Banquet (1)
The nobles attending the banquet held in the garden were mostly smiling.
However, among them was a nobleman with blatant anger, but he had no choice but to wear a smiling mask in front of the Emperor.
But now, they could smile on the inside.
The things they had unleashed would remove the hideous beings hiding in this domain.
These nobles began communicating silently with each other through telepathy magic.
[Did you all feel it?]
[What's the matter, rodens family head?]
[Suddenly, the spirit I unleashed has been killed.]
[What? Weren't those the creatures we captured from the demon realm? Don't tell me they've already been found out by the special task force?]
When such unsettling information was shared, some nobles grew deeply worried.
[No one here could capture those things except for the special task force.]
[Wherever the Emperor is, the special task force must exist there too. Haven't we overlooked this point?]
Everyone was tense about the existence of the special task force, but the Lawrence family head shook his head and spoke.
[It wasn't the special task force that took out my spirit—it was the Princess.]
[What?!]
[I didn't think the Princess had that kind of skill.]
[Anyway, the Princess is currently down due to the poison of the spirit. And, the target was nearby.]
[By target, you mean...?]
At those words, anger crept into the voices of the other nobles.
[That's right. The elves.]
At the same time, venom crept into the tone of the Lawrence family head.
The reason they were attending this banquet was precisely to annihilate that elf.
The spirits they had set loose in this place were captured specifically to kill that elf.
[I've just had a good idea!]
Lawrence family head, just as angry, suddenly spoke in a joyful tone.
[What is it?]
[Of all people, the Princess was taken down by the poison of my spirit and lost consciousness. I was able to confirm it by sharing perception through the spirit.]
[Isn't that a problem? If we get caught... all of us...]
[Exactly. It would be a big problem. But we'll accuse the elves as the culprits, not us.]
At the Lawrence family head's suggestion, several nobles grew interested.
[You mean to pin what we did on the elves?]
[Have you forgotten? Spirit-calling is the elves' specialty. Even elves under ten years old have much higher attunement with spirits than humans.]
Therefore, the spirit that attacked the Princess could be considered a familiar summoned by the elves.
With this plan, the nobles started to laugh.
[Hahaha! That's an ingenious idea!]
[What a stroke of luck. His Majesty is about to make an important announcement as we speak.]
The nobles turned to look at the Emperor stepping onto the podium.
Originally, the Princess was supposed to stand beside him, but for some reason, she was nowhere in sight.
Perhaps for that reason, the Emperor's expression looked more worried than dignified.
Nevertheless, the Emperor paid it no mind and began his speech.
Estelle was a child who would never get lost no matter where she went.
With 'Mind's Eye', there was no way she would get ambushed or lose her way.
'She must have gotten curious and started wandering around.'
Besides, Louis was here.
With him present, this place was no less than an impregnable fortress.
That was why the Emperor was able to calmly proceed with his important announcement.
'Now it's time to reveal the truth about the elf children.'
Two years ago, when the true face of the Holy Nation had come to light, trust in the Holy Nation had hit rock bottom. At the same time, hatred against a certain race soared uncontrollably.
The elves, once targeted, could barely show themselves without facing discrimination, never being treated as people.
Of course, that could be simple prejudice. Some argued that not all elves were guilty.
However, the elves had deceived the people by hiding the continent's greatest secret.
They exploited and sacrificed countless people in the cover-up, making them deserving of resentment.
Two years later, public hatred was slowly subsiding.
There were rising calls to stop discriminating and to stop venting anger undeservedly.
Thus, it was necessary, here and now, to reveal the presence of those children.
With the intention of saying, let's stop blaming them.
"Is that for real?"
"An elf was hiding here?"
"And the special task force hid them themselves?"
As the Emperor revealed the truth, a wave of chatter swept through the nobles.
"This is disappointing. To think they cared for those who are no better than enemies."
"So this gathering was just to tell us that nonsense?"
Some nobles showed their disappointment openly.
From their words alone, one might think the discrimination against elves was just as strong as ever.
"It's been two years already, and people still say that?"
"It's not like every single elf is guilty, so why act like that?"
"So even a newborn elf is a criminal, is that it?"
However, many voices rose in rebuttal against such opinions.
Thanks to the growing opposition, the Emperor's announcement started to carry more credibility.
[Who gave you permission!]
But as if mocking all of this, a sinister energy suddenly swept through the banquet hall.
"What is this?"
The first to sense the presence was the Emperor.
Soon, a black mist began to envelop the entire banquet hall.
Then, something translucent appeared naturally within the hall.
"That's—!"
The Emperor, once a student of magic, had picked up spirit-calling in the process.
That's how he immediately knew the being that appeared in the hall was a spirit.
And not just any spirit—a sinister one.
BOOM!―
A giant, wolf-like black spirit swung its arm.
Even without a howl, a violent gale swept through the hall with its silent attack.
In that instant, the hall plunged into chaos.
Despite heavy security for the Emperor, who could have let such an intruder in?
"It's a spirit! A spirit of darkness!"
A spirit of darkness, extremely hostile to humans.
There was no reason for such a spirit to appear here out of nowhere.
Someone had to have summoned it.
"Evacuate everyone immediately!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The knights responded swiftly to the Emperor's command.
The most capable among them charged at the wolf spirit, but were no match for it.
CRASH!―
Even blades imbued with aura shattered like candy with a single swing of the spirit's arm.
