The Poisonous Princess Who Successfully Infiltrated the Enemy as an Employee - Chapter 22

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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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Episode 22.

***

“Good morning, Your Highness! I hope you slept well!”
I blinked awake at the bright sound of Celin’s voice greeting the dawn.
“Mm. Good morning, Celin.”
I rubbed my eyes and pushed myself up, leaning back against the headboard. Then I caught sight of a maid beside Celin, still tying back the curtains, and smiled.
“Good morning to you too, Ena. You’re in good spirits today?”
Ena’s shoulders stiffened as she gripped the curtain cord.
She turned toward me with a soft creak, her discomfort written plainly across her face—as if she’d been silently begging me not to acknowledge her. Then, as though resigned to her fate, she bowed her head deeply.
“Good morning, Your Highness…….”

“Right.”
I returned her greeting cheerfully and climbed out of bed.
After washing in the bathroom, I changed into a light, comfortable dress that was easy to move in.
I finished a simple breakfast in my chamber, and while Celin and Ena cleared away the dishes, I reached into the nightstand drawer for the Helbayne Sedative—as I did every morning.
‘Quite the skill, whoever you are.’
When exactly did they slip in, and how did they manage to leave it without being seen?
Gulp, gulp. I swallowed the bitter liquid and stretched luxuriously, walking toward the open window flooded with morning light.
I breathed in the crisp morning air, and a refreshing sensation seeped deep into my lungs.
Gazing out at the Imperial Palace gardens, where exotic flowers gleamed beneath the morning sun, I rested my chin on my hand and fell into thought.
To control the Lakryon Mountain Range with my own hands, I first had to bring that inflexible Barcan into line.
No matter how many times I spoke of the riches that land might hold, there was no chance he’d trust the word of a mad princess and act on it.
‘Now is the time to show my hand……!’
It was true that playing the mad princess had served as a useful shield until now.
But to prove my value, I had to lower that act—at least somewhat.
‘Time to reveal what I know, piece by piece.’
I turned from the window and left my chamber, heading for Barcan’s quarters.
I’d expected him to be buried under another mountain of documents, but I was wrong.
Before I could even knock on his door, it swung open, and both Barcan and Roan stepped out.
Barcan, impeccably dressed in a black formal uniform, stopped when he saw me.
A Navy Blue Cloak draped across his broad shoulders emanated the cool, bracing atmosphere of the Northern Region’s winter.
I approached him quickly and asked.
“Goodness, Your Grace. You look particularly splendid today.”
“…….”
“But you’re dressed as if you’re about to go out. Don’t tell me you’re leaving the palace?”
To my question, Barcan pulled on his Leather Gloves and answered flatly.
“I have business outside the palace, so I must take my leave.”
In that moment, my voice rose before I could stop it.
“What?! You can actually go outside the palace?!”
“I’m not imprisoned.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me before now!”
When I raised my voice in indignation, Barcan tilted his head slightly, as though it were none of his concern, and replied coolly.
“Did you ask?”
“Well! Of course I thought I had to stay confined to the palace—you brought me here as a hostage, after all!”
At that, Barcan looked down at me and spoke.
His eyes were as impassive as ever, though something like a shallow flicker of displeasure crossed beneath them.
“Princess.”
“What.”
“You may have come to Castillo as a hostage.”
His voice lowered.
“But now you stand here as a member of House of the Grand Duke.”
“…….”
“You are no hostage.”
His cool and resolute voice resonated heavily through the quiet hallway.
A member of House of the Grand Duke…….
In that moment when he called me by that name, something unfamiliar washed over me—an odd, settling relief.
Embarrassed at having raised my voice unnecessarily, I muttered under my breath.
“……Well, we haven’t even gotten married yet. It’s not like I’ve taken a Marriage Oath…….”
“…….”
As I grumbled, Barcan’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
Clearing my throat, I looked up at him directly and asked.
“In any case, if I’m not a Hostage, I can go out and play as I please, right?”
My eyes gleamed as I spoke, and Barcan answered firmly.
“That won’t do.”
“What do you mean? Look at this! I *am* a Hostage! I’m definitely a Hostage!”
At that, Barcan—already accustomed to my antics—gestured toward Roan, who stood behind me, and spoke.
“I shall arrange Guard Knights to accompany you.”
“…….”
I pouted and fixed Barcan with a hard stare.
Guard Knights, no less.
What if they got disciplined again, like they did in the Grand Duchy’s bustling district?
After a moment’s thought, I stepped closer to Barcan and spoke.
“In that case, I’d rather follow you instead.”
“…….”
Barcan faltered, and Roan’s eyes widened behind him.
“Take me with you, yes? I think it would be better to go with you than to have Guard Knights!”
“…….”
“I won’t get in the way! I’ll keep my mouth shut!”
“That’s a difficult claim to believe.”
“I’ll breathe quietly and won’t be a bother!”
“That’s even harder to believe.”
“No! You’ve only ever been deceived! Just try trusting me once?!”
I stared at him with bold eyes, and finally he let out a short, weary sigh.
“Roan.”
Having called for Roan, Barcan looked down at me briefly before moving forward and speaking.
“The Princess shall move with us as well. Make the preparations.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Yes!!! I cheered internally and pressed close to Barcan’s side.
‘That was a close one.’
It was fortunate I’d met him before he left the Imperial Palace.
Otherwise, I might have gone the entire day without crossing paths with him, let alone getting a chance to broach the subject of the Lakryon Mountain Range.
‘Once I’m by his side constantly, the opportunity to talk about the Lakryon Mountain Range will surely come!’

