“Princess…?”

The candlelight Alyosha was holding hesitantly illuminated Kasha’s face.

Her bright pink eyes sparkled with clear anger. Alyosha’s breath trembled with emotion upon witnessing that the symbol of the Gileseth royal family was still alive and breathing. However, the last descendant of the royal family mercilessly shattered her emotion.

“Alyosha. You have been… deceived by them.”

“Wh-What do you mean, Princess?”

“I didn’t even know until now… that the demon’s stone was the royal family’s legacy. They said they just used me to steal the stone from you and break the seal. Once their goal is achieved, they will… eliminate me without mercy.”

Looking back, the pre-regression Kasha had been thoroughly violated.

They perfectly concealed the fact that she was of royal blood and only exploited her talent. And the moment her usefulness ended, they put her on the execution platform without hesitation.

Suddenly, Nigel’s smile flashed as he grinned from ear to ear.

Watching Kasha, Leon, and the other victims struggling to survive on the board he had set up, he must have felt a sense of petty superiority the whole time.

‘That vicious smile of yours. I will definitely shatter it, Nigel.’

Kasha gritted her teeth. Then Alyosha shook her head violently.

“But, that can’t be… The fact that the demon’s stone is the legacy of the Gileseth royal family is unknown to anyone outside the royal members!”

“Those who persistently brought down a dynasty would never miss even one trophy of such value.”

They must have been watching Alyosha, the princess’s close maid, all along. The reason they didn’t get rid of her and steal the stone earlier was probably because they couldn’t find a royal descendant who could break the seal on the stone.

From the moment they realized Kasha was a royal descendant, their persistent pursuit must have paid off.

Using Kasha’s name to lure Alyosha and steal the stone wouldn’t have been too difficult. After all, the only thing Alyosha had been waiting for all these long years was for a royal descendant to find her and restore the kingdom’s glory.

“We’ve been foolishly used, Alyosha. Both you and I, we’re the same.”

Disillusionment rose in Kasha’s eyes as she said that, but she soon erased it without a trace. She asked Alyosha in a quick tone.

“Where were you supposed to meet them?”

Overwhelmed by Kasha’s piercing gaze, Alyosha stammered back.

“Th-There is a narrow staircase at the end of this corridor that is rarely used. If you go down to the basement, there is a secret door that leads outside. I’m probably the only one in this mansion who knows that fact. It was a secret only passed down to the royal family even when this place was the royal palace…”

Ah. Could it be that this place used to be the palace of the Gilenua Kingdom?

The sudden realization made her body stiffen and her head dizzy.

If so, Kasha must have been born and raised here. Until the kingdom fell when she was about three or four years old.

She must have had a spring-like time growing up in the arms of her father and mother, loved by everyone.

There was a good reason for the nostalgic feeling that rushed in the moment she first saw this castle. That burdensome large room must have also been the room used by her mother, the princess.

Suddenly, Kasha coldly swallowed the lump of emotions welling up.

Now was not the time to leisurely reminisce about memories she didn’t even remember.

She had to remember exactly where she was standing now. Having one person like Alyosha who had vainly spent her life buried in the memories of a non-existent old kingdom was enough.

“Alyosha.”

Suddenly, Kasha called out to her calmly.

“Yes, Princess?”

“Alyosha. I am not a princess of the Gilenua Kingdom, nor the last descendant of the Gileseth dynasty. My name is… Kasha Yefrin Lyuschino. There is no Gileseth in my name. I’m just an orphan girl who was adopted and raised by Count Lyuschino.”

“Princess, how can you say such a thing!”

Alyosha seemed excited, trembling and gasping for breath. Kasha reached out her hand towards her wrinkled hand. As their body temperatures touched, Alyosha’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I can’t even imagine… how you endured the long years, Alyosha.”

Realizing the sincerity in Kasha’s eyes as she spoke slowly, looking straight at her, Alyosha suddenly held her breath.

“On behalf of my mother, I apologize.”

“Pardon? But this is not Princess’s fault. It’s all the doing of those rotten Imperial bastards!”

“Of course, they committed a sin. But my mother was also irresponsible to you. Having left you with such heavy legacies, she shouldn’t have… so feebly lost her mind like that. She should have remembered you somehow and made a vow to me to do something for you. She should have told me not to forget you, to lessen your burden, that’s what she should have said!”

Kasha’s breathing naturally quickened as she got excited.

“Princess…”

“Then, I also… wouldn’t have been so stupidly deceived by those bastards.”

Alyosha’s eyes trembled with confusion. She shook her head with all her might.

“But clearly the worst are those Imperial bastards!”

“You’re right. So I will take revenge on those bastards. Definitely. To do that, I… have come a very long way back.”

For a moment, Kasha’s eyes flashed with an inhuman chill. Alyosha shuddered but couldn’t take her eyes off that dazzling bright pink.

