Chapter 110: Moment of Chaos (4)

"My Lady, what’s going on? Where are we going?" (Claudia)

At that moment, as they ran, Claudia, Miyako’s maid, asked.

She didn’t understand what had just happened or where they were headed; she was just trying to do her duty and following orders.

But among the tasks assigned to her by the head of the family was also the responsibility to stop Miyako if she did anything dangerous, which is why she wanted to confirm and understand the situation.

"The situation is a little strange, damn it. I don’t even know exactly what’s going on myself. All I know is that I received a message from the Fourth Queen; she told me I had to say that and then go to her." (Miyako)

"The Fourth Queen? Why did she ask for that?" (Claudia)

"I don’t know, but she threatened our house if I didn’t do it. As you know, our Family belongs to her faction, and we’re vulnerable if she decides to attack us, but she promised to give us a way out if I followed her orders." (Miyako)

"I see... This is beyond my understanding, my lady , but I’ll make sure to keep you safe, even at the cost of my own life." (Claudia)

Whether it was luck or not, it didn’t seem like something Miyako had done on a mere whim. There was more to it than Claudia realized.

Claudia wasn’t very smart, but her loyalty was absolute, and Miyako’s reasons seemed reasonable, so she just had to do her duty and keep Miyako safe.

"Perfect. Ah! Before I forget, the situation is a bit confusing and we don’t really know who our enemy is, so I think this will come in handy." (Miyako)

Saying that, Miyako pulled something out from her remaining sleeve. It was a card—a three of hearts.

"?" (Claudia)

Claudia didn’t understand what the card was or why Miyako had pulled it out, but Miyako didn’t delay in explaining.

"This is a protective artifact; it will shield you from a life-threatening attack. It will activate automatically at the critical moment." (Miyako)

When she finished explaining, Miyako tossed it toward Claudia.

It vanished into her.

Claudia felt a strange sensation of intrusion; she felt she could reject it and expel it, but since it was something her mistress had given her and explained its purpose, she obviously didn’t do that.

When she allowed it, she felt a strange sensation spread throughout her body, but it wasn’t a big deal.

She knew of some protective artifacts that worked that way, so there was no problem.

If anything, she was grateful for Miyako’s thoughtfulness.

Miyako wasn’t usually like that, but Claudia didn’t doubt her in the slightest...?

Why?

Because Claudia had spent so much time with Miyako that, even though she wasn’t very good at distinguishing mana signatures, she at least knew what Miyako’s was like.

And even though she was acting strangely, Claudia knew it was definitely her. A mana signature is impossible to forge or copy.

At most, she thought Miyako’s behavior was due to the situation—which was also very strange—and the other maids thought the same.

"Oh! I have these, too. They’re refined and modified mana crystals; everyone, take one and use them when you’re cornered. You know how they work, right?" (Miyako)

Once again, Miyako pulled more items out of her kimono sleeve.

There were five blue crystals with a hint of purple. Miyako handed one to each of her maids, not just Claudia.

"Yes, my lady, I’ll definitely put it to good use." (Claudia)

Claudia knew what they were and how to use them, they were a very valuable and expensive item, almost impossible to obtain through normal means, and since this one was modified, it was even more valuable.

Just one of these could turn the tide of a battle and determine the winner and the loser.

Claudia was moved by how much her mistress cared about her life, and her loyalty and commitment grew deeper and more unwavering.

In any case, they continued running toward the Fourth Queen’s residence. Miyako was leading the way and wasn’t taking the main road; it was understandable given the situation, and none of them had any complaints about it.

Even when they had to leap over the residences of other concubines and veer slightly off the optimal path.

And it seemed to be a good route, since for a while there were no problems.

But their luck didn’t seem to last long, because just as they climbed over a wall to enter a residence, they spotted the investigation team that was, as it happened, searching that very residence.

The investigation team was inspecting a courtyard, and, naturally, the group that appeared to be fleeing and jumping over the wall like that caught their attention.

