Merche disappeared. He didn’t even know how much time had passed since then.

As soon as the fever that had been hindering his movement subsided and vitality slowly began to return to his body, Rude immediately threw off the blanket and stood up.

“Oh my, you mustn’t move so abruptly yet!”

The old doctor shouted something and chased after him, but it was impossible to catch up with Rude’s long strides.

He quickly descended the creaking stairs and mounted his wolf in one go. Then he began to gallop away.

The sky spread out above his head was dark.

He didn’t know if it was because it was night or because it was just before sunrise. In the first place, such things weren’t even important.

The clamor of a noisy commotion reached the ears of him who had been running without rest for a moment.

Rude had a gut feeling. It’s over there. Merche is over there.

The darkness that had covered the sky like dark clouds slowly dissipated as if smoke was scattering.

Seeing the sunlight streaming through the gaps, Rude finally realized that it was now around sunrise.

…… And then, the golden-haired woman he had been searching for so desperately entered his field of vision.

“…Merche!”

He let out a thunderous cry and ran like crazy.

Merche was falling.

The rampaging Pegasus, the limp female body tumbling from atop it, the Basilisk attacking in a frenzy as if to tear her to shreds.

Merche crawled on the ground, vomiting blood.

It hurts. Her mind was so hazy that she felt like she would faint at any moment. But she couldn’t give up like this.

“……Ugh.”

It was all Merche’s fault.

The Pegasus ridden by Fabio that carried her moved exactly as desired without an inch of misalignment, and Schacar, who followed closely like an escort, nimbly shot across the battlefield without a single mistake.

The only lacking one was Merche. She alone was the only one here who couldn’t fulfill her role.

Sssk- Ssk!

As if clearly showing how enraged it was, the raised head of the Basilisk trembled.

Unfortunately, her authority, which had given Merche a faint glimmer of hope for a moment, did not work on that Basilisk.

Rather, it only further provoked the Basilisk.

“…… The ring.”

Rolling. The ring that Karla had given her rolled across the blackened plain.

It was a ring with a moonstone cut into a circular shape.

The ring, which had rolled powerlessly on the ground without even being able to wrap around its owner’s finger, spun a few times before stopping nearby.

Merche grabbed the ring with a desperate touch for some unknown reason.

– It is an item that Lady Karla asked me to deliver to you. I do not know what is inside, but perhaps Her Ladyship wishes for you, Lady Merche, to confront the Basilisk through that item.

To confront the Basilisk with this?

Karla. You have overestimated me too much.

Merche put the ring on her slender ring finger and then laughed as if she was about to cry. She knew it too.

That Karla had been expecting something from her without saying it out loud.

Karla, and Ileana who possessed the power of prophecy and stuck close to that child like her shadow.

Filled with an incomprehensible certainty and confidence, they kept pushing her back.

But all she, who had received all those expectations, had done was temporarily lead the serpents of Venenum so that Karla could take the successor position. That was all.

Ssssk. Ssk.

As if displeased by Merche’s existence trying to suppress it, the Basilisk moved its huge body again, targeting her.

Threatening venom dripped from between sharp fangs and a flicking tongue.

The moment one of the drops was about to attack Merche’s leg, which had not yet managed to escape its range of vision.

“… You crazy snake bastard!”

Rough swearing. Arms that immediately wrapped around her waist and pulled her strongly. Her head collapsed against a rock-like chest.

Merche opened her hazy eyes and saw the man who had once again returned to her side.

There was no time to ask how he had come.

Rude connected his consciousness with the wolf while holding her tightly. The leader wolf, Nike’s legs, bravely crossed the black earth.

Thud thud. Vibrations shook the entire world.

Merche, who had been absently fiddling with the ring on her finger without any strength, blinked at the huge shadow covering her cheek.

The screeching sound of metal, the tilting head of the Basilisk.

“…… No.”

The Basilisk opened its mouth, revealing its wrinkled palate. It was trying to swallow Rude.

Something that boiled up from somewhere unknown made Merche’s crumbled body stand up. She stared directly into the Basilisk’s bright red pupils.

Rustle, something like grains of sand seemed to flow out of her hand.

A tingling sensation swept by, followed by the sound of rough waves.

Swish. Swish……

The headache that had penetrated her every time she heard the sound of waves did not come. Rather, it was as if a light had been turned on in her head, making her thoughts concise and clear.

“Stop.”

The long pupils of the Basilisk narrowed sharply.

