บท 7: Danger is Coming!

Felt didn't know how Emilia found her. She shifted her gaze to Ayanokouji beside Emilia. He seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite remember him.

Felt dealt with all sorts of people every day, and apart from having a rather handsome face, Ayanokouji was too ordinary and forgettable.

"Rom, are you okay?" Felt asked anxiously.

"I-I'm fine..." Rom replied quickly.

Emilia also recognized Felt as the one who had stolen her emblem earlier that day.

The theft had happened so quickly that Emilia couldn't see the other party clearly at the time, but after meeting again, she recognized Felt by her clothes and petite figure.

"Return my belongings!" Emilia said seriously.

"Isn't it just a worthless emblem? Why are you so obsessed with it?" Felt asked, puzzled. "I thought people like you wouldn't care about such things."

"It's very important to me!"

Emilia's eyes widened, her tone very firm, with a hint of anger. After all, if the emblem of a throne candidate was lost, it would mean she lost her qualification to participate in the royal election.

At this moment, Ayanokouji noticed Felt slowly reaching her hand behind her.

"I suggest you don't act recklessly. The person you're provoking is a very powerful Mage. She can kill you easily."

"Oh, really?"

After hearing Ayanokouji's words, Felt didn't feel scared but rather smiled, showing her cute little tiger teeth, looking eager to try.

She had a Divine Protection related to wind and was confident she could evade Emilia's attack. But before she could make her move, Ayanokouji continued: "Even if you can dodge her attack, your companion Rom might not. I guarantee he'll die instantly."

Before coming here, Ayanokouji had asked a lot about Felt and knew that she and Rom were very close.

Caring about the people around you is a common weakness.

Emilia was slightly surprised. Although she was very angry about her emblem being stolen, she also knew that theft didn't warrant death. If the other party was willing to return the emblem, she could let it go. But after hearing Ayanokouji's words, she cooperatively aimed her ice shards at Rom.

Felt directed her gaze at Ayanokouji, trying to find any flaws, but the other party's expressionless face showed no emotional changes. She could feel that he wasn't bluffing. It was only then that Felt remembered seeing him by chance earlier that day. At that time, he seemed to be held hostage by three robbers, but why was he here now, with the emblem's owner?

Felt's intuition was sharp. She instinctively felt that although Ayanokouji seemed ordinary, he might be very dangerous, and she couldn't risk Rom's life. After all, he was family, so she could only withdraw the hand reaching for her dagger and toss the emblem she had stolen to Emilia.

As Felt threw the emblem to Emilia, Ayanokouji noticed it seemed to glow for a moment, but it disappeared quickly, making him unsure if he had seen it correctly.

"Really, I forgive you this time!"

After Emilia checked that the emblem was genuine, she breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, Puck also felt relieved: "Fortunately, we found it! But next time, keep it safe! It's okay now, so I'll go rest!"

"Yes."

Emilia nodded with concern at Puck.

Puck's figure gradually disappeared, turning into countless light particles that entered the crystal stone on Emilia's white neck.

At the same time, Felt ran to Rom's side, anxiously checking if he was injured.

"You must not steal anything again!" Emilia straightened her back and said seriously to Felt and the others, "Since you returned my belonging, I'll let you off this time. Don't do this again!"

Although she was a bit angry about her emblem being stolen, now that she had found it, she wouldn't trouble them anymore, so she put away the ice shards beside her.

"Ah, is she really going to let us go just like that?"

Seeing the scene in the sky, Felt murmured.

She initially thought that she and Rom would face revenge, but she didn't expect Emilia to really let them go.

This was different from the other nobles she had encountered. Combined with the contents of the earlier sky illusion, Felt realized that the mission's target was actually a very kind person.

"I'll contact the client later and end the deal."

Felt said to Rom beside her. Although she usually did small thefts, she still had a basic understanding of right and wrong. After knowing who Emilia was, she wouldn't choose to act against her.

Rom bowed his head, looking at Felt with satisfaction, then lifted his head to look at the sky.

"After returning the emblem, we might not have any more dealings with them."

At this moment, Ayanokouji turned his gaze to Felt and immediately noticed important information in her words. Felt clearly didn't know what the emblem was or its value. Why did she choose to steal it?

"Why did you steal this emblem?" Ayanokouji had some speculations that needed further confirmation.

"I didn't mean to steal... It was just someone commissioned me." Felt quickly said, somewhat shirking responsibility.

