The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight - Chapter 91

The first thing that came to mind was Oscar’s excited voice.

“I’ve heard that you’ve been invited to the imperial banquet in recognition of your contributions to the extermination. Do you understand the significance? This is the first time in Kaisenmeer history that a commoner has been invited to the Founding Festival banquet.”

So this was what it was. She thought as she stepped onto the polished marble with her right foot.

The banquet hall was incredibly large, incredibly high, and incredibly beautiful. It was so dazzlingly radiant that she felt as if she had stepped into another world. The grand melody of string instruments and the fragrant aroma of food stimulated her senses, while the soft laughter floating through the air settled around her ears like the chirping of small birds.

In the end, the fact that she had somehow participated in the banquet felt like a divine joke. As if it were fate. Even if mountains crumbled and god vanished, what was meant to happen would inevitably happen.

The gazes of nobles clad in tailcoats and dresses swept past her before gradually fixating on her one by one. A person could become a foreigner simply through attire. Only then did she recall that she was wearing a shabby white tunic and the ochre-colored trousers common among peasant men. While Joachim had secured her entry, what came after was entirely up to Veronica.

She swiftly scanned the opulent banquet hall. The most attention-grabbing place, the most extravagant spot—that was where Johanna would be.

It was at that moment.

“Oh my, Joachim?”

A shiver ran down her spine at the sweet voice she hadn’t heard in a long time. The moment she turned around, the cascade of colors that flooded her vision left her breathless.

“You’ve brought quite the interesting guest.”

The light from the chandelier shattered brilliantly over her honey-gold hair. A deep blue necklace and a matching deep blue dress. Her eyes of the same shade rippled with emotion—not hostility, but something closer to malice. In the end, blue was the color of fire.

“Sister?”

Joachim’s voice was hoarse, as if he too felt the weight of her presence. Johanna smiled radiantly.

“Thank you for bringing my dear friend. She wasn’t even invited, after all.”

“I was the one who asked to be brought, Your Highness.”

Summoning her courage, Veronica stepped forward, and Johanna’s eyes narrowed. Still smiling, she folded her fan shut.

“I can’t say it’s the perfect attire, but I’m glad you came despite that. I’ve heard quite a bit of noise about you. To think you died and came back to life—how fitting for a saint, aligning so well with divine miracles.”

Though her voice was laced with mockery, it no longer struck as deeply as before. Why had she once trembled at Johanna’s every word? Why had she envied her so much that she couldn’t look away? Because she was more beautiful? Because she seemed to have everything?

Even if that were true, she was someone who could only feel alive through sadistic acts. An unfortunate person.

Only now did she believe Leon’s words. There was no way he had ever loved Johanna. Love was about filling a void, but Johanna had never had the space to hold someone else. Instead, a far greater emptiness consumed her—so vast and deep it swallowed others whole.

“The Veronica I knew was foolish but not witless. Last time it was the imperial archives—what is it you seek this time?”

Johanna stepped closer, whispering like the devil. She reminded Veronica of a snake.

Without backing down, Veronica spoke, “The last time we met, Your Highness mentioned speaking to His Majesty about migration to the wilderness. Do you remember?”

“The wilderness? Ah.”

Johanna let out a long sigh and let the corners of her lips droop.

“Yes, I did mention it. But it would need to be realistic to be considered. Even if the wilderness is safe, simply arriving there isn’t the end. What about water? What about food? Do you think all those people could survive even a single day there? Staying in Kart and being devoured by the Bahamut might be preferable.”

“Have you ever read ‘The Miracle of the Wilderness’ in the scriptures?”

“You mean the tale where food rained from the sky, and the people survived for forty years? Oh dear, how unfortunate, but that’s just a myth. What a disappointment. By now, you should be able to distinguish the church’s lies.”

Johanna clicked her tongue. Veronica made no further effort to convince her. After all, she had her own doubts as well. But if the wilderness was truly the promised land, then perhaps survival upon reaching it was not something humans needed to worry about. Concern belonged to the divine.

“Does His Majesty share the same thoughts?”

“You came for an audience, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“The price?”

She had become the princess’s friend to gain access to the imperial archives. She had delivered Leon’s handkerchief to broach the topic of the wilderness. Then today—

“I will enter the gladiatorial match against the Bahamut.”

Johanna’s eyes widened like an owl spotting a mouse. The moment the trumpet sounded from the far end of the banquet hall and Johanna’s gloved hand tightly seized Veronica’s arm happened almost simultaneously.

It felt like talons grasping her by the nape. She didn’t struggle needlessly for fear of being pierced.

