MTDL 23

Chapter 23

A sharpened blade thrust straight toward us.

Britton didn’t even have a weapon to defend himself with, yet he still tried to push me behind him.

I instinctively threw my arms around the slightly taller boy and shut my eyes, stretching out my hand.

‘I don’t want to die!’

That was the only thought filling my mind.

At that very moment, my palm suddenly grew scorching hot.

It burned so intensely that I wondered if the sword had pierced straight through my hand.

Then—

An enormous gust of wind and a powerful wave surged from around my hand.

Startled, I snapped my eyes open.

Both of my hands were glowing brilliantly.

As though I had light bulbs attached to my palms.

‘W-What is this?!’

Boom!

With a small explosion, the four men surrounding us were blasted backward.

“Gah!”

“Aaagh!”

Britton whirled around to look at me.

His face had frozen in shock.

A strange power pulsed violently within my burning hands.

‘That explosion… what was it?’

I stared blankly at the fallen men.

Despite my sudden blast, it apparently hadn’t been powerful enough to seriously injure them.

One after another, they staggered back to their feet.

“Huff… Huff… A Spirit Contractor?”

“Then we’ll kill that girl first.”

“What a troublesome little brat.”

One of the men brushed off his knees and glared at me with murderous intent.

‘A Spirit Contractor…? Me?’

“Run, my lady!”

Britton urgently shoved my shoulder.

“You have to run now!”

My attack had only knocked them over.

It hadn’t incapacitated them.

“Hurry, Arinel.”

His urgent voice finally brought me back to my senses.

Thinking about it calmly…

Britton was right.

I needed to escape and alert someone immediately.

“Please hold on just a little longer, Your Highness.”

I whispered with a trembling voice.

Just as I turned to run—

Step.

Step.

Heavy footsteps echoed from behind us.

A long shadow stretched across the ground.

Step by step, it grew larger.

Then…

From within the darkness emerged a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

Eyes like a demon’s.

My heart nearly stopped.

‘There were… more enemies?’

Despair flooded me.

I couldn’t even see the person’s face.

Yet merely from their presence…

I could tell they were on an entirely different level from the four men before us.

It felt as though the air itself had grown heavier.

The strange spiritual power still lingering inside my body made me even more sensitive to the newcomer’s overwhelming presence.

‘There’s no escaping someone like that.’

“…You’ve arrived.”

But the relieved voice beside me made me flinch.

Britton, who had been tense while shielding me, now wore a faint smile.

What…?

Shivering, I instinctively moved closer to him.

The unfamiliar power surrounding my hands was slowly fading.

“…”

The four men I had knocked down climbed back to their feet.

Then they saw the yellow-eyed man behind us.

Their expressions immediately stiffened.

‘Then… does that mean the man behind us is on our side?’

I slowly turned to look at him.

The armored man stood well over two meters tall.

His shoulders and body looked as solid as a fortress.

He carried a sword far taller than I was.

Or…

Perhaps calling it a club would have been more accurate.

It was so thick and heavy that it barely looked like a sword at all.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through my head.

A faint memory surfaced.

“…Panel?”

Gigantic hands much larger than my back.

A massive field being cleared with a giant three-pronged hoe.

A fierce-looking face…

With kind yellow eyes.

Healthy dark skin tanned beneath the sun.

And a distinctive mohawk hairstyle.

Someone from my memories came into focus.

“…Uncle Panel?”

“You’re quick, Arinel.”

“You have talent.”

Thud.

At that moment…

Even beneath the helmet, I recognized him.

That enormous build.

Those beast-like yellow eyes.

It was unmistakably Uncle Panel from Galnem Village!

My mind went blank.

‘No way!’

‘Why is Uncle here?!’

The man looked down at me and let out another metallic laugh.

“The extraordinary light of the spirits wrapped around your hands shall become a beacon for soldiers in darkness.”

“You truly possess the qualities of a great general.”

“My eyes were not mistaken!”

…

“…Me?”

