Chapter 72
“Are we going back? To where?”
I tilted my head, asking again.
“To the memories of that monster, of course. The method… well, wouldn’t it happen if we just get close to it? But this time, the monster isn’t pulling us along. Hmm.”
The Crown Prince swallowed his astonishment as the tentacle that had dragged everyone on the third floor around didn’t appear this time.
Following me, his reaction sounded surprisingly like an “April-esque” exclamation.
We slowly approached the monster in the banquet hall.
I observed the monster’s front.
It was no longer shedding tears.
Sitting deep in a chair, it made a strange, rhythmic sound—grrr- grrr-—that almost resembled snoring.
“It’s sleeping! Must be having a good dream.”
I pointed at the monster and giggled.
“The monster is sleeping?”
The Crown Prince raised a hand, disbelief clear in his expression.
At that moment, the Crown Prince’s figure disappeared.
‘Ah… so this is how we’re supposed to enter?’
This structure is unlike anything I’ve seen before.
In normal mode, you’d emerge somewhere within the memory map, but in hard mode, you appear outside of the memory.
Then the monster muttered in an eerie voice:
[Banquet.]
[The Heart of Aquilium.]
“Did you talk to April?”
Even knowing that no one could see me now, I spoke as if I were the naive young lady April.
[Ordinary plates contain the banquet.]
[Special plates contain the enemy’s heart.]
The monster still hadn’t opened its eyes. It seemed to be sleeping, but the grumbling sounds grew louder, reverberating throughout the banquet hall.
Then, at some point, the monster’s blood-red eyes snapped open and focused on me.
[Bring us the Heart of Aquilium that killed us.]
It was conveying its “objective.”
The moment the black tentacle stretched out again, I was back in the monster’s memory—the third-floor banquet hall.
“Lady April!”
The Crown Prince, who had arrived in the banquet hall earlier, breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness. I was worried leaving Lady April alone.”
“You were worried about me?”
“Of course. Isn’t it natural to worry if I leave you behind?”
During our conversation, the survivors and the headless servants moved busily around.
The lavish banquet hall was filled with rich dishes and beautiful decorations, making it look as though a banquet could begin at any moment.
Yet, for some reason, many people were staring at us.
“Your Highness! Everyone’s looking at April and you.”
“….”
They alternated their gaze between me and the Crown Prince, then glanced at him again.
The Crown Prince soon realized why.
The imposing Crown Prince standing next to a delicate young noble lady holding a massive axe-spear and the fully grown Yurel alone created such a stark contrast.
Noticing the piercing stares, the Crown Prince awkwardly spoke to me:
“Um… my lady. I should hold Yurel.”
“But Your Highness, you are weak. I’m fine, really.”
“Well, my lady may be fine, but I’m not.”
The noble survivors’ stares were sharp, even more so than the commoners’.
Also, while the Crown Prince appeared relatively unharmed, my condition as a mere noble lady was in shambles.
My white dress was stained with the blood of demons and servants, and the edges had been sharply cut by Yurel in the servant’s room.
“…Please, allow me to hold Yurel.”
Just as the Crown Prince pleaded, several spirits suddenly appeared, surrounding him.
They were Sian’s spirits.
Outside, blood-mixed rain fell.
The magical light that had remained where the Crown Prince, April, and Yurel had disappeared went out.
“They likely moved to another space nearby. It appears to be a teleportation spell.”
Fortunately, Sian could interpret it.
It was a thousand-year-old spell that Sian knew, so at least that was helpful.
“It’s fortunate that Yurel and Lady April are with Your Highness.”
Even though the group had vanished, Yeniel remained calm.
That’s just who she is.
She acted rationally and efficiently, knowing that expressing emotions wouldn’t change anything.
Looking out the window, she calmly spoke to Sian and Max:
“If the three of them escape that space, they can return here and rejoin us. We should either wait or find clues to rescue them.”
Now, it was no longer rain mixed with blood, but pure blood falling thickly.
“Lady Yeniel.”
More than the gruesome scene gnawing at their minds, Sian found the need to act composed in the current situation excruciating.
“I can’t do this anymore.”
Sian’s face had turned as pale as paper.
Since arriving on the third floor, he had forced himself to act calm, hiding his true emotions.
Moreover, ever since Yurel had joined him, he couldn’t let his guard down even for a moment.
He felt like vomiting.
As he came to understand the weight of what he had done, the thought of being discovered grew unbearable.
Yet, for the sake of the group’s escape, he forced himself to act.
It was actually easier that way.
“I can’t deceive Lady April anymore. We’ve all committed horrifying acts. Even in extreme situations, our choices were far from normal. I can’t continue deceiving an innocent person…!”
I can’t deceive April.
No more.
“Sir Isengriff.”
Yeniel’s calm face as she called him sent a chill down Sian’s spine.
“When was Sir Isengriff ever threatened by anyone?”
Yeniel spoke almost casually.
“It was also Sir Isengriff’s choice. You made the choice yourself. Such words should be spoken when you are alone and noble, I believe.”
Her tone was as ordinary as discussing dinner menus, but the content was pointed.
It was clear that Sian was not blameless.
At that moment, Sian’s spirits returned and informed him that the Crown Prince had reappeared in the banquet hall.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has returned to the banquet hall.”
It was time for public matters.
“It would be best to find a way back—or at least an umbrella.”
Yeniel spoke.
To avoid the blood rain outside, that was the sensible course.
