Still, it was that same resplendent hall, but the nobles who had previously worn smiles and displayed gentlemanly and ladylike manners now had bloodshot eyes, staring intently at the pot-bellied noble in the center of the crowd, or rather, at the dark red book full of pupils in his hands.
In a corner of the hall, Hilma, the host of the banquet, was smiling as she extended her hand to invite Princess Lana, the 'Jewel of the Kingdom,' while Princess Lana, seemingly oblivious to the eerie atmosphere in the hall, smiled and accepted the invitation.
"Princess, the situation..."
"It's alright, Lakyus."
Just as Lakyus, who was acting as Princess Lana's bodyguard for the evening, was about to intervene, Princess Lana raised her hand to stop her. Then, she turned her head and glanced at the many nobles who were already descending into madness. With Princess Lana's intelligence, she understood the situation.
The moment they stepped into this banquet, there was no turning back. If she refused Hilma's invitation now, she and Lakyus would become the same as those nobles. They had no right to refuse.
Of course, most importantly, Princess Lana didn't feel that she would be in danger. Given the current situation, it would be easy for Hilma to kill them, but Hilma hadn't done so, and had even invited her to talk privately.
This meant that she and Lakyus still had value to Hilma and wouldn't be killed so easily.
"As expected of Princess Lana, the 'Jewel of the Kingdom.' Then, please come with me."
Hilma, seeing how sensible Princess Lana was, smiled slightly and turned to walk towards the stairs not far away. Princess Lana silently followed behind. Seeing this, Lakyus could only sigh and prepare to protect Princess Lana at any moment.
In fact, when Lakyus first sensed something was wrong, she had tried to contact the members of Blue Roses hiding outside the manor through special means, but the messages she sent were like stones sinking into the sea, without any response.
At the same time, on the roof not far from the manor, fully armed members of Blue Roses were yawning boredly, looking at the brightly lit manor in the distance. With magic, they could clearly see what was 'happening' inside the manor.
"How boring. Could it be that this time, Sylma really just wants to host a banquet?"
On the roof, Gagaran, a member of Blue Roses whose physique could be described as burly, looking like a small mountain, was looking ahead with a bored expression. In her eyes, in the hall where the banquet was being held, some nobles were chatting with smiles, and some young nobles were taking the opportunity to socialize, inviting their favorite opposite-sex nobles to dance a soft and boring dance.
"Alright, Gagaran, cheer up and keep an eye on the manor. Don't forget that Princess and Lakyus are inside. If there's a situation, we must rush over to support them as soon as possible."
Nearby, Ibiruai, the strongest combat force of Blue Roses, the magic caster, raised her face completely covered by a mask and glanced at Gagaran. From the beginning, her heart began to feel inexplicably uneasy. The powerful mental strength of a magic caster made her aware that a strange and indescribable power seemed to have appeared in the entire manor not long ago.
However, this power only appeared for a short moment before disappearing. This situation had to make Ibiruai suspect that it was because Hilma, the host of the banquet, had taken out that artifact rumored to have been left over from ancient times.
"I know, but don't worry. If something really unexpected happens, with Lakyus's strength, even if she doesn't have time to send us a message, she will make a commotion to attract our attention."
After hearing Ibiruai's serious words, Gagaran raised her hand and patted her strong muscles hard, looking like she was very confident in her captain's strength, but secretly cheered up and stared at the manor in the distance.
At the same time, in the eyes of the Blue Roses members hiding outside, inside the manor where everything was fine, after Hilma and Princess Lana and Lakyus left, many nobles who had long been completely eroded by the murmurs in their hearts roared like beasts, frantically pouncing on the pot-bellied noble in the center of the hall.
For a time, these nobles, who prided themselves on being superior people and were usually noble and gentlemanly, were like beasts, fighting and scrambling in the hall. The maids who had been serving these nobles stood on the edge of the hall, watching everything in front of them with strange smiles.
As if they were used to this kind of thing, even when a noble had just snatched the forbidden book and opened it, the maids who had been standing on the edge of the hall began to become strange, their delicate faces gradually melting away, and dense pupils began to emerge.
"Princess, how is it? Isn't this scene wonderful?"
On the second floor, Hilma took a puff of smoke and looked at everything below, her enchanting face twisted with satisfaction. Then, she turned her head and looked at Princess Lana, who was still smiling, and Lakyus, who was completely stunned.
"What exactly do the Eight Fingers want to do!?"
At this time, Lakyus, who had recovered, stepped forward angrily, stood in front of Princess Lana, and stared at Hilma and questioned her. You must know that all the people below are nobles. If they all die here, even Hilma, the leader of the Eight Fingers, will definitely be completely eliminated by the kingdom.
And what worried Lakyus the most was that the terrifying and indescribable appearance of the maids who had joined the fighting and scrambling below had already become so powerful that even she, who had stepped into the 'Hero' realm, felt unbelievable power.
"What we, the Eight Fingers, want to do is not important. What is important is what the master wants to do."
After saying that, Hilma turned around and walked forward. Lakyus's expression began to change constantly as she looked at Hilma's back, but when she saw Princess Lana, who looked a little scared behind her, and the maids who were silently staring at them on the side of the corridor, she sighed helplessly and gave up the idea of attacking Hilma and using her as a hostage.
"Princess, please don't go too far away from me later."
"Yes, I know, Lakyus."
Princess Lana, with a hint of fear on her face, looked at Lakyus, who looked like she was determined to protect her, and a smile appeared on her pale little face. Then, she nodded vigorously, but when Lakyus turned her head to follow Hilma, the smile on Princess Lana's mouth formed a terrifying arc, like a smiling demon.
Creak!
A minute later, Sylma opened a door at the end of the corridor and walked in. Seeing this, Lakyus took a deep breath, reached out and pulled out a short sword from under her skirt, and held Princess Lana tightly with her other hand and walked in.
"Welcome."
When Lakyus and Princess Lana walked into the room, a black-haired, black-eyed boy was sitting on the sofa opposite them, greeting them with a warm, sunny smile. Behind him stood two blue-haired maids who looked exactly alike.
And Hilma, who had led them here before, was now crawling on the ground like a dog, her head lowered, completely afraid to look up at the handsome black-haired boy in front of her.