***

However, my plan to seize an opportunity and bring up the subject of the Lakryon Mountain Range proved far more difficult to execute than I’d anticipated.
It was pleasant enough setting out in a carriage early in the morning toward the Capital’s bustling district, but I never imagined I’d be dragged about from place to place until the sky turned crimson with sunset.
Throughout the day, Barcan’s itinerary was exhausting enough to make one’s tongue wag.
In the morning, he visited the Central Bank to review documents related to the Grand Duchy’s finances, then made the rounds to blacksmiths distributed throughout the Capital, and even called upon merchant caravans passing through the Grand Duchy.
Since I wasn’t the type to sit quietly in a carriage, I followed along with Barcan’s movements, and by now my legs had swelled painfully.
‘I’d rather climb a mountain instead.’
Still, there was one useful thing I gained from it all.
Because Barcan had taken me through every corner of the Capital’s bustling district and its outskirts, I’d managed to memorize exactly how many medicinal herb shops there were and where they were located around the Capital Square.
‘The heavens are helping me. Otherwise, how could I possibly pass by medicinal herb shops everywhere we go?’
Feeling pleased with myself, I glanced at Barcan, who sat across from me reviewing documents.
‘But does the Head of House usually run around so directly like this?’
Wasn’t it common for nobles to sit in their lavish offices and work the system, commanding subordinates with a mere flick of a finger?
Roan was accompanying us, but he did nothing more than his role as an aide—mere support work.
All the actual negotiations—gently contesting over documents with meanings difficult to decipher, leading conversations with demanding business partners, and drawing out outcomes overwhelmingly favorable to House of the Grand Duke—all fell to Barcan.
Since the original source described him as someone with strong sense of responsibility toward the Northern Region, it was clear his character was that of a meticulous perfectionist incapable of offloading crucial work to others.
‘He’s honestly sincere to the point of foolishness.’
As a strange sense of admiration bloomed within me amid the throbbing fatigue of my swollen ankles,
the carriage came to a gentle stop in front of a restaurant.
“Let us take our meal here and then return,” Roan said.
“Ah, very well…….”
Still, he made sure to provide proper meals at every opportunity.
He was cold, had no warmth, and his manner of speaking was rather unpleasant—but fundamentally, when it came to the essentials of survival—food, clothing, and shelter—he seemed to take proper care of them.
Once we entered the restaurant, we were promptly guided up to the second floor, which was arranged as a terrace.
The peculiar thing was that while the first floor was packed with people, the second floor was entirely empty except for us.
I was skimming through the menu when I finally closed it and looked across at Barcan.
“Would you choose for me? I’ll eat whatever you select.”
……
At my brazen request, Barcan’s brow furrowed as if he regretted bringing me here in the first place.
Then he called over a server and placed an order.
Soup, salad, roasted meat, stew, bread, and side dishes. It was more than the two of us could reasonably eat, but I didn’t complain.
Food is a blessing in abundance.
Once the order was placed, I leaned against the terrace railing, peering down at the crowded first floor below, and asked, “This place must be quite famous. It’s so busy.”
“I’m not certain about that, but the food is reasonably good overall.”
“But why is the second floor so empty?”
……
“With the second floor completely vacant and just the two of us here, I’m starting to wonder if perhaps the Grand Duke rented the entire floor just for me.”
……
