Chapter 2
“Pardon?”
Hildegard, unable to understand Liv’s words, asked again, but Liv firmly closed her lips as if she didn’t want to speak and didn’t answer further. In the end, Hildegard didn’t pry either. It was nothing new for her to not understand Liv’s words. To Hildegard, Liv was merely a foolish older sister she had to look after, and she had no obligation to fully comprehend Liv’s words.
Instead, Hildegard tried to bring Liv back to her own seat. It was because people were looking at Liv with ridiculous eyes. It would be better to take Liv near the wall and quietly subdue her by telling her some new gossip from high society.
But at that very moment, a strange sound disrupted the bustling atmosphere of the banquet hall. In fact, everyone could identify the nature of the sound, but it was indeed a ‘strange sound’ in the sense that it came from a place where it shouldn’t exist.
Bang!
It was a gunshot.
“Aaah!”
“Ahhh! What’s that?”
With the gunshot, the chandelier on the ceiling fell to the floor, splashing fragments all around, ending its life in a spectacular and terrifying manner. People fled in confusion toward the walls, screaming. Hildegard tensed up and tightened her grip on Liv’s hand.
‘What on earth is going on?’
Weapons were supposed to be prohibited from being brought into the banquet hall, so why was there suddenly a gunshot?! Moreover, the Emperor himself was present at today’s banquet!
On behalf of Liv, who seemed unperturbed even in this situation, Hildegard quickly surveyed the surroundings. She soon found the source of the gunshot.