Chapter 54: A Chaotic Morning at Daeshin Shrine

Elina II stared in disbelief as she glanced alternately at Mikhail and Rozally. Rozally shook her head in protest, while Mikhail simply ran his hand through his hair repeatedly.

“Sis, it was a total coincidence! I was brushing my teeth in my room, and when I headed to the bathroom to spit out some foam, I saw Mikhail brushing too… so I just joined in over there!”

“Still, it’s a bit weird that you two were brushing side by side at this late hour. Heh, you must be hiding something from me, right?”

“Sis… I would never deceive you. Please, stop suspecting me like this!”

“Suspect? I’m not suspecting anything! Rozally, that’s not it at all. I’m just curious… about what kind of relationship you two have.”

With a teasing smile that slowly dimmed into a vague light, Elina II stepped between them. At that moment, as she grinned hollowly, Mikhail brusquely brushed past her.

“I’m telling you, we were just brushing.”

“Heh, sorry, sorry… I must have tripped in the dark.”

At the hint of a mild annoyance in his tone, Elina II forced a smile, trying to act nonchalant.

She knew this was something they could easily manage together—maybe she was just being over-sensitive. After all, she didn’t want to distrust her close little sister.

Yet strangely, her heart tightened. The frosty tang of peppermint from swallowed toothpaste seemed to radiate around her heart.

“Hmm, why are my eyes all watery…?”

Elina II rubbed her eyes with her hand.

“Sorry.”

“Sis… could you have something in your eye?”

“I don’t think so.”

Elina II and Rozally headed back to their room. Lara watched their figures dissolve into the distance before quietly closing the door once more.

‘If only you wouldn’t be so stubborn. Judging by the situation, it seems Elina II might have a crush on Mikhail… isn’t this development far too sudden?’

‘A showdown between the Male Lead and the Villainess?’

‘Can I trust that? Whatever, I’ll just go to sleep and hope for the best.’

Tired of worrying about whether they were brushing, or tangled in their love triangle, Lara collapsed onto her bed.

Little did she know that from that day on, a messy love triangle of sorts was waiting around the corner.

The sizzle of eggs and the aroma of butter filled the living room. As soon as Lara, dressed in a borrowed man’s outfit, stepped into the hall, she hurried to the kitchen. There, Mikhail, his pale blonde hair tied back in a loose ponytail, was leisurely preparing breakfast.

“Could you grab a plate, please?”

“Sure.”

Lara carefully carried a neat stack of white plates over to him. He placed eggs and bacon together on the first plate and, in an unusually cordial tone, said,

“I’m not eating bacon, so the first plate is all yours.”

“Okay.”

For the second plate, he only added a single egg on his own plate. When Lara brought the remaining two plates close to the frying pan, Mikhail set down his spatula.

“The others can fend for themselves. They’ll help themselves when they get up. Just take yours and mine for now.”

“Ah, alright.”

“No need to answer me every time,” he added with a chuckle.

With a brief, amused laugh, Mikhail spoke.

Just as they sat down across from each other at the hastily set table to start breakfast, the door opened, and Rozally and Elina II stepped out.

Rozally plopped noisily next to Mikhail, while Elina II, still rubbing her eyes, sat beside Lara.

“What the heck? Why is my plate empty?”

At that moment, a sharp soprano voice echoed over the table. As Rozally abruptly stood up, her fiery red hair bouncing over her ample chest, she immediately pointed accusatorily at Lara.

“Commoner Knight, speak up! You ate it, didn’t you!”

“No, Rozally, it’s in the frying pan over there. Help yourself!”

“Ha, how dare you tell me to help myself with your trash…!”

Enraged, Rozally slammed her hands onto the table, and Mikhail instantly rose, as if refusing further confrontation.

“Blasting noise first thing in the morning… Should I dish it out instead?”

“I’d be forever grateful if you would, Mikhail.”

Rozally clung to Mikhail’s arm with a knowing smile. Shaking her off gently, Mikhail grabbed the frying pan and stood at the table.

Just as he was about to serve soft-boiled eggs for Rozally and hard-boiled eggs for Elina II, a fork nearly caused the egg yolk to burst into a heart shape. The shock wasn’t shared by Rozally or Mikhail but by Elina II.

“…Ah.”

In that instant, the atmosphere among the three shifted unnervingly. Rozally hurriedly tried to downplay the mishap, insisting it was nothing more than a happy accident, but Elina II only shook her head as if she hadn’t seen a thing.