When I let out a soft giggle, Barcan lifted his water glass with an expression suggesting my comment wasn’t worth acknowledging.
A short while later, steaming dishes were set before us on the table. It was quite a lavish spread.
My appetite had built considerably, so I went straight for the soup.
It was delicious. Much as I hated to admit it, Barcan had a talent for choosing food.
After working through the salad and soup, then the thick steak and stew in turn, I finally felt full.
I dabbed my lips lightly with the napkin, set down my fork, and broached the subject I’d been holding back.
“Right. That matter of the Lakryon Mountain Range.”
……
Barcan’s gaze, which had been fixed on cutting his steak, suddenly turned toward me.
“From what I’ve gathered around town, that place doesn’t seem to be an ordinary mountain range.”
At my words, Barcan gave a light nod without pausing his knife work.
“If it were an ordinary mountain range, the Emperor wouldn’t have surrendered it so readily.”
So he’d known all along—that the mountain range was a burden meant to hamstring House of the Grand Duke.
‘Just like my own existence.’
I pressed my lips together for a moment, then deliberately let my face fall slightly.
“I’m sorry……”
“What are you apologizing for?”
“Because that mountain range—in the end, you received it because of me.”
Then Barcan lifted his wine glass and took a slow sip before setting it down with composure and speaking quietly.
“In exchange, the territory of the Grand Duchy has expanded accordingly.”
……
What?
His expression and manner of speech were as blunt as ever, yet somehow his words just now felt as though they were meant to comfort me in my dejection.
I looked at him with an expression of mild surprise and asked, “Do you have a plan?”
“A plan as such? No. As we have done until now, the Guard Knights of House of the Grand Duke will simply hold back the Demonic Beasts.”
“That’s what the Imperial Palace did as well. And every year, there were numerous casualties.”
His hand stilled for a moment. I didn’t let the opening pass.
“Shouldn’t we try something different?”
At my point, a faint glimmer crossed Barcan’s eyes.
Perhaps the sight of a mad princess from an enemy nation fretting over her adopted house’s military strength and practical concerns struck him as oddly amusing.
Since a serious tone had been established, I leaned forward slightly across the table toward him.
Then, glancing around as if about to share some intimate secret, I lowered my voice to barely above a whisper.
“Your Highness, that burden. Won’t you trust me with it? Won’t you leave it to me?”
……
Of course, Barcan’s eyes were filled with wariness.
Naturally, he couldn’t trust a mad princess from an enemy nation.
Yet despite that, with eyes and a voice more earnest than ever before, I placed one hand near my lips and spoke in a hushed tone.
“Truth be told, I hadn’t intended to share this much.”
Barcan watched me in silence.
“The truth is, I’m……a genius.”
At that moment, both of Barcan’s eyebrows twitched faintly.
“What……did you just say?”

“I’m a genius, you see. Though it’s a secret only certain people know about.”
“……A genius.”
He repeated the words in a low voice. Seizing the moment, I pressed forward with shameless audacity.
“Yes. Uncharted lands, suspicious mountain ranges, mist of unknown composition and plants with no names. I happen to be extraordinarily skilled at uncovering such things, you know?”
All those times I’d excavated the frozen earth of the Grand Duke’s gardens, all those times I’d bounded cheerfully through the treacherous snow-covered mountains of the Northern Region—it was all because I possessed this particular talent.
I added this with a hint of pride in my voice.
Barcan’s eyes, fixed on me, narrowed very slowly.

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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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