The Fortress Once Again Roared to Life
Many had sacrificed themselves, but the once-quiet fortress had grown loud again.
Naturally, it was all because of Irene.
“She’s a 4th-rank purifier? How could someone who entered at 10th rank climb so high?”
“It’s all thanks to that Remedy of the Nameless. What an incredible artifact. If it wasn’t a bound item, it would be even better...”
No matter where you went, the name Irene echoed through the air.
And there was someone who found this news utterly detestable.
“Unlucky...”
Inside the princess’s chambers, Wilhelmina gnawed at her fingernails while staring out the window.
In the distance, she could see Irene walking alongside other purifiers.
Not only the usual companions who stuck to her side, but even Riosa—who had recently grabbed the crown princess’s hair and caused a scene—was there.
All of them dressed in white, holding white flowers, heading to pray for the purifiers and knights who had left this world during the Distortion Dungeon.
The fortress’s people lowered their heads as they passed.
A show of respect toward the most important purifiers in this fortress.
Irene walked proudly at the front of that group.
“She was nothing but a 10th-rank trash... and she even had good luck...”
Wilhelmina ground her teeth as she watched Irene accept everyone’s greetings so naturally.
Always the one standing below her, that girl.
Every time she saw Irene, Wilhelmina felt certain she had been blessed with an exceptionally lucky life and was far superior.
That was why she had once stood beside Irene...
‘Why did things end up like this?’
Her pair was the strongest knight, Michael—the one who led the largest gatherings within the fortress and got along with everyone.
Right now, Irene’s image was exactly what Wilhelmina had always dreamed of.
And until recently, it had even been the crown princess’s image.
The moment Wilhelmina laid eyes on the crown princess, she knew this was the person who had everything she wanted.
So she had desperately wanted to stay beneath her.
At least something, no matter how small, would fall into her hands.
At first, the princess ignored her.
But after Irene became Michael’s pair, the princess summoned her and ordered her to gather information on Irene.
Every task had involved Irene, yet Wilhelmina had felt satisfied.
If she could build trust with the princess this way, she would one day secure a place right beside her.
And now... everything had gone exactly as she had wished.
She turned her gaze toward the quiet princess’s quarters.
The bustling crowd that once filled the place with hundreds of people every day had vanished.
The purifiers who always chattered beside her were almost nowhere to be seen.
Only a handful of lower-ranking purifiers remained—Wilhelmina and those who had come from the princess’s kingdom.
Her own power was unchanged, yet her influence inside the Temple had dwindled to almost nothing.
‘If only I hadn’t targeted Riosa’s knight, this wouldn’t have happened.’
The incident had caused many purifiers to turn their backs on the princess.
Still, Wilhelmina believed time would heal everything and stayed by the princess’s side.
But contrary to her hopes, the princess had slipped completely into seclusion, and most of the remaining servants had left as well.
Thanks to that, Wilhelmina had unintentionally become the princess’s closest aide.
‘Even now, I’d rather attach myself to Irene’s side...’
Truthfully, she had lingered near Irene for several days.
But the moment she appeared, Reina would glare at her with murderous eyes.
Even in front of her, she would sprinkle salt as if to ward off bad luck.
‘If only I had stayed put back then.’
She had fought Reina before entering the dungeon, promising the princess she would score points—how could she have imagined this regret would come?
Wilhelmina kept turning the problem over in her mind.
If Irene was impossible, perhaps she should join another small purifier gathering.
But even there, she wouldn’t gain anything special, so staying beside the princess might be best.
Just as she reached that conclusion, bitterness flooded her.
‘I haven’t received even one thing like the others!’
The princess showered rare gifts on anyone she drew close, no matter how fleeting.
‘Then I should have received at least one thing too, right?’
She was one of the few purifiers left to guard the princess’s alone side.
Surely the princess owed her some repayment for that loyalty.
Wilhelmina surveyed the princess’s quarters.
Because the princess had ordered no one to enter the room, even the maids had vanished.
Confirming there was no one approaching, Wilhelmina quietly slipped into the adjacent room.
This was where the princess kept her personal belongings.
The rarest items stayed in her chamber, but her fine jewelry was stored here.
Wilhelmina quickly searched the space.
‘Just as I thought!’
As expected, many treasures remained.
She stared at them in a daze.
Even the jewelry the princess used daily was priceless to Wilhelmina, regardless of how ordinary it seemed to her.
Wilhelmina picked up one of the large earrings and brought it to her ear.
Not only earrings—dresses, hats, and shoes as well.
Everything would look wonderful on her.
‘If I take just a few of these, it should be fine.’
No one would notice. The princess had so much, she probably wouldn’t even realize anything was missing.
After staring at herself in the mirror for a long time, Wilhelmina set the items back down and carefully stepped deeper inside.
‘I’d rather have something even more valuable than these.’
The princess had been locked away for days.
If she was this quiet, perhaps she was sleeping after taking medicine.
‘Then I could enter the inner room without being noticed.’
She had no intention of taking many things. Just one expensive enough to be worthwhile...
Then she could sell it at the black market near the fortress and earn a fortune.
‘This is fair compensation.’
Wilhelmina had already convinced herself in her mind that this was simply theft.
As she had expected, the princess was nowhere in sight.
She seemed to have left the bedroom entirely.
Moving with more relaxed steps, Wilhelmina headed toward the inner room.
‘What should I take?’
She wondered what precious item she should take in exchange as she opened the door.
“...?”
Wilhelmina froze in place and looked inside the room.
It had once been the princess’s wardrobe.
But now not a single shoe remained—only strange folded papers with unknown shapes.
Beside them were strange dried herbs whose origins she couldn’t guess, along with dozens of candles still burning.
“This... what is this...?”
Wilhelmina muttered without even thinking of staying quiet.
At that moment, something moved in the corner.
“Ah...”
Wilhelmina doubted her eyes. A red lump was moving in the corner.
A bizarre form that should not exist in this world she stood on.
“M... monster?”
No way. Monsters lived inside dungeons.
They sometimes spilled into this world and hurt people, but they always returned to their own realms.
And here, in the princess’s room deep inside the fortress where no dungeon existed...
If it truly existed, it could only mean someone had deliberately summoned it.
“...!”
In that instant, Wilhelmina realized the strange items in the room.
This was clearly the forbidden ancient ritual to summon a monster.
And the one who had summoned it...
“As I thought. I knew you’d slink in here like a rat.”
From behind Wilhelmina, the princess’s voice rang out.
Before Wilhelmina could even turn to look, Cecilia shoved her body toward the red lump.
The last thing Wilhelmina saw was a world entirely covered in red.