Chapter 106

“Excuse me?”

“I think using the spell that the sorcerer taught us would be more effective.”

Nadia, who had not intended to go that far, was startled and reflexively tried to stop him.

“But that’s too dangerous.”

“The greater the risk we take, the greater the rewards we can gain.”

At those words, Nadia felt as if someone was striking her on the head.

“I heard about what happened a few days ago.”

Nadia realized that the incident Winston was mentioning had been tormenting her for the past few days.

“It was something you started to seek revenge for. We shouldn’t be afraid of small sacrifices. If we do, we’ll continue to fall behind and ultimately won’t be able to defeat them.”

“That’s true…”

Nadia nodded as if in a trance.

When she became a saint, Nadia was truly happy. She thought she could finally defeat Philome.

But rather than that, she still couldn’t even match Philome’s toes. Nadia realized that the reason was that she hadn’t taken significant risks.

‘But how much greater risks do I need to take?’

Nadia felt a bit puzzled.

Philome was different from her.

Philome always had people around her who could help, and she was lucky. She seized great fortune without any drawbacks.

If she could defeat such a Philome, she could endure even greater risks, no matter how unfair it seemed. The only thing was that she didn’t quite grasp what risks she needed to take.

“So we have to take risks.”

Winston turned his gaze to Johannes, who was quietly watching.

“Your Excellency.”

“Ah, yes, yes!”

“I will use the spell as Your Excellency desires.”

Johannes recalled a few days ago when he had urged Winston to use the spell. He smiled brightly.

“That was a really good choice!”

Winston, who was about to say something, hesitated and looked around.

“It’s not suitable to make detailed plans here, so let’s move to another place.”

As they walked down the corridor together, Winston suddenly glanced out the window. He saw hair tied up high swaying beyond it.

Philome had tied her hair up high today. Winston, busy watching the swaying hair, noticed her slender, white neck before lifting his gaze to see her face.

In fact, he had tried to get closer to Philome while Kaien was busy. However, Philome was already wary of him, having fallen for Kaien’s words.

Of course, asking for Philome’s nickname had been an impulsive choice.

Although she didn’t respond, Winston clearly saw her eyes trembling slightly.

‘Why haven’t I recognized you until now?’

At that moment, Winston was certain.

‘Mel.’

The person he had buried in his heart was Philome.

‘I won’t let anyone take you away again.’

Winston gazed at Philome with a heavy look.

‘Not even death could take you from me. I will get you back, Mel.’

Soon, he moved at the sound of Nadia calling for him.

* * *

Philome turned her head, feeling an inexplicable chill.

Rubbing her goosebumps on her neck, Philome looked at the castle, but she couldn’t even see a silhouette.

“Miss, what’s wrong? Are you cold?”

Sophia quickly approached and wrapped a scarf around Philome.

With the appearance of the monster, the already cold weather seemed to drop even further. Although her body was warm from moving around, Sophia always carried Philome’s scarf just in case.

“Oh, it’s not that I’m cold…”

Philome trailed off, trying to shake off her uneasy feelings.

‘It must just be my imagination.’

Philome turned away, thinking that she was being overly sensitive because of the monster.

* * *

“So…”

That night.

Philome sat in Theodore’s office, furrowing her brows. She then began to organize the words Kaien had said in her mind, her lips moving slightly.

“So they’re plotting something?”

Nadia and Winston had confidently discussed their plans in the corridor during the day.

Since they were engaged in battle with the monster, it seemed the servants had become careless and didn’t stay long in the castle. Thanks to having placed watchers around them, it was easy to overhear their plans.

“Yes. To be precise, they intend to put the local residents in danger and show their greatness by saving them—what nonsense.”

Kaien scoffed as he recalled Nadia’s plan he had heard through the watchers.

“I don’t understand how someone who deliberately endangers innocent people can be considered a saint.”

It was a way of thinking that could not be grasped with the mindset of an ordinary person.

Theodore asked.

“Kaien, how do you plan to handle this? You didn’t hear their more detailed plan yet, did you?”

“No. They moved to another location and stationed knights outside, so it was difficult. However, from their conversation, it seems they will use the spell.”

“Duke. But can those three really use the spell if they’re not sorcerers? Is the spell used by a hidden sorcerer?”

“That’s unlikely.”

Kaien shook his head and explained to Philome.

“Not only sorcerers can use spells. If you have the blood of a sorcerer, you can use spells. Of course, the effectiveness might be slightly diminished, and it would require a lot of blood, but those three can manage that.”

“Right. Nadia has something that is presumed to be the blood of a sorcerers…”

A moment of silence followed.

Each of them planned what to do and considered even the most unlikely scenarios.

During this time, Kaien was the first to speak up.

“For now, it seems best to leave them be. They don’t seem to pose a significant threat, and it might give us a justification.”

Kaien smiled meaningfully.

Philome felt, for some reason, that the “justification” Kaien was talking about was very important.

“Okay. Then let’s keep a close watch on those three and not interfere for now.”

With Natasha’s words, the group that had gathered after several days dispersed.

Three more days passed. It was the tenth day since the monster had fully awakened.

The monster had been attacking twice a day in a consistent manner, and there had still been no casualties.

However, on that day.

Twice the usual number of monsters began to surge in like a wave.

Philome and the others sensed it. They realized that those who had shown suspicious movements for the past two days had indeed cast a new spell.

As the number of injured rose sharply, half of the personnel responsible for food cultivation in the greenhouse were assigned to the infirmary.

And Kaien, as if he had been waiting for this moment, requested troops from the royal family.

This was a move that no one had anticipated.

* * *

“What did you say?”

Winston jumped up from his seat.

He was wrapped in bandages all over his body. He had been injured while staying close to Nadia when the monsters surged in greater numbers than they had anticipated.

Johannes, who brought the news, also looked quite flustered.

“I heard a rumor while passing by that the Duke requested support from the royal family.”

He had overheard this while heading to Winston’s room to flatter him, having heard about his injuries.

“Surely… the Crown Prince wouldn’t come personally, would he?”

As soon as Winston heard this, his concern was precisely that.

He recalled the Crown Prince.

Winston resembled the Empress, but the Crown Prince took after the Emperor. The last time he had seen him was ten years ago, yet the Crown Prince’s gaze had left a vivid impression on him.

Remembering that cold and ruthless gaze, Winston bit his lip tightly.

“…I don’t think so.”

He then continued calmly.

“Considering how busy my brother is, preparing to inherit the throne, he wouldn’t concern himself with matters like this. Moreover, it could imply that he doesn’t trust the Wintbell family, so he will act cautiously.”

At first, he lacked confidence, but the more he spoke, the more plausible it sounded, and he concluded with a firm voice.

Johannes tilted his head with a vague expression.

“That makes sense, right? After all, the Crown Prince must be very busy and wouldn’t bother with something in the North. Besides…”

Johannes lowered his voice and spoke quietly.

“I heard that after the Duke of Wintbell’s brother died in an accident, the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Wintbell family soured.”