Their world doesn't need gods.

Chapter 288 Attacked

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—Erica—

The morning after dancing with Alfred.

Erica and the others left Illya and Aaliya and set off to return to the palace after being seen off by the academy representatives led by Alberta.

Illya and Arya are less than ten kilometers away from the imperial capital. It would take less than half an hour to return by carriage.

But the short time does not mean the journey will be easy.

"Your Highness Erica, what exactly is your relationship with Lord Al?"

In the inexplicably awkward and narrow carriage, Vivian frowned and questioned Erica.

Although her choice of words was as respectful as ever, her tone was filled with hostility.

Vivian looked as if if Erica intended to use Alfred and deliberately killed him, she and [Underworld] would never let Erica go.

Celia and Violet also looked at Erica and were very concerned about this matter.

To the point that Violet forgot her identity as a bodyguard, ignored Vivian's threats to Erica, and looked at Erica with a somewhat critical eye.

This sister-con must be thinking, Erica is not planning to steal a man from her precious sister.

Erica picked up the teacup and took a sip elegantly under the gaze of the three people.

This level of visual pressure was not enough to embarrass Erica, let alone make her feel panicked.

"Vivian, what does this mean?"

"You don't have to play dumb with us. You've already done that to Master Al. You kissed Master Al in public at the ball. What on earth do you want to do?"

When talking about kissing, Vivian rarely showed a shy expression like a young girl.

Then she immediately adjusted her mood and questioned Erica seriously.

Alfred has not yet told Vivian about his reincarnation, and Erica has no intention of revealing her relationship with his past life.

After all, Celia and Violet were still here.

"This is a secret between Al and me, so I can't tell you the details. But, can you accept that I also like that guy and want to kiss him?"

"...You've been saying bad things about Lord Al behind his back?"

Vivian said, staring at Erica suspiciously.

"I do hate that guy, too. Who's to blame for the number of beauties and girls around him? But hating and liking don't conflict, right?"

Erica blinked her eyes to act cute and asked for Vivian's consent.

Vivian also had a crush on Alfred, and must have been somewhat dissatisfied with his romantic lifestyle.

"Tsk, so you plan to seduce Master Al yourself?"

"Don't say such harsh words. If you insist, it was that idiot who seduced me first."

Erica looked at Siliya and continued.

"As for Sister Silia, you don't have to worry. I have already discussed the engagement between you and him with Al, and I will send you from the palace to Duke Elect's home soon. Al and [Netherworld] will protect you there, so it will definitely be much safer than the current palace."

"Eh?!"

Siliya was stunned for a moment when she was suddenly called out, then she immediately blushed and lowered her head.

"Why, why so suddenly..."

"I'm very sorry, Sister Silia. I don't have much time to arrange for you and Al to go through the formal process and slowly cultivate your relationship. Anyway, that guy will stay at home during the holidays, so you have a chance to talk slowly.

If that guy does something excessive, or if you hate him, just kick him away. No matter what, I will help you clean up the mess."

Although this situation is unlikely to happen, Erica thought to herself.

"I won't do anything like that...but is it really okay?"

Siliya asked anxiously.

She was concerned about Erica.

Although she usually acts naive, Siliya is very sensitive to other people's emotions because of the living environment she grew up in.

Siliya realized that Erica really liked Alfred and felt a little sorry for her.

“Don’t worry, Sister Violet. As for Lily, you don’t have to worry. I have no intention of bullying her. Besides, Al is from the Elect family. If someone can help Lily in the future, it will be better than her fighting alone among a group of girls, right?”

After Erica simply comforted Siliya, she immediately turned to Violet.

"But... Hey, can you ask Her Highness Erica to take care of that girl Lily?"

Violet sighed helplessly.

She was also aware of the reputation of the Elect family, and knew that since Liliana had chosen to be with Alfred, she would inevitably be involved with various women because of Alfred in the future.

If Erica is willing to stand on the same side as Liliana, it will certainly bring many benefits to Liliana.

After much thought, Violet, who has a sister complex, decided to help Liliana and Erica build a good relationship.

With just a few words, Erica brought Siliya and Violet to her side.

Looking at Vivian, who was full of dissatisfaction, she raised the corners of her mouth mischievously.

In fact, Erica also likes Vivian very much, because Vivian's personality must be very interesting to bully.

Moreover, if she wants to be with Alfred in the future, as the queen (independent), she must train the subordinates around him well.

Erica plans to continue teasing Vivian.

But before she could open her mouth, the carriage shook violently.

Someone used a B-level attack magic to attack the carriage carrying four people from a distance.

"Enemy attack!"

The knight leading the guard outside shouted a warning.

Violet protected Siliya who was standing beside her.

And Vivian pushed Erica's head down as if in revenge, and pressed her body on Erica to protect her.

"Vivian, why are you pushing so hard?"

"Your Highness Erica, this is not the time to joke. Please be alert."

Vivian put on a serious look, pretending that she hadn't done anything tricky.

This guy took the opportunity to take revenge, which makes people angry.

