I Was Told to Drink Poison, So I Drank It - 25 - The Trap Underground

“People of victory…? Is that about Victoire?”

“If we take the words literally, I suppose so…”

I held my hand over the stone tablet.

There was no reaction… but I slowly poured in holy power.

Then, there was a clear response.

From the center of the tablet, a ripple spread out, as if a raindrop had fallen.

“…!”

Was it showing something? Or waiting for something?

One by one, ripples spread across the stone tablet at intervals.

“What is this…?”

I couldn’t help but mutter.

At that moment, Prince Lawrence stood beside me.

Then, he also held his hand over the tablet.

(What is he doing…?)

Wondering, I looked at him. Prince Lawrence quietly began to release some kind of power.

“─”

But it wasn’t holy power.

It was a completely different kind of power.

I could tell it was not holy power, but I didn’t know what it was exactly.

At the very least, it was a power I had never seen since becoming a saint.

(What is this power…?)

In the moment I felt confused—

The stone tablet began to shine brightly with a Paaah…!

“Ah…!”

It was so bright I couldn’t keep my eyes open.

I squinted my eyes, and the next moment—

Zuzuzu… came a deep sound.

It was the sound of something heavy moving.

After a while, the light slowly faded.

When I opened my eyes—I was speechless from what I saw.

The stone tablet was moving.

It had slid back, and a staircase… leading underground had opened up.

The staircase was long, and the ceiling looked high.

But from here, I couldn’t see what was down below at all.

As I stared in silence, Louis, who had been watching from behind, spoke.

“A path has opened.”

“What kind… of mechanism is this…?”

It was hard to believe.

What was written on the tablet was: “People of victory, here is the proof of it.”

But all Prince Lawrence and I did was pour in our powers…

Just then, I snapped out of my thoughts.

Still overwhelmed, I turned to Prince Lawrence and asked,

“That power earlier… what was it, Your Highness? I don’t think it was holy power.”

When I asked, Prince Lawrence, still looking at the stairs, turned to me and answered,

“It wasn’t holy power. What I have… is magic power.”

“Ma…!?”

It was a word I had never expected.

When I heard ‘magic power,’ I thought of words like magical beasts or demons.

But Prince Lawrence looked completely human—he didn’t look like a magical beast at all.

Demons were supposed to be legends or made-up stories.

Prince Lawrence himself also said he wasn’t a demon.

Then I suddenly remembered—

Prince Lawrence never clearly said ‘I’m not a demon.’

What he said was—

“So that’s how people in Victoire think. It’s not really like that…”

(Such vague words…)

Was it just his habit to speak unclearly, or was there truly something he couldn’t say?

I felt like it was both… but I still couldn’t tell who he really was.

As I was watching him carefully—because of that—

I reacted too slowly.

“Lady Chalize!!”

Louis suddenly shouted loudly.

Looking forward, I saw something coming toward us from the underground stairs.

No—something had jumped out.

A dull glint caught the sunlight.

It was—

A spear-like blade.

“…!!”

It was too close to dodge.

It came straight for Prince Lawrence and me.

It was going to pierce us—at that moment,

My upper arm was grabbed tightly and I was pulled in.

“!?”

It was Prince Lawrence.

He quickly turned his body and wrapped me in his surcoat.

It all happened in just a moment.

“Lo—…!!”

Just as I started to say his name,

A strong impact traveled through the body that was holding me.

Thud! Thud!—the sound of spears piercing something.

“─!!”

It wasn’t just once.

There wasn’t just one blade that came flying.

Two, three…

He must have taken them in his back and waist.

Prince Lawrence let out a short, pained sound.

“No…!!”

I let out a broken voice.

My eyes opened wide.

Because he was holding me so tightly, I couldn’t even move.

Prince Lawrence had protected me—

He had taken the blades into his own body.