TPITT - Chapter 247

The air was too still to answer such an inconsiderate question.

After a long period of awkward silence, Elijah finally stepped forward to respond. There was something curious about that.

“Your Highness the Third Princess, why have you come now?”

“What are you talking about! I came right on time!”

Brigitte raised her voice. In fact, Elijah meant the exact opposite. It had been less than five hours since the advance party arrived in Yggdras Territory.

But why did the second group, which was supposed to arrive 12 hours later, arrive so early?

The answer to this was something Eve could figure out, she thought, glancing up at the night sky.

‘When I entered Ambroxa’s mental interference barrier, time distortion occurred once more, not only in my mind and body but also inside and outside the barrier.’

If she had been in the middle of a battle, she might have welcomed the second wave as a stroke of luck.

'But now..."

Eve lowered her eyes.

“Sir Wint, you are the only one left. Check on the condition of our troops.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Eve quietly gave orders to Snorret and watched Brigitte.

It felt like the fight wasn't quite over yet.

Brigitte was still holding Elijah and yelling at him.

“I’ll hold off on your questioning! Where is the dragon?”

“The dragon is..."

Elijah glanced down the canyon.

Only then did Brigitte realize that the situation was quite different from what she had imagined.

'No way'?!'

She flinched, then quickly raised her hand to stop Elijah from speaking. Then she gave an order to the troops behind her.

“Everyone, stand by! Do not move until I give the order! If you deviate even a single step, you will be severely punished for disobeying orders!”

Brigitte sternly warned and looked straight at Eve.

Her half-sister stood alone, with her back to the valley where the red light rising like fireflies was coming from. The sight of him stirred Brigitte's anxiety.

'Surely, the vanguard alone defeated the dragon? That can't be. That's absolutely impossible. That can't be. If that's the case even by a small chance...'

In extreme confusion and anxiety, Brigitte took a long breath.

The trembling inside the wall subsided. She regained her composure and collected her thoughts.

‘It’s okay. The plan didn’t go wrong in a big way. It’s just that the situation has become one where we have to use a slightly more drastic method rather than a moderate one. Oh, just a little bit more drastic.’

In reality, it was closer to brainwashing than thinking.

'I thought something like this might happen, so I made a plan while Eve was still alive.'

Just do it right now. So what you have to do from now on is...

At that moment, the wall glowed with the most eerie light.

'Let's kill her.'

She was deprived of the opportunity to make a military contribution. In that case, she could just kill her younger sister in front of her and steal the military contribution. That was Brigitte's way of thinking.

'Yeah, I just have to kill her.'

A maddened Brigitte slowly walked towards Eve.

Her half-sister happened to be standing alone against the cliff, away from the soldiers. Not even the two troublesome subordinates were in sight. Brigette was so grateful for the incredibly good timing.

“Evienrose, I have something important to tell you.”

“Yes, sis. Me too.”

Brigitte made a good excuse to be alone with Eve and secretly searched through her bosom.

She felt an ominous black gem in her hand. It was a magic stone containing a cursed spell.

'This can paralyze a specific body part for a certain time.'

It's a magical tool that Brigette prepared with certainty for today. The plan was perfect.

'Evienrose! Your military achievements will be mine and used for a greater cause, so consider it an honor! Of course, in the afterlife!'

Then Eve opened her mouth softly.

“Sister.”

“Can I say something first?”

“...Yes then.”

A little respite would be nice, Brigitte tried to hide her excitement.

The topic Eve brought up was one that Brigitte would enjoy.

“Do you know what the weakness of a person with a sense of duty is?”

"What?"

“You look like you don’t know. It’s a cause you like so much.”

Brigitte almost cried out in frustration. Eve continued calmly.

“Because the means, process, and results must all be justified, it is not easy to attack the enemy first. There are many frustrating cases where you have to be attacked before you can counterattack.”

“What are you trying to say... gasp!”

Brigitte had to swallow her breath before responding annoyedly.

It was because Eve suddenly closed the distance and came closer.

Even Eve's downcast eyes were looking straight at the hand hidden in Brigitte's arms.

'I got caught!'

It was the moment Brigitte had an intuition. Without hesitation, Eve found Brigitte's hidden hand and grabbed her wrist tightly.

A whisper was heard from a distance.

“So attack quickly, Sister. So that I can fight back.”

It was a provocation she never imagined coming from her half-sister. Shock and confusion flashed across Brigitte's eyes.

