Everyone has been evacuated.

Only Duke Kreundel, Raeyan, and I remained here.

Moving in the blazing interior is extremely risky.

 Especially when you’re fighting a beast on one side.

 After removing my mask, I took out a handkerchief, poured water from a nearby glass, and used it to cover my nose and mouth. Then, I lowered my body and began searching for the source of the rift.

However, I couldn’t see anything that looked like the source. In the meantime, I kept calling for Greed.

‘Greed. Greed, are you okay? Why are you silent?’

Greed had been silent since I encountered Gabe Jenade. What kind of trick did that guy play on Greed? But I couldn’t dwell on my thoughts any longer.

Swoosh! A table fragment suddenly flew at me, narrowly missing me.

“Ugh…”

Drip.

Blood trickled from my forearm.

The thin fabric of the dress couldn’t offer any protection, but fortunately, it wasn’t a severe wound.

“Are you okay?”

Raeyan, who rarely showed emotions, asked with a surprised expression. At that moment, Duke Kreundel, who was swinging his arm at the monster next to him, also turned his head. Without missing a beat, I saw that it was about to strike.

 “Your Grace, in front!”

“Ugh!”

Duke Kreundel grabbed the beast’s horns that were thrusting its head forward.

If he had been a little later, he might have become a kebab.

“Each of you, take care of yourselves!”

Worried about the two of them getting into danger, I firmly asserted that I shouldn’t hesitate. I resumed searching for the medium.

‘Where on earth is it?’

During the Founding Festival, the altar, stained black, indicated, ‘I am the source,’ making purification relatively easy. However, now I had no idea what was what.

To make matters worse, the interior was in a chaotic state, with Duke Kreundel and Raeyan battling the beasts in real time.

‘Poor Madam Montgomery.’

Bending down under the table, I suddenly lifted my head. At that moment, I met eyes with a deer head decoration hanging on the wall.

Twinkle.

‘Is it sparkling because it’s a jewel?’

No, that wasn’t it.

I could sense it instinctively.

One eye of the deer head decoration was the source of the rift.

It must be because I could feel some energy faintly from that one eye. That was the reason why I couldn’t find it even though I searched so thoroughly – it was because it was placed so high up.

‘How do I purify that?’

My hands couldn’t reach the wall decoration.

Glancing at the two men, they seemed too occupied battling the increasingly swelling beasts to spare any attention to me.

“No choice. I have to find a way.”

The hall had a duplex structure with the first and second floors.

Climbing stairs that seemed almost about to collapse, I reached the second floor.

From there, I could overlook the chaotic scene below, the two men facing off against the beasts.

More beasts were coming through the rift than they could defeat, and the two men were gradually being overwhelmed.

 Moreover, being conscious of Duke Kreundel’s eyes, Raeyan was unable to use his powers, which made him struggle even harder.

Thud!

Witnessing a beast’s arm thumping heavily, I suddenly regained my senses.

It wasn’t the time for this. Following the plan, I reached out forcefully toward the deer head decoration hanging on the railing.

As expected, it was almost within reach, uncertain yet tantalizingly close.

“Just a little mo…… re-!”

I stretched my arms as hard as I could to hold on to the railing, getting closer and closer to the ornament.

 Finally, my fingertips touched the decoration.

 The building suddenly shook.

 My left arm gave way without warning.

Even at that moment, I infused the power of purification into the deer head decoration. My body fell rapidly.

 “……!”

As sharp debris approached, I tightly closed my eyes.

‘If I die like this, it’s a ridiculous death!’

However, even after some time passed, I didn’t feel any pain.

Rather, something firm and solid…

‘Tight, firm?’

Surprised, I opened my eyes, and what I saw was someone’s face.

The owner of that very familiar face was none other than…

“Father?”

It was Duke Perdia.

Before I could grasp the situation or feel any pain, an earth-shaking shout rang in my ears.

“Elodie… Perdia!”

In Duke Perdia’s rarely-seen genuine anger, I had a premonition.

‘I’m screwed!’

***

Before entering.

 By the time Sylvester Perdia and his two sons arrived on the scene, the imperial army had already surrounded Madame Montgomery’s mansion, which was being consumed by flames, and all the other family members who had been ordered to assemble had done so.

 The two princes had also arrived and were assessing the situation. The first thing the Perdia brothers did was to find Elodie among those who had taken refuge in the mansion.

 As it was a masquerade ball, most of them were wearing masks, making it difficult to distinguish them at a glance.

 Jansi searched for Elodie with his eyes, but Carlot did not.

 “Take it off.”

 “Huh?”

 “Take it off, the mask!”

 “Ugh! What are you doing!”

 “Yo-young master?”

Carlot boldly ordered the ladies to remove their masks and searched for Elodie.

But Elodie was nowhere to be seen.

 After a quick scan, Jansi and Carlot returned to Sylvester.

 Jansi reported calmly.

 “There’s no sign of Elodie. Carl, is your information reliable?”

 “I’m sure. She said she was going to Madame Montgomery’s masquerade ball!”

 “She could have been making things up!”

 “You mean sister lied to me?”

Carlot was shocked.

When the thought crossed his mind that Elodie might have done such a thing, he became saddened.

While they were discussing Elodie’s whereabouts, a lady approached hesitantly.

