The girl walked through the hall and heard constant noise coming from one of guest rooms. Standing outside the door of the guest room were Haliph family head’s attendants and courtiers. She initially decided to walk by quietly, but then found herself stopping at the door.

“Is the family head doing okay?”

The attendants did not expect Diana to come and show her concern, so they looked surprised.

“Thank you for your concern. He will be alright.”

—This statement did not sound all that promising.

The girl frowned and continued, “May I go see him?”

“He would be honored by your presence.”

She walked in and found the head of the Haliph family lying in bed and several of his injured courtiers lying on the floor. The floor was covered with sheets to allow them to rest more comfortably. Beside the family head were several courtiers from the Suha family who kept talking. The expressions on their faces were solemn and the atmosphere was not pleasant.

They all went silent when they saw Diana.

“I am here to see how the Haliph family head is doing,” she said awkwardly after being frightened by the strange, vigilant atmosphere.

“Sorry, Diana, we did not expect to see you here. After all, this does not normally happen. I mean, showing concern for the defeated,” said one of the courtiers.

“I know,” she replied, beginning to regret coming here. “As one of the hosts, I think I have the responsibility to look after all my guests.”

To lizards, banquet hosts should not care too much about the wounded. Such sympathy and compassion are signs of the hosts backing down. It is much more common for the hosts to come mocking or killing them.

Although the girl knew this, she just could not do it.

Sure enough, the courtiers looked at each other surprised and confused.

“Thank you for your concern, but we lost.”

“… Alright, pardon my intrusion,” she took a step back.

“—The Haliph family head has just escaped death and his condition has just stabilized,” said one courtier suddenly. “However, he is not sleeping well. If you can say a few words to him, I am sure that the Snake God will protect him in his sleep.”

Diana froze for a brief moment before walking to the side of the bed to look at the man. He had wounds all over his body; most of these wounds had been bandaged by the head maid. The girl whispered a few common prayers and carefully examined his facial expression, hoping that he could be protected in his sleep.

However, when she focused her attention on the injured male, someone snuck behind her and grabbed her tightly from the back. Before she had time to scream, a lizard demihuman covered her nose with a handkerchief. A sweet smell poured into her nasal cavity, causing her to feel dizzy.

“Kill everyone on the floor,” said a voice, “and everyone who refuses to help. Any objections?”

She was disoriented and unable to hear what the others’ responses were. She vaguely saw a lizard walking towards the family head.

She then heard a short painful groan. She closed her eyes and was too scared to look.

“This is a better way to dispel nightmares than praying,” the lizard who had grabbed the girl said as he laughed.

She did not expect Haliph’s courtiers to treat their family head like this. The voice was much too cold, stinging her chest and nearly causing sorrowful tears to stream down her face.

Then, her eyes closed as she breathed deeply and found herself overwhelmed with an intense lethargy. She was engulfed in total darkness and soon lost consciousness…