Thus far, Laire had progressed rather matter-of-factly, even though she knew Sir Honsel would be horrified had he known what just took place. His precious lady whom he had cherished and trained now forced to patch her wounds with monster parts. Laire shook her head and tried to erase the image of Sir Honsel's distraught face from her imagination. After all, there were humanoid monsters. All she had to do was find one before she left and replace anything that seemed too eye-catching, right? And anything else, she could just hide under clothes. It didn't matter what anyone thought of her, so long as she had the power to protect her territory and its people.
Stepping carefully, Laire found herself in a stairwell that suddenly widened out. Coming around a corner, she looked around to see a large chamber, and surprisingly, it was well-lit. Not only that, it was quite gorgeous. Why was something like this in a dungeon? It was almost like she was in a mansion, or palace, or--
Suddenly, Laire halted, unable to believe her eyes. Before her stood a throng of people, but at the front, his eyes wide, was a familiar face.
"Sssir Honsssel, how--?" Laire could not stop herself from asking, the lisp sounding painfully in her ears, reminding her of her current appearance. She was in such shock that she did not even register that Sir Honsel was not dressed in his armor, as she had left him, but in formal uniform, as though this were a banquet or ball. As were all the others behind him, nobles she had met or seen in passing at various social events. However, before Laire could take this in, a unwelcome voice sounded out.
"See, how low House Wollstone has fallen! How can it be entrusted to an heir that is more monster than human!" the malevolent voice that had haunted Laire for weeks rang out. It was impossible. It was Lord Ogden.
Shaken, Laire covered her mouth with her hand and took a step back under the disgusted and judgmental eyes. She could not let them see the state in which she had left the dungeon, there had to be a way to hide it...
Wait, the dungeon. When had she left the dungeon? Last she remembered, she had patched herself with the wyvern, walked down some stairs, and...
"Villainousss fiend!!" Laire screeched, furious, as she launched herself forward and brought her sword down upon the one person she would never turn her sword against: Sir Honsel. However, just as her sword reached its target, the illusion fell and she was suddenly back in a dark cavern as an ambiguous figure darted backwards to avoid her strike. Enraged, Laire pursued without any hesitation. It was only after several swings that she managed to ascertain that the source of the deception was...