123. Masquerade Ball (2)

The louder the people screamed, the faster Edward’s steps became. Before figuring out what was happening, he at least wanted to send Larael back to the Abella Palace.

As he hurried along with Larael in his arms, Edward suddenly stopped. His arms tightened protectively around her. Two assassins stood in front of him, their swords pointed at his chest.

The crowd shrieked and scattered like water parting around them.

Edward pushed Larael behind him. She stumbled back in a daze, peering past him at the blades leveled against them. Larael’s heart plummeted deep into her chest with a heavy thud.

Edward nimbly dodged the sword slashing toward him, kicking at the assassin’s side with precision. At the same time, he tried to snatch away the blade, but it wasn’t easy. He couldn’t even tell if there were only two enemies or more hidden in the hall. And above all, he could not let Larael be harmed.

After evading several more strikes, Edward sought an opening.

“Larael, the bracelet!!”

Suddenly, he remembered the bracelet he had given her—the one she always wore. He shouted, desperately hoping she had it on tonight.

Larael clutched at her racing chest and looked down at her wrist. If she disappeared here, Edward would be free to fight without worrying about her.

‘But what about Edward??’

Her trembling hands began to unfasten the bracelet. It wasn’t she who needed it—it was Edward.

The hall gradually grew brighter as attendants, carrying candelabras in haste, pushed inside against the flood of people trying to escape. The Imperial Knights had drawn their swords and were securing the ballroom entrance, forcing the crowd back.

They quickly spotted their Emperor. Edward, locked in combat with two assassins, was immediately recognized.

“Your Majesty!”

As they rushed toward him, three more assassins stepped forward to block their way. Among them, Larael noticed a man dressed in the uniform of a servant who had been carrying wine earlier. Their eyes had met before by no coincidence.

“Larael, go!” Edward shouted as he shifted his stance again.

“You’re not going anywhere!!”

One of the assassins broke off, lunging toward Larael.

“Larael!”

Edward blocked her path, throwing himself into the attacker’s charge. The assassin’s blade grazed Edward’s arm, drawing a pained groan from him. The man fell when Edward shoved him back, and in that fleeting moment, his dropped sword was snatched up by Edward in a desperate dive.

The instant his hand closed around the hilt, Edward stumbled to his knees.

“Your Majesty!!”

As Larael rushed to him, the fallen assassin seized her from behind, locking an arm around her throat.

“Your… Ma… jesty… khhh—”

Edward, staggering with the sword in hand, looked at her. He clenched his eyes shut, shook his head fiercely, and reopened them. Larael clawed at the arm choking her, gasping for air. His dizziness worsened, her figure doubling before his eyes.

The assassin pressed a dagger to her pale neck, threatening her.

“Larael… no…” Edward rasped.

“Now you’ll know how it feels to lose the one you love most, right before your eyes.”

“Cecile, stop!”

Another assassin barked at the one called Cecile, who froze with her dagger poised. The pressure around Larael’s neck loosened, and she gasped, fumbling for her wrist.

‘I have to disappear quickly…’

“Your Majesty!!”

Several Imperial Knights managed to break through and rushed toward Edward.

Clicking his tongue, the assassin facing Edward muttered, “Pathetic, you couldn’t even stop them,” then darted at Edward again.

Edward’s blade briefly flared with aura before it sputtered out. Barely keeping his balance, he intercepted the assassin’s strike. He was too dizzy even to defend properly, let alone attack.

While fending off blows, his eyes flicked toward Larael, his brow furrowing deeply.

“Cecile, don’t forget your mission.”

Cecile cursed under her breath, glaring between Larael and Edward. The moment she caught Edward’s glance toward her, she raised her dagger high.

“No!!!”

With trembling hands, Larael struggled to activate the bracelet. She couldn’t see the switch, and her shaking fingers kept missing it.

Grinding his teeth, Edward’s sword burst once more with aura—and slashed through Cecile’s arm, severing the hand holding the dagger.

“Arghhh!!!”

Cecile’s scream tore through the hall as she crumpled, clutching her bleeding stump.

Larael staggered out of her reach, turning toward Edward. He wavered but exhaled in relief seeing her unharmed.

Then, in that instant, an assassin thr*st a sword deep into Edward’s back.

“Your Majesty!!!!!!!”

Time seemed to freeze. Edward’s eyes blinked slowly, his body collapsing forward. Larael screamed, throwing herself toward him.

The sword lifted again, ready to strike, but Edward fell over Larael, shielding her with his body.

The Imperial Knights charged, cutting down the assassin who had stabbed him.

Larael stared at Edward’s pale face and the fading light in his eyes, her lips repeating only the words, 

‘No… no…’

“I’ll kill you…”

At the chilling voice behind her, Larael turned.

Cecile stood there, blood pouring from her severed arm, pooling at her feet. Her face was ghastly pale, her eyes vacant, yet in her left hand she still clutched a dagger.

The Imperial Knights, too occupied with other assassins, hadn’t noticed her.

In a rush, Larael yanked the bracelet from her wrist and fastened it onto Edward’s arm. Then, forcing herself to remain calm, she searched for the button and pressed it.

“I’m sorry.”

Edward blinked slowly and looked at Larael. His lips moved, then were swallowed by light and vanished. When he was gone, the tears Larael had been holding back at last poured out. She cursed that she hadn’t done this sooner and prayed desperately that Edward would be safe.

At the sight of Edward disappearing in a flash of light, the assassins who had been fighting him and the Imperial Knights both froze for a moment. Cecile, staring at the empty space where Edward had been, suddenly grabbed Larael by the hair and yanked her roughly.

“Where did you send him?” she demanded.

“……”

Larael said nothing, only stared at Cecile with hollow eyes.

A few of the Imperial Knights already knew about the bracelet’s capabilities. Seeing several of the knights who’d been confronting the assassins quickly leave the hall, Larael felt a small relief.

“Cecile, let’s get out of here for now.”

With the Emperor gone, there was nothing more they could do. Cecile hauled Larael to her feet. Larael fought with all her strength, thinking she might be able to slip free from the woman who’d lost an arm, but years of wielding a blade left Cecile far stronger than her.

“You insane b*tch…”

Cecil slammed the pommel of her dagger into the back of Larael’s head. Another assassin stepped back toward Cecile and grabbed Larael, passing the dagger to her and pressing the blade to Larael’s throat.

“Everyone, clear a path!!”

The Imperial Knights opened a way as the cold blade hovered at Larael’s neck. Cecile glanced at her fallen comrades—dead or dying—and ground her teeth. The knights tensed, waiting for the commander’s order. The commander hesitated for only a heartbeat, then readied his men to strike.

But the commander shook his head firmly. If Larael were harmed, the fallout would be unbearable. With the Emperor’s safety already secured, their priority now was to keep Larael from being hurt.

They climbed into the carriage waiting before the main palace and shouted to the coachman, “Leave at once!!”

Trembling with the taste of blood and the clash of swords in his memory, the coachman drove the carriage away.

“Commander, we should pursue them.”

As the carriage pulled away, the Imperial Knights leapt onto their horses, ready to give chase.

“No—do not pursue.”