The Future Changed (4)

The gigantic sphere of mana exploded with a thunderous roar.

The King Serpent’s head vanished without a trace, and its body was left without a master.

And Ethan Richard Blackwood witnessed it all with his own eyes.

“…….”

“…….”

From his bewildered eyes staring at me, I could feel a part of Ethan’s emotions.

I couldn’t even begin to grasp how I should explain myself.

『Lillith has reached Level 7!』

『Lillith has reached Level 8!』

『Lillith has reached Level 9!』

…Even amidst all this, my level still went up after defeating a Boss Monster.

For having gone as far as using Mana Blast to defeat the King Serpent, it was a surprisingly small level-up.

I thought I could raise it up to Level 12 if I did well, considering it was a monster worth 6,000 experience points.

Seeing that I only received about 2,000 experience points, it seemed that the experience distribution was limited to the members who participated in the King Serpent hunt.

The remaining 4,000 probably went to Seraphine and Ethan, 2,000 each.

‘…Will it affect the original story?’

Originally, this experience would have been split between Seraphine and Agnes, not among the three of us.

2,000 or 3,000 experience points was an amount that could never be ignored. Perhaps there would be a slight change in Agnes’s story.

…Well, what good would it do to worry about others right now?

I was caught red-handed by Ethan, a commoner who could use magic.

And not just anyone, but Ethan Richard Blackwood.

“Li, Lillith….”

“…….”

“Was that… you, Lillith-yang?”

…It would be impossible to brazenly pretend not to know and cover it up with excuses now.

Seraphine had recruited me on the condition that I keep my secret, so given her personality, she probably wouldn’t go around telling anyone.

In Ethan’s case, the very fact that he found out was the problem.

Even in the original game, Lillith only truly began to be exploited by the despicable character after it was revealed that she was a commoner who could use magic.

‘So, in the early part of the story, she was practically a dedicated buffer for the despicable character.’

Of course, I wasn’t worried that the current Ethan would do something despicable.

The current Ethan didn’t seem like the type to threaten Lillith using the fact that she could use magic.

In fact, if you think about it, I saved his life by even using magic, so he should be grateful.

“Lillith-yang! Over here, please come quickly!”

While I was agonizing over what excuse to give Ethan, Seraphine’s urgent voice calling me reached my ears.

Having found a good excuse, I gave Ethan a brief reply and shifted my gaze to Seraphine.

“Since the Princess-nim is calling, I will explain the details once we return to Blackwood.”

“Ah, okay….”

“Please, until then, keep the fact that I used magic a secret from others….”

“Ah, I won’t. You don’t have to worry.”

“Thank you.”

After bowing once more, I rushed over to Seraphine. She was struggling to pull something out from inside the King Serpent’s severed neck.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that it was the leg of an Imperial Palace Guard who had been swallowed.

“Lillith-yang, please help! We can still save them! If we cut the body and widen the opening a little more….”

“Ah, yes!”

Watching Seraphine desperately trying to save even one more life until the very end, I slowly cut the King Serpent’s body with the silver dagger I received as a gift from Lizzie.

Thanks to her unyielding efforts, we managed to rescue two of the Imperial Palace Guard soldiers who had been swallowed alive.

…Of course, it was an undeniable reality that this victory came at the cost of many more lives.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Argentia Empire, South Gate Shelter.

-Kwaaaang!!

“Kyaaaak!”

“Wha, what was that?!”

The South Gate Shelter, still in a chaotic battle with the endlessly swarming Lake Serpents, also reacted with considerable alarm to the explosion that echoed in their ears.

Although it was only the South Gate entrance, monsters had already invaded deep into the Imperial Palace.

Amidst this, a sudden, massive explosion rang out.

Everyone’s attention was instantly drawn to the enormous explosion, so much so that some wondered if it might be a terrorist act targeting the entire Imperial Palace.

Some began to react frantically, thinking that there might be another attack following the monsters.

“Wha, what?! Is it another attack?!”

“We should run now….”

Even those who had properly formed ranks and begun fighting were looking around in confusion.

The first to notice the change was a soldier of the Imperial Palace Guard.

“Uh, uhh?!”

Just moments ago, the monsters seemed to be clearly targeting and rushing to attack people, but now they suddenly began to act strangely.

The Lake Serpents, as if losing their purpose and looking bewildered, began to writhe in place. Monsters that were not yet dead or engaged in combat began to move in two main directions:

Either rushing back outside towards the South Gate entrance they had invaded from, or, following their original monster instincts, starting to fight with other nearby monsters.

The veteran soldiers of the Imperial Palace Guard immediately understood what this meant, and quietly sighed in relief, quickly beginning to clear out the remaining monster remnants.

“The Monster Wave is over! Finish them quickly!”

“…It’s over?”

“I-is it over now?! Then quickly, our carriage….”

“You damn monster bastards! Die! Die, you bastards!”

A Noble Young Master, who had been focused on combat in a defensive stance, wore a crestfallen expression at the news that it was over.

A certain Noble Lady, realizing the situation was over, immediately began preparing to return home.

And an immature Prince, who had been hiding the whole time, rushed out in anger upon seeing the fleeing monsters.

Each of their reactions was different, but everyone’s feelings ultimately converged on one thing:

It was safe now.

