Chapter 119

Chapter 119

While puffing hot air out from his nostrils, Noel angrily issued commands. “Go release the dolls from the second warehouse. Hurry!”

Those stored inside were all combat dolls. However, due to lack of use, some of them were in less-than-ideal condition. Even so, the Vertium leader was far too angry to sit back and do nothing. He was also anxious about Roxana learning of their existence. The very thought of her discovering that the idyllic gold territory also had its own ugly side made him turn slightly pale. He could not let that happen at any cost.

After issuing his orders, Noel trudged out of the room in a huff. Upon stepping through the door, he thought he was simply imagining the extent of the commotion. He was growing antsier by the second when yet another doll approached him. In an unsettling monotone voice, it informed him of a new calamity.

“Master Noel, Sir Dante has been injured.”

“What?!” Noel was in a full-scale panic. His once sparkling eyes seemed to darken to an almost coal-like hue. “Then hurry up and fetch the medic dolls! Under no circumstance is Dante to die!”

As he raced down the stairs in an attempt to reach the scene, a third doll came to him.

“Master Noel, Sir Dante was...”

“Yes, yes! I know already! I’m heading there now!” He ran at full speed toward the clash as there wasn’t a second to spare and left the doll standing alone in the corridor.

The doll stood rooted in place for a moment while staring at the diminishing figure of his master going in the opposite direction of where he had come from, then returned to his post since he had failed to receive any further instructions. He had not come from where the ongoing clash between the Vertiums and the manor dolls was, but from the main gate. Upon reaching the grand entrance, the doll offered a picturesque smile at the visitor awaiting his return. “Master Noel said he is on his way.”

Perplexed, Cassis Pedelian frowned at the artificial being. As luck would have it, the doll had gone to inform his leader about the visitor rather than report Dante’s injury. In truth, he’d been on the verge of saying, “Sir Dante was not in his office, so I’ve come to inform you that a visitor has arrived.”

The dolls had been trained to notify Dante first about any and everything that might concern the Gold Master since Noel generally hated being disturbed. However, since the head steward was nowhere to be found, the doll chose to inform his creator directly. As there was no reason not to admit someone who had come to deliver information from the Yggdrasil meeting, he permitted Cassis’ entry without further delay.

Once inside, the Blue Heir looked past the smiling doll into the distance. Something ominous was stirring in the air.

“Right this way, sir. I shall show you th—”

“That’s all right. I don’t need you to guide me.” He had already started going in a different direction than the one the doll had indicated. “I think I know where he might be.”

However, the “he” the Pedelian was referring to was not Noel Vertium.

* * *

“What happened to our little chatterbox, hm?”

Half of his vision had been blurred in red as searing pain rose up one side of his face as if he had been stamped with hot wax.

“You know, this isn’t nearly as much fun with you suddenly acting so sheepish,” Roxana said.

Nix looked up toward the voice that seemed to float on the falling white petals. As he beheld the woman who had beaten him so effortlessly, his eye gawked as he caught sight of her hand pointing toward the ground with blood dripping down it.

The blood, of course, was not her own. She let slip from her fingertips the now bloodied violet orb she had gouged out of Nix’s head only moments ago.

She crushed it below her heel. Then as she cast an elegant, wintery gaze down at the baffled puppet, he imagined she was the true incarnation of what Dante often called him—a demon who had come to their world for vengeance.

“Damn you!” he growled up at her while trying to staunch the crimson liquid still leaking from his left eye socket. “Don’t you realize how much trouble you’ll be in if you kill me?!”

Nix was not created to engage in combat, but even so, he was fairly powerful. That was why he had assumed he could deal with the Agrece without the use of magic. It was far too late when it dawned on him just how wrong he had been. Just as she had promised, Roxana had not once employed the assistance of her butterflies in order to make such a mess of him.

“I’m not making a baseless threat either! I’m Noel Vertium’s most beloved doll, and you are here as his personal guest!”

