Chapter 61

Princess Delphine, who had fled to the attic, was crawling on her hands and knees through the dark space. Beside her was a young girl, Kate's daughter. Three men from the Third Knights Regiment were guarding them, three in front and three behind.

Kate, who was in the shadows, had said, "This girl will be useful. Please rest assured," but to Delphine, she didn't look very useful. The frail and lovely girl followed silently without complaint, even in such a situation.

Delphine couldn't understand Kate's thinking. "Since part of the army has rebelled to target me, if I bring my child along, she might be killed as a result." As a mother, she felt frustrated.

After moving on all fours for a while, one of the Third Knights at the front pried open a section of the ceiling with a knife. The floor was quite high, but the man landed silently. He immediately moved a table under the hole and said, "Your Highness, please jump down here."

"From this height...?"

Delphine, who had no experience with such things, was too frightened to move. Then the girl said, "I'll show you how to get down," and got on her stomach, lowering her legs. She hung from the ceiling with both hands and let go. The girl landed silently on the table.

"Your Highness, please come down the same way."

"But..."

"It's okay. If you fail, this man will catch you. You won't fall or get hurt. Right?"

"Yes, just as the girl said. Come on, Your Highness."

Despite the dire situation, the girl smiled innocently.

(I can't afford to be scared. If I die, Oscar and Lucas might be killed too. I have to be strong.)

Delphine, determined for her two sons, lowered her legs from a prone position. She hung from the ceiling with both hands and let go. She fell onto the table, lost her balance, and almost fell over, but the man who had gone down first caught her.

"Thank you."

"Let's move quickly."

Guided by the men, they moved from room to room. One of them opened a door and said, "We can escape from here," but inside were five men with drawn swords. They attacked silently with bloodshot eyes.

The men from the Third Knights Regiment also fought silently, countering and retaliating. It was a five-to-six battle.

Delphine, expecting to die, was frozen in fear. The next moment, the girl, who was beside her, took a knife and jumped into the fray.

"Be careful!"

She shouted, but it was unclear if the girl heard. The girl ran up and stabbed a man in military uniform in the right shoulder. The man screamed and dropped his sword, and another soldier swung his sword at the girl.

But the girl ducked under the sword and stabbed another opponent in the right shoulder.

(How fast she moves!)

As Delphine watched in amazement, the girl showed no fear or panic. She calmly stabbed the soldiers in the neck and shoulder on their dominant side, rendering them powerless. She did this while diving into the midst of the sword-wielding soldiers.

The girl wasn't even out of breath. Seeing the soldiers still trying to resist, she slid under their feet. When she stood up, the soldiers, with their Achilles tendons cut, fell to the ground, unable to take a step.

All the soldiers attacked by the girl were unable to raise their dominant arms. Some couldn't stand, and those trying to fight with their other arm were much less effective. The soldiers were quickly overpowered by the Third Knights, bound, and gagged, and thrown to the floor.

"Miss, you're amazing."

"Cutting the muscles in that spot makes it impossible for a person to raise their arm. My master says killing should be a last resort."

"Your master...?"

"Let's move quickly."

Urged by the girl, the six men surrounded Delphine and resumed their movement.

"This way," the man guided them to a corner of the room. He pried up a floorboard with a knife, revealing a hole just large enough for a person.

"We'll go out from here."

"I didn't know such a passage existed."

"It's an escape route between the outer wall and the room."

Again, Delphine and Nonna were sandwiched between the men as they entered the hole and continued down a gently sloping staircase. The only light came from a short candle held by the man at the front.

The sloping passage eventually became level.

The men kicked the brick wall at the end, and it collapsed easily. On the other side was a small room filled with wooden boxes, all of which seemed to be empty and were easily moved.

"The walls here are built with mud. It's a passage for the royal family."

The area outside the collapsed brick wall was a room used by the castle staff. The staff, who had been hiding and watching the situation, were startled to see people suddenly emerge from a storage room.

"Did any of the rebel soldiers come here?"

"No, no one came."

"Good. Don't tell anyone we came out here. Understand?"

"Yes."

The staff, who had been hiding due to the rebellion, were now frantically trying to block the hole from which the eight people had emerged.

As they left the staff's room, they saw nearly a thousand soldiers.

"Princess Delphine, we made it in time."

"What is that?"

"It's the rear guard that went to the western forest. We received word that they would be returning soon."

"I see. Thank you for your protection and guidance. I am grateful."

"It's our duty to be loyal to the royal family."

Thus, Delphine was safely protected by the kingdom's army, and the six men from the Third Knights Regiment and Nonna were relieved of their duty to protect her.

Nonna tugged at the hem of the leader's clothes.

"I want to go to my mother. Where is she?"

