episode_0023

“Julia. My baby.”

This is a story from when Julia was young.

One day, when I was very happy and pure, my mother, who was still alive, said this.

“They say that madness and cunning run through Estrid’s veins. You must always be careful.”

Julia was too young to listen to such advice. She was eight or nine years old. Her mother kindly gave her an example. She told her an old story with a very scary name.

“When Ortega dyed a city in blood.”

Her mother waited for Julia to swallow before continuing.

“They say all the powerful people in the empire gathered to stop him. The colorful magic towers were the basics. Sword masters, knights, and even priests from the Holy Constantine. All the world’s most powerful people gathered. The army they formed was truly magnificent.”

There may be some exaggeration, but for young Julia, it was a story that kept her engrossed. Thinking back now, her mother really knew a lot of stories. Julia missed her.

“Among those strong men, not a single one could reach Ortega. They couldn’t touch even a single hair on his head. They were all just cut off and flowing like blood.”

It is said that the small stream in the city flowed like it was raining. And it was all blood. The blood of millions of people killed by Ortega. Why on earth did he kill so many people?

“Ortega was strong. More so than any other kind of strongman. And at the same time, he was cunning. So much so that he could withstand a combined attack by numerous capable people. He understood people. He didn’t simply fight them off one by one, but cleverly deceived them and made them fight each other. In the end, the attack force that seemed to be united as one fell apart.”

Julia was smart enough to see the point of the story. Ortega was crazy, strong, and cunning. And Julia, like Ortega, was also of Estrid’s blood. It was a story with a moral.

Beware of the cunning that runs through Estrid’s veins.

Julia always kept her mother’s will in her heart. That’s why Julia was always on guard against the madness or cunning that was dormant in her blood. She was always ready to deal with it if it ever came out.

‘… That must have been it.’

Julia raised her head and looked down.

I’m talking about a boy who is lying down with his eyes closed.

The boy who had been possessed by the soul of Ortega until just a moment ago was now breathing heavily.

‘Maybe he was telling us to watch out for Ortega, not me.’

A chill ran down my spine as I recalled the boy just now being manipulated by Ortega.

This child must have been a smart boy.

Stopping time with a human body is something that is absolutely impossible for an ordinary person’s brain. Even a genius would be impossible unless he were an ordinary genius. Judging from the way he watched Julia carefully from the tip of her feet as she opened the door and came in, his vigilance was by no means that of a small boy.

nevertheless.

Ortega almost devoured the child’s body.

If Julia hadn’t been there, I would have definitely swallowed it.

Julia also had a burning sensation in her mouth when she woke the boy up.

“It must have been cooked and boiled slowly.”

Ortega would have been hiding in the boy’s body, slowly waiting for an opportunity. He would have calculated the surroundings and waited for the best time to take over the boy’s body.

Julia thought.

Perhaps what her mother warned her about was not about Julia herself. She was wary of Estrid’s bloodline itself. She was wary of Ortega, who could wake up at any moment, anywhere.

Her mother was the owner of the station.

Julia looked down at the boy.

A child holding an Ortega.

What should I do with this child?

If you told me to stop breathing right now, there was nothing I couldn’t do.

The boy’s body was not very thick.

The neck was also unusually long and thin.

You could kill him just by wrapping your hands around his neck for a moment.

But what happens after that?

Could there be any guarantee that Ortega’s soul would not be transferred to another place? She couldn’t be sure. So Julia released her grip on the boy’s neck.

It would be better to keep it by your side and watch over it.

— Booths

The boy’s eyelids began to slowly open.

◆

The rumbling in my stomach has calmed down.

When I opened my eyes, my vision was filled with pure white hair.

The blue glowing reverse oscillation in the middle.

Her eyelashes moved as she opened and closed her eyes, like white curtains fluttering in the wind.

“3 Princess.”

“Are you in your right mind?”

“… Yes.”

My mind is starting to recover. Previous memories are coming back. Hector and his group stimulated me. Time stopped. My consciousness is starting to fade a little. In the end, I ended up giving Ortega my consciousness for a short time. For a very short time.

