Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 44

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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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44. Dud (1)

‘Last time, there was no teleportation device, so they must have collapsed from the poison spreading while climbing up. This time, there is a teleportation device, so they collapsed now.’

The three who were suffering from breathing difficulties and were paralyzed would have been very easy prey for monsters. Even if they hadn’t been attacked by monsters, they would have died from the poison.

‘How did Ying make it back to the lobby?’

Did she collapse together with them but was lucky enough to survive until the poison was detoxified? Or since she was called a servant of the god of darkness, did the god do something for her?

Though it was quite late for first aid, Serena first laid the three down properly and tightly bound the wounds where the spider had bitten them to prevent the poison from spreading further.

Ralph was unfortunately bitten on the neck, so she couldn’t tie it and instead cut the wound with a knife to make it bleed.

“Princess? What on earth…?”

“It’s poison. The poison from being bitten by the spider on the 5th floor seems to be taking effect now.”

“Poison? We don’t have any antidotes!”

“Right. We don’t have any.”

Serena asked Olive and Ying if they had any antidotes. She asked not knowing if they were conscious, but fortunately they seemed to still be conscious. Olive and Ying shook their pupils left and right instead of their heads.

‘What should I do. Should I die?’

Serena had rushed to touch the statue and save as soon as she came up from the 5th floor. When she saved, the three were already bitten by the spider, so even if she went back to the past, she would still need to detoxify them.

If the three died like this, she would have to regress, but she couldn’t just do nothing and let them die.

‘What can I do right now?’

She had used all the floor coins that could be used in the shop to buy the bonfire. All Serena had was 1 limited coin that could spin the roulette and 2 death coins that could summon people.

Both were in the realm of luck. Half of the limited coins were duds, and the people gacha reflected the desire sensor but had only a 1 in 100,000 probability.

‘Gacha. Let’s summon a person. Having anyone come out would be better than half duds.’

Serena decided to use the two death coins she had.

‘There’s a perfect candidate.’

Coincidentally, among the people Serena knew, there was a person who was perfect for a situation like this.

Originally, she planned to use one 5-star guaranteed gacha ticket for a labyrinth expert and use the other one to summon this person.

Someone with intact limbs, an expert in antidotes and potions, who was obedient to Serena and wouldn’t betray her over trivial matters. He was the person Serena trusted second only to Philia.

Though he was an adult male, it was fine. He was a devoted husband who cherished his wife more than his life, so he wouldn’t spare a glance at other women.

A potion expert who was absolutely obedient to Serena and wouldn’t cause trouble in romantic relationships. Could there be anyone more perfect than this for the current situation?

‘Come out, Count Randy!’

Serena earnestly wished to stimulate the desire sensor. Come out quickly and cure these three people from the poison! I’m counting only on you!

“Their breathing is getting weaker!”

Lavenda sobbed while adjusting the three’s posture to somehow make their breathing easier. Her sniffling briefly broke Serena’s concentration, but she coldly thought of only one person.

‘Now!’

The princess vigorously pressed the gacha button. This time, she even held her breath to avoid making the mistake of pressing it twice in succession.

Click.

One death coin was consumed. There was no turning back now.

“Hup.”

Had the person she wanted really been summoned? Serena opened her right eye that had been closed the whole time and took a deep breath. She waited anxiously for signs of someone in the passage.

“Serena-nim?”

Philia called the princess with a puzzled look, seeing her master suddenly head toward the passage while leaving the three patients behind. Serena raised her hand to explain to the maid and the mysterious stranger.

“I thought I sensed someone.”

Actually, she hadn’t sensed anything, but since someone had been summoned, it wasn’t a lie. Indeed, instead of Serena’s deliberately muffled footsteps, small footsteps could be heard, getting closer and closer.

“Who could it be in this situation?”

Lavenda hardened her expression while picking up her horn weapon.

“Princess, it’s dangerous, so please come this way.”

“Wait a moment.”

Serena hid behind the cart and looked at the approaching person. As soon as she saw them, a sigh escaped her.

“Is anyone there?”

The voice was high and thin. Lavenda, who had been holding her weapon ready to attack at any moment, was flustered and lowered her weapon.

“A child?”

“Is someone there?”

The newly summoned person was small in both build and voice.

