Chapitre 19: TWO TYPES OF HUNGER
ISAAK didn't have to say anything to Sawyer.
When he looked his right-hand man straight in the eye, he immediately bowed his head before picking up Madison Clarke on the floor. Then Sawyer dragged the unconscious body away from them.
[Ah, she collapsed?]
He didn't notice that the Archmage already fell unconscious after being exposed to his aura and thick bloodlust.
If Madison Clarke's core wasn't sealed, she would have been able to withstand the pressure created by his aura. But since she was practically a non-Mana user now, she lost consciousness just like how ordinary humans were affected by the release of his power.
That thought suddenly made him remember Zoanne Rochester.
[Lady Zoe didn't collapse even though she's weak and her Mana is barely there. How was she able to withstand my aura?]
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a strange noise.
[Damn. What am I thinking about when Princess Runa is right in front of me?!]
He rushed to the royal princess's side and knelt in front of her when she clutched at her stomach while covering her mouth with her hand.
"Princess Runa, what's wrong…"
He stopped talking midway when Princess Runa suddenly raised her head and glared at him.
[Her eyes turned red…]
The royal princess growled at him, drooling.
He could tell by the madness in her glowing red eyes that Princess Runa already lost her rationality. And her stomach was also rumbling loudly.
A chill went down his spine.
[Princess Runa is hungry.]
And there were dead bodies around them. He and his trusted men killed the ten guards at the mansion that tried to attack them. The bodies of those guards were scattered just behind him.
[Shit. I should have been careful! I can control my hunger but the princess is a child.]
It was too late to regret though.
Princess Runa already ran past him at an unbelievable speed. He was known in the empire for his speed and agility because he could control the wind. But despite that, the young princess was still faster than him. He couldn't grab her to stop her from what she was planning to do.
Of course, he knew why Princess Runa ran off like that.
Thus, he immediately ran after her.
As expected, Princess Runa went straight to the nearest corpse that she could get to. She was already holding the dead person's arm when he managed to grab the young princess by the waist. He was about to use his arm to use it as a gag when Princess Runa opened her mouth as if he was about to bite the corpse.
But much to his surprise, the young princess was able to stop herself from accidentally biting his arm.
Princess Runa was famished, and she was drooling.
And yet, she still got a hold of herself.
After freezing for a few moments, the young princess calmed down. Her eyes stopped glowing, and they turned black again. When she realized what she was about to do, she suddenly turned to him with an embarrassed look on his face.
"I'm s-sorry, M-Mister," Princess Runa said, then she dropped the corpse's arm. "I s-should return to the b-basement."
Isaak got a chill on his back when he heard that. "May I know what you're going to do in the basement, my lady?"
"I-It's my room," the young princess said. "A-And my f-food is there…"
His jaw clenched. "Food…?"
Princess Runa's face turned red, then she dropped her gaze to the floor. "M-Mouse," she whispered in an embarrassed voice. "M-Mother feeds me d-dead mouse every night."
Isaak closed his eyes to calm himself down.
[Madam Clarke, your death will be violent and gruesome.]
***
"LADY ZOE, the master has returned."
Zoe, who was on the bed while lying on her stomach and receiving shoulder and back massages from Dal, sighed. "I'll get up and greet Father later," she told the old head butler that informed her that Marquis Rochester was back. "Just tell him that I'm still sleeping."
She knew that it was proper etiquette in this world to get up and greet the master of the house once he arrived home.
And she had been following that protocol ever since she possessed Zoanne's body.
But she was feeling lazy today. She also didn't expect her father to return home early. The sun hasn't even set yet.
[He usually comes home before dinner…]
"Lady Zoe, Lord Rochester is asking for your presence," the head butler said while bowing. "The master said he'll be waiting at his office."
She sighed and waved her hand to dismiss the head butler.
Now only she and Dal were left in the room.
"Must I really go?"
To be honest, although she looked relaxed, she was actually worried.
It had been three days since she told Isaak Viotto everything she knew about Princess Runa. She asked him to kindly tell her once he succeeded in saving the Crown Princess. But he hadn't contacted her at all.
[But he saved the princess, didn't he?]
She was worried because Princess Runa had actually lived a normal life before the crazy Archmage found her.
[If I remember correctly, Princess Runa grew up in a small but loving orphanage until she was four years old. But one night, the orphanage was attacked by an unknown organization. I don't remember the details, but after that attack, Princess Runa has already been turned into a half-ghoul. The Archmage found the princess then and took her in.]
The novel didn't say who turned Princess Runa into a half-ghoul. It also didn't explain how the poor child was turned into something like that. The only thing that was hinted at was the fact that the organization who turned Isaak Viotto and the young princess into ghouls was the same.
[That organization is the novel's final boss, I think.]
After all, the organization's evil deeds didn't end in turning innocent people into ghouls.
[Anyway, I hope that my presence didn't affect the story. In the novel, Princess Runa was with the Archmage until she was ten years old before that bitch sold her to an auction house.]
If she remembered it correctly, the Archmage found out Princess Runa's real identity around that time. Since the Archmage didn't want to gain the wrath of the emperor and Isaak Viotto, she tried to clean her hands off by selling the young princess to the slave traders.
