Chapter 22
I didn’t expect there to be this many people.
Far more people than I imagined had gathered for the opening ceremony that marked the start of the subjugation.
Act confident.
I repeated Valentin’s voice in my head and straightened my shrinking body and nervous heart.
I’m fine. I don’t care what kind of looks I get.
Like always when I had to stand in front of strangers, I closed my eyes tightly and opened them again, repeating my little spell to myself.
Unlike the cruel, piercing stares I had faced before, this time the Berenis Knights—who acknowledged me—were here with me.
…And Valentin too.
When I pictured his face smiling warmly at me, the waves of anxiety shaking me like an earthquake slowly calmed down.
I regained my peace of mind and looked around.
Bright, colorful dresses. Silver armor shining under the sunlight. Large flags fluttering in the wind.
Among them, the one who caught my attention most was Hersion—Hersion Lujev Bernbaum, the Third Prince of the Richard Empire, who had liked Lucy since their academy days.
His mysterious silver hair and clear blue eyes, like a lake, truly suited Lucy well.
After Valentin exposes the Empress and the Second Prince’s crimes to the whole world, he’ll naturally become Crown Prince.
He may not have won love, but he gained power.
But while I was quietly observing Hersion, I suddenly flinched.
The genre seemed to change completely because of the red dress fluttering beside him.
Empress Cordelia, her fiery red hair twisted up like flames that could burn everything. She carried the pride and cruelty of someone straight out of a revenge drama.
Standing beside the Emperor, she looked down at the crowd. Her intense gaze stopped on me.
She looked me up and down as if I were something unpleasant.
I do stand out a bit.
I was at least a head taller than Valentin, who was already taller than most people. It wasn’t easy to hide.
But I couldn’t shrink back already.
Knowing that the Empress would try to harm Valentin today, I would never step back.
Without avoiding her gaze, I lightly tapped Valentin’s shoulder.
“Your Grace, I’ll protect you today.”
I felt a questioning look from him, but I straightened my back more than usual and raised my tail high.
I had promised myself many times that I would protect Valentin so Lucy wouldn’t even need to step in.
A soft chuckle came from beside me.
“That’s reassuring.”
Under his golden hair glowing in the morning sunlight, his green jewel-like eyes curved like crescents.
It was a scene more moving than any masterpiece painting.
I could barely hear Marquis Tempel’s voice as he explained the rules of the subjugation.
“There are no high-risk monsters confirmed, but do not cross beyond the line marked with red flags.”
Monsters…!
Pull yourself together.
At the word “monster,” I snapped back to my senses and focused on the marquis on the platform.
“There are barriers throughout the forest made with magic stones. They are strong enough to block all but the most dangerous monsters. If you face danger, evacuate inside and set off the blue flare.”
He waved a long blue flare that looked like a candle, then took out a red one.
An attendant lit the red flare. With a bang, red fireworks burst into the sky.
“If you cannot set off a flare, move toward wherever you see a red flare. That is where the guards are stationed.”
As soon as he finished speaking, children barely reaching my thigh hurried around delivering blue flares.
“Ah!”
One child approaching Valentin saw me and fainted in shock.
The blue flare slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.
“I-I’m sorry!”
“It’s alright.”
When I bent down to pick it up, the child had already run far away.
No wonder he was surprised.
I separated the two flares tied together and handed one to Valentin.
He looked at me with a strange expression.
“What?”
“Don’t worry. You’re cute.”
What is?
My face twisted at his random compliments that seemed to have no context lately.
Please put some sincerity into it!
Ignoring my displeased look, Valentin silently took the blue flare.
White powder from the flare dusted my palm. I sniffed it—it had a strange smell—so I quickly shook my hand.
By the time I stopped wrinkling my nose, the marquis’s speech had ended.
Instead of voices, a loud trumpet sound filled the clearing. Knights full of anticipation stepped toward the forest entrance.
As for me, I was full of confidence after what happened in Shamandra.
The cold wind that felt like it could swallow people, and the dark forest—none of it scared me.
“Sir Nathan, at this rate you might win.”
Neumann clicked his tongue as he looked at the pile of monster corpses around us.
Each monster had a different method of handling depending on its core, but that didn’t matter to me.
I just beat them until they fainted.
As time passed, the number on the magic device counting the corpses kept rising.
“If you receive the Ice Flower, will you give it to Lady Teller?”
At his subtle question, I quickly waved my hands.
