Free Web Novel"Alright, now only those four at the entrance are left."
Victoria leaned against the wall of the first-floor corridor and whispered.
Her breathing was a bit hurried.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed.
Her golden hair was damp with sweat, clinging to her forehead.
But her eyes were shining with excitement.
Charlotte stood right beside her.
She was also panting.
There was a look of disbelief in her deep green eyes.
"We... really did it."
She said.
Her tone was full of incredulity.
"We took out all the guards in the manor—"
"Shh."
Victoria placed a finger against her lips.
"It's not over yet."
"Those four at the entrance are the most troublesome."
She poked her head out to look at the end of the corridor.
The corridor was long.
The crimson carpet stretched all the way to the foyer.
Gas lamps cast circles of warm yellow halos on the walls.
There was a smell of wood and dust in the air.
And—
Victoria wrinkled her nose.
There was also a faint scent of blood.
This wasn't caused by them.
They had been very gentle.
Every guard had only been knocked unconscious, tied up, and stuffed into a storage room or a bathtub.
No blood was shed.
No one died.
But this smell of blood—
It was coming from outside.
"Charlotte." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
She said.
"Do you smell that?"
"What?"
"The smell of blood."
Charlotte paused for a moment.
Then she also sniffed the air.
Her expression changed slightly.
"You're right."
She said.
"It's... coming from the main gate."
The two of them exchanged a look.
Then Victoria took a deep breath.
"I'll go take a look."
She said.
"You wait here."
"No!"
Charlotte grabbed her arm.
"I'm going with you."
Victoria looked at her.
Charlotte's deep green eyes were full of determination.
"...Fine."
Victoria sighed.
"Then we go together."
"But if there's danger—"
"I know."
Charlotte interrupted her.
"I'll hide behind you."
The two of them walked slowly along the corridor.
Their footsteps were very light.
Stepping on the carpet made almost no sound.
Victoria walked in front.
She held that length of iron chain in her hand.
The chain was wrapped twice around her hand, its end dangling and glinting coldly under the gas lamps.
Charlotte followed behind.
She held a candlestick in her hand.
It was brass, quite heavy, and could serve as a weapon.
They drew closer and closer.
The smell of blood also grew stronger.
Then, Victoria stopped.
She saw the heavy oak door.
She saw the four guards fallen before the door.
They were all wearing guard uniforms.
Lying prone on the ground.
Motionless.
A dark liquid was spreading across the floor.
Under the light of the gas lamps, it shimmered with a dull red hue.
It was blood.
Victoria's pupils contracted slightly.
Charlotte saw it too.
Her hand trembled.
The candlestick almost fell to the floor.
"They..."
Her voice was very soft.
So soft it seemed to be trembling.
"Are they dead?"
Victoria didn't answer.
She just stared at the four bodies.
No.
That wasn't right.
Her gaze swept over the guards.
Looking closely.
Their chests were still rising and falling.
Very faintly.
But they were definitely moving.
"They're still alive."
She said.
"Just... severely injured."
"Then who—"
Charlotte hadn't finished her sentence.
She suddenly froze.
Because she felt it.
An indescribable sensation.
Like someone was staring at her from behind.
No.
Not staring.
It was something deeper.
Like being seen through by something.
Seen through the skin.
Seen through the bones.
Seen through the flow of every drop of blood.
"Victoria—"
Her voice caught in her throat.
Victoria felt it too.
She spun around abruptly.
And then, she saw the woman.
Standing right behind them.
Less than five meters away.
Silent and soundless.
As if she had been there all along.
It was a woman wearing a green gown.
The dress was deep green, like moss deep in a forest; the fabric looked soft and lacked excessive decoration, with only a ring of light-colored embroidery at the collar and cuffs.
The embroidery depicted vines and flowers, intricate and exquisite.
Her hair was dark brown, coiled into a simple bun and secured with a wooden hairpin.
Her skin was very pale.
So pale it was almost translucent.
One could see the thin blue veins beneath her temples.
Her features were very soft.
Not stunningly beautiful.
But possessed of an indescribable gentleness.
She looked like the kind of person who would frequently bandage the wounds of injured small animals.
Her eyes were light brown.
A very warm color.
Like the warm yellow tone of afternoon sunlight filtering through leaves.
But as Victoria looked into those eyes.
She only felt a chill throughout her body.
Because that gentleness—
Wasn't right.
It wasn't the gentleness of a human looking at another human at all.
It was the tenderness of a higher-dimensional being looking down at a lower-dimensional creature.
Like a god looking at ants.
Merciful. freeweɓnovel.cѳm
Compassionate.
But absolutely cold.
Charlotte was trembling behind her.
