Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 172

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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172. The Royal Family’s Shame

The party returned to the lobby with the two newcomers they had found in the labyrinth.

The newcomer who saw Serena using the teleportation room showed the reaction that anyone with knowledge about labyrinths always displayed.

“Wh-wh-what? How?”

“This is just the beginning, so listen carefully to what I say. If you listen to the Princess in the labyrinth, bread comes out, fruit comes out, and toilets come out.”

“I understand the first two, but what’s this about toilets?”

“A toilet is a toilet. She even gives out doghouses.”

‘They’re capsule beds!’

She had made a big decision to splurge on them, but the capsule beds had a bad reputation.

‘Don’t they understand how important personal space is in a closed environment where you’re forced to live communally? Is it a cultural difference?’

Was it a difference in perception between modern people who enjoyed the individualism and solitude of big cities and medieval fantasy world inhabitants who valued groups over individuals?

Low’s mouth, which had been arguing about what nonsense this toilet talk was, snapped shut like he’d been hit with glue when he saw the silver-haired beauty running toward them after opening the lobby door.

“Lady Serena! You’ve returned early! Thank goodness!”

After confirming her master’s safety, Philia took care of her husband.

Heuji Jeolmi, who kissed Count Randy’s cheek, checked the attack group’s numbers.

“Two more people? Weren’t you just going to bring back one person?”

“Something came up.”

With two large men present, the 1st floor corridor was packed as if a wall had been built.

The remaining group awkwardly greeted the newcomers.

Prince Willow, who couldn’t leave the lobby due to his curse, smiled brightly when he saw the blonde knight who was a head taller than everyone else.

“Sirius! My friend! I’m glad you’re safe!”

The Prince spread his arms wide to welcome his close friend.

“Your Highness! Excuse me.”

“Ugh!”

Count Alpha, upon seeing the Prince, pushed through people like a wild boar and strode forward.

Grey, who had been in the corridor, was knocked aside by the knight and crashed into the wall.

“Sirius! No matter how urgent it is, don’t you think about your size? What are you doing rushing in without giving people time to get out of the way?”

“Your Highness. I’m relieved you are safe.”

Count Alpha immediately knelt before Prince Willow without any preamble.

The knight, already large in stature and wearing full armor with a cloak, exuded overwhelming presence as he knelt before his lord.

“Wow.”

People opened their mouths in admiration at the overflowing aura.

Serena clicked her tongue inwardly in displeasure.

‘Isn’t he a bit too good at kneeling?’

There was no real need for it, yet he knelt and apologized in an exaggerated, theatrical, and impressive manner.

The knight, knowing his own martial prowess, lowered himself to emphasize the Prince’s authority.

Whatever his intentions, he had firmly imprinted the Prince’s authority on everyone in the lobby.

‘These Empire people. How is it that everything they do from the first meeting is about seizing the initiative? Is the national sentiment about striking first to win?’

This was why she didn’t want to draw someone else’s sword.

When Count Alpha acted like this, Serena also had work to do.

Serena struck first before Prince Willow could speak.

“Count Alpha. Don’t block the door and stand up.”

The Princess deliberately stepped on the cloak of the knight blocking the lobby door with his large frame and looked down at him.

Count Alpha couldn’t hide his flustered expression, quickly exchanged glances with Prince Willow, and respectfully stepped back.

“My apologies.”

“Hmph.”

Serena glared at the back of Prince Willow’s head as he bowed and retreated like a servant, then sat in the only chair in the lobby (made by the Prince).

A cushion had been added at some point, making it more comfortable to sit on than before.

“Lady Serena! Are you tired? Would you like a bath?”

“I’ll massage your hands!”

When the Princess sat in the chair, the maid and the mysterious stranger rushed over to attend to her.

“*Cough* Welcome back. *Cough*”

Neet soaked a towel in hot spring water and offered it to the Princess first, then distributed towels to the attack group.

“The Princess is so lucky~ I want to be attended to by a beauty like the Countess too~. Or I’d like to be the one doing the attending~”

“Olive. Do you truly wish to become my enemy?”

“Hey, Count. Not the Countess, but someone like the Countess! See?”

The existing party members familiar with the lobby took off their equipment and prepared to rest, wiping their hands and faces with warm wet towels.