The recent incident hadn’t reached their ears yet, so they didn’t understand what it was all about, but even so, anything suspicious now had to be investigated.

"My lady those are the..." (Claudia)

When Claudia saw that, she grew worried. She could sense that everyone in that group was extremely powerful, and she and the other maids didn’t stand a chance against them.

"Don’t worry. The Fourth Queen told us not to worry about the investigation team. They’re under her influence, and unless she betrays us, they won’t do anything to us." (Miyako)

"I see." (Claudia)

Miyako assured her of this, and all the maids breathed a sigh of relief and continued running without worry, but just as the distance was about to close...

Click!

A click sounded, and immediately, the expression on one of the investigators’ faces changed.

"It’s her. The one we’re looking for."

When he said that, everyone around him immediately went on high alert and wasted no time getting into position to attack Miyako’s group.

They obviously noticed this; the difference in power was very clear, and Claudia made a decision.

"My lady, the Fourth Queen has betrayed us! I’ll hold them off—you escape!" (Claudia)

She quickly stepped forward, and the others, knowing what they had to do, followed her.

None of them hesitated to take the crystal Miyako had given them. They felt that without it, they wouldn’t last even a few seconds, and they had to buy enough time for their mistress to escape.

"Damn Fourth Queen! Why, why did you do this?! I swear I’ll take my revenge for this." (Miyako)

Miyako, who seemed to understand this, couldn’t help but scream in fury. Her face was streaked with tears of rage.

She just gritted her teeth in frustration and ran in the opposite direction.

Seeing this, the woman from the investigation team who seemed to have the greatest speed went after her, but...

Claudia stepped in her way. She was very fast as well, but she barely managed to stop her.

She sensed something strange. She was supposed to receive a large amount of mana internally when she swallowed the small crystal, which would greatly enhance her power, and her speed should have increased, but she still felt nothing.

The same was true for the rest of the maids who were about to face the research team. They didn’t feel any change, and the research team would likely subdue them in just a few moves and go after their mistress.

And just when they were all thinking it had gone wrong...

Click!

A snap of the fingers sounded, and...

Boom! Boom, boom! Boom!, BOOM!

Five explosions occurred. The source? Inside Claudia’s and the others’ maids.

None of them understood how they died.

The explosions at such close range obviously caught the attention of the entire group of investigators, whether to take cover or to dodge them.

As experienced elite fighters, these explosions—though surprising—obviously didn’t affect them for more than a brief moment, and they quickly regained control.

Everyone looked at the bloody chaos around them and saw the corpses and body parts of the maids scattered about.

Inevitably, they also looked in the direction Miyako had been standing before the explosion, but...

"She’s gone."

She was no longer there. Almost all of them had excellent skills in detection, Presence Tracking, and perception.

Once they locked onto someone, it was nearly impossible for that person to slip away.

But no matter how hard they tried, none of their abilities could detect Miyako’s presence nearby.

That signature of mana and existence had vanished as if she had never existed.

All they had now were scattered pieces of flesh; one of them was the alleged murder suspect.

There were more questions than answers.

Still, there was key information they couldn’t afford to overlook.

They had to return to their king and report, or the blame might fall on them.

..

Later, the group would learn what had happened at the restaurant and how another of the king’s favorite concubines had died.

***

Just then, Miyako appeared in a corner of the harem where no one else was around. In her hand, she held a pocket watch that appeared to be made of silver.

After glancing at his watch, it disappeared, and then he seemed to relax and even stretched a little, as if he had just finished an intense workout.

"Phew... That was intense! All that movement isn’t good for the joints. Well, now that I’ve finished my work, I suppose Her Highness, the Second Queen, is pleased... Although it wouldn’t hurt to create a few more-..."(Miyako)

She seemed to be talking to herself, but she couldn’t finish. Suddenly, her sentence was cut off, and before Miyako could figure out what had happened, her neck was grabbed and pressed against a nearby tree.

