The Regressed Princess - Chapter 40

Chapter 40: A Deal is a Deal; “That Just Now… Consider it a Down Payment…”

Sigh, what am I going to do about the upcoming war?

Eleanor tossed aside her pen and slumped over a massive pile of draft papers.

She had grown into a slender young lady of exquisite beauty, but unfortunately, the dark circles under her eyes were terrifyingly heavy.

Logically, since she had already renovated Enlin in her past life, this life should have been a simple matter of following the same path… like hell it was!

Eleanor pushed herself up from the desk, gathered the messy drafts together, and took a deep, long breath.

Seven years. It’s been seven years. What kind of life has she been living these past seven years?

Rushing. She was always rushing.

From agricultural products to the chamber of commerce, to postal communications, and even basic education she was so afraid of missing a single thing that she tried to keep everything in her own hands.

She had indeed used the fragments of memory from her past life to recruit many capable helpers ahead of time.

However, most of those helpers were inexperienced youths. They had followed her, busy to the point where their feet hardly touched the ground, and it had taken several years of training to barely make them proficient.

“Hudora… Hudora?” she called out instinctively for her most capable assistant.

Coral walked in from the next room and said, “Chief Hudora just returned from tax collection. Andra called her over to discuss supplies.”

Oh, the supplies and equipment for the Hunting Team…

In this life, Andra was not the “Prince Consort-in-waiting.” Although some people speculated privately, Eleanor always denied it directly, bluntly shattering their delusions.

Without the status of a Prince Consort, Andra, as a foreign princess, could not become a military commander of Nolanna.

Of course, this difficulty couldn’t stop Andra at all. Through her extraordinary ability, she had quietly organized an armed force of her own during her daily work.

The Hunting Team…

“Coral, bring me the Hunting Team’s report.”

“Yes.”

Eleanor took the report and flipped through the pages.

You’ve certainly done well for yourself, haven’t you, Andra?

She sneered as she looked at the records.

On the surface, the Hunting Team only had 500 official slots. However, over the years, Andra had been rotating these “permanent members,” constantly funneling them into different positions and recalling them at a moment’s notice.

Postal couriers at the post houses, teachers at the technical schools, hunters with special permits… soldiers maintaining public order.

With such a large group of people moving in and out of the Hunting Team over the years, was the leader they truly believed in the Princess or Andra? It really wasn’t hard to guess.

Eleanor wasn’t angry.

After all, Andra was a hostage from an enemy country; her only real options were to flee or return to her homeland.

If Eleanor were in Andra’s shoes in Hetuya, she would likely do the same thing: recruit capable confidants and try to take them back when returning home. It was only human.

Furthermore, she was currently planning to use Andra’s power to achieve her goals.

These people were elites trained by Andra. She needed them and Andra to complete a major task together the merit of supporting a new ruler, and… the assassination of Atilla.

Just thinking about this idea made her blood boil.

Atilla was actually coming to attend Eva’s fiftieth birthday? What a perfect opportunity. It might be the only chance to solve a major threat ahead of time.

Eleanor touched the pendant on her chest. The first petal was exceptionally smooth, with only one shallow bloodstain remaining.

These were all “gifts” from those assassins. To have reversed time only twice in seven years was already a blessing from heaven.

In this life, only one divine grace remained. From now on, she would have to clear the game with a single life.

“Coral, have you finished packing the things I asked for?”

“Everything is here.”

Coral placed a wooden box on the table. She hesitated for a few seconds before asking, “Your Highness, I can understand the rest your blueprints are extremely important but why are even the fortune-telling records kept in the same box?”

She knew this was a high-stakes matter; a battle for the throne naturally required one to risk their life.

If Her Highness Miscella’s uprising failed, Her Highness Eleanor would likely have to follow her to the grave.

Therefore, Coral supported with both hands and feet the idea of leaving behind the most valuable blueprints and notes; these treasures should benefit future generations.

As for the “fortune-telling records” she mentioned, they referred to the stories Eleanor had fabricated when building up her reputation.

Her Highness had told the talents who came to join her that she possessed a very special ability: she could glimpse a person’s future through their past.

Adopting the attitude that it was better to believe it than not, everyone had informed the Princess of their age, identity, previous residence, and other details with meticulous specificity.

You could say these messages were useless, but they were quite private.

If anything were to happen to Her Highness Eleanor, what use would they be other than as leverage in the hands of others?

