When the enemies first appeared before them, their clothes were already soaked red with blood.
No way...
“Arsian, that...”
She managed to force the words out, but her voice trembled.
Feeling the arms holding her tighten, Camilla clenched her teeth.
‘What on earth is happening?’
All those who had rushed down alone the moment the fighting started—
those who had fled, saying they would bring help—
now lay dead together in one place.
What shocked them even more was the state of the bodies.
There wasn’t a single uninjured spot.
“Ugh!”
People gagged, turning their heads or clapping hands over their mouths at the sight.
The stench and carnage were overwhelming.
Camilla’s face went rigid too,
but for a different reason.
What she saw was far worse.
[Aaaah! It hurts! It hurts!]
[Hhk... hnng...]
[Stop... please, stop!]
[Save me. Please, save—]
They didn’t even know they were dead—still crying out in pain.
Not people, but ghosts.
It was horrific.
Frozen at their last moment,
writhing and wailing in ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) the agony of death—
the sight turned her mind blank white.
“Don’t look.”
Arsian’s low voice pressed into her ear.
“Close your eyes.”
Camilla didn’t disobey.
Feeling his arms tighten around her, she shut her eyes hard.
[Aaaagh!]
She wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
****
“Laila.”
“Hh—y-yes...”
“I’m not dead.”
“Waaahhh!”
I said I’m not dead.
Camilla let out a small sigh.
The day after the hunting tournament, the Empire was, of course, in an uproar.
Word spread fast: unknown assailants had stormed the Crown Prince’s tournament, leaving many injured and dead.
Because dignitaries from other nations were among the dead, the fallout grew even larger.
The party scheduled afterward was naturally canceled.
In the end, Crown Prince Edsen’s birthday celebration closed with nothing but the stain of being the worst party in history.
“Hh—thank goodness... hhk—thank goodness you weren’t badly hurt...”
Hearing the news, Laila came straight to the ducal house the next day,
eyes puffed up like balloons.
“I heard Lady Camilla was there, and I was so, so... hhk.”
Watching Laila’s tears drip, Camilla sighed again.
‘Anyone would think we were holding a funeral.’
Just as Arsian had said, her condition wasn’t something healing magic could fix.
It wasn’t an injury in one spot; it was a problem of muscles and stamina.
The moment the pain-dulling spell faded, she was bed-bound again.
After a long sobbing fit, Laila calmed somewhat and cautiously voiced her thoughts.
“It’s really strange. How could no one hear the explosions?”
“There was magical interference,” Camilla said.
There was a reason no soldiers had appeared to help despite such a massive disturbance.
Those waiting outside the grounds had heard nothing at all.
They said some barrier magic had been cast around the grounds to isolate inside from outside, but...
‘Could the mages really miss that?’
Mana has a wavelength.
When a powerful spell is cast, mages naturally sense that pulse.
Yet none of the mages around the grounds detected anything suspicious.
‘And the bodies all vanished, too.’
That bizarre group that had attacked the tournament party—
those zombie-like ones who didn’t even feel pain—
left no trace.
By the time soldiers visited the scene to investigate,
there were no corpses, not even bloodstains.
‘What is this?’
No matter how she thought it through, nothing made sense.
Not one part of it fit common sense—
how so many people appeared all at once, how all the bodies disappeared.
There was nothing she could explain properly.
Only one thing was clear to everyone who had been there: the attackers’ goal.
From the moment they appeared, they had only one target.
Edsen de Fable.
Every assailant went straight for the Crown Prince’s life.
‘So that was it?’
Because she had interfered, perhaps—
this time, Crown Prince Edsen was neither caught in the blast nor injured,
though in the past he had always been badly hurt.
“If His Highness was the target, they should have stormed the palace instead! Lady Camilla nearly died!”
“...”
Sometimes this girl really knocks me flat.
Camilla gave a faint laugh at Laila’s genuine fury at the attackers.
Not long after she soothed Laila and sent her home—
Knock, knock.
The door opened and Dorman hurried in.
“M-my lady.”
“What is it?”
“Someone has arrived from the Imperial Household.”
“What?”
Before Camilla could grasp what he meant,
things began streaming into the room—
gift boxes, one after another.
“What is all that?”
Staring at the pile that soon filled one side of the room,
Camilla asked, incredulous.
