Chapter 127. Omen
2024.01.05.
"Let's go watch the Harvest Festival?"
Blaire, who had woken up late and was eating breakfast alone, widened her eyes at the maid's suggestion.
"Yes, today is the last day of the Harvest Festival. On the final day of the festival, shops sell high-quality goods at a discount, and many people come out to enjoy the end of it, so there's a lot to see."
The maid said so, recalling the instructions she had received from Ruth that morning.
'Please take the Madam out to see the festival.'
Actually, this was Ruth's suggestion.
Quick-witted Ruth had realized just by looking at Herdin's expression last night that the relationship between the two had worsened again.
Though she couldn't know the detailed circumstances between them, Ruth understood Blaire's feelings.
She was someone who had run away because she hated being by Herdin's side, and having been forcibly brought back, it was only natural for her to dislike it in her position.
But thinking coldly about it, being by Herdin's side was a hundred times better, especially since she was carrying a child.
If they were going to live together anyway, wouldn't it be better to at least relieve the Madam's heart?
That was the thought behind the suggestion.
Of course, it would be nice if she could watch the festival with Herdin, but he seemed to have other schedules today, making it difficult. Above all, forcing the two who had fought to stay together might actually worsen their relationship.
So she suggested to the maid to take Blaire out to see the festival.
"And the festival of a coastal town is different from the festivals held in the Capital, right? It won't be easy to see Nerha's festival again, so I think it would be good to go out and see it."
Blaire fell into thought. She was already feeling disturbed by what happened with Herdin yesterday.
'If I stay in the annex anyway, I'll only think of Herdin...'
After pondering for a moment, Blaire nodded.
"Alright, it seems like a good idea. Let's go out together."
After finishing her meal, she got ready to go out with the maid and came down to the first floor. There, Blaire encountered an unexpected face.
"Hello, Madam. Have you been well?"
Blaire's eyes shook greatly upon seeing Caligo, who greeted her in a friendly manner.
When she left the Empire, abandoning her name and status, she thought she would never run into him again, and naturally, she had forgotten about him too.
Since he had no emotional connection with her, he must have killed her for some behind-the-scenes purpose, but her life, no longer that of a princess or a duchess, wouldn't be worth that much.
However, against her will, she became the duchess again, and so she had to risk facing Caligo once more.
Blaire struggled to suppress her trembling voice, trying to sound calm as she asked.
"Did you come here together as well, Sir?"
"Ah, I was investigating another task assigned by His Excellency, so I just joined now."
"...I see. You've worked hard."
After giving a perfunctory greeting, Blaire wanted to end the conversation there. The more she realized that Caligo was a decent person, the more uncomfortable she felt having to doubt him.
Unfortunately, her wish was not fulfilled.
"I am in charge of guarding you today, is that alright?"
Blaire paused at Caligo's brazen words.
He was uncomfortable to be around, but she couldn't refuse him to his face.
'It's not like we're going alone, and there will be a lot of people in the square, so wouldn't it be okay?'
Blaire instinctively wrapped her arms around her stomach as if protecting it, and answered with forced calmness.
"Then I'll be in your care."
"It is an honor to serve you, Madam."
Caligo helped Blaire into the carriage.
Once in the carriage, Blaire watched through the window as Caligo and a few knights mounted their horses.
It was then that she saw a faint red light around her collarbone reflected in the window.
'...A magic circle?'
Suddenly, she remembered seeing something like a magic circle in this area on the day after her first night.
As Blaire blinked and felt her collarbone, the maid, who was boarding the carriage behind her, noticed her action and looked at her with questioning eyes.
"Is something the matter, Madam?"
"It seemed like something was on my collarbone."
The maid examined her collarbone and tilted her head.
"Hmm, I don't see anything for now... Does it bother you a lot?"
Hearing the maid's words, Blaire looked back at the window, but this time she couldn't see anything. After feeling around her collarbone for a while, Blaire shook her head.
"It's nothing. I must have seen it wrong."
Soon, the carriage departed.
* * *
The square was in full swing with the atmosphere of the Harvest Festival's finale.
After watching the festival for a while, Blaire stepped into a shop at one corner of the square.
Inside the shop, various delicately crafted glass artworks sparkled brilliantly as they caught the light. One of Nerha's specialties was these glass crafts.
"Oh my, it's so pretty..."
While the maid was completely absorbed in looking at the glass crafts, Blaire also picked out gifts for Lina and Meli. Since she was at it, she wanted to give them gifts that symbolized Nerha.
