Evileye removed her mask and gloves. She had always refrained from using her vampiric melee abilities for a reason.
She didn't want to confront the fact that she was a vampire. All her disguises were meant to make herself believe she was human, not a vampire.
She wore the mask to prevent people who knew her from discovering that she didn't age. She wore gloves to hide her sharp nails.
Though she frequently trimmed her nails, the rapid growth of a vampire's claws required her to cut them multiple times a day.
If someone saw her doing this, it would surely raise suspicion. Over time, she simply began wearing gloves to avoid the issue.
Evileye looked around at the scene. The bodies of Tia and Tina lay lifeless, Gagaran was panting heavily, Lakyus was running low on stamina, Climb was unconscious, and Renner's expression remained composed and calm.
During her time with Blue Roses, Evileye had developed strong feelings for her companions after spending so much time with them. They never cared that she was a vampire.
The only one who cared was Evileye herself. She had come to see them as her most important comrades.
"It's time to accept the fact that I am a vampire," Evileye muttered, her gaze fixed on Renner.
After the Second Prince and his soldiers smashed through the wall, the battle between Brian and Evileye had ended within seconds.
The Second Prince hadn't seen Evileye feeding on Brian.
What he saw instead was the battlefield littered with the corpses of soldiers, and the standing figures of Blue Rose's remaining members and Renner.
"Brother, please save me! They're trying to kill me!" Renner feigned a pitiful and helpless expression.
Many of the Second Prince's men, hearing her plea, began to move, quickly striding toward Renner.
"Stop!" the Second Prince shouted.
"But, Your Highness, isn't that your sister, the kingdom's esteemed princess?"
"I said don't go near her! Our purpose here today is to kill her!"
"Kill that monster!" the Second Prince snarled, his face twisted with fury.
The soldiers were stunned and couldn't believe what they were hearing. Their prince, with no apparent reason, was commanding them to kill his own sister, even in a situation where others were seemingly trying to kill her.
"Members of Blue Roses, are you alright? I've brought your equipment!" The Second Prince ordered his men to bring up their gear and weapons.
Lakyus and Gagaran glanced at Renner, then at their equipment, keeping their guard up.
"You go retrieve your equipment. I'll keep an eye on her," Evileye said.
Renner maintained her innocent and carefree expression as she looked at the Second Prince.
"Brother, you're so cruel! You're actually letting them kill me! Boohoo!" Renner put on a pitiful act, tears streaming down her face.
Many of the soldiers, seeing the princess's sorrowful and pitiful appearance, softened their hearts.
"Your Highness, the princess looks so helpless. Perhaps we should just restrain her for now and decide later whether to kill her," suggested one officer near the Second Prince.
It had to be said—Renner was a skilled actress. Her pitiful demeanor even made the Second Prince hesitate for a moment.
"No! You have no idea what kind of monster she is," the Second Prince barked.
"But how could such an adorable princess possibly be a monster...?"
"No buts! I give the orders here!" the Second Prince shouted angrily, reprimanding his men.
For a brief moment, even Lakyus felt a pang of sympathy. But when she looked at the bodies of Tia and Tina, that feeling vanished without a trace.
"Lakyus, you really are soft-hearted, letting yourself be fooled by this person for so long, and even now feeling sympathy," Lakyus thought to herself with self-mockery.
Gagaran and Lakyus quickly equipped their gear, then moved Tia and Tina's bodies to the back. Lakyus began casting resurrection magic.
Throughout it all, Renner made no move. She simply watched quietly as they donned their equipment and moved Tia and Tina's bodies.
Renner was well aware of her current strength. She could easily kill everyone present, except Evileye, in an instant.
But doing so wouldn't be particularly satisfying.
As a spectator, Peroroncino likely wouldn't enjoy it either.
As a cunning and clever subordinate, Renner had thoroughly studied Peroroncino's preferences. He simply loved showing off—especially in a grand and flamboyant way.
Instead of killing opponents outright, he preferred to toy with them, letting them fight desperately, only to crush their hopes by revealing the insurmountable gap in power between them.
The gap wasn't something that could be bridged with mere desperation.
Evileye and the Second Prince kept a close watch on Renner, wary of a sudden attack.
Evileye had already accepted that her magic skills couldn't compare to Renner's. She could only hope to win with the support of the soldiers present.
Under the boost provided by her equipment, Lakyus cast resurrection magic. However, only Tina was successfully revived; Tia remained lifeless.
It was evident that the lance that had pierced through Tia's body had inflicted such severe damage that her vitality could no longer reach the threshold for resurrection.
Meanwhile, the soldiers were baffled. Facing what seemed to be just an ordinary princess, why was the Second Prince still hesitating?
The outspoken officer from earlier spoke up again.
"Your Highness, what are we waiting for? How can killing the princess be this complicated?"
The Second Prince was starting to find this officer rather annoying—of all the soldiers, he was the only one who couldn't keep quiet.
"Fine, why don't you go capture the princess yourself?" the Second Prince snapped.
Renner's class had been rewritten by Peroroncino using a world-class item. She was now the "Holy Priestess," an obviously faith-based class.
The very name of the class, Holy Priestess, evoked a sense of benevolence.
Upon hearing the Second Prince's command, the officer strode toward Princess Renner.
"Forgive me, Princess!"
As the officer approached Renner, ready to act, he hesitated upon seeing her pitiful, tearful expression. In that moment, his resolve wavered.
Moreover, he couldn't help but envy Climb. (To serve such a beautiful princess as her loyal dog doesn't seem so bad at all.)
"Do you really want to restrain me?"
Renner's voice quivered, and her tearful expression, as though she was on the verge of breaking down, completely shattered the officer's determination.
(What am I doing? Why did I follow the Second Prince here? Why am I trying to restrain the princess?)
Simultaneously, Renner's passive skill, Devotion, part of the Holy Priestess class, was taking effect.
Devotion was a faith-based skill that naturally resonated with those nearby, making them unwilling to harm her. (Unconsciously increases goodwill from others, but only affects those at least five levels lower than the user.)
"Princess, I deserve death for my crimes! To think I considered binding you!" The officer dropped to one knee in a standard display of knightly loyalty.
"Please, allow this sinner to protect your safety!" The now-unstable officer had completely defected to Renner's side.
The Second Prince's face darkened with anger.
"Someone kill this traitor immediately!"
The soldiers exchanged glances, but no one moved. After all, the officer in question was their direct superior in the camp. Now the Second Prince wanted them to kill their leader—such a command was hard to stomach.
"Damn it! Are you all deaf?"
The Second Prince roared at the soldiers.
Yet still, none of them moved.
The Second Prince felt an urge to strike down one of the soldiers himself to assert dominance. But he knew that if he truly did so, the likelihood of a mutiny would soar past fifty percent.
Between an appointed leader and one they had long trusted, the soldiers' choice was something the Second Prince could easily predict.
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