IDBWM 10

Chapter 10

The day of the victory celebration.

The Caesar Knights rode in on horseback.

Flags sliced through the wind in unison.

Sunlight poured over gleaming armor, while the rhythmic clash of steel and horseshoes filled the grand avenue.

Flower petals scattered across the path the knights passed through, and the people’s cheers spread like waves.

“It’s Grand Duke Caesar!”

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor! Long live Lord Caesar!”

Declan Caesar.

Countless people shouted in admiration as they looked up at him.

The hero who had restored the Empire’s prestige.

Amid the roaring cheers, he slowly guided his horse toward the imperial palace gates.

Today was certain to be a meaningful day for him.

“Your Grace.”

At that moment, an aide quietly approached him.

“As instructed, I investigated the registered individual named Renia Felt.”

Still facing forward, Declan briefly shifted his gaze toward the aide.

“There were twelve people with the name Renia Felt among the divine registrants.”

Renia Felt.

An incredibly common name.

“However, among those twelve, not a single one had pink hair and pink eyes.”

Declan recalled the moment the woman had told him her name.

Those pink eyes trembling anxiously, unable to focus.

So.

She lied?

“It seems she never registered her divine power.”

“That’s illegal.”

The man who had been laundering black money behind the scenes until recently spoke calmly about the law.

“Or maybe she didn’t tell you her real name.”

At Declan’s casual remark, the aide stiffened nervously.

“…To dare lie to Your Grace. I will investigate again.”

“No need.”

Declan smiled briefly.

“If she dislikes me, there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“…”

“Well, if it’s fate, we’ll meet again someday.”

Despite being the one who ordered the investigation in the first place, Declan acted as though he had already lost interest.

His indifferent expression revealed nothing of what he was thinking.

“Understood, Your Grace.”

Declan behaving unpredictably was hardly a new occurrence.

As long as they prioritized “the plan,” that was enough.

“…As ordered, all preparations have been completed.”

Declan lifted his gaze toward the imperial palace.

Its white spires rose through the clouds.

At once it looked like a radiant holy sanctuary—

and also like the altar of some vast funeral hall.

The sight, mingling light and shadow, was strangely and ominously beautiful.

“Wow, Prina! The Caesar Knights must be passing by!”

Flinch.

Prina hurriedly grabbed the load she was carrying. She had almost dropped it.

“W-Who’s passing by?”

“Careful, Prina! We barely stacked that onto the cart. Don’t knock it over!”

“S-Sorry…”

Just hearing that Declan was nearby startled her so badly she had nearly toppled the neatly stacked food supplies on the cart.

This was the supply warehouse behind the imperial palace.

Inside were mountains of meat and seafood, sacks of flour and vegetables, and crates of spices.

‘Declan Caesar is passing nearby?’

From far away, she thought she could faintly hear the sounds of marching.

But this was the deepest corner of the deepest corner—there was no way to know what was happening outside.

‘Better not to know forever.’

…Because soon, a bloodbath would begin.

Specifically, on the final day of the three-day victory banquet.

‘That’s when the assassination attempt on Declan will happen.’

But why was it called an assassination attempt?

There was only one reason.

Because it failed.

According to the original story Prina had read, a knight with a similar appearance to Declan ended up drinking the poisoned wine instead.

Seriously, what crime had that knight committed?

If someone had to die, it should’ve been Declan.

That insane mastermind would eventually taint the Empire with demonic power and offer it entirely to an evil god.

Because of him, the protagonist would endlessly repeat time loops, suffering over and over in order to protect the Empire from the evil deity.

Seeing Prina turn pale at the mention of Declan, her coworker Hannah started grumbling.

“Ugh, our luck really is awful. I should’ve known back when we were struggling with those awful customers at Daisy Hall. They drag us here for the victory celebration, and all we do is haul cargo all day.”

“Seriously, what is this? The Grand Duke himself is passing outside, and we can’t even catch a glimpse from this dump!”

“…Did you all hear? They say noble ladies faint just from seeing his face.”

“No way. Apparently noblemen faint too.”

“Hey. What if you girls faint too when you see him?”

At the sudden flood of Declan-related chatter, Prina held her breath.

Her coworkers from Daisy Hall complained bitterly about missing the parade.

‘…Guys! We’re actually in the safest place possible!’

If they ran into Declan for no reason, they’d only get swept into the chaos brewing inside the imperial palace.

“You lazy brats! Stop dawdling and move faster!”

Then a sharp, irritated shout crashed down over their heads.

“If you slugs keep moving this slowly, the kitchen work is going to pile up!”

The man foaming at the mouth as he yelled was an imperial chef. During the victory celebration, he had been assigned to supervise the workers hired externally from Daisy Hall—a notoriously strict bastard.

Prina had only one goal.

To stay hidden in some corner of the kitchen throughout the celebration period, keep her head down, and quietly collect her pay.

‘Stay unnoticed.’

But life never went the way you wanted.

‘This is way too much!’

The fact that the day wasn’t even over yet felt terrifying.

“What are you standing around for?! Run already!”

The guy who expected them to sprint carrying sacks of flour.

“What the hell?! Why are you using so much water?!”

The guy who demanded they scrub giant grease-caked cauldrons with only one bucket of water.

“Hah! Look at us all sweating from working so hard, while not a single drop of sweat is on your face!”

The guy lecturing a worker who had just come back from the freezing storage room that “not sweating” was proof of laziness.

“…Psycho.”

The person muttering that he was insane. Ah, that was her.

There were all kinds of vicious lunatics here.

The imperial kitchen was full of every type imaginable.

Work never stopped for a moment.

By the time the sun finally dipped below the horizon—

“Everyone, hurry and carry the food to the banquet hall!”

Servants working in the banquet hall came into the kitchen to retrieve the dishes.

“Which one is the main course? We’re short on workers right now, so we can’t carry everything. We should take the main dishes first—”

“What? These are all one set! What nonsense are you talking about? The presentation is the whole point!”

“But right now, taking all of it is—”

Like every kitchen in existence, shouting echoed everywhere.

“Hey! You carry it!”

Prina ignored them all and poured hot water into a cauldron. The grease still wouldn’t come off properly.

“Hey! You there! Can’t you hear me?!”

Now then, what cleans grease best again…?

“Hey! Prina!”

She jumped in surprise.

“Yes?”

“You’re helping carry the food too!”

Prina blinked rapidly in shock.

So they were telling her to…

Go to the banquet hall?

Declan was there! And in two days, a murder would happen there too!

Absolutely not.

“What are you doing?! Hurry up and go!”

But there was no way to refuse.

‘…It should be okay. Nothing happens today, right?’

After hesitating, Prina finally stood up.

“If you make even the slightest mistake, you’ll regret it. Understand?”

“I-If you think I’ll make a mistake, maybe don’t send me…?”

“Just go already!”

Prina ended up taking the dishes in a daze.

A servant carrying food walked ahead to lead the way. Quietly, Prina followed behind him.

‘Declan is in the banquet hall.’

It felt like walking straight into a typhoon.

But there was a saying, wasn’t there? That the eye of the storm was safe.

The problem was that she felt like she was inside the storm’s mouth instead.

Gulp.

It felt like she was about to be swallowed whole.