But there was no time to think deeply. Eve’s mana flowed in through her caught wrist. The strangely pure mana touched the cursed magic stone in Brigitte’s hand.

'No!'

Feeling threatened, Brigitte instinctively activated the cursed magic stone.

Phaaaat!

The magic stone's curse took hold of Eve's body. Brigitte, who had done something without thinking, observed Eve's reaction.

"Ah."

Eve was lashing out at her neck, and she felt her tongue hardening in real-time.

'Ah, the voice. You've used your head quite a bit.'

With this, all magic requiring a starting word was sealed, and no commands could be given to homunculi.

It was a critical situation, but Eve remained calm.

'Is this all there was?'

It was so funny. She could almost guess how the situation would unfold.

'Go on, Brigitte.'

Brigitte had eyes that sparkled with madness. It was a look that did not seem likely to disappoint Eve's expectations.

Brigitte opened her eyes wide.

'The plan is set in motion. If I can't stop it, I can't make it work!'

Brigitte tried to ignore the uneasy feeling that someone was watching her scheme. She immediately started on the next step.

Brigitte's hand reached into her bosom again. This time, what she found was a dagger.

Swish!

The flash of lightning traced a path at a clever angle that was completely invisible to the waiting soldiers.

Eve watched blood spurt out before her eyes.

Chaenggrang...!

That was when the dagger rolled on the ground.

“Ahhhhh!”

Brigitte screamed, clutching her shoulder. It effectively drew everyone's attention.

“Huh, Your Highness?!”

“What the heck?!”

The rearguard of the knights who had been ordered to stand by were confused.

Brigitte stumbled painfully away from Eve, then pointed with her bloody hand at Eve, who remained motionless.

“The 7th Princess tried to kill me!”

Shock crossed everyone's faces. They immediately turned to Eve. Their eyes were as if they were hoping she would say something to deny it. But Eve, whose forehead was covered in blood, just kept her mouth shut and watched Brigitte.

Brigitte tried to make Eve's silence mean an admission of guilt.

“The 7th Princess has clearly been possessed by the demon dragon and has gone mad! Subdue the 7th Princess immediately! No, she's dangerous, so you can kill her!”

"..."

“This is a plot by the Demon Dragon to kill me, the powerful heir to the throne, and destroy the empire! As the commander, I command you! Hurry up and kill the 7th Princess who have become Demon Dragon’s lackeys! If you do not follow, you will be severely punished for disobedience and treason!”

The actions taken when cornered were no less than the dragon's tantrums.

“What the heck! Kill the 7th Princess!”

It was at that moment that Brigitte screamed while holding her bleeding shoulder.

Right next to Eve and Brigitte, an updraft was felt from the canyon.

Suddenly something burst through the gap in the red halo.

Bam!

A black shadow landed sharply in front of Eve. Her vision was filled with a back wrapped in a tattered uniform. At that moment, Eve’s eyes, which had been indifferent even in the midst of the chaos, returned to emotion.

'Michael!'

Eve was delighted to see that her lover was safe.

Meanwhile, Michael sensed an ominous atmosphere as soon as he came up to the surface.

He opened his mouth as he looked around with Eve hidden behind his back.

“What is this situation?”

Brigitte's eyes met his, and her face, already wrinkled in pain, suddenly distorted.

'Michaelis Agneto! You're alive!'

She instinctively felt that she had to deal with Michael. So she shouted again at the top of her lungs.

“You protected the Seventh Princess, so that’s treason! Everyone, get rid of Michaelis Agnito!”

"..."

“Are you deaf? Hurry up and kill those dragon minions right in front of me!”

Brigitte was panting from the pain of her throbbing temper and her sore shoulder. Then, suddenly, she realized that something was a bit strange.

'What? Why isn't anyone moving? Why?'

Disobeying orders wasn't the only problem. Brigitte was now bleeding from her shoulder. Yet no one came forward to examine her injury.

'It's strange. Something is wrong!'

At this point, her head, which had been filled with madness, began to cool down a little. A chilling, ominous feeling began to slowly rise to her head.

At that moment, Michael stopped guarding Eve and moved to her side. Then, he elegantly grabbed Eve's fingertips.

An escort that didn't fit the tense standoff situation. It was as if they were saying that no one was a threat.

This was when Brigitte made a confused face.

Michael's low and deep voice echoed through the air of the canyon.

“Behave properly to me so that I may know who is your real master.”

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