Reborn As The Villain-Chapter 340: SS - 22

"—Ugh, I can barely breathe down here." Ruria complained to no one in particular as she walked down a narrow corridor, placing her hand on each door knob as she walked.

The night was still long but she couldn't afford to waste time here. The air wasn't that breathable and the corridors were quite damp and full of moss. By the way, she was two floors below the "supposed" basement floor.

Unlike before, when the magic item would simply turn off when she reached the first basement floor, it was now operating normally without a hint of abnormalities.

Ruria took a quick glance at the spinning red crystal inside the prism. Maybe it was thanks to the talisman that the clone put on the magic item or just the crystal itself, but it showed no signs of stopping. It just continued to supply energy to the magic item.

"The hum is getting a bit louder. I must be getting close."

The hum wasn't audible to those who aren't holding the magic item so only Ruria could hear it.

"It's getting too dark." She looked down the pitch-black darkness. The torch wasn't helping at all, "Ah, another door."

It felt as if she'd been walking for ten minutes since discovering the last room. That's how big this palace was. What's more, the imperial family is using less than half of the total rooms. Of course, Ko has access to all of them but the public and guests can only access half of the total rooms in this palace.

Ruria placed her hand on the doorknob. A runic letter appeared. It didn't open when she turned the knob.

"Haa, am I going to have to pick all these door locks?" after a few seconds she finally got it unlocked and put one foot in the door.

She wanted to use her shadow abilities to peek through the door but that was a risky thing to do in a place like this where traps could be anywhere.

Adding onto what interior manipulation is, home owners can place traps that shifts the room once the thief enters it. To prevent this, Ruria didn't go in. she had been doing this with all the rooms. It was tedious but the safest method.

"Nothing again. Just an empty room."

She moved on.

"How can I tell I've reached the room? The increase in intensity of the hum is pretty slow..."

The clone didn't say how many decibels meant she reached her target so she could only check all the rooms.

"I should just use [Knock] on these doors. It might exhaust all my mana but it'll make this go faster." Saying that to herself, she bolted down the never-ending corridors and checked each room one by one.

Just as unusual as her sisters, Ruria also uses mana despite being a close-combatant. It doesn't help her much with increasing physical strength but it can be used to access a broader range of abilities that will be limited to her if she was born with aura or learned to use Ki.

After running for a while and opening several other doors, she reached the third basement floor. Somehow the atmosphere changed here.

Down the hall she could hear a faint clanking sound as if metal was being dragged on concrete. Looking around, she noticed that this hallway was covered in cobblestone as if the previous generations of imperials gave up on renovating the whole palace.

Turning into a cloud of smoke, Ruria moved through the darkness of the hall.

She neared the sound and finally arrived at the source.

'Skeletons!?' the moment she noticed what she was looking at, a greatsword was suddenly throw towards her. it narrowly missed her.

Turning back into her original body, she gained some distance to observe where she was and how many opponents there were.

'The humming is getting too loud all of a sudden!' she held the magic item away from her at arm's reach in an attempt to make it stop but to no avail.

She had no choice but to turn it off and finally get a breather.

'Dammit, my head is ringing like crazy because of this thing.'

She threw the magic item into her shadow and took out two daggers.

There were up to ten skeletons, two wearing armor and eight who were ordinary skeletons with a simple sword and shield.

They were quite slow so Ruria managed to get a look around the place.

"Is this a cave?" The cobblestone ended right where she stood, and beyond that was a tunnel that resembled a cave entrance. But this cave had strange glowing lines on its walls, which pulsated every few seconds as if this place was breathing.

While this definitely looked like a cave, this was simply a circular area that ended behind the skeletons. There was a door behind them.

"Am I in the right place or is this a trick Ko put up?" it certainly looked like the door she was looking for but it looked—well—ordinary. Melis alone knows what lies beyond the door.

In any case, there was no telling what lies behind the door if she just stood here. She raised her daggers, both their blades covered in a blue light, showing that they were magic items.

She knew magic weapons were more effectively on ordinary skeletons since they were just dumb brutes without any magic defense like liches.

Without hesitation, she charged at the undead.

**

"...Let's see where this leads." She activated her [Knock] skill after placing her hand on the doorknob. While useful for opening locks on ordinary doors, it can also detect traps connected to the door.

A rune appeared on the door frame and it sounded like gears began moving.

No traps. Or it seemed that way at least.

"An ordinary lock on this kind of door...? This might very well be a trick..." she held her daggers ready as she placed one foot beyond the door.

