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Chapter 145

As Alicia craned her neck out the carriage window to see, she was still looking at the very place where the smoke was rising.

“My sister is going to be fine, right?”

Filled with concern, her voice trembled.

And the man beside her whispered back, covering Alicia’s hand with his.

“Don’t worry. Nothing’s going to happen.”

As it always did, the man’s ever-sweet voice soothed her terrified heart, which soon regained stability. Alicia glanced sideways at the man’s face and nodded.

“Thank you, Daniel.”

.

.

.

Right after the explosive, deafening sound—

Rosetta sprang up to her feet and was about to head towards the source of the disturbance, but just before she could move, she halted where she was.

Because of the quivering hand holding onto the end of her sleeve.

“Sister.”

“…Alicia.”

As she looked down, she was faced with the frightful, cowering Alicia. Rosetta pursed her lips.

‘I have to go to Maxwell’s side, but…’

What about Alicia?

At the very least, Leo was going with Rosetta.

But that would leave Alicia and Daniel all alone here.

Rosetta wasn’t completely sure who Urien was just yet.

In this situation, she couldn’t even think of leaving Alicia in the care of someone who might be Urien.

Of course, there were many eyes on them. Even still…

‘They’re House Carter’s people, so I can’t trust them either.’

But taking Alicia to the heart of danger would be…

‘Just the sound of it is already making her tremble.’

Alicia had been in a state of mental and physical decline ever since the hunting festival.

As Rosetta looked down at Alicia’s gaunt cheeks, her chest felt so heavy that she couldn’t stand it.

The trauma caused by Katie’s abuse was exacerbated by the stress brought upon by what happened in the hunting festival. Bringing Alicia with her now was out of the question.

As the situation had come to this, where she’s forced to choose either just this or just that, it was exceedingly clear that this matched the word ‘trap’.

However, even amidst this crisis, Rosetta’s expression did not grow dark.

Her work ahead had become cumbersome, but that was all.

“It’s alright, Alicia. Don’t worry.”

She patted Alicia’s back slowly and relaxedly.

After a little while, Alicia’s slender shoulders stopped shaking heavily.

Quietly watching, Leo soon opened his lips to speak.

“Then, may I ask what you’d like to do? Will you be coming with me?”

Rosetta nodded.

“Yes. My escort knight is left all alone in someone else’s domain and is now in danger. Of course I have to go.”

“Well then, we must move now…”

“No. Please give me a moment.”

The man’s cautious urging was interrupted.

As Rosetta was crouching down to soothe Alicia, she now stood up with impeccable posture.

With a straight back, Rosetta directed her gaze behind Leo.

It seemed as if she was looking into the empty air or somewhere far away, but before long, the presence of two people could be felt approaching.

Her red lips, which had been in a tight line until now, furtively drew an arc.

“Milady!”

“Lady Rosetta, Lady Alicia! Are you both alright?!”

The owners of the presences running towards them shouted as soon as they made eye contact with Rosetta.

“Diana, Lanco.”

As their names were called, they pushed their legs to run faster.

Finally arriving in front of the table, they panted heavily.

Rosetta stared at the two women standing before her.

Diana and Lanco.

These two people were wearing maids uniforms, and more importantly, House Valentine’s insignia.

“You ran.”

“We heard the commotion and came running straightaway.”

“We’re not too late, are we?”

With relaxed ease, Rosetta shook her head in response to the frantic questions.

“No. You’re not late.”

She soon ordered Diana and Lanco to take Alicia to the carriage.

With the two maids’ help, Alicia got up from her seat, but she was looking around urgently.

Looking at Alicia, Daniel spoke up.

“Wouldn’t it be better to go inside the residence rather than a carriage?”

His suggestion was certainly plausible, but Rosetta shook her head.

“No, it would be better for Alicia to stay in the carriage so that she can leave the moment the situation takes a nosedive. It wouldn’t be easy to launch an attack at House Valentine’s carriage, so you have nothing to worry about.”

Right, the carriage was much safer rather than letting Alicia enter the Carter residence.

Besides that.

“The knights and mages of House Carter can easily uphold the safety of Alicia and our maids in this way as well. I believe that the ducal family would not want to put their guests in harm’s way, yes?”

She delivered these words with calm deliberation, but there was no denying the strong connotation lying beneath.

“Of course. We shall ensure your safety.”

Nodding without any hesitation, Leo nodded.

Then, the knights and mages who had come at his beck and call moved urgently.

One of them rushed to call for reinforcements, and the rest were now assigned to guard Alicia, Diana and Lanco.

Alicia looked uneasily at the people around her, then she soon found the man she had been looking for until now.

“P-Please, just a moment!”

As Leo and Rosetta were about to turn around and leave, Alicia’s plea made them stop.

The same was true for the group surrounding Alicia.

Her golden eyes, as bright as the sun, quivered agitatedly.

“What… What about Daniel? Wouldn’t it be better if he comes with me?”

All those who towered over her fell silent.

Rosetta, Leo, Daniel and Alicia.

The gazes of these four were intricately intertwined.

