The Abandoned Princess, Yet She Is Loved - Chapter 93

A deep and quiet mountain range where even sunlight barely reached.

 

“It looks like things are more or less taken care of.”

 

Surveying the surroundings, Frederick slid his bloodstained sword back into its sheath.

 

“Good work, everyone.”

 

“Thank you, Commander.”

 

In response to his praise, the knights bowed their heads with gratitude.

 

Around them, the corpses of monsters were piled up like mountains.

 

“I don’t know why so many monsters appeared in this area… but we’ll need to deal with any that show up from now on.”

 

“Yes, Commander.”

 

“Clean up the surroundings and prepare to withdraw.”

 

At Frederick’s command, the knights began packing up in unison.

 

“Commander, there are children over here.”

 

Just as they were about to depart, Frederick turned around at the shout of one of the knights. Standing beside the knight were a boy and a girl, roughly in their early to mid-teens.

 

“Bring them here.”

 

At Frederick’s order, the knight led the two children closer.

 

“Who are you?”

 

“We’re… Allen and Selena.”

 

The boy spoke first. The girl kept her gaze lowered, her pale face focused on the tips of her shoes.

 

“Where did you come from?”

 

It was baffling to find two young children in a mountain infested with monsters.

 

“We were imprisoned up there and managed to escape.”

 

The boy pointed toward the mountain.

 

“There’s nothing visible up there.”

 

“If you follow the forest trail, there’s a big building. We were locked up inside.”

 

“Why were you imprisoned?”

 

A building? That was the first Frederick had heard of it. His eyebrows rose in surprise.

 

“We were taken from an orphanage. They said we’d be adopted into a good home… but it was all a lie.”

 

“There are other children trapped there.”

 

The girl, who had been silent until now, broke the silence. A scene flashed through Frederick’s mind.

 

‘The bones in the cave belonged to children too…’

 

A cave filled with the remains of children who hadn’t been dead long.

 

Coincidentally, that cave wasn’t far from here. Could it be related to the building the children mentioned?

 

“Strange things happen there… far too many.”

 

The boy continued.

 

“We didn’t know what would happen if we stayed, so we ran away.”

 

“You’re saying they’re killing children there?”

 

“Yes, that’s right. Though… it’s not as simple as just killing them.”

 

The more Frederick listened, the more convinced he became that this needed further investigation. What he’d recalled didn’t seem like a coincidence anymore.

 

Growl. A loud noise echoed through the air—coming from the boy’s stomach.

 

“You haven’t eaten?”

 

“No… We’ve been wandering around here for two days without any food.”

 

Now that he looked again, the children were ragged and emaciated. They clearly needed something to eat.

 

“What shall we do?”

 

“Take them with us for now. We’ll hear the rest of the story back at base.”

 

“Thank you, thank you so much!”

 

The boy’s face lit up with relief.

 

“You’re telling the truth, right?”

 

“Yes, of course!”

 

The boy exclaimed desperately, like someone clinging to a lifeline.

 

“We’ll tell you everything we know. They’re doing experiments—like something demons would do.”

 

“Where should we take them, Commander?”

 

Asked the knight who had brought the children.

 

“First, let’s get them something to eat. We’re heading to the Knights’ Headquarters. Follow me.”

 

With that, Frederick returned to the front of the procession.

 

 

 

“So, you ran away to avoid dying?”

 

“Yes…”

 

The boy nodded slowly as he chewed on a piece of bread. Frederick fell into thought.

 

“Draining blood… to gain power equivalent to divine beasts.”

 

As Frederick repeated the words softly to himself, the girl—stealing glances—pulled another pie toward herself.

 

“Eat as much as you want. No one’s going to scold you.”

 

Deputy Commander Ned Hassler spoke gently to the children. Embarrassed, the girl’s cheeks turned a bit red.

 

“So that’s why they were killing children…”

 

Frederick remained deep in thought.

 

“And it’s connected to Armento’s death as well.”

 

The information the boy had shared was both serious and significant.

 

“What’s that place like? You said it’s locked?”

 

“Yes. If your identity isn’t verified, you can’t get past the front gate. People dressed in black monitor it constantly. No one can get in or out freely.”

 

“…”

 

“But there is a small hole—like a crawl space—that we used to sneak out.”

 

“So we need to find a way to infiltrate through that hole.”

 

“It won’t be easy.”

 

Ned Hassler looked worried. Frederick understood the concern behind his expression.

 

‘It’s temple property.’

 

If caught, there would be serious consequences.

 

You couldn’t trespass on temple grounds without a legitimate reason. To punish them, undeniable evidence would be needed. But unless they moved in, there would be no evidence to find.

 

“Can you show us how to get through that hole?”

 

“Yes! Of course.”

 

The boy nodded enthusiastically. Amused by his spirited reply, Ned Hassler ruffled his hair.

 

 

“They’re drawing blood?”

 

Back at the palace that night, Frederick relayed the children’s story to Grace. After listening carefully, Grace let out a quiet gasp.

 

“Could this be related to the Bahorne Empire?”

 

“The Bahorne Empire? Why bring them up?”

 

“I caught one of my former companions from Panbion reporting my every move to someone… and he was with someone from Bahorne.”

 

Grace explained how she’d tailed Seri and overheard a conversation.

 

“So they’re also talking about draining Armento’s blood.”

 

“Yes… that’s right.”

 

“They must think it helps replicate the power of divine beasts.”

 

“Gathering quantum energy to mimic divine power… I don’t think it’s impossible.”

 

Grace nodded. Divine power was made of pure quantum energy, and through training, she found it transferred and adapted to humans relatively quickly.

 

“To think they’re killing children for that… It’s horrifying.”

 

“I heard they were all orphans from a temple-run orphanage. They purposely took children with no parents or relatives to drain their blood.”

 

‘So it was Vladimir.’

 

Now Frederick was certain who was behind it. He let out a slow sigh. He was almost sure Prince Vladimir was responsible—but proving it was another matter.

 

“…”

 

“First, I’ll try to reach out to Mikael. He should know a lot about the temple’s private grounds.”

 

‘He’ll tell me something.’

 

Though Mikael wouldn’t be too forthcoming since he was on opposing terms with Crown Prince Rubens, a conversation might still yield some clues.

 

“Oh, and I may need to leave the palace for a few days soon.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I want to visit the Reinheim estate. Something feels off.”

 

“Why all of a sudden?”

 

Frederick looked at her curiously.

 

“When I last visited Duke Reinheim, he was very sensitive about questions regarding the estate. It felt like he’d absolutely refuse to let anyone in.”

 

“…”

 

“It was like that gut feeling you get—he shut me down completely.”

 

“How do you plan to get in?”

 

“I’ll have to find a way. I’m going to try sneaking in with a disguise.”

 

“Isn’t that dangerous? Wouldn’t it be better to assign someone else?”

 

“It’s okay. I can handle it.”

 

Grace smiled brightly to reassure him.

 

“I need to discuss all this with the Crown Prince and decide our next move based on how things unfold.”

 

“Yes. Let me know what comes of it.”

 

 

Felixius sat across from Vladimir.

 

“The experiment is progressing quite successfully.”

 

Vladimir said with confidence.

 

“Extracting quantum energy was a bit tricky… but we kept trying, gathered enough, and turned it into a crystallized form.”

 

“Then it’s nearly ready for absorption.”

 

“Yes, it seems so.”

 

“You think it’ll work in a human body without complications?”

 

“We did several tests on animals, and it wasn’t too difficult to transfer the energy into living bodies.”

 

“Good work.”