“Haa, haa…”
Lady Meredia moved forward with somewhat ragged breaths, then suddenly looked around with a nervous expression.
“…Damn it.”
She could clearly sense Whitney’s presence in the distance, but the maze that had started forming as the shop’s structure changed showed no signs of ending.
Of course, Meredia, whose abilities were specialized in destruction and firepower, could at least use clairvoyance.
“Kikikiki!”
“Kihihihi…”
The problem was, the rooms that had appeared with the maze were filled with dummies that looked like replicas of Whitney and the Emperor.
And though those who jumped out to attack her each time a door opened were no match for Lady Meredia, they were still summons called forth by a Shadow Union executive and proved rather annoying.
Crack..
Meredia, who was once again dealing with dolls that sprang out from the room, gritted her teeth quietly as her eyes turned red.
‘Should I just destroy everything all at once…’
Considering the terrifying presence she had felt a moment ago, Meredia was extremely anxious, guessing that something serious had indeed happened.
That was why she briefly thought about blowing up the entire shop and recovering a beaten-up Whitney to settle the situation quickly.
But Meredia soon shook her head, reconsidering her decision.
‘…The only redeeming feature he has is that face.’
Of course, if the public—who knew how terrifying Whitney’s face was—heard that, they’d doubt their ears, but Meredia was completely serious.
Honestly, the sight of Whitney’s face partially hidden behind a mask she had seen earlier was exactly her type.
Even though worrying about whether that face would get scarred wasn’t something appropriate in such a dire situation, it couldn’t be helped.
After all, love was something strong enough to turn even the smartest woman in the world into a fool in an instant.
“KIEEEEEK!”
‘I should’ve stopped the Emperor at the auction earlier…’
She formed red amber and fired it like buckshot.
After quickly wiping out the incoming dolls, Meredia bit her lips and moved forward again.
‘I could’ve paid 12 billion too…’
In truth, 12 billion was a fortune even entire noble families couldn’t gather by pooling all their wealth.
But for Meredia, it was a different story.
As the sole heir of the Empire’s only ducal house, she was drowning in wealth inherited from countless businesses and legacies dating back to the past.
In fact, that overwhelming financial power—aside from the political influence—was the one thing Lady Meredia actually liked about her family, which she otherwise loathed.
‘What exactly is the Emperor trying to do to Whitney?’
The problem was that the only one in the Empire who could overwhelm Meredia in both power and wealth had just purchased her man.
Of course, Meredia also knew that it was part of Whitney’s plan to be bought by the Emperor.
But wasn’t it completely outside of the expected scenario for the Emperor to have known both of their identities from the very start?
And now that she thought of this place not just as a shady club with a fancy name but as something darker, Meredia’s anxiety only grew worse.
‘All I ever did was hold his hand…’
She suddenly recalled that time when he kissed her on the forehead, a little belatedly, but that wasn’t the issue right now.
Rustle…
“…?”
Just as Meredia’s face began to cloud over with worry, something suddenly crawled up onto her shoulder.
“H-Huh?”
As she turned her head without thinking to look down at her shoulder, Meredia trembled all over and let out an uncharacteristic whimper.
It was a spider she vaguely remembered seeing somewhere before, now wriggling its grotesque legs as it perched atop her shoulder.
“…?”
Frozen with a pale face, unable even to scream after seeing it, Meredia then slowly furrowed her brow.
“Damn it!”
It was disgusting enough to make her shudder, but the spider perched on her shoulder was now lifting one leg to point down the right fork of the hallway.
“Are you… telling me to go that way?”
Meredia finally realized, with a reluctant expression, that this was the same monster she had seen at the academy that had been tamed by Whitney.
“…Ugh, okay, just stop moving.”
As the spider gleefully wobbled its body side to side, Meredia suppressed the urge to shake it off and began moving toward the direction it pointed with superhuman patience.
‘But this is kind of strange.’
That’s when Meredia tilted her head with a puzzled look.
‘Why can’t I feel any of that monstrous aura from it?’
Back when they had first met, even though it had been tamed, the spider had still radiated a pure demonic energy.
But now, the spider sitting on her shoulder seemed to be exuding a familiar, white aura—not that of a mere monster.
It reminded her of someone like the overly dramatic leader she had met at Lumen Ordo.
No, it had a touch of darkness mixed in as well.
In that case, from what Meredia knew, there was only one suspect left.
Yes—the Saintess, who should currently be holed up in the Holy Kingdom…
Shasha-shak!
“Kyaaah!”
Just as Meredia was deep in thought with a furrowed brow, the spider’s leg suddenly brushed against her face, causing her to scream in shock.
“Damn spider!”
Though she started glaring at the spider with murderous eyes, the creature only tilted its head and pointed at another fork in the path.
“…Haa.”
Feeling a bit deflated, Meredia trudged toward the path the spider indicated, mumbling to herself.
‘Seriously, so many people are after you, huh.’
And just as she muttered, the spider’s view was indeed being transmitted in real time to someone within the Holy Kingdom.
But that was another story.
***
With the spider’s help, how long had she been walking?
“…Hmm.”
Finally arriving at a dead end, Meredia looked warily at the lone door before her and spoke.