Eleanor nodded. “Oh, that notebook? I put it in casually. If I encounter any misfortune, just take it out and burn it.”

Coral curled her finger and rapped Eleanor on the head. “Rest assured, Your Highness. If any misfortune befalls you, I will not live on alone. Alright, I’ll go call everyone you need.”

“Hey, hey, it’s better to live a bad life than to die a good death!”

Eleanor burst into a wry laugh as she watched Coral’s brisk departure. Fine, she wasn’t in a position to say that either.

Eleanor sat back at the desk, picked up the notebook Coral had left behind, and continued memorizing.

During her first rebirth, most of her memories from her past life had vanished quickly.

The second rebirth would likely be the same, so she wanted to fight it by repeatedly memorizing, to see if she could carry the important memories over intact.

About an hour later, the key personnel involved in the meeting filed into her study one after another.

The direct participants in the action were basically warriors.

In addition to the familiar faces Manju, Thorns, and Andra Sarin and little Elsa also sat in to listen along with the various talents recruited over the years. Of course, the most important protagonist, Miscella, was there as well.

“Everyone, we have discussed this many times,” Eleanor said, standing among them and speaking clearly. “We will return to the capital with Miscella under the guise of birthday celebrations. As for why we chose this time it is because my mother, Eva, is about to pass away.”

Everyone listened with solemn expressions.

Over the years, Eleanor had engaged in a lot of “deified” self-promotion, but she was always down-to-earth in front of her true allies.

“You must all be curious how I can be so certain of my mother’s death date. This information was traded from someone; through the court’s bulk purchase of medicines and other clues, it has been basically determined that Mother was afflicted with a strange poison several years ago.”

Boom!

It was like a sudden thunderclap, and everyone’s expressions varied.

Andra, in particular, blinked her bright eyes, her thoughts unknown.

“Our plan is simple.” Eleanor used a brush to outline a flowchart on a hanging scroll.

“During the birthday celebrations, we need to focus on visiting these families…” This included Manju’s family and the family of Miscella’s fiancée.

“Your Highness.”

Eleanor paused. Manju took the opportunity to speak softly, “The demands my mother made are far too excessive. If you are unwilling…”

“I am willing.”

Eleanor nodded gently and repeated, “I am truly willing. If you are unwilling, you can talk to me privately.”

“Your Highness, how could I be unwilling!” Manju’s voice betrayed a hint of emotion, but seeing the strange atmosphere in the study, she quickly shut her mouth and continued listening.

Eleanor began to explain the second phase of the plan: many people would hide in groups within buildings and secret passages provided by various supporters.

She didn’t give a detailed explanation, but those listening could guess some of the details.

One doesn’t go on a one-day palace tour with just three or five friends to fight for the throne. Eleanor and her allies had provided Miscella with considerable military support, and every person involved was a skilled hand.

If such a large group of people stayed in the capital at the same time, it would surely attract unwanted attention.

If the King didn’t die immediately, she might find time to arrest her two rebellious daughters and send them to the Blood River together.

Thus, the followers accompanying Eleanor and Miscella on the surface numbered only about a hundred, most of whom were prestigious nobles.

As for the remaining helpers, they would sneak into the capital using different methods, such as secret passages.

The third step was even simpler.

Once the King passed away, the capital’s bell tower would sound nine times.

As soon as Miscella heard this signal, she had to immediately lead her people to the palace to succeed the throne in the name of the legitimate younger Royal Daughter.

If Ophelia declared her accession early or produced an edict unfavorable to Miscella, they would take the opportunity to beat her black and blue and force her to concede.

The entire plan was simple and crude. The most crucial part was actually the King’s death date.

They did not have the ability to storm the palace and kill the King; they could only wait for Eva to die naturally. Therefore, Eleanor’s task assignments were based entirely on the premise that “the King will die suddenly right after her birthday.”

If Eva could hold on for another month or two, then everyone would essentially be on an expensive, state-funded multi-day tour—a complete loss.

Even so, no one questioned the Princess; everyone took it as a given that whatever Her Highness said was absolutely correct.

After confirming that no one had any objections, Eleanor waved her hand. “Alright, we will act in order. Miscella, you are the first to set off today.”

“Yay!” The Royal Sister had been listening patiently for a long while. As soon as her younger sister let go of the “leash,” she cheered and rushed out.

Once the protagonist left, the others took their leave one after another. Even Manju only whispered a few words to Eleanor before leaving the study to prepare.