De repente, la interrumpieron, y antes de que Miyako pudiera comprender lo que había sucedido, la agarraron del cuello y la presionaron contra un árbol cercano.

"What the hell? Are you trying to...?"(???)

The hooded figure—with no discernible features but possessing immense strength—grilled Miyako.

"Ugh... If you squeeze... me like that, I can’t... answer."(Miyako)

Miyako said that. She made a pained face due to the lack of air, but she also looked at the other person as if their actions were contradictory.

How was she supposed to speak if they were squeezing her neck?

"I’ve been watching you, but I still don’t understand your intentions or who you serve. What you’re doing doesn’t benefit anyone I know. Even that recent comment... You realized I was watching you, didn’t you? Did you want me to hear that comment about the Second Queen, when you were talking about the Fourth just a moment ago? Answer me."(??)

The hooded woman spoke and also loosened her grip slightly.

"ufff, okay, now you’ve got me. Well, to say I noticed would be giving myself too much credit. At most, I felt like someone was watching from the restaurant. Ahaha! I thought I was being paranoid. Looks like I wasn’t! Haha! Besides, didn’t you just hear my confession? Obviously it’s the Second Queen. Ugh-."(Miyako)

"Cut the nonsense. Tell me why you did all this."(???)

"Oh, come on! Why would I answer that? You’re obviously asking me all this because you’re going to kill me afterward. Ugh... So cliché. I bet you’ll say something like, ’If you answer, I’ll kill you quickly, and if you don’t, I’ll torture you until you wish you were dead.’"(Miyako)

"...You don’t seem afraid. ... Have you received any special training? Which organization is backing you? Is it from this kingdom or from abroad?"

"Nahaha! You’ve got a good imagination, haha! But getting back to the point, you’re truly amazing. You were there and watched everything, without interfering, just to figure out my intentions. And, even with this overwhelming power, you only stepped in because you thought you could end it all cleanly. Haha, I don’t even understand how you managed to keep track of me. You’re better than that rabbit." (Miyako)

"I don’t need any recognition from someone who’s about to die."(???)

"Oh, you seem so sure of that. Well, with that much power, what you’ve done is, I suppose, just being overly cautious. Haha! You could have even wiped out that research team, right?"(Miyako)

"Don’t think you’re buying yourself time. This place is completely sealed off. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out without my permission. You won’t even be able to send any kind of message or transmission."(???)

"Fiuu~, you really are meticulous. Haha! This is fun. Yeah, you’ll definitely be someone fun to deal with. I don’t know if you’re the one who started this tonight, but it’ll definitely be fun to play with you. I’ll give you an important role in my play."(Miyako)

"Yeah, you’re just talking nonsense. This ends right here."Fiuu

The hooded woman didn’t seem to want to keep talking, and with a quick flick of her wrist, she cut off Miyako’s head, but...

"Haha! That was without warning! You win this first round, haha! Here’s my congratulatory gift."

The hooded figure couldn’t even finish processing how Miyako was still talking when she noticed something strange about Miyako’s body.

Energy was building up in a strange way, and before she could figure out what was going on...

BROOMMMM!

***

This incident escalated in a way that was unpredictable for many people.

..

"Damn incompetents. Not only did you fail to produce results, but you let that assassin kill another of my concubines and get away with it."

Some responded with anger.

...

"What happened? This wasn’t supposed to happen—who interfered?"

Others couldn’t help but have doubts.

...

"I... I don’t feel safe here. I’m going home."

For some, fear ultimately took precedence over everything else.

...

"Yes, I’ll also make sure to report everything that happened here. Don’t think you’re going to get away with this, Queen."

For others, what had happened gave rise to mistrust.

...

"I’ll make the person responsible pay."

And there were also those who could think of nothing but retribution.

...

Anger. Doubt. Fear. Distrust. A thirst for revenge.

Different emotions, but the same consequence: none of them would have a peaceful night after what had happened.

....