The Villainess Who Was Dumped Got Married into My Family, a Mob Noble from the Frontier, and Turns Out, She's an Amazing Capable Wife? - Chapter 97: The Barrier Disappears? Baldy, a Heroine Now?

Chapter 97: The Barrier Disappears? Baldy, a Heroine Now?

[Huh, what… the?]

The host’s voice sounded bewildered. 

That was natural since that guy was royalty.

It’s not unusual to be executed for killing royalty.

But he was standing before me as “just Edward.”

As a warrior? No, as a human being?

He truly wished for it and came to kill me earnestly.

So, I have no regrets.

Pursuit of responsibility?

After fighting fiercely with the Ducal family and killing the Marquis’s son, it seems too late to worry about that now.

The moment I struck Edward with lightning, the barrier vanished. 

I could only let myself be carried by the turmoil that would follow in the country.

From Edward’s perspective, this was the perfect timing. 

Why was he so obsessed with fighting me? Even to the point of throwing away his life?

I can’t ask him anymore, nor do I want to.

He simply wanted to fight seriously, risking his life.

There was no need for a reason; he just wanted to feel something by removing all such entanglements.

“Still selfish to the end, huh?”

From the moment he made the blood pact with Wendy, he seemed to have resolved something within himself.

After he went bald, I didn’t dislike him that much.

If we fought a few more times, he might have had the potential to defeat me.

It’s a shame we can’t fight again, but I will cherish this battle as a lifelong memory. 

I firmly decided on that.

[―What do you mean… Edward’s body is floating?]

“Huh?”

As I was feeling a bit nostalgic, the host’s words echoed.

I looked up and saw that he was indeed floating. 

His body was burnt to a crisp, but he was still intact, drifting in the sky.

“No way…”

The lightning strike was powerful enough to cause irreparable damage, even to me if I had taken it head-on. 

He shouldn’t have been intact.

And no one seems to notice that the barrier has disappeared.

Was the battle so shocking that the audience is holding their breath, staring at Edward in the sky?

[Is he… all right?]

He couldn’t possibly be alright. 

More importantly, notice that the protective barrier has disappeared rather than worrying about Baldy with no inheritance rights.

Finally, Patricia and the ones backing her have made their move. 

I looked at Patricia, but—

“―…?”

She was still sitting in the audience, staring up at the sky.

She wasn’t looking at Edward, but even higher, where the protective barrier used to be, with a puzzled expression, as if she hadn’t done anything yet.

What’s going on?

[Who? Someone is carrying Edward!]

I looked back at Edward. Someone had appeared, holding his limp body in a princess carry.

A man with red hair wearing a pitch-black tailcoat. 

His eyes were black with red irises.

Just from looking at him, it was clear—he was a demon.

“Belial…”

I heard Patricia mutter.

The demon’s name?

I only know of one named demon, different from the one that possessed Jelasis or the lesser demons summoned last summer. This one is ancient and appears during significant turning points in the nation’s history.

It’s said that these demons bring chaos, but often the real problems lie with the humans who summon them.

“That voice… Patricia Kindred?”

The demon called Belial seemed to recognize Patricia, tilting his head as he spoke.

“Still alive, huh? What a tenacious woman.”

“Who called you here?”

[Wa-wa-wa-wa-what!? Our guest from the Principality knows that mysterious figure? Who is the person who appeared and saved Edward at the last moment—]

“Annoying.”

In the chaotic scene, the host tried to commentate, but as soon as Belial muttered, the host rolled his eyes and fainted.

The dedication to hosting is admirable, but he might need to pick his moments better.

“I came because there weren’t enough offerings, but this is an eyesore.”

With those words, filled with immense magic power, everyone in the audience fainted instantly. 

Now, only Patricia and I remained standing.

“I intended to make everyone except Patricia Kindred faint, but there’s someone else used to demons here… How interesting.”

Belial looked at me.

“Who are you? What are you planning to do with Edward?”

“I’m taking this body because there weren’t enough offerings.”

Belial continued, looking around.

“Given the situation, I assume he’s an enemy you killed in a duel or something similar? If so, it shouldn’t matter to you. This should be enough.”

“What are you planning to do!?”

Before I could speak, Patricia leaned out from the audience, glaring at Belial as she shouted.

“Who summoned you!?”

“Still as noisy as ever. One question per person.”

I agreed she was noisy, but he actually answered the question? 

A demon yet so polite. Is he kind or just bound by some rules? 

He’s a mysterious being, so it’s hard to tell.

“So, what’s your purpose here? You, Brave, ask him who summoned him!”

“Seriously…”

She ordered me, but I had no obligation to comply.

“I just need to beat him up and make him talk, right?”

I deployed the barrier at my feet and leaped.

Using Baldy’s body as an offering?

I won’t let that happen, as a matter of Brave family honor. 

There’s no morality in killing, but we must respect those who fought honorably and not let them be mocked.

“I’ll be taking him back.”

“Beating me up to make me talk, huh? The answer is—”

As I closed in, Belial casually raised a hand with sharp claws and thrust it toward my chest. 

Even if he was a named demon, he shouldn’t be able to penetrate the barrier I had reinforced to block everything. 

I aimed to destroy his core and end it, but just as I was about to pierce his chest with my hand—crack.

The sound of my barrier shattering echoed.

“Ah?”

Sharp claws dug into my chest, piercing my heart and shattering my spine.

“—It’s impossible.”

He quickly pulled out his arm and swung it horizontally in a flash.

A sharp pain ran through my neck, and then my head and body slid apart.

“AAAAAAAAAAH!” 

Desperately, I tried to bite back, but he grabbed my hair, making it impossible to do anything. 

I heard the thud of my body hitting the ground.

Holding my severed head, Belial spoke.

“Even decapitation can’t kill you—such stubborn, stubborn blood. Kuhaha, oh dear, I’m out of time. Farewell, Hero. Now, I must answer Patricia’s question—”

Then my vision went dark―.