“Damn it, when gods fight, mortals suffer?”
Mu’en was currently huddled in the corner of the wall, looking humble, powerless, helpless, and pitiful.
He looked down at the cutting marks just a few centimeters away from him and couldn’t help but shiver violently.
No, I can’t stay here; I’ll die without even knowing how.
Taking advantage of the fierce battle between the two, Mu’en slowly inched toward the door along the wall.
Fortunately, the maid assassin’s target wasn’t him, and she didn’t have the time to deal with a weakling like him.
So Mu’en quickly reached the door. All he needed to do was open it, and he could make a clean escape.
“Huh?”
Mu’en tried to turn the door handle, but it didn’t move.
“Huh? Huh? Huh?”
Mu’en’s face instantly turned pale.
As expected, that maid assassin had come prepared.
No wonder she dared to assassinate the Third Princess of the Empire in the heavily guarded Duke’s Mansion!
“But this is so strange! This never happened in the original story!”
Mu’en held his head in pain, slowly squatting down again, his mind racing furiously.
But no matter how hard he racked his memory, he could only come to one clear conclusion:
—This definitely wasn’t in the original story!
“Why did an assassin suddenly appear? Where did things go wrong?”
“This is the Duke’s Mansion! How could the assassin invade so easily without triggering any alarms?”
“Unless…”
Recalling what the assassin had said earlier, Mu’en suddenly had a thought that made him feel extremely uneasy.
“Was it because of that order I gave that gave these assassins the opportunity?”
In the original story, the sick maid Noel didn’t get a chance to rest.
The original host definitely didn’t give the order to recruit new staff from outside to ensure the banquet ran smoothly!
But in this current timeline, because of Mu’en’s small act of kindness, everything had changed.
The staff the head maid recruited overnight from outside had become the only flaw in the otherwise impenetrable Duke’s Mansion today!
“But this is too ridiculous! The recruitment was done last night!”
Mu’en believed the head maid knew about the issues of security and trust and had acted immediately upon receiving his orders!
It was precisely to not give outsiders with ill intentions time to react.
Yet, despite that, an assassin had still managed to sneak in among the recruits.
“Could it be that someone’s been watching the Duke’s Mansion 24/7?”
Mu’en racked his brains but could only come up with this conclusion, which he thought was the most plausible.
But any speculation would actually be of no help to his current predicament!
He was still standing on the edge of a deathly outcome because of his self-inflicted troubles!
“For now, all I can do is wait and quietly pray that Celicia can defeat the assassin. A weakling like me can’t do anything.”
“Huh? Wait… is Celicia winning really the good ending for _me_?”
“The assassin’s target is clearly only Celicia!”
Mu’en’s eyes suddenly widened, because in his desperate situation, he had unexpectedly found a ray of hope.
That’s right.
If Celicia dies here, then all the things that happened between her and me…
…wouldn’t they remain a secret?
……
While Mu’en was caught in self-doubt, the battle in the room suddenly took a turn.
The maid once again displayed her initial speed, becoming a fleeting shadow, dodging the countless ice thorns that seemed to form a blade-like barrier.
The ice thorns covered all the maid’s possible landing spots. She should have been trapped even if she dodged the first attack, like prey falling into a trap full of spikes.
But when she reappeared, it was as if she had lost all weight, lightly floating down from the air, stepping onto the tip of the ice thorn that could pierce her with just a little force, standing gracefully, elegant as a dancer on the blade.
“Some kind of step technique that allows for a short burst of speed, and… gravity magic.”
Celicia’s gaze darkened. The more she understood the maid’s methods, the more solemn she became.
“There’s no sign of magic activation. Is it attached to some kind of tool?”
“As expected of Princess Celicia.”
The maid’s right eye flashed with a sinister purple light.
“You saw through my moves so quickly.”
“Do you underestimate me?”
Celicia narrowed her eyes and smirked:
“Attacking me head-on like this, do you really think I’m easy prey?”
“No, we’ve given Your Highness enough respect.”
The maid’s gaze swept imperceptibly over Celicia’s lower body, and a cryptic smile appeared at the corner of her mouth:
“And even though you have the upper hand, Your Highness hasn’t taken the initiative to attack. Doesn’t that prove the timing is right?
After all—
Your Highness is also a woman. Any woman, experiencing that kind of intense situation for the first time, would inevitably feel a bit drained… or perhaps affected in other ways.”
“You—”
Celicia was furious to the point of losing composure for the first time:
“Do you want me to tear your filthy, stinking mouth apart later?”
“Hehe, as an assassin, I really shouldn’t talk this much.
But…”
The maid suddenly stopped smiling, her eyes as cold as iron.
“Sometimes, an assassin also needs to delay time, right?”
As soon as she finished speaking, a shrill buzzing sound filled the room.
The entire room began to tremble as if struck by an eighth-level earthquake.
Golden runes suddenly appeared on the walls, floor, and ceiling, wriggling as if squeezed out from within the walls.
Sacred golden light burst from the runes, enveloping everyone.
“Hurry, I can’t hold on much longer.”
Even though the room was completely soundproof, a weak voice still came from outside.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be quick.”
The maid suddenly raised her left hand.
In her hand was a container, filled with bright red liquid.
【Prayer】
The world suddenly fell completely silent, leaving only the maid’s solemn declaration audible.
Celicia’s eyes flashed with horror. She angrily conjured countless ice thorns and lunged at the maid again, but the golden runes temporarily suppressed her strength.
【With the blood of a hundred innocent children, we offer this sacrifice to the God of Melting Worlds, the Lord of Crimson Sun, the great King of Withering】
The maid crushed the container, and the blood of a hundred children slowly flowed out, defying gravity as it snaked around like a serpent.
【Request】
【Grant us】
【The power to suppress the wind and snow】
Crack.
Crack, crack.
A black hole-like vortex slowly appeared from the void.
An indescribable terrifying aura spread from the vortex, making it hard for everyone to breathe.
A withered hand suddenly emerged from the vortex, its fingers spread out as if seeking something.
The maid respectfully offered her blood.
The hand took the blood and retreated.
A pleasant yet spine-chilling sucking sound echoed from the vortex.
After a moment, the withered hand appeared again.
This time, it was engulfed in eerie red flames.
