Princess, Please Fall in Love with Me-Chapter 54 : Chapter 54

Chapter 54 : Confrontation, The Abandoned Test Subject
"Miss Lina, could you repeat what you heard one more time?"
Kyle brought Lina to a small inn where he was staying during his investigation.
Saito's Grand Duke’s mansion was no longer safe; the more discreet the place, the better.
Lina, after eating some bread and drinking water, finally regained her strength.
She touched her head and recounted her experience.
At first, when she was settled in the Grand Duke’s mansion, she was suddenly knocked out and taken away.
When she groggily woke up, she heard the sound of a carriage rattling and three unfamiliar voices talking.
"One of them said something about the Duke making a move against the royal family, and something about deceiving everyone... Before I could hear more, the person next to him killed him!"
Killing their own to prevent leaks? Just how much of this plan was still hidden?
The Duke... Yiwen...
"Miss Lina, please stay here until I return. There’s enough food and water in the room. To avoid being found by the enemy again, please don’t leave."
Kyle’s expression grew grave and serious. He checked the surroundings again, confirmed it was safe, gave Lina a few instructions, and prepared to head to the palace to assess the situation,
"Please, take this, and—Mr. Kyle, please check on Miss Loka’s situation. I’m worried she might be held hostage because of me."
Lina handed Kyle the whistle she wore around her neck.
She had wanted to call for help earlier, but her mouth was gagged, and her body was bound, rendering her voiceless.
Now it could be useful.
"...I understand."
Kyle carefully avoided prying eyes and reached an open area.
He blew the whistle tentatively, and the sound slowly carried to a small village in the distance.
"Thank you, lad. These old bones can’t move such heavy stuff."
"No trouble at all. It’s the least we can do since you took us in."
Today was the day Lycan and Lubi helped out in the village.
To avoid detection by those framing them, they decided to lay low and wait for their master Loka’s orders.
Lubi had gone with the village vendors to procure supplies, so Lycan stayed behind, helping the elderly move heavy items and repair village buildings.
He had just placed a new goddess statue for the priest.
Suddenly, Lycan’s ears picked up a sound he hadn’t heard in a long time.
His expression changed instantly.
After a quick word to the priest, he vanished from the village like the wind.
Arriving at the source of the whistle, he didn’t see his master or the maid she protected.
Instead, a stranger—a red-haired man—held the whistle.
Friend or foe? Lycan swung his fist decisively.
"Whoa, whoa, wait, I’m on your side!"
Kyle was nearly sent flying by the immense force.
If Lycan hadn’t pulled back in time after hearing him speak, he might have been launched.
Kyle quickly removed the disguise from his face.
"You’re that guy who traded with the master that day, from Old Man Kafu’s side?"
"I’m Kyle Caesar. No time to explain—I need your help now."
Kyle briefly explained the situation, handed the silver sword to Lycan, then returned to the palace alone, leaving Lycan to handle Loka’s crisis.
"That’s the situation, Master. That guy told me to give this to you."
The silver sword was Yiwen’s token, only entrusted to those she trusted.
With this proof, Loka felt much more at ease about the man.
Loka took Yiwen’s silver sword and retreated behind Lycan.
She had been worried about these two’s whereabouts, but seeing them alive and well finally put her mind at rest.
"Chatting time’s over, isn’t it? I’m not like those storybook villains who wait for you to catch up before striking."
The gentleman calmly adjusted his gloves, slowly closing in on the two with a hint of impatience in his eyes.
For some reason, Lycan felt a familiar aura from him.
"I forgot to introduce myself. At least let you die knowing. I’m Orfeo, leader of [Nightmare], and a killer directly under Duke Victor."
"Lycan, kill him."
"At your command."
In an instant, their fists collided fiercely, then both were knocked back by the recoil.
Facing an opponent who matched his strength, Lycan, who was always overpowered with brute force, was somewhat incredulous.
"Surprised? My strength is equal to yours, perhaps even greater, isn’t it, failure?"
"You know me?"
To be honest, since Lycan could remember, he had been sold as a slave, fighting, sold again, then fighting endlessly.
He didn’t even know his own origins.
"You were one of my finest test subjects. No drugs or surgeries—just your natural physique gave you a beast-like body. Perfect material..."
"Only, during the control process, you went berserk and escaped. Who’d have thought, even after fleeing, you couldn’t escape your fate as a weapon, Test Subject VII."
"Don’t mention that name!"
Lycan remembered—the pain, the torment, the endless experiments and training, the scars and wounds left by torture instruments on his body.
"That’s right, Test Subject VII. Remember that scalpel? Cutting your veins every day, letting your body heal on its own—purely miraculous!"
Before Orfeo could finish, Lycan’s fist swung at him again.
This time, the rage-fueled punch struck Orfeo, blood smearing his face.
Yet he stared at Lycan with exhilaration.
"See, this is the real you! A beast of pure savagery and bloodlust. That’s it, unleash your ferocity!"
Does this guy have some masochistic streak?
Loka watched the neurotic man speechlessly, then noticed Lycan’s expression growing frenzied.
"Master, please leave first. I have some personal scores to settle with this guy."
Veins bulged on Lycan’s body, his eyes filled with killing intent.
His right hand trembled slightly, as if barely restraining the urge to tear apart every living thing in sight.
Loka knew she couldn’t stay any longer, smashing the window and clutching the silver sword to escape.
"Trying to run?"
Seeing the mission target about to flee, Orfeo rushed to stop her but was met with a palm strike from Lycan.
Forced to defend, he was then tackled by Lycan, who used brute force to slam him into the wall.
"You... beast!"
"Come on, weren’t you so smug? Filthy mongrel!"
Loka barely made it to the courtyard, only to find soldiers guarding outside.
Just as they were about to seize her, a carriage crashed through the mansion’s gate, scattering the guards and stopping before Loka.
"No time to explain, Boss, get in!"
Lubi whipped the carriage into a frenzied gallop out of the Duke’s Mansion, leaving a group of bewildered guards stunned in their tracks.