It was a Political Marriage, But I’m Being Loved - Chapter 118

…Aaaahhh!

A scream rang out from the distance. Charlize jolted in surprise and even the Empress looked startled. Since the magician serving as bait was a woman, they feared something might have gone wrong.

As Charlize started to rise from her seat, the Empress gently caught her hand.

“Stay seated.”

“Your Majesty, I’ll go check what’s happening outside.”

One of the escort knights addressed the Empress calmly. She nodded in response. Charlize watched nervously as the knight left the room.

Where did that scream come from? It doesn’t sound like it was near the Inner Palace…

The Imperial Palace was usually quiet. Even loud sounds echoed faintly, making it hard to pinpoint exactly where the scream had come from.

Sensing her unease, Lulu walked over to where Charlize was sitting. Perhaps aware that his large antlers might be intrusive, he stopped at a polite distance and quietly observed her face with his deep, black eyes.

“What a strange deer. You can even sense human emotions,” the Empress said softly.

Lulu seemed pleased by the compliment, giving her a quick glance—but suddenly, he turned his head sharply toward the door. His massive antlers twitched, alert. Curious, Charlize turned to look as well.

The door swung open without a knock. The same knight who had left earlier now reappeared—his once-pristine uniform soaked in blood. Blood dripped from the corner of his lips, and Charlize stood up in shock.

“Sir!”

“Your Majesty, you must leave at once. Demons have reached the entrance of the main palace—urk!”

Before he could finish, Lulu charged without hesitation and rammed him with his antlers. The sudden attack stunned everyone—Charlize, the Empress, the maids, and even the guards.

“Lulu!!”

Charlize hadn’t noticed at first because the man looked exactly like the knight from before. But Lulu’s action helped her see what her eyes had missed. Ever since receiving Achilles’s help, she had become able to sense mana—and the person before them had a completely different aura from earlier.

A magician. He looks like the knight, but the mana is all wrong!

“L-Lulu! You can’t do that!”

One of the maids, who had grown fond of Lulu in just a short time, cried out in panic. But Lulu didn’t back down. He knocked the imposter to the ground and stomped down hard with his hooves. The guards rushed to pull him away, but Lulu swung his antlers defensively, keeping everyone at bay.

“Wait. This person…”

Charlize raised her voice and stepped in, stopping the maids and knights who were trying to pull Lulu off. She had seen someone earlier who could copy someone’s appearance and was also a magician.

“Philozena. Right?”

“Your Highness, what are you—agh!”

Though her body was slightly smaller than average, she had disguised herself perfectly. Still, Lulu’s weight bore down on her legs, making her cry out in pain.

This illusion shouldn’t hurt—it’s all fake! But this pain is real!

Philozena had planned to use the chaos as a chance to kidnap Charlize and force her to break the Tower Master’s curse.

All I needed was to get in and out before the Tower Master showed up…!

“Stop! Ow! Get off me, you crazy deer!!”

Perhaps offended by being called “crazy,” Lulu thrashed his head side to side and began battering her arms with his heavy antlers.

Lulu… you’re very expressive, huh.

“Okay, okay, fine! You’re right!” she screamed.

Philozena did know other spells besides illusions. But the real problem was that Lulu wasn’t just a summoned beast—he was the Tower Master’s summon. She knew he wasn’t just physically strong; he could use magic too.

I hate this, but if he casts a shockwave spell here, I’m finished.

She’d already tried casting illusion spells on him several times, but they hadn’t worked at all. Every time she tried to cast on someone else, Lulu would strike her and break her focus.

This whole palace is covered with anti-magic wards! Do you know how hard it is to maintain this form and cast illusions at the same time?!

Finally, the illusion couldn’t hold. Her disguise as the knight faded like mist, revealing her true form—Philozena.

The knights gasped in shock. They had assumed that no one could use magic inside the palace. But magicians like the Tower Master weren’t bound by ordinary restrictions.

That’s because magicians powerful enough to surpass the magic circles beneath the palace could still use magic freely—even inside the Inner Palace.

As soon as Philozena dropped her magic disguise, Lulu stopped stomping on her and slowly backed away. Catching a glimpse of him, Philozena’s eyes sparkled.

This is my chance!

She could use the knights around her to distract Lulu and grab Princess Charlize. Just as she started chanting a spell—

Wham!