Although she wanted to be careful, curiosity got the better of her so she entered the other room completely. The long corridor of unmapped cave continued beyond it, covered in darkness.

She had a bad feeling about this but her fear vanished as quickly as it came.

She lowered her body and dashed through the darkness!

All kinds of ominous sounds came from behind her—hundreds of arrows being let loose, cannons firing, the floor collapsing.

Before long, she arrived at another area, one that had light for some reason. Not the fancy magic lamps on the top floor, just torches and glowing giant crystals.

"What the hell..." she looked up in awe at the spiral of hundreds if not thousands of cubic rooms floating above as if the ceiling was an infinite void. The next second, she noticed one of the rooms disappearing and another appearing in another spot.

"Grauk!!" a growl caught her attention, coming from her left so she turned that way.

"Huh, tombs?" in the same direction, below the elevated area she was standing on were hundreds of tombs, so it was fitting to call it a mausoleum.

The monster that growled at her was a kobold, a monster you usually find in a dungeon and rarely outside unless it's looking for mates. It charged at her but it was quickly defeated by her.

Something strange happened after it fell down—the floor consumed it just like that.

"Floating rooms that disappear randomly and a mausoleum in a dungeon! And now monsters being eaten by the dungeon!? This place is weird!" she tried to walk forward but ran into an invisible wall instead.

A gigantic red rune suddenly appeared on the transparent wall. Following it, similar smaller red runes appeared around it.

"Looks like I finally found it..."

◊◊

The morning came.

Trumpets blasted when the gates to the imperial grounds were opened. Eager guests who had been camping outside the front gates all night, flooded the courtyard. There were probably almost ten thousand people here today but the imperial grounds were big enough to hold them and leave room for even more.

The nobles who didn't come to the palace last night were led in through a different gate.

Beyond the courtyard, a long procession of musicians and performers prepared to make their entrance. Drummers set the rhythm, while dancers in flowing garments adjusted their veils. The scent of roasted meats and spiced wine drifted through the palace corridors, a promise of the feast to come. Inside the hall, golden chandeliers bathed the towering marble pillars in warm light. Rows of lavishly decorated tables stretched from end to end, each adorned with silver goblets, silk napkins, and fragrant floral arrangements.

The imperial family still haven't made their appearance yet so the guests were left to mingle among themselves. The nobles demanded to see Nova, the newest member of the Inner Martial Circle but the guards didn't let them go to the second floor yet.

Even important figures from outside the empire were attending this banquet after rumors circulated that someone who is potentially just as strong as Ko won the tournament.

In a vibrant, rainbow-tinted garden, two beautiful women strolled gracefully, each draped in ceremonial Eastern-style dresses reminiscent of Chinese attire from Liam's world. Ruria's bust proved too generous for her dress, often causing it to ride high on her upper thigh—only inches away from revealing her secret place. As a result, she frequently had to pull it down. It wasn't that the dress was short; its back cascaded gracefully to her ankles while the front stopped just above her knees. Her cleavage was prominently exposed by an upside-down V-collar. Needless to say, she had received a lot of stares in this attire.

Lian wore the same dress but hers fit her body type far better.

The two of them were walking through the garden, away from prying ears. Sing didn't need Ruria right now which is why she decided to tell Lian what she learned last night. Unfortunately, Lian couldn't accompany her but it was for the best since those traps would've gotten her before the monsters.

The two of them can go together since Ruria mapped out most of the underground floors and can tell where the traps are.

"—The humming becomes so loud that it began to hurt my head when I set foot in the mausoleum. There's some kind of high-tier lock mechanism keeping me out. I stayed for a while to test my special infiltration tools and skills but I still couldn't open it." Ruria folded her arms as she leaned on a fountain, pushing her chest upward, almost bursting out of her collar, "Something else about that place is weird."

"Do tell."

"It had monsters roaming the halls and traps in every corner. It also felt like the walls were moving and breathing."

"Do you think the clone was right about it being a dungeon? It certainly sounds like you're describing one. A dungeon breathes mana in and out of the atmosphere like a human inhaling and exhaling. But that was something we expected thanks to the clone's explanation. It solves the mystery of what was interfering with the magic item's detection magic. The only thing I didn't expect are the rooms you mentioned that keep disappearing and reappearing."

"If I didn't see that ancient rune formation, I would've assumed that our target could be one of those rooms."

