CH 93

Lawrence, who had been waiting for something without saying anything for a while, opened his mouth.

“Then the first and the last.”

Contrary to his mischievous smile, Lawrence held out his hand politely towards Ophelia.

“Will you please dance with me?”

Just in time, the instrumental was changing into a dance. It couldn’t have been more natural.

At that, Ophelia laughed.

“Did you wait until the song changed?”

“Of course.”

The clever answer was like a mischievous prank from an older brother who didn’t exist, so she didn’t feel too bad about it.

“You said it’s the first and the last, so how can I refuse?”

Dancing once didn’t mean she couldn’t observe the saint.

Besides, she could naturally see the whole hall from different angles as she danced, which was a pretty cool idea.

Ophelia glanced at the saint, who was somehow trying to get to Richard in the middle of the crowd, and hesitated.

It was because gray eyes were caught at the end of her field of vision.

Raisa Neir was not with Richard. Instead, she was moving little by little somewhere.

‘Where is she going?’ Ophelia was about to narrow her eyes.

“Lady? My hand… I’m becoming quite embarrassed.”

At Lawrence’s words, Ophelia bowed her head slightly as an apology and was about to extend her hand.

The hairs all over her body stood up as her pupils constricted.

“Assassination…”

Before the single word spilled from Ophelia’s lips was finished.

—Kwachang!

The huge chandelier that had been shining in the center of the hall fell to the floor, and in an instant the whole hall became a mess.

“Kyaaaagh!”

“Raid! Raid!”

“Ugh, ugh.”

Most of those in the hall were confused by the sudden situation and the surroundings that were noticeably darker than before.

“What is this!”

Lawrence reached out for Ophelia as the chandelier fell, but she wasn’t there.

He looked around with an indescribable expression.

It was more embarrassing to miss Ophelia than the assassin’s attack, but it wasn’t the time to be like this.

“Catherine!”

The back of Lawrence, who ran into the center of the hall shouting his sister’s name, went by.

Ophelia was in the shadows, just two steps away from her earlier spot.

In the midst of everyone’s confusion, the corners of her mouth raised.

‘Isn’t this an opportunity?’

After the failure to regress to the festival, Ophelia couldn’t believe she was given such an opportunity to observe while thinking about where and how to stab Raisa.

“The crown princess selection, I couldn’t just leave such a variable… Oh!”

Ophelia tilted her head after hitting the back of the head of the assassin passing by.

Would Richard allow this regression?

Since he said he would not regress anymore, the possibility of slaughtering all the assassins right now was not low.

Furthermore…

“I know it’s related to regression, but how do you know if she has been making us regress or not?”

The experience at the festival convinced her that Raisa had something to do with this infinite return.

That she could regress, that she had all of those memories, and that Marchioness Neir didn’t even know about it.

But she couldn’t be sure, she couldn’t simply cover the overwhelming frequency of sent assassins by, ‘Oh, Raise Neir is making the regression!’

“I have to make her confess…”

By what means?

—

Around the time Ophelia tilted her head and grabbed another assassin by the collar and put him to the floor…

The saint was rolling on the floor.

She was completely absent-minded.

It wasn’t because blood splatters or people’s screams were ripping her ears.

For her, who was born and raised in the back alley, it was an everyday occurrence that she was accustomed to.

“Huh… This is the Imperial Palace!”

The saint, who took a few steps back from a fainting young lady, couldn’t close her gaping mouth.

There was mayhem everywhere.

Of course, unlike the back alley, this place was very, very bright, and the knights tried to stop the chaos.

The fact that she had to take care of her own life was nothing special to her.

No matter how good the knights were, this was where a lot of people gathered.

Weren’t many of them high-ranking people who had never had any hesitation in rolling on the floor to save their lives, like those who live in the back alleys?

Her instinctive sense of danger screamed, and she swallowed dry saliva.

“I’m really going to die like this.”

Stabbed by a blind knife, hit on the wrong spot by something flying, or being killed was one thing.

“Ugh! It wasn’t in the contract to die like this!”

