At that moment, two men who had been hiding in the lounge revealed themselves. One emerged from behind a large chair, the other from under a table. Both movements were agile.

The man who grabbed Olentia spoke to her in a chilling voice.

“I told you to be quiet. Do you think this is a game?”

“W-What, who are you?”

‘How could this look like a game? Wouldn’t you scream if you were in my shoes? I was so startled!’

Tears welled up from the shock. Though she tried not to show her emotions outwardly, she felt like going mad inside.

She never dreamed she would encounter such a major incident. She had surely gotten herself into serious trouble.

‘Oh, I should have just stayed put! Why did I come in here! I couldn’t resist my curiosity and now…’

It was too late for regrets. Olentia swallowed hard and kept her mouth shut. For now, she intended to stay quiet as the man had said.

If she screamed again, she felt he might stab her throat with that silver dagger.

She had not the slightest desire to die like that.

That’s when it happened.

The door in front opened and someone entered along with the men in black uniforms she had seen earlier.

A physique twice as large as the knights and a uniquely imposing presence.

A white bauta mask.

A man who seemed capable of striking fear into everyone.

It was undoubtedly Grand Duke Dimidius Belial.

Why on earth?

Why was he appearing here?

She couldn’t understand at all.

Olentia stared at him with trembling eyes. Dimidius seemed to have injured one arm, with blood flowing from between his torn clothes.

‘Gasp! Why is he like that?’

Even in that moment, she trembled all over from the cold sensation at her neck.

‘What do I do? I’m so scared!’

It was fortunate she hadn’t fainted yet. Olentia took a shaky breath, tears and snot streaming down her face. She couldn’t lower her guard for even a moment.

Just then, the man holding her spoke to Dimidius in a despairing voice.

“Did you really kill them all? Now there are only three of us left, including me… You crazy devil!”

Dimidius ignored his words and simply looked at Olentia.

“…My lady?”

At that single word uttered by Dimidius, who had barely made a sound while fighting until now, the man instinctively sensed that he and Olentia knew each other.

The masked man felt a thrill as he pressed the dagger closer to Olentia’s neck.

“What’s this? You know each other? How convenient. If you don’t surrender quietly, I’ll slit this woman’s throat.”

Dimidius spoke in a flat voice devoid of emotion.

“She’s a woman of no consequence to me. So you won’t be able to do as you please.”

The man coughed, seemingly taken aback.

“Cough! Do you think I won’t kill her even if she’s an innocent citizen?”

At last, the man lightly cut Olentia’s neck.

“Eek!”

Feeling a definite pain in her neck, Olentia was terrified. One wrong move and the man might stab her carotid artery.

‘Damn it! Why are you doing this to me! Fight amongst yourselves!’

At the thought that she might die, she even cursed inwardly.

Olentia felt frustrated, unable to tell what Dimidius was thinking. He was the only one she could trust right now.

‘I was wrong to come to the first-class car on my own… but I didn’t do anything bad enough to die for.’

As she lamented to herself, Dimidius coughed up blood briefly before stepping forward without hesitation. His hands were covered in blood stains.

The knights around him were startled.

“Y-Your Grace! We will handle this.”

“That’s right. There’s no need for Your Grace to shed more blood like this. It’s dangerous.”

‘Why is he suddenly coughing up blood? Did something happen?’

Olentia bit her lip hard and only shed tears. She couldn’t speak because of the dagger at her neck.

But a moment later, she felt her head clearing, and Dimidius’s solemn voice reached her.

[My lady. Please close your eyes for just 10 seconds from now. Trust me.]

He had sent a message as if he were a god.

How on earth?

Did he use demonic powers?

For now, that wasn’t important.

Wanting to live, Olentia squeezed her eyes shut and began counting. Since he asked her to trust him, she decided to believe in him for now.

‘One… two!’

[This is the timeline separator]

From the moment he saw Olentia, Dimidius resolved to give it his all. Until now, he had only faced them with his sword, but it seemed he would have to use his demonic powers.

With the single word he uttered to buy some time, Olentia ended up with a wound on her neck.

Dimidius frowned at the sight of the wound on her delicate neck. It felt entirely like his fault.

Without delay, Dimidius unleashed the demonic power he had forcibly sealed away. As the black energy burst forth, his mouth tore open and the organs in his body were greatly shaken.

