Chapter 83
Archibald Bright, that good-for-nothing scoundrel, was surprisingly skilled at handling chemicals despite his appearance.
The poison that Mars consumed five years ago to frame me was also his handiwork.
This much was known even to Minerva in the original story.
But I, having read the original, knew one more fact.
‘He’s actually capable of making explosives too.’
The same thing had happened in the original story.
He had collapsed the Grand Duke’s mine to distract Lloyd and Riona, and investigated Riona’s roots.
Because of that, Riona’s ending was…
I tightly closed my eyes and shook my head vigorously to forget the scene that was imagining itself unbidden.
‘Does he plan to steal the ring while I’m distracted rushing out?’
Even if he doesn’t find it today, it probably won’t matter much to him.
Given how he looks like he could blend in anywhere, he’s likely planning to disguise himself as an employee and search the Grand Duke’s castle for an extended period.
As much as I wanted to stake out the castle and catch him red-handed, frustratingly, I had no choice but to go to the mine according to Archibald’s script.
This was an incident I couldn’t ignore as the Imperial Princess.
Nevertheless, Lloyd tried to dissuade me.
“It’s dangerous. Please stay here.”
It seemed Lloyd had already figured out that this explosion was the work of the Imperial Prince’s faction.
Perhaps due to living a life of constantly reading the room, he was an expert at sensing unnatural currents, even without as much information as I had.
I tilted my head back, let out a long breath, and said to Lloyd,
“I have to go. You know that.”
My goal is to regain my position.
No matter how much I hide, there are many eyes watching me, so what’s meant to be revealed will be revealed.
If it becomes known later that I didn’t even care how many commoners died, it would not only harm my reputation but also likely lead to Aslan being criticized along with me.
That’s why I need to be careful and calculate every action.
“But…”
Lloyd seemed to understand but couldn’t easily make the decision.
He must be uneasy about leaving the children and Priscilla behind.
I firmly grasped his shoulders and instructed,
“Even Lady Priscilla wouldn’t dare say nonsense to the children in this situation. The bomber – I mean, Archibald – will come straight to the Grand Duke’s castle. Do you think she would welcome a petty thief entering her castle with muddy feet?”
Not just unwelcome?
It might be fortunate if she doesn’t catch and kill him.
Fortunately, Archibald probably doesn’t know that Priscilla Eckhart is here.
Priscilla had come quietly, and she had been bedridden and quiet until now.
‘If he had known, Gabriel would have stopped Archibald already.’
Even Gabriel was cautious when dealing with Priscilla.
Who would have thought Priscilla would be useful so soon?
She would jump up even from her sickbed to catch the one who ruined her Eckhart.
I felt like I had hit the jackpot, even though I hadn’t asked her to leave yet because I couldn’t drive her out.
Still, Lloyd was reluctant to have me accompany him.
“But I can’t leave the children alone with Mother.”
“That’s why we need to go quickly and return quickly.”
The more he hesitated, the more time Priscilla would spend with the children.
I didn’t want to waste time arguing with Lloyd.
“Your Grace!”
I ran outside faster than Lloyd.
The carriage would be cumbersome.
Bypassing the carriage that was probably meant for the Grand Duke, I swiftly mounted a horse and gently kicked its side.
“I’ll go ahead!”
* * *
“Wow, she rides well.”
Archibald arrived at the Grand Duke’s castle and watched the Millennium Tree Forest burning from a high vantage point.
News of the fire in the Millennium Tree Forest spread quickly throughout the Grand Duchy.
The black smoke rising from the Millennium Tree Forest was faster than the rumors.
Because the forest that the Eckhart Grand Duchy had nurtured for generations was a source of pride for the domain’s people, attention in both the Grand Duke’s castle and the village began to focus entirely on the Millennium Tree Forest.
‘Now’s the chance.’
There would never be another moment when the Grand Duke’s castle security would be this lax.
Archibald turned his gaze from the forest and quickly moved towards the back door of the castle.
Luckily, a group of servants was just exiting through the back door.
