Forced to Sell Myself to the Female Lead After Killing the Male Lead

?!!

Who...

who is it?!

After her abdomen had been pierced by that attack, Avnora had undoubtedly entered a critically wounded state. The blood constantly pouring from her abdomen and the battle aura within her body that was nearly exhausted had pushed the Marchioness into extreme weakness.

Even her consciousness had begun to blur.

Her vision grew increasingly hazy.

But even so,

the moment she saw that incredibly familiar pink figure before her,

Avnora could not help revealing a worried expression. Instinctively, she raised her right hand, trying to grasp the longsword lying beside her once more.

"Xia'er... r-run... quickly... run..."

Panting heavily,

despite being critically wounded and barely conscious, Avnora still instinctively wanted to protect her granddaughter.

After hearing those words,

the pink-haired girl before her slowly crouched down.

Looking at the Marchioness before her, who was unimaginably weak yet still determined to protect her,

Miss Yumo's emotions became extraordinarily complicated.

Her azure-blue eyes were filled with conflict.

Sigh...

I'm obviously not even your granddaughter...

So why... are you still risking your life to protect me?

As a seventh-tier powerhouse, retreating wouldn't have been difficult for you...

Enmm...

But...

Yeah...

It's only natural that you couldn't believe what he said.

After all, no one would willingly accept the fact that their granddaughter died such a tragic death...

...

Yumo let out several helpless sighs inwardly.

At first, she had no emotional attachment whatsoever to the Duke Family, nor to Xiumu or Avnora. Whether they lived or died made no difference to her. During the past five hundred years, the number of humans who had died before her eyes had long since become impossible to count.

Her goodwill toward the Duke Family had originally existed only because they were Yuan'er's relatives.

However,

through these past days together,

the affection Xiumu and Avnora had shown her, the meticulous care they had given her, and now, their willingness to sacrifice themselves to protect her...

had allowed Yumo to feel a trace of warmth.

"Get some rest for now."

"I'll take care of everything that comes next..."

"...Grandmother."

Yumo spoke softly.

At the same time,

two Blood Butterflies slowly fluttered before Avnora.

As golden powder drifted down,

the already half-conscious Avnora could no longer resist the overwhelming drowsiness.

She finally closed her eyes...

and fell into a deep sleep.

After settling Avnora for the time being,

Miss Yumo slowly stood up.

Turning around to face the people behind her,

a faint chill rippled through her azure-blue eyes.

For the time being...

I'll play the role of her granddaughter.

Consider it repayment...

However...

You people really are incredibly rude...

Just as Miss Yumo turned around,

dozens of black-robed members of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church simultaneously brandished their weapons and charged toward her from every direction!

Overwhelming killing intent surged like countless sharp blades, blanketing Miss Yumo from all sides.

Meanwhile,

the moment Yumo appeared,

Romney immediately felt that something was terribly wrong.

With Benjamin's assistance, he had secretly observed this pink-haired girl before.

At the time,

she had looked like nothing more than an ordinary noble girl—frail, powerless, someone who could be crushed as easily as an ant.

However,

seeing her again now...

although she still emitted no frightening aura,

she somehow gave him an enormous sense of pressure.

The feeling was even stronger than when he had first met their Cult Leader.

As for those blood-red butterflies surrounding the girl...

they gave him an extremely ominous feeling.

A chill crept down his spine.

Who... exactly is this girl...?

Keeping a vigilant eye on her,

Romney discreetly signaled the surrounding members of the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church with the corner of his eye.

Clearly,

when faced with such a bizarre existence,

he intended to let his subordinates test her first.

The next moment,

having received the Archbishop's command,

the cultists erupted with terrifying killing intent and frenzied hostility once again.

Without the slightest hesitation,

they charged toward the pink-haired girl,

their blades slashing down.

Without question,

if it had been an ordinary child,

the only possible ending would have been to be chopped into a pile of mangled flesh.

However,

Romney soon discovered something astonishing.

After turning around,

the pink-haired girl showed neither fear nor surprise.

She did not react to the incoming attacks at all.

She simply stood there,

completely motionless.

What's wrong with this girl?!

Romney questioned inwardly.

Then,

the very next second,

something utterly unbelievable unfolded before his eyes.

Under Romney's astonished gaze,

the dozens of Heavenly Punishment Holy Church members charging forward suddenly froze in place.

The thick killing intent surrounding them...

the powerful fluctuations of battle aura...

vanished instantly.

Their weapons slipped from their hands.

One after another,

the cultists collapsed to the ground without warning,

falling unconscious on the spot.

