Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Duchess Blueport was rarely sick because she was a Transcendent. Surprised, Dahlia rushed towards her. Adrisha was staring at the duchess with a serious expression as she followed Dahlia’s quick steps.

“Duchess Blueport! Are you all right? Are you feeling ill?” Dahlia asked as she grabbed the duchess’ hand and peered up at her.

Even though her face was covered with her mask, Dahlia could see that the duchess’s chin was visibly pale. So much so that she could see her faint scar. Strands of her hair were stuck together with cold sweat. The duchess was trembling so hard that Dahlia could feel the tremors in her hand.

Duchess Blueport threw Dahlia’s hand away. Her voice rasped out of her. “Dahlia... I need you to stay away from me. Right now.”

“Duchess?”

“I thought this might happen someday, but...” Duchess Blueport muttered under her breath as she pressed her forehead.

At a loss for words, Dahlia could only stare at her. Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm and tugged her away from the duchess. Her thoughts interrupted, Dahlia missed her chance to think more deeply about what was happening.

When she turned around to check who it was, she found Adrisha. She was watching Duchess Blueport warily with a serious expression, and was moving away from her step by step.

“Dahlia, please come with me. The duchess is...” Adrisha couldn’t finish her sentence, but Dahlia read the hidden meaning in it. The symptoms of cold sweat and trembling hands could only mean the onset of a rampage for a Transcendent.

A Transcendent rampage, something that hadn’t occurred once in the years since Duke Artus’ rampage, was unfolding right before Dahlia’s eyes.

But why now?

Dahlia couldn’t understand. But deep down she felt the tingle of one possibility. One she had tried to ignore as much as she could. The hypothesis that she had forced into the very back of her mind out of sheer stubbornness even though she knew how likely it was.

She had known a Transcendent was going to rampage in the near future. While there were no details on how or when in the story, there was a hint that a Transcendent would rampage during a party.

Duchess Blueport wouldn’t be a duchess four years from now. Her son, Lewain Blueport was the Duke instead.

One Transcendent.

Could it be that... the Transcendent who went on a rampage during a party was Duchess Blueport?

But the duchess is only here because of me. She wouldn’t have been here if I didn’t exist.

Dahlia couldn’t understand. Under these circumstances, it seemed clear Duchess Blueport would be the Transcendent who went on a rampage. But did that mean the events of the original story were bound to happen regardless of Dahlia’s existence?

After she’d witnessed Hikan and Adrisha’s first meeting, Dahlia had thought her presence might change the future. But now... she wondered if Hikan would obsess over Adrisha like he did in the original story.

I don’t know.

Dahlia followed Adrisha and moved back. The two found themselves ten paces away from Duchess Blueport.

They weren’t the only ones moving away from the duchess. Other people were starting to make room after realizing Duchess Blueport wasn’t behaving normally. By then, Adrisha knew how serious the situation was. She held Dahlia behind her as she strode towards Hikan. “Your Grace, Hikan Pesteroz! You must call His Majesty back! I’m sure he’s not far from the mansion yet!”

Hikan immediately ordered a servant to get the emperor. Dahlia stared at his movements numbly. She had never seen him make such a serious expression, but that was just how bad their situation was.

Hikan hadn’t had his magic flourishment yet, which meant he wasn’t strong enough to stop Duchess Blueport.

But the fact that he called for the emperor probably means... Duchess Blueport is going to die here today.

Because the only way to stop a Transcendent’s rampage was by killing the Transcendent.

Dahlia suddenly felt a wave of sadness. Duchess Blueport had been her only friend since her parents passed a long time ago, and Hikan wasn’t the type of brother she could easily reach out to in times of need.

I’m going to be alone again.

Was this what Duchess Blueport had felt like when she lost her husband to the fire? Her husband who changed her for the better?

Dahlia knew from that game that this rampage was going to end without a death or loss, but she wouldn’t be able to see Duchess Blueport again. She turned towards the duchess, who looked like she was struggling to control herself. At the slightest scratch from the duchess, the wall of the ballroom crumbled down.

*Crash*

The ballroom immediately descended into chaos at the sound. People screamed in fear. Everyone knew the devastation a Transcendent rampage would bring.

Slowly, the magic leaking out of Duchess Blueport’s entire body began to change their air around her. It meant that her rampage was near.

“Aaah!” a young man screamed as he came to a halt running out of the ballroom. He felt the air in front of him. There was an invisible wall blocking his path. Many other guests were looking at each other with panicked expressions as they felt the invisible wall in front of them as well.

