Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 50: Beggar Sibling - Escape
50. Beggar Sibling - Escape
"Your Highness, are you running away again?"
Leo's heart sank. When he turned back, the count was bowing gracefully with the etiquette reserved for royalty.
Looking at Leo's pale face, the count spoke in a tone filled with a peculiar sentiment.
"Hahaha. You seem surprised. I met you a few times when you were very young... you wouldn't remember. But I recognized you immediately when I saw you again. Both of you are alive."
"..."
"It is deeply moving to see you grown up like this, but it's regrettable. As long as Your Highness is alive, 'our' Kingdom of Conrad will be in turmoil. Please, do not forgive me."
He mouthed the word 'our' without making a sound.
Then, bowing deeply once more as a sign of farewell, he gestured to Irene, the trembling knight behind the iron gate.
Leo realized he could no longer stand idly. He began to run with all his might, and the furious knight chased after him.
Irene drew her sword hastily, not merely intending to capture Leo.
Irene was born in a tenant farmer's house on the marquis's estate.
Despite her poverty, she had a good physique from birth and did odd jobs at the castle on the estate.
One day, a knight recognized her talent. With the marquis's support, Irene was able to learn swordsmanship.
Her outstanding talent quickly made her a knight, and she was called to serve at the marquis's mansion in the capital.
Irene, who had never experienced romance, fell in love for the first time there.
It was with none other than the marquis's son.
At first, she silently screamed, thinking she was mad. It was a love that could never be fulfilled. She had to remain the marquis's sword and useful tool.
But Irene couldn't help but look forward to the days she would guard Toton Tatian.
She even secretly asked other colleagues to switch duties with her, and on her days off, she took over their shifts.
It wasn't work for her because he was someone she couldn't help but love.
Despite being a noble, Toton Tatian was not someone who mistreated his subordinates. He was so kind that in winter, he would have the knight who was supposed to sit next to the coachman sit inside the carriage to keep warm.
It became such a habit that he always had a knight sit beside him.
Every time Irene sat next to him, she felt fully, truly happy. She didn't mind if it remained unrequited love for her whole life.
One day, while on duty in the marquis's office, she overheard shocking news.
"There will be an assassination during the carriage ride. Inform the knight guarding Toton tomorrow not to protect him."
"Understood."
Marquis Benar Tatian ordered the steward, and Irene struggled to stay upright.
The marquis's order was absolute.
Since the order was given, Toton's fate was surely sealed.
Throughout the seemingly endless duty, she alternated between looking at the back of the respected marquis and thinking of the beloved Toton, then cursing the marquis and biting her tongue, calling herself an ungrateful woman.
Irene never knew the marquis watched her leave with a gentle smile, and she was incredibly lucky that the colleague assigned to guard Toton the next day took a leave, making it her turn.
"Sir Toton, it's against regulations to leave the carriage door open."
The next day, Irene mentioned a regulation she had never brought up before. Toton was puzzled but smiled softly and locked the door.
It was the best plan she could think of.
A way to protect him without directly defying the marquis's order...
Of course, if the assassin had attacked, Irene would have eventually drawn her sword.
According to her plan, the assassination failed.
When Toton Tatian was stabbed by the assassin's sword through the carriage door, Irene's eyes turned wild, but she focused on getting him to the church for treatment.
Fortunately, Toton Tatian survived.
Later, she was scolded by the respected marquis and assigned menial tasks that knights never performed as punishment, but she didn't care about her honor as long as she protected her beloved.
And when Toton Tatian's bloated body was found floating in the lake north of Orville, her loyalty to the marquis no longer mattered.
Since then, Irene couldn't bear to look at the marquis's newly adopted son and avoided him. She kept thinking she just wanted to return to her hometown.
But as the daughter of a tenant farmer, practically the marquis's property, she could only live in emptiness.
Until today, when she learned that the fancy-looking adopted son was the one who killed Toton.
Yes, that bastard killed Toton Tatian and deceived the marquis.
That damned bastard!
No,
that
damned bastard!
Irene chased after the vile dog who fled cowardly.
*
Startled by the commotion outside, Lena stopped in confusion and focused on the sounds.
The urgent cries of men and hurried footsteps indicated something serious.
- Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump!
As Lena was about to go outside to check the situation, someone came rushing noisily towards her room.
"Lena! Lena!"
Without knocking, Santian Rauno burst into her room, shouting.
He had inherited his mother's curly brown hair and his father's broad forehead. And his nose was...
"Lena! What are you doing? Get out quickly!"
"What? Why?"
"Hurry!"
Santian grabbed Lena's wrist and ran towards the basement without further explanation.
The Rauno family was under attack.
Count Herman Forte was away at war, and the Marquis Tatian had mobilized the Orville guards to surround the Rauno family mansion.
Five knights led the soldiers into the mansion, under orders to capture a girl with golden eyes and kill everyone else.
When Marquis Benar Tatian heard that Lena and Leo were the prince and princess who had been exiled from the Kingdom of Conrad long ago, he laughed heartily.
He had guessed correctly that Leo was from a prestigious foreign family, and this pleased him greatly.