Lian looked at Ruria when she said that, "What are you thinking? That Ko stored the contract, he signed with Funiji, away in some grave or ashes urn?"

"It does seem ridiculous but it's still plausible. Look at the trouble he went through. I can handle myself fine if all I have to do is fight monsters or avoid traps but a magic lock that's being maintained by some ancient rune formation is the only thing keeping me out. No matter how you look at it, the target must be somewhere in there."

"I didn't know about the mausoleum until now and I can't ask Princess Kohana about it since she's not here... I'm not even sure if Suesei knows about it. The butler, well, we can forget about asking him. In any case..." Lian looked up at the palace, "—We stick to the plan since nothing has changed. If some casualties result from this... I think it's a necessary sacrifice to get rid of Ko and then Funiji."

'It feels as if she stands to gain more from doing this than simply getting rid of Ko.' Thought Ruria but she didn't voice it to Lian.

Since her freedom was riding on this, it was best to just follow orders without inquiring too much.

"—Lian." Suesei suddenly appeared nearby in her usual maid costume, "Her Majesty is asking for you."

"Shouldn't she be greeting and entertaining the guests?" Lian, a little annoyed that their conversation was interrupted, asked Suesei. Noticing that, the elf looked apologetic.

"...It's the same as always. A complaint about a painful sensation in her body that never goes away no matter how many potions she drinks."

Lian complained inwardly but it would seem very rude to say these things out loud.

For years she'd been pestered to "heal" the empress even when in the middle of important work. Of course, she could never refuse given her social status. But why is it always Lian? Why not other physicians?

Lain sighed softly before turning to Ruria, "Go find the clone and make sure it's doing its job. Oh, and—" she took out a talisman and handed it to Ruria, "You know what to do."

"I know."

The two nodded once to each other before parting ways.

Ruria made her way to the main event through the kitchen. Unlike yesterday when the kitchen was chaotic with servants running up and down, it was empty since all the servants and chefs were told they could join the party or take off.

After walking a bit further down the hall after leaving the kitchen, Ruria spotted how full the courtyard was from the window. She could also see a horde of people covering every inch of the palace's halls.

"It's going to be a nightmare to find the princess in this crowd." She partially turned her body into smoke from the neck down and began moving through the crowd. Everyone's attention was on the stairs leading to the second floor, where several elite guards stood to stop any attempt at going up, so she didn't need to worry about them seeing this unusual skill of hers.

She arrived in front of the stairs and spoke to one of the guards.

"Hm? You again? Uh, what was your name again?" one of the guards noticed her.

"...Lily. Lian's cousin."

"Ah, that's right."

"Did the princess come down yet?"

Ruria needed to be next to her at all times. There's no telling when the "signal" will be sent.

"Uh, well—"

"His Majesty!" at that sudden shout, Ruria and the guard she was talking to looked up the stairs.

The person walking down was a tall man with long red hair, wearing dark red robes with golden embroidery. Behind him was the clone, his inner martials, and finally the princess.

'Where did Lian go off to with the empress...'

Ko spoke at that moment, "I welcome you all to this feast." He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked at the crowd, "I know there is unrest and conflict among my citizens and I cannot force you to accept me as your ruler but today I want you to celebrate the newest member of my Inner Circle."

'Huh, who knew a tyrant could be professional.'

It was the typical "aristocratic speak" to be professional even if he didn't want to say those things.

"Step forth, Nova."

On his call, the clone stepped forward.

Applause rang out when the attention turned towards him.

'Smile a little, geez...'

"From today onwards I appoint a new House in my outer circle ruled by my Head Alchemist, Lian. It shall be named at a later date but the title has been decided amongst me and my other circle members—she will be known as Duchess Lian from now on and will be given a castle outside the city."

Grumbles echoed among the nobles and the peasants seemed uninterested in Lian.

"Nova will be the captain of the private army I will provide to her House."

"Your Majesty, that is too much to give to someone who only served you for a few years!" one of the Inner Martials protested.

"Silence. You should have issued your complaints at the night-long meeting we just concluded this morning. Why did you keep your mouth shut until now?"

"Ugh..." the robed man grunted.

"No other objections? Good, I will not entertain them. Nova will not only be one of my most trusted subordinates but will lead one of the empire's armies. I will reveal which territory Lian's house will take over in the coming weeks."

Many of the nobles looked unhappy at that. It seems one of them will lose their territory.

The emperor walked further down the stairs and began moving to the banquet hall where a feast awaits. The nobles carefully followed behind them as they entered.

