A Journey Unwanted

[Realm: Álfheimr]

[Location: Heart Kingdom]

[Pulchritudo]

Even the entrance to Duke Bluebeard’s estate was enough to make its owner’s intentions abundantly clear.

It was not merely built to protect; it seems to have functioned as something that had been built to impress and to intimidate. As well as to remind every visitor exactly whose domain they were entering.

Towering white walls stretched high into the air, impossibly clean despite their immense size. Their immaculate surfaces were broken only by golden engravings that wound across the masonry in regal patterns. The gold even seemed to shimmer, somehow making the display of wealth feel even more excessive.

At the center stood an enormous wrought-iron gate painted a brilliant white. Gold filigree intertwined through every bar, each flourish crafted from genuine precious metal.

There was no subtlety; the Duke wished everyone who approached to understand one thing. He possessed wealth beyond reason, and he had no intention of hiding it.

Standing slightly removed from the steadily advancing queue, Gretel and Paimon quietly observed the constant procession of lavish carriages arriving one after another.

Each carriage appeared grander than the last.

Polished lacquer, noble family crests, and finely carved doors, while well-groomed horses stamped impatiently on the pristine stone roadway. Liveried attendants hurried to open carriage doors as elegantly dressed guests descended with grace before presenting their invitations.

Despite the sheer number of arrivals, only two figures guarded the entrance itself. Both wore the armor of the Heart Kingdom. Their helmets completely concealed their faces, revealing nothing beneath the visors. Their posture never wavered as they examined each invitation.

Gretel’s silver eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.

Her attention settled upon the emblem engraved across each breastplate, a heart. It may have been simple, but it was recognizable.

("The Heart-Ranked Guards...") She pieced it together. ("The highest-ranking soldiers within the Heart Kingdom. They’re usually reserved for the Queen herself or the Princess.") Her gaze lingered a moment longer. ("If guards of this rank are standing watch here, then Duke Bluebeard’s influence runs even deeper than I expected.")

Beside her, Paimon looked around with barely concealed amazement.

"Whoa..." She slowly turned in place, trying to take everything in at once. "It’s still so early..." She watched another extravagant carriage disappear through the gates. "...and there are already so many people."

Her blue eyes drifted over the flowing gowns, jeweled accessories, tailored suits, and neat uniforms. Everyone looked so important and elegant, so completely out of place beside the two of them.

She awkwardly tugged at the edge of her cloak.

"I..." She laughed sheepishly. "...kind of feel underdressed."

Gretel couldn’t help but smile.

"I don’t think you need to worry." She gave the older girl a reassuring glance. "We’re entering as guards." She lightly adjusted the rapier resting comfortably against her hip. "Our clothing fits that role well enough."

Her gaze returned toward the estate.

"Although..." She quietly admitted. "...even I underestimated the scale of this." Her silver eyes swept across the endless line of arriving guests. "This banquet is considerably larger than I imagined." She nodded to herself. "I suppose that makes sense. It’s being held in celebration of the Princess, after all."

Paimon followed another carriage with her eyes before speaking again.

"Hm, I wonder what kind of person the Princess actually is." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "I’ve only ever heard stories. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who’s actually seen her."

Gretel considered the question.

"Neither have I," She answered honestly. "From what I’ve gathered she’s nothing like her mother. The Queen thrives on spectacle. Like public appearances, ceremonies, or displays of authority." She paused briefly. "But the Princess rarely appears before the public at all."

Her expression became more reserved.

("Though...") Her thoughts continued her train of thought. ("I’m already preparing myself to be disappointed.") She watched another noble laugh while servants hurried around them. ("There seems to be a pattern with the people who hold power in the Heart Kingdom. Every time I learn more, it becomes harder to believe anyone at the top is different.")

Before either girl could say anything further—

"Are you two planning on standing around gawking all day..." A feminine voice interrupted. "...or are you eventually going to start moving?"

The voice itself was surprisingly soothing and almost gentle. Had the words themselves not been so blunt, it might actually have sounded pleasant.

Both Gretel and Paimon turned simultaneously.

The young woman standing behind them possessed a beauty that immediately drew the eye.

Petite in stature, with porcelain skin untouched by even the faintest imperfection, she carried herself almost haughtily. Long raven-black hair fell neatly over her shoulders, perfectly framed by immaculate bangs that never seemed to shift despite the breeze.

She wore a refined black dress layered over a puffed-sleeve blouse with a high collar. Delicate buttons descended the length of the fitted bodice before giving way to a high-waisted skirt tied neatly with a bow at the back. Matching black ribbons decorated the sleeves and hem, while dark stockings disappeared into soft ballerina slippers that made almost no sound against the stone beneath her feet.

She looked elegant and graceful, even doll-like.

Yet her vivid red eyes burned with an intensity that felt strangely unnatural; they were beautiful, far too beautiful.

Beautiful enough to make prolonged eye contact vaguely unsettling.

Without speaking further, she casually brushed a hand through her bangs. Her fingernails had been lacquered the same immaculate black as the rest of her attire.

