124. Sorry, I stirred things up just to show you this
“Seems like the tournament is taking longer than I thought.”
About three hours had passed.
Sitting still in the stands was starting to hurt my backside.
Among the spectators growing restless from the wait, small social circles had begun to form.
The nobles chatted and gossiped, recreating a miniature social gathering.
But the atmosphere around the Emperor and Lady Shailo was peculiar.
Just moments ago, Shailo had been laughing and talking cheerfully, but now she let out a painful groan.
“Lady Shailo, are you all right?”
“I think we need to fetch the royal physician.”
The attendants hurriedly went to find a physician, and the Emperor’s expression grew serious.
“Is something wrong with her health?”
“She complained of stomach pain and nausea from early morning, and it seems the symptoms have worsened,” one of the attendants standing by Shailo explained.
At that moment, Shailo, sweating heavily, slid from her chair.
“Shailo!”
Her dress was stained with bright red blood.
As she began to bleed heavily, the attendants turned pale and covered their mouths.
“Gah!”
“Lady Shailo…!”
The nearby nobles murmured in alarm, and the commotion quickly spread through the stands.
As everyone’s gaze turned to her, the Emperor signaled to his officials.
“It would be best to take Lady Shailo inside first.”
“Your Majesty, please accompany her as well.”
“What?”
The attendants hurriedly supported her, but Shailo pushed them aside and clung to the Emperor’s arm.
The hunt festival was still in full swing. Perwin would still be in the arena. The Emperor glanced back and forth between the arena and the stands as Shailo repeatedly begged him.
“Please, Your Majesty.”
“….”
Sighing as if resigned, the Emperor gave an order to his officials.
“Inform me immediately once the participants return.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor left the scene in the hands of his officials and rose from his seat.
I watched the scene in disbelief.
“A sudden hemorrhage…”
Nothing like this had happened in the original story.
The attendants hurriedly followed Shailo out of the arena, including Evelyn, the daughter of the Marquess of Balton.
“Evelyn wasn’t originally one of Shailo’s attendants,” I noted.
[The daughter of the Balton family has been selected as Lady Shailo’s attendant.]
[It seems Your Majesty is intending to strengthen the Marquess family.]
I recalled a story Countess Gote had told me once.
A small crack was forming in the original story where my influence couldn’t reach.
“Huh?”
As I inspected the aftermath of the commotion, something caught my eye under Shailo’s chair.
‘What’s that?’
The small uproar caused by Shailo didn’t subside easily.
Several officials hurried to manage the situation, and the nobles whispered as they gazed at the vacant seat.
Even I, sitting near the Emperor and Empress, felt the intense stares.
“Oh my. That young lady earlier…”
“She must be going to Princess Roselia,” someone whispered.
Amid the attention of everyone, someone approached me—it was Seraphine.
“Um, Princess…”
Seraphine hesitantly spoke, her cheek still swollen and red.
“I feel there was a misunderstanding earlier.”
She seemed unconcerned about Shailo and brought up the matter we had discussed before.
Apparently, she had been brooding over it all this time.
Seraphine bowed deeply.
“I’m truly sorry.”
“….”
What could she possibly be apologizing for?
The misunderstanding, or rather, I had slapped her first.
‘If anyone should apologize, it’s me.’
As I opened my mouth with that thought—
“Where do you get off showing such a shameless face?”
[Action restrictions regarding the villain Roselia are now in effect.]
An automated “take that, peasant” translation function activated.
“W-what?”
Seraphine’s face turned pale with shock at my sudden outburst.
Damn, it would’ve been better to stay silent.
‘We’ll talk later.’
Frantically, I waved my hands in that sense—
“Won’t you get lost?”
That damned mouth spat another harsh remark.
Seraphine, tears welling in her eyes, ran back to her seat.
“I-I’m sorry, Princess. I’ll go now.”
“Tsk. Poor thing,” came a clicking of tongues nearby.
Fine. Go ahead and scold her.
I myself felt like sewing this cursed mouth shut.
Sigh.
The mood was already dampened, and dark clouds gathered overhead.
It looked like a downpour was imminent.
“Oh?”
Plip, plop, plip.
