Chapter 64

"Everyone looks like they're having fun even though it's the last day."

"It must be because of the bet between Your Grace and His Highness the Crown Prince. Besides, many events continue after the hunting festival."

Once the participants entered the forest, he had nothing to do.

While others gathered in small groups to enjoy conversations and play card games.

He was currently close to being an outcast in high society.

He had no noble acquaintances.

So there was no way any noble would approach him.

Arndt, after looking around the waiting area, quietly said so only he could hear.

"I didn't notice at first, but the Baron Arnold family is also here."

"What? Really?"

"Yes. If you look to the right from where Your Grace is, there's Lady Arnold wearing a navy dress."

Amelia?

It wasn't particularly unusual for nobles to attend the hunting festival.

The same went for the Baron Arnold family.

But to think that Amelia had come here.

The last time he saw her, she had been so ill she couldn't even walk on her own.

"She's looking at Your Grace right now... Ah, we might make eye contact."

"You turn your head too. She's a person who has nothing to do with us now."

He had retrieved the horn fragment from her and discovered how she had been manipulated by Yurik in his past life.

So there was no need to approach her again in this iteration.

Moreover, after seeing the spider demonic beast servant planted in the baron's mansion, he realized it might be better for him not to approach ordinary people like her.

After all, his side tended to bring danger with it.

The ducal family would be poison to characters who wanted to live normally.

Trying not to recall the dead Amelia, he handed his empty cup to Arndt.

"Arndt."

"Yes, Your Grace. I'll bring a cold drink."

"This time, not black tea, but perhaps another..."

Just as he was about to ask if there were any other drinks.

Suddenly, someone burst out of the forest entrance in a hurry.

It was a face he had become familiar with during lunches and dinners.

As he was thinking, which family's young lord was that, the man shouted.

"Everyone, run away, right now from the forest!"

-Crack.

The sound of "from the forest" was cut off.

His knees bent helplessly, and soon he collapsed onto the grass.

On top of his neck, instead of a head, there was something else.

Something white and round that was replacing the head.

When that white object fell off, a horrific scene was revealed.

A moment of silence.

"Ah, ah."

Followed by high-pitched screams and commotion.

Besides what was flailing on the grass, white creatures began to randomly jump out from the forest.

Those that pounced on people standing close to the forest began feeding with cruel and disgusting sounds.

Others jumped high to target people who were further away.

Pandemonium.

People who had their heads torn off without knowing what those things were, and others who fell into panic and fled after seeing them.

Servants and nobles alike all began to run away screaming.

"Your Grace!"

"Wait, what about Leandros and Russel in the forest?"

"They'll survive no matter where you throw them!"

Arndt pulled him with a strong hand.

The soldiers responsible for guarding and escorting the hunting grounds tried to respond in a fluster, but they lacked understanding about demonic beasts.

They ran aimlessly with their backs to the commotion.

Most people were heading to the royal hunting lodge.

A place mainly used for noble accommodation and banquets during the hunting festival, it consisted of several buildings and the largest banquet hall and dining building.

The attempt to hide indoors was good.

But when many people rushed to a door that wasn't that large, the situation changed.

"Move aside, move! Do you know who I am!"

"Let the ladies in first!"

"My son is out there! I need to go out!"

Pushing from behind, shoving from the front.

In the midst of it all, he and Arndt lost hold of each other's hands.

"Your Grace!"

Arndt shouted as he was almost sucked into the door.

Conversely, he was pushed outside by people and merely staggered.

He needed to tell Arndt he would go somewhere else. But before he could even see his face, the door closed.

-Click, bang!

"Hey! What are you doing! Open up!"

"I haven't entered yet!"

People pounded on the suddenly closed door and shouted.

But only for a moment, as white monsters jumped out from behind and clung to the backs of several people.

Everyone screamed at the blood spraying in all directions and the abhorrent scene.

"Aaaaaaah!"

He couldn't die in a situation without Arndt or Leandros.

He began running aimlessly toward another building.

And other people also scattered to find the annexes used as lodgings.

The building he chose was the smallest, assigned as lodging for lower nobles.

The door of the building was closed but not locked.

As soon as he entered, he closed the door and drew the curtain on the window next to the entrance so the inside wouldn't be visible.

No lights, as quietly as possible.

This lodge had a small reception room cum salon on the first floor, and individual rooms on the second floor.

Just in case, as he was looking around the interior, he heard a strange sound.

The sound like a creaking hinge was coming from behind a large chair near the fireplace.

Who was it?

As he carefully went around the chair, he saw a familiar face.

"Lady Amelia."

Amelia, dressed in a navy one-piece, was covering her mouth with both hands and shedding tears.

Her face was pale blue, and though her face was completely wet, she somehow managed not to make a sound.

As soon as Amelia saw him, she finally removed her trembling hands from her face.

"Y-Your Grace."

"Shhh. How did you get here?"

"The, the hall seemed blocked, so, I, ran, but, the, closest places, were locked."

That meant Amelia had witnessed all of that chaos too.

Just as the banquet hall was locked, it seemed that people who had fled to other annexes had all locked their doors.