However, the last destination of the other three’s eyes was Rosetta.

As a matter of fact, Rosetta had the right to make the call here.

“If you’ll allow it, Lady Rosetta, I agree with this suggestion. Since we’re being split apart, it would be best to keep it at two groups instead of further dividing ourselves.”

When Daniel spoke up with his opinion, Alicia nodded quietly in support.

Rosetta thought over it for a moment, but there was no good reason to refuse.

It would be inefficient to split themselves up further just as Daniel said.

Besides, Alicia looked so desperate.

Perhaps she wanted to repay Daniel for the time that was injured due to her during the hunting festival.

‘In any case, it’s better for Alicia to pay it off right away than letting her continue treating him like a savior.’

After her short contemplation, Rosetta nodded with an expressionless face.

“Go ahead. However, Diana and Lanco must also be inside the carriage.

It seemed like a trivial condition, but it was quite an important one.

Rosetta was giving Diana and Lanco the right to stand by Alicia directly.

In addition, it was a safety precaution that would prevent Daniel from doing any such nonsense to Alicia should he actually be Urien.

And the nonsense she was referring to here was his ‘brainwashing’.

Urien’s brainwashing was mainly done while he was alone with his target.

If there were many eyes around him, it wouldn’t be easy for him to put them all under his control right away, no matter how adept at it he might be.

“Yes, of course. I am grateful for House Valentine’s consideration.”

Daniel smiled.

It was an impeccably sweet smile without a single trace of disorder.

Rosetta nodded towards Daniel once, then turned her back to them once more.

As she looked straight ahead, her features contained nothing but coldness.

And her eyes glinted dangerously.

* * *

So, not long after Leo and Rosetta arrived at the scene where Maxwell was, they cleared everything up here so quickly that it felt dull.

Apart from all the opponents who had already collapsed on the ground here and there, five more people were added.

Now, the three people left standing looked at each other in silence.

In a way, the crisis had been averted, but the rising tension still remained—as if something more was waiting for them.

“Are you alright?”

When Leo asked, Maxwell nodded and ducked his head.

He seemed to be hiding the lower part of his face. It could be seen clearly now because half of his mask had flown away.

The problem was that his intention was much too obvious.

“…Yes, thank you.

Hiding his face like a turtle, Maxwell answered in a deeper voice.

Bright red eyes glanced towards Maxwell’s neck.

And the blue bruise right there quickly caught his eye.

“Good grief, it doesn’t seem like you’re alright.”

“It’s nothing. I can bear this much.”

As Leo took a step closer, Maxwell replied and took a step back.

Rosetta remained silent until now, but she soon blocked the way between them.

Now coming between the two, naturally, both Leo and Maxwell took a step back away from her.

But as though she didn’t care at all, Rosetta reached her hand towards Maxwell.

“Who are you kidding—your neck is blue. Can you breathe properly?”

“…I’m fine.”

Maxwell paused for a while before he answered.

Beneath the mask, his black eyes and Rosetta’s golden eyes met briefly, then immediately parted.

“Alright. Then, are these all the intruders?”

“It seems so, yes. For now.”

“You think so?”

Rosetta shrugged as she stared at the man’s jaw, which was close to her.

“In any case, what a relief.”

Although half of his mask had flown away, it didn’t look like he sustained any other injuries.

Maxwell nodded in agreement to Rosetta’s whisper.

Rosetta craned her neck to examine the situation behind Maxwell.

One particular body that was in the middle of a puddle of blood caught her attention.

‘Why is…’

But just as she thought about it.

“Graaaaaah!”

With a shrill scream, the collapsed person lying near Maxwell and Rosetta sprang up.

It was as though a corpse had suddenly risen from the ground. In that moment, Rosetta’s eyes went wide as she looked at the opponent who was rushing in.

And that person’s hand was headed straight for Rosetta’s face.

At the encroaching danger, Rosetta froze in place.

The figure of the opponent rushing at her could clearly be seen by her golden eyes.

But in a split second, Leo reached out towards the monster.

“……!”

“Shit.”

Leo immediately conjured fire through his outstretched hand, and Maxwell held Rosetta tightly in his arms to dodge.

The long nails of the monster touched only Maxwell’s mask before it pulled back once again.

As soon as Leo’s flame reached it, the monster screeched and dropped to the ground.

Thud.

Even so, all was not well.

As the tattered mask had been attacked twice, it now reached the end of its life as it fell to the floor.

And over the face that had been trapped beneath the mask all this time, the wind carrying winter with it suddenly hit.

The blowing gust made Maxwell close his eyes for a second, but he slowly opened them once more.

Beyond his brightening vision, Rosetta and Leo’s faces gradually became clearer.

Red eyes stared pointedly at the man’s exposed face. Lips underneath crept up into a crooked smile.

Rosetta looked up at Maxwell with a stiff expression.

At first glance, there was a dim smile laying upon the corners of those lips.

She belatedly raised her hands to cover the man’s face, but it was much too late.

Exasperatedly sweeping her hair up, Rosetta muttered under her breath.

“Goodness. In the end… your face got revealed, huh.”