The marquis enjoyed piecing together information and making deductions. He would cast bait towards an uncertain future, rejoice when things went as expected, and savor analyzing the cause when they didn’t.
But that wasn't the only thing that delighted him.
Leo, that boy, turned out to be a useful son! Though he had shown only disappointing behavior before, his initial judgment wasn't wrong.
The Marquis didn't summon the siblings for a while and contacted the royal family of Conrad through the church's communication network, arranging a mutually beneficial deal.
The demands of the Yriel royal family were simple: kill both of them.
However, the marquis declared he would only kill the prince. Although this reduced the value of the deal, the royal family didn't realize how beautiful the princess had grown.
The marquis summoned the siblings to the mansion. He could have surrounded and annihilated the gangster den, but Leo was a problem.
Though he was disappointing in many ways, his swordsmanship was on par with an average knight. It would be difficult for a small number of soldiers to capture him, and if he escaped, the pursuit could be prolonged.
The simplest way was to lure the siblings to the mansion, kill one, and imprison the other.
However, something unexpected happened. Leo didn't bring his sister.
If he had brought Lena, Leo would never have been able to escape because of her.
Lena, led by Tian, arrived in the mansion's basement.
There were retired gangsters, including Ober, and women and children in the basement.
The basement of the mansion had more than ten tunnels.
This was a key reason the Rauno family had survived so long in Orville.
No one knew how their ancestors had built such facilities...
Ober grouped people into fives and pushed them into the emergency passages.
"Let's go now. We don't have time."
Ober urged Lena, Tian, and an elderly couple into a tunnel.
As he said, time was running out.
The gangsters of the Rauno family fought desperately, but the five knights were an overwhelming force they couldn't handle.
It wasn't the gangsters but the complex structure of the Rauno family mansion that hindered the knights.
This mansion was a series of connected buildings, and when Lena and Leo first arrived, they needed a guide for a while.
Relying on Tian's hand, Lena walked through the narrow, dark passage. She wanted to ask about her brother but couldn't.
Everyone walking together felt a mix of emotions. From Tian's hand, she sensed resentment and hesitation.
They all guessed the cause of the situation. No one ever benefited from entanglements with nobles.
At the end of the seemingly endless passage was a ladder, and Ober climbed up first, pushing aside the wooden panel blocking the entrance.
The panel was covered with something like a carpet, making it hard to open, but Ober struggled and finally opened it.
The five people cautiously emerged into a small house. The family seemed to be out working, and only an elderly man was lying on the bed. He slowly lifted his head, looking at them in confusion, and then seemed to remember the hidden passage.
"...It must be something serious?"
Ober nodded silently, and the elderly man got up, gesturing for them to follow.
He muttered as he led the five people.
"Oh, my legs. I forgot about this place... time flies so quickly..."
The old man came out and pulled a cloth covering something. Dust rose everywhere, showing how old it was.
Beneath the cloth was a water cart. Larger than a handcart, it was low enough for easy loading and unloading.
The old man muttered continuously as he loaded the five people onto the cart.
"It's been so long since I asked for that wretched bastard to be killed... Well, now that I think about it, I never even thanked you properly back then."
He repeatedly expressed his gratitude to no one in particular while moving the large water barrels piled in the corner.
Unable to watch him struggle, Ober and Tian helped him.
The five people, including Lena, were still inside Orville. They would now hide in the water cart to escape the city. It was something careful Joseph Rauno had prepared for emergencies.
"Oh, she's so pretty. I once had a daughter too. Well, she's gone now, but I lived well with my son."
The old man filled several barrels halfway with water, and one by one, the people submerged themselves in them.
"Wait here a moment. I'll go and..."
He muttered incomprehensibly and brought back a horse from somewhere.
North of the capital Orville, there was a large lake. Those who drove the water carts fetched water from there and sold it, but it didn't always sell out.
There was competition in this business, and unsold water would eventually turn slimy.
As much water came into the capital, so did the unsold and foul-smelling water flow out to be dumped into the lake.
Joseph Rauno had an idea.
The water carts were covered with cloth to keep dust out, and the water wouldn't be visible in the dark. Soldiers wouldn't bother to put their hands into slimy water to check.
The old man drove the creaking water cart, and the five people held their breath in the water as they passed through the city gate. The cart's squeaking and the horse's clopping masked them.
Watching them leave soaking wet, the old man thought his task was finally over. He recalled his daughter who had worked for a wealthy family and turned away sadly.
After escaping Orville, one of the women suggested they hide at her parents' house for a while to catch their breath and assess the situation.
With no specific instructions for after escaping the city, they followed her suggestion.
But after eating and learning the situation at her parents' house not far from Orville, they faced a decision.
Through the church's communication network, an order had been issued to all villages and cities.
- Capture the girl with golden eyes.
The entire Kingdom of Bellita was searching for Lena. To avoid capture, she had to flee to another kingdom.
After much deliberation, Ober and Santian Rauno decided to protect Lena. The elderly couple chose to stay in the village, and the three headed east.
During their long journey, Ober handed Lena juice from a plant called 'Depare.'
If she put it in her eyes, it would fade their color, making them lose their original hue, and Lena did so.
Her eyes burned.
Chapter 50: Beggar Sibling - Escape
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