The Kidnapped Prince is Mine Now - Chapter 64

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 64
Still, I nodded in agreement.
Then I patted Hilda’s shoulder, her face flushed crimson with rage, and spoke.
“If she doesn’t release you within a couple of hours, just knock them all down.”
“Understood, Your Highness!”
The women behind the Head Maidservant regarded Hilda with obvious exasperation. It seemed they had heard exactly what they were meant to.
Yet the Head Maidservant alone withdrew with an unruffled expression, clearing the path toward the palace.
“Welcome to the Second Prince’s Consort Palace.”
She offered the greeting as though she were the mistress of this place and I merely a guest.
***
The main structure of the Second Prince’s Consort Palace was a three-story stone building.
Beyond the central hall, ascending to this floor revealed a study, a dressing room, and a terrace overlooking the gardens.
The third floor existed solely as the Princess Consort’s bedroom. Upon opening the bedroom door, an enormous canopied bed dominated the center of the chamber.
“The small room connected inward is the powder room. It connects to the bathroom.”
Following the Head Maidservant’s instructions, the maidservant who accompanied me explained the structure of the palace in a gentle voice.
“On the western side of the first floor, there is a small side entrance. It is the quickest route to the Second Prince’s Palace, so it may prove useful to remember.”
“Ah, useful information indeed.”
Throughout the ascent to the third floor, I detected nothing unusual about the maidservant. The woman with her docile demeanor seemed to be performing her duties with utmost diligence.
“You must be exhausted from your long journey. Would you care to rest for a moment? Shall I help you change?”
“No, I’d prefer to be alone for a while.”
Though she was undoubtedly the Head Maidservant’s spy regardless.
“Still, Your Highness, your clothes must be uncomfortable….”
“No, they’re quite comfortable actually. I can even sleep in them like this.”
Faced with such an obvious dismissal, the maidservant could offer no further objections.
“Then… please call for me when you need anything. I shall wait nearby.”
She bowed with an awkward smile and withdrew. The heavy wooden door creaked shut behind her.
And what arrived in her wake was silence. That quiet peace which could only be savored when truly alone.
“….”
But was I truly alone here?
I surveyed the bedroom carefully. The ornate chandelier and elegant wall sconces. The plush carpet beneath my feet.
It was a flawlessly maintained chamber. Even the Emperor would not have assigned a cobweb-draped palace to a Princess Consort of common orphan origins.
Yet I could not find reassurance in this.
‘Why did the Head Maidservant separate the maidservants from me?’
Truly for their education?
Was I succumbing to paranoia over the mandatory training a Princess Consort’s attendants should naturally receive?
Was this place truly safe? Was the inscrutable Head Maidservant merely a consummate professional, while I alone remained gripped by unease, suspecting everyone around me?
‘That cannot be.’
Through my repeated existence, I had learned certain lessons.
One of them.
‘Never trust those within the Imperial Palace.’
I drew a pistol from my breast pocket. In such a confined space, a handgun was superior to a rifle.
At times like these, my status as a member of the Imperial Family proved advantageous. As an inviolable presence, I was exempt from body searches.
Besides, most people wouldn’t even recognize what the metal object in my pocket was.
I kept my back to the wall to avoid exposing it. I moved with light, measured steps while humming softly.
“Hmm, hm-hmm.”
As though I were careless and unguarded. I opened the Dressing Room door and aimed inside.
If anyone burst out, I intended to put a bullet through their skull. But the Dressing Room was empty.
I entered directly and searched every conceivable hiding place. I even checked the Bathroom beyond, but found no assassin crouched in the shadows.
It was fortunate, in a sense. Yet my vigilance did not diminish.
Until Clara and Hilda were released, I would have to be cautious of even a single cup of water brought by the maidservants, let alone refreshments and tea.
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue and left the Dressing Room.
Finally, I surveyed the Bedroom carefully, but the space was entirely open on all sides, leaving nowhere of particular interest to examine.
Except.
‘Beneath the bed.’
Only one place—under the bed.
It was the location Frederike had hinted at with her plump, crimson lips.
But was it truly a hint? Or was it a trap?
What if it were merely mockery designed to inflict this pointless anxiety upon me?
The space beneath the bed was concealed by ornate lace curtains attached to the canopy.
The fabric was thin and translucent, allowing darkness to show through, but to properly see underneath, I would need to lie down completely.
