Ch.147147. I Knew It Would Turn Out Like This

“After Lilith changed the subject of the conversation to me and stepped back.

“Miss Lilith. That’s good enough to pass.”

“What is?”

“This one seems to have no self-awareness.”

“Then I’ll give you extra credit for a bonus pass.”

“I’m asking what exactly passed?”

I could hear them quietly chattering behind me, but that wasn’t where my conversation was headed.

My conversation was with Ludovic right in front of me, who naturally started speaking to me again.

“…I apologize for what just happened. It’s something of a habit of mine.”

He said this while lightly placing his hand on his chest.

“No, it’s fine. Please don’t worry about it. For someone of your stature, Lord Ludovic, I’ll assume it was done with good intentions.”

“I’m glad you’re a young man who understands.”

Since I knew Ludovic was a good-natured person, I responded positively, which seemed to have successfully created a favorable impression.

But an impression is just an impression. Ludovic, who hadn’t confirmed what was really important, still seemed curious.

“Then let me impose a little more. I have eyes that can see a person’s karma. Your aura seems unusual, and I’d like to take a look at it. May I?”

Eyes that can see karma.

When he put it so directly, there was no way I could refuse.

If I declined here, I might look like someone with something to hide, and making up excuses would just seem suspicious… refusing for such reasons would be disrespecting Ludovic’s image, so that was out of the question.

But well, I was curious about this too, so there was no problem.

I gladly accepted Ludovic’s request.

“I don’t mind. It’s not like it wears out or anything.”

“Then excuse me.”

Once again, Ludovic’s fierce gaze pierced into me.

It seemed to hold steady… but then he slightly averted his eyes.

Why did he look away?

“I’m sorry, but it seems I should ask permission from those behind you first.”

Behind? At those words, I turned my head slightly to see the women pretending nothing was happening.

They were acting naturally as if they hadn’t done anything… but if Ludovic had to avert his eyes, they must have done something.

“What are you all doing?”

“Ludion. Is that really okay? It looks really ominous.”

“It didn’t feel particularly friendly.”

“See? They think so too. I told you I wasn’t being weird.”

What exactly do they see?

Even with my game-like vision, I couldn’t see anything.

But whatever. It didn’t matter what they saw.

Whatever it was, I knew it was ultimately harmless.

I just explained that everything was fine and sat down facing Ludovic again.

The others sitting beside him naturally turned their attention to me as well.

How embarrassing that I’m showing them this whole ridiculous process.

Well, that aside. Right now, finding out my sin value was the priority.

Perhaps because he had explained what he was trying to do, even those who had been wary were now watching with interested gazes.

Silence fell as Ludovic concentrated.

How much time had passed? Just as I was getting used to his intense gaze… Ludovic let out a sigh.

“Ah…”

Then he rolled his eyes back and collapsed backward.

…Why?

“Hey! Ludovic! Are you alright?!”

Those beside him caught him before he hit the floor, but there was no response, as if he had fainted.

…Cold gazes turned toward me.

I hadn’t done anything, but I guess it was still my fault?

“See? I told you it looked ominous.”

That’s not what you meant when you said it was ominous.

In the completely silent situation, only Celia’s voice could be heard quietly, sounding proud as if saying “I knew it.”

///

Elnos Association President. Elnos Lina.

Honestly, she no longer had any intention of managing this association.

She never expected an association created under her name would grow this large, and she was starting to get tired of it.

It was a group that had been formed somewhat accidentally. It would be a lie to say she had no attachment to it, but she didn’t exactly cherish it either.

But well… it was running fine without her management, so there wasn’t really a problem.

So she had been living by just occasionally checking in on major issues while mostly neglecting it, which might be why she was gradually reaching a state where she didn’t know what she wanted to do anymore.

The people below her handled the annoying tasks. She had plenty of money but nowhere to spend it.

Above all… she lacked stimulation.

What people commonly call dopamine deficiency. That would be an apt definition of her condition.

In that thirst-filled state, she had been wandering around and briefly stayed in Ritten… and what do you know, she caught a big fish.

The Imperial Princess, the Saint, the Northern Duchess. And some commoner.

She didn’t know about the last one, but the first three were jackpots.

It wasn’t that she wanted anything from them, but she had never been one to consider such things when taking action.

Still, she wasn’t stupid enough to act recklessly. First, she decided to spread her underlings throughout Ritten to test the waters.

The result: the Saint’s performance was dazzling.

Everyone who had been lurking in the area was subdued and taken away.

Just in case, she also targeted the Imperial Princess and the Northern Duchess, but all contact was mysteriously cut off.

It had been a long time since she’d received no news back.

Scary… better not mess with them.

Well, the Saint was probably untouchable too, being associated with such people.

But this actually worked out perfectly for getting rid of all the troublemakers at once.

