Chapter 91
*Don’t Make Me Jealous*
The young master gritted his teeth. I tugged on his sleeve.
“This is absurd! Young Master! This isn’t the time to be standing around! What about our marriage if we take the blame for this! We’ll have to have our wedding in prison! We are getting married, right?”
He didn’t answer. The Crown Prince, however, started monologuing.
“Maid Estella. No, Anna. Lupin conducted countless forbidden experiments with magic and potions to save you, just like his father.”
“Young Master! Are we getting married or not?!”
“Lupin, I learned about the elixir thanks to you and your father. You called these zombies your friends? Perhaps they’re your children. Monsters created by the Zepetto family!”
Seeing the young master suppressing his anger, I shouted again,
“Young Master Lupin! I’m asking you! Are we getting married?!”
“Yes! We are! But this isn’t the time!”
He grabbed my shoulders and answered.
“Oh, you should have said so earlier. I was worried.”
“Are… are you alright?”
His voice trembled. I had nothing to complain about as long as we were getting married.
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I mean… about the zombies possibly being my fault. No, they are my fault. All of this.”
A zombie corpse flew over our heads.
“Sorry! I missed!”
Miss Baba shouted from afar.
Seeing that, the young master seemed to deflate a little.
“It’s okay, Young Master. This world is full of people who are more monstrous than zombies. And thanks to you, I’m alive again. I can’t blame you.”
Just as we were about to have a serious conversation, the Crown Prince charged at us with his sword. The young master shielded me and blocked the attack with his staff. I ducked under his arm and pushed the Crown Prince back with the vacuum cleaner’s blast.
“We were in the middle of an important conversation!”
I swung the vacuum cleaner at him, intending to flatten him, but his slender sword blocked my attack.
“How! I was going to crush you like a pudding!”
“You sound like a villain…”
“I take after my master!”
The Crown Prince’s attacks were swift and sharp, too much for my brute-force vacuum cleaner attacks.
“Uh oh! I’m going to lose!”
I stumbled backward. If it weren’t for the young master’s binding spell on his legs, I would have been sliced in two.
“Estella! Stay back!”
“Normally, I would refuse, but… okay!”
As soon as I stepped back, the young master charged at the Crown Prince. He wasn’t a combat mage, more of an artist, so it couldn’t be helped.
He fought the Crown Prince, drawing magic circles with the tip of his staff. His movements were precisely calculated.
Two magic circles overlapped, and golems emerged from them, one by one.
The Crown Prince, initially on the defensive, found an opening and attacked relentlessly.
I just stood there, holding my vacuum cleaner. There were no zombies left.
I wanted to help, but it felt like I would only get in the way.
“Uh oh…”
I decided to cheer instead.
“Go, Young Master! You’re the best! Win, Zepetto! Fight, Zepetto!”
How long was this going to last? They fought tirelessly, evenly matched.
As I was watching, someone poked me on the shoulder.
“Who is it?!”
I turned around, brandishing my vacuum cleaner. It was the raven. He grinned and pushed the vacuum cleaner aside with his finger.
“Hello!”
“Mr. Raven! You’re here too?”
“Baba told me what was happening. She said the Imperial Palace is full of shiny things. And I love shiny things.”
“Did you find any jewels you like?”
“Plenty! I’m in a great mood. I collected a few souls while granting the wishes of small fry. Need any?”
“Uh, no.”
Clang, clang! The fight continued. Miss Baba strolled over.
“Estella, long time no see.”
“Miss Baba! It’s been a while. I’ve already seen Castor.”
“Really? Don’t get any ideas. Castor is mine now. But if you become mine too, then it’s fine.”
“No thanks. I’m happy being the young master’s.”
We chatted for a bit, then turned back to the fight. The number of onlookers seemed to be increasing.
Miss Baba watched for a while, then waved her arm. Knight Commander Edna, covered in blood, walked over.
“Edna.”
“Long time no see, Baba.”
