Chapter 209

Chapter 209

The crown prince gazed at the little princess who trailed after Ridrian, his voice erupting in a yell.

“Irina? How can it be! Why are you alive?”

“That’s…”

“Because I allowed it.” Ridrian’s response came sharp and swift, his tolerance for the prince’s shouting paper-thin. He snatched the Lotuburu and slammed it down the prince’s hand.

“Ahhhhh!”

Squeaks reverberated through the hallway, which was strewn with corpses and the Ivant army. Ridrian’s brows furrowed, his patience waning further.

“You’re a devil! The ink on the surrender treaty isn’t even dry, and you commit such atrocities!”

“About five years ago,” Ridrian spoke in a frigid tone, cutting off the crown prince’s words. “You did something worse to Lily.”

“Lily?”

“The blonde with green eyes, the crown prince’s fiancé at the time.”

The crown prince’s eyes rolled dismissively, and a smile crept onto his lips. “Ah, you mean that slut. She was so delicious. The way she squirmed was…”

Ridrian’s eyes reddened with fury, and his sword sliced through the crown prince’s arm, crimson blood splattering onto the floor.

“You’re too loud.”

The crown prince wept briefly before muffling his sobs with his bloody hand.

“Big brother…”

Ridrian clicked his tongue in annoyance at the sight of the pale girl, who seemed to share Iona’s aversion to blood. In the past, he would have found it irritating, but now, for some reason, he felt a twinge of sympathy towards her.

“Kraman.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I’ll take them with me.”

Kraman appeared momentarily taken aback, but he quickly complied, instructing a knight to escort the little princess to a different chamber.

Suddenly, another urgent noise reverberated through the hallway. Ridrian made a move to leave but halted, turning to face the crown prince.

“Two gifts are better than one.”

“Ah! N, no! Spare me! I’ll surrender to your kingdom! Spare my life!”

The crown prince was trying to run away but a knight quickly subdued him. He struggled even harder.

“Ahhh! Ah! Let me go! You can’t… Ugh!”

Ridrian lifted his Rotuburu.

There was silence in the hallway. The knight confirmed that he wasn’t struggling anymore and lifted himself from the meat that was crown prince.

Ridrian lifted something that rolled to his feet. It was a doll. The knight beside him took it and put it in a box of magic.

‘I miss you.’

As Ridrian wiped the blood off his sword, a sudden pang of longing for Iona hit him like a ton of bricks.

He yearned to wrap his arms around her and press his lips against hers. Clutching the doll he held tightly to his chest, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of comfort from its presence.

It was as if the doll brought him closer to the one he truly desired.

Turning around to face his army, he let out a deep sigh. “Let’s end this boring war,” he declared with conviction.

His soldiers, eager to follow their leader, shouted in unison, “Yes, sir!”

Tens of knights took out their swords and followed Ridrian down the center hall.

And a few hours later, the entire continent heard the news of Emperor of Ivant liberating Lucretia in less than a month.

***

Iona’s POV

We went off the day we heard the story from Mrs. Vanmon. We used divine power to heal the horses, quickening our travel time to Lorkdie to just one day.

Aware of the epidemic, we were stopped by soldiers on the road, but there happened to be a wounded soldier, so I used my power to prove ourselves. Thankfully it seemed like they heard rumours about me.

“W, we welcome your visit, saintess!”

The soldiers cheered and I requested the lord of the estate on the status update after a bit of time passes. If my visit was informed it would cause a bit of political problem, but I trusted that Chancellor Ivan will take care of it. The most important thing was the status of the estate and figuring out Piett’s plan.

‘Oh my God.’

As soon as I emerged from the gate, I was greeted by empty streets. Doors and windows had been barricaded out of fear, and those who had to venture outside looked petrified.

“What an eerie atmosphere,” Ravis muttered, his forehead creasing in concern. I concurred with his observation. Given the circumstances, I had expected the estate to be in complete disarray, with people transforming into demons left and right. Yet, it was uncannily quiet.

Without delay, I made my way to the inn where Mrs. Vanmon had informed me that her son was staying. Fortunately, it was conveniently located near the castle gate.

“We’re closed. Leave!” came the brusque reply as I approached the entrance.

The innkeeper came out frowning after we knocked on the door for a long time and tried to close it again. Dylan seemed to notice that I was caught off guard, so he quickly grabbed the door. The innkeeper tried to close the door, but it didn’t budge.

“There are outsiders here, right? We’re here to grab them.”

Instead of revealing my identity, I told him that we’ll get rid of what was making him uneasy. I gave him two gold coins at the same time. Then he seemed to ponder for a bit then shouted.

“C, check out within today!”

He let us in then closed the door again.

“Thank you. We’ll be leaving soon.”