What were they called again, Elnos believers? Whatever. She didn’t need such disgusting things.

When she offered a reward to anyone who could capture the Saint, they all rushed out and never returned.

Apparently, they were completely subdued and taken away.

What useless people.

She really couldn’t understand them, but it didn’t matter.

Now that all the annoying people had been shaken off, she knew exactly what she wanted to do.

“It would be fun to kill that commoner.”

Even so, targeting the other three would have severe consequences.

The Imperial Palace, the Church, the North. Whichever she turned into an enemy, she might have to live her life being hunted.

But that commoner?

He seemed insignificant. Of course, being among those three, he couldn’t be an ordinary person.

But killing him probably wouldn’t cause too much trouble.

…Come to think of it, she might have made eye contact with the Imperial Princess earlier.

It didn’t matter. If she was going to kill the commoner, being discovered was an inevitable step anyway.

Now, time for action.

It might seem too impulsive, but since she was on an impromptu journey, wasn’t this normal?

Besides, it had been a long time since she’d acted directly, so she was a bit excited.

The place they headed to was the cathedral, which was easy to infiltrate since many people came and went there.

After sneaking in, what she encountered was… the scene where the legendary wanderer Ludovic had lost consciousness.

‘What’s this? What happened?’

The commoner, suddenly receiving hostile gazes from everyone, looked bewildered.

It seemed he had unintentionally caused trouble.

Well, it wasn’t her concern.

She took out three daggers from her bosom and threw them. She aimed for the head, heart, and groin.

Any of these would be fatal if hit. She thought it would be amusing if only the last one hit, but usually people died after being hit by all three.

Indeed. What would the reaction be after that man died?

As anticipation built up, the daggers pierced through the commoner’s body…

“…What?”

They didn’t pierce through. Rather, they stopped in mid-air without even getting close to the commoner.

Feeling a sudden murderous intent, she turned to see the Imperial Princess and the Northern Duchess looking in her direction.

‘They noticed I was here?’

Impossible. How could that be possible… Even those next to Ludovic didn’t seem to notice her presence at all…

No, this wasn’t the time to worry about such things.

She needed to escape.

She had failed to have her fun, but she wasn’t stupid enough to stubbornly persist out of disappointment.

Besides, this wasn’t her last chance. She could create another opportunity using the mass capture of their people as leverage.

She wouldn’t give up. She had become too curious about the reaction when that commoner died.

Well then. See you next time.

Leaving only a mental farewell, she tried to leave the place…

“Huh?”

She needed to leave, but her body wouldn’t move.

For a moment, she thought she was under a binding spell and reflexively tried to break it, but it wasn’t something of that level.

What… what is this?

“Miss Alkine. I’ll leave that one to you.”

“What’s this about? Passing this off to someone else.”

“I need to defend Ludion.”

“Well… good luck with that.”

She could hear the conversation between the Imperial Princess and the Northern Duchess.

It seemed that making eye contact with the Imperial Princess earlier wasn’t a coincidence after all.

Anyway, this was bad.

Resistance was impossible. It wasn’t just that her body had stiffened; it was as if… she had lost control over her own body.

The Northern Duchess approached her.

Oh. Is this how I die?

Really? So pathetically?

She didn’t want that. Please, move.

As if her will had taken effect, she momentarily regained control of her body.

Survival instinct is sometimes amazing; her body moved before her brain could even register that she had regained control.

Escape was impossible. Right now, resistance was the only option, so she pulled out a dagger from her bosom.

And in one swift motion, aimed for the Northern Duchess’s neck…!

Slash-

Clang-

As she tried to swing, the blade of the dagger suddenly fell off and rolled on the floor.

The Northern Duchess had somehow swung her sword and cut it off.

Huh? She didn’t notice me moving at all?

Really?

“…I surrender.”

“You think you can just surrender after doing something like that?”

“Kill me if you want.”

She didn’t understand. Her mind couldn’t keep up with the situation, and she was starting to not care anymore.

Would her head be chopped off now? It hadn’t been a bad life, but it was a short one.

She wished she could have lived a little longer. Thinking this, she closed her eyes.

“What are you doing? Don’t give up. I’m not going to kill you yet.”

…Surprisingly, for now, she was just tied up.

“Well, if we keep her captive, Ludion will probably know who she is.”

She even just muttered that and then casually threw her into a corner.

…What’s going on? These ropes would obviously break if I applied force. She just did this and left me alone?

Wondering if she was being encouraged to escape, she decided to try.

“Cough.”

Drip-

…Blood suddenly started flowing from her throat, so she decided to stop.

This thing constricting her heart… was it magic?

Suddenly, the gaze of the Imperial Princess she had met earlier came to mind.

I see. Now I understand.

I messed with something I shouldn’t have.

This was the worst day since the founding of the Elnos Association.”