"The number of enemies exceeds 500, and there are puppets that can attack from a distance. It is too dangerous to stay on the carriage. Let's prepare to get off the carriage."

Vivian ordered everyone with a serious expression.

Through some unknown means, she contacted the hidden [Ghost] members among the Guard Knights and learned the details of the situation.

The carriage that Erica and others were riding in was made very sturdily and was equipped with various conventional defensive magic.

But there were too many enemies, and there were puppets that could attack from a distance. If they stayed in the car, the four of them would just be sitting ducks for magic.

Vivian used magic to open the door, and together with Violet, she protected Erica and Siliya and left the carriage.

Outside the carriage, the knights had already started fighting with the attackers dressed as thieves.

The formation in front of the convoy had been broken up by the enemy's puppets, and the two sides were engaged in a melee.

This time when she came to Ilia, Erica selected a total of one hundred knights from the two hundred knights borrowed from Duke Milenda of Christiana.

The remaining one hundred people stayed in the palace just in case.

When necessary, he and the Emperor's Guards escorted Erica's mother, Queen Rosalind II, to the Duke of Christiana's mansion for refuge.

Vivian was dissatisfied with Erica's leaving the palace with only a hundred guards. She also specially selected twenty people from the Netherworld and pretended to be maids to join the guard.

Now it seems that Vivian's judgment was correct.

Although the knights of the Duke of Christiana's family could not be called world-class, they were also well-known elite soldiers in the empire. Even if the enemy had a numerical advantage, these elite knights should not have had such a hard time dealing with it.

Moreover, the average rarity of the puppets held by these attackers is quite high, and most of them are above level B.

These attackers are either elite soldiers from Duke Opold's family in disguise, or they spent a lot of money to find a well-known mercenary group from somewhere, right?

It was so close to the imperial capital that the imperial guards could not have failed to notice the commotion. This was probably arranged in advance by Duke Oppold and his men.

(Tsk, I was careless. I didn't expect him to choose such a risky method to attack me. It seems that he is determined to kill me.)

Erica clicked her tongue in her heart and took out the sword from the space ring.

She finally had the chance to reunite with Alfred, and she didn't intend to die just like that.

Even if they couldn't count on reinforcements from the capital, Alfred would definitely send support if Illya and Alia noticed the commotion.

"I'll come to help too. I'll trouble you, Vivian, to take care of Sister Silia."

"Wait……"

"Oh, I understand. Please be careful, Your Highness Erica."

Vivian interrupted Siliya and sighed helplessly.

After all, she was a first-rate killer trained by Alfred, and she had long since discovered that Erica was actually an extraordinary martial arts expert.

But Vivian couldn't just let Erica and Violet fight like that.

She winked at several maids beside her, asking them to protect the two of them secretly.

(It's just unnecessary worrying.)

Noticing Vivian's eyes, Erica complained in her heart.

Erica drew out her one-handed sword and chopped down an attacker who rushed towards her. Then she nimbly dodged a wolf-shaped puppet that attacked from behind and forced it back with a magic ice cone.

Paying attention to the target appearing, the attackers began to move closer with a purpose.

Violet and the knights reorganized their formation around Erica.

"I never thought that Your Highness Erica actually had such a skill."

Violet exclaimed.

"Just think of it as a gift."

Erica smiled and tried to fool around with the fact that she knew swordsmanship.

She has lived in the palace all her life, and usually tries hard to act like a good girl as befits a princess. She has never formally learned swordsmanship or fighting skills from anyone.

These are all skills left over from previous lives.

Unfortunately, due to lack of training for a long time, Erica's skills have actually regressed a lot compared to before.

It was troublesome to explain or fool around, so Erica simply passed over the topic.

Violet noticed her thoughts and smiled without trying to understand further.

"Since Your Highness Erica doesn't need my careful protection, I will now prepare to use the Magical Spirit Suit to repel the enemy."

Violet suggested.

Although the knights' morale was restored due to Erica's activeness.

But the number of enemies is still three times that of Erica and others, and there are still many difficult puppets and puppeteers.

Violet plans to break out by force and take Erica and Siliya into the imperial capital.

As long as they entered the imperial capital, even the radical Duke Oppold would not dare to attack Erica in a big way. He did not have the courage to start a rebellion and declare war on the empire directly.

"It's okay, it's no longer necessary."

Erica sensed an indescribable murderous aura and said to Violet.

Then, a girl wearing a beautiful red and black dress and with beautiful black hair as smooth as silk appeared among the attackers, carrying a huge sickle.

She is one of Alfred's companions (harem), the vampire girl Christina.

"Who are you……"

Christina swung the sickle in her hand and eliminated the nearby attackers in just a moment. She also tore the puppets into pieces along with the attackers.

The enemies on the other side were engulfed by the silver-white light that descended from the sky, leaving not even ashes.

"Te, Erica, are you okay?!"

Emilia fell from the air and hugged Erica in panic.

This startled Violet and the knights who were guarding Erica.

Erica held out her hand to indicate that they were okay, hugged Emilia's body and gently touched her head.

"It's okay, thank you for helping."

"Hehe, you're welcome~"