Ruria felt her stomach growl at her.

'Ugh, I should get something to eat. I stayed up all night without ever having dinner or breakfast.'

Just as she was about to sneak towards the tables stocked with food, a young girl called out to her, "Lily! Where's Mama!?" the little princess grabbed Ruria's hand.

"Ah, there you are. Her Majesty is with Lian. Say, Your Highness, are you as hungry as I am?"

"Uhuh!"

"Then let's go to the tables with food." With the princess by her side, she'll be able to reach it much sooner since everyone will be mindful of the princess. As expected, the two managed to walk through the crowd without issue.

Ruria salivated at the rows of food stacked on the table. Without hesitation, she grabbed a piece of steak glistening with red syrup with her bare hands and began eating it, "Unnnn~" she moaned in glee, ignoring the stares she was getting. The sauce fell into her cleavage, making the men look at her breasts with almost salivating mouths.

Even if someone said this was uncouth of a servant, she could just pass it off as Sing giving her permission to eat. Since the princess finds it difficult to say "no", she's the perfect excuse to use.

Ruria pulled her collar and cleaned up the bit of sauce that fell on her breasts. The men tried their best to get a better look at what wonders were contained under that collar.

"Uhm, is it that delicious?" Sing looked at Ruria's gleeful expression as she continued stuffing her cheeks.

"Yup~ The chefs really outdid themselves~" Ruria was enjoying the meat so much that she spoke in a high-pitched voice, the kind Arnold was used to.

Hesitantly, Sing picked up a fork and took the same kind of steak Ruria was eating from the table.

"...." Even though this was clearly the best meat that Ruria has ever tasted, Sing frowned while chewing and spat it out onto her plate, "Bleggggh..."

"Your Highness...?" Ruria gulped her food down and looked at the princess in confusion. How can you say "bledgggh" to this culinary excellence!? Not even her household's chefs make such delicious food!

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In any case, what is this odd behavior of hers?

Sing suddenly took out a small magic crystal and put it to her nose. Inhaling deeply, her frown vanished.

"Is the food not to your liking?" Ruria asked, "I can bring over desserts."

Ruria never noticed this behavior before. She's been by Sing's side through breakfast and lunch and the princess obviously ate her food. She always had a smile even.

"No magic dust. Tastes icky." She made a disgusted face.

"?" Ruria looked at her in confusion. Meanwhile, the princess called over a servant and complained about the food.

Magic dust in food—Ruria was no doctor but she knew that consuming raw minerals isn't good for the human body. Of course, it can be used to treat miasma poisoning but that was at far as its uses go.

'Hmm, the only creature I can think of that likes raw magic crystals are Chimera. Don't they love to hunt prey in dungeons? The mana-rich environment probably makes the meat taste the same as when you sprinkle raw magic dust over it.'

Sing was obviously not a Chimera... Ruria also bathed her once and didn't find any stitching marks. Sing even had a vagina, as normal girls should. The only oddity is how small she is for her age and how her breasts never seem to grow, still resembling that of a child.

'How old did they say she is? Twelve? She doesn't look a day over nine at most...'

When Ruria looked at Sing, she noticed that the princess was looking at her plate in envy, her mouth drooling.

She tried to offer one of the pastries to the princess but the moment the aroma of sweet syrup touched her small nostrils, she almost retched. She then ran off to the cakes table, leaving the clueless Ruria behind.

By her lonesome, Ruria sighed. Thankfully, she could still see Sing so there was no need to stop herself from enjoying the delicacies.

At the corner of her eyes, she caught the clone surrounded by a horde of people—mostly women, of course.

'That servant girl, Liwei, is awfully touchy with him.' She was hugging Nova's arm like a maiden in love and rubbing it all in the others' faces. He didn't seem to mind it or her smugness as she clung to him while he was still talking with the other guests.

'Hm? What's this rumbling?'

Suddenly, the room shook violently. A deep, rumbling boom swallowed all other sounds. Glass shattered. Screams tore through the elegant atmosphere.

The banquet hall was thrown into chaos. Servants dropped trays of food, nobles scrambled away from their seats, and Sing and the other children instinctively ducked under the tables. Ruria's hand flew to the dagger hidden beneath her dress as the vibrations grew stronger.

Another explosion. Then another. The stained-glass windows depicting heroic myths burst into a storm of colorful shards, scattering across the marble floor like falling stars. A roaring fire bloomed outside, its glow creeping through the broken windows.