With his remaining blue eye, he glowered at her. He, of course, hadn’t been the only one injured as their battle moved out of the sitting room and onto the terrace. However, Roxana appeared to be completely unaffected by the injuries she had sustained.

Were my attacks not lethal enough? Nix had tried his best during their violent exchange to uncover her weakness, but it was a fruitless effort. Attack after attack had repeatedly failed to target any critical point on the Agrece woman. Thus, his next best plan was to escape via the terrace, but that had only landed him in the very predicament he was in now.

His last hope was to relay a message to either Noel or Dante, so he scanned their surroundings for a doll, but to his utter dismay, there wasn’t a single one in sight.

“If... If you harm me any further, you won’t be allowed to simply leave the Gold manor. Noel will use this as leverage to keep you locked away here indefinitely!” As he continued to stall her and scan the area, he finally heard voices calling out his name. The voices, however, were full of rage and coming from those he knew lived in the rear garden. With the Vertium family members drawing near, he had no choice but to forgo his search for help since the sound of each of them calling for his neck was growing louder and louder. There was such menace in their voices that the puppet found himself quaking involuntarily.

Instead of a helping hand, he had pinpointed the hellfire awaiting him. Suddenly, the scarlet-eyed Agrece’s words from the sitting room rushed back to him. He couldn’t be sure how she had managed it, but he was certain the unrest was her doing.

“What’s more, you’re not only our guest but a guest of the Pedelians as well!” He continued to ramble as it occurred to him that both Noel and Dante were most likely being held up by the mayhem on the other side of the manor.

To make matters worse, even the mindless staff dolls had likely been enlisted to help them. That was the only plausible reason why not a single one of them was around to serve as any sort of help to him. Thus, he reluctantly reached the most obvious conclusion. He would have to get out of this mess on his own.

“W-Won’t that make for an incredibly awkward situation? This grizzly attack will likely besmirch the Pedelians’ reputation as well.”

“Nix, I honestly don’t think that is any of your concern.”

He had used all the brain power he could muster in order to throw her off, but the flawless Agrece could not be deterred.

“If anything, you should really be more concerned about the situation you’ve landed yourself in.”

Her cold sneer only stung him like salt sprinkled into his gaping wounds.

“After all, the official cause of your death will be reported as at the hands of the Vertium clansmen.”

At last, his suspicions were confirmed and the puppet understood why she had blown matters so out of proportion.

“So what? You’re going to kill me, then blame it on those fools?!” Her scarlet gaze told him that he wasn’t far off from the truth.

He began to mutter nonsensically as a chill traveled down his spine. “You crazy, insufferable...”

But even his attempt to curse her fell short.

“Seeing as you’ve been scurrying about like a cornered rat, my guess is that you aren’t like the other dolls and only have one life. Am I right?

At that moment, he ducked instinctively.

However, despite his initial dodge, Roxana was once again raining down more kicks and bashes upon him. She had plucked the dagger he had thrown at her from the wall, before chasing after him while brandishing it menacingly in his direction.

Much like the graceful movements of the dancers who had welcomed her at the masquerade ball, Roxana launched the dagger through the air and sliced clear through Nix’s golden locks, which caused a number of his tresses to sprinkle the ground at their feet. Given the exquisite way the two were moving amongst the gorgeous white petals, an unwitting observer would have likely been stricken with awe until the splattering of blood with every dance-like step caught their attention.

There was not so much as an ounce of mercy in the twirling and slashing pattern of her attacks. The puppet was of course attacking as well, but despite the very real damage he was inflicting, the Agrece seemed entirely unaffected by her injuries.

What Nix had failed to realize was that her body was automatically healing as well, while his recovery ability was too slow to counteract the plethora of wounds she had given him that were still open and already beginning to fester. He had actually sustained several near-fatal injuries yet was somehow still clinging to life.

However, Nix’s body was finally succumbing, and he finally fell to the ground into a pile of snow-white flowers. Such an end was inevitable since his wounds had only become worse while hers had returned to normal throughout their battle.

“You... vicious... witch!” Nix muttered as he collapsed in defeat.