TIRS 78

CHAPTER 78…………………………………..

. What were you going to say next!

Men dressed in black stormed in.

It wasn’t hard to realize that they were members of the Dark Guild, sent by Prince Enzer.

Because above their heads floated:

Dark Guild Member of the Luenhart Castle Branch
Dark Guild Member of the Luenhart Castle Branch
Dark Guild Member of the Luenhart Castle Branch

—Names like those were written.

“Wh–what is this…?”

“The client…”

Instead of charging at me and Anselot, they looked startled, staring blankly into the air.

“Mmph, mmffmphhh…!”

Enzer, bound by Anselot’s power and gagged, was floating mid-air. When he saw them arrive, he made muffled noises.

Oh crap! He’s still here!

I had completely forgotten about Enzer, and in an instant my face flushed bright red.

When I thought about how he must have overheard everything between me and Anselot, embarrassment surged over me, and I yanked hard on the rope I was holding with my left hand.

“Ugh…”

The rope tightened, and Enzer dropped heavily to the ground with a thud.

He fainted on the spot.

“Eek… What do we do…?”

“For now, just finish the job…”

“The man can be killed, they said…”

The Dark Guild members started whispering among themselves at the sight.

Then their eyes turned to us, meeting mine.

[SYSTEM] The item <Monocle of Maria’s Wish> detects [Clear Intent to Kill].

The flickering flames grew fiercer as they charged at us.

“Now!”

“Hyaaah!”

But unlike their brave charge—

Thwack!

Crash!

Bam-bam-bam!

They were immediately struck down by an invisible force and collapsed in a heap.

Because of the [Death] penalty hanging over us since morning, I had been on edge, but in the end I didn’t even get a chance to act—Anselot took care of them easily.

[SYSTEM] The item <Monocle of Maria’s Wish> detects [Intense Intent to Kill].

A massive killing aura flared up around Anselot.

“These lunatics…”

He muttered grimly, stepping toward them.

“Eek, S–Salto…!”

“Salto’s going to kill us!!!”

The terrified guild members screamed, but Anselot only gave them a chilling smile.

His eyes glowed unnervingly as they rolled.

[SYSTEM] The item <Monocle of Maria’s Wish> detects [Extreme Intent to Kill].
[SYSTEM] The item <Monocle of Maria’s Wish> detects [Fierce Intent to Kill].
[SYSTEM] The item <Monocle of Maria’s Wish> detects [Horrific Intent to Kill].

Flames that seemed impossible to grow larger now surged even higher in a three-step gradient, triggering a dangerous system warning.

All of this killing intent was coming from Anselot.

Horrific killing intent…

The Dark Guild members, struck directly by Anselot’s horrific killing aura, ended up fainting.

But Anselot didn’t stop—he revived them only to terrify them again, over and over.

No wonder they call him “Salto.”

As I silently watched, I suddenly realized something.

Wait!

Because of these guys, my conversation with Anselot got cut off!

‘Because I…’ What were you going to say after that!

What on earth were you trying to tell me…!

[SYSTEM] Your anger increases by +5,000,000.

Realizing that it might have been something incredibly important, fury bubbled inside me.

And now, in this atmosphere, it felt impossible to ask him what he had meant back then.

“Kill them all…”

[SYSTEM] The item <Monocle of Maria’s Wish> detects [Utterly Horrific Intent to Kill].

But this time, that [Utterly Horrific Intent to Kill] wasn’t Anselot’s.

It was mine.

Silently, I picked up a fork from the table.

Channeling sword energy into it, the fork began to hum and glow a deep red.

“H–huh? Your Highness…?”

Noticing something strange too late, Anselot turned toward me.

The Dark Guild members, who had been sobbing and begging Anselot to spare their lives, paled even further when they saw me.

Swoosh—

The fork I threw grazed past them and embedded itself in the wall.

“Eek!”

“T–the fork… it stuck in the wall…”

I stepped toward them with a sinister smile.

“I–I remember her! That woman! The one they say can kill with her eyes—Salto’s woman…!”

“P–please, spare us…”

They crawled backward in fear, trying to put distance between us.

But then their backs bumped against the wall where the fork was stuck.

Crack, crack—

Thin fissures spread from where the fork was lodged, and then—

Craaaash—!

With a deafening noise, the wall collapsed.

“Aaagh!”

