“Ah, this… this…”
The embarrassment was clearly visible on April's face.
Liam, who had been looking at her silently, gave a crooked smile.
“Better pretend it's just a coincidence and catch it now.”
He deliberately dispersed everyone near the Duke's room, and ordered the servants to direct the magicians who tried to come here to an alternative route. It's all for moments like this.
A maid outfit and a fucking mask?
He looked at April, who seemed to be sweating coldly in such suspicious clothing, then spoke again.
“Ah, no matter how many weird people are in the Magic Tower, if you're walking around like this, aren't you practically announcing yourself as a suspicious person?”
“Ah, this...”
“And that hammer you're holding looks like something you could use to bash someone in the head.”
After Liam's comment, April awkwardly tried to hide the hammer behind her back.
“Ah, hahahaha. This is just… my self-defense weapon. I always carry it with me, but I didn’t know what kind of place this was.”
But Liam realized it immediately.
The hammer that April was holding was one of the luxury items that had been presented to Duke Kaiyan years ago.
Masterfully crafted Bartanium hammer.
However, due to the nature of bartanium, it was less durable for its intended use than other materials, and since the Duke did not use the hammer himself, it was left in storage.
But why would April Salt have that?
“Self-defense, huh?”
Was she planning to smash the heads of Salt's envoys if necessary?
For a moment, Liam's mind wandered to Bonita's face, who had boundless love for April.
Although sending April alone into the tower was worrying, giving her such a weapon as a means of self-defense…
This made her suspicious appearance look like that of a killer holding a hammer hunting his prey.
“…Since you don’t know the situation of the Magic Tower, I suggest you be more careful with your appearance.”
“I was… I was worried that the remaining envoy from the Salt Kingdom would notice me.”
“They finished their meeting with the public this morning and left immediately, so there is no need to worry.”
“Ah! Ha-ha-ha... I understand now. Yes...”
When Liam heard the strangely interrupted voice, he remembered the way Duke Kaiyan seemed to have predicted this situation.
“If we pressure it too much, it will shrink in on itself, so let's maintain a moderate level of monitoring and only intervene when it's critical.”
Less than a day later, facing April in this strange outfit, Liam couldn't help but feel like Kayan's vision was like a prophecy.
“As expected, the most intelligent, intelligent, and wisest Duke of the Klitan Empire is very insightful.”
Very touching!
He placed his hand over his heart for a moment before turning to look at April, who was now looking at him with a very strange look.
“Well, you should go back now. If you keep up like this...”
As his words faded away, April nodded, as if she understood without needing to hear more.
…The first infiltration, which began with great intentions, ended in failure and was weak and unclear.
* * *
“What an embarrassing situation…”
After Liam brought me back to the room, I buried my face in the bed and squirmed in belated embarrassment.
Honestly, I thought it would work.
I expected that when the Duke went to meet the Tower Master, his group would naturally gather there, but then Liam's variant appeared.
I still don't understand why he didn't accompany the Duke to meet the Tower Master.
Now it is irreversible.
“I must break the core, whatever the cost.”
Despite the setbacks, I couldn't give up.
What had initially seemed like a vague sense of duty, now seemed like a mission.
For the “independence” I had been putting off, I had to get the cooperation of the Tower.
After careful consideration on my own, I came to a compromise that made sense.
I'm just part of the Duke's group anyway, right?
An idea lit up.
At that moment, my head, buried in the bed, rose.
Do people know that I'm the princess of salt?
no.
Then, envoy from Salt, who can prove that I am the princess or someone related to her?
Liam said they left.
If time continues, the tower will collapse.
The one piece of advice from the original story, which was to break the core given by Limia, was the key to resolving this situation.
And Duke Blair...
“As long as the result is good, it won't kill me, right?”
Maybe he'll keep me alive to enslave me?
Deep down, I feared that he might throw me to the witches as a guinea pig or let me die while he watched.
“No, it definitely won't go that far.”
Although the word “sure” often caused problems, I suppressed my anxiety and slowly began to mentally prepare myself.
.
.
…
"princess."
"…Yes?"
“Why are you shaking like that?”
On the way to the heart of the tower, following the Duke.
At the question that broke the silence, I wiped my sweaty palms on my skirt.
Having been given permission to approach the core under the pretext of curiosity, I was now on the verge of panic.
“I...I've got a cold.”
“I remember you being locked in your room from day one.”
“Maybe it's because I left the window open. Ahhhhhhhhh!”
The excuse was obviously unbelievable, but I didn't care at that moment.
This time, the head of the cold hammer, which was firmly fixed on my thigh, touched my bare skin, creating a feeling of cold tension.
Soon we will reach the central hall where the essence is kept.
I was planning to take out the hammer and smash the core in front of the other wizards gathered there.
...A crazy idea, but it was the conclusion I came to after several days of thinking.
"I'm still shaking really bad. If you don't feel good, you should go back first."
“Yes...”
I heard the Duke's words but I wasn't listening carefully, and then I finally noticed that we had entered the hall guarded by the gate guard.
The floor was so smooth that I couldn't even guess what it was made of, and it was engraved with patterns of light formed by a cracking egg.
“There was a hint very close.”
I couldn't hide my regret.
The wizards probably didn't notice this, as they were most likely distracted by the impending threat to the core.
“Duke Blair, this crack is the root of the problem.”
An elderly wizard, supposedly the Lord of the Tower, approached and began speaking to the Duke.
After that, they seemed to be talking, but I didn't hear a single word.
Beats, beats.
My gaze was fixed on the distant platform, where the blue core was hovering in the air.
A huge core, much larger than the magic stones circulating on the market.
And the crack that looked like spider webs etched into its already smooth surface.
Once the Duke's attention was distracted, she began to slowly move forward.
"princess?"
By the time he realized something was wrong, I had moved far enough away from him.
Swoosh.
I bent down, took the hammer from my hip, and started running without hesitation.
“Huh?”
“Huh? What are you doing suddenly...!”
The nearby mages froze in place, unable to react to the sudden situation.
They couldn't use magic recklessly, because they knew that I was a guest accompanying the Duke.
And with a quick start, p
She turned to the core that was leaking violet mana energy, and raised the hammer high.
Stop it!
“It's too late.”
Bam!
The head of the bartanium hammer shot straight toward the center of the nucleus.
At that moment, I felt a thrilling sensation in my hand as something shattered accompanied by a satisfying sonic explosion.
“If things get worse, you might as well break my head like this, right?”
After doing my duty, I closed my eyes tightly, still suffering from intense fear of the consequences.