IRFVTS 71

Chapter 71

Meanwhile, at the banquet, the Saintess’s words had caused a wave of commotion.

“Frillian coughed up blood while treating Eligia Semperion.”

However, Frillian had not mentioned that Eligia had been poisoned. Whether she had kept quiet to avoid spreading news that someone attempted poisoning, or whether she had some other reason, nobody could tell. But her explanation ended there. She said nothing more.

That shocking revelation quickly became the topic everyone seized upon.

“Good heavens, the Saintess coughed blood?!”
“How could such a thing happen…?”

Of course, what Frillian had clarified was simply: “Eligia wasn’t faking illness; she truly was sick.”
But the way people gossiped strayed far from that.

As they repeated the story to those who hadn’t heard, the tale morphed into:
“Frillian devoted herself so earnestly to examining the wicked lady Eligia that she even coughed blood in the process.”

“How kind she is, to treat Lady Semperion even at the cost of harming her own body.”
“So, was Lady Semperion really not pretending after all?”
“Hard to say. But if the Saintess coughed blood just to cure a feigned illness… well, that would be beyond disgraceful. Not that she’d really do that, surely?”

A noblewoman murmured behind her fan, but her tone carried an unmistakable hint of ridicule despite her words.

Maybe Eligia hadn’t been pretending, but even so, summoning the Saintess so selfishly was excessive. Or perhaps the Saintess was only covering for her.

Speculation spread everywhere at once.

“Anyway, it’s just like the Semperion family. Who else in this Empire could immediately call upon the Saintess herself to treat their daughter?”
“One only hopes the young lady knows to be grateful.”

The whispers had reached even the far corners of the hall when—

“What did you just say?”

A cold voice cut in. The nobles turned, startled, to see none other than a member of the Semperion family, whom they thought had yet to arrive.

Howell Semperion was staring at them.

“Ah…”

The nobles scattered hastily, as though fleeing. Howell didn’t chase them. Instead, he looked around with growing distraction.

“…Where on earth did she go?”

Surely the Eligia Semperion they knew wouldn’t just sit quietly after hearing such talk. Yet, she was nowhere to be seen. Stranger still, there was no record of her arrival. Had she slipped in secretly, or—

Had she not arrived at all?

“Impossible…”

Eligia had left long before Howell. He scanned the banquet hall with a disbelieving expression.

“She couldn’t possibly still not be here. Even with everyone opposed, she insisted on attending this banquet. Unless something happened on the way…!”

He replayed their last exchange in his mind: Eligia, smiling and telling him not to worry, promising to see him at the banquet as she boarded the magical carriage.

Even if it came from the Mage Tower, perhaps he shouldn’t have let her ride it alone so easily. He should have forced her to ride with him instead of allowing such a suspicious carriage.

“Lord Semperion, shall we dance…?”
“My apologies.”
“Lord Semperion, how have you been lately…?”
“Terribly.”
“Pardon…?”

Howell brusquely rejected every attempt at conversation or invitation. Instead, he scoured the hall.

“Last time she hid in the lounge or the garden, but this time… no. Not there either.”

Had she truly not come at all? That could only mean she’d gone missing en route.

“….”

Where to start? Should he retrace the path from the departure point? But magical carriages floated above the ground, leaving no tracks. Then perhaps he needed to go to the Mage Tower to access the travel logs, or request permission to track the carriage. No, better to report to Father first and decide together…

“Damn it.”

His head ached from too many thoughts. He had no idea what exactly had happened.

Just like in the forest before, just like when she collapsed—whenever something happened, he never managed to do anything properly.

Even by the lake, he hadn’t stepped up; he’d only watched as Eligia swiftly slew the monster. Why had he even trained with the sword or studied so much if he’d always be like this?

Howell let out a frustrated sigh. At any rate, all he could do now was act. He turned and strode toward the banquet’s entrance.

“Wait, please!”

A clear voice called out to him.

“You’re Lady Semperion’s brother, aren’t you?”

Howell turned. The Saintess, Frillian, stood there, eyes full of concern. As today’s central figure, her every move drew attention; indeed, all eyes at the banquet were now on them. Yet Frillian ignored it and continued.

“Is something wrong? Did something happen to Lady Semperion?”

“…”

At her side stood Crown Prince Leonar, his expression full of worry. But Howell dismissed it as practiced acting. In a low voice, so others wouldn’t hear, he asked:

“Is this another matter His Highness is concealing?”

“What nonsense is that?”

“Never mind.”

Seeing how Leonar stuck so close to Frillian, it didn’t seem like last time—when the Crown Prince had taken Eligia away. Howell gave only that curt reply, then left the hall.

Meanwhile, Eligia herself was lucky. Belatedly arriving knights and mages did their utmost to restrain the furious Duke Semperion. Even in their alarm, they couldn’t help but marvel at the sight of the slain monsters.

“But how was all this handled? I thought Lady Semperion only used illusion magic, yet there are clear traces of offensive spells here.”

‘Oops.’

So the magic-stone bombs left traces after all. Someone might mistakenly believe she had attack magic. Eligia cast a quick glance at Finn.

“Uh… Sir Ende helped me.”

“Sir Ende?”

At her words, Jerome and the Duke both looked at Finn. He raised an eyebrow as if to say, “Me?”

‘Please, just go along with it! This stays between us!’

Eligia’s desperate look made him close his mouth on whatever he was about to say.

Jerome muttered in astonishment:

“So that’s what happened… When you suddenly left formation earlier, I wondered. But to think you’d….”

It seemed Finn really had used teleportation to sneak away. The Duke, however, frowned deeply, displeased, and pressed Eligia.

“Then without Sir Ende, it would’ve been disastrous, wouldn’t it?”

“Well… I might’ve managed with swordsmanship somehow, plus the carriage has an alarm function and protective spells, so it would’ve been fine?”

“Eligia. Stop with such childish excuses. Are you saying you could defeat all these monsters alone?”

‘Yes, easily. Piece of cake.’

That’s what she thought, but seeing the Duke’s face darken, she wisely shut her mouth. He sighed and muttered in a low voice:

“When will you ever come to your senses…”

‘I already have perfectly fine senses, thank you.’

Eligia kept the thought to herself, masking it with a repentant look befitting a dutiful daughter.

The Duke, staring at her, seemed to find no answer. He turned his eyes to the distance, then back at her. Anger still lingered, but with so many eyes on them, he could do no more than sigh. Finally, he gestured dismissively.

“…Enough. We’ll handle things here. You, return home at once.”

“What?”

She hadn’t expected that. To go home now? For most, it made sense—once danger was over, she should head back. But not for Eligia.

Because she had this:

∥ “Status window! Show me today’s daily quest!” ∥

Ding!

Quest
〈Today’s Daily Quest!〉

A special banquet invitation from the Saintess! Refusing is unthinkable!

This is your chance to play the role of the wicked lady at Frillian’s side!

Condition: Stay beside the Saintess for at least 1 hour today.
Reward: Frillian’s favor, 1 skill-viewing ticket.
Failure: Reputation loss, disfavor from the Temple, risk of player elimination, Frillian’s disappointment (ㅠㅠ).

‘Damn it. The daily quest is the problem!’

She needed to be at Frillian’s side for at least an hour. Which meant she had to get back to the banquet, not home. Eligia glanced at the Duke and cautiously spoke.