It was a Political Marriage, But I’m Being Loved - Chapter 52

Dave’s eyes widened as the blade sank into his chest.

He had believed that once he played his part, he’d be allowed to leave the fortress. That was the deal.

“Why…?” he choked, blood bubbling up with his words.

“Why?” Lewein whispered back coldly. “It’s necessary for the plan. Isn’t it obvious?”

Dave stared at him in disbelief—then realization hit.

If everyone in the fortress was found dead except for him, suspicion would immediately fall on Valter Bianchi. But if Dave died too, Valter could plead innocence.

From the moment Dave had been injured and used to open the gate, his death had been inevitable. A tool discarded after use.

“Damn… son of a…”

Lewein ignored the dying man’s curse. He pulled his sword from Dave’s chest without hesitation.

There was no time to waste. Inside that manor was the princess.

Their lord wanted her. And they would deliver her.

Charlize was no stranger to knights. She was royalty—her entire life had been spent surrounded by them. Her older brother Oscar was a Swordmaster himself.

So she understood at a glance: the guards stationed at this fortress stood no chance.

They were merely standard-trained soldiers. She had never expected them to be a serious defense. Their job was to maintain the estate, ward off minor monsters or thieves—not to face elite warriors.

Against trained knights, they were nothing.

The moment the gate opened and enemies stormed in, Charlize knew. She turned to the mechanical dolls and gave the order.

Five maid-like automatons immediately drew weapons and leapt out the window.

“Can they really do that?!”

Startled, Charlize pressed herself against the window frame. Other automatons quickly pulled her back.

“Enemy archers are visible, Your Highness. Please step away from the window.”

“Tell them not to fight! They can’t win anyway!”

One of the four knight-type automatons threw itself out after the others.

Charlize worried for it, but she didn’t have time to dwell. There were bigger concerns now.

“We have to get downstairs and regroup!”

She knew the fortress layout well. Though it was called a “castle,” it was built more like a mountain retreat than a fortress. Once the walls were breached, there was little in the way of true defense.

Except one place.

The eastern tower.

Narrow windows. Reinforced doors. A defensible structure.

If they gathered everyone there and sealed the doors, it might buy time until Achilles returned. Each floor of the tower had heavy iron doors that could be locked from within.

She sprinted through the corridor. Behind her, the remaining automatons and the white stag followed.

The soldiers aiming their bows at the manor never saw it coming.

A figure dropped from above, slicing clean through a knight’s neck. Blood sprayed in an arc, and chaos erupted.

“What the?!”

Lewein turned, startled. The archers had been stationed behind him.

Five maids—all with the same face—had landed in their midst. Identical in appearance, each wielding bloodied scimitars, moving with impossible speed and grace.

“Don’t panic! They’re just toys! Tower Master’s playthings!”

A mage shouted from among the knights. He hadn’t been brought along for battle—they hadn’t expected resistance—but it was fortunate he was here.

The automatons moved as if gravity didn’t apply. Even when their limbs or heads were sliced off, they kept fighting.

“What are these things?!”

“There must be a core—destroy it!”

“Don’t!” the mage yelled, pale with fear. “If you break the core, the Tower Master will know!”

“Damn it!”

“What are we supposed to do then?!”

While the knights hesitated under the relentless assault, another figure dropped in front of the manor entrance. The panicked servants recognized his face and sighed in relief.

“Her Highness has ordered a retreat. These enemies are not to be engaged.”

The automaton’s words gave hope to the soldiers and staff, who had been frozen in fear, unsure whether to fight or flee.

Now that they had clear orders, Baron-Jun shouted out.

“Everyone, inside! This is the princess’s command!”

The moment of clarity sent the staff scrambling. They rushed into the manor en masse.

Lewein, watching from across the yard, snarled as he hacked off one of the automaton’s remaining arms.

“Don’t let a single one survive! After them!”