In the end, only Coral and Andra remained in the room. Andra stared at Eleanor, her face full of the expression “I have something I want to talk to you about.”

Eleanor turned her head and instructed, “Coral, have Hudora and Dr. Parna come find me later.”

“Yes,” Coral agreed briskly, shooting a glare at Andra as she left.

“Shall we go somewhere else?” Andra reached her hand out toward Eleanor.

Andra, now in her early twenties, was no longer a green youth.

She easily exceeded 1.9 meters in height, and her muscles were perfectly balanced due to daily, relentless training. Her swordsmanship was beyond question; the mentor known as the finest swordsman in Nolanna had declared two years ago, “I have nothing left to teach her.”

The tall youth approached Eleanor, her eyes fixed on the girl’s slender wrist.

Snap.

Eleanor brushed her hand away as she always did and walked forward on her own.

The two walked one after the other through the corridor, up the tall tower, and together looked out at the waves of wheat in the distance.

The golden and cyan squares complemented each other, and the wind carried the “shh-shh-shh” sound of a bountiful harvest.

Eleanor breathed in the wind gently; only by immersing herself in this atmosphere could she resist her instinctive impulses.

After so many years, her heart still skipped a beat for Andra.

She felt joyful just by seeing Andra and smelled a comforting scent just by being near her.

Over the years, her interactions with Andra hadn’t been easy because she had to actively maintain distance during every encounter, lest the two of them be pulled together like opposite poles of a magnet.

“Aren’t you going to praise me, Your Highness? I’ve been working very hard lately.” The negative pole actively approached the positive pole; Andra’s hand rested on the railing not far from hers.

“You’ve done well.”

Eleanor offered a reserved compliment, though she didn’t mean it in her heart. It wasn’t as if she didn’t know Andra’s true strength.

Others might need to put in 120% effort to achieve this result, but Andra… without a piece of meat dangling in front of her, this girl put at most 30% of her effort into her work, while the other 70% was spent on her own private affairs.

“Hahaha, Your Highness, that’s so perfunctory.”

Andra laughed helplessly. “I really did my best~ The bandits outside are endless, and the beasts in the deep mountains are prone to escape. Lately, even the Lord of Mihir City has been praising us, saying the public order even in her area has improved.”

You dare mention Mihir City… Eleanor felt even more helpless.

That Lord, who had bowed down immediately in the past life, had become an old fox in this life.

She refused to support Miscella clearly, but instead was fascinated by Andra, whom she had only met twice, and was eager to become a close friend.

To prevent Mihir City from colluding with Hetuya to pinch Enlin, Eleanor had directly forbidden Andra from contacting nearby City Lords under a diplomatic guise. However, she couldn’t control their private interactions.

They fell silent.

The atmosphere wasn’t stiff; instead, there was a relaxed tacit understanding.

Tap.

Andra’s fingers, reaching for the back of Eleanor’s hand, were snapped back. She wasn’t annoyed, asking with a smile, “Your Highness, do you really want to marry Manju?”

Eleanor withdrew her hand and said coldly, “Yes, so what?”

She had thought Andra might make a scene, perhaps threaten her, say harsh words, or even secretly ambush Manju.

But the tall youth merely narrowed her eyes, gazing at her with an inscrutable smile, and naturally changed the subject.

“Then Her Highness must have a special task to give me today?”

Eleanor looked at her expression so confident it was annoying and really wanted to punch her in the eye.

She endured for a few seconds, turned around, and said seriously, “I am considering something that is very beneficial to both you and me. The risk is immense; it’s only normal if you don’t dare to do it.”

Andra leaned in with a laugh, resting carelessly against the railing. “Oh? What is it?”

“I need you to kill Atilla.”

There were many people named Atilla, but only one that Eleanor would specifically name to be killed.

Andra opened her mouth, but didn’t ask why.

What reason was needed to kill Atilla?

“Your Highness, your task is truly dangerous and terrifying. One wrong move and people will die… What reward will I get?”

She leaned in, supported by her hands, and this time Eleanor didn’t push her away.

Their foreheads were almost touching, and they could smell each other’s breath.

“What do you wa—”

Eleanor didn’t finish her sentence. A pair of long arms firmly encircled her waist.

The golden-red sunlight flowed smoothly, intertwining brilliantly with the heavy clouds.

The touch of the struggle was a bit long. After a while… their bodies separated slightly. Andra licked her lips, her smile enticing.

“That just now… consider it a down payment.”

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