“There’s no way I could receive it.”
The subjugation was an individual competition.
With such an overwhelming male lead right beside me, how could I possibly win?
Even aside from Valentin, there were so many strong competitors.
“Lady Teller?”
When I turned at the questioning voice, Valentin was walking toward us after defeating a winged Kiklep.
“She’s George Teller’s younger sister. She gave Sir Nathan a handkerchief today.”
“Hm.”
His lazy gaze seemed to demand an explanation.
To escape his stare, I pulled out the handkerchief pinned to my chest and waved it.
“She made it to wish me safety.”
“A handkerchief I’ve never received?”
“What?”
Never received? I clearly saw many noble ladies desperately trying to hand one to you earlier!
You were the one who deliberately didn’t even glance at them.
I really don’t understand handsome men.
Valentin ignored my dry look.
Instead, he insisted strangely that I should give the Ice Flower to him and even pressured me about it.
He dragged me deeper into the forest, telling me to defeat at least one more monster—like he planned to wipe out every monster in the forest.
This isn’t some kind of danger flag, right?
The Berenis Knights were around, but this was still an individual competition. Everyone was focused on surviving and fighting on their own.
My suggestion to stick together for safety was rejected by Valentin. He said it wouldn’t help much anyway.
Well, if things were dangerous enough to threaten Valentin, having more allies probably wouldn’t change much.
Just protect Lucy. Just Lucy.
While defeating monsters, I circled around Lucy like a satellite.
The deeper we went, the darker the forest felt.
The ground rotted, and trees withered.
When the stench in the air became almost unbearable, we saw a rope with red flags.
It marked the boundary—no further entry.
“My stomach feels sick.”
Lucy, who had been quiet until now, murmured.
Her water-colored hair, glowing faintly even in the dark, seemed drooping.
To make matters worse, dark clouds filled the once-blue sky.
“How about we head back toward the entrance? It feels too dangerous here.”
“Are you scared?”
Valentin teased.
My blood pressure shot up.
This is because of you!
Of course, Valentin had nothing to worry about. Every monster was sliced apart with a single swing of his sword.
With Lucy, a healing mage, there too—what could he possibly fear?
He seemed confident he could handle whatever the Empress planned.
Meanwhile, my face grew darker with worry. My tail drooped visibly.
Watching me, Valentin finally stepped back.
“We’ll sweep the area while heading back.”
I quickly took the lead before he could change his mind.
Why is he so obsessed with the Ice Flower? He could just receive it himself and give it to Lucy.
I didn’t like how he brought even the monsters in front of him over to me, but I punched harder than anyone, just as he wanted.
Sneaking glances between Valentin and Lucy, answering Neumann, defeating monsters—it was chaotic.
When I finished off a familiar group of Caleb monsters, I had relaxed a little.
“This should be enou—”
Just as I looked at Valentin confidently—
Boom.
The ground shook violently.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
A heavy pulse rose from beneath the earth, like a beating heart.
I sharpened all my senses, raising my tail.
The heavy pounding turned into small tremors.
“Below us!”
I shouted urgently—but it was too late.
The ground rose into the sky.
The forest surged upward, visible even from afar. The earth split, soil crumbled.
Trees were ripped out by their roots and fell.
Sharp branches rained down like a storm, scratching my entire body.
If I fall wrong, I’ll die.
I grabbed onto a falling tree trunk and let myself slide with the soil.
Low bushes, thin branches—amid all the debris, I tried to find golden hair and water-colored hair.
But everything happened too fast.
After struggling to keep from being buried, I finally regained my balance.
“Your Grace!”
Where are they? Where is everyone?
“Lady Lucy! Neumann!”
I landed safely thanks to my strong body—but what about the others?
Fear gripped my throat.
“Nathan.”
I turned urgently.
Valentin stood there, brushing dirt from his sun-colored hair.
He was completely unharmed—except for his dust-covered clothes.
I rushed over and checked him from head to toe.
“I’m fine. Stop.”
“What was that? The forest moved. Are the others okay?”
“We can only hope.”
His voice was cold as ice. The way he drew his sword was not normal.
Only then did I look around properly.
Masked assassins in black and figures in robes surrounded us in a circle.
But they weren’t the only ones Valentin was watching.
At the end of his gaze stood a towering hill—
No.
It was a monster shaped like a hill.
From within the pile of soil, two red eyes flashed.
You’ve got to be kidding me…