As expected, raindrops began to fall here and there.
Gradually, the drops grew heavier.
‘Finally, the time has come.’
Rain starting was a kind of signal—a flare announcing a romance event.
‘But the most important male lead hasn’t returned yet.’
At that moment, a new mission window appeared in midair.
【SYSTEM: Mission! “Love Rides the Rain”】
[A sudden downpour!
Amid the chaos of panicked spectators moving to cover, an unexpected commotion occurs…
Take advantage of the confusion to knock down the heroine Seraphine and act as a matchmaker! ♥]
[Reward on success: 1,000 Luck Points
Penalty on failure: Death followed by regression]
Swoosh—
As the rain intensified, the spectators moved under the arena canopy, guided by the attendants.
The young and bold participants had already shown their bravery in the hunt festival, and most remaining spectators were women or elderly nobles.
Young ladies in elaborate dresses carefully descended the steps.
Then—
“Kyah!”
Boom.
A sharp scream echoed through the arena.
“What’s happening?”
“It’s a monster! A high-rank monster!”
“Why is a monster appearing in the stands?”
The murmuring nobles turned pale when they saw the source of the commotion.
“Grrrraah!”
A giant eel-like monster approached the stands.
Its slimy flesh emitted a foul, fishy stench.
Thud, thud, thud.
Each step of the monster shook the arena like an earthquake.
“Everyone, form a line!”
The guards guiding the spectators confronted the monster.
“Good, the guards might be able to handle it.”
But as the monster spewed dark green venom, thick armor and spears melted helplessly.
The monster bared its sharp fangs.
“Aaaargh!”
The terrified guards dropped their weapons and fled.
As the nobles hurried away, the Duke family’s knights flanked me on both sides, providing protection.
“Princess, follow us to safety!”
Ahead, Seraphine struggled to move through the muddy ground.
“My heels are stuck!” she shouted.
She was tripping over panicked people.
[Action restrictions regarding the villain Roselia are now in effect.]
“Ugh!”
I shoved Seraphine forcefully.
“P-Princess—”
Seraphine was too shocked to even scream.
Her frail body collapsed helplessly onto the ground.
Her dress was ruined, soaked in mud.
She tried to stand, but having twisted her ankle, one leg dragged behind her.
“Kyaaa!”
At that moment, the monster spotted Seraphine as prey.
Sssshhh—
It spewed venom, melting the arena’s fences and wooden structures completely.
Such was the power of a high-rank, uncontrolled monster.
Faced with a creature the size of a house, Seraphine looked tiny, like a toy.
Her whole body trembled. Her legs refused to move from instinctive terror.
“Oh, Lord…”
The spectators, foreseeing the impending tragedy, turned their heads in despair.
The monster opened its greedy maw wide.
Seraphine squeezed her eyes shut.
Into the dark, abyss-like mouth, she was swallowed.
“Bring a mage immediately!”
“Use all remaining troops…”
The remaining soldiers tried to intervene, but Seraphine had already been swallowed.
Shock rippled through the crowd.
Calls to save the girl were drowned out by the panicked screams of fleeing people.
Then—
Gulp, gulp.
The monster shook violently, as if about to vomit something.
“Guuuuh!”
Its mouth split open, and black blood spewed out.
“There!”
Seraphine limped out of the monster’s mouth.
Panting heavily, she held a longsword in her hands—the same sword used for training at the Duke family estate.
She had torn her way out of the monster’s maw on her own two feet.
A white barrier emitted from her necklace shielded her from the venom.
“She survived inside the monster!”
“How is this possible…”
Hissing, the monster sprayed venom again, trying to attack.
The corrosive poison hit the transparent barrier from her necklace and left no trace.
“D-Did she just block the poison?”
“What is that necklace?”
Amid the confusion, the monster prepared a second strike.
Gripping her sword, she adjusted her stance.
Her arms steadier, legs firmly planted, eyes filled with resolve.
Seraphine looked at me, and I silently nodded in acknowledgment.
【SYSTEM: The heroine Seraphine activates the ‘#HiddenStrength’ keyword effect.】
It was time for the heroine, who had hidden her strength, to write a new story.