Low, whose large frame was regrettably frozen like a borrowed cat, kept glancing around nervously, then straightened his hunched shoulders and pretended to be nonchalant when he felt others’ gazes.

“Low Sol.”

“Y-yes!”

“You are now also a comrade conquering the labyrinth. Make yourself comfortable. However, you must never forget that you are a criminal serving hard labor. Miss Lavenda.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“Miss Lavenda. This person is Low Sol. He’s a labyrinth adventurer but also a criminal who invaded Heuji Royal Palace. You can treat him casually like you do the Number Siblings. Since Miss Lavenda is the lobby manager, listen to her explanation and rest.”

Lavenda couldn’t take her eyes off Philia, who was clinging close to the Princess and massaging her hands and shoulders, but quickly put on a service worker’s smile.

‘She must be envious of Philia. Well, their roles have switched.’

According to status and occupation, Philia should be managing and supervising the lobby while Lavenda should be doing odd jobs and massaging the Princess’s shoulders.

But what could be done? While Philia knew how to manage a grand mansion, she didn’t know how to manage the labyrinth lobby with all its shortcomings.

‘Especially since she doesn’t care about other people’s feelings at all. It’s better to leave it to Lavenda than Philia.’

Serena drank the lemonade the maid brought her.

Unlike the lemonade Lavenda made, this one tasted sour and astringent, and even had hard lemon seeds mixed in whole.

‘Was the lemonade I made for Lavenda like this too?’

Even though it had become something that never happened, sometimes her mouth still tasted bitter.

Serena took another sip of lemonade to get rid of the bitter taste.

Even though the seeds had settled, eating something cool and sour made her feel alert.

“I’m glad you’re alive. Really glad.”

“I too am happy that Your Highness is alive and well.”

“Sorry to interrupt this joyful reunion, but there’s something I’d like to hear about in detail from Count Alpha.”

The blonde knight, recognizing the importance of the matter, immediately knelt before the Princess.

“When I met Crown Prince Kipan…”

Count Alpha tried to give a detailed report, making the story long, but it could be summarized in one sentence.

‘He wandered around looking for the Prince, heard news of his grandfather’s death, spotted the Prince near the Crown Prince and was running toward him when the labyrinth appeared.’

It was similar to the story she had heard from Prince Willow.

‘He doesn’t seem to be lying.’

“I want to know about the situation after you fell into the labyrinth.”

“After the earthquake, I lost consciousness briefly. I don’t know how long I was unconscious, but when I woke up, I was in a strange garden. I didn’t think it was a labyrinth then, but when I was attacked by Brush Wolves, I realized it was a labyrinth.”

Count Alpha immediately began moving to search for Prince Willow.

“While searching for His Highness Willow, I encountered Heuji’s knights one by one. Then I also met Crown Prince Kipan.”

“Was he safe?”

“Yes, the Crown Prince was safe.”

Count Alpha hesitated for a moment before adding an explanation about Crown Prince Kipan.

“He wasn’t injured, but he kept laughing. To an eerie degree.”

Serena crunched down on the lemon seed she had been rolling around in her mouth without swallowing. It tasted awful.

“Since the Crown Prince gave no particular orders, I followed the instructions of the Heuji Royal Knights’ commander. I wanted to find His Highness Willow, but there was an opinion that it would be better to quickly escape the labyrinth and request rescue rather than act alone, so I moved with them.”

Count Alpha and Heuji’s knights easily defeated the 5th Layer boss and ascended to the 4th Layer.

On the 15th floor, goblins and labyrinth chickens attacked the knights, but they easily dealt with them as well.

The undead on the 14th floor were also pulverized by the attacks of the knights escorting the Crown Prince.

‘Well, of course. They’re royal knights with at least a 5-person party.’

Even with the baggage that was Crown Prince Kipan, they were still a royal knight party.

Using Lucas as a standard, even if they were just minimally 3-star gathered together, it was tremendous fighting power.

“While wandering around that floor, we discovered a strange crystal that changed the labyrinth’s lighting when touched.”

Count Alpha and the Heuji knights discovered the crystal’s effect by accident, just like Ralph.

The knights who accidentally touched the crystal and experienced the blinding light adjusted every crystal they saw and walked the path of light.

“The moment we touched the crystal, a hole opened in the floor where His Highness the Crown Prince and the knights happened to be gathered, and everyone fell down.”