A Transcendent’s magic ability often appeared in random forms once a rampage began. Duchess Blueport’s power, which she’d originally used to protect people, was now being used to stop them from running away.

“Everyone, calm down. If your path is blocked, just go a different direction,” Hikan announced, maintaining his cold composure and evacuating the guests.

Adrisha continued to hold Dahlia’s arm as she neared Hikan. He was about fifty meters away from the two, near the door, being swept away by the people he was evacuating.

“Where’s His Majesty?!”

“He said he’ll be here within a minute,” Hikan answered in a cold but loud voice, so that they could hear him from afar. There wasn’t a single emotion like love or concern towards Adrisha in his voice. That surprised Dahlia, despite the chaos.

Adrisha looked at Dahlia. Adrisha seemed panicked by the situation at hand, but she was still smiling for Dahlia, who was younger than her—even though Adrisha herself was only fifteen. “It seems like our first day together isn’t going so well, Dahlia. Aren’t you scared?”

“What about you, Adrisha?”

Adrisha smiled wider instead of answering her question. “I think I need to stay near Duchess Blueport and watch her condition. Would you like to go ahead and leave, Dahlia?”

“But...”

“Since I serve His Majesty, watching the duchess is one of my many duties.” Logically, Adrisha was right. It was the emperor’s job to stop a Transcendent from going on a rampage, and that extended to her. But what could a mere fifteen-year-old girl do?

Adrisha seemed set on watching a Transcendent going on a rampage at close proximity despite knowing it was a suicide mission, just to prevent a greater accident. She was the main character Dahlia knew and loved.

“Dahlia, come here. It’s dangerous,” Hikan called. Finally, Dahlia started to walk towards him. They were right. There was nothing Dahlia could do by standing near the duchess.

Besides, if Duchess Blueport was to die today... Dahlia knew she couldn’t bear to see it happen. Her nose twinged as tears gathered in her eyes.

She remembered the sentence she read in her diary that morning.

[There will be salvation in the places you reach. I hope you save a lot of people with your power.]

But Dahlia was too weak to save anyone. She struggled even to save herself. That was why she planned to run away from everything, because she knew she couldn’t stop any of the events of the original story from happening.

But if she’d known in advance that her most precious person was going to be sacrificed by the plot of the original story… If she’d known... what could she have done?

She had no choice. Dahlia turned her back to the duchess and began walking towards Hikan.

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

“Dahlia.” It was Duchess Blueport. She was speaking to Dahlia in a small, but strangely clear voice. “I have something to say to you, Dahlia.”

Strangely enough, Dahlia’s racing mind slowed to a halt. She regained a sense of clarity. No true friend could possibly ignore their friend’s last words in such a situation.

If this is the incident that the original story mentioned, I’m sure the detail that said there were no deaths will remain the same.

Besides, Dahlia believed nothing terrible would happen because the main character was here, and Adrisha couldn’t die before any of the main events happened. Especially when Adrisha was closer to Duchess Blueport than Dahlia was.

And this magic...

Duchess Blueport’s aura, laced with her magic, didn’t feel violent or destructive. It felt peaceful and soft.

Maybe… Maybe everything will be okay.

Dahlia stopped walking. She could feel Adrisha’s flustered stare on her back.

“Hikan! Damn it, what’s going on?!” The emperor had appeared. He also looked solemn, probably sensing the horrors that awaited them in the near future. He was alone, without the second prince and his servants.

He turned Hikan towards him and spoke roughly. “I don’t understand. Duchess Blueport’s condition was stable just a week ago. This is too sudden, and there’s no reason for it. Have you tried calming her down?”

Hikan turned away from the white sphere that had formed behind him and faced the emperor. He reported as simply as he could. “The duchess’s magic talent is forming a barrier. There is no point in approaching her.”

“Right. At least it’s not offensive magic. But its defensive nature will make it harder to stop her.”

Then the emperor’s gaze turned away from Hikan. His eyes widened, and immediately, his voice rose. “Hikan! Your sister, she’s still...!”

At that moment, an overwhelming amount of magic aura poured out of Duchess Blueport, incomparable to the previous pulses. It was strong enough for Hikan to feel without turning around.

He turned around.

The tremendous amount of energy that poured out of Duchess Blueport consumed her and her surroundings immediately. Like a dome forming around her, Duchess Blueport’s magic advanced in a circle, turning every inch of space it covered into a part of its white dome. From afar, it looked like a white sphere.

Adrisha was the first to be swallowed by the dome, and after her...

The dome approached Dahlia Pesteroz.