The Abandoned Princess, Yet She Is Loved - Chapter 98

Standing before the locked door of the basement, Grace took a deep breath. In one hand, she held a map; in the other, a key she had taken from the duke’s office.

 

She inserted the key and slowly turned it. With a distinct metallic clank, the door cracked open slightly.

 

She pushed it open with her hand.

 

Inside, it was narrow and dark like a cave. Grace moved forward just as marked on the map. It was eerily quiet, and after walking for a while, she discovered something strange.

 

“What is this…?”

 

Grace stared at the black dot on the map while also observing a strange magic circle drawn on the floor.

 

The black dot was located near the basement—right where Grace was standing—close to an area marked as the royal palace.

 

“This doesn’t look ordinary.”

 

She examined the magic circle closely to memorize its shape. Since she had no knowledge of magic, she couldn’t determine what it was for.

 

‘It looks like something meant to infiltrate the royal palace. If this tunnel on the map leads all the way there…’

 

However, since this location was far from the capital, walking the entire way would take a long time. She needed to understand what this magic circle was for.

 

‘What else is inside…’

 

Grace stepped over the circle and took one more step forward. At that moment, a sharp, piercing sound rang out.

 

‘What was that?’

 

Startled, Grace looked around, but saw nothing. Then suddenly, a sound like crying echoed from deeper within the cave.

 

‘…What is that?’

 

The cave grew noisy. The crying sound grew louder and spread. Staring into the darkness ahead, Grace spotted black shapes charging toward her from inside the cave. They were the same winged monsters she had seen during jousts.

 

‘Monsters? Were they guarding this place?’

 

Judging from the situation, it seemed the monsters that had been dwelling in the cave now considered her an intruder. Grace froze in surprise, but her hands moved reflexively, summoning the divine beast’s energy.

 

She shaped the energy into sharp shards and hurled them at the monsters all at once.

 

The shards pierced through the monsters’ bodies.

 

“Kieeeeeh!”

 

The monsters shrieked and collapsed. More of them rushed in from behind, howling as they charged. Grace didn’t have a moment to rest and immediately launched another attack.

 

The cave filled with the monsters’ threatening cries and their screams of pain. Only after she had taken down dozens of them did the cave finally fall silent again.

 

‘Was that… all of them?’

 

She stared into the now eerily quiet depths of the cave.

 

‘I shouldn’t go any further.’

 

She couldn’t predict what else might come out. It seemed like she had already gathered enough information.

 

‘I need to return and report this to Frederick.’

 

She had to get out of the duke’s estate. Grace turned and began retracing her steps.

 

It was just as she returned to the study from the basement—

 

“Who are you?!”

 

With a shout, two spears were suddenly thrust in front of her. Grace slowly raised her head.

 

More than ten foreign soldiers surrounded her, weapons drawn.

 

‘Soldiers? Why are they here…?’

 

“Identify yourself immediately. Why have you come here?”

 

“I’m a maid working here,” Grace said, barely managing to hide her surprise.

 

“Don’t be ridiculous! You’re disguised as one, aren’t you?!”

 

The leading soldier shouted, eyes sharp.

 

“The alarm was triggered. Someone clearly broke into the basement… What was your reason for trespassing?”

 

She recalled the sharp sound she had heard after stepping over the magic circle. So that was the alarm system. Not only had it unleashed monsters, but it also alerted these soldiers.

 

‘This is bad…’

 

Grace studied the soldiers one by one. They were all large and had sharp gazes—clearly skilled.

 

“So you’re not planning to identify yourself? Then we’ll just have to make you talk.”

 

The leading soldier narrowed his eyes.

 

‘No choice. I have to escape now.’

 

Grace’s resolve kicked in immediately. Her hand moved.

 

“Ugh…!”

 

With a strong gust of wind, the soldiers were all blown backward and fell to the floor. As they groaned and scrambled, Grace dashed through the opening.

 

“She’s escaping!”

 

“Catch her—now!”

 

The soldiers’ shouts echoed behind her as Grace sprinted down the hallway. At the end of the corridor, she spotted an open window.

 

Grace leapt through it. Using wind to soften her landing, she safely landed in the middle of the garden.

 

“W-what?!”

 

The servants and soldiers in the garden stared in shock as a woman in a maid’s uniform suddenly jumped down. But Grace didn’t hesitate—she ran toward the main gate.

 

“It’s an intruder! Catch her!”

 

“Seize her!”

 

Shouts erupted from the window above. The soldiers nearby heard the alarm and immediately began to pursue her.

 

“If anything happens, contact the Imperial Knights through the communicator. They’ll protect you.”

 

Frederick’s words flashed in her mind, along with the image of Imperial Knights stationed nearby, ready to help.

 

‘I should avoid a fight.’

 

If she involved the knights and a battle broke out, it would reveal that Frederick was involved in infiltrating the estate. She wanted to avoid that at all costs, so she focused all her strength on escaping.

 

But Grace wasn’t a good runner. It wasn’t long before someone grabbed the back of her neck.

 

Looking back, she saw a tall soldier gripping her tightly. Grace flung dirt into his eyes.

 

“Ugh!”

 

The soldier let out a cry and clutched his face. Sensing more soldiers close behind, Grace threw dirt into their path as well.

 

“Argh!”

 

The soldiers began stumbling one by one. Grace barely managed to reach the gate of the estate.

 

‘Time to finish this.’

 

Just beyond the front gate, Grace turned around and spread her arms. Gathering her energy, she kicked up a huge cloud of dust. Then she used wind to blow it toward the soldiers.

 

“Urgh…!”

 

The thick dust cloud obscured everything, and the soldiers were forced to shut their eyes. The stinging sensation was too strong to bear.

 

Grace used that moment to flee the estate. Even running at full speed, no one chased after her anymore.

 

 

“Armento broke into the basement?”

 

Duke Reinhardt shot to his feet.

 

“What kind of security management is this…?”

 

“My apologies. There has never been an intruder before…”

 

Anthony bowed repeatedly.

 

“She posed as a newly hired maid.”

 

“What did she look like?”

 

“Black hair and red eyes.”

 

A rare combination. Usually, hair and eye color matched.

 

“Did you confirm her identity?”

 

“She called herself Nicky Pauline, 21 years old. But we couldn’t verify whether that identity actually exists.”

 

“Was anything stolen or missing?”

 

“No. Aside from the key being found in the door…”

 

The duke fell deep into thought. It didn’t seem like a simple intrusion.

 

‘She entered the basement.’

 

If someone had merely come to steal valuables, they would’ve targeted the vault. No one would bother going through the study to reach the basement. Let alone taking a key to head into the cave. Discovering a secret passage meant…

 

‘She was after something specific. She knew about it.’

 

“How did she even get the key? This is…”

 

There was something else that shocked the duke. The drawer where the key was kept—its lock was enchanted to respond only to the blood of the Reinhardt family. Security was supposed to be foolproof. If that was breached…

 

Then it meant the intruder possessed the blood of the Reinhardt family.

 

‘Is there anyone among the collateral branches who might’ve done this?’

 

Reinhardt tried to recall anyone from the collateral family who might sneak into the estate. But no one came to mind.

 

“First, send watchers to each branch family. We need to check for any suspicious activity.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

“Damn it…”

 

What a headache. The duke let out a quiet curse.

 

“First, we must inform Prince Vladimir about this.”