“If this is a trap, I’ll rip all your legs off.”
“…!”
“…Ah, don’t go inside yet!”
When the spider shrank back from Meredia’s harsh threat and tried to retreat into her sleeve, she instinctively raised her voice with a flustered expression, stopping short of her usual cold demeanor.
kyuuu!
“…Haa.”
Seeing the spider climb back onto her shoulder and start swaying side to side again, Meredia let out a deep sigh.
Just then, her eyes seemed to flash red for a moment.
Crack…
The door before her slowly began to fracture.
“Hah, so it had a barrier after all.”
At the same time, Meredia noticed the complex hieroglyphic script glowing on the door, confirming it was a magical seal, and scoffed as she stepped forward.
Clink…!
When she extended her hand and placed her palm on the barrier, it trembled briefly before completely shattering to pieces and scattering on the floor.
“I’m not about to repeat the same mistake.”
After struggling during the Academy’s midterms, Meredia had taken time to independently study magic barriers, just in case.
Her method of breaking magical seals through brute physical force, completely ignoring conventional magic systems, was a solution only she would think of.
Boom…!
Anyway, now only a simple wooden door stood between her and Whitney, and Meredia casually kicked it down.
It might not have been behavior befitting the noble daughter of a duke, but Meredia was also a formidable martial artist, capable of overpowering most knights without using magic.
“Whitney!”
The moment she entered the room, she hurriedly called for Whitney, fully expecting to find him being tormented by the Emperor.
..?
But then a question mark practically appeared on her face.
“…My Lady.”
Whitney being unharmed was one thing, but the scene in the room was rather strange.
“You’re very late, aren’t you? Haha…”
…..!?
At Whitney’s feet, where he sat casually on the edge of the bed, a woman in a bizarre cosplay outfit lay face down, being stepped on.
“W-What the hell is that?”
“…Hmm.”
Even more bizarrely, he was holding a leash attached to the woman’s neck in one hand.
“What exactly were you doing in here?”
“…Who knows?”
“No, hold on. You…”
But even taking all of that into account, the most jarring part was that Whitney’s eyes—were wide open as he looked at her.
“You can open your eyes?”
“…Ahahaha.”
“……”
“Lady Meredia, no, the Milady, is really quite cute when she makes that face sometimes.”
“……”
“Don’t you think? At least I do.”
With a voice full of laughter, Whitney—eyes wide open—spoke, and before Meredia could even criticize whatever madness he was up to, her body flinched.
‘…What’s going on?’
Whitney had always been one to crack childish jokes that made Meredia’s skin crawl.
But this time, his tone was subtly commanding, and far more composed than usual.
“D-Don’t joke around like that.”
“Mm, understood.”
“Then can you please explain what exactly happened?”
Though flustered for a moment, Meredia quickly regained her composure and asked.
“My conversation with the Emperor went quite well.”
Whitney replied with a calm smile.
“My card worked. From now on, the Emperor will cooperate with us unconditionally.”
Even though his tone had returned to normal and the smile looked like the ones he always wore, there was still something uncanny in the air around Whitney now that his eyes were open.
“…Alright, I get it.”
If it had been anyone other than Meredia standing before him, their legs might’ve given out just hearing him speak.
“But what about that woman?”
Meredia, unfazed by such pressure, stared into Whitney’s eyes for a moment before looking down and asking.
“Why is she being stepped on by you?”
The woman, dressed in an outfit more fitting for a seedy nightclub, didn’t say a word, her face still pressed to the floor except for the occasional twitch.
“Oh, she’s one of the Emperor’s agents… Tried to attack me while I was being threatened.”
“…So she’s one of the Emperor’s shadows.”
“Yes, so I neutralized her.”
Meredia nodded, seeming to accept Whitney’s explanation as she continued eyeing the woman suspiciously.
“…And what’s with that ridiculous outfit?”
“Please don’t misunderstand. She was disguised as one of the staff here—fitting for someone in the shadows, wouldn’t you say?”
“The collar?”
“There weren’t any tools in the room for restraining her, so I improvised.”
“…Hmm.”
Meredia threw another question, then eyed Whitney with suspicion again, but soon looked away.
“It’s suspicious, but fine. I trust you. You’re not the kind of guy to fool around in a place like this.”
“Haha…”
“I honestly thought you and the Emperor were up to something together.”
She muttered with a dry chuckle, finding her own suspicion amusing.
“No way that prideful woman would put on something so ridiculous and even wear a dog collar.”
“……”
“Besides, the hair color’s different—and there’s a slave mark too.”
The more she talked, the more the woman seemed to twitch, but Whitney’s foot kept her movements nearly imperceptible.
“Anyway, this woman really tried to attack you?”
“……”
“…How dare a lowly thing do something so insolent.”
With a sudden cold smile, Meredia stepped toward the woman lying under Whitney’s foot.
Smack…!
Grabbing her by the hair, she slapped the woman across the cheek, and for a moment, her eyes trembled violently.
“Know your place.”
Meredia whispered coldly into her ear.
“Ahahaha…”
And at the same time, Whitney leaned in from the other side with a cheerful whisper.
“How does it feel, Your Majesty?”
(To be Continued)
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Cliche Novel 