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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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It had not been confirmed that Dagilec Branon was a heretic.
There was a terrible smell.
It was difficult to judge based on that alone.
The smell of rotten soil. Rusted metal.
Indeed, the disgusting stench was a typical characteristic of heretics.
In fact, during the Racial War, they discriminated against heretics who had infiltrated the crowd based on the stench.
However, the Branon family, which had sent Dagilec as a suitor, was prestigious in the western part of the empire, so they couldn’t be treated as suspects recklessly.
“It feels so refreshing after chasing away all those greasy-looking suitors,” Elizaveta stretched her back.
Suitor Slayer.
The heroine who had chased away all fifteen young men.
I gave her that nickname after witnessing the representatives of the Valtarian Empire returning with dejected steps.
It was a compliment to the Platinum Princess, who had chased away all fifteen of them.
“Your Highness…! Surely His Majesty will scold you! He is already in a bad mood since Princess Ludmilla left for the north…!” the dedicated maid exclaimed, turning pale and stomping her feet.
In response, Elizaveta showed an indifferent reaction.
Being a maid serving the villainous princess,
Was there any other extreme job more arduous than this?
I sincerely felt pity for her.
The prestigious families who had sent the suitors would express dissatisfaction since they had been unilaterally rejected.
They might even protest, claiming that the princess had tarnished the honor of their families.
It was natural for the dedicated maid to scream in fear, anticipating that.
“By the way, I haven’t seen that earring before. It’s really pretty,” Elizaveta tried to change the subject somehow as the dedicated maid’s nagging continued.
“Oh, yes…” the maid responded.
The princess’s dedicated maid blushed as if exploding with embarrassment and shouted.
A beautiful earring with a mysterious color glinting on her earlobe caught my attention.
I didn’t see it yesterday…
Who on earth had gifted it to the princess’s dedicated maid?
Curious, I asked the maid who had been conversing with Elizaveta.
“The young master of the Branon family… He gave it to me before leaving,” she answered.
“Pardon?”
If it had been an earring gifted by another suitor, I would have brushed it off as insignificant.
However, the suitor who had gifted it to the maid was the suspect I had been doubting.
Was it a coincidence?
It could be a simple act of goodwill.
He might have gifted it to ask for a word with Elizaveta.
After all, for nobles, bribes were nothing more than gifts to express sincerity.
However, I defined it not as a gift but as “malice.”
“Secri, can you show him the earring?” Elizaveta asked the maid, sensing the unusual atmosphere.
“Pardon? Yes…” the maid hesitated but handed me the earring.
Flinch-
An indescribable ominous feeling was felt as soon as the earring touched me. And a slight sense of similarity rushed in.
It was not an ordinary gem.
Indeed, it must have contained magic or sorcery inside.
It must have been a trick to bypass the strict monitoring magic of the imperial family.
The gem emitting a peculiar color must have been used as a disguise to deceive the monitoring magic.
I was almost certain since there had been cases where we were deceived during my time serving with the Hero’s Party.
“I think we’ll need the saintess’ assistance to analyze it in detail,” I suggested.
It was an object related to a cult.
They could discern it skillfully if it was a saintess from the Holy Kingdom.
I called for Zebeline and the priests under her command, who had been enjoying tea time in the reception room.
‘But how did he conceal his identity and infiltrate the palace?’
It was the imperial palace of the Valtarian Empire, which had served as an impregnable fortress even during the 3rd Racial War when the entire continent had been stained with the stench of bloody carnage.
Until now, there had never been a precedent of the imperial palace being breached.
If Dagilec Branon was truly a heretic, it would be recorded as an unprecedented event.
It would be the first time the strict security network of the palace had been penetrated by a filthy heretic.
Many personnel must have been mobilized.
It must have taken a long time and effort.
It was definitely not a solo crime.
An armed group consisting of heretics and cult followers might be behind it.
As my thoughts reached that point, my impatience grew even more. I even felt a sense of urgency to sweep them away quickly.
“Princess. And Saintess,” I looked at Elizaveta and Zebeline, who had arrived with the priests and hurriedly explained the countermeasures I had prepared.
Although Ludmilla had left for the north, we couldn’t leave the heretics who had infiltrated the empire unattended.
After explaining it to Elizaveta and Ludmilla, I also intended to inform Emperor Barbarossa about the infiltration of the heretics.
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After the engagement had fallen through, the monster wearing Dagilec’s human skin resided in a villa near the capital.
Although the Branon family boasted exceptional prestige in the West, not as much as the Hohenberc family, it had long become a den of heretics and cult followers.
They had killed Dagilec Branon.
They had also massacred his family and the servants of the household.
The beings currently staying at the villa were imposters disguised as the Branon family.
The “Guides” who had infiltrated even the palace to kidnap Princess Elizaveta were accelerating their next plan.
“Soon, it will be activated. The princess’s well-being is already in our grasp,” an old man with white hair spoke in a musty voice.
The incarnation of their god was not far away.
The old man’s eyes twinkled as he expressed his foul anticipation.
It was a dangerous plan, but there had been no variables so far. The incompetent imperial fools were unaware that their boasted strict security network had been breached.
They laughed at the thought of playing with the Valtarian Empire, which dominated the continent, as they pleased.
“Count Bergis, a letter has arrived from the imperial family,” a subordinate reported.
“From the imperial family?” Bergis, the old man, expressed his doubt at the subordinate’s report.
The imperial family had sent a letter.
Specifically, it was sent by Princess Elizaveta.