The answer came from elsewhere.
“Gifts from His Highness the Crown Prince.”
The attendant from the palace bowed politely as he spoke
and handed her an envelope sealed with Edsen’s signet.
“Then I wish you a swift recovery.”
Having completed his task, he bowed again and left quickly.
Camilla stared holes into the letter in her hand.
It felt as if dark energy was billowing off it...
Surely that was her imagination?
RRRIP—
She tore it open at once.
You handle a sword decently.
Spattered in the enemies’ blood—
that was the most beautiful I have ever seen you.
—Edsen de Fable
“...”
RRRIP, RRRIP!
“Gasp!”
As Camilla shredded the letter into strips,
Dorman darted a glance at the door.
Only when he confirmed the palace attendants were gone
did he exhale in relief.
Tearing up the Crown Prince’s letter like that could be construed
as insulting the Imperial Household.
“Sh-shall we open the gifts?”
Trying to change the mood, Dorman moved toward the boxes.
“Don’t. Don’t open them.”
“Pardon?”
“Open them when you’re alone.”
“Alone?”
“Who knows if there’s an explosive or poison inside.”
Of all people, he sent them!
Dorman grimaced at her muttering, then raised a hand hesitantly.
“B-but why... when I’m alone...?”
“Mm?”
She blinked at him as if it were obvious, and his face darkened further.
“Simple math.”
“Math?”
“Better one person dies than two.”
“...”
What? What? Got something to say?
Camilla coolly ignored his trembling glare.
“Father’s out again?”
“Yes.”
A few days later, she could move without much trouble.
Whether from adaptation or not, she recovered faster than last time.
“And Brother Ludville?”
“He went out with His Grace.”
The Duke of Sorpel and Ludville had hardly been home lately.
Endless meetings followed the tournament incident.
But they still had no concrete lead on the culprits.
‘Though there is a likely faction.’
It was undeniable the attackers had targeted Crown Prince Edsen.
Naturally, suspicion fell first on the Second Prince’s faction.
But with only circumstantial evidence and no proof,
they couldn’t press the Second Prince on suspicion alone—
and the inquiry stalled.
“What about Brother Ravi?”
Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen that man’s face lately.
Even with their schedules, Father and Ludville had stopped by once a day.
Her actual brother, though, hadn’t come even once.
“Well...”
At her question, Butler Rube trailed off.
“Did something happen to Brother Ravi?”
“The young master has not left his laboratory for over a week.”
“A week?”
“Yes. Ever since returning from the tournament.”
“Good grief...”
Here he goes again.
Guessing the reason, Camilla sighed softly.
She swung by the kitchen, packed up a few things,
and headed straight for Ravi’s rooms.
Knock, knock.
No answer—so—
Click!
She opened the door without hesitation.
“What?”
A sharp voice shot at her.
“Don’t disturb—!”
Ravi, who had reflexively shouted, stopped short when he saw Camilla.
“Why are you here?”
“Why do you think?”
She stared at him, exasperated.
‘What am I supposed to do with that matted hair...’
So he really hadn’t left the lab since the tournament—
apparently he hadn’t bathed properly either.
“Eat.”
Camilla thumped the food she’d brought onto the table.
Soft soup, fresh fruit, and bread still warm from the oven.
“Not hungry. Take it out.”
Ravi didn’t even glance at it, turning away at once.
Books lay strewn over desk and floor—mostly on healing magic.
Seeing that, Camilla sighed again.
“Eat.”
“I said no.”
“You really won’t?”
“No.”
“Last chance. You really won’t eat?”
“Stop pestering me and ge—”
SMACK!
“Urk!”
Ravi’s head snapped forward.
“Hey!”
“What!”
Startled by how she barked louder than him, Ravi froze without meaning to.
Camilla didn’t stop there—she pressed him harder.
“Wash. Now. Before you get another.”
“...”
“Not going?”
“...Damn it!”
Ravi finally got up and left the lab.
While he was gone, Camilla had the staff clean the room.
No one had been allowed in; it was a wreck.
Then she had the kitchen send up fresh food.
“Eat.”
Ravi came back, neat and clean—
but still made no move toward the meal.
Watching his sulky face for a moment,
Camilla’s lips tilted into a slanting smile.
