Chapter 215: To the Back, To the Back
Translator: Blushy
Editor: Sam
The large garden where we always played in was full of dragons that no one was riding. But that wasn’t all.
“There are soldiers.”
“Be quiet, Your Highness.”
Hans hid us away from the window sight.
“They’re not Kingdom soldiers. Just what the heck is happening?”
Just then, the sound of a group of Rug Dragons running approached from the direction I always came in on the carriage.
“Stop! It should be here!”
“The Thiwd Pwince!”
I couldn’t see him, but it was his voice.
“Third Prince? They’re from Easter?!”
“It’s him?!”
Hans and Nico responded to my voice.
“Quieth!”
I silenced Hans and Nico this time. But they were fine since they were quick to react. Nico’s guards couldn’t react on time and looked panicked.
“This is the back of the castle where the royal family heirs live. I can’t believe that foreign soldiers would be here.”
“But they’re here now.” Hans snapped.
I thought hard with my little head. But I knew why they were here even without having to think.
“They wanth Nico.”
“Me? Not you?” Nico looked back at me in surprise. It’s true that the Third Prince gives off an impression that he’s obsessed with me, but his aim this time is different since he came all the way to the castle. I have the Four Marquise eyes, but I’m not an heiress or anything, I’m just an infant.
“Lei ish onwy cuthe. The importhanth one ish Nico.”
Normally, Hans would sharply retort back whenever I say I’m cute, but he didn’t do that this time. Hans’s instructions were given to Nico’s guards.
“I don’t know what happened nor what they want, but we can’t let them get Prince Nico or Lei-sama. Go into the castle!”
“Hey, you said into the castle, but where?!”
“Tsk. I was part of the special forces, so I don’t know much about the inside of the castle. You should know where to take shelter in this kind of situation!”
“There isn’t…”
“There isn’t anywhere to hide?!”
Hans was good at retorting even when he wasn’t retorting back to me.
I recalled a place where we could hide inside my mind.
“The shecreth bashe on thop of thhe three.” (The secret base on top of the tree)
“Isn’t that the secret base of Lei-sama, Prince Nico and Chris?”
His retorts are going strong.
“No, that’s it! Let’s go!”
Hans picked me up without humming and put his hand on the door handle leading into the castle.
“Nico!”
Then, he clicked his tongue loudly when he noticed that no one was following us except for Natalie.
“You! Pick up Prince Nico and follow me!” He instructed one of the guards and the guard picked Nico up in a hurry.
“You and you get a message upstairs and to the inside of the castle! The rest of us will get inside and seal off the entrance with furniture!” He instructed before heading out the door and into the castle.
“It seems the soldiers haven’t come inside yet. Did they come here to get Prince Nico after all?”
Hans normally kept his hands open to protect me, but he was carrying me this time while walking fast. He was walking so fast that Natalie, who was holding a big stuffed animal for some reason, was trotting after him. We turned a few corners and came to a long corridor.
“The greenhouse is to the south if we go straight down here, but the road is too straight. Things will get out of hand if they find us. Dammit!”
I don’t know if they were friend or foe, but I heard multiple footsteps coming from the bend in the corridor. Hans quickly opened a nearby door, got us inside, then closed the door. I could hear people running on the other side of the closed door.
“If they were moving properly, then the door to the Prince’s Palace should be closed now. I don’t know if they’re friend or foe, but there’s a chance that they’ll turn back around.”
Hans, who had rushed through to this point, seemed unsure of what to do.
“Let’s go to the barrier room,” Nico instructed while being held by his guards. I also remember this way. When Mark was here, we took an intricate path from here to the barrier room.
“But the barrier room is a dead-end, Prince Nico. It’s a room from which no one can escape from.”
“It’s difficult for those who are unfamiliar with the place to get there. And look.”
The sound of some more footsteps ran past the door.
“Tsk. We can’t go out, and it’s a bad idea to stay here. We’ll just have to follow Prince Nico’s advice and go to the barrier room.”
“Then, I’ll stay here.”
Natalie bowed at Hans and I.
“Natawie?”
“I’m a maid. Even if the Easter soldiers find me, I can act confused and frightened and they’ll let me go.”
“Sorry, Natalie.”
“It’s fine. Hans, I’ll see you later.”
Natalie smiled at me as best as she could. Then, she opened the door and stepped out just as the footsteps seemed to have disappeared around the bend. I could hear faint footsteps running towards the south greenhouse.
“Alright, this way then.”
Hans followed the complicated path, but he stopped in front of a few doors.
“I can’t remember where to go when I’ve only been there once before.”
I mean, you acted like you knew the way last time, but it was actually your first time going there? I’m surprised you remembered this complicated pathway well.
“Ok Hans. Not here. Open this door to the right.”
“Prince Nico, you…”
Even if you were talking to a Prince, you’re indeed no good. But I kept that retort to myself so that I wouldn’t get in his way.
“I remembered it the other day. Go on.”
How smart is this Prince?
Hans trusted Nico and proceeded further into the castle as instructed by Nico. Eventually, he came to a door with two soldiers in front of it.
“Prince Nicholas! Why are you here?!”
The guards were doing their jobs properly this time.
“It’s an emergency. Easter soldiers have probably invaded the castle. There’s a lot of Rug Dragons outside, but we don’t know how many soldiers they have. We escaped to the back of the castle.”
“But this only goes to the barrier room.”
“It’s fine. We’ll be there.”
Nico signalled his guard and got placed down. I also patted Hans on the shoulder and got him to put me down. It’s harder than you might think to hold me in his arms and run.
“Then, Hans. I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Hans nodded his head at Nico and looked at me. I know.
“Understood. I’ll go back, Prince Nico and Lei-sama.”
“Wait! Hans! We’re guards too aren’t we? Why are we splitting up?!”
The sound of Hans clicking his tongue echoed loudly down the corridor. How many times have I heard him click his tongue today?