***

The underground banquet hall was as vast as the palace itself, and in its center lay a circular arena with a gaping hole. Originally, it was used for forcing foreign prisoners to fight or for spectators to watch official duels between knights.

Veronica stood in the middle of it. The gazes and the chandelier’s light poured down on her, stinging like fire.

No matter how powerful the Bahamut was, it wouldn’t be able to leap all the way up to the spectator’s railing. Clinging to that thought, Veronica focused her mind as she listened to the introduction that branded her as the murderer of an imperial knight.

No one here was curious about her name. The surviving assimilator, the church’s saint, the red-eyed executioner—those rumors alone were more than enough. In the first place, there wasn’t a single person in Kart who didn’t know her name.

Veronica looked straight up at the emperor, who sat in the highest seat of honor, looking down at her. The aged emperor, slouched with his head resting to one side, finally waved a liver-spotted hand and solemnly declared, only after the lengthy introductions were finished:

“Enter battle with wisdom like a serpent and purity like a dove.”

Though he was quoting scripture, the words felt completely out of place. Veronica bowed her waist in a show of courtesy and grasped her sword.

If things went well, it would be a chance to introduce the wilderness to the upper class. If they didn’t, at least it would prevent a reckless incident.

Unlike before, she was confident she would win.

Booo—

As the trumpet blared, silence fell over the hall.

The hush was so complete she could almost hear people swallowing their saliva or the sound of a needle dropping. In that moment of stillness, Veronica recalled the savage faces that had once drooled at the sight of her. Had they also ‘sensed’ her presence…?

From the darkness, the iron bars swung open, and the heavy sound of footsteps echoed. A presence far larger than a human—one, two, wait a minute.

Veronica turned to glare at Johanna, who was perched against the railing, her arms lazily draped. She had said there would be only one.

Instead, more than ten creatures slowly emerged from the shadows.

Considering the chaos she had endured in the square, this number wasn’t impossible to handle. But what was truly horrifying was the malice of another human being.

This was a death sentence.

It’s fine. I can do this. Just buy some time, let the emperor enjoy his entertainment first—

Bang!

The Bahamut’s sudden outburst broke her train of thought. Startled, Veronica instinctively prepared to leap onto the railing, only to stare in shock at the Bahamut that had fallen to the ground instead. The nobles standing nearby shrieked in terror, stumbling backward in a chaotic mess.

“…What…why?”

Why wasn’t it coming for her?

All ten Bahamut ignored Veronica entirely, as if they couldn’t even see her, and instead leaped like crickets toward the humans on the railing. The loud commotion filled the space as Veronica, tightly gripping her sword, hesitated.

Did they see her as one of their own? Was she invisible to them?

Looking back, in the square, they hadn’t attacked her until she had struck first.

Veronica sheathed her sword and cautiously approached the nearest Bahamut. As she stood before it, the creature, mid-leap, froze before slowly turning its head toward her. Veronica held her breath.

The Bahamut bent so low that its arms nearly touched the ground, its grotesque, hairless head looming before her face. It made a slow, grating movement as it brought its nose closer, as if sniffing her. Its white face was twice the size of a human’s, its mouth wide open, exhaling warm gusts of air against her skin. The strands of her hair were gently lifted by its breath. Before, it had smelled of the sea. Now, it reeked of raw flesh.

She was running out of air. How much longer…

“…Ah.”

A foolish exclamation slipped out.

Its eyes opened.

It was looking at her. Since when? Since when?

Veronica’s eyes widened in growing horror. A desperate realization surged within her. Without hesitation, she drew her sword and sliced through its neck, then spun around and screamed:

“Everyone, close your eyes!”

As always, her warning came too late.

Thud, boom—

People hurled themselves off the railing as if committing suicide. Not a single terrified scream escaped their lips. The nobles, their eyes glowing bright red, flung themselves freely into the air, colliding and tumbling, the sickening crunch of breaking bones filling the space. The Bahamut, as if they had been waiting for this moment, grabbed them mid-air and devoured them whole.

Veronica swung her sword wildly. Flesh and blood splattered everywhere. But the real problem lay with the assimilated ones. She couldn’t kill them.

The knights who rushed in from the far end of the banquet hall also stood frozen, their faces drained of color, unable to do anything about their lords.

Dizziness crept in from the sheer chaos. Everything was completely reversed. Now, she was the spectator, and they were the spectacle. As if this were some form of retribution. As if the rightful ruling class had been overturned.

Gritting her teeth, Veronica frantically searched for Joachim.

But when her darting gaze finally landed on him, an eerie shiver ran down her spine.

Aaah.

The red-eyed princess was butchering the blue-eyed emperor.

Ah—this was truly a scene of absolute taboo.