The Poisonous Princess Who Successfully Infiltrated the Enemy as an Employee - Chapter 2

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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 2.

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The carriage lurched violently, its suspension groaning.
I didn’t pull my gaze from the window, even as the dull vibration rattled up through my spine.
This was the first glimpse of the outside world in a week.
I’d never known that fresh air could be so exhilarating.
A week ago, strange men had dragged me to some unknown hideout, and they’d taken everything—the medicinal herbs, the toxic herbs, my research journal, all of it.
I’d been locked in a room without proper windows ever since, and now, seeing the world again, the fact that I’d survived finally sank in.
But…….
“Come now, Your Highness. Open your mouth.”
I placed a careful hand on my upper abdomen.
‘They called it Hellvein.’
That was the name they’d given to the toxic herb they’d forced down my throat.
I’d thought myself quite well-studied in the medicinal and toxic herbs of this world, yet I’d never encountered anything like a plant that could parasitize a human body as its host.
At first, I’d laughed at them inwardly—if this truly was a toxic herb, surely my body would neutralize it the moment it entered my system.
But Hellvein was different.
Over the past week, rather than being neutralized, it had settled deep into my abdomen as if it had found the perfect home.
Once a day. If I didn’t drink the sedative, they said the creature in my belly would gnaw through my organs. The agony was unspeakable.
I’d nearly lost consciousness testing it once.
“Think of it as the minimum safeguard against your betrayal. Should you breathe a single word about our Guild, that creature in your belly will chew through every last one of your innards. Remember that, and only that.”
Don’t take the sedative, and I die. Misspeak once, and I die.
‘In every martial novel I’ve read, people who swallow something like this end up as slaves their whole lives before dying anyway…….’
Unless I could synthesize an antidote, escape from the Grand Duke’s Residence would be impossible.
‘First, once I arrive at the Residence, I need to learn everything about Hellvein.’
What kind of plant it is, how it functions, how to create an antidote, and—
‘how to remove it.’
A long exhale left my lips. Truly exhausting. Utterly exhausting.
I sighed and turned my gaze back toward the window.
That’s when my reflection in the glass caught my eye.
And…….
‘Was I always this beautiful?’
I traced my fingertips across the face reflected in the carriage window.
Translucent, ivory skin. Deep, rich blue eyes. Platinum-blonde hair spilling down my back.
Over this past week, the women—apparently from the same Guild as my captors—had washed my body dozens of times over and anointed it with fragrant oils.
Of course, they hadn’t managed to erase the old scars scattered across my body, nor the calluses embedded in my fingertips and palms.
‘But this is practically a rebirth, isn’t it?’
There was no trace left of Evelyn the commoner, who’d spent her life crawling through dirt harvesting medicinal herbs.
Even if I passed people from Billot on the street, they wouldn’t recognize me.
‘Perhaps it’s better this way.’
If I buried myself deep within the Grand Duke’s Residence in this form, I’d never have to face the people of Billot again.
The real problem lay elsewhere.
“But, sir, I don’t know anything about Royal Protocol. What if I’m exposed as a fake? Wouldn’t it be better to use a properly trained substitute like you originally planned—?”
The leader of the men had laughed at my concern, answering me thus:
“There’s no need to worry about that. After all, the Princess of Delmar was a mad princess who’d lost her mind to the trauma of war.”
“……So whatever I do, people will just assume that’s how she is?”
“Exactly. Babble nonsense if you like, crawl on the floor if you like—do whatever you please. You just need to seduce the Grand Duke and bear his child.”
“Ugh, I have tastes too, and I can’t just jump into bed with anyone—”
“Then die here.”
“I swear I’ll draw on every ounce of determination I’ve cultivated to complete this mission successfully!”
“…….”
At the time, I’d agreed out of desperation to survive, but seduce the Grand Duke? Really?
In both my past and present lives combined, I’d never been in love once—the task was practically impossible.
‘And that Grand Duke in particular…….’
Barcan Escar, the Grand Duke, was one of the Secondary Male Leads in this novel.
‘How am I supposed to seduce a man who’ll have eyes only for the original heroine when she appears?’
Was this truly my only fate—to die one way or another?
I’d made all those plans to flee to the Eastern Continent, to stay clear of the original story entirely—so why did it feel like I was drifting dangerously close to it now?
I slumped a little. My modest dream of boarding a ship, sailing to the Eastern Continent, and growing old running a pharmacy seemed to be waving goodbye, slipping further away with each moment.
Then, suddenly, I shook my head hard.
‘No, that’s not it!’
There’s no point in getting scared or discouraged beforehand.
I survived poison. I survived facing those ruthless men who made light of human life.
‘Where else would you find a life as stubbornly tenacious as mine?’
So this time, too, I’d have to find a way to survive.