It was the first time he had released his demonic power since the attack on the grand duchy 5 years ago. Having sealed away his demonic power to maintain a human appearance for a long time, using that power now put a great strain on his body.

A tremendous wave of magical force swept through Dimidius’s body. His blood-red eyes grew even darker and his hair billowed.

Though he had already lost a lot of blood, he had no intention of turning away from Olentia, who was trembling in fear.

When the demonic aura enveloped his entire body.

He first sent a message to Olentia.

[My lady. Please close your eyes for just 10 seconds from now. Trust me.]

Though startled, Olentia obediently squeezed her eyes shut. She seemed to be counting numbers.

Now all that remained was to dispose of the masked man.

Moving behind the man as if by magic, Dimidius knocked the dagger away and struck the man’s vital point in one swift motion.

Clang!

The dagger binding Olentia fell to the ground, and the man in the black mask collapsed without even making a sound.

When using demonic power, it was this simple.

And the other two were subdued by the knights.

“Your Grace! We have subdued them!”

“Are you alright?”

Amidst their voices, Dimidius was only concerned about Olentia’s condition. The wound on her long white neck seemed so ill-suited to Olentia, who had likely only seen good things in life.

By the way, was Olentia really alright?

Having unleashed his demonic power, even the trained Belial knights would have experienced pain as if their heads were being torn off.

Yet Olentia had simply counted numbers both at their first meeting and now, seeming rather composed. She must indeed have strong holy power.

“Hic! Six… eight!”

Olentia, who had been tensing her legs, soon felt her whole body floating.

Dimidius’s voice reached her ears.

“Eight? You must have been in quite a hurry.”

Only then did Olentia open her eyes and look up at Dimidius’s white bauta mask. For a moment, time seemed to pass like a dream.

Then, as her mind swam, she got goosebumps realizing she was in his arms. Though his embrace was large and stable, she had no desire to remain in it.

“Just how long do you intend to stay in my arms…”

So before he could finish saying the same thing as last time, she quickly raised her upper body. Though she staggered for a moment as blood rushed to her head, fortunately she didn’t fall ungracefully.

Olentia stood upright and looked at Dimidius.

“Do you think I’d fall for it twice?”

At her fierce words, Dimidius shrugged.

“It seems you learn quite well. That’s fortunate, my lady.”

Olentia, who had been breathing heavily, shuddered as she looked at the black-masked figures collapsed on the floor. Though Dimidius’s knights were removing the bodies somewhere, she couldn’t easily move her feet.

Her mind was thoroughly confused about what exactly had happened.

At that moment, Dimidius pointed to Olentia’s neck and said.

“…Is the wound on your neck alright?”

His voice was uncharacteristically grave. He seemed quite concerned as he examined the neck wound.

Olentia frowned at the pain as she touched the wounded area, then pretended to be fine.

“T-This much is nothing!”

“Is that so? Then perhaps I should have left it a while longer.”

But Olentia knew well. That her wound was trivial enough to be dismissed as a joke compared to how serious Dimidius’s injuries were. He had injured his arm and even coughed up blood earlier. Was there some problem with his body?

Since they weren’t close enough to ask personal questions, she had no choice but to gloss over the situation.

Olentia wiped the blood flowing from her neck with the clean cloth Dimidius handed her, then took a moment to steady her breathing. A scene of rampant murder. She couldn’t believe she had been present at such a horrific scene.

‘This is… an attack scene, right? Who on earth? Who would dare attack the Grand Duke of the Bonus Empire.’

She felt her head burning from fear. It felt like she had seen something she should never have witnessed.

But Olentia gathered her courage and spoke to Dimidius, who was stanching the blood from his arm.

“I think I have a right to know. Since I’m a victim too.”

“Please state your main point briefly.”

Dimidius’s voice was slightly lowered, as if he were tired.

“Who are the people who attacked? You know, don’t you, Your Grace?”

“I have quite complicated circumstances.”

“Yes. I have complicated circumstances too. Everyone does.”

“So can you tell me about those complicated circumstances?”

“That’s…”

Parents who died in a famous accident, a cousin and his wife coveting her inheritance. The Pieta bracelet that had clearly transmitted divine messages, though only three times.

There was no way she could speak of such things.

Olentia glared at him with sharp eyes.