Chapter 32: Even Small Peppers Are Spicy

The place I pointed to.

There was a very old mansion there.

It has a brutal visual that looks like it could be in a horror movie, which is very impressive.

Anna, who turned her head to follow me, shuddered in embarrassment.

Our precious Princess seems to be a little reluctant to go to that abandoned house.

But I can’t help it.

I can’t think of any other place besides that.

The eerie atmosphere unique to an abandoned house where no one lives.

It is a place called “Ghost House” in the vicinity.

It’s not like ghosts are really living there.

It’s just a slight misunderstanding.

Anyway, it’s not a bad choice as a place to wait for the disturbance to pass for a while.

“…Are you saying we should go in there?”

“….”

“Really?”

Nod.

Anna, who showed a complicated expression while looking at the exterior.

But as if she realized that she had no choice, she followed me to the mansion without saying anything.

Creak

When I lightly opened the door.

The door, which had not been maintained at all, began to open slowly, making a loud noise.

Broken windows.

Walls cracked here and there.

Late at night.

The moonlight coming in from outside seems to create a rather eerie feeling.

It’s like a ghost is living there.

That’s why the nearby residents never come near here.

Gulp.

I heard Anna swallowing in the quiet space next to me.

It seems that she’s scared of the atmosphere she’s experiencing for the first time.

But I’ve been exposed to so many unusual things lately.

Now I have the courage to pass this level calmly and indifferently.

As expected, experience is important for people.

As I took a step inside, a cool breeze from somewhere brushed past us.

“Eek…!”

Because of that, Anna screams shallowly.

But.

‘It seems too close….’

Anna and I got a little closer because of the reaction just now.

As if she hasn’t realized that the distance between her and me has become closer.

She was holding my sleeve lightly from behind.

The distance was a little bothersome, but I couldn’t tell her to back off.

I had no choice but to keep walking forward.

Crunch

“Ugh…!”

At that time, there were broken glass shards on the floor.

I heard something crushing.

And Anna, who reacted to the sound, was startled and clung to my back.

At her reaction, I glanced back, and she turned her head as if she wasn’t trying to.

The Princess was so timid.

Clearly, in the original work, she was a person who always exuded a cool, career woman-like force.

The appearance of being afraid of trivial things is quite different from what I thought.

We went a little further inside and opened the half-broken wooden door and went inside.

Then the interior landscape is visible.

A small bed and various ornaments of old design.

It seems to be the furniture used by the previous owner.

I chose the most intact-looking chair among them and gestured to Anna.

“Thank you.”

She expressed her gratitude to me with an elegant gesture, lightly dusted off the chair, and sat on it.

It was almost as if she wasn’t the same person as the coward from a while ago, in a figure that was the epitome of nobility.

As if acting, she is now much more relaxed.

It would be natural for Anna to hide her expressions, as she must always hide her emotions.

It’s probably her way of surviving in the midst of various enemies who are aiming for her mistakes and the Imperial Family who are always bothering her.

But.

‘Her fingertips are trembling.’

Her fingertips, which she couldn’t hide, were shaking very slightly.

It seems that she is still feeling fear in this eerie place.

I was pretending not to see, turning my head away, when she asked me.

“Can I ask you one question?”

“…?”

“Why are you helping me?”

“…….”

I closed my mouth at Anna’s sudden question.

The reason I help her.

It seems that it is very questionable for Anna.

No, but there must be something more important than that.

‘She’s not curious about who I am.’

If it were me, I would immediately ask what your identity is.

Anna chose the question ‘why’.

Why did you help the Princess….

‘Because that’s the direction that’s beneficial to me.’

It’s not exactly out of a sense of justice.

And it’s not like I have any feelings of attachment for her.

It’s just.

I’m just acting like that because it’s the best option for me that she’s not in danger.

Anna Blackwood, the Princess.

It’s the best ending for me that she becomes the Emperor.

If something happens to her and the right of succession goes to that guy.

That’s really the worst-case scenario.

Psychopathic thug tyrant.

At that time, I’ll have to worry about survival, let alone a pleasant fantasy life.

If something happens to Anna’s safety, of course, there may be one good thing in my plan.

Then I might be able to achieve my goal of preventing her from entering Ed’s harem.

But that’s not the direction I want.

What I want to see is the perfect pure love ending between Elena and Ed.

I don’t want anyone else to be unhappy or hurt because of that.

That’s why I decided to prevent Ed’s harem from even starting in the first place.

‘I don’t know how it will be in the future….’

The story has already begun.

But Ed and Elena have not yet formed any relationship with each other.

And Ed isn’t as strong as he is in the original.

Just thinking about the many episodes that will happen later makes my head complicated.

Anna, who was staring at me silently when I didn’t answer.

She suddenly called me.

“H, hey!”

“?”

“Something seems to be moving over there??”

Anna’s urgent voice.

At Anna’s words, I turned my head.

Then, as she said, in one corner where the closet is.

I could see something wriggling there.

‘Could that be it?’

I walked towards it with a slow pace.

And finally, when I confirmed its identity with my own eyes, I carefully put it in my hand.

“Oh?”

Anna was startled when she saw the small creature in my hand.

With small transparent wings.

An appearance like a small balloon.

Faeru.

It can be said that it is the owner currently living in this mansion.

A woman’s cry heard all night.

All the bizarre and creepy shadows of unknown origin are all because of these guys.

Can I call it a spirit, not a monster?

They are not particularly threatening beings.

They just like dark and humid places.

They are afraid of people, so they chose this place.

The power that Faeru has is a little special.

It’s not very dangerous if you don’t attack first.

Faeru, trembling in fear and being quiet on my hand.

Anna began to take an interest in its small and cute appearance.

Piyu

When Anna lightly pressed the guy with her hand, a sound like air leaking out came out.

“Cu, cute….”

Drunk on Faeru’s cuteness.

Anna, who seems to have forgotten her fear for a while now.

When she was focusing only on Faeru and sending an interesting look.

Boom!

“Princess!!!”

A voice full of anger filled the mansion with the sound of something suddenly breaking.

That guy.

And the one who attacked the Academy last time.

This time too.

A man who is the cause of all incidents.

I could immediately tell who it was just by listening to the voice.

The suit-clad man with the red wolf tattoo.

It seems that he chased me all the way here.

He’s just so persistent.

I can really acknowledge his persistence.

“Are you going to fight?”

A strange fighting spirit in Anna’s eyes.

It seems like she’s about to run out and pour out magic right away.

Besides, if there is only one opponent, it seems that she is thinking that the two of us can do something about it.

But.

“….”

I shook my head silently.

We don’t need to step forward first.

The reason I thought this place was safe.

It’s not just because it’s a secluded abandoned house.

Piyu!

Piyu Piyu

Soon, the voices of the Faerus begin to be heard from all sides.

“Wh, what…!”

The man begins to panic at the unfamiliar cry.

And I don’t know where they were hiding until now.

The Faerus rush out all at once from all directions.

Countless numbers of Faerus.

I couldn’t even guess how many there were.

Seeing that, I quietly smiled inside the helmet.

You touched the lion’s whiskers, man.