The Regressed Princess - Chapter 78

Chapter 78: Rescue Against Time — Andra Flicked Her Sword, Shaking the Blood Droplets…

Andra flicked her sword, shaking the blood droplets to the side. She looked at the trembling girl before her and asked in a rather unpleasant tone, “Anyone else?”

She was very much inclined to lose her temper right now, but Eleanor was still hiding behind the reef. Andra didn’t want to leave her lover with the impression of being irritable and aggressive screaming and shouting just because a “good thing” had been ruined? That would be too undignified.

She could only suppress it, patiently questioning this woman who had brought the trouble, aiming to deal with it all as quickly as possible.

Anyone else?

Eliza immediately realized that this guardian-like figure was asking her: How many more pursuers are there? She snapped awake with a jolt and bolted toward the direction where the sounds had recently occurred.

They might still be alive!

No, they were all dead.

A few minutes later, the young girl sat kneeling on the ground, weeping softly. Three loyal guards and eight traitorous pursuers had all stopped breathing. Their swords were either clutched in their hands or fallen beside them, and every person was drenched in blood.

Eliza crawled forward on her knees to the corpses to inspect them closely. She discovered that many had similar wounds: a simple, clean thrust or slash to the heart or abdomen. She was struck with horror and dared not look back: It must have been that person who killed them!

That foreign Royal Daughter named Andra had likely been alerted by the fighting here first, finished everyone off, and then come to her side to wrap things up… Will she kill everyone including me?

“Confirming once more, everyone is here, right? Are there any others?”

The icy voice rang out from behind, making Eliza flinch. She shook her head repeatedly.

“I… I escaped… for now, it should just be these… They the ones chasing me wanted to keep this hidden too.”

This group had rushed out urgently to atone for their crimes; there was no telling when her aunt’s people would discover they were all gone. She tried her best to control her chattering teeth, saying one word at a time, “In a while, others might catch up. Please—please don’t kill me. I am a Princess of Belai!”

The person behind her did not answer, stepping past her shoulder toward the sea. The youth with golden-red hair thrust the blood-stained sword into the water, swishing it back and forth. She even took a moment to tidy her hair with her fingers before continuing toward the reef ahead.

Though her expression was invisible, Eliza felt inexplicably that she was smiling.

“Lily,” the person called out to someone behind the reef in a sugary voice.

A petite figure stepped out from the shadows at the call. The girl was graceful, her gait elegant. It wasn’t until Eleanor came close that Eliza noticed she was wearing a nightgown with a cloak draped over her shoulders.

Looking at the well-matched pair, a vague guess formed in Eliza’s mind, but she quickly gritted her teeth, not daring to say a word.

Eleanor nodded to Andra, then turned to the apprehensive Eliza and said softly, “You must be the Princess of Belai. Please do not worry. I am Eleanor, a Princess from Nolanna.”

Her peaceful voice allowed Eliza to breathe a sigh of relief instantly; since the other party was willing to give her name, there was likely no killing intent. The girl before her felt much softer than the youth. This gentle temperament was difficult to fake; her mere presence brought a strong sense of security.

Eliza couldn’t help but steal a few more glances. The more she looked, the more she felt that although this Nolannan Princess was a peer, she felt like an older sister… perhaps even a kind elder?

She gradually calmed down, lifted her tattered skirt, and returned the greeting.

“Yes, respected Princess of Nolanna. I am Eliza. Thank you both for the rescue.” Eliza spoke with extreme speed, “I beg of your mercy, please do not hand me over to the King of Belai. My aunt is full of malice toward me.”

Eleanor naturally would not hand Eliza over to the King. She knew that in her previous life, this princess’s situation must not have been good, as no country had a consort or queen named Eliza. She might have been married off to a very obscure minor nation or even died within the Belaian palace.

Seeing Eliza’s young face, she couldn’t help but think of the First Princess from her first life. After the royal family of Belai fell, they selected the most beautiful child from the numerous side branches and sent her to Andra’s side. That consort was truly an outstanding beauty, only a tiny bit less so than the Eliza before her, yet she… still withered away in the harem.

Back then, Eleanor’s health was failing, and there was so much to do that she really didn’t want to look after a crowded harem. It wasn’t until children were born one after another and more and more abandoned consorts appeared that she couldn’t help but question Andra: “What exactly do you intend?”

She remembered Andra’s bewildered expression vividly to this day. Her innocent eyes seemed to say, “Huh? Their mission is complete once they’ve had the children. Isn’t it enough that I settle them in the palace to grow old? Is there more to do?”

After hearing her request to “release them,” Andra explained patiently: if these consorts were divorced and sent home, they would suffer even more persecution, and it would destroy her alliances with the nobles. Eleanor thought about it and felt there was logic to it. Putting aside the inter-family marriages and the children’s feelings, if a consort returned home only to be dragged out by her family to marry someone else and have more children, it might be even more miserable than staying in the palace.

Later, as her health worsened, she could only force herself to communicate with the consorts, screening out those who truly wanted to leave and whose families were willing to take them back, allowing them to leave through methods like faking their deaths. But that was a drop in the bucket.

Eleanor took a breath, tossing aside the thoughts of her life-before-last for the moment, and focused on the Eliza before her. Even putting aside the mercy she felt for a fellow woman, letting this princess go offered other benefits.

She asked gently, “Where did you originally intend to flee?”

