The Poisonous Princess Who Successfully Infiltrated the Enemy as an Employee - Chapter 70

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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 70.

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“……Hm.”
When my eyes opened again, the first thing I felt was the cold, rough stone floor pressed against my cheek.
The back of my neck throbbed with a dull, pulsing ache. As my eyes slowly focused, the dim interior of a musty warehouse came into view, the stale dust hanging thick in the air.
‘Where am I…….’
An unfamiliar warehouse.
The rough stone walls were smeared with ancient mold like water stains, and the floor was littered with rotting straw and empty wooden crates scattered haphazardly.
Torn burlap sacks were stacked along one wall, and old coils of rope and a few rusted farming implements lay buried in the dust.
One door.
One window.
But that small window was fitted with iron bars set at irregular intervals.
I looked down at my wrists.
They weren’t bound.
That troubled me more than anything.
‘Did they think I couldn’t escape even without restraints?’
Just then, a low voice seeped in from beyond the sealed iron door.
“Why not just kill her?”
I instinctively held my breath and pressed my ear against the cold gap in the doorframe.
“No matter how I think about it, killing her cleanly right here seems like the better option. Why are we keeping her alive and making this so troublesome?”
To the man’s grumbling, another man’s sharp rebuke came swiftly.
“Don’t be reckless. The Marquis ordered us to hold this woman until the Duchess receives proper punishment for this incident.”
At those words, the grumbling man clicked his tongue in irritation.
“Wouldn’t it be faster to just kidnap the Duchess instead? We could grab her without anyone knowing and finish her off.”
Then it would look like the Duchess admitted her guilt and died while fleeing, the man muttered.
But the voice of the man facing him grew even colder.
“……How foolish. Does the Duchy of Escar seem so poorly guarded to you?”
“No, I wasn’t saying it was poorly guarded—.”
“Haven’t you seen the Escar knights surrounding the Secondary Palace in layers? They’re all on edge because of the Duchess trapped inside. If you’re so confident, why don’t you try walking straight into that nest of monsters yourself.”
At that, the grumbling man coughed softly.
“That would be… difficult…….”
The other man scoffed at him.
“You don’t need to be so impatient. Now that we have this woman in our hands, the day the Duchess receives her punishment won’t be far off.”
“That’s true—didn’t they say this woman was going in and out of that terrible Secondary Palace regularly?”
“Right. She must have been receiving secret orders from the Duke or Duchess. There’s no way a novice investigator could be so bold otherwise.”
Then another man let out a chilling laugh.
“Exactly. When nobody amounts to anything and still struts around relying on their backers, this is what happens. She had no idea how deep she was wading. No idea where her grave would be.”
“We need to interrogate her before we kill her, so don’t touch her.”
Then the laughing man spoke.
“Of course. But let me have the honor of cutting off her last breath, will you? Before I kill her, ……I’d like to have some fun.”
“It’s your taste. Do as you please.”
Once permission was granted, disgusting laughter echoed from beyond the iron door.
‘The Marquis…….’
At that word, my mind—which had been foggy and sluggish—snapped awake as if cold water had been dumped over me.
‘They must be talking about Bientra.’
I ground my teeth. The situation was terrible, yet simultaneously fortunate.
‘At least they have no idea I’m the Duchess.’
Just as in the Apothecary Room and when entering and exiting the Secondary Palace, I had used a Magical Device to alter my appearance, so it made sense they wouldn’t know.
‘But they actually kidnapped an investigator belonging to the Imperial Investigation Bureau?’
Following Aizen through every corner of the Imperial Palace and turning them upside down must have deeply irritated these men.
‘Let me just escape. I’ll make you pay for this.’
Did they really think I’d die by their hands?!
I suppressed my boiling rage with cold calculation and quietly stepped back from the door. Right now, I didn’t have time for anger.
The time I’d promised the Emperor, the time Ellenor had left, and the time Dylan was enduring.
All of it was rapidly diminishing in my mind.
‘I did give Dylan the final formulation ratio…….’
Still, the anxiety was inescapable.
If even a single drop more of Silverlill went in—or less—the Antidote would fail in the making.
And there was no time to start over now.
What if Varcan discovered I was gone?
Not just Varcan—the entire Duchy of Escar could mobilize.
‘No. No, I can’t let that happen.’
I’d bought time and gathered evidence piece by piece; I couldn’t afford to have the Imperial House and the Duchy clash again, not here.
I lifted my head sharply.
‘I can’t just wait for someone to rescue me. I have to get out on my own.’
A prince on a white horse and his rescue—that’s a privilege meant for the original heroine, not for me.
I swept my gaze across the dark Warehouse, searching for a way out.