They screamed, buried under the rubble.

In an instant, a hole opened up through the wall.

Maria, who had been pressing her ear to the wall in the adjoining room, peered in with wide, round eyes.

Though she had reserved one of the only two royal opera boxes and even drawn the soundproof curtains, she’d been eavesdropping. As expected, her goal wasn’t the opera, but tailing me and Enzer.

“Oh my goodness, what on earth is going on here!”

Maria exclaimed dramatically, leaping over into our room.

She quickly positioned herself between me and Anselot, spreading her arms wide as if shielding me from him.

“Prince Anselot! I knew you were ruthless, but to attack Lady Ruivel right under my nose…!”

“W–wait, Maria…”

“Don’t worry, Lady Ruivel! This time, Maria will protect you from Prince Anselot’s clutches!”

Maria even drew her Saintess’s Staff, taking a stance as though she would strike Anselot.

“…Huh?”

Anselot, who had been watching quietly, raised an eyebrow.

The tension between them looked like it could break into a duel at any second, so I tugged on Maria’s sleeve to stop her.

“No, Maria! It wasn’t Anselot trying to attack me—it was them!”

“…What?”

Only then did Maria turn to where I was pointing.

There, Enzer and the Dark Guild members lay in miserable condition.

Enzer, who had fainted earlier, seemed to have regained consciousness from the wall’s collapse. Looking dazed at first, he met my eyes—and his face turned ghastly pale.

At a glance, they all looked like victims. Maria tilted her head in doubt.

“Prince Enzer hired the Dark Guild to kill me. I only survived thanks to Prince Anselot.”

“T–to kill you?! I—I only meant to rough you up a little…!”

At Enzer’s excuse, Maria’s eyes blazed blue with fury, just like Anselot’s.

“What did you say? You dared to harm my Lady Ruivel…!”

[SYSTEM] The item <Monocle of Maria’s Wish> detects [Truly Horrific Intent to Kill].

“You wretched prince! Die!”

Enraged, Maria raised her staff and smacked Enzer over the head.

He fainted once more without even a scream.

“Eep…!”

“Ugh…”

“Ghh…”

The Dark Guild members, witnessing Enzer knocked out cold in one blow, made strange choking noises.

Maria, still seething, glared at them with eyes shining fiercely.

“So—you were the ones the prince hired to harm Lady Ruivel, weren’t you?”

“W–we’re innocent, Saintess! We just… got lost on the way here!”

“What? Got lost?”

Their ridiculous excuse made me snap.

But even under my glare, they stood firm.

“Y–yes, we’re not Dark Guild or anything. We’re just ordinary citizens passing by.”

…said the man with [Dark Guild Member of Luenhart Castle Branch ] written above his head.

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

I shot back in disbelief, but Maria caught my sleeve and spoke gently:

“Don’t worry, Lady Ruivel. I have a way.”

With a bright smile, Maria gripped her staff.

Oh, finally!

This was the very reason I had lured Maria here today!

The original heroine, Saintess Maria—

She had two unique abilities.

The first was , which could revive even the dying.

But was a power she only acquired after awakening to the power of light, so for now, she didn’t have it yet.

The second was : the mysterious ability to pierce through any lie and force only truth to be spoken.

When I first read the original, I found it even more wondrous than Hezen’s sword aura, Klaus’s holy shield, or Elei’s magic.

Maria, standing before the trembling Dark Guild members, struck her staff to the floor.

Thud!

At that holy, solemn sound, my eyes lit with expectation.

“The goddess Amor says: love must only be true.”

[SYSTEM] prays with holy power.
[SYSTEM] The holy prayer will hear only voices of truth.

“Therefore, may you speak only the truth.”

Thunk!

Huh…?

I blinked rapidly, rubbing my eyes, thinking I had misseen.

But no—it was real.

“Now speak the truth! What was your purpose here?”

“W–we… ahhh!”

Thunk!

“W–we were hired by Prince Enzer to target Princess Ruivel…”

Thunk! Thunk!

“T–to harm the Princess…”

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!!

…Maria was beating them violently with her staff!

Each time her staff struck, pink light shimmered and bold letters appeared in the air:

Skill: <Voice of Truth (Physical)>

“……”

My jaw dropped.

The Voice of Truth—turned out to be a physical attack.

And a very brutal one at that.