Victoria could feel it.
She reached out.
And pulled Charlotte behind her.
This woman was dangerous.
Extremely dangerous, not something those guards could compare to.
But she had no idea who the woman was; the only useful information was that she had also attacked the manor guards.
Could it be someone her father sent to rescue her?
Unlikely; if she were here to save her, her father would have certainly informed her of the person's appearance beforehand, and it was improbable she would look at them with such eyes.
Or perhaps—
A bandit seeking fortune?
That didn't seem likely either...
But regardless, Victoria knew she had to say something.
She could feel the dangerous aura around this woman growing heavier.
She would declare her noble status first; in case the other party truly was after money, doing so could generally preserve her and Charlotte's lives.
After all, a ransom was always worth more than a corpse.
Victoria took a deep breath.
Then she stood tall.
"Good evening."
She said.
Her tone as calm as possible.
As polite as possible.
"I am Victoria von Hohenheim of the Hohenheim Family."
"May I ask—"
She paused.
"Who are you?"
"And what are you doing here?"
The woman didn't answer immediately.
She just tilted her head.
The movement was slow.
And gentle.
As if she were observing something interesting.
Then she spoke.
Her voice was very soft.
With a certain ethereal quality.
As if it were coming from far away.
"So you're Victoria?"
She said.
"That's wonderful~ It saves me the trouble of looking °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° for you."
Victoria's heart skipped a beat.
Not good!
This woman was here for her.
Sure enough, in the next moment, the window shattered.
A sharp crashing sound.
Glass exploded.
Shards flew through the air.
Then came the vines.
A thick vine shot in from outside the window.
It was as fast as a bullet.
Its surface was covered in fine barbs.
It glinted with a dark green luster under the gas lamps.
It lunged straight for Victoria's head.
No warning, no hesitation.
This was an attempt to kill her.
Victoria's mind went blank.
She saw the vine enlarging.
Bigger and bigger.
The barbs were clearly visible.
She could even see the subtle texture on the vine's surface.
She wanted to dodge.
But it was too late.
Charlotte screamed behind her.
Reaching out to try and push her away.
But Charlotte was, after all, just an ordinary noble girl.
There was no time.
...
At this critical juncture.
A figure crashed in from the side.
The speed was incredible.
Like an out-of-control Steam Carriage, or a cavalryman charging on a battlefield.
He slammed into Victoria with great force.
Victoria felt herself instantly lifted off the ground.
Flying sideways.
Thud.
She fell heavily to the ground.
The carpet chafed her skin.
Her body rolled several times across the floor.
Her shoulder hit the wall.
A dull pain radiated from her ribs.
But because of this, she survived.
The vine grazed her hair as it passed.
And nailed itself into the wall.
With a dull thud.
The entire vine was embedded in the wall.
Only half of it remained exposed.
A few strands of golden hair were still caught on the barbs.
Victoria hadn't fully reacted to what had happened.
Her vision was already spinning.
A hand grabbed her waist and hoisted her up.
Now, she was draped over someone's shoulder.
She instinctively started to struggle—
"Don't move! I'm Pavela's friend!"
A young man's voice rang out in her ear.
He spoke very fast.
With tension and urgency.
"I am a student of the Royal Knights Academy! My name is Frederick!"
"Little Pa sent me specifically to save you!"
"Sorry for hitting you so hard just now!"
"Now, please hold on tight!"
Bang—
An explosion.
Thick smoke erupted in the corridor.
White.
Pungent.
Instantly filling the entire space.
"Miss Charlotte! Come with me!"
Another voice rang out.
It had a certain gloomy quality.
Victoria heard footsteps.
Charlotte's scream.
Then the sound of running away.
"Victoria!"
Charlotte's voice came through the thick smoke.
"I'm okay! You run!"
Victoria wanted to respond.
But the person carrying her had already started running.
The speed was absurdly fast.
Victoria felt as if she had been thrown onto a speeding Steam Carriage.
Wind whistled in her ears.
Her vision shook.
The surrounding scenery blurred into a single mass.
She lay across the shoulder of the man named Frederick.
Looking back.
Vines had already shot out from the smoke.
Not just one.
But dozens.
Hundreds.
They were like living snakes.
Twisting in the air.
The barbs on their surface glinted with a strange luster.
They tore up the carpet.
Smashed the gas lamps.
And shredded the oil paintings on the walls.
The entire corridor was trembling.
The woman in the green gown stood in the center of the vines.
She didn't give chase, she just stood there.
Just watching them escape with that gentle smile.
"Run."
She said.
Her voice wasn't loud.
But it could be clearly heard in Victoria's ears.
"The faster you run, the better."
"That way, the hunt is more interesting."