“Gah!!”

Lulu’s antlers drove mercilessly into her stomach, nearly making her vomit. If he had struck just a little harder, her abdomen might have been pierced completely. In a wave of panic, Philozena looked at Lulu. His eyes seemed to say, You were about to cast a spell, weren’t you?

What the hell… What kind of deer is this?!

Clack.

Lulu’s hoof stepped forward with a heavy thud that echoed across the floor, full of warning. Philozena instinctively looked away, her confidence shaken. Just then, Sophia—Charlize’s personal knight—stepped forward.

Thunk!

Sophia struck Philozena at the base of the neck, knocking her out cold. She turned to the others and said firmly:

“A magician like this needs to be handled before they become a bigger problem.”

With Lulu now backing off, the other knights moved in to tie Philozena up and restrain her.

Aaaah!!

Another scream rang out—closer this time. Philozena had lied about demons breaching the palace to lure Charlize, but this time it was real.

Sensing the surge of demonic energy, the knights had no time to explain. They immediately pulled the Empress to her feet and toward the door.

“Your Majesty! We must get you to safety!”

“This is the place.”

Part of the wall and ceiling connecting the adjoining room crumbled. A demon emerged—its head shaped like a raven’s, with six arms and five legs. It stood at least three meters tall. Everyone froze in terror… except for Lulu.

His golden antlers sparked with energy, the light crackling like a coiled storm. He turned his head and unleashed a shockwave straight from his antlers, striking the demon with explosive force.

Charlize seized the moment. She grabbed the Empress’s hand and ran for the door.

The demon, flung back by the blast, let out a warped, animal-like shriek. Using its many limbs like a spider, it began crawling forward at terrifying speed. In an ordinary mansion, it would have torn through walls just to get through—but the palace’s wide corridors let it chase them unhindered.

It’s fast, too!

The only saving grace was its large size. Because of that, it couldn’t dodge Lulu’s attacks quickly enough—giving Charlize and the others a slim chance to stay ahead.

“Why is that disgusting thing so fast?! Shouldn’t all those arms and legs be tripping over each other?!”

Charlize yelled while sprinting down the hallway. The exit to the palace wasn’t far. Once outside, she’d be able to use magic freely.

—Ten minutes earlier, before Charlize encountered the demon—

Accompanied by two attendants and Shanli, Prince Ryuhan had entered the area where Giel had set up the magical trap. He quickly realized they had stepped right into a magic circle.

Definitely not refined. Unlike sorcery, this setup doesn’t handle natural energy well. The flow is unbalanced—no wonder even non-mages like my attendants noticed it.

Ryuhan clicked his tongue in disapproval at the Tower’s subpar magic. Still, he walked forward, letting the spell guide him. It was clearly meant to lure intruders into a trap. Curious, he wanted to see what kind of entrance it had.

“Aaaahhh!!”

One of his attendants screamed. Ryuhan had already sensed the demonic energy approaching and wasn’t surprised. He even smiled faintly.

“Y-Your Highness…”

Shanli backed away from the source of the aura, trembling. She had studied sorcery, but only knew one skill—Appraisal, cast through her monocle-like enchanted lens. She raised it and scanned the monster’s form.

Ryuhan calmly looked up, reading the demon’s energy and identifying its class.

“A high-grade demon—one that only those who’ve reached enlightenment through the sword can face. Hah, perfect. This should be enough to get that arrogant Tower Master to finally recognize my skills!”

Boom…

A divine warrior Ryuhan had summoned landed on the ground, striking the floor with the butt of his spear. The tremor alone startled Shanli into shrinking back.

The demon before them looked like a massive lion, with nine serpent tails writhing behind it. At Ryuhan’s command, the divine warrior charged forward. His massive crescent blade clashed with the demon in a burst of energy.

The demon’s tails lashed out to bite and strangle, but the summoned warrior—made of pure energy—was unaffected by poison or venom.

What is that? A summoner?

The last demon, who had been following behind the others and was late entering the palace, froze when it saw the fight. That brilliant, enormous figure… holding its ground against a high-level demon? It was intimidating, to say the least.

I thought the main forces had all been sent to the northern wall… I didn’t expect a magician of this level to be left behind at the Tower.

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