At the different kind of silence that ensued, there still were people who had yet to stop screaming, and their voices echoed everywhere.
However, this all soon died down.
People began to feel the strangeness of the atmosphere as well.
Those who were lulled to silence could not hide their perplexity, and they gulped as tension wrung them tightly.
'What's going on…'
'Why… Why is it like this.'
'It stopped? What's wrong with it?'
'Huh? But, what the hell is it looking at…?'
Those who were grasping the situation nervously noticed then… that all the heads of the monsters had turned towards just one place.
Their confused gazes gathered together.
At the very place that the monsters were looking at.
There.
All those who were breathing beneath this dreary sky turned towards one place, and there was nothing else that could have confused them further.
"Valentine…?"
Someone muttered.
At the same time, people's eyes flashed with terror.
"Hiccup."
Surprised by the many gazes that were suddenly turned on her, Alicia hiccupped.
Then at that moment.
As if this sound was the signal, all the frozen monsters began to move.
Kyaaah—!
Oh my god!
As the static monsters began to move again, people's screams started anew. They were all thrown into panic once more.
However, the monsters did not seem to be interested in the uproar that they had created.
They all started to run in perfect sync, not even giving a single glance towards those panicking people.
This forest was designated as the hunting grounds.
The slope to the far right led to the steep mountain range.
All the running monsters melted away.
The only thing that's left in their wake were blue puddles.
And the black beads that were floating in those puddles eventually sank into the soil, avoiding the eyes of those who watched.
No one else noticed them, except for Rosetta.
Just as the monsters appeared without any prompting, so too did they disappear without any warning.
It's as if a sudden typhoon came and went.
When the monsters completely disappeared, the screams stopped again.
Here and there, people started to let down their guard.
It was difficult to believe that an aristocratic event had been held here. They all looked disheveled and a mess.
However, as the immediate danger was cleared up, questions started to burst through.
What the hell were those monsters?
Where did they come from?
By any chance, is there a mastermind behind this?
Then, who is it?
And why did the monsters run away after seeing the two ducal ladies?
Breathing roughly as they were staring at the ground, their gazes slowly crept up.
Towards Rosetta and Alicia.
The two ducal ladies who might have the answers they were looking for.
* * *
Even though the lizard was still here, the people here seemed to be more interested in the new questions that plagued their minds.
Clearly, there were more eyes on the ducal ladies now compared to the lizard, which still remained to be a threat to their collective safety.
—The Duke's daughters…
—The ducal ladies are…
—House Valentine…
Even though they were whispering amongst themselves while covering their lips, their voices were still audible.
Among all the whispers, there was one that could be heard plain and clear.
"The fact that those things disappeared as soon as the ducal ladies appeared must be because… right?"
Doubt and curiosity.
Inquiries and fears.
Subjected to this mixed atmosphere of both gratitude and criticism, Rosetta smiled yet again.
These gazes.
Those whispers.
And this atmosphere.
She felt such a vivid sense of déjà vu, to the extent that it's absurd.
The atmosphere was exactly like this when I was still living as Rita in the third transmigration, and when I had been isolated from everyone else.
It was all, undoubtedly, the result of Urien's schemes.
Just like right now.
'Right. This is exactly what you want, Urien.'
As it was now, people would start considering this situation in three possible ways.
One, that it was all a coincidence.
The ducal ladies appeared, and the monsters stopped moving at the same time.
The monsters looked at the ducal ladies in unison by chance, and then they even backed down.
Everything was just happenstance.
Two, the monsters ran away because the ducal ladies had a mysterious power.
That's why the ducal ladies are fine now.
Or three… The ducal ladies are the masters of those monsters.
And they're at the epicenter of all this chaos.
That's why they're unharmed.
Nevertheless, however they'd think of it in the end, the sisters would be at the forefront of everyone's minds.
If truth be told, the first one was the best case scenario, but it's unlikely that people would think that way.
It's more likely that they'd think of it in the second or third way.
And, it's certain.
As the atmosphere had gone south like this, the crowd might have already reached the third conclusion.
In the midst of this horrendous pandemonium.
There were those who died, and there were those who survived.
Those who lost people precious to them.
They all needed someone to blame for this terrible misfortune.
So that someone could be held responsible.
It was evidence enough that the gazes directed at them now were all sharp.
Good grief. They don't seem pleased.
Rosetta cast a disapproving glance towards the others.
She was conscious of the sharp glares directed at them now. But most of all, she did not like the fact that everything was going according to what Urien wanted.
But her cold gaze soon moved away from them when she took notice of someone fast approaching from a distance.
There, towards the forest, where the road for carriages stretched.
Even as the rain was still drumming down, one person ran hurriedly towards this place.
Silver hair, drenched entirely. Gold eyes, dazzling.
It seemed like he had shrouded himself entirely with aura as he ran, and so there was an apparent golden glow around him.
'…Duke Valentine.'
Alicia and Rosetta's father.
Other people might have noticed his presence sooner, but they were overwhelmed enough by the two ducal ladies and the lizard. They did not notice who was soon approaching from behind them.
Not long after, Rosetta and the duke's eyes met.
Her heart started pounding more compared to when all the monsters had stopped at once.
That gaze of his, with unfathomable emotions swirling within. There's not another time that those eyes ever made her feel so suffocated even more than before.
That person, too. She wondered if he'd be suspicious of her as well.
