Chapter 108
“Starting tomorrow, come pick me up here every morning. Which unit did you say you belonged to?”
“… I’m with the 2nd Division.”
“Fufu, don’t worry. I’ll let them know over there.”
“Yes.”
‘Perfect.’
Erica cheered inwardly.
When she first encountered Princess Arte, she had been nervous, but the situation had taken a surprisingly favorable turn.
As soon as Princess Arte learned that Erica was a woman, she immediately appointed her as her personal “soldier.”
She even commented that it was fortunate, as having only men on the battlefield was uncomfortable for her.
Disliking the idea of male soldiers coming in and out of her barracks, Arte promptly took Erica into her quarters.
The princess’s barracks were, as expected, luxurious.
Peering around the barracks through her helmet, Erica instinctively searched for anything suspicious.
On the surface, nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
‘There it is.’
Erica’s keen senses picked up on something.
A small box sitting atop a desk that appeared to be a vanity.
Erica felt an unusual energy emanating from the box, as if it was desperate to escape.
‘Definitely suspicious.’
The rapid shift in atmosphere earlier had been suspicious enough, but now the mysterious box in the barracks only added to it.
Erica’s suspicions about Princess Arte continued to grow.
At the same time, she felt a flicker of hope that this could be her chance to uncover the secrets behind the war and the dark magic.
“Do you remember how to get here?”
“Yes, I’ve memorized the way.”
“Then, can I ask you to tidy up here? Open that box over there and start organizing the clothes inside.”
“Understood.”
Erica glanced at the large box Princess Arte had pointed out.
She wondered what might be inside. Apparently, it was full of clothes.
“Fold the undergarments neatly and put them in the bottom drawer of the desk.”
“Got it.”
“Fufu. Alright, get to it. I have to step out for a meeting. I also need to talk about you.”
Nod—
Just as before, Erica exaggerated her movements as she bowed to Princess Arte.
‘This is my chance.’
Watching Princess Arte’s retreating figure as she left the barracks, Erica thought to herself.
Who would have thought such an opportunity would arise immediately after infiltrating the Flora Kingdom’s military camp?
‘Is she gone?’
Closing her eyes, Erica focused intensely on sensing Princess Arte’s presence.
The princess was slowly moving toward the center of the camp.
Since she mentioned a meeting, she likely wouldn’t return for at least several tens of minutes.
Swoosh—
Following Princess Arte’s instructions, Erica first opened the large box.
As the princess had said, it was overflowing with disorganized clothing.
“She’s not great at keeping things tidy, is she?”
Murmuring to herself, Erica removed the stifling helmet.
Her shimmering silver hair, freed from the confines of the helmet, cascaded down her shoulders.
Simultaneously, Erica instinctively moved silently toward the vanity.
The mysterious energy radiating from the small box was still strong.
“Whew.”
Taking a deep breath, Erica scanned her surroundings one last time before opening the box.
The barracks were empty, and there was no one nearby.
After confirming there were no unforeseen risks, Erica carefully opened the box.
Contrary to the ominous energy it emanated, the box opened surprisingly easily.
Click—
With a small sound, the lock disengaged, and the box opened.
Erica had prepared herself for the possibility of a trap, but fortunately, there was none.
Inside the box were papers.
Rolled up and tied with string.
‘What is this?’
Unable to suppress her curiosity, Erica pulled out a paper and untied the string.
Rustle—
Frowning slightly, Erica concentrated as she unrolled the paper.
The sheet was filled with densely packed writing.
“This is…?”
Reading the first line carefully, Erica’s expression grew increasingly serious.
The content written on the paper was shocking in many ways.
‘Formula for Specimen No. 67… three sacrifices?’
Holding her breath, Erica continued reading the text.
From the first line to the very last, she quickly and thoroughly absorbed the information.
In summary, the papers contained detailed instructions.
The creation process of the Black Sheep—one of the controversial creatures on the battlefield.
“Why is this here…?”
Rustle, rustle—
Murmuring to herself, Erica read through the remaining papers in the box.
The contents were all similar.
Instructions for creating creatures like the Raven and the Black Golem.
There were even methods for making other types of creatures.
‘Why is this here?’
Feeling as though she had stumbled upon an unexpected jackpot, Erica turned the pages eagerly.
Her gaze abruptly froze on a particular phrase written at the bottom of one of the formulas.
‘Research Lead and Developer: Arte Flora’
“What…?”
Rustle, rustle—
Erica double-checked to ensure she wasn’t mistaken.