She felt uneasy about returning to the Duke's estate, contrary to her original plan, but there was exactly one thing she was happy about: the fact that she could see the two of them again.
Especially to Lina, who must have felt disappointed by her leaving without a single word, her apologetic heart was even greater.
After looking around the shop, Blaire chose a water bottle decorated with delicately crafted glass pieces.
'I hope it suits their tastes.'
Blaire stopped the maid who offered to carry it, and carefully carried the box containing their gifts out of the shop herself.
"Then where would you like to go next?"
"I think I'm done for now. I'm going back to the estate to rest, so if you want to look around more, you can stay out longer."
"Ah, really?"
The maid's face brightened at the mention of free time. Blaire smiled softly and nodded.
"Yeah. Thanks for coming out with me today."
"Not at all. I'm the one who had a good time looking around thanks to you. Then I'll escort you to the carriage first."
Because of the large crowd in the square, the carriage was parked a little further away.
Blaire headed to the carriage with the maid and knights, taking in the scenery of the square. It was a scene of a bountiful Harvest Festival, filled with the smiles of lovers and families alike.
However, that peaceful scene was shattered by someone's desperate scream that suddenly rang out.
"S-Save me!"
At the sound discordant with the scenery, people reflexively looked in the direction of the scream. Blaire was no exception.
A brief silence, and then...
"Kyaaah!"
Another scream was heard in the silence. Following that, the sound of a newborn baby crying, instinctively sensing fear, could be heard.
Sensing something was wrong, people stopped what they were doing and began to murmur.
Caligo and the knights also put their hands on their sword sheaths and surrounded Blaire. At the same time, screams began to erupt from all over.
In the eyes of Caligo, who was watching the situation in a defensive stance, the identity of the fear began to reveal itself.
Horrific corpses rotting all over were appearing in droves and attacking people.
'Undead? Why are there undead here...?'
Undead were created when evil energy or black magic dwelled in the corpses of the dead, so they mainly appeared in cold regions like the North.
In places with mild temperatures, corpses rotted quickly, making their condition imperfect.
But Nerha was a coastal region, with mild temperatures all year round. It was not a region where undead would appear.
Caligo erased the questions that arose in his mind and immediately drew his sword. Regardless of why the undead had appeared here, there was only one thing he had to do right now.
"Everyone, escort the Madam to the carriage!"
The knights surrounded Blaire and the maid, and began to push through the crowd to open a path.
However, because the crowd was so dense and everyone was scrambling to escape in a panic, it was not easy to get out.
The Nerha knight order, which was guarding the vicinity, began to fight against the undead, but they were no match, living in a mild region and never having faced undead before.
The undead did not die no matter how many times they were slashed, and kept rising again.
Caligo shouted at the Nerha knights who were confused by the existence of the undead that wouldn't die even when killed.
"Fire! Set them on fire!"
Despite the efforts of the Nerha knight order, Blaire's group soon encountered a swarm of undead that had harmed people and were approaching.
Caligo slashed at the rushing undead and shouted.
"Madam, this way!"
Terrified and trembling at the sight of the horrific monsters she was seeing for the first time in her life, Blaire felt the baby move and suddenly snapped back to her senses.
'The baby. I have to protect my baby.'
Blaire pushed through the crowd with the knights and came out into the alley where the carriage was.
But that was a misstep.
Another swarm of undead was rushing in from the opposite side of the carriage where they were waiting. The undead were approaching from behind as well, and the carriage was also starting to be surrounded by the undead; it was a dilemma.
One of the Delmark knights guarding the rear was suddenly knocked away by a surprise attack from an undead rushing from the side.
At the same time, another rushing undead bit Blaire's arm, and the impact caused her to drop the gift box she was holding. The water bottle inside popped out and shattered on the ground.
"Ugh..."
Even as she felt a pain in her arm as if it were being torn off, Blaire did not let go of the arm wrapped around her stomach.
"Madam!"
Caligo, who had slashed the undead in front of him, saw the scene belatedly and shook off the undead clinging to Blaire.
Caligo ground his teeth as he saw Blaire's wound. The undead, smelling the blood, started to run even more rampant.
'If only we had fire...'
Since it was still broad daylight, there was no fire to be found on the streets.
It was then, as she was despairing in the desperate situation with undead rushing in from all directions.
Over the rampaging undead, the shape of a sword made of light appeared, and slammed straight down.
'Magic...?'
As Blaire, a beat late in realizing what it was, turned around, she saw a familiar figure.
It was Herdin, approaching with murderous blue mana swirling around him.