One by one, the automatons fell—limbs severed, heads decapitated. The maids that had bought them time were now scattered across the floor, broken.

The knights, who had finally cut their way through, charged toward the manor with grim, determined faces.

The final knight-type automaton had managed to close the manor doors behind them, but it wasn’t enough. Over half of the invaders could wield aura-infused sword strikes.

Though the door was made of solid iron, it was no match for their blades. Slashed apart, it soon crumpled. The knights stepped over the broken metal and entered.

Screeeech! SKREEEEE!

The baby Rafinas, gripped tightly in the men’s hands, flailed wildly—sensing their imminent deaths. They twisted, snapped, and even tried to bite their captors, but the hands holding them were far too strong.

“We’re here!”

Their path down from the mountain had left a bloodied trail behind them. From somewhere nearby came a low, furious cry—unmistakably inhuman.

They were close. Just a little further.

One man pointed toward the arched gate at the village’s main entrance. Another, who had just snapped the neck of the smallest hatchling, impaled the corpse on an arrow and fired it toward the gate.

Thwack!

The arrow struck home, the body thudding against the arch, blood splattering around it.

Grinning at each other, they then killed the remaining hatchlings—tossing their corpses at the village gates.

“What on earth… What are you doing?!”

A villager, drawn by the ominous cries in the distance, had stepped outside—only to stop short, horrified by the sight of the mangled monster corpses.

Most villagers didn’t even know what Rafinas looked like. They only knew to stay away from the high peaks where such dangerous beasts lived. Only monster hunters had seen them up close.

The men ignored the question, bolting straight into the village. Their plan was simple—get in, pass through, and escape.

The villager watched them disappear, confused and increasingly suspicious.

“The hide looks fine… Why would they throw this away?”

He knelt to inspect the corpse, only for a sharp, haunting wail to pierce the air—not far away.

The sound was filled with fury and grief. It was less a cry and more a scream soaked in ancient rage.

The villager froze—then turned pale.

“We’re in trouble! BIG trouble! Monsters—monsters are coming!!”

This is insane.

Eliza’s group had been quietly tailing the men, but the moment they saw what happened at the village gate, they were stunned.

There was no time to wait. No time to hesitate.

They abandoned stealth and landed on the roof of the tallest building in the village. Once there, they returned to their human forms and quickly assessed their remaining mana.

The wave of monsters was nearly upon them—and they had just received word from the other mages they’d left behind to monitor the infiltrators inside the village.

– Something’s happened! Those men we were watching…

“What?”

– They were holed up in one of the houses, watching a young man. Today, they suddenly dragged the man into the forest and killed him.

Then, they had drenched the boy in the man’s blood before scattering.

The two mages had debated whether to split up and track them individually but ended up tailing the more dangerous-looking one. That trail had led to a hidden company of knights. And now, they’d launched an assault on the very fortress where the princess was staying.

– Her Highness hasn’t been captured yet. But they’re stronger than we are… Should we stay back or risk everything to protect her?

“Stay put for now. But if it looks like the princess is in real danger—intervene.”

“If she gets hurt and you just stand there watching, you’ll die. You know that, right?”

And it would be a slow, cruel death. Eliza was certain of that. But he didn’t mention it—not wanting to rattle them further.

– U-understood!

“I’ll contact the Tower Master. Just hold out until then!”

“Master Eliza! The monsters—they’re here!!”

A massive Rafinas had arrived—its eyes locked on the corpse of its young, still skewered to the village gate. Its roar of anguish echoed through the air.

And it wasn’t alone.

Dozens, no—hundreds of Rafinas were pouring in behind it, screeching, snarling, consumed by rage.

They were coming to destroy everything.

The villager who had sounded the alarm was already sprinting away from the gate.

There was no time to contact Achilles.

Eliza clenched his fists, gathering what magic he had left. He looked at the others and shouted:

“Start with a wall of fire! Go, NOW!!”

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