[I sincerely hope that Isaak Viotto has already found Princess Runa by now.]
The young princess in the novel suffered for ten years.
No child deserved to go through that kind of hell.
Even if it was only three years earlier, she genuinely wanted Princess Runa to be found faster than Isaak Viotto did in the novel.
[Isaak Viotto's chance of meeting Eunice Harper will go down. But it's not like I care about his love life. If he and Eunice are meant to be, they will still end up together, even if I changed the story a bit. I don't want to play Cupid or something. My mission is to help Princess Runa, not find a partner for the Grand Duke.]
"I think you should see your father, my lady," Dal, who was massaging her shoulders like an expert, encouraged her cheerfully. "Marquis Rochester isn't the type of person to summon you without a proper reason."
Well, that was true.
"Alright," Zoe said in a lazy voice. "I wonder why Father wants to see me."
***
"ZOANNE, Her Majesty Empress Veronica has sent you a letter of invitation."
Zoe, who was standing in front of Marquis Rochester sitting behind a huge and posh mahogany desk, tilted her head to one side. "Invitation to what, Father?"
The fact that her father got straight to the point instead of inviting her for a cup of tea first made her think that it was serious business.
[Well, since it's a matter related to the empress, I guess it's serious.]
Marquis Rochester handed her a fancy letter.
The decoration, the texture, and the crest on the letter were all elegant. It made her feel once again that she was really inside a fantasy novel. She couldn't help but laugh softly when she saw that Empress Veronica's crest was a dainty-looking red flower that somehow looked like the petals were made of red diamond.
She didn't know what it was called. It wasn't a rose. She wasn't sure if that flower existed in the real world, but one thing was certain: it didn't suit the sly empress.
[Your Majesty, your crest should be a red snake instead of a red jewel-like flower.]
"I was told by Her Majesty's lady-in-waiting that the letter is an invitation for a tea party."
"That seems to be the case, Father," she said while reading the content of the letter. "But this is no ordinary tea party."
She couldn't help but laugh softly.
'Serenity Party.'
She raised her head to meet her father's stoic gaze. "This is a match-making session, Father."
It was the official name of the empress's tea party. The cheesy name was unforgettable to her because she laughed her ass off when she read that part in the novel– the part where Empress Veronica invited Eunice Harper to that very same cringe-sounding party in an attempt to separate her from Isaak Viotto.
Eunice Harper and Isaak Viotto weren't in a romantic relationship then. But Empress Veronica wanted to take the ghoul duke's competent allies away from him, one by one.
And the empress began by trying to marry Eunice Harper off to her older brother.
[Empress Veronica probably wanted to gobble me up for taking Isaak Viotto's side at the banquet.]
"I've heard that Her Majesty would often organize tea parties to apparently help the unmarried noble ladies of the empire to find a suitable spouse," Marquis Rochester said stiffly, his expression as cold as his voice. "But what makes Her Majesty think that she has the right to meddle with my daughter's personal life? It isn't a part of Her Majesty's duties."
[I know, right?]
"Is Her Majesty looking down on you because you're long past the marriageable age?"
That didn't sit well with her, but she didn't blame her father for the mindset that he had.
[In this world, a noble lady's "marriageable age" is sixteen years old. It's normal for young women to marry early. In fact, being single in your twenties is the weird thing here because apparently, that age is too "old" to get married. That comes with a stigma that single ladies in their twenties are "undesirable."]
What a load of crap.
"Don't worry, Father," Zoe said cheerfully. "I'll deal with Her Majesty."
***
[WHAT should I wear to piss Her Majesty off at her own tea party?]
Zoe was excited to be given another chance to annoy the haughty empress. Since she was bored while waiting for Isaak Viotto's "report," she might as well use her time to make the bitchy empress mad.
[You're going to marry me off? Hah! I'll protect Zoanne's body from your evil plan, Empress Veronica.]
Zoe entered her room with an excited look on her face. "Dal, let's go shopping…"
She stopped talking midway and froze on the spot.
[What the hell is this cliché happening right in front of me?]
"M-My lady!"
It was Dal.
And Dal was currently straddling a rugged yet handsome man on the bed.
[Ohh… lewd.]
Despite the compromising position, she could see that the blade of Dal's dagger was currently clashing against the blade of the man's sword. It seemed like her loyal maid was trying to cut the man's throat while the stranger was trying his best to protect his life.
Obviously, the two were fighting each other. But looking at the scene that she had seen a million times before in movies and dramas awakened her creative mind.
[Slow-burn romance, enemies to lovers, smut.]
"Should I leave?"
"My lady, it's not what you think!" Dal denied it adamantly, her face completely red. "This man seems to be an assassin!"
"I'm not an assassin, ma'am," the stranger denied Dal's accusation in disbelief. Then, the man clad in all-black turned to her. "I apologize for greeting you like this, Lady Zoe. My name is Sawyer, and Lord Isaak Viotto sent here me for a report."
Sawyer?
If she remembered it correctly, it was the name of Isaak Viotto's most trusted knight.
Zoe smiled brightly at Sawyer. "Let's hear your report then, Mr. Sawyer."
***
NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'I Won't Let The Ghoul Duke Go Hungry!' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3
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sola_cola Side couple? Hmm~
***
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