A boy with ash-colored hair wearing a fancy formal suit popular in the Empire stood on his tiptoes and peered inside the cart.

Bitterness settled in Serena’s right eye. Her taste was very bitter.

‘It’s a dud.’

“Come in for now.”

Serena joined forces with Lavenda to push the cart and let the child into the lobby. The young child stopped when he saw the lobby full of graves.

“Graves? Undead?”

Walking through a strange basement and then finding graves everywhere with people collapsed when following sounds of people? Serena would have run away immediately.

Serena quickly spoke before the child could come to his senses and run away.

“They’re not undead, they’re living people.”

“Who are you, sisters? Where is this? Why are there graves underground?”

With a clear voice that hadn’t yet reached puberty, he looked at most 12 years old. A child younger than the teenage Ralph. He was truly a child.

Moreover, there wasn’t a single star above his head. 0 stars. At first glance, he was obviously a precious young master from some noble family in the Empire, which was natural, but his young age made Serena even more deflated.

‘A 0-star foreign noble child. Is this for real.’

Should she be grateful that an even younger child wasn’t summoned? Serena closed her eyes in frustration. As if mocking such a princess, a notification window labeled “Tip” appeared.

[Tip. If the person you wanted didn’t come out in the regular gacha, think about whether your desire or connection was insufficient.]

‘I understand desire, but what’s connection? Do you need connections to summon well? Then you should have told me in advance!’

Serena couldn’t contain her irritation and kicked the ground.

‘Count Randy should have a deep connection! He’s my maid’s husband and I arranged their marriage, so isn’t that a deep connection? How much deeper does it need to be!’

She arranged a marriage for her retainer and wanted to summon him, but her desire and connection were insufficient? She wanted to summon a husband to where his wife was, but was there some complaint? There was no greater unreasonableness than this.

“Sister, are you hurt somewhere?”

While Serena was squinting her eyes tightly and kicking the ground, the child’s concerned voice was heard.

‘Calm down, Serena. There’s a child in front of you.’

Serena began her breathing technique for dealing with difficult people to calm her mind and body. Would it be proper for an adult to show such behavior in front of a child who must have been trembling with fear after suddenly falling into a strange place?

‘If an adult is afraid, the child becomes even more scared. I’m fine, it’s nothing. I have one more death coin.’

“I’m fine. Thank you for worrying. What is your name?”

“I am…”

“Ugh.”

Just as Serena was trying to comfort the frightened child, Ralph’s condition worsened. His breathing, which had been weak but steady, stopped briefly before resuming.

‘Should I die.’

At this rate, even if Serena summoned the person she wanted, the three’s prognosis wouldn’t be good. Wouldn’t it be better to die cleanly and treat them when the poisoning wasn’t severe?

“Why are that brother and sisters lying down? Are those people sick too?”

“They’re poisoned. Do you happen to have any antidotes?”

Serena asked without much expectation. The child’s clothing was fancy, so he seemed to be from a well-off family, so his parents might have given him potions. But antidotes were used less than potions, so the probability of carrying them was low.

“Yes, I have some.”

“Really?”

Unexpectedly, the child had antidotes. Before Serena could speak, Lavenda reacted first.

“Young master! Please bestow the antidotes you have! I won’t forget this kindness!”

“I’d like to do that, but these potions aren’t something I can use as I please…”

“If they belong to someone else, I shall provide compensation. Allow me to introduce myself belatedly. I am Serena Huaim Fackling, Grand Duchess of Heuji. His Highness the Crown Prince of Heuji is my father.”

“Your Highness the Princess! I apologize for not recognizing you immediately.”

The child straightened his posture and greeted with Imperial court etiquette. Unlike his strangely naive-sounding speech, his greeting was very polite and flowed smoothly like water.

“I am Grey Ash, an attendant to His Highness the 5th Prince who leads the proud Empire’s delegation. It is an honor to meet Your Highness the Princess of Heuji.”

The child with a name like hair dye color classification was a page to the Empire’s 5th Prince. Serena knew Grey. Though she had never directly conversed with him, she had seen him standing obediently behind the prince several times.

“Um…”

Lavenda’s heart, which had been watching the greetings between the two high-ranking people with trembling fingers, was burning with anxiety.

