The three Vampire sisters, who were thought to be the greatest threat, were captured with surprising ease, and the tension in the room eased.
At times like this, one must stay vigilant, so to speak, and approach Yuliana, the “Corpse Doll,” with caution, lest one be caught off guard.
I tried to warn them, but—
The battle stage had already moved to the next phase.
In other words, I noticed the intense gazes crossing each other, controlling the situation.
Yuliana, who rose slowly from her throne like a ghost, and Liliana, who had somehow revealed her true face, confronted each other with a myriad of mixed emotions.
Queenly Yuliana held a rapier, like a treasure sword inlaid with jewels in its scabbard, in her right hand. Liliana, on the other hand, appeared to be unarmed.
The atmosphere was no longer one in which outsiders could intervene.
Their gazes intertwined, and they seemed to be gauging each other’s positions and skills.
Furthermore, Yuliana’s gaze was as cold as if she were facing an enemy, contrasting sharply with Liliana’s gaze, which was tinged with pain and compassion.
“Was this farce the work of Sister Eme…?”
“Shia… I didn’t want to meet you like this.”
Thus, the stage was set, and the half-sisters spoke for the first time in a long while.
Incidentally, the nicknames they called each other seemed to be based on their baptismal names, or second names.
Liliana’s full name was Liliana Emilia Yangas, so she was called “Sister Eme.”
Yuliana’s full name was Yuliana Leticia Yangas, so she seemed to have been called “Shia.”
“Sister Eme had everything… and you’re taking it away from me again…”
“Shia… you…”
Yuliana, directing a look of hatred at Liliana, drew the blade of her rapier from its scabbard with a “shara-ri” and assumed a stance.
The cool sound of the blade leaving the scabbard offered no comfort in this situation.
On the other hand, Liliana, who was not good at combat and was assigned to rear support, was unarmed.
Yuliana, observing this, grinned and seemed to be contemplating the fate of her prey.
“Liliana, please use this.”
“Ah, thank you, Princess Lyushenne!”
Lyushenne, who had been watching the turn of events, approached Liliana from among the party members and handed her the rapier she wore at her hip.
That rapier, I recalled, was a prized possession that Lyushenne had acquired by spending most of her adventuring earnings.
Furthermore, since Lyushenne was a princess from the same lineage of great houses as Liliana and Yuliana, the other party members seemed to consider her intervention appropriate.
However, Liliana was supposed to be completely inept at martial arts.
Although Yuliana had also been bedridden for many years, her physical abilities might have been astonishingly enhanced now that she had fallen into being a “Corpse Doll.”
Wasn’t this a very bad situation?
Still, no one moved to stop the confrontation between Liliana and Yuliana, who carried the pride and honor of the Yangas Royal Family.
This was likely because they knew it was the destiny of royalty born into royal families.
“Die! Sister Eme!!”
“Shia! Listen to me!!”
*Gachin, chin, chin, shun, gachi*
Yuliana, the “Corpse Doll,” with a complex expression filled with conflicting love and hate, thrust her rapier at Liliana and then swung it.
Liliana, holding the rapier given to her by Lyushenne with both hands, was slightly off-balance but somehow managed to evade the deadly blows, though she was on the defensive.
Liliana was completely useless with weapons, but she was barely surviving thanks to her experience of being dragged along to training by Lyushenne, a distant relative.
It was ironic, however, that the reason for starting that training was to protect herself from the poisonous fangs of Sophie, another distant relative.
“Since I was young, Sister Eme could do everything and had everything. I didn’t even have my health!”
“Shia… I am so sad. To be attacked by my own precious family! Please, Shia, surrender! I won’t treat you badly.”
“Lies! You came to slay me, Sister Eme.”
*Hyun, kin, hyun, kakin, hyun, hyun*
“Shia, believe me!”
“I can’t believe you!”
In the audience chamber, Yuliana launched a barrage of rapier thrusts at Liliana, aiming to kill her, while Liliana defended with the rapier borrowed from Lyushenne.
The party members, including myself, could only retreat to the walls and watch their exchange.
Elise and the others had also moved the captured Vampire sisters to the walls.
The three Vampire sisters were still unconscious, and it was probably judged that they would interfere with the fight between the two.
Yuliana, having fallen into the state of a “Corpse Doll,” relentlessly attacked Liliana with movements clearly beyond human limits.
On the other hand, Liliana, with clumsy hands, gripped the hilt of the rapier and parried the sword flashes.
Even so, no one stepped forward to take on Yuliana in Liliana’s stead, who was dealing with the situation earnestly with a serious expression.
If we defeated Yuliana, Liliana would likely not be satisfied.
“Kyah! It, it hurts!!”
Finally, the tip of Yuliana’s thrust grazed Liliana’s right shoulder.
Her clothes were stained red, and she was bleeding.
As for me, I wanted to heal Liliana with “Healing Magic” as soon as possible, but the distance was too great.
“This time, it’s a stab to the heart. Die for me, Sister Eme!”
Yuliana, having wounded Liliana, distorted her face with a fierce grin.
“My beloved Shia… you were suffering so much…”
On the contrary, Liliana, having been wounded, endured the pain and gazed at Yuliana with a compassionate, motherly gaze, not pity.
That gaze seemed to agitate Yuliana even more.
“What do you understand, Sister Eme! You hypocrite!!”
“Shia! Please stop it!!”
*Kin, kin, hyun, kin, gacha, hyun, hyun*
Yuliana swung her rapier wildly, intending to finish off the wounded Liliana.
Meanwhile, Liliana, protecting her injured right shoulder, parried only the sword flashes she judged to be dangerous with the rapier in her left hand.
Yet, despite being injured, Liliana’s movements seemed to be gradually improving.