But what's this— how laughable.
He does not even consider her as a part of his family. But just the fact that the same blood was running through her veins was making him worry like this.
Rosetta reached out her free hand and held Alicia's arm.
Then, she pushed Alicia behind her back.
The duke's fingertips flinched for a moment.
Rosetta did not see.
After arduously looking away from the gaze that she was facing, she put on a characteristically indifferent expression on her face, and she prepared herself to speak.
She needed to avert their gazes.
At the very least, if the third conclusion had already been reached, she must draw those people's attention to her, not Alicia.
"Why are you all…"
However, she did not get the chance to continue speaking.
Ruuumble… BOOM—!
Because lightning struck, and thunder clapped deafeningly.
Kyaah!
Those people who had been whispering until now stopped and screamed, crouching down to cover their ears.
Their quivering pupils turned towards the source of the sound.
Where tension had yet to abate.
What was moving through the sky right now was not truly a thunderstorm.
A huge, blue flame—like a thunderstorm.
The blazing blue fire went down on a huge arc, falling down from the sky.
It served as a reminder that the lizard was still there.
The crisis was not yet over. Don't get distracted by nonsense.
The flames were concentrated towards just one target: the lizard's head.
BOOOOM—!
Yet again, a huge sound followed.
"GIEEEEK!"
The panting lizard spat out blue blood as it screeched.
Enormous sounds and deafening screams.
Then, an afterimage, flashing from the sky.
The rising smell of something burning.
These were all enough to overtake everyone's thoughts.
For a moment, they forgot their suspicions against the ducal ladies.
The struggling lizard stumbled.
Blue light covered the heavens, looking like a painting in the sky.
At the end of this light, there was a man.
A man with dark hair and a mask over his face.
"A whip…?" someone murmured.
As soon as the blue light faded, this time, red flames rose near the lizard's head.
It was smaller than the blue flames, but it was nonetheless spectacular to witness.
The owner of those red flames was Leo.
Young Duke Carter, who swept up his rain-soaked red hair roughly.
He might be far away, but it was evident that his expression was not very good.
Shakily, he raised one hand.
And starting from his fingertips, his red flames began to burn the lizard's head.
"Gieek— Graaaah!"
The monster screeched again.
People watched with bated breaths.
As if they were watching a magnifying theater performance.
What lies ahead was the climax.
Then, the other man's weapon, which at first seemed like a whip, rattled and turned into a sword.
"What?!"
"Oh my goodness, what is that?"
People began to buzz at the sight of a weapon that they had never seen before.
However, it was still too early for them to be surprised. The sword began to glow with a blue luster again.
It was the same thunderstorm that had split the air just moments ago.
Watching as the vivid blue flames slowly started to rise from the sword, they could not keep their mouths from opening agape.
The attention that had formerly been on Leo now turned to Cassion.
Griiit.
"Ha, this little shit."
With a vicious smile on his lips, Leo clenched his teeth.
Hearing Leo's brief cussing, Carrion's gaze briefly towards his direction.
Literally. He looked for a moment and soon looked away, as if what he saw did not interest him.
"Aura? Isn't that aura?"
"Who in the world is that guy?"
"There's another swordmaster in the world besides Duke Valentine?"
"No, doesn't that look like magic?"
"What are you saying?! That's obviously aura!"
Amid the disagreeing murmurs, the sword of fire stretched out yet again.
WOW!
As though the crowd was electrified by an acrobat's magnificent performance, exclamations burst forth once more.
The man began to run forward.
He ran up the broad back of the lizard, jumped, and turned at once.
Following the man's movement, the extended sword blade went on a trajectory of a large circle in the middle of the air. And as if the blade had an ego itself, it rushed straight towards the lizard's back.
Slaaash—!
Blue blood poured down like the rain.
The monster could not even bear to utter a shriek now.
It crashed immediately to the ground, falling down with a resounding thud.
Dust rose like a storm.
It took some time for the ongoing drizzle of the rain to settle the dust.
People held their breaths, looking impatiently for the two men through the thick fog.
Rosetta was no different.
She stared intently at the fog without saying a word.
'Cassion.'
Calling the name of the man he was looking for only in her mind.
Blue blood from the fallen lizard poured near the barracks.
That blood mixed with the rain, spilling down like waves rushing in.
And, soon.
Slush, slush.
The sound of footsteps over the sodden ground.
As the dust had settled to some extent, two tall men appeared.
…Wow… Waaah!!
All the people, who were staring blankly until now, soon began to shout and cheer.
After running amok for such a long time, the enormous reptile was finally dead.
And the cheers of the crowd marked the end of this crisis.
Hearing the loud, ear-splitting cheers, Rosetta smiled.
It was as if he was deliberately attracting the crowd's attention, that man emerged splendidly.
When he found Rosetta, Cassion also smiled.
Rosetta had been determined to carry all the weight of the world on her shoulders until now, but here, it felt as if those burdens had become a little lighter.
They were so far apart from each other, but their eyes were perfectly intertwined.
As if the many people standing between them did not even exist in the first place.
So, Rosetta and Cassion did not notice.
The fact that someone's deep gaze looked at them intently.
Before they all knew it, the rain had stopped.
And dusk had already taken hold of the sky.
Just like that, the hunting festival—which seemed to have passed like the blink of an eye, but at the same time, as if it was an eternity in itself—finally ended.