They all seemed to be in a hurry, probably heading towards the Millennium Tree Forest.
Archibald grabbed the last servant who came out and locked the back door, injecting a drug into the back of his neck.
“What…! Ugh…”
The servant fainted without being able to resist, and Archibald naturally took his clothes and put them on.
He also took the key the servant had.
“Well then, shall we go?”
What Gabriel wanted most right now was just within reach.
Just imagining the word of praise and smile she would give him was enough for Archibald to feel he could face anything that might happen in that Grand Duke’s castle without fear.
* * *
The scene I arrived at after riding the horse quickly was more devastating than I had imagined.
Because the accident occurred during peak working hours, most of the workers were inside the mine, so they couldn’t extinguish the fire in time, and the Millennium Tree Forest was burning fiercely.
The millennium trees I was seeing for the first time were indeed towering high enough to fill the sky, living up to their name, making it feel like being trapped in a furnace.
“Oh my…”
While I was covering my mouth, Lloyd also muttered in disbelief.
“The Millennium Tree Forest…”
It’s the pride of not just the Eckhart Grand Duchy, but the entire empire.
There’s no other place in any country where trees that have lived for over a thousand years have formed a forest.
But at this rate, the entire Millennium Tree Forest might burn down.
All because of people trying to interfere with me!
‘We need to do something about the fire first…!’
I had seen a lake while riding here, but it was too far away.
With the current manpower, it would be difficult to carry water, and even if we could somehow bring water, applying it would be a problem.
‘It’s too high…’
Because they’ve lived for over a thousand years, each tree in this forest was at least 10 times larger and taller than ordinary trees.
It seemed almost impossible to extinguish the fire that had reached the treetops.
I instantly understood why Archibald had set this stage.
‘Even if I go, there’s nothing I can do!’
My reputation would be ruined not because I needed to solve this situation, but because I would be seen standing helplessly while people died?
It was obvious what kind of rumors would spread.
It would be fortunate if rumors didn’t get distorted to say that villainess tried to kill her own siblings and now even tried to kill people.
‘Please, please! There must be a way. What did they do in the original story?’
I couldn’t remember.
Even in the original story, they failed to control the fire.
The fire that burned the forest for three days was barely extinguished by a sudden downpour… Wait, a downpour?
‘That’s right, rain!’
If we’re lucky enough for it to rain!
I grabbed Lloyd and asked,
“Grand Duke, is there any chance of rain?”
“That would be great, but we had a big downpour recently, so it’s unlikely to rain for a while.”
Lloyd answered without taking his eyes off the fire.
My hand holding his sleeve went limp.
‘…This time, there’s nothing we can do.’
It seemed the bright red flames were consuming more than just the life of the forest.
Hope completely drained from within me as well.
Since ancient times, fire has been a disaster that humans cannot control.
It seemed we would have to give up this time.
It’s okay, there will be plenty of opportunities to make up for mistakes.
It’s not like Aslan and I will die right away just because we can’t put out this fire, right?
We know who set the fire, so we can catch them later and properly punish them.
That should be enough.
I turned my gaze to Lloyd, who had his head bowed low.
This was his first business venture.
He must be feeling more dejected than angry, just like me.
“Grand Duke, this is beyond what we can handle. This time…”
Just as I cautiously began to speak, Lloyd suddenly ran off somewhere, emptying the contents of a bucket used by the miners.
Then he started running off again.
Seeing his urgent behavior, I found myself following him without realizing it.
Lloyd headed to where the horses were tethered.
“Grand Duke, where are you going!”
“I’m going to fetch water. We need to extinguish the fire first to rescue the people trapped inside.”
Even being generous, the bucket could barely hold enough water to douse a person’s body once before evaporating.
“That’s not enough!”
“Even if it’s not enough, we have to try.”
“I’m telling you, even if you make hundreds of trips with that, the fire will spread faster…!”
“I know that!”
It was the first time.
The first time I heard Lloyd shout.
But that wasn’t the only reason I froze.
“Still, each one of them is a domain resident I’m responsible for.”