“Surely we haven’t been discovered… This is quite unexpected,” Bergis muttered.
Elizaveta had sent a handwritten letter to the suitors who had been chased away.
She wanted to apologize for her rudeness.
She had prepared a banquet for the suitors who had been deeply hurt.
The handwritten letter from the imperial family that arrived at the villa was an invitation for reconciliation.
Reading the letter, Bergis scoffed, revealing his yellowish teeth.
“Meiros, the princess has invited you. She says she wants to apologize for her rudeness,” Bergis said, looking at the repentance scene.
A monster.
A man with long hair was flogging himself.
He whipped his own flesh, claiming to atone for the original sin and foolishness of humans.
The sound of leather tearing accompanied the flow of blood and flesh.
Nevertheless, the monster wearing human skin continued to flog himself, panting.
“Meeting the princess as beautiful as platinum again! Ah, this is undoubtedly a revelation! It is an opportunity given to us by the omniscient god!!” the grotesque man, who had become covered in blood due to the repeated flogging, shouted with madness.
His spine-chilling appearance made even the cult followers who had pledged their fanaticism pale.
“But it’s strange. The location of the banquet is not the imperial palace but a villa nearby. They say they will hold the banquet at a villa owned by the Valtarian Imperial Family,” Bergis remarked.
“The other suitors have all received letters as well. Then, it shouldn’t be a trap,” a subordinate reported.
Bergis nodded at the subordinate’s words.
It couldn’t be a trap.
The imperial fools were still as blind as ever.
They decided to attend.
They had already grasped Princess Elizaveta’s well-being. However, they accepted the proposal to ensure perfection.
The madman disguised as Dagilec Branon intensely desired a reunion with the beautiful princess.
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The suitors who had received handwritten letters from Elizaveta gathered without exception at the villa of the Valtarian Imperial Family, where a grand banquet was being held.
Did they want an apology that badly?
No, the suitors had a different purpose.
It was to resume the engagement that had been helplessly thwarted by the villainous princess.
They would face a stern rebuke if they returned to their families after failing the engagement.
Therefore, the suitors tried to change Elizaveta’s mind somehow.
The ambition to become the Platinum Princess’s consort and grasp power again ignited the suitors’ hearts.
“It seems I wasn’t in my right mind due to the shock of the unfortunate broken engagement. I apologize again to the distinguished members of the prestigious families attending the banquet,” the beautiful princess, dressed in an elegant ivory evening dress, bowed her head and apologized.
The suitors’ hearts, which still harbored discomfort, melted like thin ice.
Snow-white light golden hair.
Brightly shining emerald eyes.
A face as dazzling as fresh snow and soft lips.
It was as if the goddess of beauty had descended.
It was not difficult for Elizaveta, who possessed beauty and charm surpassing even her sisters known for their peerless beauty, to captivate hearts.
The Platinum Princess smiled at the sight of the suitors, who were dazed.
“N-No, it’s alright! We didn’t mind at all!” the suitors, enchanted by her seductive beauty, shouted as if jumping.
They expressed their affection for the princess, competing with each other as if in a loyalty contest.
“Please make way…! Wine coming through! Oops, I spilled it!!” a girl with green hair began serving, taking unsteady steps.
Clang-! Crash!!
She spilled wine glasses.
She even broke plates.
The suitors openly showed their displeasure at the girl’s behavior, which was far inferior compared to the excellent servants of their families.
However, they couldn’t display an immoral appearance before the Platinum Princess they admired, so they exercised patience and endured it.
“Ahem!” one of the suitors cleared his throat.
“This suit is so expensive…!” another muttered.
Wine glasses were placed in front of each suitor.
It was white wine with a subtle aroma.
Could it be that the main dish was a fish dish?
The suitors speculated about the upcoming banquet while drinking the white wine.
“We meet again. How have you been?” Dagilec Branon smiled brightly and greeted the cute girl as she approached him.
“…Eek!” the girl let out a startled sound and ran away as if fleeing.
What was that?
Why was she running in such a hurry…?
I had observed her since she started serving the wine glasses, but there was not even a hint of etiquette or refinement in the clumsy girl. Why did they entrust the serving to a girl like that?
It was extraordinary.
“Hmm?” Dagilec, gazing at the girl’s retreating figure, suddenly let out a questioning sound.
The wine was a brilliant red color.
The other suitors had received white wine.
But why had they placed red wine only for him?
As Dagilec stared at the red wine, as red as blood, he felt a sharp sense of crisis piercing his lungs.
So, he instinctively tried to get up from his seat.
“There’s only one rat hiding in secret,” a man who had approached at some point drew his sword and stabbed Dagilec’s chest.
“Guh!!” Dagilec let out a scream and collapsed on the floor, spilling blood.
“Wh-What is this…!!” he tried to shout at the man who had launched a sudden attack.
However, he couldn’t even open his mouth.
All the sorcery and blessings that had deceived the strict security network of the palace began to wriggle as if screaming.
It was because of the blow he had just received.
His entire body boiled and spewed out pungent smoke relentlessly.
“Graaaah!! Graaaaaah!!!” the monster, whose identity had been exposed, screamed as Dagilec Branon’s face, which he had been using usefully, melted away.
That was not all.
The flesh on his entire body, including his face, dripped like wax.
The monster glared at the purple blade that had stabbed him while screaming. Then, he shifted his gaze to the man who had wielded the sword.
“How many sorceries and blessings did you slather on for your whole body to melt?” the man took out a gun.
And without hesitation, he pulled the trigger on the monster’s head.
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Gottem
Headshot…