Chapter 91

Prince Heum stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the letter containing the secret given to him by his mother. However, perhaps because there were many eyes watching, Prince Heum did not run away this time. Unlike before, he even drew his sword from his waist. 'Last time, he charged forward with his mouth wide open.' Is he trying to save face because the nobles of his country are watching? 'It's certain. Prince Heum is not a zombie. He has reason. The zombies infected by Raddler or Raddler himself would attack anyone around them, right?' While thinking this, Latil's body immediately sprang into action. His senses, honed by long training, made him swing his sword as soon as he recognized the enemy. Moving his arm and pushing off the ground with his legs, Latil aimed for Prince Heum's neck. Just as Hyacinth had pierced the zombie's forehead with his sword, making it quiet with one strike, he wasn't sure if the same method would work on a Specter, but it was worth a try. "I'm fighting the prince." "Is it Prince Heum? My goodness." "What's happening? Why are the dead people...?" "Isn't that woman the king's mistress?" As the nobles gathered at the door, whispering and watching, Latil fought Prince Heum with his sword. Because he had a history of running away after charging, Latil initially underestimated him. However, when their swords clashed, he found that Prince Heum was quite skilled. Latil frowned. 'Strength...' Was this a power gained from the dead coming back to life? In terms of reaction speed and sword skills, Prince Heum was far inferior to the Specters. However, the force felt when their swords clashed was so brutal that after a few clashes, Latil's wrists ached. Still, as they continued to clash, he gradually got a feel for how to deal with him. Latil avoided direct clashes and deflected his attacks while persistently aiming for Heum's head. [Why isn't he creating that strange barrier this time?] Heum's thoughts occasionally seeped into Latil's mind, but they offered little help beyond indicating which direction he would attack. 'I agree, man. Why aren't you running away today?' The speed of their sword exchanges was so fast that Hyacinth could only pace anxiously, unable to intervene. Just then, as Latil lost his balance and stumbled over a rock, he felt something strange. It was as if something had left him before he swung his sword, a sensation that blurred the line between reality and illusion. "No!" At the same moment, Aine's voice rang out. As Latil regained his balance, he saw Heum right in front of him, sword raised. Strangely, Heum's eyes were wide open, as if he had seen something that shouldn't exist. But regardless of his expression, Latil's neck was about to be pierced. As Heum thrust his sword downward, he wavered, and Latil, regaining his balance, slashed at Heum's side. 'Too low!' He had aimed for the neck. It was too low. However, instead of continuing his attack, Heum looked back and forth between Latil and Aine before hastily fleeing. Latil tried to chase him, but Heum's escape speed was too fast. In the blink of an eye, Heum disappeared, and Latil stopped chasing, breathing heavily. He had driven Heum away, but he felt uneasy. The concern that first came to mind when he saw the first cursed corpse. What if such cursed corpses fell into a crowded place? That worry had become a reality. "Wow!" "My goodness! Is he a holy knight?" "Amazing!" But Latil was startled by the sudden thunderous applause and looked around. The situation inside seemed to be under control, as the nobles were gathered at the door, cheering. Some were clapping. Latil quickly scanned the area. Seeing no other enemies, he lowered his sword and walked to the door. As he approached, Hyacinth, who had been tense, finally managed to smile and pat his shoulder. "You're still strong, Sir Sadie." "What about inside? Why are you watching from here?" "The knights have subdued everyone, and the injured are tied up just in case. The soldiers who checked outside say the disturbance was only inside, fortunately." Latil nodded, relieved. Perhaps because the instigator was a prince, it seemed that Prince Heum did not plan to turn his entire country into a zombie den. Just by bringing one Raddler into the midst of the nobles. "What about Callain?" Hyacinth pointed inside with his eyes, and Latain saw Callain standing awkwardly, unable to come over due to the crowd. Latil returned his sword to Hyacinth's royal guard and approached. He noticed Louis standing close to Aine, who looked pale. When their eyes met, Louis visibly flinched. Latil could have just passed by, but he deliberately teased her in a sweet voice. "Thanks for tailoring my dress to make it easier to fight. Did you expect this to happen?" Louis bit her lip but, given the situation where people were cheering for 'Sadie,' found it hard to argue and forced a smile. Aine wasn't looking at Latil. She was staring outside with a sad expression. Latil turned and walked towards Callain. Callain, who had been standing expressionless, smiled warmly as Latil approached. Seeing the pride in his eyes, Latil almost laughed. "Why are you proud of me here?" When Latil whispered, Callain bowed and whispered in his ear. "As expected, Miss, you look best at the highest place." "You... You have some nerve." It was hard to say such things casually. Latil, feeling embarrassed, took a step to the side. Looking around, he saw that most people were smiling with fear. They were smiling to overcome their fear. Seeing the captured zombie knight growling, Latil sighed heavily. What is happening? What will happen next? * * * "The Emperor of Tariyum and I had already detected the signs of this incident and prepared countermeasures. Miss Sadie is a special envoy secretly sent by Emperor Latrasil to prevent chaos." While Hyacinth calmed the nobles