Chapter 160: Chapter 21. The Best Ending

As soon as Jerica Lunt de Ronan realized what had just happened, the sword fell out of her hands with a thud.

The second princess stared at the bloody body in front of her, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

«How... How did it happen?»

Despite the fact that the girl initially joined this fight in order to prevent her sister from getting away with retribution once again, she really did not expect to be able to really hurt her. After all, over the years of their rivalry, she had never managed to do this before.

So why is that... Is that how it happened?

At that moment, Jerika involuntarily staggered and clutched her head, as if she had experienced a sharp headache.

The Crown Princess, who was still conscious, chuckled softly.

«I think Mother will finally be satisfied now,» she said hoarsely.

— ...

— Now that you present them with my head, everyone in the empire will recognize you as the heroine who saved the country. Wasn’t that what you always wanted?

The second princess gritted her teeth. After the headache receded for a moment, the girl found the strength to speak.

«Don’t talk nonsense,» she said sharply, «do you think you can escape state justice so easily?»

— .......

«I will not allow you to die before you stand trial and receive official punishment for all your crimes! Do you think I’m going to let you off so easily by dying here?»

However, after her pompous statement, Kaena only smiled faintly. Her own blood continued to sprinkle itself all around her.

«Oh, what a pity,» she croaked mockingly, «but I guess I’ll have to disappoint you again this time, sister.»

«You...!»

— Because this time, it’s really my end.

«.......»

Jerica de Ronan silently watched her older sister die, and felt conflicting feelings in her chest. Even though she shouldn’t feel any pity for this woman right now, but for some reason, a vague sense of anxiety still wouldn’t leave her.

Meanwhile, Caena de Ronan suddenly said:

— You know, not so long ago, I managed to read a curious book.

«......»

— I do not know how exactly it could have ended up in my possession, but its contents really interested me.

«........»

— Come to think of it, this story is very similar to us, isn’t it?

«I can’t understand why you’re talking about this at a time like this,» Jerica frowned.

However, despite her remark, the Crown Princess ignored it and continued to speak.

«Do you want me to tell you?»

— me...

Jerica stammered, and in the end, she couldn’t say a word. She remained silent as her older sister continued to tell this strange story.

— Well, it was a story about a righteous princess, whom everyone loved, and her villainous sister, who was always scheming against her. They had not gotten along with each other since childhood, and as they matured, they became enemies. In the end, the entire empire suffered because of their enmity, and many people wished this villainous princess dead. Do you know what happened next?

«........»

The second princess pursed her lips as she continued listening to this.

— Despite the fact that the last pages of this book were torn out for some reason, but the last one ended with the fact that in the end the villain suffered her punishment and justice prevailed. The righteous princess has won, and peace has finally come to the empire. Wasn’t that the best ending?

«......»

«So, after thinking about it for a while, I realized that I’m really no different from that villainess,» Kaena grinned, «and all the people around me also wish me dead. Even those... Who is dear to me.

«........»

At that moment, Jerika involuntarily clenched her fists without even realizing it. After all, it was not difficult to guess that at that moment it was about the duke’s youngest daughter.

— ...That’s why I finally made the decision that it’s time to end all this,» she summed up in a weak voice, «Because now... This life has really stopped making any sense to me.

«You...»

But Kaena didn’t give her a chance to finish. Instead, being on her last legs at that moment, she grinned again in her usual manner.

«Now it’s your turn,» she croaked, «to become the much-lauded heroine and lead this empire to a better future. I suppose... That this was exactly what she had always really wanted.

«.......»

— And I am... I’m going to hell, where I belong.

After saying these last words, the Crown Princess closed her eyelids and finally fainted. The breathing, which had been barely perceptible before, also disappeared completely.

***

Our movement in space happened so suddenly that when my feet finally touched solid ground, I involuntarily experienced a rush of dizziness. After all, this was my first such experience.

«Well, at least it’s still better than being on the subway during rush hour...»

When I finally came to my senses, I looked around and found that we were in the middle of a military camp right now. However, due to the unfamiliar surroundings, it was definitely not the camp of the Reuven Empire. Then are we now...?

«It looks like this is the Ruberon Empire’s camp,» frowning, the northern Duchess was the first to voice her guess.

«Oh, right.»

If you look closely, there really were enough flags and other identification marks with the symbols of this empire. But just why did we suddenly find ourselves in an enemy camp?

— Your Grace, this is...

The moment I spoke cautiously, Selina de Loon was the first to interrupt me. She sighed.

«I brought us here by following the remnants of Her Highness’ spiritual aura. And apparently, her tracks stop somewhere here.

— what? Are you saying that the Crown Princess was here not too long ago? — Jeremy interjected.

— It seems that it is.

I tensed up, because for a moment I even forgot about it. After all, the peace talks with the Ruberon Empire’s side were supposed to take place today. This means that the Crown Princess may indeed have been here quite recently. And it also means...

Could it be that this trap, threatening her life, could be connected with these negotiations? At least, that was the first thought that came to my mind.

— If Her Highness’s tracks stop here... Isn’t that too suspicious?

When I voiced my suggestion out loud, the Duchess nodded.

— That’s right. I think we should study the situation better...

However, it was at this moment that a commotion began to gather around our presence.

— Hey! Who are you and what are you doing here?

— There are outsiders here! But how did they get here?

The soldiers of the enemy empire began to surround us from all sides. And at their head was a man who, apparently, was their commander.

«Sir Hunston, this is...» One of the soldiers addressed him uncertainly.

— Don’t you see? — the man barked, — Strangers have entered our camp, and you are standing like dummies. Grab them immediately!

«Y-yes, sir!»

«......»

Considering that there were only three of us against an entire army, this situation justifiably looked dangerous. Because of this, the baron’s youngest son involuntarily became worried and turned to his wife:

— ...Your Grace, what are we going to do now?

«Isn’t it obvious?»

«And...?»

Jeremy and I blinked, puzzled.

«It seems that it’s from him that we’ll find out everything,» Selina grinned.

The next moment, all these soldiers attacked us at once. However, the whole brawl didn’t last more than a few minutes. It wasn’t difficult for the Northern Duchess to scatter all these people with magic, and in the end, victory was on our side.

The commander of the enemy army was truly amazed by this sight.

— You... Who the hell are you?! — the man was really stunned and continued to step back out of fear.

The Northern Duchess, on the other hand, took a threatening step towards him.

«If you want to live, then you have only one chance,» the woman announced coldly.

«...what?»

«Right now, where is the Crown Princess of the Ruwen Empire?» The Duchess asked, «You should definitely know about this.»

Hearing this question, the commander started and began to stumble.

«I... don’t...»

«Do you really refuse to talk?»

The moment a magical flash whistled right by his ear, the man finally gave up. Gael Hunston had to open his mouth.

«G-good... I’ll tell you everything!»

«........»

At this time, while we were all waiting, the commander of the enemy army hesitated before finally starting to speak. And then...

«Right now...» he hesitated, «Her Crown Highness is in the Misty Forest.

— What? — all three of us asked at the same time.

— The thing is... — The man said heavily, — That the Empress of the Ruwen Empire and I have made a deal.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read