Chapter 56
“What? Right now?”
“Yes, right now. And don’t tell my father.”
Muriela grinned as she turned back to look at Bianca.
The way she smiled was almost reminiscent of flowers singing in the spring breeze.
But Bianca could only gape in shock at the unexpected statement.
“What?!?!”
“Why are you so surprised?”
Muriela blinked innocently, as if she truly didn’t understand the reason for Bianca’s reaction.
‘How could I not be surprised?!’
The words nearly escaped Bianca’s lips, but she barely managed to swallow them down.
Of course, she was happy that the princess had been growing healthier lately.
But at the same time, Muriela had also been acting… strange.
Requests like today’s were proof of that.
‘Lately, Her Highness has been making a lot of jokes.
Is this another one?
But… it seems too serious for that…’
Clutching onto a thin thread of hope, Bianca tried to confirm once again.
“Are you serious, Your Highness? You really intend to go to the main palace?”
“Of course. I’m going right now.”
Bianca had desperately prayed that she had simply misheard.
But Solinor’s answer remained the same.
Her delicate lips, red like cherries, spoke the cruelest of demands.
‘Going to the main palace in secret…’
It was already nerve-wracking enough that Muriela wanted to go there at all.
But sneaking there without her father—King Eldric—knowing?
That was outright impossible.
Any royal, whether prince or princess, had to inform the court officials before leaving their residence.
Yet Muriela not only intended to ignore this, she also planned to leave without an escort?
It was the weekend, yes.
But what if someone came looking for the princess and found her chambers empty?
Muriela herself might not suffer any consequences.
But Bianca, as her lady-in-waiting, would most certainly pay the price.
She wouldn’t be executed for this, of course.
But she’d definitely lose her job.
And depending on what kind of trouble the princess caused at the main palace, things could get even worse.
To make matters worse, Bianca had no real backing.
Her father was nothing more than a mid-level bureaucrat in the capital—a quasi-noble at best.
It was thanks to this status that Bianca had been able to secure a position in the royal court.
But her father’s influence was nowhere near enough to protect her in times like these.
Under normal circumstances, this wasn’t a problem.
After all, most palace servants were in a similar situation.
But today… today was different.
‘If we get caught, there’s no way to smooth this over…!’
Muriela hummed a cheerful tune, completely unconcerned.
She had always seemed adorable, but today…
Today, Bianca found her just the slightest bit annoying.
Meanwhile, Solinor had only one thought in mind:
‘Hmm. Good. It’s time to properly educate those corrupt finance officials.’
While Bianca was in a full-blown panic, Solinor remained relaxed.
And with good reason.
This visit had already been arranged with Corbin through Zephyr.
Since their first meeting, Muriela had tested Zephyr’s abilities multiple times by sending secret messages back and forth.
And she was now confident in the system.
‘Corbin agreed to the plan, and he even assigned spies to ensure my movements remain discreet.’
Bianca was panicking for nothing.
Meanwhile, Florina—one of Corbin’s subordinates—had already been informed of the plan.
She had discreetly left Muriela’s chambers earlier to make the necessary arrangements.
Of course, Bianca had no idea.
So all she could do was grind her teeth in frustration.
‘Where the hell is Florina?! Just wait until she gets back—I swear I won’t let this slide…’
Though, realistically speaking, there wasn’t much Bianca could do.
Florina, despite her easygoing personality, was still a highly trained intelligence agent.
She could easily brush off anything Bianca tried.
“Alright, I’ve packed everything. Let’s go.”
Muriela picked up a stack of documents containing evidence of corrupt officials and slipped them into a small handbag.
Then, with bold, confident strides, she headed for the door.
“Y-Your Highness! Please, wait a moment!”
“Hm? What is it?”
Solinor turned back, wondering what Bianca’s problem was.
Though, to be fair, this entire situation was her fault.
She hadn’t exactly explained things properly.
And yet, she had the audacity to act like Bianca was the one being unreasonable.
“Are you sure this is okay?”
