Chapter 76
By the way, there was a question that hadn’t been resolved since earlier. Marien struck the enemy’s right arm hard with her staff, accompanied by a sharp shout.
Fortunately, it seemed she had hit a weak spot at the wrist. The man let out a short, sharp scream. Dropping the dagger in his hand was just a bonus.
“Now’s my chance!”
Marien quickly adjusted the staff’s direction, aiming for the man’s eyes.
The pointed metal ornament flew toward his eyes. No matter how trained in assassination someone is, avoiding such an attack would take priority. The man gave up on retrieving the dagger and dodged the staff.
“You think I’ll let you show off your fancy twin-blade skills again?”
Marien took a step forward, closing the distance the man had tried to create. The dagger that had fallen to the floor was now hidden under the voluminous folds of her dress.
At this point, it could be called practically “missing.” Even if he tried to reach under the dress, he would only mess with the densely layered frills of the petticoat and fail.
The man’s eyes changed upon receiving such an unexpected hit. He readjusted the dagger in his left hand. Marien instinctively knew this was her last chance to ask a question.
“Why are you attacking me? Do you even know who I am?”
She asked sharply, but the tone felt off.
Marien’s intention was more like, “I’m not your target. Aren’t you mistaken?”
However, depending on who heard it, it could sound like, “How dare you attack me? I am the noble Fourth Princess of this country!”
Sure enough, the man said something that made her ears twitch.
“The only woman here wearing a large pink diamond crown is you.”
“What…?”
“Fourth Princess Odette Rose—die!”
“W-wait! Hold on…hey!”
Her reaction slowed in panic. The momentum shifted instantly. Even though the man had lost just one dagger, Marien found herself defending much more precariously than before.
“Ah…uugh, wait a minute…!”
It was absurd to die at the hands of someone who couldn’t even tell a crown from a tiara. What could be more humiliating than that? Yet she couldn’t even correct him.
A large pink diamond crown. He believed the woman wearing it was the Fourth Princess. And he didn’t seem to be lying.
“How on earth did this get so messed up?”
This man had entered the royal palace, heavily guarded, to kill a princess without even confirming his orders properly.
“What kind of work are you doing like that?”
Even on the day of the ball, one needed to memorize distinct physical features, not accessories that could change. By now, she even doubted the intelligence of the Second Prince who had commissioned this assault.
“Didn’t he even show you a portrait of his sister?!”
A silent frustration built up inside Marien.
“Kyah!”
In a tense moment, Marien’s forearm was slashed by the blade. The pain was many times sharper than cutting a finger on paper. Bright red blood splattered onto her dress.
“Wait, this is a huge mistake. I actually—!”
The man’s next strike was deadly. Marien dropped the staff that had been her support until now.
It was over. She was unarmed, while he was brimming with lethal intent—and still holding a cold, sharp dagger. Marien slowly moved toward Odette while speaking.
“You’ve got the wrong idea about something…”
“‘You’? There’s only me here. ‘You,’ huh? Seems like you have some pre-acquired information.”
“I don’t know. How do I explain ‘possessed by a book’… you should read a little yourself.”
“So this is the Fourth Princess who lives with books.”
“Unbelievable.”
It was maddening. Odette was right nearby. She couldn’t even snitch that the Fourth Princess they were trying to kill was the silver-haired lady over there!
Marien sharpened her senses and glanced quickly at Odette. For just a moment, she could see Odette’s expression clearly.
Are you trying to lure me toward you? With a weapon in hand?
Odette looked at her exactly like that. Unlike Marien, who was like a candle flame in the wind, she didn’t flinch.
“How bold of you!”
Marien made a grimace. The man prepared for a final strike. There was a limit to how much she could backstep. Turning around would expose her back to the dagger.
“For the vengeance of the Crown Prince!”
The man shouted loudly for the first time. He had said the exact same line in the original plan before attacking Odette.
This was the Second Prince’s scheme: to disguise it as the act of the exiled half-brother. Even if the assault team were caught, they were sworn to speak only in favor of the former Crown Prince.
The faction supporting the eldest son attacked a ball attended by the Emperor. Just that fact would drive the paranoid Emperor to lose his composure.
Since the exiled eldest son couldn’t have moved, the behind-the-scenes orchestrators were clearly the Empress and her father. Everything would follow that narrative.
Eliminating the half-sister Odette while simultaneously wiping out the Empress’s remaining faction was part of the plan.
In this light, the Second Prince had thought cleverly. Though, whether the idea truly originated in his head was another matter.
