A face showing not just apathy, but not even the slightest movement.
Upon seeing his unfamiliar expression, I was startled, but soon realized that Abel had saved me from falling off the cliff.
The fact that I wouldn’t have to endure the agony of death made my body relax slightly. Simultaneously, a sense of gratitude towards Abel for saving me arose.
With a trembling voice, I managed to thank him.
“…Thank you.”
The hands that embraced him shook involuntarily. Even in response to his inquiry if I was alright, I couldn’t bring myself to answer with even a polite “yes.”
Although I was accustomed to dying, I could never grow familiar with the pain of death.
Especially the sensation just before death, when something seemed to be slipping away and my body gradually grew cold, was truly indescribable in its agony.
“Not at all.”
Unlike his usual demeanor, Abel replied gravely without a hint of a smile, then slowly descended from the air. People’s gazes were focused on Abel and me. Most were looks of surprise, but among them were some tinged with jealousy. Even in such a situation, there was jealousy—perhaps that was admirable.
Kwaaaaah!!
A monster screamed so loudly it made my whole body go numb. When I turned my head and met its gaze, I felt my body freeze, and I inhaled sharply. Abel gripped me tighter as if to calm me down.
The warmth of his embrace helped steady my trembling body. Slowly, he placed me down on the snowy ground and silently stared at the monster.
The monster kept emitting eerie cries, glaring at Abel as if irritated that he had disrupted its hunt.
Kwaaaah!!
The monster lunged forward with all its strength. In the blink of an eye, it rushed to within a foot of us, yet Abel’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.
Before I could even shout, a thunderous roar sounded, and dirt flew everywhere.
BOOM!
The next thing I heard was a loud crash, and the monster’s body was sent flying through the air. My mind struggled to keep up with the sudden change.
Abel calmly dusted off his wrist from within the cloud of dirt as he slowly stepped forward.
“He’s bothersome.”
Wooom…
As he quietly murmured those words, the mana in the air resonated, trembling as if in response.
The monster, despite being smashed into the mountain, quickly raised its head, showing no sign of fatigue. Frightened by its terrifying appearance, people scattered in all directions.
Some tripped over each other and fell, but others didn’t hesitate to trample the bodies of others as they fled, while a few even deliberately tripped others to use them as bait.
It was a scene straight out of hell. As I stood there stunned, the royal knights charged the monster.
Their blades, imbued with golden auras, were aimed at the monster.
Abel silently observed them and then raised his palm.
“Don’t expect it to end easily.”
Countless magic circles appeared around us. The amount of mana flowing through them dwarfed the few shield spells I could conjure. Compared to my mana, which was like a small bowl of water, his felt like an immense ocean.
It was an overwhelming amount.
People, knights included, were stunned and stopped in their tracks.
“Array expansion.”
The spectacle was as breathtaking as watching an enormous palace being built from magic circles. Despite each circle consuming an amount of mana comparable to that of a high-level spell, Abel’s expression remained perfectly calm.
Even the emperor seemed intrigued and looked at him with interest.
“Activate.”
With his quiet command, a barrage of pure white spears shot out from the magic circles. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of them passed narrowly by the knights and sank deep into the monster’s body.
Kaaaaah!!
Unable to endure the pain of being riddled with holes, the monster let out a bloodcurdling scream. Yet Abel showed no emotion and continued his assault.
The barrage from the glowing magic circles had turned the monster into a pincushion.
His normally playful expression was nowhere to be seen, and the sight of his emotionless face made him seem almost alien.
‘Is he angry…?’
By the time the ground-shaking roars had numbered in the dozens, the monster could no longer rise. Despite being reduced to a bloody heap and gasping for air, Abel’s attack showed no signs of stopping.
Kwaaaah…
Just before the monster’s breath ceased, Abel stopped. With a flick of his finger, the monster’s body exploded with a sound reminiscent of bones snapping.
Splashes of blood and flesh splattered onto the faces of the dumbfounded bystanders, who could do nothing but stare blankly at Abel and the remnants of the monster.
“…Abel?”
At the sound of my voice, Abel turned to me and quietly asked in a low tone.
“Are you injured anywhere?”
“Yes. I’m not injured.”
“Good.”
Though he smiled faintly as he said so, his cold demeanor and unyielding anger remained, perceptible even to me, who was usually attuned to others’ emotions.
“Evan.”
“I apologize, my lord.”
Evan kneeled without even reverting to his usual dialect. Abel sighed, seemingly still angry, and began to speak.
“I don’t blame you. You couldn’t have predicted this.”
Even his tone, which sounded like blood running cold, only made Evan bow his head even lower. He opened his mouth to say he had done his best, but upon catching Evan’s shake of the head, he closed it again.
“We’ll discuss what to do later.”
Abel briefly glanced at the emperor before turning to me.
“I’ll be back shortly, Adelle.”
“…Understood.”
“This time, Evan, see that you do your duty properly.”
At this, Evan stood up and bowed deeply. Upon seeing this, Abel muttered faintly.
“If it happens again, I might be disappointed.”
“I will remember, my lord.”
With this response, Abel disappeared from the spot without looking back, leaving only the monster’s lifeless body standing among the gathered people as proof that he had been there only moments before.
Once Abel was gone, the people who had been holding their breath began murmuring.
“Why would he rescue such a noblewoman…”
“Surely she won’t misbehave during his banquet, right?”
“I can’t understand why Lord Abel would…”
Some expressed jealousy and resentment over Abel’s rescue of me.
The moment our eyes met, they quickly averted their gazes, whispering behind closed lips. Such covert attempts to let me hear what they wouldn’t dare say to my face had become all too familiar.
After all, wasn’t this how most noblewomen behaved? By now, I didn’t even expect them to speak normally.
“The Duke of Hardenberg is unexpectedly strong…”
“Isn’t he stronger than the average senior knight?”
“You’re comparing the wrong things. At that level, he’s likely on par with the captains of a prominent knight order.”
Occasionally, I would hear people assessing just how powerful Abel was.
Given that he was being compared to a knight captain, it was clear how impressive his strength had been.
Indeed, reflecting on his recent display of power, I could see why they were so awed.
Even knowing that he was an archmage, I was shocked. My own jealousy of Abel’s magical talent seemed trivial after witnessing a demonstration of his true strength.
I was only filled with a sense of wonder.
“Adelle, are you alright?”
Lost in thought, I was startled when Estelle reached out to me where I sat.
Her unusually friendly gesture triggered mild caution, but at least she was better than the superficial noblewomen who would gossip and then pretend not to know me afterward.
With a slight smile, I responded to her concern.
“Thank you for asking. I’m fine.”
Taking her hand, I slowly stood up. Saying I was fine was a lie, but I wasn’t foolish enough to reveal my struggles to someone I couldn’t trust.
—
Perhaps I got a little too excited.
I had planned to display some of my strength at the hunting festival, but it might have been slightly excessive. Upon reflection, there really was no need for such an intense reaction.
Adelle is a regressed individual who can freely rewind time. Even if she were to die, she could simply regress and avoid that situation.
Considering Evan’s strength in protecting her, she wouldn’t have fallen into an endless loop of death that could damage her sanity.
So why did I get so worked up?
I don’t know.
