I see… The direct royal lineage is carefully guarded, while the princess who married into the family from another kingdom is left fleeing.
The princess had been correct in her assessment that saying too much would endanger her homeland and her position.
Even still, I couldn’t stop worrying about Nonna.
She’ll be fine. She’s stronger than most men around here. I just need to focus on finding Princess Delphine and Nonna for now.
I kept repeating that to myself to maintain my composure.
Meanwhile, Princess Delphine had taken refuge in an attic. She crawled through the dark space on her hands and knees. Beside her was a girl who was supposedly Kate’s daughter. Three members of the Third Order were each guarding them in the front and back.
Her double, Kate, had assured Delphine the girl would be useful and not to worry. But Delphine found that hard to believe. The delicate, charming child followed silently and without a single complaint, even in this dire situation.
Delphine couldn’t understand Kate’s reasoning. If the rebels target Kate’s child because she’s with me, the girl could be killed as collateral. How could Kate think that was acceptable? As a fellow mother, the thought angered her.
They crawled forward for a while until the knight at the front pried open a section of the ceiling with his knife.
There was a considerable drop to the floor below, but the man jumped down without a sound. He immediately moved a table under the opening and said, “Please leap down here, Your Highness.”
“From this height?” Delphine was unaccustomed to such things, and she froze, overwhelmed by the distance to the table.
The girl spoke up. “I can go ahead and show you how it’s done.” She lowered her feet first, then hung by her hands from the edge of the ceiling and let go, landing soundlessly on the table. “Please try to get down the same way, Your Highness!”
“But…”
“Don’t worry. Even if you slip, this man will catch you. You won’t hit the ground or get hurt. Isn’t that right?” the girl asked the knight.
“Yes, it’s exactly as she says. Please hurry, Your Highness.”
The girl smiled serenely at Princess Delphine despite the urgency of the situation.
I can’t afford to be scared. If I perish, Oscar and Lucas could be killed in the chaos. I must stay strong.
Steeling herself for the sake of her children, Delphine lowered her legs while lying prone, clung to the ceiling, and then let go. She landed heavily on the table, nearly losing her balance, but the man caught her in his arms before she fell.
“Thank you.”
“Now, let’s move quickly.”
The knights led Princess Delphine through several rooms until they eventually came to a door. “This way leads outside,” the man said, opening it.
But there were five men with swords drawn inside the passageway, their eyes bloodshot as they silently charged.
The Third Order operatives met the attack with equal silence as they engaged in combat. It was five against six. Delphine froze up and began preparing herself for death.
The next moment, the girl beside her darted into the fray, dagger in hand.
“Watch out!” Delphine shouted, but it must not have reached her.
The girl sprinted toward one of the men and plunged her dagger into his right shoulder. He screamed, dropping his sword. Another soldier swung his blade at her, but she deftly dodged it and struck another opponent’s shoulder.
How can she move so quickly? Delphine watched in astonishment. The girl showed no fear or panic as she calmly targeted the area between the neck and shoulder of the soldiers’ dominant arms, rendering them incapable of wielding their swords one by one. And she did so while weaving through the enemy’s sword strikes, finishing them off with precision. Even though Delphine was watching it with her own eyes, she could hardly believe it.
The girl wasn’t even out of breath.
Some soldiers tried to resist despite their injuries, but the girl slid across the floor in response. She leaped up and then severed their Achilles tendons, causing them to collapse with agonized screams. Delphine’s eyes widened in shock.
The soldiers could no longer lift their dominant arms or even stand. And those who tried to fight with their other hand were easily subdued by the Third Order.
The knights swiftly bound the soldiers, gagged them, and left them on the floor. One of the knights said to the little girl, “You’re incredible.”
“Cutting the muscle makes it impossible to lift the arm, preventing them from fighting back. My master taught me that killing should be the last resort.”
“Your master?”
“Anyway, let’s hurry!” the girl urged, and the six knights resumed escorting Delphine to safety.
“This way.” They led Delphine to a corner of the room, where a knight pried up the floorboards with his knife, revealing a hole just big enough for a person to fit through.
“This is the way outside.”
“I didn’t know there was a passage here,” Delphine said.
“It’s an escape route built between the outer wall and this room.”
Delphine and Nonna descended into the hole, the knights flanking them. The sloped path led downward, lit only by a small candle held by the lead knight.
The terrain eventually leveled off, ending at a brick wall. The operatives kicked at the wall, breaking it to reveal a small room. Inside were piles of wooden crates, seemingly empty as they were easily moved aside.
“The wall here is made of mud bricks. It’s an escape route for the royal family.”
Beyond the collapsed brick wall was a chamber used by the palace servants.
The group began filing out of the small storage room. Some nearby servants saw this and froze in fear, huddling together in one spot. The leader of the knights spoke to them.
“Did any soldiers from the rebellion come in here?”
“N-no, no one has entered,” one of the servants stammered.
“I see. What happens here must remain a secret. Understood?”
“Y-yes!”
It seemed the servants had been hiding, watching the situation unfold in the castle as the rebellion broke out.
“We need you to cover up the spot where we came through. Just stack the bricks back in place.”
“Yes!”
The servants quickly began to move after being instructed to seal the hole.