?!!

Wh...

What the hell?!

You've got to be kidding me?!

"What are you all doing?!"

"Get up!!"

Romney roared.

Yet,

the cultists who had launched the attack remained completely motionless.

At that moment,

Romney's brows suddenly tightened.

From the corner of his eye,

he noticed a crimson figure hovering above him.

Although, like the little girl in the distance, it emitted no powerful aura,

his instincts screamed at him with an overwhelming sense of danger.

Driven by years of combat instinct,

Romney instantly leaped backward,

forcefully widening the distance between himself and that crimson object.

?!

"Hm? A butterfly?!"

Only after retreating did Romney finally see what it really was.

It was a butterfly,

its wings covered in strange blood-red patterns.

It looked exactly like the butterflies that had been fluttering around the pink-haired girl earlier.

Moreover,

those same butterflies surrounded every unconscious cultist.

Was it... because of these things?

At that moment,

Romney seemed to understand the real reason why his subordinates had suddenly collapsed.

He tightened his grip around his blade,

staring fixedly at the pink-haired girl in the distance.

He had originally assumed she was merely a powerless impostor.

Now it seemed...

this girl...

was dangerous.

"You!"

"Who exactly are you?!"

While secretly accumulating battle aura,

Romney demanded an answer.

Upon hearing his question,

the pink-haired girl slowly revealed a sweet smile.

"Me?"

"Enmm..."

"I suppose I'm a child of this family."

"At least..."

"...for now."

"A child?"

"Heh..."

Romney let out a cold laugh.

"If you're talking about Xia'er, I killed her myself long ago and fed her to my dogs!"

"So where did an impostor like you come from?!"

"Hm? Where I came from~"

"That isn't important."

"The important thing is..."

As she spoke,

the pink-haired girl slowly raised one hand.

"...you..."

"...don't have much longer to live."

?!!

The instant those words reached his ears,

an icy chill pierced straight through Romney's body like a razor-sharp sword.

His entire body trembled uncontrollably.

Even his soul seemed to shiver beneath that freezing cold.

A bead of sweat slowly slid down his forehead.

At the same time,

he noticed dozens of Blood Butterflies gradually surrounding him from behind.

Clearly,

this impostor...

intended to kill him.

Don't underestimate me!

A savage gleam burst from Romney's eyes.

The rage and bloodlust within him gradually overwhelmed the fear that had begun to take root.

The next instant,

having completed his charge-up,

Romney made his decision without hesitation.

He wasted no more words.

He unleashed every ounce of battle aura within his body,

transforming into a white meteor that shot toward the pink-haired girl with overwhelming force capable of cutting through an entire army.

"Instant Death—Sever!"

Without hesitation,

Romney unleashed his strongest offensive battle technique.

Endless white battle aura poured into the curved blade in his hand.

As its power continued to gather,

the saber became wrapped in terrifying energy,

transforming into an enormous white energy blade nearly three meters long.

The temperature of the earth rose dramatically.

Even the surrounding space began showing signs of distortion.

Seeing his ultimate technique unfold successfully,

Romney couldn't help revealing an excited grin.

Back when he had only been at the Early Seventh Tier,

he had used this very attack to behead a High Seventh-Tier expert in a single strike.

Now,

he had already reached the High Seventh Tier.

An attack like this...

could probably seriously wound even an Eighth-Tier existence!!

More importantly,

Romney was delighted to discover that

he had successfully avoided every single Blood Butterfly

and had already reached the pink-haired girl.

Yet the girl...

still showed no reaction whatsoever.

She made no attempt to dodge.

Nor did she prepare any defense.

She simply stood there...

completely frozen.

It was almost as though she hadn't even managed to follow his movements.

HAHAHAHAHA!!

Is that all?!

Romney burst into laughter inwardly.

Looks like I overestimated her!

Seems she's nothing more than someone who keeps a few strange little pets! Her own strength is completely lacking!

Seriously... why was I being so cautious just now?!

Thinking back to how timid he had been only moments ago,

Romney could not help mocking himself with a grin.

But very quickly,

that grin was replaced by a savage expression.

You actually made me embarrass myself?!

Heh!

Once you're dead, I'll throw your corpse to my dogs!

Laughing wildly,

Romney swung the gigantic energy blade in his hands,

slashing directly toward the pink-haired girl's neck.

However,

the next instant,

his expression changed dramatically.

His brown pupils shrank violently.

Because,

to his utter astonishment,

he discovered...

he...

couldn't cut through it.

The blade...

had become lodged against the girl's neck.