The Poisonous Princess Who Successfully Infiltrated the Enemy as an Employee - Chapter 46

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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 46.

At his sudden words, my eyes widened inside the sleeping bag.
Barkan was still gazing at the campfire.
The firelight flickered across his profile like a gentle caress.
“I’m telling you this so you’ll understand your condition well enough to stay away from the Western Tower from now on.”
…….
“I couldn’t warn you beforehand. Even if I had, somehow I sensed you would have gone in anyway.”
…….
I let out a small, quiet cough.
Though we hadn’t known each other long, Barkan had already read me with startling accuracy.
‘If he’d told me not to go in, I probably would’ve snuck a peek out of sheer curiosity.’
I nodded vigorously in agreement with his words.
He continued.
“Every head of the Escar Grand Duchy, without exception, has suffered from this Madness.”
And the moment Barkan himself became the head of house, the affliction began.
His voice was measured and calm.
Like someone reading from an ancient chronicle, not speaking of his own life.
“Do you understand how grave it was that you descended into the basement of the Western Tower?”
…….
For the first time, Barkan turned to look at me.
“Once the Madness takes hold, I could tear apart someone like you with one hand. Without hesitation, without remorse. Like a beast.”
Once it begins, the Madness persists for a week, he said.
To prevent innocent people from being harmed or killed, when the Two Moons rise, he confines himself in the basement of the Western Tower and binds himself in chains.
The Western Tower was originally built in preparation for war, making it nearly impossible to break free from within.
“But.”
Barkan tossed the piece of wood he’d been holding into the fire with a soft thunk and went on.
“For some reason, this time it ended in just one day.”
“Really? That’s wonderful news!”
I sat up eagerly in my sleeping bag.
“But why? You said it usually lasts a week, didn’t you? Could your condition be improving?”
Barkan shook his head.
“I can’t be certain. That’s why I had to keep you separated from me for the remainder. I suspect your presence might be the variable responsible for this change in my symptoms.”
Ah…….
Now his words about confining me for my own protection made sense.
He hadn’t locked me away as punishment.
Rather, he’d been shielding me from his own uncontrollable violence.
“So from now on, do not approach the vicinity of the Western Tower.”
……I will.
I obediently lay back down in my sleeping bag and nodded quietly.
Barkan said nothing more about the Madness.
I stared at his back and turned over what he’d told me in my mind.
‘With just this much information, it will be difficult to formulate a cure…….’
Symptoms, attack cycles, warning signs, temperature fluctuations, pulse, presence or absence of hallucinations, the process of regaining consciousness.
There was too much I still needed to know.
But for now, this was enough.
The fact that Barkan had spoken even this much aloud must have been a momentous decision for him.
I turned my body to face him and asked.
“Your Highness.”
“Speak.”
“I said I wanted to gain your trust, but it feels strange for me to be the one saying this……”
Barkan looked at me as if wondering what I was about to say next.
“Your condition seems to be among the most closely guarded secrets, yet you’re telling me this. Is that really alright? Not long ago, you still suspected I might be a spy.”
The corner of his mouth lifted in the faintest smile.
“You said it yourself. In the end, this world is a place where people rub shoulders and live together.”
…….
“So I’ve decided to take the risk. To believe not in an enemy princess, but in the woman who will soon become the Grand Duchess.”
For a moment, my heart trembled.
The heat from the campfire seemed to rush toward my face all at once.
It had been something I’d said in the heat of the moment back then, but hearing my own words come from Barkan’s lips made me feel oddly conflicted.
‘A woman destined to become Grand Duchess…….’
On one hand, it meant Barkan’s perception of me had shifted even slightly; on the other, it was a remark that touched a nerve of guilt in me, knowing I would one day have to leave the Grand Duchy.
‘That’s exactly why I have to make this work.’
Until I left the Grand Duchy, I had to be an impeccable Grand Duchess.
By the time I departed, the Lacrion Mountain Range would no longer be a dead weight draining the Grand Duchy’s coffers, but a magnificent treasure house driving its prosperity forward.
With that resolve firmly set, I spoke to Barkan.
“That’s a truly admirable conviction, sir.”
“…….”
At that, Barkan let out a short, resigned laugh and turned his back once more.
Perhaps it was because he’d been the first to bare a secret.
Or perhaps he’d decided to trust me after all.
Watching his massive silhouette against the flickering firelight, my tension dissolved, and a deep drowsiness that I thought would never come suddenly washed over me.
I felt my eyelids growing heavy as I whispered, almost murmuring.
“……Thank you, ……Your Highness.”
“…….”
Of course, no answer came back.

***

The next morning.
We packed our supplies and left the cave before the sun had even risen.
Cutting through the pale, frozen air of dawn, we finally reached the entrance of the Lacrion Mountain Range.
‘Wow…….’
This was worse than I expected.
Beneath the brightening morning sun, the entrance of the Lacrion Mountain Range revealed its true face in full.
I’d heard and read about it during my investigations, but it was far more grotesque than anything I’d imagined in my mind’s eye.
The entire vast mountain range filling my vision was wrapped layer upon layer in a dense blue fog that seemed to choke the very air.
The Poison Fog didn’t disperse in the direction of the wind; instead, it writhed as if the fog itself possessed will and consciousness.
‘Ugh, what on earth is all that…….’
Even at a considerable distance, my throat was already beginning to sting.
Nox let out a low whinny as well.
Even Nox, celebrated as a divine steed for his keen intellect, seemed reluctant to step any deeper into that place.
I carefully stroked the bridge of Nox’s nose.
“Wait here for us. We’ll be back soon.”
Whuff.
Nox exhaled sharply in reply.
I opened the leather pouch at my waist.
Setting aside the now-empty Helbayne Sedative bottle I’d drunk from that morning, small potion bottles no larger than a thumb came into view.
I took two of those potions and held one out to Barkan.
The potion I gave him was genuine Poison Resistance Potion, while what I would drink was merely plain water.
In two days, the maximum number of resistance potions I could make was four bottles.
So I’d decided to give all four to Barkan.
Since I had natural poison resistance, there was no need for me to drink a resistance potion.
But if I didn’t drink anything at all, Barkan might grow suspicious, so I’d brought along a separate vial filled with ordinary water.
I tapped the leather pouch at my waist and spoke.
“I’ve brought a total of eight bottles. Each one lasts roughly an hour. If we each drink four, we can manage four hours.”
Barkan accepted the potion bottle I offered and nodded.
“So we’ll have four hours to go in and come back out.”
“That’s right.”
As I nodded, Barkan unstopped his bottle.
“Let’s drink then.”
Without hesitation, he emptied it.
Seeing him do so, I brought an identical-looking bottle to my lips.
Gulp, gulp. Barkan’s brow furrowed slightly.
“It’s bitter.”
“Good medicine is always bitter, after all.”
“…….”
In truth, the potion I’d drunk wasn’t bitter at all.
It was just ordinary water, after all.
‘Still, because I gave all the potion to Barkan, I can hold out for four hours in the Lacrion Mountain Range.’
If I’d split the real Poison Resistance Potion with him, I’d have managed barely two hours inside the Lacrion Mountain Range.
With only two hours, I wouldn’t even discover the mine—I’d probably just wander lost and have to flee the range in panic.
‘I didn’t go through all this trouble just to throw away such a hard-won opportunity.’
I took a deep breath, looking toward the entrance of the Lacrion Mountain Range.
“Well then, shall we head in?”
Come back alive.

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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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