Count Alpha’s brow furrowed as if the memory still seemed absurd.

“Count Alpha, you managed to escape unharmed.”

“I was walking at some distance from the group, so I was outside the trap’s range. I immediately went down to the floor below, but couldn’t find His Highness the Crown Prince and the knights. I went down to the floor below that as well, but the moment I descended, I was transported to a different space rather than near the stairs.”

This was too dangerous to continue.

Fortunately, the place Count Alpha was transported to was the central garden.

Count Alpha climbed the stairs again and reached the 14th floor.

However, traps caught the knight’s ankles. Count Alpha struggled with unfamiliar traps and couldn’t find the stairs leading to the 13th floor, wandering around the 14th floor.

When his water ran out, he drank labyrinth chicken blood, and to survive, he tore off raw labyrinth chicken flesh to stave off hunger.

Then, while he was exhausted and resting against a wall, the assault team found him.

“That’s how it happened.”

“Sirius! You nearly died because of me coming to Heuji! I’m truly sorry!”

“Indeed. If Your Highness hadn’t wandered around alone, you would have suffered a bit less.”

“Oh, speaking so honestly when people are around. Are you really angry?”

“Hmm dmm mrmgm hssl tmd.”

“I’m truly sorry this time. I’ve reflected deeply.”

After hearing Count Alpha’s story, Serena pressed her forehead and clenched her teeth.

The anger and curses she had harbored since her reincarnation slowly crept up her throat, but she suppressed them with all her might.

‘Why are they falling into traps and causing such chaos? I didn’t curse them.’

Despite having Huaim blood flowing through them and receiving the family’s formal education (?) that the Serena siblings never got, they still fell into traps.

This was a disgrace to both House Huaim and the Heuji Royal Family.

Serena ground her teeth.

Ralph, interpreting the princess’s displeasure in his own way, spoke with burning determination.

“Princess, please don’t worry too much! His Highness the Crown Prince will surely be safe! Miss Olive said that among the pitfall traps, some transport you to different floors! The trap His Highness fell into must surely be that kind of trap!”

While she appreciated her retainer’s intention to encourage her, Ralph had gotten it completely wrong.

‘I’d rather he were dead.’

Serena slightly raised her head to look at the young knight.

Bright, unwavering eyes and an innocent face.

The face of a child who had been loved and raised, never having parents for whom dying young would be the greatest gift they could give their children.

Pure innocence that had never once doubted that parents naturally love their children, and children naturally love their parents.

Serena had always thought Ralph’s innocence and pure heart were as dazzling as morning sunlight, but today it felt excessive like the labyrinth’s light.

‘Still, it’s not your fault.’

If she had to be honest, Serena was in a better situation.

The princess recalled the children she had seen on the street the day she fell into the labyrinth.

The children didn’t even know what was inside the toys their father had bought them, and ran through the streets laughing innocently, delighted by their new toys.

To extract the drugs, the toys had to be broken.

The children’s new toys probably didn’t last long.

The innocent smiles that had made Serena smile that day must have turned into pitiful tears.

‘I’m better off than those kids. I’m royalty, after all.’

Though she didn’t want to weigh the burden of misfortune, if they all had drug-addicted parents, wouldn’t Serena, with her noble status and wealthy parents, be less unfortunate than those children?

So Serena was fine. This had been a lucky life, all things considered.

‘If only there were no labyrinth.’

Serena struggled to suppress her urge to grind her teeth again.

“Yes. Count Ralph is right. His Highness the Crown Prince will be safe. The ancestors of Huaim will protect him.”

‘He did all those drugs and still isn’t dead, right? He must be alive.’

Crown Prince Kipan was strong against bad luck.

During the tragedy that befell Heuji and House Huaim, he hadn’t even gone near the mountain, and when Richard assassinated the royalty, it was Harold II who died.

‘Since he fell with the knights, he must be alive.’

Having confirmed the prince’s safety, Serena pretended to carefully listen to Count Alpha’s words about helping rescue Crown Prince Kipan while closing her right eye and opening her left.

After hearing news about her father that she wasn’t particularly curious about, there was something to comfort the princess’s mood that had been uncomfortable all along.

Namely!

[You now have 10 gacha companions. Rewards will be distributed.]

It was a free reward notification.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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