Chapter 89

The miners were rescued one by one.

While some were seriously injured, there had been no casualties so far.

Finally, the last miner from the deepest part of the mine was carried out on a stretcher into the forest.

And as soon as I saw him, I had to clench my fists to avoid covering my mouth rudely.

‘His face…’

The last rescuee had severe burns on his face and entire body.

On top of that, his mangled limbs were soaked in blood, suggesting he had been caught in the explosion.

It was amazing he was still breathing and not dead on the spot.

I quietly ordered the knights:

“Start emergency treatment and move him to the ducal castle immediately.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Whether rumors had spread that I was to marry the Duke, or that I was an imperial princess, the knights responded promptly and moved to act.

But at that moment, the miner raised his hand, groaning as if he might die any second.

“Ugh…”

And he breathed heavily.

Fearing this might be his last words, I hurriedly spoke to him.

“Are you conscious?”

“Where is…”

His eyelids fluttered.

“You’re outside the mine. Your injuries are severe, so don’t strain yourself by talking. You mustn’t lose consciousness.”

The miner, seemingly unaware of his condition, looked around with vacant eyes.

Then he turned to me and asked:

“Is… is that guy safe too…?”

“Who are you talking about?”

We had rescued all the miners trapped inside…

Could there still be someone trapped?

I focused on the miner who was barely squeezing out words.

“A young man with brown hair, looking kind of scrawny. He went out saying he was going to the bathroom, and then the explosives went off… Is he safe…?”

And I realized my concern was unnecessary.

‘It must be that Archibald bastard.’

I wanted to tell him that the guy he was worried about was the culprit who had hurt them, that he shouldn’t waste his concern.

‘But that would only worsen this miner’s condition.’

From the way he spoke, it seemed they had often talked together.

There was no need to stress someone who was barely clinging to consciousness with such shocking information.

“He got out first, so there’s no need to worry.”

Hearing my answer, the miner’s eyes welled up and slowly began to close.

“Th-thank…”

“Move him quickly!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

The knights, recognizing the critical situation, hurriedly moved him into a temporarily set up tent.

I hope he survives.

While Archibald’s actions were despicable, this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been in the duchy.

If someone were to lose their life because of my presence here, I felt I would remember this guilt for the rest of my life.

‘Archibald must have sneaked into the ducal castle by now.’

I shouldn’t have let him go last time.

I should have crushed his legs so he couldn’t wander around, or cut off all his fingers so he couldn’t cause trouble.

I looked for the Duke who was directing the scene.

His shoulders, turned away, looked much more deflated than before.

Even from behind, his dejection was apparent.

I could understand his feelings, given that this disaster had struck at the very beginning of the mining project he had such high hopes for.

‘And other reasons… must be included too.’

Lloyd’s words from earlier kept bothering me.

“If you could tell me what I’ve done wrong, I’ll do my best to make amends.”

I should have managed my expressions better!

I was so good at hiding my emotions in front of Gabriel and Mars, but with Lloyd, my feelings couldn’t be concealed well.

‘If it were something I could honestly confess, I would have done so already.’

The truth is, this is inside a book, and in the original story, you adopted my daughter and encouraged her to seek revenge, ultimately driving her to her death.

If Lloyd believed me, I would become someone unreasonably angry at him for things he hadn’t done, and if he didn’t believe me, I would be a delusional patient spouting nonsense.

My head throbbed, causing me to frown involuntarily.

‘Anyway, the Duke can wait. I need to check if Aslan is safe first. I also have something to confirm with Aslan.’

I think I’ve played the role of imperial princess enough for now.

Intending to return, I approached Lloyd, who was wearing his stifling mask.

“Duke.”

“…!”

Although I hadn’t particularly tried to hide my approach, Lloyd turned to me, startled.

It was concerning that his expression seemed worse than before, even with the mask on, but Aslan was my priority right now.

“I think I should go back first. I’m worried about the children.”