‘… … .’

Lloyd bit his lip.

I wasn’t fully aware of the process of my body being taken over. I thought that my condition was somewhat unstable, but I thought it was just a feeling of elation due to excitement.

If you think about it, it seems like Ortega’s encroachment started the moment he broke the hands of the children who were clapping for him. Or maybe Ortega also gained strength as his hidden violence burst out.

Whatever it was, it gave me goosebumps.

Because it was a situation where if I made a mistake I could completely hand over control to my body.

“Have you gotten a rough idea of the situation?”

Julia opened her mouth expressionlessly.

A cold expression that did not seem to have any emotion. Lloyd swallowed for no reason. This woman was different from her nickname, the Princess of Rebellion. Could it be that there was a slight misunderstanding?

Suddenly, I got goosebumps.

With this level of cool-headedness, he must have been contemplating whether or not to kill himself. Just like the White Knight Arno did.

“I should say thank you for your help.”

“Is that so? I didn’t help you much.”

“I think I should start by saying hello to you for not killing me.”

Even as Lloyd bowed his head, Julia’s expression remained calm. Only her fingertips trembled slightly.

I see you were worried about whether to kill him or not.

Lloyd swallowed dryly.

Right now, the people on the ‘good’ side might be more dangerous to him. If they found out that Ortega was inside his body, they would all try to kill him.

Anyway, this is what’s important.

‘They decided to keep me alive.’

I don’t know why.

But the important thing was that my worth was meaningful to this woman.

What is the problem?

Even if the Third Princess was called the Princess of Rebellion, she was better than the Duchess. The Duchess was clearly a high-ranking official of the Bloodline Sect. The longer they were involved, the more dangerous it would become.

“Your Highness, do you have any desire to become an empress?”

“… Huh? What, what does that mean…?”

“You seem clearly flustered, so I’m sure you have a purpose. Don’t worry. No one can eavesdrop here right now.”

Lloyd’s magical power was still maintaining his magic even while he was down. Although the effects of the tranquilizers were wearing off, his mana control was becoming unstable, and there were constant clashes in the narrow mana circuits…

“I can make it for you. Emperor.”

Lloyd declared proudly.

“… What?”

Julia’s embarrassed expression showed no sign of even trying to hide it.

On the contrary, it was good. I didn’t want to waste time on pointless greetings.

“Please buy me a ticket.”

◆

The banquet, which had been paused for a moment due to the princess’s absence, resumed with her return.

“Sorry, I got lost for a moment.”

The Duchess knows that her words are nothing more than excuses.

And Julia knew that the Duchess wouldn’t believe her. But those facts didn’t matter to them. It wasn’t acceptable etiquette to ask a lady who had gone to the bathroom what she had done. And the other person was a princess. Therefore, it was a privilege that could be enjoyed by being Estrid’s bloodline.

of course.

“I have an urgent report to make.”

It would not be out of manners for a butler to come in and report something to the Duchess. After hearing the report, the Duchess looked at Julia with an incomprehensible smile.

“The structure of our mansion is a bit complicated, isn’t it?”

“No. I’m not good at walking.”

“I will give you a guide next time.”

Julia smiled quietly at the Duchess’ sarcasm.

Julia had lived a long life as an illegitimate child in the palace, so it was difficult to be scratched to this extent.

Her attention was focused more on the mysterious boy she had just met—Lloyd. Or, more precisely, on the few things he had said.

‘I thought there was poison mixed in the tea served for dessert.’

Lloyd said the Duchess would give her a poisoned drink, which would slow down her judgment over a long period of time.

The boy also added:

If the Duchess’ expression changes, it would be best to move away.

“I brought the car.”

The butler brought out the tea.

Julia took a quick sip of her teacup.

And then he put it down on the table.

“This time, we imported black tea from the East. Don’t you like it?”

At the Duchess’ question, Julia turned her head from side to side faintly.

“No, thank you. I’m already quite full, so it’s a shame I can’t eat much.”

As she said that, Julia slightly raised her head.

The Duchess’s furrowed eyebrows were quickly loosening.