The contract the saintess made as she desperately crawled toward the wall while lying flat on the floor was simple.

“Saint? Who will believe that nonsense?”

“It’s a tough time, believe it or not, you can get some attention. Interest soon turns into money.”

“That’s right, but.”

“And the most important thing is to enter the Imperial Palace.”

“What bullshit are…”

“No, listen.”

The saint recalled that time, and quickly fell to the floor to avoid the unknown fragments flying at her face.

“As expected, I shouldn’t have trusted a druggie.”

Her immaculately clean white clothes and accessories were marked with red wine and people’s footprints, but she did not stop crawling.

“Who cares if it’s a contract or not. It’s crazy to target the Imperial Palace from the beginning!”

At that instant, the saint who created countless suspicions and drew people’s eyes disappeared from the world so absurdly that it would make people laugh.

The situation was so chaotic that she seemingly evaporated in a second.

—

From the moment the assassin first appeared and dropped the chandelier, Ophelia stood still and looked at one person.

Raisa Neir.

In the midst of chaos in all directions, she was safely protected by one of the best swords on the continent.

It was unknown if it was heavenly luck or if she had created it, so it was impossible to determine whether the assassin was sent by her or not.

Ophelia frowned. 

Should she just kidnap and torture like Raisa Neir did?

Almost immediately, she shook her head hard to brush off the thoughts that had gone to extremes.

Still, she didn’t want to mess with anything less than human.

Now wasn’t the time to choose between cold or dry rice, but considering how she hadn’t tried other methods yet, she thought she should leave it as the last one.

(TL/N: ‘not the time to choose between cold or dry rice’ = to not be picky/choosy.)

Dodging the knife flying over her head, Ophelia’s eyes widened as she reached out her hand.

She pulled Lawrence by the collar more violently than gracefully.

It really was just a coincidence.

It was unbelievable that Lawrence appeared right in front of her nose, just before the back of his neck was cut by the assassin’s sword.

Ophelia, who had saved his life with spinal cord reflexes, came within breaths of Lawrence, whose eyes were wider than hers.

And there was someone who captured that moment in his eyes.

Richard, who had been suppressing his heart for Ophelia and enduring it, finally exploded.

—Kwaaaak.

The sound of an assassin’s neck snapping in Richard’s grip resounded ferociously.

At the same time, the air that wrapped around his body became an extremely sharp blade and swept around like a storm, and his golden eyes sank darker than the pitch-black night without a crescent moon.

Not even a single drop of blood could be seen on the bodies of the assassins who fell around him without a scream or shout.

Regardless, Richard’s immediate area emanated a terrible bloody smell.

The assassin, clutching a dagger and lunging at him, died the second he realized that a blade was in Richard’s hand.

And Richard wasn’t even looking at the assassin.

His gaze was only on one person.

Just on Ophelia.

He didn’t explode because she was in danger of dying, as in novels, movies, or dramas.

It wasn’t that she was hit or badly wounded by her knife instead of him, and exploded in his arms, bleeding.

He exploded because she saved Lawrence from death.

It was an explosion that would frighten anyone who heard it, but yes.

From one really trivial and simple look, of Ophelia taking Lawrence by the collar and saving him from the crisis.

Richard’s patience, which had been showing the bottom, snapped.

It was because it reminded him of the time when Ophelia first met him head-on. She grabbed him by the collar and said, ‘Let’s live together’.

Even if Ophelia, the person involved, heard his thoughts, she would have waved her hand, saying it was nonsense.

Well… Wasn’t there this saying?

When you said goodbye, it seemed that all the breakup songs in the world were telling your story.

Although it wasn’t parting, it was a feeling very similar to that that had ignited the fuse for Richard to explode.

Richard laughed ferociously, and with great menace.

Ame: oh my goodness, where should I start…? Lawrence, you… Fake saint, umm… Richard, ehh… oh forget it, yay PANDEMONIUM! I got my potato chips and soda, someone bring the popcorn please!

Dea: i’ve got my popcorn and i’m ready for the next chapter, it’s about to go down!!