“In the original plan, he aimed for Odette’s heart.”
As long as the dagger didn’t pierce her heart, she could survive. Marien called out to Baileon and crossed her arms in front of her chest in an X shape.
Without a proper defense, she was determined to use even her forearm.
“Kyaaah!”
At the dramatic moment, Baileon intervened. The man’s dagger stabbed Baileon in the abdomen. Yet Baileon didn’t even groan, twisting the man’s wrist.
Crack—the sound of bones breaking echoed.
“Argh!”
The man screamed in pain. Baileon didn’t stop there. He twisted the man’s other arm as well, rendering both arms useless.
“Beers, don’t move anymore. Guards!”
Odette shouted for the palace guards. Those who had evacuated the royal family returned to the ballroom fully armed.
Before handing the man over to the guards, Baileon landed a punch on his face. The man immediately lost consciousness.
“…We can’t risk him biting his tongue and committing suicide.”
Baileon muttered to Odette as if explaining, staring at her with a look that said, I told you not to move.
“Sir Beers, don’t move now. The blade will go deeper…”
Marien supported Baileon, tears threatening to spill. She couldn’t look away from the dagger lodged in his abdomen.
Whenever something angered her, Marien habitually imagined killing the opponent in the most painful way possible.
But no matter how many times she imagined it, it was just in her head.
Seeing a real person stabbed made her tears flow uncontrollably.
She was torn between standing and supporting him or letting him sit for a moment. Either choice seemed wrong.
“Don’t worry too much.”
Baileon gave a faint smile. Seeing that, Marien felt a surge of emotion and sobbed even harder.
“Don’t tell me not to worry! And Sir Beers, now’s really the time to say that? Someone’s been stabbed! Call the royal doctors quickly!”
Even facing a single attacker wasn’t this frightening. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
Out of nowhere, Cain appeared and laid Baileon down on the floor. Just as Marien was about to panic, the royal doctors arrived.
“Real bleeding starts after the blade is removed.”
Baileon nodded to indicate he was ready. Marien, standing aside to avoid interference, felt her mind go blank the moment the dagger was pulled.
Clean linen soaked in blood was replaced with fresh sheets repeatedly. During that time, Baileon’s complexion grew paler and paler.
He got hurt trying to save me.
Marien swallowed back tears at the overwhelming feeling.
◇ ◆ ◇
The next day, in the reception room of the Fourth Princess’s palace.
To be honest, she hadn’t come here that often. But strangely, it felt like she had come far too frequently.
It was as if she had been stamping her attendance in this room at some point.
Marien, with a sulky face, listened to Odette’s explanation. After hearing everything, last night’s mysteries were resolved.
Leslie Anais, a priest.
The brain of the Second Prince’s faction and a trusted aide, he had ultimately sided with Odette at the last moment.
Leslie leaked the information that a man in a white suit among the ball guests would attack Odette.
But that wasn’t all.
He provided details of the assault team: number of members, identities, appearances, escape routes from the palace, and the rendezvous point outside.
He even informed Odette that they planned to use fake blood and blow up windows to alarm the guests before taking action.
“Betrayal done boldly.”
However, the information was delivered just before the ball began. Odette noted that Leslie’s expression at that moment was extremely cocky.
“Do you think you could handle it this close to the event? If you truly differ from your half-siblings, prove it. That thought was written all over your face.”
A flash of murderous intent passed through her rose-colored eyes.
“How dare he test me.”
Odette gritted her teeth, controlling her anger.
“Because he wanted to save my mother, I let it slide… and yet, he dares.”
“A blasphemous cultist.”
“Yes,” Odette agreed firmly.
“I could bury the Anais family completely.”
“Whether you save or kill the cult, I don’t care.”
From the moment she learned of the assault, Odette quickly planned.
Though dangerous, it didn’t take long to finalize a plan worth the risk.
Odette asked Leslie to do one more thing: mislead the assault team.
Somehow, information had leaked. Odette had noticed. During the ball or breaks, she planned to call a subordinate to swap outfits.
Getting a wig quickly was nothing for a princess. So the only thing they had to do was target the woman wearing this pink diamond tiara.
Because she was the real Fourth Princess, Odette Rose.
Leslie followed Odette’s instructions and showed the attackers a hastily drawn image of the tiara.
“He clearly said ‘tiara’ when giving the info. They remembered it as a crown.”
Everything was irritating. Marien muttered resentfully.
“Fine, that’s all well and good. But could you at least give me a heads-up to prepare mentally?”
“Beers said you’re really bad at acting.”