“Princess… To be honest, I had doubts. Whether a princess who left the royal family and grew up in the hands of the Imperials her whole life could truly revive the glory of the Gileseth royal family. But now I see, I was foolish. The blood of the Gileseth royal family that saved the continent from demons couldn’t be so vainly diluted!”

Seeing Alyosha’s eyes once again filled with madness, Kasha slightly frowned.

“Alyosha. That’s not what I’m saying… We can’t go meet those bastards now. Rather, we could be in danger.”

“They said the same thing.”

“What?”

“That you would probably say that, Princess. That you are wise but kind and tender-hearted, so you wouldn’t easily betray those who have taken care of you until now.”

Alyosha smiled with an understanding look.

“It’s okay. Whether it’s filth or blood, I’ll get it all on my hands, so Princess, you can just focus on rebuilding the kingdom!”

“What on earth are you talking about…”

Then suddenly, there was a sound of people approaching from beyond the corridor.

“Ah, there you are.”

Out of the pitch-black darkness, several men in masks suddenly appeared.

“Shall we go, Princess? We came to escort you ourselves since you took so long.”

The one who seemed to be the leader among them exaggeratedly bowed to Kasha and said. Was it only Kasha who felt that his tone was tinged with mockery?

“Escort the Princess comfortably. Not a single hair on her head should be harmed.”

Alyosha’s voice was filled with dignity as if she had returned to being the princess’s maid as she commanded firmly. Kasha cried out, her face pale.

“Alyosha! What are you doing? I won’t follow these men! These are the very… Imperials you despise. Their purpose is only to use us, as I told you!”

But Kasha’s persuasion seemed to fall on deaf ears to Alyosha. As if she had already been brainwashed by them, Alyosha only gently tried to soothe Kasha.

“Princess. Don’t worry. You’re just confused now because you suddenly learned such a tremendous truth. For now, just follow them and hide…”

“Now, there’s no time to waste. Let’s go.”

At the leader’s order, two masked men approached and straight away bound Kasha’s arms and gagged her mouth.

“Mmph, mmm!”

Kasha cried out desperately and struggled, but they paid no heed and dragged her body carelessly as if handling luggage. Kasha’s knees were dragged across the floor and her twisted arms ached as if they would break.

“Be careful, you’ll hurt our princess like that!”

Alyosha cried out urgently, sensing unease. Then the leader stopped her in an irritated tone.

“Be quiet. Are you going to wake up everyone in the mansion?”

“But to dare treat such a noble person like the Princess in that manner! Heaven will be enraged!”

“Ah, really, so noisy. I was going to spare your life because it’s bothersome.”

Muttering like that, the leader signaled to the masked man beside him with his eyes.

Then without hesitation, that man walked towards Alyosha step by step. What shone in his hand was clearly a weapon with a sharpened blade.

‘No!’

Kasha inwardly screamed as if coughing up blood and struggled.

But her screams, muffled by the gag, could not escape, and the arms of the masked men holding her were damnably firm.

Alyosha stammered, sounding anxious.

“Wh-What are you doing? You can’t be!”

“Can’t be what. The only one we need to take is that black-haired wench. They said we can dispose of the old hag however we want.”

The leader snickered and gestured into the air half-heartedly. Then the masked assassin charged at Alyosha without a moment’s hesitation. Along with a final scream, a thick scent of blood quickly spread in the darkness.

“Huk, huk… So you… really weren’t trying to help the Princess?”

“Princess or whatever… Anyway, crazy old hag, thanks to you we got this woman smoothly, so we’ll let you go without pain. Hey, finish her off.”

Spitting that out, the leader turned his back and walked into the darkness on the opposite side. The two masked men dragged Kasha and followed him.

“Ah, no… Princess… Princess!!”

Alyosha’s voice calling out only for Kasha even at the brink of death echoed through the corridor.

Kasha felt as if anger and despair as fierce as setting eyes on fire were burning her.

‘How can you… treat humans like trash again? How could you!’

Crazed, she struggled with all her might and kicked the leg of the man restraining her right side.

Although she was a powerless woman, perhaps because she drew up all the anger in her body, he staggered and his grip on Kasha loosened a bit. Just as Kasha was about to break free from the restraint using that gap,

“Such a nuisance, really.”

The masked leader’s rough hand grabbed Kasha’s hair and shoved his face close.

“Just come quietly. If we get caught, be prepared to have a bone or two broken.”

Ptoo!

At that moment, the spit Kasha spat out hit the leader’s face straight on.

His rugged eyes instantly turned red with rage, and he roughly pulled off his mask.

The moment Kasha thought his dull face in the darkness looked somewhat familiar, his hand gripping her scalp tightened as if to rip it off.

But right then, a voice carrying a chill colder than a winter snowfield cut between them.

“Let go of that hand right now. Otherwise−”

Tap tap tap. Swoosh.

The presence of someone rushing in like a storm was felt, and the next moment, hot blood splattered on Kasha’s face.

“I’ll kill you.”

Emitting tremendous murderous energy that seemed to freeze the surrounding air, Leon Aranias muttered like that.