So, what should I do now?
“….”
To be honest, I wanted to stop this pointless mental deliberation that suited me so poorly.
Without prolonged consideration, I kept the pistol in hand and moved forward. I removed my indoor slippers and stepped up onto the bed.
The large, plush bed seemed as though it would embrace me warmly, regardless of what was about to unfold.
I lowered the hand holding the pistol. I aimed at the floor below and thought.
‘I cannot die here.’
The stage for Rotar to receive Zaikas’s blessing had not yet been prepared.
Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger.
With a soft sound like compressed air escaping, white muzzle flash erupted from the barrel.
I had no time to marvel at Lumeknia’s excellent suppressor.
“Aaaaah!”
A man’s anguished scream pierced my ears.
“My.”
A direct hit.
Without hesitation, I fired five or six more rounds. Evenly distributed from the pillow end to the foot of the bed, leaving no room for escape.
Soft, soft—the sound of air escaping echoed lightly through the room. The thick door of the Bedroom seemed to prevent that noise from leaking beyond.
“…Hgh.”
The labored breathing of someone struggling for air was the last sound.
I stared down at the comforter, now riddled with holes, as crimson blood streamed from beneath the bed.
At that moment, a knock sounded at the Bedroom door.
“Your Majesty, is something amiss?”
It seemed she had heard the initial scream.
“Come in.”
I tucked the gun into my robe and replied. The Bedroom door opened immediately, and the maidservant who entered froze the instant she saw the pool of blood beneath the bed.
“…Your Majesty, what is…?”
I regarded the bewildered maidservant with an unblinking stare.
Ordinarily, wouldn’t most people scream upon seeing blood?
Failing that, they would tremble with fear, or at the very least, express concern for the Princess Consort on the bed.
Yet the maidservant who had guided me to this room earlier merely wore an expression of perplexity, as though confronted by an unexpected sight.
As if the scene she had anticipated was not this one.
So I asked.
“What is your name?”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“I asked what your name is.”
The maidservant, belatedly collecting herself, bowed her head deeply and answered.
“I am Irma, Your Majesty.”
“Very well, Irma.”
I stepped barefoot onto the floor slick with blood. My indoor slippers had long since been soaked through with the dead woman’s gore.
I continued forward, leaving vivid crimson footprints across the precious carpet as I approached the maidservant.
The moment Irma’s eyes met mine as I drew near, she started in alarm, her shoulders trembling.
I offered her the gentlest smile I could muster and spoke.
“Listen carefully from this moment on. Depending on your answers, you may live or you may die…”
But I could not finish.
“Just die already, you filthy wretch.”
A twisted smile twisted across the maidservant’s face, her voice utterly transformed.
She whispered to me.
“Is this how it ends for you?”
And before I could respond, a sharp dagger gleamed from the maidservant’s sleeve.
I dropped to my knees instinctively, lowering my body. A cool whistle of air passed above my head.
I rolled across the floor to evade the descending blade, using my gun-cane as a walking stick to barely parry the dagger she wielded.
‘This madwoman.’
I never thought I would have to employ the brief lessons Rotar Eisenrit had taught me back in Lumeknia so soon.
Had I not rolled across that earthen floor then, I would surely have a red line carved across my face by now.
Even so, a prolonged engagement favored me poorly. My opponent seemed to be thrashing about in desperation rather than wielding any true technique.
‘That said, if she managed to infiltrate the Princess Consort’s Palace as a maidservant, she must come from a respectable family and received a proper education.’
Though such education would certainly not have included sword lessons for a well-bred young lady.
How had she come to undertake such a mission?
To be honest, I was not particularly curious about her circumstances.
“Irma, was it?”
I raised the gun toward the maidservant’s forehead as her breath came in ragged gasps, her strength already spent.
“Take one more step, and I’ll put a bullet through you.”
The maidservant glared at the gun barrel pointed at her—or rather, at me beyond it—as though she might tear me to shreds at any moment.
“Answer well, and I’ll let you live.”
“….”
“Who’s behind this?”
Ha! The maidservant tilted her head back and let out a bitter laugh.
Did she not know what a gun was, acting so brazenly?
As I deliberated whether to blow off her left ear, the maidservant opened her mouth.
“An orphan who spread her legs for the Archbishop just to survive—did you truly believe someone of such base origins could live proudly as a Princess Consort of The Empire?”

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