Survive, and actually visit the Eastern Continent—that legendary paradise of toxic herbs—and even set up a respectable pharmacy there!
I gazed out the carriage window at the imposing mansion before us.
Its walls were solidly constructed of dark blue stone, and it rose with a tall, deep red roof and spires. Rather than ornate, it was built with thorough practicality and defense in mind—an austere, old-fashioned estate.
It matched exactly the Grand Duke’s Residence as I’d heard it described by the ruffians.
‘So that’s the Escar Grand Duke’s Residence….’
Yes.
Whether I die one way or another, it amounts to the same thing.
‘Since it’s come to this, I won’t die as easily as the princess in the original story.’
I’ll survive, no matter what. I’ll survive and slip away from the Grand Duke’s Residence like wind itself!
As the residence drew closer, I clenched my fists tightly.
And a short while later.
“We have arrived, Your Highness.”
The voice of the ruffian masquerading as a guard came from outside the stopped carriage.
I drew a deep breath, released it, and straightened my posture.
Then the carriage door opened. The cold Northern air rushed in all at once.
I took the ruffian’s hand and descended from the carriage slowly.
Just then, the ruffian whispered in a low voice.
“Don’t forget your mission.”
…….
Well, aren’t you being deceived thoroughly.
Without responding, I walked toward the Grand Duke’s staff.
Before the residence stood as many servants as the mansion’s scale demanded, lined up to receive me.
Yet their eyes held no warmth or welcome.
A quiet gaze mixed with subtle wariness was directed at me.
Then, a white-haired servant who had been standing at the front of the group approached.
Judging from his neat attire, rigid posture, and impassive expression that revealed no flaw, he was unmistakably the butler-in-chief of this residence.
As expected.
“Welcome to the Escar Grand Duke’s Residence, Your Highness. I am Hendrick Terdano, the butler-in-chief who manages this residence.”
His voice was formal. Yet the temperature behind it was just as cold and harsh as the gazes of the other servants.
I flashed a smile at Hendrick.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Hendrick. I am—.”
I paused for a moment, then spoke again.
“I am Evelina Delmar, the sixth princess of the Delmar Kingdom.”
It was an overly bright greeting for a hostage from an enemy nation.
As Hendrick observed me, his eyes cooled noticeably—as though he were confirming the rumors of a mad princess.
“Yes, Your Highness. I shall do my utmost to ensure your stay is without inconvenience.”
He bowed respectfully. I answered with an even brighter smile.
“Please, do what you can.”
…….
“By the way.”
I glanced around at the staff and tilted my head.
“The Grand Duke himself—isn’t he here?”
Hendrick answered without blinking an eye.
“His Grace has gone to deal with the magical beasts that have appeared in the Milidren Mountains in the Northern Region.”
His voice was matter-of-fact. Not an excuse, not an apology—merely an announcement.
‘Well, even though I’m a fake princess, I’m still superficially a princess of a kingdom.’
And not only had he failed to greet me, he’d abandoned his entire residence?
‘What an absolute bastard.’
As I blinked with an innocent expression, Hendrick continued.
“It unfortunately coincided with the appearance of the beasts. However, as such occurrences are common in the Northern Region, His Grace asked that you understand and be lenient.”
I let out a silent scoff.
‘Magical beasts, my foot. He just didn’t want to see my face and ran off to the mountains.’
In the original story too, Grand Duke Barcan despised the Delmar Kingdom intensely.
He had lost countless subordinates in the war—it was only natural.
There was no possibility he would receive the Princess, whom the Emperor had forced upon him and whose mind was not even sound, with great ceremony alongside her knights.
The hired staff who might have to welcome this mad Princess as the Grand Duke’s wife would surely feel the same.
I nodded lightly.
“There’s nothing to be done about it. I’m not so unhinged as to fail to understand that much, nor so narrow-minded either. I simply hope you return safely.”
Perhaps because my response fell so squarely within the bounds of normalcy, contrary to expectations, Hendrick’s gaze narrowed ever so slightly as he looked at me.
“Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness. I shall show you to your quarters now.”
“Yes, please.”
I followed Hendrick as he led the way forward.
Then, quite suddenly, I stopped.
“Oh, but there is one thing.”
At that, Hendrick turned to look at me, and the hired staff who had been keeping their heads bowed lifted their eyes to me as well.
“Yes, what is it?”
I spoke to them calmly, my chin tilted slightly upward.
“I’m not mad.”
“…Pardon?”
Hendrick repeated the question, a beat behind. I answered with an even more confident expression and tone.
“I said, I’m not mad.”
……
……
A brief silence fell.
Watching the expressions of the steward and staff—the way they looked at a woman who had lost her mind—I smiled with quiet satisfaction.
‘Well, that was natural.’
It seemed my first performance as a mad Princess had gotten off to quite a successful start.

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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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