At the bottom of each creature creation formula, like a signature, the same phrase was written.
The research lead was Arte Flora.
“Hahaha.”
Flash—
Erica instinctively turned around at the chilling laughter coming from behind her, throwing the paper she was holding.
Rustle—
The paper Erica threw fluttered through the air before disintegrating into powder.
The person standing behind her was the one whose name was written at the bottom of the formula.
Arte Flora.
The second princess of the Flora Kingdom.
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
Shing—
“You…!”
Erica stepped back and immediately drew her two swords.
Arte, with the same beautiful yet terrifying smile she had shown earlier, stared directly at Erica.
“Quick to act and sharp senses too? You went straight for the box.”
“So, it was you.”
“Hahaha.”
Erica felt a growing unease as she looked at Arte’s overly composed demeanor.
Arte’s own abilities were concerning enough, but Erica was in the middle of enemy territory.
It was an overwhelmingly unfavorable situation.
“Did you know?”
“…”
Arte, with the confident air of someone holding all the cards, casually sat on the bed.
Erica tightened her stance and focused on detecting any presence outside.
There was still no one near the barracks.
“There are no women in our kingdom’s army.”
“…!”
“Hahahahaha.”
‘This was a trap from the start.’
Arte, finding something immensely amusing, couldn’t stop laughing, slapping her hand on the bed repeatedly.
“And you didn’t even know that. Hahaha!”
“I didn’t expect the princess herself to be directly involved in this.”
“Hahaha.”
Even in response to Erica’s words, Arte didn’t lose her smile.
Erica, on the other hand, calmly assessed the situation.
‘Engaging in a direct fight here is too risky. That means I need to escape.’
Before infiltrating the Flora Kingdom’s camp, Erica had planned numerous escape routes.
However, those plans hadn’t accounted for being caught so openly.
The escape routes assumed there would be moments to hide, even if discovered.
“Who sent you? Ah, but I suppose you won’t tell me.”
Arte, despite Erica’s silence, continued talking to herself, clearly enjoying the situation.
“You know, I’ll give you some credit. You’re the first to successfully infiltrate our army. So many spies before you died meaninglessly outside.”
Arte clicked her tongue as if lamenting their fates.
Erica made up her mind.
She needed to escape this place and deliver the information.
The mastermind behind the dark magic was the princess of the kingdom.
This knowledge had to reach someone, anyone.
Tap—
“Huh.”
“Haha. Where do you think you’re going?”
‘Damn it.’
Erica had anticipated Arte would try to stop her, but she attempted to leap upward to escape anyway.
She pushed off with all her strength, but her body refused to move as she intended.
It wasn’t that her body wouldn’t move—it was blocked.
As if there was an invisible ceiling, Erica couldn’t jump beyond a certain height.
“When did this happen?”
“Who knows? When do you think?”
‘I’ve been caught.’
Erica instinctively realized it.
When Arte first discovered that she was a woman, she must have suspected her as a spy.
From that moment until they arrived at the barracks, there had been countless opportunities for Arte to act.
For a dark mage capable of creating creatures, setting up a trap like this would have been trivial.
“So, are you really not going to tell me who sent you?”
Shing—
‘It’s not just the top that’s blocked.’
Before Arte could finish speaking, Erica swung her sword toward her.
She hadn’t expected it to reach, but the barrier was even more solid than she thought.
Erica realized she was surrounded by a transparent wall on all sides.
It was a sturdy barrier.
“Haha. You can’t get out of there. Why not just tell me everything before things get worse for you?”
“Do you think I would?”
“Haha, of course not.”
Arte laughed gleefully and finally rose from the bed.
Erica adjusted her stance as she watched Arte stand.
As a specialist in stealth and tracking, Erica had almost never been caught so openly by anyone.
‘To escape from here…’
Even as she racked her brain, no clear method came to mind.
She couldn’t think of any way to use her skills and abilities to escape this situation.
“Let’s see. It’s been a while since I’ve had a woman.”
Clink—
“H-Hey…!”
As Arte scanned Erica from head to toe, the swords in Erica’s hands fell to the ground.
Erica looked down at her hands in disbelief.
Her hands were trembling uncontrollably.
Smirk—
“Let’s start by putting down those sharp objects, shall we?”
Arte smiled as she watched Erica drop her swords, her hands shaking.
Countless methods to torment Erica flickered through Arte’s mind.
‘Damn it.’
Meanwhile, Erica’s mind was going blank.
She couldn’t muster any strength in her hands.
Erica’s expression turned darker than ever.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
Click here -> https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
Comment