“Hm? Why are you asking? Of course, it’s fine. Everything’s been arranged, so don’t worry.”
Of course, that meant Corbin.
But Bianca misunderstood, assuming the princess had gone through all the proper procedures.
“Phew… that’s a relief. Your Highness, please let me know in advance if something like this happens again. I felt like I lost ten years of my life.”
“Sure, got it.”
It was funny how she asked for advance notice for a secret visit.
Well, Muriela could just tell her right before leaving next time.
Technically, that was still beforehand.
Solinor smirked to himself, imagining how dumbfounded Bianca would be if she knew what he was thinking.
Then, she led Bianca out of the room.
Soon, they arrived at the servant quarters.
“Bianca, call for Sir Hamilton. He’ll be coming with us.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Why does she need a knight escort just to visit the main palace?
Bianca couldn’t help but find it strange.
The royal garden was already safe, but the main palace was even safer.
It was the king’s residence, meaning security was far more stringent.
No one except the king and his guards were even allowed to carry weapons.
It’s probably the safest place in the entire kingdom…
Then again, deciding to visit the main palace so suddenly was already beyond unusual.
Bringing an escort knight wasn’t that odd by comparison.
Of course, Solinor had a different reason.
They weren’t just heading to the palace for leisure.
They were about to confront corrupt officials.
And after the confrontation, there would be… education.
“Education requires force.”
The culprits had committed crimes.
Cornered criminals could become desperate.
And since both Muriela and Bianca were frail women, even being a princess didn’t guarantee their safety.
A person who had committed a crime once could do it again.
There were spies watching from the shadows, but they were the last line of defense.
Having Sir Hamilton as an escort was necessary.
Taking Bianca along also served a purpose.
So far, she had proven to be quite capable.
If Muriela ever ascended the throne, she could use Bianca as her secretary.
This meant Bianca needed to be privy to certain secrets.
About a minute after Bianca left, Sir Hamilton finally emerged from his quarters, looking groggy—probably from sleep.
When he saw the princess waiting outside, he quickly straightened up and saluted.
“Princess Muriela. Good morning.”
“Sir Hamilton. We’re going to the main palace today. You’re coming with us.”
“…What?”
His reaction was nearly identical to Bianca’s.
Bianca, now feeling a strange sense of camaraderie with the knight, sent him a sympathetic look as he tried to process the situation.
“So… You’re saying we’re going there without the king knowing?”
“That’s right. We’re leaving now.”
Hamilton turned to Bianca with a bewildered expression as if asking what is happening?
But Bianca had no answer for him.
She didn’t even know how the princess planned to enter the palace undetected.
“Perfect. Everything’s going smoothly. Hahaha. This is flawless.”
The problem was that Solinor had always been the execution type in his past life.
His allies—or later, his strategists—handled the planning.
He just approved the plan and carried it out.
Now that he was the one making the plan, things had… become like this.
He had always been on the receiving end of plans, so he had no idea how to explain them properly.
Thus, his current companions were left utterly confused.
Without offering any clarification, Solinor led them toward the hidden passage Corbin had used before.
“Alright, we’ll go in through here.”
“Excuse me, Your Highness, but… how do you know about this passage?”
“Hehehe, I have my ways. Oh, and it’s a secret. You must never tell anyone.”
Bianca and Hamilton exchanged uneasy glances before nodding reluctantly.
Solinor ducked inside first, parting the overgrown foliage as she stepped through.
Leaves and twigs brushed against her clothes, but she had expected this and had pulled her sleeves down to protect her skin.
After traversing the lengthy hidden passage, they arrived at the palace’s back waste disposal area.
Florina was already waiting for them.
She greeted them with a silent nod before pressing a finger to her lips.
The others instinctively understood.
From this point on, no one could make a sound.
With her posture slightly lowered, Florina led Muriela swiftly into the main palace.
Bianca and Sir Hamilton, still clueless about what was happening, blinked in confusion before reluctantly following along.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment