Chapter 65
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Brimdel’s side said Velicia had not kept the promise, but that was wrong. They arrived at the point where they were supposed to meet with Brimdel’s group on time, as promised in advance. However, it was Brimdel who did not show up in the end no matter how much they waited.
They thought something was strange and started looking around the area along the border. Soon, they found traces of what seemed to be a fairly large group of people. It was quite a distance from where they had originally planned to meet. Was there a mistake in exchanging information between the two countries?
It was a bit of a strange situation, but the Velician delegation hurriedly began to pursue the tracks. When they realized that it was not in the direction of the capital, but in the dark, sparsely populated forest, they doubted whether the tracks belonged to the group from Brimdel until they found the guards mercilessly killed in the sea of blood.
No one was alive. It was only corpses that had cooled down.
Was it an attack by a swarm of thieves? Or was it the work of an assassin hired by someone?
Recognizing that the carriage where the princess was supposed to be was empty, the delegation immediately searched the area. Not too long after, they were able to find an unidentified female body that had been killed and a half-dead woman.
Between the two women in front of them, they wondered,
Which one is the Princess of Brimdel?
Everyone was curious. Some immature people even bet on it, but it was all to no avail. The dead were silent, and the survivor was so seriously wounded that they could not be considered alive. An emissary was sent to Brimdel to report this tragic news, but no reply had arrived yet.
So they waited. May the young woman with brown hair wake up. The only survivor who survived the horrific incident had to wake up.
So, it was only natural that the people’s attention within the Royal Castle was focused on Herietta.
* * *
Herietta anxiously looked around her. Outside the window, the birds chirped leisurely, but her mind was not at peace. If she could, she wanted to scream with all her might as she was covered with a blanket.
Herietta was able to hear the story about what had happened from the maid who took care of her and realized.
That it was Brimdel, not Velicia, who did not appear at the meeting place.
That it was never a mistake, but a deliberate, planned action in advance.
Herrietta had been judging Shawn for being impatient and not meticulous. But in fact, he was a much more patient and meticulous human being than she had thought.
Shawn was able to get rid of Herietta much earlier than this. Even within the realm, as heir to the Duke’s family, secretly using his hands would have been easier than breathing. But he dared to wait until they crossed the border.
The reason was clear. If the Princess of Brimdel had been murdered within the estate of Brimdel, all responsibility for it would fall on Brimdel’s side. Then it was clear that Velicia, who had not yet received what they wanted, would demand another bride from them.
But what if the princess of Brimdel was murdered in the land of Velicia and not anywhere else?
Just with one border, everything changes.
Herietta shook her head. To whom should she turn this arrow of anger? No matter how arrogant Shawn was, there was no way he could have done anything like this without the permission of the royal family. Who was involved and how much?
She had been proud of being a citizen of Brimdel all her life, but she was abandoned by her motherland when she needed it most.
She remembered the soldiers who died without even being able to defend themselves properly against the sudden attack, and Janice, who vomited blood and died without even closing her eyes.
Herietta grabbed the blanket tightly. What the hell did they die for? They should be grateful that they didn’t know until the last minute that it was none other than their country behind their deaths.
‘From the looks of things, they might have already been notified that I was still alive by now.’
Herietta’s expression darkened. She suddenly remembered the knight who commanded the escort from Brimdel to Velicia. It was no one else but a person who joined the group at Shawn’s recommendation.
‘Will they harm the people around me or what…?’
They were the ones who did not choose any means to achieve their goals. Enough to kill the many for her. Will they ever calmly stop at this point? Suddenly, ominous thoughts began to pop up in her head one by one.
The Viscount Mackenzie couple in Philioche. Hugo on the front lines in Bangola. And Edwin and the others who set out to find Hugo.
She thought she couldn’t sit still like this. She had to somehow inform and warn her loved ones of what had happened to her. No. At least she had to make sure they were okay.
‘There is no time.’
Herietta, who was in a hurry, got up from the spot without realizing it. But the moment her feet touched the floor, a throbbing pain shot up and strength drained from her legs, and she stumbled and fell to the floor.
“Ugh…”
It was a hard marble floor. Herietta groaned at the strong blow that hit her body. It hurt so much that tears welled up in her eyes.
After a while, Herietta gathered her strength and carefully tried to get up, but her arms only trembled. She couldn’t fully support her weight. Besides, she had already sprained her ankle once and fell this time and she sprained it again, making the pain stronger than before.
Herietta, who had been trying for a long time to get up from the floor, had to accept that it was impossible. It was a difficult situation. She couldn’t get out as she wanted, but she couldn’t get back into bed either.
‘What should I do?’
Herietta was worried. It was unreasonable to get out of this place on her own. If so, can’t she just find someone who can help her after learning about the situation? Or is there anyone she can call to help?
Herietta knew nothing about the interior of Velicia’s royal castle. Still, she was sure that people would come just beyond that tightly closed door.
Herietta tried to guess the distance between the door and her with a rough glance. The distance was less than twenty steps. It would take some effort, but it seemed possible enough. Taking several slow, deep breaths, she slowly started crawling on the floor using both her hands and one strong leg.
Slide. Slide.
There was a strange sound as the surface of her clothes and skin brushed over the smooth floor. The figure of Herietta crawling on the floor while lying flat was very similar to that of a snake crawling on the ground. Moreover, her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was scattered all over. She was worried that someone who didn’t know anything would scream in surprise if they saw her.
But Herietta didn’t care. She was solely focused on achieving her purpose. Every time she moved her arm, a stinging pain flooded her back, but she ignored it too. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
How much time has passed? After many twists and turns, Herietta managed to get to the front door.
‘The doorknob. The doorknob…’
Herietta lifted her head and looked up at the door. Seeing that the doorknob was just hanging overhead, she wrinkled her face.
It was obviously of a height that normally she would not have thought much of. But when she was lying on the floor, it seemed to be very high, like the top of a cliff. She wondered if she would be able to reach it even if she gathered all of her energy and stretched out her hand.
‘Let’s try and think about it first.’
Herietta firmly made up her mind. Her goal was ahead. She had come here and she couldn’t give up. She stretched her upper body as far as she could and reached her hand towards the doorknob. Her back was bent like a bow, and her arms were trembling as they paddled through the air.
‘Just a little bit… A little bit more…’
Herrietta opened her eyes and bit her lower lip. Her fingertips were enough to touch the doorknob. She was looking at it, so she was anxious. Her upper body lightly pounded against the door as she exerted herself and missed her mark.
‘Ah. Almost …!’
After a few more tries, the cold touch of the doorknob reached her fingertips. It was a splendid achievement after putting in so much effort. Her face brightened with joy after she finally succeeded after all that hard work.
=========================================================================================================================
Brimdel’s side said Velicia had not kept the promise, but that was wrong. They arrived at the point where they were supposed to meet with Brimdel’s group on time, as promised in advance. However, it was Brimdel who did not show up in the end no matter how much they waited.
They thought something was strange and started looking around the area along the border. Soon, they found traces of what seemed to be a fairly large group of people. It was quite a distance from where they had originally planned to meet. Was there a mistake in exchanging information between the two countries?
It was a bit of a strange situation, but the Velician delegation hurriedly began to pursue the tracks. When they realized that it was not in the direction of the capital, but in the dark, sparsely populated forest, they doubted whether the tracks belonged to the group from Brimdel until they found the guards mercilessly killed in the sea of blood.
No one was alive. It was only corpses that had cooled down.
Was it an attack by a swarm of thieves? Or was it the work of an assassin hired by someone?
Recognizing that the carriage where the princess was supposed to be was empty, the delegation immediately searched the area. Not too long after, they were able to find an unidentified female body that had been killed and a half-dead woman.
Between the two women in front of them, they wondered,
Which one is the Princess of Brimdel?
Everyone was curious. Some immature people even bet on it, but it was all to no avail. The dead were silent, and the survivor was so seriously wounded that they could not be considered alive. An emissary was sent to Brimdel to report this tragic news, but no reply had arrived yet.
So they waited. May the young woman with brown hair wake up. The only survivor who survived the horrific incident had to wake up.
So, it was only natural that the people’s attention within the Royal Castle was focused on Herietta.
* * *
Herietta anxiously looked around her. Outside the window, the birds chirped leisurely, but her mind was not at peace. If she could, she wanted to scream with all her might as she was covered with a blanket.
Herietta was able to hear the story about what had happened from the maid who took care of her and realized.
That it was Brimdel, not Velicia, who did not appear at the meeting place.
That it was never a mistake, but a deliberate, planned action in advance.
Herrietta had been judging Shawn for being impatient and not meticulous. But in fact, he was a much more patient and meticulous human being than she had thought.
Shawn was able to get rid of Herietta much earlier than this. Even within the realm, as heir to the Duke’s family, secretly using his hands would have been easier than breathing. But he dared to wait until they crossed the border.