Without saying a word, I pointed at myself with my little finger.

Uncle Panel snorted loudly like a locomotive.

I’d often been told I’d make a good general because I always had such a healthy appetite as a child…

But a great general?

“…The Crimson-Blooded Demon!”

“It’s Chancellor of Military Affairs, Pamel Germent!”

“Damn it…”

“So this is where we die…”

The four assassins cried out in terror.

Pamel Germent?

I remembered the notes I’d written after reading the original novel.

Duke Pamel Germent was described as the head of the military family that had commanded the Empire’s armed forces for generations.

Their overwhelming presence alone made people tremble.

Because it was said that icy blue blood flowed through their veins, the Chancellor of Military Affairs was also known as the Crimson-Blooded Demon.

And that terrifying Chancellor…

Was Uncle Panel?

“You miserable remnants of the Second Prince dare target my successor…”

“…and His Highness the Crown Prince?”

Behind us, Uncle Panel—

No.

Duke Pamel Germent—

Snorted angrily.

“My lady…”

Britton smiled gently and placed a hand on my shoulder, turning me away.

Then the gigantic duke strode past us.

“It wouldn’t be good for your emotional development.”

At Britton’s gentle words, I found myself nodding.

* * *

A moment later…

Desperate screams echoed behind us.

Along with the sound of something being crushed.

Smash!

Thud!

“Aaagh!”

“Urgh!”

Crash!

The sound of swords snapping apart.

Goosebumps covered my entire body.

“…Who were those people?”

“They served my father’s brother.”

“My uncle.”

“In other words…”

“They’re merely the losers of the struggle for the Imperial Throne.”

“I believed we’d purged almost all of them over the past year.”

“I didn’t realize there were still this many left.”

Britton’s desperate voice telling me to run still rang in my ears.

We…

Had really almost died.

“Were you frightened, my lady?”

“Yes.”

“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t.”

“But…”

“What about you, Your Highness?”

Britton must have been just as shaken as I was.

He was only two years older than me.

He was still just a child.

When I asked him in return, he looked at me for a moment before smiling gently.

“Yes…”

“I’m all right too.”

“I was only worried that you might get hurt.”

I nodded.

“I’m fine.”

“And that light that came from my hands…”

“It was the first time I’d ever done anything like that.”

What was it?

As I struggled to understand what had happened, the blue in Britton’s eyes seemed to deepen.

The sounds behind us gradually fell silent.

Just as I was about to turn around—

Britton tightened the arm resting on my shoulder.

“Please wait a little longer.”

“It’s not something you should see.”

“If you do…”

“You may have nightmares.”

He spoke as though he had witnessed scenes like this many times before.

‘So… the Imperial Palace wasn’t actually such a safe place after all?’

Then—

Heavy footsteps approached.

Thump.

Thump.

Duke Pamel returned.

Apparently he had finished dealing with the attackers.

The blood splattered across his silver helmet made my shoulders instinctively twitch.

Looking at me, Pamel gave a lazy grin, one eye narrowing slightly before speaking to Britton.

“I dealt with them… appropriately.”

“I’ll summon the soldiers and have them taken to the underground prison.”

“Though I’m not sure how many of them are still alive.”

“Thank you, Master.”

Britton’s words made my hand twitch again.

‘Uncle Panel… is Britton’s master?’

“And…”

“I’d prefer that no one else learn of this yet.”

“There may be more hostile forces that infiltrated the masquerade.”

Britton spoke calmly, as though suggesting they quietly pull out weeds before they spread.

Pamel nodded in agreement and snorted like an enraged bull.

“If those fools believed they could escape the iron flail of Pamel Germent tonight…”

“They were gravely mistaken.”

“I haven’t been this angry in a very long time.”

Then…

His glowing yellow eyes turned toward me.

The pressure alone made me shrink back.

“They dared lay a hand upon the future Great General of the Military Department.”

“Such insolence cannot be forgiven.”

And once again…

I heard the title I’d desperately been trying to ignore.