The Monster Wave that had plunged the entire Imperial Palace into crisis was over.

No one knew who had defeated the boss monster of this Monster Wave, but at this moment, that fact wasn’t important to anyone.

The sheer feeling of having secured safety from the threat to their lives meant such minor issues were completely irrelevant.

“…….”

And, one more person.

Among the noble scions showing various reactions as soon as they realized the situation was over, there was one Noble Lady who harbored uniquely different thoughts.

Unlike others who wanted to rest or quickly return home, the August Noble Lady quietly set a different goal in her mind.

…The Noble Lady named ‘Lillith’ who had been facing the monsters with just a silver dagger in front of her just moments ago.

‘Lizzie-ssi, stay right there and don’t move.’

‘If Lizzie-ssi were to run off somewhere else, then I really might not be able to protect you.’

-Dugeun.

As soon as she recalled Lillith’s back, her heart began to pound erratically.

She had felt the desire to ‘become close to this person’ several times during her social activities, but.

The feeling she was experiencing now was undoubtedly something distinctly different from mere affection.

The sight of Lillith evacuating her to safety and shielding her from the monsters with her entire body.

The sight of her back, dealing with the swarming Lake Serpents one by one with just a single silver dagger, was so valiant.

Even after the Monster Wave incident had ended, Lizzie’s mind quietly replayed only that situation.

As she stood there blankly, lost in thought, another August scion belatedly rushed over with a worried voice.

“Siiiiis…!!!”

Her younger brother, who had gotten off the carriage to return home as soon as the Monster Wave occurred and participated in the Imperial Palace defense.

As soon as Lizzie saw his foolish-looking appearance, she felt the pounding emotions she had just experienced cool down.

She gave Karaham, who had come a beat late to protect her, a slightly hard kick to the shin with the front of her shoe.

-Puk!

“Aargh!”

“Hey, Karaham! It was a Monster Wave, why were you wandering around instead of protecting me?!”

“Uh, I couldn’t help it! Monsters were already rushing into the carriage parking lot, and if we hadn’t defended the South Gate, all the carriages and horses might have died….”

-Puk! Puk!

“I almost died while you were gone, you know?! Are the horses’ lives more precious than mine?!”

“N-no, Sis! Of course, your life comes first!”

…How many times had she suffered today because of this idiotic younger brother?

Lizzie thought that, taking out her meaningless frustration on the innocent Karaham.

Yet, she felt a contradictory sense of gratitude towards Karaham for having left her side for a moment.

If Karaham had been by her side when the monsters entered the South Gate, she would have been safe from beginning to end anyway.

And the situation where Lillith protected her probably wouldn’t have happened.

“Hmm….”

“Sis? Why did you suddenly go quiet….”

“Shut up, Karaham. I need to think for a moment.”

“Yes….”

The Noble Lady named ‘Lillith’ whom she met today was a lady she had never seen or heard of before.

So much so that she had momentarily, carelessly, speculated that Lillith might be a Noble Lady from a Viscount or Baron family.

Perhaps there was indeed a possibility. She had attended this Masquerade Ball as the partner of a Blackwood Family Prince.

It was also possible that Ethan had created a ‘fake fiancée’ to ward off annoying Noble Ladies who clung to him, a Prince of the Blackwood Family.

In fact, Lizzie’s speculation was half correct.

‘If I were to investigate all the branch families of the Blackwood Family….’

If she investigated the branch families of Blackwood that corresponded to Viscount or Baron families, it might be possible to find out which family the woman named ‘Lillith’ came from.

The problem was that a family of Duke Blackwood’s standing had countless branch families below the rank of Viscount due to its long history.

If she poked around unnecessarily, the Blackwood Family would likely become wary, thinking she was digging into their affairs.

Practically, using this method to find ‘Lillith’ was almost impossible.

‘If not that, then perhaps….’

Ethan Richard Blackwood’s official age was 22 this year.

Next year, he would turn exactly 23, making it virtually his last year to enroll in the Academy.

As a Prince of the Blackwood Family, he would probably not miss the opportunity next year and enroll in Luminor Academy.

Although his physical age might be slightly younger due to being asleep under a curse for a considerable period, the Academy’s admission standards would fairly apply to everyone based on their actual age.

And if the Noble Lady named ‘Lillith’ was still continuing her ‘fiancée act’ with Ethan until then.

She, too, would probably enroll in Luminor Academy next year.

“…….”

Lizzie Lynn August had already taken the exam once last year but failed due to a lack of magical talent.

Having clearly realized her lack of magical talent, she had intended to focus on social activities instead of pouring her energy elsewhere.

However, the mysterious Noble Lady Lizzie met today was enough to change her mind.

“The Academy entrance exam… should I try it one more time?”

“Huh? Didn’t you give up on entering the Academy, Sis?”

“I just gave up because I thought it was more advantageous that way. …Now my mind has changed a little.”

“Is that so! Then from today, I’ll teach you swordsmanship, Sis….”

“Idiot, who said anything about entering with swordsmanship? There are ways to get into the Academy, so you just prepare for your own entrance exam.”

“Yes, yes….”

Originally, she would have given up on Academy admission after one failure.

But for Lizzie, it was the moment when the will to challenge the Academy once more was rekindled.