A few hours prior

Lillian finally stopped running as she arrived on the outskirts of the forest. The hunt will take place on the other side; however, she recalled her new guard. That guy insisted she stay back just because she had a bit of a fever. She had to escape while she could. Lillian used the time where he was cooking for her in the kitchen and left quickly.

It is not like her condition is bad; it is simply because she tried out a new spell and used more mana than usual. Usually, Lucas is there beside her to control the amount of mana she uses. Perhaps she should have waited until after the banquet to try it, but recently she is becoming wary of those people who lurk in the shadows.

Those people are the blank family. But, according to Ramon, it seems his brother and so-called sister have something planned; if it is like that, she also has to act quickly.

She does not want to get caught up in another person's game when she just started the one with the Empress—using her as a pawn? They have the nerve even to think such things.

Her thoughts broke off when she hears a set of footsteps. "Sir Gareth, I thought I told you that I am-" Lillian paused and turned around when she saw a group of soldiers.

"Did father ask you to fetch me?!"

"We are to escort you, lady Lillian."

Lillian sighed deeply. "Escort, you say, then maybe you should hide the smell of blood or stop dragging around your victim like a trophy." She immediately noticed sir Gareth badly beaten up from the corner.

"Is that not your specialty Lady Lillian?"

Indeed it is something she would do but even so. "Since when could mere servants mess with my people?"

"Lady Lillian, are you not mistaken? This man tried to kill you before-"

Lillian laughed. "When I have set my eyes on somebody regardless if they tried to kill me, I will not let them escape. This new toy of mine is very interesting, since when did I allow people like you to touch my things?"

Father is not the one who sent these assassins. Since they dragged sir Gareth out, she could guess who it was. It seems even that wretched sister of hers is making a move now. Lillian sighed deeply; this is becoming increasingly more bothersome than before.

"So, are you saying you people will kill me?"

"You cannot use your magic here, miss; it is over for you."

Lillian sighed. Are these people stupid? Of course, she knew this side of the forest has a seal, so people cannot use their magic. That is the reason why she came out here, so she could be away from her magic. Lucas advised her that she ought to go to a space where there is no magic whenever her mana depletes.

There are seldom any places like that in the Empire since people use magic in the same manner as they do drinking water and eating food.

But she and Lucas found a space right past the Ageha family forest; there is a gate that separates the two.

Do these people genuinely think they can take down?

The person at the front took a step forward and took out his blade. "If you remain still, this will end soon."

What foolish behavior. However, it is too boring if she ends the fight so quickly. Lillian pretends to be frozen at those words as she wrapped her arms around her body. "Please don't. I must get to the hunt."

To make this more fun, acting weak and feeble.

The soldiers seemed surprised and looked at her cautiously.

It seems like this won't be easy, but these people have only heard about her from rumors. They have not seen her in action before, so she can do this easily. Lillian stepped forward, and she deliberately tripped on a rock.

"The rumors about her must be wrong."

"People call her the ultimate villain, but- this is hilarious."

Yes, that is right. Underestimate her as much as you can.

"It hurts." Lillian winced in pain as she placed her hand on the small cut on her legs.

"You know it is a waste just to kill her; she is quite pretty."

"Don't be a fool; the mistress wants her dead before the hunt. I shall do it." The taller one at the back said as he unsheathed his blade.

Lillian struggled not to laugh. Did they not give away who their master was with that comment? She waited for a few seconds until that person approached her.

"It is time for you to die." In the next second, she felt the familiar sensation of the blade pierce her chest, and she fell to the ground.

"Well, that was too easy."

"Let's go back; the hunt will start soon. If we report this as a tragic death, then Mistress can oversee the hunt with the lord."

At that comment, Lillian burst into laughter. This is way too funny- these people fell for such a clumsy act. "Ahaaahaaaaaa." A burst of maniac-sounding laughter passed her lips. "Do you truly think you can kill me that easily?"

They looked at her, horrified. "Why? We stabbed a vital poi-"

"What is that light? She can't use magic here."

This is part of our contract too. If, in any event, you are in danger and you are not in a place to use magic, this spell will automatically stop your death until I sort things out.

Despite the fatal wound, she took no damage, no to be exact. Lucas spell froze time, so the fatal injury trapped in a separate space. Since they met, this is the second time she has had to use it.

If Lucas finds out later that she did this deliberately, he will certainly get mad at her. But, her gaze darkened. Killing these people so quickly would be a waste. So, it seems she won't be too bored today.

As long as she has Lucas spell, she will not die immediately. So it does not matter what happens to her body in the process. She will most likely see Lucas before the hunt starts, and he can fix things as he did back then.

Yes, this is one of the main reasons for her careless behavior. It is because she knew no matter what happened, she would not die. But even without Lucas spell, she has something else up her sleeve.