My Unrestrained Lives-Chapter 51: Taking Action (2)

It took a while before Tilda’s fit of coughing came to an end.

Even then, she didn’t speak right away.

Her eyelids drooped, too heavy to lift.

She didn’t seem able to fully open her eyes. But still... she tried to look at him.

As if, even with the little strength she had left, she wanted to see him.

To take in the face of the little prince... the face of the baby who had grown up.

She felt as if a god had granted her wish by bringing the little prince to her, in her final moments. And so, she wanted to cherish this moment.

Tilda, the last remaining maid from the Solvaire household, looked at the boy who was no longer a boy.

For a fleeting moment, she seemed to want to keep looking at him... to drink in the sight of how well he had grown.

But time was short, and she knew it.

So, between her shallow, broken breaths, she managed to whisper, "P-please... save... Her Ladyship."

It seemed that speaking those words had drained all her remaining strength.

Or maybe, now that she had finally said what was left in her heart... she no longer had anything left to hold on to.

Tilda, with a faint smile and a quiet, serene expression on her face... finally took her last breath.

Ellis narrowed his eyes. And stood still for a moment in silence.

Then, carefully and respectfully, he laid the maid down.

He reached forward, and gently closed her eyes.

Only after that... did he finally stand up again.

He knew the situation was grim. So, without wasting time, Ellis expanded the range of his Detection skill to its fullest.

He enveloped the palace and its surrounding area.

It was a little straining, and his head ached. But now, with the maid already gone, this was the best choice he could make.

He closed his eyes and focused on his skill. And immediately... he understood that his decision had been the right one.

Aside from the patrolling guards, there were others.

People positioned a short distance away, monitoring the palace from the shadows.

Ellis already knew the situation was bad. But it was at this moment that he understood the gravity of it.

It was all due to the faint presence of someone else... someone inside the palace.

Ellis didn’t need to think twice.

He understood what was happening. And he couldn’t help but frown.

What had she done?

What had his mother truly done to deserve this?

He didn’t intend to ask that question again.

Instead, he would make sure they all paid the price for messing with someone they shouldn’t have.

Ellis was angry in that moment.

Angry at all those people gathering like wolves around his mother.

And angry at himself, because he had come too late.

So, he decided to vent it. He decided that none of them would leave this place alive.

Ellis walked out of the room, then broke into a run, heading straight toward the ones stationed outside.

He had originally wanted to go to his mother first, to take her away...

But he knew these people would likely stand in his way. And Silas would be arriving soon as well. So he chose otherwise.

Most importantly, his mother’s condition wasn’t as dire as the maid, whose name he didn’t even know, had been.

So, without bothering to hide his presence anymore, Ellis sprinted toward the three figures he had sensed earlier, still some distance away.

It wasn’t long before he came across a patrolling guard.

The man froze in place as he caught sight of a small child racing toward him... moving at a speed he couldn’t even match.

The guard opened his mouth, about to speak. But Ellis didn’t wait.

A mana bullet flared to life in his hand. And in the next moment, the guard crumpled to the ground.

Ellis didn’t pause. Any guard he encountered, he killed immediately.

He didn’t stop to consider that not all of them might be collaborators. That some might simply be following orders, unaware of what was happening inside the palace.

Thoughts like that never even crossed his mind.

As knights, they had failed to protect the master they were supposed to serve.

So then, what meaning did their lives have?

"Intruder! Someone breached the palace grounds!"

"The third unit have all been killed!"

"Call the rest, now!"

Confused, urgent, and panicked voices rang out behind him. The shouts of knights finally realizing something was wrong.

But Ellis paid them no mind.

He had already arrived, near the first figure, dressed in black, hiding atop a tree branch, after all.

"A kid?" the man in black muttered. But, Ellis, not having the mind to care about him, immediately used his mana bullet skill to kill him.

Ellis moved fast. He wanted to deal with all three quickly. And then return to the palace... and deal with those inside.

He didn’t want to alert the other patrolling guards across the royal grounds.

Because if it really came to that, everything would change.

Ellis was furious. But even then, he wasn’t acting without thought.

He understood one thing clearly:

If everyone in this palace were to die... then when the time came, the blame could be shifted. To someone else.

After all, there was no way a five-year-old child could have done this.

So, they would inadvertently blame someone, like the nobles... or the queen.

Or assume there was someone backing him from the shadows.

But not him. Not Ellis.

So, the most important thing was not to comfort the royal knights, and reveal his strength, in a front battle.

Because no matter what, he was still not their opponent.

So, it’s best they have some misunderstanding!

While Ellis’s thoughts were running at light speed, and his intention was fine... in the end, he still underestimated his opponents, those three people dressed in black.

Due to his inexperience, he handled him the same way he handled the weak guards from before... and that was a mistake.

As the man, even if not easily, still dodged the mana bullet. And brandished his sword.

Ellis made a slight mistake in his judgment. But he still didn’t become flustered.

He looked at the man coming closer to him, monitored the other two with his skill to make sure they wouldn’t call for anyone, and conjured another mana bullet.

Unlike the previous time, this time he conjured more than one mana bullet, and each one was bigger, and more lethal.

When the man in black arrived a few meters away from him, he fired the mana bullets.

He restricted his movement with a few, and aimed with the strongest one to take his life.

But again, he miscalculated...

And this time, not by underestimating the enemy, but by overestimating him.

His mana bullet now, with its speed and strength more than doubled—just one was enough to take care of this man.

In the end, Ellis didn’t dwell on that, and set off in the direction of the next one.