“Sorry, I’m not feeling well—I think I’m going to head out. Heh, everyone enjoy your meal.”

“Sis! Please listen to me!”

In a frantic bid to grab Elina II, Rozally reached out. Startled, Elina II swung her arm to break free, and that hand struck Rozally squarely on the left cheek with a resounding smack that echoed through the kitchen.

“Hey, Elina II, that was way too much.”

At that moment, Mikhail intervened, stepping in like the typical meddling Male Lead determined to side with the Villainess.

“So what if the egg yolk burst into a heart? Is that a reason to slap someone? Instead of sulking alone all night, why don’t you just say what’s really wrong?”

“…I-I’m sorry!”

Clutching the hand that had just delivered the slap, Elina II looked terrified and began to shrink back. Suddenly, it was as though the power of the Spirit King had erupted around her, conjuring a fierce wind in her vicinity.

Glancing around at the commotion, Lara, who had been about to take a bite, finally looked up at the disappearing plates before her. Flying dishes and the scattered remnants of fried eggs floated about. Beneath a cracking floor, a whirlwind of fire and water began to churn.

“It… it’s all my fault…”

Amid the growing chaos inside the house, Elina II couldn’t hide her overwhelming guilt and collapsed to the floor. Around her, destructive energies gathered, forming into a swirling mass.

Crouched within the vortex, Elina II’s eyes, once bright with mischief, now burned black with despair.

“What in the world is happening…?”

Mikhail, unable to believe what he was witnessing, furrowed his brows in shock. His house, his sanctuary, was falling apart.

“That madman is $#%@!”

Lara had never seen him so furious. Understandably, anyone would be enraged if their home were in ruins—especially if it was still under mortgage.

“I can’t let this continue. I have to stop it.”

As Mikhail removed his apron, he strode forward decisively. At that moment, Rozally dashed forward and grabbed his arm.

“It’s dangerous! What if you get hurt…?”

“Aren’t you his close little sister? Aren’t you supposed to stop him?”

“W-well, but right now, Sis isn’t in her right mind.”

“So… you suggesting we abandon the house? We don’t even have home insurance! Damn it!”

To save the house, Mikhail leapt toward a visibly perilous, translucent sphere. It wasn’t about romance now; it was pure hard-headed practicality.

“Mikhail!”

Weak in the legs, Rozally collapsed and cried out his name. A cry of distress, intermingled with terror, was carried by the wind straight to Lara. Fulfilling her duty as a witness, she mustered her strength and fled the scene.

After a long run that took her out of the forest, Lara found herself before the west entrance of Daeshin Shrine. Inside, she hurried to the communications department, which managed all contacts. A tidy employee greeted her with a smile.

“We love you. How can we help?”

“It’s the Imperial Knight Order! Please send help immediately.”

“Sure, please wait a moment.”

The employee swiftly punched coordinates into a magically created communication device. Soon, a calm receiving tone floated through the air, and after a short while, a deep male voice answered from the other end.

―This is the Imperial Knight Order, dedicated to safety and service.

“Hello, we’re in serious trouble! Elina II is out of control…”

―Sorry, could you repeat your location?

“This is the capital’s Daeshin Shrine. There’s an emergency at a small mansion in the Daeshin Shrine forest.”

―Understood. For proper incident reporting, please explain the situation in detail.

“Elina II has gone berserk. The Pope is currently trying to calm her down.”

―Do you know why Elina II lost control?

“Well, it all started because the Villainess’s fried egg was soft-boiled, and then the yolk burst into a heart shape… ha ha…”

Despite the gravity of the situation, the absurd reason made Lara burst out laughing, covering her face on the desk to stifle her giggles before she managed to finish her explanation.

―For a swift resolution, we’re sending our knights right over.

“Yes, yes, please come quickly.”

With a sigh of relief, Lara felt the crisis might be over.

After all, with the berserk Female Lead, the Male Lead, and the Villainess all present, things were bound to work out. These three were indispensable to the narrative—neither death nor severe injury was likely.

Convinced of this, Lara finished the drink provided by an employee and decided that waiting was the best course of action for her extraneous role.

Looking at her watch, Lara figured the knights should have arrived by now. Stepping outside, she traversed the forest and soon reached Mikhail’s house, where she was greeted by Elina III and three knights waiting at the door.

They exchanged glances, opened the door, and dashed inside. However, a powerful gust of wind from within slammed two of them back outside.