Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 194
āWhen one reacts, all the other pebbles respond as well. So if you see a monster, just think in your mind that you need to send an alert. The moment you do, others will come to find you,ā Luris explained.
The maids looked at the pebbles in their hands, as if unable to believe what they were seeing.
Even for those who lived near their pairs in the fortress, artifacts were rare treasures that seemed like something from another world.
And yet, these purifiers had placed such an artifact directly into their hands.
At that moment, Cynthia gently reassured them.
āSo donāt be too scared anymore. If this goes off, the knights will respond right away.ā
Hearing her words, the maids began to sniffle and tear up.
They had resigned themselves to the idea that no one cared about them and that encountering a monster would mean their death. But now, the purifiers were stepping in to help them.
āThank youā¦ Thank you so muchā¦ā
One of the maids bowed deeply, and soon all the others followed suit.
Then Riosa spoke up.
āThank Irene. Weāre only doing this because of her suggestion.ā
At Riosaās words, all the maids turned their gazes toward Irene.
Irene smiled awkwardly and said,
āWell, itās not purely out of kindnessā¦ I just thought that if everyone worked together, thereād be less harm, and we could deal with the monsters faster. Thatās all.ā
She hadnāt expected to receive their gratitude, thinking her actions were merely practical.
But the maids bowed deeply to Irene, their sincerity evident.
***
As Irene stepped out of the maidsā quarters, she touched her flushed face with the back of her hand.
āI thought Iād gotten used to this, but itās still a bit embarrassing.ā
Even if she framed it as helping them, it could easily come across as using the maids in the quarters as living alarms. Sheād felt guilty about that possibility, but seeing the maids brighten up had made her realize she had done the right thing.
Irene glanced behind her.
Reina, Cynthia, Riosa, and the other purifiers were discussing their next tasks with excited voices.
She couldnāt help but feel grateful for their enthusiasm.
Since getting out of bed two days ago, Irene had been busy setting up a plan to deal with the monster.
āHonestly, I was worried at firstā¦ā
The fake Wilhelmina could appear anywhere, anytime.
It wasnāt feasible to station people in every corner of the building all day.
In the end, whoever spotted it first had to raise the alarm. That was when Luris, who had just joined their group, had offered her artifact, which was perfect for the task.
When Irene had asked for help and offered to pay a usage fee, Luris had simply smiled and shaken her head.
āThereās no need for that. Iāve already been paid.ā
āBy whom?ā
Luris pointed at Irene.
When Irene looked confused, Luris chuckled.
āYou probably donāt remember because I was in such a bad state back thenā¦ but during the distortion dungeon, when I collapsed from dehydration, you were the one who brought me water and food. Everyone else was too busy trying to survive and didnāt even care about me. Anyway, thank you for what you did back then!ā
It wasnāt just Luris who had supported Ireneās plan.
Riosa, Reina, Cynthia, and even other purifiers and knights had quickly stepped up to help as soon as Irene mentioned capturing the monster.
āItās good that everythingās progressing so quickly, butā¦ā
Irene lifted her gaze to look at Michael, who was waiting for her ahead.
He had contacted the Alliance of Kingdoms, notifying them that he would remain at the fortress and pause dungeon subjugations until Irene had dealt with the monster.
It was only natural as her pair, but it was also something Irene was deeply grateful for. Yetā¦
āMichael.ā
She called out to him and walked over to his side.
His profile was tense, his expression rigid.
Even with such a stern look, Irene couldnāt help but think how handsome he was, though now wasnāt the time for such admiration.
With a worried tone, she asked him,
āDo you still dislike my plan?ā
Michael turned to her and replied,
āThatās correct. Itās not so much the plan itself, but the fact that you intend to face it directly that I find unacceptable.ā
āButā¦ā
Irene recalled the image of Wilhelmina approaching her, its sharp claws and teeth on full display.
The fake Wilhelmina hadnāt shown such hostility to anyone else.
Only toward Irene had it revealed such clear animosity.
Furthermore, the locations where Wilhelmina had appeared were steadily drawing closer to Ireneās quarters.
āThatās why I think itās coming for me.ā
If she continued to evade it, moving from place to place, others would keep getting hurt. In that caseā¦
āItās better to prepare everything and face it directly, as soon as possible.ā
Of course, she wasnāt planning to confront it recklessly.
Even with Michael and the other knights present, the monsterās sudden and unpredictable appearances made it essential to have measures in place to counter its attacks.
Avoiding the monsterās attacks wasnāt particularly difficult since it moved so slowly.
The real problem was its paralyzing ability. It would produce inaudible sounds that caused paralysis in its victims.
āFor thatā¦ā
Irene pulled out a small artifact encased in a glass case from her pocket.
It was the āStone of Silenceā, an artifact she had acquired in the past.
This artifact completely blocked all surrounding sounds for ten seconds for its user.
It had long been considered a useless, low-grade artifact.
But now, its time to shine had finally come.