"Your mother is on a mission. We can't interfere."

"But I proved I can be useful. Tell me where she is. I'll go alone."

"No. It will ruin the plan."

"But Princess Delphine is safe now."

Among the six, the youngest operative, Mills, who was seventeen, was told by the leader, "You are responsible for taking this girl to the final rendezvous point."

Mills, who had expected to fight the rebels, was not happy with this task, but the leader's orders were absolute. Reluctantly, he led Nonna toward the west tower of the castle, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings.

"Why did you come to the castle at such a time?"

"I came for the Saint Floren Festival, but I wanted to help my mother because she was in danger."

"Oh, you came for the festival."

"Yeah."

The two of them walked through the castle grounds. A few minutes later, three soldiers attacked them from a corner of the outer passage. Mills blocked their swords with a large knife, but he was anxious about the three-to-one odds.

Then the girl behind him moved with blinding speed, leaping and dodging. When the girl stood in the passage, the three soldiers were immobilized. She had rendered them powerless without killing them, which was terrifying. Even the youngest operative, Mills, could see that she had the composure to do this.

The girl spoke to Mills.

"Hey, can I take one of their swords as a souvenir?"

"No, that's not normal."

"Why not?"

"Because all the soldiers' belongings are the property of the state."

"But they're the property of the state that tried to kill the princess. Can't I have one?"

"Stop it. I'll get in trouble!"

"Hmm. What a shame."

The girl gave up easily and urged, "Let's go quickly."

(Who is this girl? Why is she so strong?) Mills couldn't suppress his curiosity.

"What's your name?"

"Nonna."

"I'm Mills. What's your last name, Nonna?"

"I'm not sure if I should tell you."

"Are you the daughter of a shadow agent?"

"Yes."

"Why are you so strong? Where did you learn?"

"If I tell you, my identity will be revealed. That's a secret."

"Come on. You're being mysterious."

"Hehe. Too bad. By the way, your short sword technique is weak against attacks from the left. It's not just weak; it's slow."

"That's not true."

"It is. If you keep that up, you'll be killed by an attack from the left."

"..."

"Anyway, be careful."

Mills, who was aware of his weakness against left-side attacks, was shaken by Nonna's accurate observation. He couldn't argue because he had seen her strength with his own eyes.

"Hey, if I want to see you again, what should I do?"

"Me? Hmm. There's a former Countess Yolana in the East District. If you contact her, she can reach me."

"Really? You know a noble?"

"Yeah. I'm friends with Susan, a maid who works there."

"Oh, I see. I should contact the former Countess Yolana's house?"

"Yeah."

"Got it. How about we train together next time?"

"Sure, I'll train with you."

They continued their conversation as they walked and arrived at a room in the west wing. Mills was checking the room when Nonna, who was also listening, said, "It's okay," and suddenly opened the door.

"Mom! I'm glad you're safe."

"Nonna!"

Watching the two embrace, Mills thought, (They don't look like mother and daughter at all.)

Kate, the shadow agent, bowed to Mills.

"Thank you for protecting this girl. I'm grateful."

"It's my duty."

"No, Mom. I protected Mills."

"Huh?"

Victoria, surprised, looked at Mills, who smiled wryly.

"It's true. I was really helped by Nonna."

"See?"

"See? That's not the point. Why were you there in the first place? Ah, but let's go home now. Is that okay?"

Victoria turned to the deputy leader for permission, who nodded with a wry smile.

"Since the kingdom's army has returned, it's fine. I'll have you escorted to the gate. You'll hear from your superiors later."

"Understood. I'm leaving the shadow operation now."

"Yes. Thank you for your service."

The two, surrounded by the strong men, left for the gate. Mills, watching them, spoke to a senior operative.

"That girl's skills were amazing. She took down three soldiers by herself."

"Yeah, and Kate, the shadow agent, took down eight. They're quite a pair."

"Who is that woman, really?"

"I don't know. Mike is handling her."

"So, it's a 'Chief's case'?"

"Yes."

"Uh-oh. I told her I want to see her again."

"Ah-ah. If you start bothering her without permission, the Chief will be angry."

"Ugh."

Asher, the direct superior of the special operations team, was known for his icy, expressionless demeanor and sharp mind, earning him respect and fear from the operatives. Mills, who had unknowingly made plans to meet the Chief's protégé again, was panicking.

But at the same time, he strongly wanted to meet Nonna again and talk to her.

(I want to learn Nonna's techniques.)

Mills was thinking about this.

That day, the rebellion was suppressed, and peace returned to the castle. The conspirators and the soldiers who joined the rebellion would be tried and executed later. Mills, seeing the kingdom's army guarding various parts of the castle, decided to return to the third floor of the north wing.