Looking for a Husband to Confine Me - Chapter 29.2
Chapter 29.2
“Are you alright, Your Highness Bashar, Lady Hazel?”
“Sir Div.”
Ricardo, too, had a hardened expression from the sudden event. I gave a small nod to indicate I was fine. Then, Bashar Kishan’s voice followed, surprisingly close, right next to me.
“I’m fine. If only someone weren’t gripping my hand so tightly.”
At the same time, whatever I was holding began to shake. Looking down, I finally realized what I’d been clutching for balance. No wonder it felt warm. In my confusion, I hadn’t realized I’d been holding Bashar’s wrist. Bashar Kishan brushed my hand off with a sullen look.
“Tsk. More importantly, what happened? Was there an attack?” He asked about the cause of the roar, his expression even more severe than before.
“It seems to be related to why the beasts became ferocious, Your Highness. But this darkness…”
Ricardo trailed off, his expression turning serious as he gritted his teeth. His gaze, fixed on the half of the drawing-room connected to the outside, towards the dimly visible garden, was cold.
A faint, hazy something seemed to be rising from near the garden. The pervasive darkness made it difficult to see clearly, but Ricardo seemed to have an idea.
He then gave a quiet order to the knights. They held their breath and began to scan their surroundings.
“What is going on?”
“Your Highness Bashar,” Ricardo said, his body tense with alertness, “It appears someone has summoned a demonic beast into the mansion.”
“…A demonic beast?”
“Judging by the darkness that has enveloped us, and the strong aversion exhibited by those with divine power, the roar from earlier was likely caused by the summoning of a demonic beast.”
Now I could see a few knights, following Ricardo’s orders, softly chanting while holding gleaming white magic stones. A translucent barrier formed around them, maintaining a certain distance from each other.
‘If what Ricardo says is true…’ I bit my lip. The knights were using divine power to create protective barriers. The problem was that the effect wouldn’t last long with magic stones imbued with divine power, or divine stones.
Unlike magical power, divine power was used for healing, protection, and similar magic. A skilled healer with strong divine power could even restore severed limbs.
Magic stones imbued with such divine power were called divine stones. Because they possessed power diametrically opposed to dark magic, demonic beasts were vulnerable to divine power.
‘I can’t even call the children.’
If the beasts had merely become ferocious, I could have called the children who were far away for help. But if the opponent was a demonic beast, it was a different story.
Demonic beasts were magical monsters. Most were aggressive and craved life force. They influenced surrounding creatures, draining their life force or turning them equally violent.
Because the magic possessed by demonic beasts was mostly of the dark element, it clashed with divine power. Therefore, those with divine power felt the presence of demonic beasts more acutely.
Furthermore, certain demonic beasts claimed a specific area as their own, shrouding it in darkness. The size of the area depended on the beast’s power. The demonic beast that appeared here seemed to have a domain just large enough to cover the mansion.
‘It’s a good thing I didn’t bring Slinky today.’
Even just this morning, Slinky had been unusually insistent on coming along. Anticipating this, I hadn’t brought any of the children, including Slinky. Instead, I’d left them waiting outside the mansion, ready to be called upon if any trouble arose.
Fortunately, it seemed they hadn’t entered the darkened area. Prolonged exposure to it wouldn’t be good, so I could only hope they remained obediently where they were.
“I’m not sure if this is fortunate, but the summoning of the beast appears to have taken place at a distance from the drawing-room.”
At least it was far better for the beast to be summoned further away than right in front of us. I nodded slightly in response to Ricardo’s words.
‘But as far as I know…’
“Isn’t the summoning of a beast capable of Darkening difficult within the Empire?”
“Indeed. Darkening affects the surrounding area.”
Summoners capable of Darkening were all registered with the Empire and strictly controlled. This meant that if the summoners had been traded within the Lefkind Empire, a little investigation would reveal the culprit.
‘But if they weren’t citizens of the Lefkind Empire, that means the summon34 was brought in from another country.’
‘Probably the Kishan Kingdom…’
I murmured absently, glancing at Bashar. He frowned and spoke.
“Kishan does not prohibit it.”
Since this incident was likely targeted at Bashar, there was a high probability that a summoner traded in Kishan had been used. In other words, this was the work of someone from Kishan.
Lost in thought, Bashar Kisha’s face grew colder and harder.
Grrr…
Ahh!
The beasts, momentarily paralyzed by the Darkening, began to stir. Fortunately, the beasts in the drawing-room were all restrained, but the tremors and impact had created cracks in the outer walls of the room.
The beasts pushed their snouts towards these cracks, trying to force their way into the drawing-room.
A demonic beast wouldn’t be able to enter a space protected by a barrier created with a holy stone, but the Kishan animals were different. Although influenced by demonic magic, they weren’t demonic beasts themselves, meaning they could easily enter the protected area and attack the humans within.
“Your Highness Bashar, I will guide you to the sanctuary within the mansion.”
Ricardo tried to move us—Bashar and me—to the sanctuary as quickly as possible. However, Bashar, the most important person present, stood motionless.
