Chapter 52
Assault
For the wizard apprentices of the Tri-Tower, the enfeoffment ball ended rather quickly.
After completing the opening dance with the royal family, most of the apprentices left this exceedingly dull court event.
While Lucy was resting in a corner, a maid quietly approached.
"Witch, Her Highness Olivia invites you over."
Following the maid through the corridor, Lucy was led into a room full of intimacy.
Judging by the personal items on the table and the large, soft boudoir bed, this was clearly Her Highness the Princess’s bedroom.
Moments later, Olivia emerged from a side chamber, wearing only a pure white undershirt.
She had taken off her luxurious gown, leaving only the white undershirt. The hair ornaments had all been removed, her jet-black long hair casually coiled behind her head, secured with a single wooden hairpin, revealing her fair and jade-like nape.
"Forgive me, my lady."
She slightly curtsied, and as she moved, the neckline of her undershirt swayed into a gentle arc. "I sweated a bit during the ball just now, so I changed into casual wear. I hope you don't mind."
"It’s fine."
Lucy tried hard to shift her gaze away from the neckline of the undershirt.
At that moment, a maid pushed the door open, carrying a tray of exquisite refreshments, yet her eyes remained fixed on Lucy.
"Susan, bring the refreshments to the balcony... Susan?"
Olivia called twice before the maid named Susan seemed to awaken from a dream.
"Yes, Your Highness."
"She normally wouldn’t be so rude." Olivia explained on behalf of the maid, then led Lucy to sit on the balcony. "Perhaps she didn’t sleep well last night."
Once the maid had left, the princess’s expression suddenly grew lively. She blinked and traced the carved railing with her fingertips.
"This is the first time someone my age has entered my bedroom."
Lucy took a sip of black tea.
"Actually, it’s also my first time entering a girl’s boudoir..."
"Seems like we both lack friends."
"Aren’t you a princess?"
"Precisely because of that, the nobles of the principality all see me as an enemy." Olivia smiled bitterly.
Not just the nobles.
Amidst the agitation of public opinion and the pains of reform, even the commoners’ views of her were mixed.
Lucy had no interest in listening to these worries from a young girl’s heart. Before the other could speak again, she decisively cut to the point.
"Has Your Highness experienced any special changes in your body recently?"
Olivia subconsciously glanced down at her chest clearly, the size was still the same?
Lucy cleared her throat.
"I mean signs of extraordinary power."
"How... how do you know!"
"I happened to be present yesterday when you taught Prince Kaelde a lesson." Lucy continued, "But allow me to advise Your Highness: before you formally enter the Tower of the Four Sages, never let anyone know about this. Because of the special nature of witches, any cultist would try to use you as an anchor to summon a quasi-divine evil god from a secondary plane. Once the evil god descends, the entire principality could be contaminated into a divine kingdom..."
Olivia’s eyes widened, her breathing heavy, causing her chest to rise and fall continuously. She hadn’t expected the consequences to be so severe.
"Wait..." Lucy suddenly narrowed her eyes. "You haven’t told anyone else about this, have you?"
"At first, I was too frightened, so I told my personal maid..."
"Personal maid?"
"It’s the one who just brought the refreshments, Susan."
A chill ran down Lucy’s spine. The maid’s strange stare from earlier suddenly resurfaced in her mind, bringing with it a faint sense of unease.
"For safety reasons, please summon that maid here."
Olivia was just about to call out.
Boom!~~
A deafening explosion tore through the night sky.
The violent blast caused the entire ducal castle to tremble. The teacup rolled off the table, landing with a muffled crash on the wool carpet.
"What’s happening?!"
Olivia clutched her pounding chest, her expression dazed.
Lucy had already dashed to the edge of the balcony, leaning out to look toward the source of the explosion.
She saw flames raging at the castle gates, black smoke spiraling upward, carrying twisted magical energy into the sky. The metal gates lay twisted and fallen; the soldiers' wails and the fanatical shouts interwove into a cacophony.
"Kill all nobles and witches!"
"The Lord of Golden Worship is watching us..."
"Kill!"
Countless cultists, radiating strange fluctuations and with golden flames burning in their eyes, charged into the castle through the broken gates.
The soldiers on the high walls stood no chance against these fanatics who were immensely strong and unafraid of death.
Lucy’s expression changed drastically she had seen such a scene in the Black Book at the tower.
"Divine contamination... cultists are attacking the ducal castle."
Her face grew grim as her unease was confirmed.
The secret of the princess being a witch had already leaked. These lunatics were attempting to capture her before she could reach the tower.
"Your Highness, run! Someone..."
A woman’s cry came from outside the door. Lucy recognized it as the maid who had led her to the bedroom earlier. But before she could finish her shout, the voice was abruptly cut off.
Immediately after, the princess's bedroom door was kicked open with a loud bang, and Susan stepped inside with a twisted, ferocious expression.
Lucy pulled Olivia behind her and unleashed a mental shockwave with a strength of 14.2, like a hurricane.
However, the expected scene of the maid screaming and collapsing unconscious did not occur. Susan only staggered slightly before regaining her footing.
Not only that, but two golden flames ignited in her eyes, and her skin began to dry and crack at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Wretched witch, submit to the divine might of the Lord of Golden Worship!"
Two golden beams shot out from Susan’s eyes.
Dark red dragon-scale ripples and dark green divine power burst forth half a meter in front of Lucy.
Having sensed the ambush earlier, Lucy had already cast the Fractured Crystal Reverse Scale Shield on herself. Even so, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the surface of the shield.
The power of these two beams had at least reached 15°.
"The power of the God of Wealth is not something you can resist!"
The maid roared, momentarily bewildered when her attack failed.
Unfortunately, her mind, completely corrupted by divine power, could no longer comprehend such complex outcomes.
And Lucy clearly had no intention of giving her more time to think.
Magical energy surged in the ruby at the tip of the Gear Staff, unleashing a 25° Molten Steel Torrent that instantly pierced the maid’s frail body.
Yet she stubbornly refused to fall. Engulfed in the flames ignited by the molten steel, she raised her arms and shouted loudly:
"For the Lord of Golden Worship!"
In her dying moments, Susan raised her arms high, golden flames erupting from her seven orifices.
Lucy’s heart sank. She grabbed Olivia’s cold, frightened hand and dashed toward the balcony.
"Hold on to me!"
Olivia instinctively wrapped her arms around Lucy’s waist.
Looking up, the young girl saw the face, so similar in age to her own, radiating a chilling determination. The once delicate sapphire eyes now carried a heroic sharpness, making it impossible to look away.
Boom!~
A violent explosion erupted behind them, and the terrifying shockwave hurled both of them off the balcony.
Fortunately, Olivia’s bedroom was not too high off the ground. The Fractured Crystal Shield absorbed most of the impact, and after tumbling, they landed on the lawn. Behind them, the princess’s boudoir had already turned into a pillar of soaring flames.