At this point, this place should be called a meeting plaza, not an Imperial cemetery.
“How long are they going to keep fighting? Can’t you stop them, Knight Commander?”
She shook her head.
“It’s difficult, even for me. Umbram is the Crown Prince. He was wrong to create the zombies, but I don’t have the authority to punish him. If Zepetto wins, it might give us some leverage, but…”
“Then why not join the fight and help him win? I don’t know much about fighting, but you would be a great help!”
“No, I don’t want to.”
She was firm. I was so baffled that I had to ask why.
She replied in a dignified voice,
“I don’t want to get involved in political matters.”
“Ah, so it’s for practical reasons?”
“That’s why everyone is just watching.”
Her words made me understand why no one was interfering.
Was I the only one here who wasn’t concerned about politics?
Should I… use my vacuum cleaner?
As I was pondering this, holding the vacuum cleaner handle, Zomrat climbed onto my shoulder and squeaked loudly.
“Zomrat, this is a serious situation. Snacks later.”
“Squeak, squeak!”
He wouldn’t stop. What was he looking at? I turned my head, and he was looking at the raven.
“Do you have any snacks?”
“Um, no! But I have drinks! I collected them! I followed the zombies and found lots of sparkly drinks!”
The raven rummaged through his robes and pulled out a leather pouch filled with vials. They didn’t look like drinks.
“That… looks like magic potions.”
“If you can drink it, it’s a drink. And it’s sparkly. I took them all.”
“They’re sparkly, but they look like they would make your stomach explode.”
Miss Baba looked at the vials, blinked a few times, then said in her usual monotonous voice,
“Elixir…”
“What?”
“Same ingredients. Not complete, but enough to create zombies.”
“And the raven collected them because they were sparkly…”
The raven looked around, clueless.
“What? Is this important?”
I grabbed him by the collar and shook him.
“Why are you showing us this now! Everyone is here because of these vials! This is why everyone is fighting!”
“Huh? Why? What? Is this important? Baba told me to take them!”
“Miss!”
She shrugged.
“I don’t need them. I don’t care who takes them.”
“You dense people! I’m the only one on the young master’s side!”
I snatched the pouch of elixirs. The raven tried to take it back, but Knight Commander Edna stopped him.
“I’ll side with the maid this time.”
“My sparkly drinks!”
I took the pouch and approached the young master and the Crown Prince.
“Young Master! I got the elixir!”
They both turned to me, their faces pale.
“Why do you have that?!”
“Why does she have that?!”
The Crown Prince tried to run towards me, and the young master tripped him. He didn’t fall, but it created an opening.
Thwack! The young master’s staff hit him in the back. Even after being hit, the Crown Prince swung his sword, tearing the young master’s clothes and drawing blood.
“Young Master!”
It was a good thing I had the elixir! I could heal his wound!
But what if a new arm sprouted from his side as a side effect…?
“Estella! Throw me the elixir!”
He shouted, clutching his wound. He probably wanted it for healing. I picked up a vial, ready to throw it, when…
Irregular magic circles started appearing around the young master.
“Throw it when the flames appear!”
“What?”
Why was he making me throw it? I didn’t have time to ask. He activated his magic.
Boom, boom, boom! Flames erupted. I would throw it after he used all but one. I had to obey, so I would throw it.
I threw the vial into one of the flames, as instructed. The flame flared up, consuming the vial.
“Seize her!”
The Crown Prince’s knights, who had been standing idly by, finally moved at his command. But Knight Commander Edna blocked their path.
“With zombies threatening the citizens, I, as a member of the royal family, can’t stand idly by! I finally have a chance to put that arrogant Umbram in his place!”
She seemed excited. The paladins were outnumbered, but they could all use magic. So even if Umbram’s knights were skilled, they had their limits.
Well, if he had a truly powerful army, he wouldn’t have resorted to creating zombies in the first place.
Following the young master’s magic circles, I reached his side. As I rushed into his arms, I threw the pouch of elixirs into the flames.