with a half-truth, half-lie, Latil stood awkwardly with a forced smile, feeling the completely changed gazes of the people. When he was the emperor, he received many gazes, but the current situation was entirely different. While the gazes people sent him as the emperor were filled with fear and caution towards the pinnacle of power, the gazes people sent him now were filled with admiration and affectionate curiosity. Because they had seen Latil repel Prince Heum, they believed Hyacinth's words and regarded Latil as some kind of holy knight hero. The only person who felt uncomfortable in this situation was Louis. It was understandable. People who had misunderstood 'Sadie' as a woman Hyacinth had brought to be his mistress now turned their attention to the maids who had started the rumor. "You should have investigated more thoroughly." "You're right. They were pushing people around without any reason, and now this." "Loyalty should be directed in the right direction. If it's twisted like this..." Hyacinth quickly calmed the situation and then divided the nobles into several groups, assigning a group of knights to escort each group to their carriages. In contrast, the injured nobles were isolated in the palace for a few days as a precaution. Some nobles with minor injuries protested, but when the other nobles looked at them coldly, they reluctantly accepted the decision. Latil, seeing the situation calming down, returned to his guest room with Callain. "I didn't expect this situation to become public here first." "Me neither. I thought it would become public when I exposed the fake." "Is this good or bad...?" "Compared to Tella, Heum seems to be acting more seriously, doesn't he?" "Yes." "..." "Do you think this is a bad direction?" "No. The most terrifying scenario came to mind." "The most terrifying scenario? When Heum or Tella takes the throne?" "No." "No?" "When Prince Heum can't get what he wants. If he decides to turn the country into a zombie den so that no one else can have it, what then?" "!" That must be prevented. Latil muttered and turned the doorknob of the door that had appeared right in front of him. * * * The rumors about the strange incident at the banquet quickly spread throughout the capital. At first, people who weren't at the scene laughed it off, but when they saw armed soldiers searching house by house, they became tense and started to think the rumors might be true. However, Duke Daga, the father of Empress Aine, reacted differently from others. "A special envoy from the Tariyum Empire repelled Prince Heum?" When Duke Daga asked, Louis, looking displeased, answered, "Yes," while glancing at his expression. Like all the people on Aine's side, Louis was part of Duke Daga's faction. And due to yesterday's incident, Aine was very shocked. She had almost been attacked by a zombie, her closest friend Raddler had turned into a monster, and her lover, Prince Heum, had revealed himself in front of everyone. That's why she came to report to Duke Daga in person. Duke Daga's reaction was strange. "Is it really certain that this Sadie woman repelled Prince Heum?" After hearing that Empress Aine was safe, Duke Daga focused on the 'Sadie' woman, not the zombies or Prince Heum. "Yes." Despite finding it strange, Louis calmly described the situation as objectively as possible. Hearing this, Duke Daga clenched his teeth, stomped his foot, and punched the table. "!" Louis was startled by his angry attitude. "Duke?" When she asked why, Duke Daga asked the same question he had asked several times. "You said that when the special envoy Sadie was about to be overwhelmed by Prince Heum, Aine definitely shouted, right?" "Yes. Prince Heum definitely hesitated at that moment." Recalling the scene, Louis gritted her teeth. "He definitely stopped when he heard the Empress's voice. If not, that Sadie woman would have definitely lost! Yet everyone believes she repelled Prince Heum..." Duke Daga clenched his fist and repeatedly clenched and unclenched it while leaning back on the sofa. His forehead was flushed. Louis still didn't understand his reaction. She had a reason to be angry at the Sadie woman, but why was the Duke so furious? At that moment, Duke Daga said something strange. "You're right. The one who drove away Prince Heum wasn't that woman. It was Aine." "Of course, the prince loved the Empress deeply..." "No, that's not why." "Pardon?" "Because of Aine's power." "Power...?" Duke Daga kicked the table. "I once asked the temple to send Aine." "I know, but there were many children like her, weren't there?" "The priest said that when darkness approaches, someone will appear to drive it away, and there's a 'high probability' that Aine will be that person." "!" "At the time, I thought it was nonsense. Besides, I couldn't make my daughter a priestess." Hearing this, Louis's expression became similar to Duke Daga's. The layers of resentment from yesterday were ignited by the Duke's words. Louis, excited and even breathing heavily, shouted. "So that woman used the Empress's power to drive away the prince and is now pretending to be a hero! We must tell everyone! The praise that woman received should have gone to the Empress!" But when Duke Daga raised his hand to signal 'stop,' Louis quickly closed her mouth. Duke Daga shook his head. "No. If my daughter really is the one to drive away the darkness, this won't end with just receiving people's praise." "Then...?" Duke Daga's lips slowly curved, and his eyes darkened. "We could draw a bigger picture. If the situation gets... worse." * * * At that moment. After having breakfast, Latil found a note stuck under the window and picked it up. As Callain closed the door, he noticed Latil smiling as he looked at the note. "Is it from Tashir?" Latil nodded, clutched the note, and looked at Callain. "He's ready." "Then..." "Yes. Let's go find my place."