Broken crates.
Damp straw.
Rusted spades.
Torn burlap sacks.
There wasn’t much worth using.
Then my eyes caught on a small window high up in the Warehouse—its rusted iron bars spaced widely apart.
Without the bars, my body could slip through easily enough.
I carefully dragged wooden crates and stacked them up.
Creak.
The crate made a small sound.
I froze.
Fortunately, it didn’t carry beyond the iron door; the men outside continued their idle chatter unbroken.
I exhaled slowly.
‘I need to be more careful.’
I climbed carefully up the stacked crates and peered briefly at the world outside.
The night sky beyond the ridge was beginning to brighten faintly.
‘Good. The sun hasn’t fully risen yet.’
There was still time until noon. I hadn’t been unconscious as long as I’d feared.
The problem was the bars.
I stared hard at the thick iron bars blocking the window. For now, this was my only way out.
‘If I could just cut through these two bars somehow, my body would fit through easily.’
Was there any tool worth using?
I picked up the rusted spade lying in the corner of the Warehouse, wedged it between the bars, and pushed with all my strength.
Crack—!
The spade’s blade bent instead of the bars giving way.
‘Damn it.’
I set down the broken spade.
Next, I brought a rope from the corner, twisted it, and hooked it around the bars.
Then I stepped down from the crate and slowly pulled, putting my weight into it.
Creak, squeak.
The rope and rusted bars ground against each other noisily, but the bars showed no sign of bending.
I released the rope immediately.
Just then, the men’s conversation outside stopped.
“Did you hear that sound?”
“What sound?”
“Beats me. You don’t think she’s already woken up, do you?”
Another man chuckled.
“We gave her plenty of Sleep Powder—she’ll be out for two solid days, or so they said. No need to worry. It’s probably just rats.”
“Probably.”
The men’s suspicion evaporated quickly.
‘I can’t afford to make any more noise.’
I stared down at my raw, aching palms as I gripped the spade handle and rope.
‘It seems there’s only one way.’
I reached into my waistband and pulled out the paper packet containing the Sleep Powder I’d used to sedate Varcan.
The Sleep Powder contained Frostmint as one of its ingredients.
Plants like Frostmint, found in high-altitude regions, contained a component called Menthitri.
When that Menthitri element met certain substances, it could dissolve metal.
I carefully removed my gloves and looked down at my palms—marked by calluses and old scars.
‘That certain substance is my blood.’
Back when I lived in the southern regions in the past, through countless experiments I discovered that the toxin flowing through my blood reacted with Menthitri compounds.
‘I never wanted to know that either…….’
Huff, huff—!
I took a short, sharp breath, then used the jagged edge protruding from the wooden crate to cut open my palm.
Then I immediately rubbed it against the iron bars and spread Sleep Powder generously over the blood.
A sickening hiss filled the air—Tsssssss—as the metal bars began to corrode, acrid smoke curling upward.
While the bars dissolved, I hurriedly pulled out the Hemostatic Agent and applied it to the wound on my palm.
Since it wasn’t a perfect formulation yet, it would take some time for the bleeding to stop completely.
After coating it generously with the agent, I tore a strip from my skirt and wrapped my palm as if bandaging a wound.
A fierce burning pain flooded through my palm, but I wasn’t the sort to cry out over something like this.
And moments later.
The instant I saw the iron bars had snapped clean through, leaving a gaping hole, the corner of my mouth curved upward into a smirk.

***

Crash—! Bang—!
The two ruffians guarding the entrance, startled by the sudden commotion from within, quickly smashed through the iron door and stormed inside.
“What the—! What’s that noise!”
But the warehouse they found was empty.
Their eyes snapped immediately to the window where the iron bars lay severed, a gaping hole in their place.
“Damn it! That bitch got out through there! After her, now!”
Without a shred of doubt, the ruffians bolted toward the opening that connected to the outside.
The empty warehouse.
After a moment of silence.
A head poked tentatively out from behind the largest, darkest wooden crate.
“……Did they all leave?”
Yeah, they’re gone.
“Phew…….”
I let out a sigh of relief.
I’d punctured the window to make it look like I’d escaped through it, when in fact I was crouching and hidden behind the crates in the warehouse the whole time.
And off they went scrambling without even noticing!
‘Even if they were too panicked about a mere common investigator breaking iron bars—supposedly unbreakable—and fleeing, they should have at least checked inside the warehouse!’
Really, these kidnappers didn’t have the basics down. Not the basics at all.
With the tension gone, I leaned against the wall and giggled quietly to myself.
“Stupid bastards. Did you really think you could keep me locked up with those brains of yours?”
Me, I’m a woman who’s escaped even the Duchy of Escar!

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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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