The reason was clear. If the Princess of Brimdel had been murdered within the estate of Brimdel, all responsibility for it would fall on Brimdel’s side. Then it was clear that Velicia, who had not yet received what they wanted, would demand another bride from them.
But what if the princess of Brimdel was murdered in the land of Velicia and not anywhere else?
Just with one border, everything changes.
Herietta shook her head. To whom should she turn this arrow of anger? No matter how arrogant Shawn was, there was no way he could have done anything like this without the permission of the royal family. Who was involved and how much?
She had been proud of being a citizen of Brimdel all her life, but she was abandoned by her motherland when she needed it most.
She remembered the soldiers who died without even being able to defend themselves properly against the sudden attack, and Janice, who vomited blood and died without even closing her eyes.
Herietta grabbed the blanket tightly. What the hell did they die for? They should be grateful that they didn’t know until the last minute that it was none other than their country behind their deaths.
‘From the looks of things, they might have already been notified that I was still alive by now.’
Herietta’s expression darkened. She suddenly remembered the knight who commanded the escort from Brimdel to Velicia. It was no one else but a person who joined the group at Shawn’s recommendation.
‘Will they harm the people around me or what…?’
They were the ones who did not choose any means to achieve their goals. Enough to kill the many for her. Will they ever calmly stop at this point? Suddenly, ominous thoughts began to pop up in her head one by one.
The Viscount Mackenzie couple in Philioche. Hugo on the front lines in Bangola. And Edwin and the others who set out to find Hugo.
She thought she couldn’t sit still like this. She had to somehow inform and warn her loved ones of what had happened to her. No. At least she had to make sure they were okay.
‘There is no time.’
Herietta, who was in a hurry, got up from the spot without realizing it. But the moment her feet touched the floor, a throbbing pain shot up and strength drained from her legs, and she stumbled and fell to the floor.
“Ugh…”
It was a hard marble floor. Herietta groaned at the strong blow that hit her body. It hurt so much that tears welled up in her eyes.
After a while, Herietta gathered her strength and carefully tried to get up, but her arms only trembled. She couldn’t fully support her weight. Besides, she had already sprained her ankle once and fell this time and she sprained it again, making the pain stronger than before.
Herietta, who had been trying for a long time to get up from the floor, had to accept that it was impossible. It was a difficult situation. She couldn’t get out as she wanted, but she couldn’t get back into bed either.
‘What should I do?’
Herietta was worried. It was unreasonable to get out of this place on her own. If so, can’t she just find someone who can help her after learning about the situation? Or is there anyone she can call to help?
Herietta knew nothing about the interior of Velicia’s royal castle. Still, she was sure that people would come just beyond that tightly closed door.
Herietta tried to guess the distance between the door and her with a rough glance. The distance was less than twenty steps. It would take some effort, but it seemed possible enough. Taking several slow, deep breaths, she slowly started crawling on the floor using both her hands and one strong leg.
Slide. Slide.
There was a strange sound as the surface of her clothes and skin brushed over the smooth floor. The figure of Herietta crawling on the floor while lying flat was very similar to that of a snake crawling on the ground. Moreover, her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was scattered all over. She was worried that someone who didn’t know anything would scream in surprise if they saw her.
But Herietta didn’t care. She was solely focused on achieving her purpose. Every time she moved her arm, a stinging pain flooded her back, but she ignored it too. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
How much time has passed? After many twists and turns, Herietta managed to get to the front door.
‘The doorknob. The doorknob…’
Herietta lifted her head and looked up at the door. Seeing that the doorknob was just hanging overhead, she wrinkled her face.
It was obviously of a height that normally she would not have thought much of. But when she was lying on the floor, it seemed to be very high, like the top of a cliff. She wondered if she would be able to reach it even if she gathered all of her energy and stretched out her hand.
‘Let’s try and think about it first.’
Herietta firmly made up her mind. Her goal was ahead. She had come here and she couldn’t give up. She stretched her upper body as far as she could and reached her hand towards the doorknob. Her back was bent like a bow, and her arms were trembling as they paddled through the air.
‘Just a little bit… A little bit more…’
Herrietta opened her eyes and bit her lower lip. Her fingertips were enough to touch the doorknob. She was looking at it, so she was anxious. Her upper body lightly pounded against the door as she exerted herself and missed her mark.
‘Ah. Almost …!’
After a few more tries, the cold touch of the doorknob reached her fingertips. It was a splendid achievement after putting in so much effort. Her face brightened with joy after she finally succeeded after all that hard work.
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