“Ah, then…”

Just as Lloyd was about to say something, it happened.

“My Lady!”

A familiar figure was running towards us from afar.

That title and voice definitely belonged to one of my people.

As she got closer, I could confirm it.

“Luisa?”

Before coming to the Millennial Tree Forest, I had divided my aides in half with two requests.

I asked Mary Jane’s group to investigate Archibald’s background.

I asked Luisa’s group to monitor Priscilla and protect Aslan.

The fact that she was here now meant…

My fingertips felt like they were freezing.

“What about Aslan?”

“Lady Aslan…”

Luisa bowed her head deeply as if ashamed and reported.

Despite the commotion around us, Luisa’s voice rang clearly in my ears.

My head involuntarily lifted.

“Ha.”

“While trying to stop Lady Priscilla, we failed to properly protect Lady Aslan. Please punish me.”

Unable to face her directly, I asked:

“Is Ayla safe?”

“Grand Duchess Ayla is safe.”

From what I heard, it seems Aslan had thrown a fit, insisting that no one but herself could enter the annex.

I had so earnestly told Aslan to stay quietly in the room before I left!

While I was angry at Aslan for disobeying again, my true fury was directed elsewhere.

‘How dare that bastard Archibald.’

I was already planning to catch him, but now that he’s practically begging to be killed, I should oblige.

Blood started flowing again in my cold fingertips.

I quickly brushed past Lloyd.

“I’ll go ahead, Duke.”

“I’ll accompany you.”

However, Lloyd followed behind me as if it were natural.

“You, Duke?”

“Aslan is my daughter too. How could I be a father if I just stood by when my daughter is in trouble?”

Wouldn’t a Duke have no business abandoning the site and going somewhere I could handle alone?

Honestly, I was suspicious, but now wasn’t the time to argue with him.

I mounted the horse Luisa had brought.

“We’ll ride fast.”

“Yes.”

With that answer, as if ready to follow no matter what, we hurried on horseback towards the ducal castle.

* * *

“Ugh…”

At that time, Archibald opened his eyes in a cold underground prison.

As soon as he regained consciousness, he sat up abruptly, causing his head to ring.

“Ow, ow. My head…”

Feeling around his head, there didn’t seem to be any blood.

It seemed he had just briefly lost consciousness after hitting his head while being thrown into the cell.

Though he wanted to sit up straight, even his eyes were spinning, so Archibald groaned as he rubbed the back of his neck.

‘Medicine, medicine…’

Archibald’s hand grasped a locket necklace.

Inside the lid was a folded picture of Gabriel, and within the folded picture was a finely ground white powder.

It was a painkiller he had received from Gabriel.

It was given to him so that he wouldn’t reveal the truth even if he was caught and tortured.

He knew medicines better, but this was specially prepared by her.

Moreover, it seemed all his pockets had been emptied, so he had no other medicine.

Archibald poured the white powder into his mouth in one go.

After resting his head against the wall with his eyes closed for a moment, the pain seemed to gradually subside.

‘Wow, this is incredibly effective.’

Was there such an effective medicine? Archibald marveled.

‘I should ask Gabriel what kind of medicine this is when I get back.’

The reason Archibald could have such carefree thoughts even in an underground prison was because he believed in himself, having lived as Gabriel’s right-hand man for over 10 years.

Perhaps because he had stopped at nothing for Gabriel’s sake, there were times when she trusted him more than Mars.

‘Damn it. I never thought Lady Priscilla would be here.’

Why is that old hag still hanging around her grown son’s house?

If he had known Priscilla was there, he wouldn’t have acted so recklessly.

But it wasn’t as if there was no gain at all.

He had discovered that Minerva had a daughter.

He needed to inform Gabriel of this fact quickly.

‘How do I get out of here…’

Archibald looked around.

The walls filled with solid bricks and the narrow iron bars didn’t look easy to escape through.

Preserving his life would be the priority for now.

Just as Archibald was about to rack his brains, he heard the sound of clicking heels.