“Young Master Ash. If you could give us the antidote first…”

“Sorry, sister! Here it is.”

Grey took out a small bottle from a small leather bag attached to a fancy belt that matched his fancy clothing. The bag contained several potion bottles, all bearing the Landriole Workshop label.

“It’s the highest grade antidote from the Imperial Landriole Workshop. Originally prepared for His Highness the Prince, but even if His Highness were here, he would have generously given it. His Highness the 5th Prince is someone who cherishes life, ah, ahem. He is a benevolent person.”

“Thank you so much.”

Lavenda bowed politely as if she had received a life-saving grace and accepted the antidote. The Mysterious Stranger fed the antidote to the three with trembling hands.

Cough.

The effects appeared shortly after taking the antidote. At first they worried he was choking, but it was actually coughing as his blocked airways reopened.

The complexions of the three collapsed people visibly improved and their breathing returned to normal. Their stiff limbs also relaxed and moved smoothly under Lavenda’s touch.

Serena examined the three’s condition together with Lavenda. All were unconscious, but their pulse and breathing had returned to normal.

“It seems the crisis has passed.”

“As expected, Landriole potions are the best!”

They had worried about the delayed antidote consumption, but the top-grade antidote from Landriole Workshop lived up to its name and price. Philia smiled brightly with joy.

“Thank you so much. If we hadn’t met you by chance, we would all have died.”

Lavenda repeatedly expressed her gratitude to Grey. Except for Serena, who had been a commoner in her previous life, everyone naturally accepted the Mysterious Stranger bowing like a cuckoo in a cuckoo clock.

“I’m glad I could help sick people. But where is this place? Haven’t you seen His Highness the Prince?”

Now that the urgent matter was resolved, it was time to clear up Grey’s questions. Serena felt truly sorry to deliver bad news to a child and spoke honestly.

“Don’t be surprised when you hear this. This is a labyrinth.”

“A labyrinth? This place?”

“That’s right.”

Grey blinked his ash-colored eyes as if the Princess’s words were hard to believe.

“Uh… I felt an earthquake…”

“Yes. We also felt the earthquake and when we woke up, we were here. We soon realized it was a labyrinth.”

Grey clasped his hands together and hunched his shoulders as he looked around again. The child’s grey eyes, which had been looking at the tombs occupying most of the lobby and the campfire, stopped at the Bread Tree.

“Is that really bread growing on it?”

“Yes.”

For Grey’s quick adaptation, Serena personally picked bread from a branch and handed it to the child. The child carefully received the bread. The child’s eyes widened as he felt the soft texture of the bread.

“I’ve heard about this. They say Bread Trees in labyrinths only appear from at least the 20th floor. So this place is deeper than the 20th floor?”

Perhaps befitting someone from the country with the most labyrinths, he had some labyrinth knowledge. Grey said the same thing Olive had said when she saw the Bread Tree.

“No, this is the 1st floor. There’s an exit over there, but it’s blocked by rocks and debris so we can’t get out.”

“I’ll go check it out!”

Grey ran off in the direction Serena pointed. At this point, it could be considered an annual event that happens whenever someone new is added.

They expected him to return quickly, but there was no word from him. Was it because he was a child and gave up slower than adults?

“What if he got crushed while touching the debris? Should I go?”

Lavenda worried about young Grey. Serena shook her head.

“If the debris had collapsed, we would have heard the sound. He’s probably shocked and scared, so let’s leave him be for a moment.”

“Yes.”

As Lavenda went to tend to the patients, this time Philia approached.

“Lady Serena. That child named Grey, by any chance.”

Since she already knew what Philia was trying to say, Serena nodded.

“Yes. It seems to be that child we know.”

Grey Ash, the 0-star foreign noble child who came out as a dud in the gacha. There were rumors circulating that Grey, the 5th Imperial Prince’s page, was the protagonist.

‘Was it called the 5th Prince’s secret, I think.’

The truth was supposedly that he was actually the 5th Prince’s lover, whom the Prince couldn’t bear to part with even when going as a foreign envoy.

‘That pedophile should just die miserably in this labyrinth.’

While Serena wished for the 5th Prince’s miserable death, she reminded Philia to keep it secret since it wasn’t good news to spread widely. The maid immediately understood and nodded earnestly.

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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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