"Someone asked you to steal my emblem?" Emilia's eyes widened, a bit of surprise in her eyes. "Who was it?"

"Yes, right." Felt nodded eagerly, trying to emphasize the authenticity of her words. "But I would never betray my client's privacy!"

"Really?" Emilia's expression turned serious, and countless ice shards appeared around her again, pointing at Felt.

"...On second thought, it's not impossible to reveal. It was a woman in a black robe. She was very beautiful...but I really don't know her name." Felt said quickly.

"What she said might not be a lie." Ayanokouji said slowly.

He had just observed Felt's expression and could feel she wasn't lying. Moreover, because Felt was a slum thief, it wouldn't make sense for her to intentionally target the emblem of a throne candidate – unless someone planned all this and wanted to make Emilia withdraw from the royal selection. Who could that be?

As Ayanokouji was pondering, he sharply felt a cold wind from behind and instinctively retreated, then saw a cold light sweep past his side – it was a stab from a strange-looking sword!

Although Ayanokouji managed to dodge, the slash didn't stop. Before he could issue a warning, a dagger emitting an unpleasant cold light had already pierced through Emilia's body.

Blood spurted out without any resistance, and the powerful Mage fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Blood continued to flow out from the wound, forming a large pool on the uneven ground, slowly soaking into the earth, with a fishy smell filling the air.

Emilia was dead.

❀❀❀

Everyone in the classroom was shocked by the sudden situation.

Students who had never experienced life and death before saw such a scene for the first time.

Although some films and comics contained bloody scenes, the image on the screen couldn't compare at all, as the scene on the screen was too realistic, as if this bloody massacre was happening right before their eyes.

Many students started vomiting, and Chabashira, the homeroom teacher, also held back the urge to vomit. She quickly walked to the screen, trying to turn it off, but to no effect.

At this moment, Horikita covered her mouth to prevent herself from vomiting.

The bloody scene almost made her cry, and she could only shift her gaze to Ayanokouji for help.

Ayanokouji's eyes were focused on the student terminal screen, looking for all the details on the screen.

❀❀❀

In the streets of the Kingdom of Lugnica, people looked at the sky in shock, not expecting such a bloody and cruel thing to happen.

Although most of them had a lot of ill will towards Emilia, no one would think of killing her. After all, the other party only looked like the Witch of Envy and hadn't committed any crimes. Her status was very special. She had Roswaal's support, and most people wouldn't choose to provoke her.

And Emilia was killed so easily?

Emilia looked at the scene in the sky, stunned, feeling unreal.

"Am I...dead?"

There was a bit of confusion in Emilia's purple eyes.

"They dared!"

Puck beside Emilia suddenly became furious. She couldn't stand it, and the temperature around her dropped to freezing point in an instant. The surrounding air gradually condensed, causing explosive bursts.

"Puck, that might not be true!"

Puck's voice trembled with emotion.

Emilia finally came to her senses and quickly held Puck's hand, trying to comfort her and avoid irreversible things.

But even though she comforted Puck this way, Emilia also felt a bit uneasy in her heart. Even though she was hated by many people, it hadn't reached the point of being killed.

If this illusion truly showed the future, who wanted to kill her?

Maybe the answer could be found in the next scene.

"I must chop the murderer into pieces!"

At the same time, Puck raised her head, directing her angry gaze at the sky, trying to see who the real murderer was.

❰❱SKY SCREEN❰❱

"What happened?!"

Felt was shocked by the scene in front of her. She stood there with a blank look.

Her empty eyes were full of fear. She trembled as she moved her eyes to the pool of blood on the ground. Emilia, who had been alive just a moment ago, turned into a corpse in an instant, and warmth quickly drained from her body.

The dreamlike feeling accompanied by deep panic slowly filled her heart.

"I initially wanted to deal with both of you together, but I didn't expect you to dodge." A soft and slightly lazy voice sounded among the three of them.

Ayanokouji directed his gaze at the attacker. His line of sight met a pair of golden eyes.

Standing in the middle of the three was an elegant woman. She wore an open black dress. Her white, curvaceous skin was visible from her open top, exuding a fatal allure, highlighting her proud lower body curves. A large black cloak covered her back like a curtain of night.

Her face was very delicate, contrasting with Emilia's childlike features. A mole on her left cheek emitted a charming aura, capable of enchanting anyone around her. Her long black hair was beautifully braided in front and reached down to her waist.