Liliana, who was originally an academic and a researcher of heroes, was a diligent student.
Although she had thought she had no talent for physical martial arts, come to think of it, Liliana was also a descendant of Saliand Wire, the Hero of the Sword.
Perhaps her hidden talents awakened when her life was in danger, or perhaps Lyushenne’s teachings had been useful.
“Sister Eme, you cling to life too much! Become the rust on my sword!!”
Irritated by the lack of a conclusion, Yuliana launched a full-power charge to defeat Liliana.
“Please, Shia, stop! I don’t want to fight you! I want to save you!!”
Liliana retreated behind the throne where Yuliana had been sitting and blurted out her true feelings.
“Save me? Not defeat me? That’s impossible! I’m already dead!!”
Dismissing Liliana’s words as falsehoods, Yuliana now glared at her half-sister with hate-filled eyes.
“I too died once. And I was revived by our beloved Hal’s ‘Resurrection Magic.’ Hal also said he wants to save Shia. Please believe me, my beloved Shia!!”
“I can’t believe such convenient talk!”
Liliana desperately tried to persuade her, but her words could not reach Yuliana, who had stubbornly closed her heart.
She was like a young child throwing a tantrum due to a fit of pique.
Yuliana, though a beautiful girl with a striking resemblance to her half-sister Liliana, had been sickly since childhood and often confined to bed due to illness.
Then, at the age of 13, she contracted a serious illness and had been bedridden ever since.
It is said that Yuliana’s end came during a siege in the Crystal Palace when she was struck in the abdomen by an arrow, but she was likely on a makeshift bed or a palanquin at the time.
Watching the two of them, it seemed Yuliana harbored complex feelings of envy and jealousy towards the healthy prince, Liliana.
“If I win against Shia, will you believe me?”
“You’re clumsy, Sister Eme, so you can’t possibly defeat me!”
At this point, Liliana uttered a declaration of victory, and Yuliana, seemingly enraged, intensified her attack.
The two moved freely throughout the audience chamber, but since the space was wide, we who had retreated to the walls were not in their way.
While Liliana was becoming out of breath from the intense exertion, there was no change in Yuliana, the “Corpse Doll.”
It was obvious to anyone that Yuliana would have the advantage if the duel dragged on.
Liliana, with her sharp mind, should have been able to calculate this…
Then, perhaps her arm was getting numb, Liliana’s arm drooped, exposing her defenseless body.
Liliana, breathing heavily, looked like she could barely stand.
“This is the end, Sister Eme!”
Yuliana lunged forward, taking advantage of Liliana’s opening.
The tip of her rapier seemed to be aimed at Liliana’s heart.
However, despite this critical situation, Liliana’s lips curled up slightly.
Was Liliana preparing something in this situation?!
“—Eh!? Kyahhhhhhh!”
*Tsuru, dotan*
Yuliana slipped on the chemise worn by Lili_Berze with her left foot and fell.
No, it seemed Liliana had guided her into doing so.
It was a well-thought-out strategy, typical of her intellectual nature.
“This is the end, checkmate. Surrender, Yuliana.”
“Thi-this is absurd…”
Liliana dropped the rapier Lyushenne had lent her and pulled out a self-defense knife she had hidden under her clothes, holding it to Yuliana’s neck.
If Liliana severed Yuliana’s slender neck, Yuliana, the “Corpse Doll,” would also be destroyed.
*Gachan*
“Kill me. It is my honor to be killed by Sister Eme.”
Yuliana, who seemed to have finally surrendered, dropped the rapier she was holding and hung her head.
Then, kneeling on the floor, Yuliana clasped her hands together in prayer, waiting for her final moment.
Her posture was like that of a devout follower praying to God.
“I don’t want you to die! I don’t want Shia to disappear! Please, live for my sake! Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh~~~~ Shiaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!”
However, Liliana threw away the knife and, instead of cutting Yuliana’s neck, hugged her tightly from behind and burst into tears.
It could be said that these sobs were extremely rare for Liliana.
“Sister Eme, I… I… Uwaaaaahhhhhhh!”
Perhaps Yuliana finally understood Liliana’s true intentions, and she too began to cry.
Of course, Yuliana, the “Corpse Doll,” did not turn red or shed tears, but she cried out like a child in the embrace of her beloved half-sister.
As I had felt during our first meeting, Yuliana’s self seemed to have remained stronger than that of other “Corpse Dolls.”
Was this due to her own disposition, or was it intentionally left intact to groom her as the queen of the New Yangus Kingdom?
Furthermore, it was fortunate that Zolgelge, the necromancer who should have controlled Yuliana, had escaped.
“Shia, you’ll listen to me now, won’t you?”
“—Yes… Sister Eme…”
Yuliana, now standing upright by Liliana, lowered her head meekly.
Liliana, embracing her from behind as if to support her weak posture, began to walk toward another room for further persuasion.
I quietly approached the two of them, intending to cast “Healing Magic” on Yuliana without agitating her, but Mai, who slipped past me, approached Liliana and healed the wound on her right shoulder.
It seemed Mai had sensed that I had a major task ahead of me in reviving Yuliana.
After all, resurrecting a “Corpse Doll” was an unprecedented feat.
“Mai, thank you.”
“Un.”
Thus, the confrontation between the fated half-sisters came to an end, and a brief silence returned to the audience chamber.
“Liliana, you did well! Hal, let’s take care of those old hag spirits while we have the chance.”
The silence was broken by Elise, with an Ero-Oyaji on her right shoulder, both of them sporting wicked black smiles.
Behind them, Swan Hilda and Edele, former demons, sighed.
Thank you for reading.
episode39-5 Implantation and Cold Calculation ① △ is scheduled for publication on January 9th at 0:00.
