Klovi hummed triumphantly, then patted her shoulder affectionately: “After this is done, you’ll understand why Piping is so obsessed with this position. We won’t mistreat you.” He twirled the ring on his finger boastfully, “As for what you did yesterday, I’ve already taken care of it. In this world, the Haerde family will no longer suffer. With just a word from me, that little Joseph could be finished immediately.”
Suppressing the urge to run away, Nelly slightly moved her lips, speaking softly: “This is fine, thank you for your trouble.” She bowed slightly, “As for that matter, as long as he attends the audience, I’m confident. But if he refuses to appear, I’ll be helpless.”
Klovi nodded condescendingly, and Nelly said no more, quickly leaving the prayer room.
The minister was still waiting by the door, carefully glancing behind it before saying softly: “I’ll take you to rest.”
Just as they reached the courtyard, a veiled maidservant suddenly approached Nelly, bowing and saying softly: “Your Highness has long heard of the hero’s name and wishes to meet you.”
“The hero has just arrived and is preparing to rest. Her Highness can wait to meet the hero after the audience,” the minister intercepted before Nelly could respond.
Before Nelly could speak, a eunuch approached, speaking softly: “Hero, here you are. The Palace Advisor has been looking for you for a long time, it’s been driving me crazy.”
The minister, maidservant, and eunuch looked at each other, none willing to back down. Nelly found it somewhat amusing, and after a moment’s thought, she looked at the maidservant: “Since it’s a summons from the Princess, I naturally cannot refuse.” She then spoke cordially to the eunuch sent by Piping: “I’ll visit the Palace Advisor shortly.”
The minister wanted to say something but swallowed his words, not even saying goodbye to Nelly before hurrying away, clearly going to inform Klovi.
The eunuch smiled: “The Palace Advisor is waiting for you in the study. Please be careful on your way.”
Nelly nodded, seeming indifferent to his words, but couldn’t help being more cautious. Without time to think more, she arrived outside Rosalia’s suite.
The Rose Princess’s residence was elegantly decorated, but Nelly was not in the mood to observe. Following the maidservant inside, she saw the brown-haired, green-eyed young girl in a pure white robe, sitting in the highest seat. Several veiled maidservants stood quietly beside her.
A minstrel sat in the corner, softly singing. Rosalia smiled slightly when she saw Nelly, raising a delicate finger, and the minstrel immediately fell silent.
The room became completely quiet.
Nelly bowed: “Greetings, Your Highness.”
“First meeting, respected hero, please call me Rosa,” Rosalia smiled subtly, as if feeling embarrassed, and turned her face slightly. “Please be seated.”
The maidservants silently prepared the seat next to the high chair.
Although Nelly couldn’t guess Rosalia’s intentions, she still sat down and looked up inquiringly.
Rosalia turned to the minstrel, who immediately began playing the lyre and singing the climax of the ballad. With the music as cover, her voice was almost inaudible: “Although it’s very abrupt, I request your help to escape from here.”
Nelly fell silent for a moment, sighing, “I understand.”
Rosalia’s eyes immediately lit up, and she grabbed her hand in disbelief: “You…”
“I am willing to serve the princess,” Nelly slightly turned her face away. For a moment, she looked somewhat melancholic, her voice low, “As long as it’s something I can do, I will do it.”
“Then what can I do for you?” Rosalia looked at Nelly earnestly.
Nelly shook her head: “As long as you can fulfill your wish and live far away from all this.”
Rosalia was stunned, carefully discerning the truth of Nelly’s words. The rules of the Red Castle were clearly an equivalent exchange, and although Rosalia understood she could not truly repay Nelly equally, she was prepared to pay the corresponding price.
This statement was so unexpected that Rosalia stared at Nelly for a while, then shook her head: “It seems that even if I don’t want to admit it, I’m no different from the people here. I’m sorry, my previous words might have been an insult to you.”
Nelly waved her hand: “I’m not that noble,” she paused, “I don’t even know what I want now.” Rosalia stood up and bowed to Nelly: “Please allow me to thank you.” She paused, glanced at the maid beside her, who immediately presented something to Nelly. “This is a detailed topographic map of the Red Castle, which might be useful to you.” Rosalia lowered her eyes: “Although this is our first meeting, you feel very familiar and intimate to me, so please accept this as my gift and don’t refuse.”
Before Nelly could thank her, her expression suddenly changed, and she pulled Rosalia towards the left. Several feathered arrows barely brushed past her cloak, injuring the maid who couldn’t dodge in time. The room instantly erupted in screams, vessels overturning, and curtains tearing with a ripping sound. The maids clustered around, using their bodies to shield Rosalia, retreating into the inner room. Whoosh, several arrows shot in, not aimed at Rosalia. Simultaneously, several masked men rushed in with long knives. Nelly understood immediately and couldn’t help but smile bitterly: Clovi indeed had a fiery temper. As soon as she agreed to Rosalia’s request, he was eager to come and end her and incidentally intimidate his disobedient daughter – truly a cruel and brutal method.
Nelly dodged another wave of precisely angled arrows with a somersault, casually throwing cross darts towards potential archer hiding spots. She crouched and passed between two charging masked men, her two daggers like lightning, about to graze their necks. Since the other party was truly trying to take her life, she saw no need to be merciful.
In an instant’s decision, Nelly suddenly changed her strike to a blow, powerfully knocking the two masked men unconscious. Even knowing they weren’t dead, the sound of their bodies falling made her feel slightly nauseated, a shiver running down her spine. Nelly didn’t allow herself to think more, dodging the incoming knife blade. She gritted her teeth and shouted: “Leave now!”
Rosalia paused, then took out a bone whistle from her sleeve and blew it forcefully. Rosalia’s suite connected to a second-floor balcony, and she pushed past the screaming maids, running desperately towards it, her skirt billowing like an about-to-bloom flower. Nelly was surrounded by three masked men and was at a disadvantage in terms of stamina, finding herself struggling. She used three skills and finally found an escape gap, leaping and sprinting in the opposite direction of Rosalia.
The masked men hesitated, unable to decide whether to stop the princess or continue pursuing the hero. In this moment of delay, Rosalia had already climbed onto the balcony stone railing, looking down, her fists clenched, calling out: “I’m coming down!”
Urgent hoof sounds approached from a distance, followed by the sound of horses being reined in. Rosalia smiled brilliantly and leaped down. Nelly ran out of the tower, jumped onto a low wall, and saw a black-cloaked figure embracing Rosalia galloping towards the side gate. The sudden event caught the guards completely off guard. By the time they thought to shout “Lower the drawbridge!”, the black-cloaked knight had already disappeared.
