11. Masquerade Ball (2)

— Oh my, it’s getting quite hot in here already.

Even though it was held in the imperial capital, a night party was still a night party.

Yuri clicked his tongue, having already witnessed several unseemly sights while moving around. The weight of the atmosphere was definitely different from regular banquets.

A somewhat suggestive and heated air. People’s voices and gazes were both excited yet hushed.

Many had let loose as if they’d all taken something. Unlike in the past when he found such things interesting, now it just made him feel disgusted.

While they appeared to be enjoying the party with their unfocused eyes and loose bodies, who knew if they might be ruining someone’s life somewhere behind the scenes.

“Hey miss, looking for a partner to share a room with?”

Before the words even finished, another scoundrel tried to hook up with her.

This happened despite moving discreetly along the edges to avoid attention.

Perhaps there were people specifically searching the secluded areas.

This wasn’t just one—it was already the second one.

“I’ll give you an unforgettable night—”

— Ha, right. Unforgettable indeed.

Of course, as soon as he approached, Yuri grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away.

“— Urk?!”

Saena didn’t ask what happened to the men Yuri had disposed of. She figured Yuri had handled it well enough and didn’t need to know the details.

— The trash just keeps coming, it’s endless.

Such men seemed to think everything was permissible just because they were attending this kind of party.

Strangely, they assumed others would act the same way they did. Thus their self-control grew weaker and naturally, guilt became non-existent.

They were people who followed the implicit rule that ‘what happens here stays here’ extremely well.

— Hah, here comes another one. These guys really…

And such people seemed to flock together, somehow finding their way to the shadowy places without anyone telling them where to go.

— It’s endless, really. Move a bit further back. It’s annoying to keep dealing with them.

This corridor was one Saena had chosen to detour to the lower floor she ultimately wanted to reach. As a detour route, it was a corner corridor seldom frequented by people.

Though there were bedrooms here too, why would these guys seek out such a corner room?

She couldn’t help but suspect there might be something more sinister going on beyond just looking for a place to spend the night.

‘Hm? This time it’s not just one.’

Multiple shadows appeared in the distance. What were they up to?

— Something seems off.

Not two, but three.

And looking at the silhouettes, it appeared to be two men supporting a woman between them as they approached.

What was this chilling feeling down her spine?

— Huh?

Saena wasn’t the only one who felt something was wrong— Yuri began observing them too.

‘…..!’

— Wait, that bastard?!

Then Saena and Yuri recognized him simultaneously.

No, ‘them’…

— Ha! I’ll kill them!

Saena’s heart dropped at the sudden shocking situation, the shocking encounter. Her pupils dilated, and time seemed to stop.

‘…That man…!’

Her consciousness was instantly pulled back to that terrible morning in the past.

People’s knife-like voices, her head that felt like it would split, red wine, headache, unfamiliar bed.

And… the two men who had been on either side of her.

The unfamiliar yet familiar faces of the two men who had brought her to rock bottom unraveled before her eyes again.

Saena squeezed her eyes shut.

She wanted to erase it.

The immediate image on her retina,

The very memory of the past flickering before her eyes.

But they were real. They existed in reality now, impossible to erase with mere will.

Eventually, she had to open her eyes again.

‘So they were acquaintances originally.’

George Hollander and one man.

They matched exactly with the two who had given her that nightmarish morning in the past. And now, like then, they were heading to a bedroom with some woman at a masquerade ball.

Was that woman today’s victim?

As the shock and bewilderment subsided, a heavy anger began to slowly rise.

“……”

— Saya, are you… alright?

“I don’t want to leave them be.”

— What?

“I want to… teach them a lesson, Yuri.”

— Of course.

Anyone could see they had ill intentions. The woman in the middle already appeared to be out of her mind, as if they had fed her something strange.

If they were simply helping a drunk woman to the restroom, they would have called for a maid. Even if not that, there was no need to bring her to such a secluded place.

It was even more absurd that they had removed their masks so brazenly.

— We need to make sure they never do this again.

Saena felt the time had finally come to use the weapon she had been practicing with diligently.

Gently stroking one of the rings on her finger, she stepped forward.

When Saena, who had been lurking in the shadows behind a distant pillar, took a few steps forward, George Hollander’s side noticed her presence.

“Who’s there… Oh, what’s a woman doing here?”

“Oh? Looking for a partner to spend the night with?”

“Is that so? Haha, miss. Perfect timing. Why don’t you join us?”

The man on the left passed the woman he was supporting to George Hollander and came toward Saena with a leering grin.

Saena stared at him blankly before slowly extending her hand forward.

“Already asking to be touched? Wow, so forward–  ugh!”

As soon as he made contact with her, power burst through the ring and struck him down. Someone watching from outside might not immediately understand why he collapsed.

Though she had already understood during practice that this was likely a safety item developed to knock out people who approached the ring’s owner, now this method felt like quite a drawback.

Did she really have to touch that trash with her hand?

“Wh-what?! Hey, you!”

George Hollander shouted in surprise toward the man.

When she turned toward George Hollander, paying no attention to the man who had collapsed to the floor with a thud, he shouted threateningly at her.

“F*ck! You–  What did you just do!”

Not being a complete fool, he realized she had done something.

However, when she continued approaching without regard for his bold shouts, he flinched and stepped back.

“Wh— what! What are you hiding!? Bringing weapons into the imperial palace! You’re as good as dead!”

Though he tried hard to threaten her, seemingly thinking he’d found good leverage, Saena continued approaching without any particular reaction.

“I’ll! I’ll report this–!”

Finally unable to hold out any longer, he threw the woman he was supporting toward Saena. Then he turned and ran away.

“—Ugh!”

Though he was soon struck in the back of the head by Yuri and collapsed.

— I can handle knocking people out just fine too, you know?

“Ha. He never fails to disappoint.”

To think he would throw a woman like a shield to save himself.

This trash’s rock bottom was always deeper than Saena could fathom. Perhaps he was setting new records each time.

Shaking her head, Saena carefully supported the woman’s body and sat her down to one side first.

— How should we cook these bastards to feel satisfied?

Just stopping the crime they were about to commit wasn’t enough.

They only stopped today’s victim—as long as potential criminals still existed, it was just a matter of time.

“Hmm.”

She hadn’t expected to witness George Hollander and others about to commit a crime here, so naturally no particular method came to mind.

“It would be good to send them all to rock bottom together with those who were planning something today.”

She didn’t know exactly what Elizabeth’s plan was yet. But it was clear she had schemed something. And that scheme would undoubtedly not be of the clean variety.

So it seemed good to bundle them together and send them down at once. They needed to be completely buried socially to prevent this from happening again.

— Then let’s lock them up for now.

“Yes.”

After taking some additional measures to ensure the two men wouldn’t wake up in the meantime, they locked them in a storage-like room.

Yuri carried the woman down and laid her in the ladies’ restroom. Looking at her physical responses, she seemed to be in a half-conscious, half-unconscious state. It appeared she had been given some drug that confused the mind or caused loss of consciousness.

She would wake up soon since Saena had performed a purification on her.

“When you wake up, please go straight home, my lady. Night parties are dangerous places.”

Saena whispered so her voice would seep in like a dream. She hoped she would follow that warning when she woke up. After leaving another warning message, Saena quietly went outside.

“Is it really alright not to call anyone?”

— Yes. I performed purification, so she’ll wake up soon.

“Ha, we’re so late.”

They finally arrived at the meeting place after dealing with several incidents.

They were quite past the pre-arranged time and were worried, but there was no one at the meeting place.