Was this the place she had finally found after begging to be let in?

Should this be considered lucky?

"You did well. This was the right choice."

"W-what do you mean..."

-Thud, crash!

-Kyaaaaaa!

-Aaa, aaaah!

The sound came from right nearby.

Amelia opened her mouth in surprise, but he quickly covered it, preventing the scream from escaping.

"Quiet. Demonic beasts are sensitive to sound. It's the result of severe degeneration of their eyes."

"...Hup."

"Judging by the sound just now, they probably came in through the windows. They can't fly, but they can jump high."

This was the annex where lower nobles stayed.

The facilities were relatively inferior compared to buildings where high nobles stayed.

Especially the windows.

The luxurious annexes of high nobles had large, wide windows to allow good lighting.

The lodging he had received also had such spacious windows.

But not the lodgings of lower nobles.

They had narrow, high windows that ensured illumination but offered less openness and were less ornate.

Because of this, the windows were more effective against demonic beasts breaking in.

"H-how did you..."

"I'll explain later. For now, we need to keep our voices and footsteps as low as possible. I'll go draw the curtains on the other windows."

Just as he got up saying that, Amelia pulled his hand.

"Y-you might be, at-attacked if you go, n-near the windows now!"

"This is our chance since attention is focused on the other attacks."

As he said, screams were constantly heard from somewhere.

It seemed safe enough to make footsteps at this point.

Amelia hesitated for a while, but though she was trembling, she slowly got up.

"I'll, I'll h-help too."

Why, when she was trembling like that?

Though he found it strange, he nodded for now.

Together, they drew all the curtains in the second-floor guest rooms and returned to the first floor.

During that time, the screams had disappeared.

In the creepy silence, Amelia and he whispered with their voices lowered to the extreme.

"D-do we have to, s-stay here?"

"I'm not sure what's happening outside. The royal knightly order should be nearby. Won't they come for rescue?"

"W-what if no one comes?"

"That won't happen."

With the Crown Prince here, they would definitely come.

At his confident answer, Amelia hesitated for a moment.

"T-then for now, continue here."

"Yes. Until others come."

If they didn't come, he was planning to go himself.

But with Amelia here, he couldn't leave her behind.

Should he take her along?

While he was lost in thought, Amelia whispered.

"Y-you said those m-monsters are sensitive to, sound... Anything else? J-just in case."

"Probably if we don't make any sound, we'll be fine. If you see them up close, protect your head. They like heads the most."

"S-so it's okay? W-why specifically the h-head?"

"The human head contains a lot."

He pointed to both Amelia's head and his own.

"The center of life activity is the head and heart, right? But the ribs protect the heart."

"B-but arms and legs are e-easier."

"Indeed. Perhaps it's a matter of preference? Or maybe there's a reason why it has to be the head and nothing else."

Amelia nodded and suddenly asked.

"T-there are many of them, are they a colony?"

"Rather than a colony, it would be more accurate to call it a family."

"F-family?"

"Those things are a kind of larva. Being small, the amount they can ingest is limited. So they tend to replenish high nutrients at once."

"H-heads are high in nutrients."

"Something like that, I'd guess. They become independent only after reaching adulthood. Until then, they cling to other adults..."

Wait.

Larval demonic beasts act together with adult demonic beasts of the same species.

And the presence of a larval group here meant,

Probably...

-Thud, thud, thud.

Amelia covered his mouth.

When he turned around, a shadow was cast on the curtain covering the window next to the entrance.

That shadow extended to a small window near the ceiling.

What could be seen through the illumination window only as large as a human torso was.

A massive demonic beast with a bright red face.

The lower part of its face, swaying like rags, was wet.

It was banging its head against the roof, and each time, blood splattered on the small window.

Overwhelmed by fear in an instant, we could only gaze at it blankly.

Amelia's hand covering his mouth was trembling again.

Stay calm. This wasn't the first or second time.

He pulled down Amelia's hand.

Theoretically, if they didn't make any sound, they wouldn't be discovered.

Of course, people inadvertently make various sounds, so it was almost impossible.

But being indoors, perhaps even breathing sounds would be acceptable.

And his thinking was somewhat correct.

As they stopped even their breathing sounds, the thing prowling around the house seemed to gradually lose interest in the house.

It probably thought there was nothing to eat.

The frequency of the demonic beast's head banging decreased.

Yes, just a little. Just a little more.

At that moment, Amelia pointed somewhere with her trembling hand.

Following her gaze, he saw a frame hanging crookedly on the wall.

Due to its small size, it was precariously shaking each time the creature banged from outside.

-Thud.

The frame tilted further.

-Thud.

The still life, which was barely hanging on a nail, depicted fresh flowers and fruits.

-Thud.

As the picture began to dangle, tears welled up in Amelia's eyes.

After that, the vibration stopped.

Was it over?

Had it completely lost interest?

Just as he thought that.

-Thud!

The picture fell, and the frame shattered.

"Go to the back door!"

Simultaneously with his voice, which was no different from a scream, the ceiling collapsed and the demonic beast's red face poured down.

That face was smiling.