“Um, I’m not sure about Lady Perdia, but I saw Mercenary King Ian.”

Sylvester, who had crossed his arms at her report, demanded.

“Tell me in detail.”

“When I was running out, I saw him. The Mercenary King was the only one not wearing a mask. I’m sure because I often saw his face in articles.”

The mercenary Ian was Elodie’s escort.

Although not a noble, he was quite well-known among the nobility, so the information provided seemed credible.

 Elodie could still be inside the mansion.

 Sylvester stepped forward to enter the manor without a second thought.

But the imperial army blocked his path.

 “The fire is raging, Your Grace, and it would be dangerous to enter at this time! It is not too late to enter after the flames have been extinguished.”

 “The fire is not dangerous.”

 “Even if you say so, I cannot permit entry-!”

He stumbled back as he met Sylvester’s piercing eyes.

Faced with the overwhelming atmosphere exuded by the leader of Perdia, he had no choice but to step back.

 “We will follow suit.”

In the end, the imperial army gave up on stopping Sylvester and took the lead in entering the mansion.

The further they went, the more intense the flames became.

Soon they were in front of the hall where the ball had been held.

 The heavy doors were firmly shut, as they had been closed to prevent the beasts from escaping.

 “Tsk, tsk!”

One of the imperial soldiers steadily raised Sylvester’s blood pressure by putting his hand on and off the door handle.

 “Move aside.”

Sylvester pushed him out of the way, and without a second thought, he kicked the door open. The force of the bang shook the building for a moment.

 Through the shattered door, Sylvester could see his daughter falling from the railing.

 “Your Grace! It’s dangerous-!”

Pushing away the guards trying to hold him back, Sylvester rushed forward.

Swish! The sound of wind being split echoed, and he caught his daughter, who was about to be impaled on the sharp debris.

Elodie’s face, with her eyes tightly closed, came into view.

After a while, Elodie cautiously opened her eyes and blinked her eyes before she said.

“Father?”

It was absurd.

 “Elodie…… Perdia!”

Anger erupted.

Why are the eye colors like that?

 Sylvester swallowed his anger at the evidence that she had come here with a certain intent.

 At the sight of Elodie flinching, cowering, he forced himself to regain his composure.

 But she wasn’t cooperating.

Elodie, who was still facing him and looking around the room wildly, covered her mouth with her hands and shouted.

“The rift, it’s gone!”

She was brightly smiling while talking about the absence of the rift, despite nearly dying.

‘What on earth is this creature?’

He wishes he could figure out what was going on in that little head of hers.

When dealing with Jansi and Carlot, he had never felt this unfamiliar sense of helplessness.

 ‘…Are all creatures called daughters like this?’

Sylvester felt perplexed.

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***

After the rift closed, the situation was quickly brought under control.

 The remaining demonic beasts were swiftly dealt with by the members of the four major families, and once the firefighting efforts began in the mansion, the flames were soon extinguished.

“Lili put this on for now.”

Jansi took off his outer garment and draped it over me.

My dress was torn in various places, so I wrapped my arms around Jansi’s clothes.

 ‘It’s big…….’

It almost turned into a coat, and since the sleeves were too long, my fingers were barely visible.

Just as I was idly swinging the sleeves, Duke Perdia, who still glared at me, began to fold the outer garment sleeves.

“Ah, Father?”

“Stay still.”

I tried to pull my arms away in surprise, but Duke Perdia was firm.

The duke started folding one sleeve and then the other, seemingly satisfied when he finished.

Meanwhile, while muttering instructions to his guards, Second Prince Beltran approached Duke Kreundel and struck up a conversation.

 “Quite a surprise. Duke Kreundel. Do you attend such events as well?”

At Beltran’s subtly sarcastic question, the Duke of Kreundel answered bluntly.

 “Yes.”

The answer was so firm that it was impossible to continue the dialogue.

 “Hmph.”

Beltran, clearing his throat awkwardly, glanced around, then looked at me.

 Beltran smirked at me, trying to look handsome.

A chill ran down my spine and I felt an ominous sense of foreboding.

“I’ll take charge of the investigation into this incident. Lady, you have to come with me.”

Even though there were others present in the mansion, Beltran singled me out.

 It would be more appropriate to investigate Duke Kreundel and Raeyan, who directly confronted the demonic beasts from the rift. Naturally, Duke Perdia disagreed with Beltran’s words.

 “If you wish to investigate, send an investigator.”

 “Why bother, Duke Perdia? You will be able to return home as soon as the investigation is complete.”

Then Duke Kreundel, who had stepped forward with an annoyed air, blocked my way.

“The lady knows nothing. As the last person present at this location, I will accompany the investigation.”

 “…….”

Silently, Raeyan also stepped forward and stood by my side.

Repeatedly being silenced, Beltran’s face hardened.

 “Wasn’t the lady also here until the end? As the one in charge of this case, I have to take her with me-.”

It was then.

 “No.”

Adenmir, who was involved in firefighting, intervened, blocking Beltran and saying.

 “I’m in charge.”

At that moment, the atmosphere became peculiar.

Especially the glances directed at me were subtle.

I could guess the reason.

To others, it would probably look like this.

‘My ex-fiancé, incoming fiancé, the person I had a date with, and the leader of a mercenary group…?’

I looked like a femme fatale.