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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Warlock's Ploy
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"How did we meet, how did we meet…" Natalie muttered ceaselessly.
Her state was clearly not normal, and I tensed up as well.
“Oh, dear.”
Penelope, with a remarkably calm expression, wrapped an arm around Natalie's shoulders.
“There she goes again.”
“……”
“Ah, don't be alarmed. This happens sometimes.”
Then, cupping Natalie's cheeks with both hands, she whispered in a tone one might use to soothe a child.
“Natalie, how did we meet? At that party, I accidentally spilled wine on your dress, remember?”
“Wine… on my dress, wine…”
“Yes, that's right. How did we meet?”
“Penelope… spilled wine on my dress…”
“Good girl.”
It was a bizarre sight. The moment Penelope snapped her fingers, the silence that had fallen over the tea table was replaced by chatter once more.
It was as natural as resuming a paused video orb.
“Oh! That's right. Penelope spilled wine on my dress, didn't she?”
Natalie continued as if nothing had happened.
A chill ran down my spine. Penelope's red eyes seemed to pierce right through me.
“…Sounds like a first meeting straight out of a novel.”
“Right? It's so strange~.”
As I played along vaguely, Penelope's gaze shifted back to Natalie. Even though the weather was gradually warming, it felt like the temperature in here had dropped by ten degrees.
Hiding the goosebumps that had risen on my arms, I fiddled with my teacup for no reason.
*Mind control? The ability to manipulate memories and brainwash?*
Now I understood. How Penelope could use a dead person's name and be so confident about it.
*She must have manipulated Count and Countess Swanson in a similar way. Not to mention the other young ladies.*
It seemed I had stepped into a more dangerous situation than I'd thought.
Seeing me naturally resume my conversation with Natalie, Penelope must have thought her power worked on me, as she began to observe me openly.
I tried my best to ignore her piercing gaze and continued talking with Natalie.
“Strange…”
Penelope muttered softly, resting her chin on her hand.
“Why is he interested in a girl like this?”
*Who are you talking about?* The question was on the tip of my tongue, but I managed to hold it back.
*Don't look at her…*
I kept my gaze fixed on Natalie, deliberately pretending not to notice Penelope.
I was tense, worried my eyes might unconsciously drift in her direction.
I can't let her find out.
If she did, I might not be able to get out of here. And considering Penelope's abilities, perhaps…
*…no one would even notice if I disappeared.*
The very thought was terrifying.
That someone's existence could be erased in an instant. And that such a formidable power belonged to a warlock who, at a glance, looked to have a nasty personality, was a great misfortune for humanity.
Penelope now openly hummed, crossing her legs and leaning back against her chair.
It was an overly casual posture for a noble lady, but everyone else just laughed and chattered as if they couldn't see her.
“Hmm. Is it her face he likes? No. I'm prettier.”
Penelope's slender fingers touched the nape of my neck. It felt like she could kill me in an instant just by squeezing her hand.
*As I thought, she's part of that group of warlocks targeting the descendants of the Prophets.*
I was preparing to call Lev at the first sign of danger, but Penelope suddenly removed her hand and drew back.
“Is there some reason I don't know about, or what? Haaah~. This is so frustrating, I could die.”
Penelope let out a deep sigh, then smiled sweetly as if nothing had happened.
*Clap!*
At the sound of her clap, all the young ladies turned to look at her at once.
“Well then, shall we conclude today's tea party here?”
“Oh my, look at the time. Shall we?”
“Thank you for the invitation today, Lady Swanson.”
“I'll invite you to my estate next time!”
The other young ladies vied to say their goodbyes, as if reciting scripted lines.
“It was fun meeting you today, Emily.”
Penelope called me by my first name naturally. Instead of pointing out the rudeness, I responded with a bright smile.
“I had a wonderful time, Penelope.”
“I knew you two would get along~.”
Natalie added with a grin.
“Then, I'll see you next time.”
Penelope's red eyes followed me persistently. I struggled to keep my lips from trembling as I smiled.
“Yes. Until next time.”
The moment I finished my goodbyes and stepped into the carriage, a sigh escaped me. I leaned my head against one of the carriage walls.
“This is insane…”
The Crown Prince and the Saint on one side, and a warlock on the other.
*And stuck in the middle is the person hiding zombies, just making my life harder.*
***
As the carriage disappeared into the distance, Penelope's beaming smile vanished.