Eliza said hurriedly, “I have people to meet me! My… my sister’s merchant guild is willing to take me in.”

Yes, that’s the one.

Eleanor nodded inwardly. In her previous life, this group must have failed; the political situation in Belai remained relatively stable until Andra captured the King. However, the development in this life could change. If they sent Princess Eliza out and used the Marigold Chamber of Commerce to muddy the waters, they might be able to hinder Belai’s development. At the very least, they could seize some interests, such as shipyards and blueprints.

Eleanor truly wanted Belai’s access to the sea. Firstly, without Andra, it would be difficult for her to conquer Belai in the short term. Secondly, if she could seize Belai through methods other than war or rather, by reducing physical combat that would be for the best. If she could achieve this goal through this princess, spending one “reload” opportunity would be a massive bargain.

Eleanor broke into a gentle smile, reaching out to take Eliza’s arm and leading her toward the reef. “Tell me about what you’ve been through during this time.”

The comforting gloom settled over them. Eliza felt an irresistible urge to confide in her, but looking at the approaching dawn, she said anxiously, “I truly want to talk with you in detail all night, but as soon as it’s light, my aunt’s people will find out!”

Eleanor nodded, stepping on the handkerchief that had fallen to the ground during the earlier chaos. She took Eliza’s hands and said earnestly, “Don’t worry, I have my ways. Please tell me in detail about the dispute between you and the King of Belai especially where you were a few days ago, how you escaped today, and who discovered you?”

Eliza originally wanted to hide some things, but after hearing this string of questions, she was completely stunned. These questions from the Nolannan Princess felt less like planning for the future and more like a post-mortem of the past. What use was there in knowing these things that had already happened?

Many doubts rose in her heart, but seeing Eleanor’s earnest and focused eyes, Eliza bit her lip and told her everything.

As the sky grew pale, Eleanor asked one last question after hearing the whole story.

“If someone had found you a few days ago at the latest, this morning what would they have to say to earn your trust in just a few sentences?”

Splash.

The sound of the waves vanished abruptly. Eleanor opened her eyes, her hair swaying with the vibration of the wheels. She touched her gold pendant; another mark on the petal was gone, leaving only three bloodstains.

Her gaze shifted slightly to the side. Andra was half-closing her eyes, dozing off, her forehead nodding slowly with the movement of the carriage… Her lover seemed to sense her gaze and soon opened her eyes to look back, a warm smile surfacing on her lips.

Eleanor smiled back in response, then raised her hand and shouted, “Speed up! Faster.”

The carriage accelerated immediately, the sound of galloping horses thumping around them. Manzhu pulled back the curtain, and after confirming it was indeed the Princess’s intent, she quickly let it go. She rode her horse and loudly relayed the command to the caravan: “Full speed ahead!”

Thud-thud, thud-thud.

The leather-wrapped wheels hammered against the wilderness. Even the shock-absorbing Enlin carriage began to rock with the intensity of a rumbling tractor.

“What’s the emergency?” Andra braced one hand against the carriage wall, shielding Eleanor in her arms. The carriage was moving so fast the back of the Princess’s head kept bouncing back, making her heart flutter with worry.

Eleanor nodded and said matter-of-factly, “I have something that requires everyone to reach Philli as quickly as possible—by the way, you need to help too.” She leaned into Andra’s ear and explained the plan to rescue Eliza bit by bit.

“After it’s done, let’s go play by the sea.”

Oh Gods whether it be the Mother Goddess or any other deity, please protect me.

Every morning and night since her mother’s death, Eliza would pray thus. She had no choice; her only way out was to find a chance to reach Cadran via the Sapphire Merchant Guild and reunite with her sister.

Eliza and her guards had agreed not to defy the King’s orders for now, staying quiet these few days to see if any opportunity to escape arose. She was thinking this, but the moment she finished her prayer and opened her door, she saw the guard slumped over.

What’s going on?!

Eliza was under house arrest in a palace that looked like stacked blocks; the King of Belai changed her location every few days. Forget outsiders even she herself couldn’t know in advance where she would be staying today. Could it be… could someone be assassinating the King and happened to find me?

Click.

She snapped her head up. Although there was more than one intruder in her field of vision, only one occupied her entire mind.

It was a youth with golden-red hair, her posture as she swung her sword elegant and lazy. The person had a disdainful expression on her face, but upon discovering her, she put on a polite mask. Her switch was so natural that Eliza thought it was her own hallucination.

“You must be Princess Eliza?” Andra flicked her sword and walked over lightly. “Don’t be afraid. My Highness is here to help you.”

“Your Highness is…”

Eliza should have been afraid, but what surged in her chest was not fear. In her skipped heartbeats, she wanted to tidy her hair, but quickly clenched her fists to avoid making such an undignified gesture before the stranger.

Andra ignored her question and gave a self-contained smile.

“Right, there’s a code, isn’t there? Let’s see… ‘The big fish is in the sea’?”

The code agreed upon with her sister known only to the two of them slipped casually from this person’s mouth. Eliza’s shoulders trembled, and her turbulent heart finally settled. Her gaze returned to normal, and she nodded to the newcomer: “Fine. I will go with you right now. May I bring a few more people?”

She truly wouldn’t feel secure without a single personal guard accompanying her. But… would the person before her be wary of others?

“You’d better not,” the youth said politely. “Her Highness says most of them will betray you. It’s a bit troublesome for me to have to kill them.”

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