I slipped away from my chamber that afternoon.
It was a bit tricky task to complete. I had to dodge Flora, Lilly, Violet and a few other guards on the patrol before I could reach the Eastern dungeon.
I had chosen the Eastern dungeon since I knew that it was a long-abandoned one. No one, including the soldiers, uses this dungeon. After Evelyn's arrival, she had been using this same dungeon for her shady business! But now that I captured the area first, it will remain mine this time.
I walked down the stairs which were already covered in darkness.
When I reached the dungeon surface, I could see a light source far away.
I headed towards the light. There were a few cells that were locked. When I reached the final cell, I could see a man at the centre of the room.
He looked at me with eyes full of hatred and anger!
I wasn't scared! Not because I am brave but because he was tied to the chair he was sitting on.
Behind him, the two soldiers whom I have bribed were standing straight with their feet slightly apart and their hands behind their backs!
"Your highness!" the two roared at the same time.
These two must have taken the mission seriously! I could see the fire in their eyes.
Though I didn't ask them for this much respect and loyalty, what they gave me was indeed nice.
"Good work, soldiers!" I added fuel to that fire!
"Your reward will be given at the end of every month!" I said.
"Yes, Your highness!" they roared again!
"But I would like to give you a bonus reward since you have successfully finished the mission!"
I took out two gold coins from the pouch I was carrying and handed them the coin.
The two of them seemed extremely happy as they looked at each other with happy eyes, still not willing to let their stiffness go.
I've already known how powerful money is. At this moment I got to witness it! Being a princess is indeed cool and I chose to make full use of this, to survive.
I ordered them to go out and guard the dungeon since I didn't want them to know our conversation.
I waited for them to leave then stood straight in front of that spy with crossed arm.
"You're from Dagresh, aren't you?"
The spy looked at me once then lowered his eyes.
I thought he was not going to answer but suddenly, I heard him say "Yes!"
Was it that easy to interrogate a spy? It was indeed dubious. But later I realized that these extras that were not designed well would be easy to handle. They would lack qualities like honesty, love, patriotism, loyalty, etc unless they were specified in the novel. From what I've read, there was no place that Venus mentioned the loyalty of these spies!
She had only talked about these when it came to Victor! Others were just for decoration. But also, I had noticed an interesting fact as well. Though these extras didn't possess the intended characteristics they had their unique characteristics. For example, the one who was sitting in front of me had a bad temper!
"Do you know who am I?" I asked to check further.
"The princess!" he said.
"Why are you here, spying on Astrana?" I asked this to check whether he was telling the truth or not!
"King's order!"
"What's your name?"
"Arlo"
"Where can I find Victor?"
With this question, the man before me once again looked at me with wide eyes.
"....." I could see that he was scared. So they were bound to be scared of Victor!
"See, Arlo. If you tell me where Victor is, I will keep you safe here! If not, when I find Victor myself, I'll make sure to rat you out!" I smiled.
He seemed a bit bothered now. "How can I trust you?" he asked.
"I'm not in a need to make you trust me. Also, you are not in a position to demand something from me!" I replied with a stern face.
"Vic... He is in the lotus inn!"
"Alone?"
"Alone!"
"Good boy!" I nodded my head in appreciation. "Since you answered all the questions, I'll make sure to send you a nice meal tonight! It would be better than the food in Dagresh!" I guaranteed him.
When I came out of the dungeon, my two soldiers were there, still with serious faces!
It was already evening. I covered myself well in a black cloak.
"Guide me to the lotus Inn!" I ordered the two.
"We can't let you walk, your highness!" the two beside me overreacted.
Since Victor often met with Flora, I knew that he was staying somewhere near the palace.
"Just follow my orders, will you?" I told them.
"Your highness! Just follow us!" these two guided me through two gates.
The Eastern gates of the palace were the less guarded of all. Since the ocean bordered the last Eastern gate, the king never really focused much on this Eastern gate. The sea which bordered the East was also shallow for some distance, so there was no fear of warships nearing the country from the east.
Only a few soldiers were placed here and there. These soldiers were not in the position to question me as I was holding the royal emblem in my hand!
Finally, at the end of the street near the third gate, they showed a lotus-shaped rooftop.
"Go bring the inn manager here!" I've ordered one of them. The other stayed with me.
Within a few minutes, he brought the manager successfully. The manager was shuddering in fear!
"Y...y...y...your H....h....h...highness!" he finally bowed in front of me.
"Wha...What b..brought you here?"
I noticed that the manager was extremely scared of me. It was indeed strange for a royal family member to suddenly meet a commoner but the amount of fear I saw was remarkable. I couldn't understand the reason. As far as I read the novel, Astrana royals were kind to the citizens.
He was exaggerating unless he had done something unforgivable!
I tried to catch the fish with a hook!
"Leal!" I showed him my left palm!
This was a code word used by Dagresh spies and Venus had mentioned this a few times in the novel. When I said the words, the managers face darkened. It became stiff like a stone.
I could see the shock and panic more clearly now.
I smirked once. "Do you know the punishment for betrayal in Astrana?" I asked without mentioning the crime since I didn't want my soldiers to know the truth!
"Y...Your highness!" his voice fell on high notes in fear.
"Keys to his room!" I showed my palm once again with my eyes.
The manager stood there dumbstruck for a few seconds then he took out a key from his pouch.
"To the dungeon!" I pointed to the manager and told my soldiers.
"Your highness! You..."
"I can manage! Do what I say!" I told them.
Though the two seemed a bit worried, they were in no power to protest against my order. They dragged back the manager towards the palace's eastern gate.
In the meantime, I started to move towards the lotus inn, while examining the key.
There was a flower shop by the entrance of the inn. I paused and bought a bouquet since I'm going to visit one of the most important guests that day.
I brought the bouquet to my nose and smelled it. The smell made my lips curl into a smile.
The tag on the key had number twenty one on it.
When I entered the main door, I could see several men and women holding each other and happily chattering and laughing!
'What kind of inn is this?" I shook my head as I moved forward.
Not only that, there were a group of female dancers who were dancing to some unknown song. The music was not bad though! The dancers made sure to have some seductive moves! Whatever the occasion was, I could see some talent there.
If only I had time, I would make sure to watch the full performance, but since I was already running out of time and in the middle of a mission, I hurried towards the next door.
"Hey, young lady!" a fully drunk weirdo almost jumped on me from nowhere. If I had not knocked him down, he would have succeeded in hugging me.
After that, I entered the corridor. Once I entered this door and moved forward, the noise behind me deadened. A frightening silence followed. All the rooms were locked.
Since nobody was there, I could move forward without much trouble.
I went further inside and paused before the door with a number 21 board.
Finally, I was going to see the famous villain and the second male lead of "Romance, please!'.
I looked at the bouquet in my hand once. I placed the key in the keyhole. With a 'thud' the door opened in front of me.
"Here I come, Mr Victor Marshrider!" I muttered as I entered the room with a smile.