125:
The moment Shelley took off his helmet, the most excited person in the crowd was not the noblewomen… but Sandy.
“Thank goodness!”
“He’s still alive! I can escape this position!”
But the following situation made her a little hesitant.
“He really became a paladin.”
“Then does he still want to sit on the duke’s seat?”
Especially when she heard Shelley’s final introduction…
“Only Shelley?”
“Was it unintentional, or did he deliberately not say it?”
Her excitement waned. Sandy was a little unsure of Shelley’s thoughts. Looking at Shelley, who was surrounded by the ladies, Sandy didn’t go up to talk to him.
After finally comforting a circle of crying noblewomen, Shelley walked out from under the murderous gazes of the noble lords.
“Lady Shirley, Lady Elena has arranged for me to go with you to investigate the battlefield.”
Respectfully bowing to the smiling Shirley, Shelley said, “The carriage is ready.”
“When would you like to leave?”
Shirley nodded at his words and walked to Shelley. Placing her hand in his outstretched one, she said with a light laugh, “Then let’s set off now, while the moonlight is just right.”
Holding Shirley’s hand, Shelley bowed to everyone and took his leave, quickly leaving the hall. Then two knights came in and, with William, dragged Robb away.
Although the banquet returned to its initial liveliness after a while, the atmosphere was divided into two extremes. One was the group of ladies who were excited about Shelley’s resurrection. The other was the group of nobles who were worried about what had happened to Robb.
“What on earth is going on?”
“Lord Kerry!? Why isn’t he speaking?”
It was only then that they realized that the host of this banquet, Prince Kerry, had disappeared at some point.
“What happened?”
Although they didn’t understand the situation, more and more people had a feeling that a storm was coming.
“Something big is about to happen.”
“The times are changing.”
…
At this time, in a secret room.
Prince Kerry, who should have been presiding over the situation in the hall, was covered in wounds, huddled in a corner in pain.
“You have no right to detain me!”
“This is a provocation against the royal authority!”
He didn’t understand what had gone wrong.
“What happened?”
“Who was it last night? Why was I brought here?”
“What is the Temple of Justice trying to do?”
…
The moment he got into the carriage, Shelley’s respectful expression became calm. And Shirley, who had been smiling all along, respectfully knelt on the carriage’s carpet.
“Lord Shelley!”
Helping her up, Shelley said with a faint smile, “Thank you for your hard work. I’ll need you to play the role of Shirley again in the future.”
Judith Simone, or rather, the actress playing Shirley, did not get up. She continued to kneel on the ground and said respectfully, “Your Highness, I cannot sit with you. I am just a humble actress…”
Sensing her panic, Shelley reached out and gently caressed her cheek. He lifted her chin and said with a smile, “It’s alright. If I say you can, you can.”
“And you fit this role so well. It’s a kind of fate.”
Fate… perhaps it really is fate.
Miss Judith was a theater actress whom Shelley had brought over from Ir last night. A rising star who was just about to embark on her acting career, before she could even start chasing her dreams, she was targeted by the great demon Shelley.
Recalling the feeling at that time, Judith still had lingering fears. A man in a white mask had appeared in her dressing room, not saying a word, just gesturing at her face for a long time. She had been very panicked at the time, thinking she was about to be kept as a pet. But then the man had taken off his mask and said, “Miss Judith Simone, from now on, you are an envoy of Ir, Shirley Meili.”
Obediently sitting beside Shelley, Judith was very panicked. This man’s status was very high, and his reputation was not good. In the rumors, he was a moody, beautiful man.
“But Her Majesty the Queen would definitely not be wrong about someone.”
“And his acting is really good.”
Shelley didn’t pay attention to Judith’s little thoughts. He looked out the window. After a long while, he said in a low voice, “In a little while, you will stay in the carriage. You are not to leave for even a step.”
“Understand?”
Nodding obediently, Judith didn’t want to get out of the carriage at all.
“Very good.”
Silently calculating the time, Shelley’s gaze gradually became firm.
“The great battle is about to begin.”
…
That’s right. The Prince Kerry who had been presiding over the banquet earlier… was Shelley.
Last night, after dealing with that vampire spawn, he had directly sent Kerry to the interrogation room of the Temple of Justice. Then he had teleported back to Ir and brought Judith back. He had explained the upcoming plan to Elena, and finally, he had played the role of Kerry and held the banquet. In the middle of the banquet, he had appeared with the waiting William.
…
The ruins of the battlefield in the north of Lunt were not as calm as last night. After nightfall, a fierce battle had broken out here. At first, it was just a small friction between the guards of different families… Later, it became a chaotic battle involving everyone.
“The atmosphere here is not right. It will stimulate their desire to fight.”
Lilith hid herself on the outskirts of the battlefield, wearing a special mask and observing the situation.
This place was like a huge meat grinder. Blood was constantly flowing, eventually seeping deep into the ground.
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
A lavishly decorated carriage appeared at the edge of the battlefield. For a moment, all the fighting stopped. These people, like puppets being controlled, turned their heads and looked at Shelley, who was getting out of the carriage.
Letting out meaningless roars, these people began to charge at Shelley like madmen.
“A group of pitiful people…”
They don’t even know they’ve become vampire spawn.
A cruel smile appeared on his face. He said softly, “Vampires are very difficult to deal with. They can turn into bats, into rats…”
“But vampires are also very easy to deal with.”
“For example, like this…”
Taking out an exquisitely decorated scroll from his pocket, a flash of pain crossed Shelley’s face.
“Although I don’t have to pay for it… I still feel it’s a waste.”
Standing on the hillside, Shelley tore open the scroll. He forcefully threw the scroll over the heads of these monsters.
“Even a legendary vampire…”
“A magic scroll like this is enough.”
“Sun… burst!”
[Sunburst · 8th Circle: Brilliant sunlight flashes in a 60-foot radius centered on a point you choose within range. Each creature in that light must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes 12d6 radiant damage and is blinded for 1 minute. On a successful save, it takes half as much damage and isn’t blinded by this spell.]
He snapped his fingers lightly.
BOOM!
The scroll erupted with a huge light, as if a small sun had descended on this forest. Countless vampire spawn were turned to ash in this brilliant light.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Even from underground, a blood-curdling scream was heard.