The spirit was stronger than anyone expected.
Never mind the fact that there was an intruder—who could possibly summon such a powerful spirit?
No ordinary level of attunement would suffice.
'Someone with high attunement?'
As the Emperor worried, a nobleman suddenly shouted.
"It's the elves! It's the elves' doing, Your Majesty!"
The Rodens family head shouted toward the Emperor.
The Emperor, who was about to take cover, paused at his words.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said! The ones who summoned those spirits have to be the elves!"
"Nonsense...."
"Isn't it common knowledge that elves have high attunement with spirits?"
With an elf's attunement, such things were possible.
But even so, this spirit was too strong.
Such a spirit could only be summoned by experienced elves, not by children—but the general public didn't care about such details.
"Now that you mention it... it makes sense."
"Who else here could summon a spirit but an elf?"
"We never should have trusted them, Your Majesty!"
If an argument only 'makes sense,' the masses are easily swayed.
Rodens family head, who led the agitation, knew perfectly well how baseless it was.
But to agitators, such things hardly mattered.
"Long ago, my wife and daughter disappeared."
At that moment, a nobleman spoke with a face full of hatred.
"There was news they vanished at the border of the Holy Nation, but they were never found."
He was Kirma Pades, the Pades family head, and collaborated with Rodens in this incident.
He recalled the horrific memory vividly.
"But it turns out it wasn't just a disappearance—it was murder. Their bodies were found as bones in the elves' village."
His family had been murdered by the elves.
Once the truth was out, all his hatred naturally targeted the elves.
"Look at that! That's what elves are! No matter how young, they're our enemies!"
But in truth, this wolf spirit wasn't summoned by any elf.
It was summoned by Kirma himself.
Kirma intended to blame all his deeds on the elves.
As if reacting to his rage, the wolf spirit became even fiercer.
"If we don't act, we'll be annihilated by them first—"
"Cut the crap!!"
SWISH!―
At that moment, Bloodline slashed diagonally across, crossing from both sides.
The wolf spirit split along the cut and died.
Silia was the one to slay, in a single blow, the spirit that couldn't be scratched even by swarms of knights.
She sheathed Bloodline at her waist, instantly seizing control of the scene.
"You call this the elves' doing? Who's inciting such nonsense?"
"Nonsense? We're only speaking the truth...."
"Rodens family, pades family, oline family, barones family. Did you think we didn't know what you were up to?"
Silia recited the names of the key families received from Rio.
"You've meddled with the 7th Legion quite a bit—just to employ that spirit, no less."
"Ugh...!"
Kirma and the Rodens family head were taken aback, their hearts pounding.
Though she wasn't Louis and couldn't measure their heartbeats, their subtle expressions told her all she needed to know.
"In short, you summoned it and tried to blame the elves. Am I wrong?"
The knights immediately surrounded the nobles Silia named.
Kirma, now restrained, bit his lip.
"Too bad. Your plan is a bust."
"What plan?"
"To pin the Emperor's death on the elves, of course."
If it hadn't been for Silia, everyone on site would have died by the spirit's hand.
And just as the agitators intended, the blame would have fallen on the elves.
"To kill His Majesty, you say? Hahaha... Don't flatter yourself."
Suddenly, Kirma burst into laughter.
"My goal isn't to frame them for a crime, but to massacre them—just as they did to my wife and daughter."
"What do you mean?"
"Just what I said!"
At that moment, an ominous presence swept through the banquet hall once more.
Again, something with a sinister aura began to manifest.
"Again?"
This time, it wasn't just one.
Two wolf spirits, three eagle spirits, five snake spirits.
And the number of spirits continued to grow.
"I've already figured out where those elf brats are hiding."
By sharing perception with the spirit, he watched an elf girl carrying Princess Estelle away.
Having tracked her escape route, he learned there was some orphanage in the mountains.
"By now, an even stronger one is headed their way!"
Though Kirma's words sounded threatening, Silia answered calmly.
"Is that so?"
"...?"
Kirma looked puzzled by her unshaken response.
****
"So the banquet hall turned into that chaos, and you came here, older brother?"
"That's right. That's why you kids shouldn't wander around outside."
Arriving at the orphanage, Louis treated Merry's injuries.
Having been cured of her poisoning, Merry bowed her head gratefully.
"Thank you so much."
If it hadn't been for Louis, she would have died then and there to the spirits.
"You're quite remarkable for someone so young. In that situation, you chose to help Her Highness the Princess."
Louis nodded at Estelle, lying beside him.
Her life was also saved thanks to medical attention.
"Maybe your dream of becoming a knight will come true someday."
"By the way, was this big sis really a princess?"
"Yup, she is."
"Whoa..."
When Merry frowned in disbelief, Louis asked,
"You really didn't know?"
"No. I never imagined a princess would sneak into someone else's room like a weirdo."
"...."
Louis's face stiffened at that.
If Rio heard about this later, something amusing would surely happen.
"I'll just step outside for a bit."
"Where are you going?"
"To greet a guest."
"A guest?"
"It's a guest you kids must not meet. I'll be sure everyone stays quiet and sleeping."
With that, as Louis stepped outside, he was greeted by something enormous.
"This is going to wake all the children, even if I try to be quiet."
A lizard spirit, bigger than the building, was glaring at Louis as if determined to kill him.