassins were filled with fear and doubt. They were all silently asking Yulif with similar expressions.

Who the hell made them do this? Who is pretending to be the Duke of Rubius to estrange his relationship with the emperor?

A few nobles gave Deltinus a questionable look, but they got it right away. It was because he remembered the fact that the intruders were targeting the emperor.

Deltinus gritted, feeling the various gazes falling apart. None of them worked out as planned.

“I lost my head for a moment and caused a stir in public.”

Yulif’s powerful voice evoked the terribly quiet atmosphere. Yulif looked around the messed up hall and the guests who couldn’t hide their anxiety, and spoke calmly.

“I’m sorry that something unpleasant happened even though you were willing to accept the invitation. If there are people who have been injured or in shock, we will take responsibility and compensate them. You can stay in Pionia and find stability, and if you want to return to your territory, we’ll help you with space-moving magic.”

“Wha-what are you going to do with them?”

Someone had the courage to ask. Yulif answered the question by looking straight at Deltinus, not the nobleman who asked the question.

“They tried to accuse me of treason with false testimony. We will surely uncover the truth and they will pay the right price.”

His eyes were cold and sharp as if he was holding a blade. Neither Yulif, who sent his gaze, nor Deltinus, who received it, said a word. Without a single concession, the momentum of the two rising fiercely spread.

The atmosphere, which seemed to be barely breathing, subsided out of control.

“Are you threatening me?”

Deltinus spoke first. The suppressed murky voice was closer to that of the terrified than that of being intimidated.