It tried to wriggle violently as if startled, but the huge body connected to its head couldn’t even budge slightly.

The head, which was larger than a human body, drooped down as if it had never been stiffly raised.

The Basilisk did not give up easily. It struggled several times to rebel.

In order not to give it even a small gap, Merche concentrated all her nerves and pressed down on it firmly.

“…… You damn, weak, snake monster. It’s time for you to die……”

Not missing the golden opportunity, Rude drew his sword with a snicker.

He instantly kicked off the ground, leaped up, and stepped on the center of the Basilisk’s head.

Ah. Could there be a situation more like a masterpiece than this?

Dazzling sunlight poured from the now completely clear sky. The halo of light enveloped Merche and Rude and spread evenly.

Kiaaaak-!

Rude’s blade finally pierced the Basilisk’s head in a straight line. With a tearing scream, the twisted body collapsed with a thud.

Just because the Basilisk had fallen didn’t mean everything was over.

First, the buildings that had collapsed and crumbled here and there had to be rebuilt.

The mansion where Merche had been staying also had one corner completely destroyed. For that reason, Merche had to stay at Karla’s mansion for the time being.

“Phew…….”

My, my. Karla Venenum, with no luck at all.

Karla scanned the center of the room with dull eyes.

Why did it have to be my mansion of all places?

It was a space that had been quiet and harmonious until recently. Now, a mess that was so sickening and nerve-wracking just to look at was unfolding in that place.

“He must have nothing in his head. It seems like it would make a hollow sound if you kick it, so let me kick it just once. And while I’m at it, it would be nice to let me kick other places too.”

“… You should leave now, sir. How many days have you been staying here?”

“I’m telling you, his head is filled with nothing but garbage!”

“Lord Lupinus!”

“I’m the fiancé, you’re a total stranger. So why should I leave? If someone has to leave, it should be you with that unnecessarily eye-straining white head of yours.”

My goodness. To think this is a conversation between the head and the successor of a meritorious family. It’s as if they’ve completely erased the concept of noble language from their minds.

For days, her head had been throbbing because of the two men bickering and throwing harsh remarks at each other.

What’s even more annoying is the fact that Merche, who had brought them together here in the first place, wasn’t even here.

Where the hell is she and why isn’t she coming.

Karla’s patience ran out due to the ear-splitting commotion.

She was about to get up and go out to find Merche herself.

At that moment, Merche, whom she had been waiting for, entered the room.

“…….”

The two men were fighting at the top of their lungs without even realizing that Merche had arrived.

One was on the verge of drawing his sword, and the other was spitting curses while slowly moving his right leg as if to kick.

“… You two. If you’re going to fight, could you please take it outside?”

The heads of the two men swiveled sharply.

Karla, who was sitting on the couch, clicked her tongue, finding the situation amusing.

They had been pretending to be gentlemen in front of Merche, but today they had been caught red-handed, earning them an unfavorable gaze from Merche.

Two men who wouldn’t be able to say a word even if they had a hundred mouths, and a woman who wouldn’t want to say a single word even if she had a thousand mouths. The atmosphere froze in the subtle gap.

“Miss. You’ve returned.”

The one who broke the suffocating air was the bright welcome of Mrs. Martin, who was unaware of the situation.

Mrs. Martin, who had no way of knowing about the thrilling situation that had just unfolded here, approached Merche with a smile. Draped over her arm were colorful fabrics that looked fluffy at a glance.

“The lord has sent down some fine fabrics. Which color do you like the most? If you choose one, I’ll have it sent to the dressing room first.”

A rounded arc appeared on the corners of Merche’s mouth as she looked down at the fabrics.

It was a gentle and pretty smile that she never showed to the two men standing like fools.

After having a rather intimate conversation with Mrs. Martin, she returned to her usual expressionless face and turned her gaze to Fabio. His tense shoulders were noticeable even at a rough glance.

“Lord Fabio. I heard something from the lord a little while ago.”

“… Yes. Please speak.”

“I was told that your family sent a letter telling you to return home. Since Lady Juana has already started preparing, it would be good for you to go and help her.”

Karla clicked her tongue again, and Rude, who had also been eavesdropping, grinned.

Fabio, whose complexion had darkened, fidgeted. He asked cautiously.

“Is it because of the meeting between the factions…?”

“It would be difficult to say that it has no influence on that.”

It was not something that had happened long ago.

Some time ago, letters with exactly the same content had flown to three different families.