Paimon blinked several times; she found herself momentarily distracted. Not merely because the girl was beautiful but because she had absolutely no idea who she was.

"Who..." She looked between the stranger and Gretel. "...is she?"

Gretel answered almost immediately.

"Mikoto’s..." She paused for the briefest moment. "...’friend.’"

There was just enough emphasis on the word to suggest the explanation was more complicated than it sounded.

"Ella."

Recognition didn’t come; instead, Paimon’s eyes somehow widened even further.

"Whoa..." She stared openly at Ella. "So you’re actually friends with a real-life Angel?" Her excitement instantly returned. "That’s..." She clasped her hands together. "...that’s so unbelievably cool!"

Before Ella could answer, Paimon smiled brightly again.

"And..." She laughed. "...you’re really, really pretty too."

Ella regarded her in complete silence for a moment.

"Uh-huh."

The response came with all the enthusiasm of someone commenting on dung on the road.

She gave Paimon an utterly dry look.

Ella’s red eyes drifted past Gretel and Paimon without lingering on either of them for very long. Her attention settled instead upon the sprawling procession of nobles, merchants and influential guests steadily filtering through the estate gates.

Carriage after carriage rolled forward, servants hurried to open doors. Names were announced and invitations exchanged hands; it was orderly and painfully slow.

Ella clicked her tongue beneath her breath.

"Tch..." She let out a sigh, her expression flattening into one of mild irritation. "What a long-ass line." She shook her head once, raven-black hair shifting lightly across her shoulders before settling back into place.

To her the entire spectacle looked exhausting.

Paimon tilted her head.

She had expected someone so graceful—someone who looked almost too refined to exist—to speak with elegance befitting her appearance.

Instead, every other sentence seemed to contain language Nicholas would probably have frowned at. It was unexpected that someone with Ella’s delicate beauty had such a blunt vocabulary.

Paimon wisely decided not to mention it.

Gretel, on the other hand, appeared entirely unfazed; her attention remained on the matter at hand.

"So..." She folded one arm beneath the other thoughtfully. "What exactly is our plan from here?" Her silver eyes met Ella’s. "Should our priority simply be getting Duke Bluebeard’s attention first?"

Ella nodded once.

"That’s the idea." She answered without hesitation. "The Goiim chick already made herself pretty clear." Her arms folded neatly across her chest. "She said she’d tell us what she actually wants stolen once we’re inside the Duke’s vault."

Her expression remained unchanged.

"Until then we’re working blind." She paused briefly before adding another thought. "Of course we should also be ready to screw her over if we have to." The words left her mouth flatly; they sounded less like a threat and more like common sense.

Gretel couldn’t entirely disagree; even so, she sighed quietly.

"That’s..." She searched for the right words. "...far easier said than done. " Her fingers absentmindedly rested against the hilt of her rapier. "She’s incredibly difficult to read. No matter what she says, I can never tell how much of it she actually means." She frowned thoughtfully. "And we don’t even know what her Null Schema is. If something goes wrong we won’t even know what we’re walking into."

Ella listened without interrupting, then gave an unconcerned shrug.

"Yeah, yeah. We’ll deal with that when we get there." Her tone remained dismissive; she did not believe Gretel’s concerns were foolish. But simply worrying ahead of time accomplished nothing in her mind.

As the conversation faded, Ella’s red eyes wandered once more towards the enormous estate beyond the towering white walls.

Her gaze lingered there, yet she wasn’t truly looking at the buildings. Her perception reached much farther than ordinary sight.

("Hm...") She quietly assessed what she felt rather than what she saw. ("One Nil with a respectable amount of mana...") A beat passed in her thoughts. ("...and another presence carrying considerably more.")

Her head tilted almost imperceptibly; those two stood apart from the countless ordinary people filling the estate. Nothing else immediately drew her attention.

("Those are the only ones remotely interesting.") Her gaze slowly swept across the sprawling grounds once more. ("And I still don’t sense any concentrated collection of objects valuable enough to stand out.") She found that mildly disappointing.

Whoever concealed the Duke’s treasury had done so properly.

Or...

Whatever they sought simply wasn’t radiating enough mana to distinguish itself from the surroundings.

Either possibility meant searching would become considerably more annoying.

Ella looked back towards the entrance.

"Let’s move." There wasn’t the slightest hesitation in her voice; it sounded more like an order, if anything.

Without waiting for either girl to respond, she stepped forward.

Her movements were unhurried, black slippers producing almost no sound on the stone roadway despite the growing crowd around them.

Gretel exchanged a brief glance with Paimon before following; there wasn’t much point remaining outside any longer.

Paimon fell into step a moment later.

As they walked behind Ella, she found herself observing the raven-haired girl.

The blunt speech, the habit of simply deciding what came next without asking anyone else’s opinion. It all felt familiar.

A small smile tugged at her lips.

("She’s a lot like that Mikoto.") The realisation settled comfortably in her mind. ("No wonder they’re friends.")

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!