Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband [Novel] Chapter 136

Marriage With A Suspiciously Demure Husband – Chapter 136

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Even if it were, there was no way I, a dark mage and an illusionist, would fall for it.

Maybe if someone cast it on me one-on-one with overwhelming power.

But with just a fog like this.

Unable to easily believe my eyes, I stared blankly as silhouettes gradually became clearer through the fog.

Hundreds, thousands, no, even more horses moved in unison, producing a sound that felt less like hooves and more like the earth itself trembling.

As they drew closer, a familiar face appeared at the vanguard.

Zed Terry Elkium.

It was the Crown Prince.

"Hya!"

They all came to a stop at once, and then Zed gave a short shout and rode swiftly toward us alone.

The distance closed in an instant.

Zed stopped in front of Cailus and me.

When Cailus raised his hand, the soldiers surrounded Zed.

They had shouted 'reinforcements,' but they only yelled that because he was a human, not a monster or a worshipper. Their actions changed because it was the Imperial Family.

After all, we couldn't know if they were actually reinforcements or if they had come to capture us.

"……"

"……"

I briefly met Cailus's eyes and then looked at Zed standing before us.

It was quite shocking that the Crown Prince had come here now.

Moreover, Lily had left a letter asking me to wait just a little longer, but we hadn't received any contact from them during the entire time the meetings were held.

We couldn't just keep waiting forever either, so we gave up.

Zed, with a darkened face, stared intently at the two of us, bowed his head deeply, and then raised it again.

"…I imagine you are surprised. I rode hard to get here, but I know you will not welcome me. I understand it all. I have no face to show you."

He continued, out of breath.

"……"

"But please believe me when I say we are reinforcements. Once we win this war, I will take full responsibility for my actions then."

So he begged us to believe him.

Zed asked us to view him not as the Imperial Family but purely as a reinforcement, and to grant them permission to join.

I kept looking around for Lily, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Then again, if she had come, she would have been right beside Zed.

Still mounted on my horse, I looked back.

The soldiers, trusting and following him, stretched out endlessly.

I could tell that the army Zed had led here was massive in number.

Right now was a time to be grounded in reality rather than emotions.

"Alright. We accept."

Our primary goal was to minimize casualties as much as possible.

Thus, Zed's forces joined ours.

---

After sending the letter to Hazel, Lily focused solely on awakening her divine power.

Just as Hazel had said, she succeeded in finding the book in the Grand Temple's underground library and desperately tried to find a way to awaken her power.

However, even after reading and understanding the contents, she couldn't immediately succeed in awakening it.

Lily grew increasingly anxious.

Yet, she didn't give up.

And finally.

She succeeded in awakening her divine power.

Exactly as Hazel had described.

She felt an incredibly strong power.

Lily bolted out of her seat and rushed outside.

There was a place she had to go before it was too late.

---

"Do not let the formation break!"

We entered the Grand Altar.

This place was truly a field of monsters.

With their surroundings blocked, monsters continuously poured out, practically clogging the passageways of the Grand Altar.

Furthermore, the large-scale monsters we had identified beforehand had set up camp, making it difficult to penetrate quickly.

The earth wizards shifted the terrain.

So that the knights could advance into the Grand Altar even faster.

The fire wizards incinerated the surrounding monsters and opened a path.

The first divine barrier was activated.

As we drew closer to the Grand Altar, our pace of advance dropped significantly.

Thousands of monsters continuously lunged at us, and the surrounding corrupted land was so suffocating that it was hard to breathe.

On top of that, even movement was restricted due to the thick, dense fog.

"Ugh!"

"Watch your back!"

Even so, they covered each other's backs and pushed forward.

I was doing the same.

The fortunate part was, whether it was thanks to the priests Zed had brought along, we were now able to amplify the power of the Divine Purification Stones to their absolute maximum.

As a dense barrier resembling a solid wall was erected, the monsters began to lose their power.

The wizards and priests stationed everywhere began purifying the land, and the soldiers struck down the monsters, finally reaching the passageway of the Grand Altar.

Then followed the second divine barrier.

Overlapping with the magic barrier, the exact same scene as during the Foundation Festival unfolded.

I cast illusions over a wide area to tie the monsters' feet, preventing them from escaping the barrier.

It was then.

The sound of a horn echoed from somewhere.

Some of the soldiers turned their heads toward the direction of the sound.

Suddenly, Zed shouted.

"The Saintess has arrived! Open the entrance!"

Then he ran straight toward me.

"What do you mean by Saintess?"

I asked Zed as he approached.

"It seems Lily succeeded in awakening her divine power. She said she would come once she succeeded in helping you, Duchess."

"What did you say? How can you only tell me this now!"

I shrieked at Zed while still maintaining the illusions.

"Because I couldn't be certain. It was Lily's request."

Zed slashed through a leaping monster with his sword.

As soon as it dropped, reinforcements arrived through the opened path.

"Hazel!"

A familiar voice rang out.

Soon after, along with the sound of horse hooves, Lily appeared.

---

There was no time.

As soon as Lily arrived, we pushed forward with the method we had agreed upon if she awakened as a Saintess.

We were going to burn this very place with divine power.

There was now one Divine Purification Stone left, and the additional priests Lily had brought, along with the wizards capable of wielding dark magic, gathered at the center of the Grand Altar.

We were given a very brief moment.

Cailus stood in front of me.

And kissed my forehead.

"It will be alright, Hazel. You will absolutely not die."

At his words, engraved with unshakeable faith, I nodded.

Zed was also with Lily.

But they couldn't stay together for long.

Because the monsters were multiplying their numbers again in the meantime.

The center of the Grand Altar, where countless sacrifices had already been lost, was corruption itself.

It was so suffocating that we had to finish this as quickly as possible.

In the midst of it all, Lily and I, the ones who could wield the strongest powers, stood facing each other.

"…I'm sorry. For not being able to awaken my power sooner. Instead, I'll apologize properly once we get out of here."

I said, looking into her unwavering eyes.

"It might hurt."

"I'll have to tell Zed later. If it's unfair, you should tell your husband too, Hazel."

At Lily's half-joke, a small laugh escaped my lips.

Even though it was an incredibly serious and dangerous situation.

To think Lily had even stood against her lover, Zed, until the very end just for us.

Even if I didn't know anything else, I would never forget that gratitude, even after leaving this place.

If, just by any chance, an opportunity arose to forgive Zed, it would probably be entirely thanks to Lily.

I smiled again and nodded.

"…I will."

Then, we grasped each other's hands. Only Lily needed to prepare now.

Soon, as if making up her mind, Lily opened her eyes and gave a single nod.

Around us, our allies, including Cailus, were striking down the worshippers and monsters desperately trying to stop us.

With one hand, I held Lily's hand so that our divine power and dark magic could clash, and with the other, I grabbed the pillar of the Grand Altar.

Lily mirrored my stance.

Soon, Lily began to unleash her divine power.

A power entirely different from what I had felt last time.

An intense power clashed, so strong I couldn't tell if my hand was burning or freezing.

It was the very power I had wanted.

At the same time, I drew up my dark mana.

As soon as I drew up my dark mana, Lily bit her lip and grimaced.

When I poured out my power again as if flicking it at her, Lily's body shone brightly as if defending herself.

Soon, pure white light erupted strongly, as if reacting even more violently to my power, and began to dye the surroundings.

The sound of stone splitting echoed.