Chapter 41 - Mysterious Woman 2 (1/2)

‘Thanks to him I’ve learned a lot.’

The Rogue Guild excelled at gathering information.

They will be very useful in solving his quest.

While they took a carriage to the capital city of Marlene, he summarized in his mind what he learned from Feridnand.

‘God Slayer.’

He was also the Ravenna Empire’s first Emperor, Leonard Valencia.

He was chosen by the Heavenly God, then slayed the Demon God becoming a hero and putting an end to the chaotic times.

Later, when peace reigned, his weapon was sealed in the basement of the Beatrice Cathedral.

This was in order to prevent any of his descendants from abusing its divine power.

That’s all that was known publicly, and he would have to investigate what the royals were hiding regarding this treasure

“It looks good on you.”

“Truly?”

Leifina blushed as he commented on her stunning blue dress.

They were currently on their way to the Imperial Banquet, impersonating nobles to gain access.

“What did you say my name was again?”

“You’re Dorothy Serpin, Count Quint’s wife.”

They still needed to work some more on their acting skills and had the whole ride to practice.

Woohyuk leaned in to whisper into her ear, as he held he placed his hand on her waist.

Leifina’s blue eyes froze like a startled deer.

“It might take awhile for you to get used to this, but then again we are still a long ways from the capital.”

Woohyuks placed a kiss on Leifina’s cherry red lips, causing her eyes to widen in surprise once more.

“Ah!”

The gazes met, one was cold like a desolate field of ice and the other hot like a burning flame.

In the end Leifina gave up, closing her eyes as she lost any strength in her arms.

“In order to not arouse any suspicions in the nobles, you need to be able to act as naturally as possible.

“... I’ll be more careful next time.”

Getting their names on the list hadn’t been an easy feat. It was only possible due to Andrew, Etrona’s Prince. He was Elizabeth’s fiance and the patron who paid Ferdinand to investigate.

Upon receiving a report from Ferdinand, he was the one who got in touch with Woohyuk.

“According to Andrew, the security at the event will be very thorough. We need to be careful. ”

They weren’t able to respond instantly to sudden threats, because all of their equipment was being held in his Sage’s Pouch.

“Even if it gets dangerous, I’ll be standing next to you Lord, I’ll…”

“Oh, right… sorry.”

“We have to make sure that you remember that by the time we arrive.”

“Huh? Again?”

Leifina stammered and blushed deeply as the indecent man sitting beside her attempted to kiss her once more.

* * *

The Banquet’s hall within the Imperial Palace was decorated to demonstrate their opulence.

Woohyuk and Leifina got a glimpse into the everyday life of the high nobility.

“I’m worried about the fact that the price of fox furs has been on the rise lately.

“Really? Is it the same in the Etrona kingdom?”

“If I had known this would happen, I would have bought another spare shawl ahead of time.”

Ridiculous stories that were far removed from any regular person’s lives.

Nothing that was of interest to them.

‘I haven’t seen the Count.’

Although they weren’t able to confirm whether or not he had received an invitation, it was more likely that he simply decided not to attend.

Perhaps he was just biding his time outside, waiting for an opportunity.

[How are they going to break in?]

[Probably using their Demonic powers.]

Entering a contract with a high level Demon would grant one a ridiculous amount of power.

There were sure to be some remnants from the Demon faction left over from the time the Demon God once reigned.

[Elizabeth looks under the weather.]

[No woman would be happy knowing that she was being sold to a neighboring country.]

An age old tale of a political marriage to strengthen the ties between two countries. It was the fate of those born to royalty, one that they couldn’t escape.

Probably the reason she hadn’t shown her face recently was due to such unhappiness.

As Woohyuk was observing the young princess Elizabeth, a handsome well groomed young man approached Leifina.

“You are breathtaking, may I ask your name?”

It was Prince Joffrey.

Leifina grabbed both sides of her dress and gave a curtsy.

“I am Dorona Serpin, and this here is my husband Count Quint.”

“Oh, so it’s Count Quint. I’ve heard quite a lot about you, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

A pretentious greeting.

Count Quint was a foreign noble that served Prince Andrew, so his face was unknown to the Royal family.

It was clear that Joffrey wasn’t at all interested in him.

“I am honored to make your acquaintance, Prince.”

Woohyuk did his best to fit, as he looked at the jewelry on his hand.

A ring with a large blue sapphire.

It was highly likely that it was an inherited family heirloom because he wore it on his right index finger.

“You are quite the fortunate man, Count Quint. To be able to spend a lifetime accompanied by such a beautiful woman.”

Joffreys eyes burned holes in Leifina’s dress as he stared at her curvaceous body.

Eyes filled with lust.

Leifina avoided his gaze, appearing all innocent, when suddenly.

“Oh my God!”

“Fire!”

A large fire suddenly broke out in the middle of the hall.

The frightened nobles jumped around endlessly while the Royal Guards stormed the place to put out the fire.

[It’s begun, get ready.]

[Yes, Count]

The only person their enemies would be aiming for was Princess Elizabeth. The whole ordeal with the fire was only a distraction.

‘Your majesty, this way please.”

The guard proceeded to escort the Royal family to safety.

At that very moment, a gust of black smoke blew by, and Princess Elizabeth was gone

“Huh, Elizabeth?”

“What happened to her?”

While everyone was confused, Woohyuk grabbed Leifina by the wrist and ran towards the window.

[On my signal, come to my side.]

[Lord, don’t jump…]

Before Leifina could even finish, he was out the window.

He quickly equipped the Naga Chief’s Ancient ring, and in a flash of light , teleported in pursuit of the assailant.

‘As expected.’

Woohyuk followed the traces of corrupt energy as he jumped along the treetops.

Definitely a Demon.

Although it seemed to be a rather High level one based on how easily it had managed to grab the Princess hostage right under the noses of the Royal Guards.

‘I only need to find out what are the forces working behind the scenes.’

Clearly it would only be in the next chain of this quest that he would actually be required to put a stop to them.

Based on his past experiences in the tower, it was sure to get complicated.

Taahc

As Woohyuk dropped down to the ground, he was surrounded by a group of Warlocks. They weren’t willing to let him pursue his target so easily.

“Move, you are just in the way.”

Woohyuk swung Grandia with an annoyed expression. Blood began to flow under the dim moonlight.