“Ah~. I can't stand this. This sort of thing just doesn't suit my temperament.”
She immediately kicked off her shoes. They were pretty to look at, but terribly uncomfortable. Penelope grumbled as she massaged her reddened toes.
“I don't get what's so great about gathering for a cup of tea and a cookie. Noble ladies really know how to make a fuss over nothing.”
*Fling!*
She carelessly tossed a shoe behind her, and it landed on the head of a servant who was standing there to see off the guests.
He should have grunted in pain, but the servant just stood there silently. His eyes were vacant and unfocused.
“Hermann!”
Penelope called out a name.
From among the servants, a man in a gardener's uniform hesitantly stepped forward. He had grayish-green hair and striking dark circles under his eyes.
“W-Why did you call…”
“Can't you see I'm standing?”
Startled by her irritable reaction, Hermann promptly dropped to the ground.
Penelope then casually sat on top of him as if it were a common occurrence.
“Th-There's a gardener's chair over there…”
“Are you telling me to sit on a dirty chair like that? Are you kidding me?”
“R-Right? Sorry…”
As Hermann looked dejected, Penelope roughly ruffled his hair.
“My little puppy. Just do as I say, okay? Hmm?”
“Y-Yes!”
“Any word from Claude?”
“Not yet…”
“I told you we should just kill them all. This is so frustrating~.”
At Penelope's words, Hermann's head shot up.
“W-Well, we're still outnumbered, so it's disadvantageous… And the Saint is at the Holy See…”
“Hey.”
“Y-Yes?”
“Who told you to talk back?”
At her icy tone, Hermann sucked in a breath and quickly lowered his head again.
“I'm already annoyed, are you trying to test my patience too? Behave, will you? Huh?”
“S-Sorry…”
Penelope swept her hair back with one hand.
*Hmph, does he think I'll just sit here and wait forever if he doesn't contact me? I can act on my own just fine.*
Penelope thought this was the perfect chance to put Claude in his place.
“Among the girls who visited earlier, I found some decent bait.”
“B-Bait?”
“Yes. Bait.”
Penelope smiled brightly.
“I'm talking about the one and only talentless daughter of House Walker.”
***
“So…”
Edmond continued, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
“There's a warlock hiding among people using the name of the deceased Lady Swanson? And she seems to have mind control abilities?”
“Exactly.”
Isaac shot his hand up and asked.
“Can't we just go and tattle to His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“Right. They're the ones trying to kill us!”
“They already killed us once, actually.”
For once, Isaac and Yulia were in complete agreement. They looked at each other and nodded.
“I already told you, didn't I? That warlock has mind control. The reason it didn't work on me is probably… because I'm a warlock myself.”
“Ah~. Like how the demonic beasts surpassed us?”
“It's a similar principle. To report this to the Crown Prince, I'd have to explain that part plausibly, and is there any way to do that?”
At my words, Yulia's and Isaac's faces crumpled even more. Isaac, frustrated, even ran his hands wildly through his hair.
“Argh! The people targeting us are right under our noses, and we can't even say anything!”
“Oh, right! The Crown Prince is on the same team as the Saint! Wouldn't the Saint be able to recognize her at a glance?”
“I can't guarantee that either. After all, even the Saint couldn't see through me, right? Penelope might be able to hide herself similarly, and besides, the Saint's presence is so overwhelming that it's impossible to bring him along secretly.”
“True…”
Yulia's face turned white, as if recalling her last experience. No, wait, she doesn't have any blood to begin with.
“Besides, it seems the order for now is to just observe. If she wanted to kill me, she would have done it today.”
“That's also true.”
“But we can't just sit around and wait for them to try to kill us!”
*Thump!*
Yulia slammed her hand on the desk, venting her frustration.
“Yeah, when you think about it, we're demonic beasts too, aren't we? Can't we get stronger or something?”
“Right. We went to all the trouble of becoming zombies, and all we can do is bend our joints backward!”
Isaac pulled his wrist all the way back. Hmm. It was definitely an angle beyond human capability.
“Can't you bite someone and infect them? Isn't that a basic zombie skill?”
“I told you, we're zombie-*like*, not actual zombies.”
“What about breathing fire from our mouths?”
“Could you not so subtly state your own wishful thinking, Yulia?”
At my words, Yulia pouted.
“It's been my dream to become a dragon since I was a child!”
*Sigh.* A sigh escaped me on its own.
