Chapter 9 - A Fancy Prison

Chapter 9 – A Fancy Prison

After a welcome break, Viola returned to her carriage. As soon as she closed the door, however, she heard it lock from the outside. Then, all the windows were covered with a thick cloth, as if trapping her inside wasn’t enough already.

“What’s going on?” Viola asked, quickly becoming on edge at the situation.

“I don’t know,” Rosha replied anxiously. “They said we should never look outside the carriage from now on.”

The two women, who were suddenly trapped in their carriage, did not understand what was happening.

“Truthfully, I worked at a restaurant before this,” Rosha started after a while. “It was mainly patronized by mercenaries, and I heard a lot of strange rumors.”

Viola was sure Rosha was privy to some valuable information. She tightly clutched the skirt of her dress.

“If you know anything,” she leveled her tone carefully at the younger girl, “tell me everything, because I’m ready to listen.”

Rosha gulped down the dry saliva in her mouth.

“In the past, there was a Crown Princess Candidate who had run away. She had already become a concubine, but she fled with another man without anyone knowing. They say that she thought she escaped, but in reality she was captured almost instantly.”

The anxious girl paused for a moment before continuing.

“The knight who had greeded for the concubine had his head cut off, and she was locked up in an abandoned castle and not allowed to come out for the rest of her life. Her servants and attendants were also sent to the guillotine. I couldn’t believe more than 30 people died because one concubine ran away…”

“What? Come to think of it, they also retrieved Guinev’s knight as a corpse, didn’t they? I can’t help but think that merciless killing is a custom for them…”

To think they killed so many people because she ran away. Viola’s heart only became heavier. If the rumors were true, then the leader of the knights must have taken her map to prevent her from running away later.

“There is no way the same fate will happen to us, so don’t be worried. I won’t run away, because I’ll get kicked out after the training period, instead—”

The horses then started galloping at full power. Their carriage shook with such force that their bottoms were in pain. Viola’s whole body could feel how fast they were going, and she could hear the swift whizzing of wind in her ear. Perhaps it was because they had strayed from their original route and the current road now had rougher terrain to traverse, but her head would touch the ceiling whenever the wheels bounced. Viola held Rosha’s hand as the latter screamed in terror.

They traveled like this for hours. The carriage, which had been hurtling forward nonstop, suddenly came to a halt. Then, the carriage door, which had been tightly locked the entire time, squeaked open as the horses whinnied in exhaustion.

“We’re here. Please come out, princess.”

“Where are all the servants?”

“… Well…”

No welcoming party came to greet them, even though they knew ahead of time that Viola’s carriage had arrived. The dark-eyed knight who led them all the way had vanished, and there was no sign of a single attendant from the palace. Viola felt that something was wrong, but she straightened her back and just waited.

She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before someone came to greet them.

An old maid slowly made her way to Viola’s party. The elderly woman yawned, as if she had just woken up, and in that moment Viola knew that the maid wasn’t there to welcome them. After briefly pondering the bizarre situation, she started to understand what was happening.

There had already been several princesses who passed through these gates. It was understandable for the palace staff to be tired of the endless, repetitive training of new princess candidates. To them, Viola was just yet another to add to the list.

The old maid stood in front of Viola. She greeted her with all the right courtesies, but her eyes were filled with haughtiness as if she were looking at the spoils of war.

“I’ll tell you the rules, now. You cannot go outside past the Royal Villa. If you need anything, please speak through a maid. If you are planning to send a letter to your home country, it must be reviewed and go through censorship.”

Viola had already expected that she would be treated like a caged bird during the training period. Luckily, she came prepared.

“Now that I’ve come to the Arpen Empire, I know I have to obey the laws of the empire.”

The maid nodded and walked ahead, indicating they should follow her. They passed a gigantic chandelier, a golden statue, and a grand flower arrangement that seemed like all the flowers in the world had been picked to make it. It gave off a fragrance so strong their senses were briefly overwhelmed. Viola noted that the Royal Villa was exactly how she imagined it to be. Rosha restlessly looked around.

“It seems like there are only women here?” she asked nervously.

“This is where we train the Crown Princess Candidates,” the old maid answered curtly. “Men are not allowed, other than the ones in the royal family.”

All of Viola’s baggage was carried by a group of sturdy-looking maids. She felt many pairs of sharp eyes on her, making it clear to her that they intended to monitor her every move. Viola could even feel some hidden ones lurking in the shadows.

They must have assumed that Viola was just another ordinary, well-behaved princess; however, what they didn’t know was that she was exceptionally perceptive. Her previous life in Koronis had equipped her with a unique skill set, and she could feel their gazes even if they did not contain killing intent.

Once they entered the room the palace had assigned to her, Viola finally breathed in relief and released the tension in her body.

“Ah… my legs are trembling,” Rosha sighed. “By the way, do… do you think this room is meant for both of us?”

“I think so.”

Viola took a quick look around. There were two bed chambers separated by a common living room in the middle. The space looked specifically designed to keep two people contained in one place.

“This…” Rosha frowned. “This is nothing more than a fancy prison.”

“Right,” Viola nodded.

“I was so surprised earlier when we came in. I’ve never seen a wall so tall.”

“I am pretty sure that it is at least over three meters. It will be hard to jump over that.”

“Ju… jump? Th… that’s dangerous to say!”

“I’m just saying, it’s going to be hard to climb over that wall with just a normal human’s strength.”

Rosha placed a hand on her chest, trying to quell her erratic heartbeat. “… My heart is pounding. Princess, the back of my knees ache when you say these things.”

“It’s because you get so scared, so I do it as a joke.” Somehow, a smile made its way across Viola’s face despite the dreary situation she was in.

“It’s a problem because it doesn’t sound like a joke!”

Right then, a maid entered, cutting short their conversation. “I’ve prepared some warm tea.”

As the maid poured the hot beverage into prepared cups, Viola decided to see if she could garner some information from the pleasant-looking girl.

“Could I ask you about the princess who entered the palace before me?”

“I don’t know much,” the girl shrugged. “The maids change positions after the end of every six-month training period. I only recently got assigned here to the Royal Villa.”

Seeing her bright smile, Viola surmised that she seemed to have no idea about Guinev’s escape, which made sense. If Guinev had indeed managed to flee despite the villa’s extensive surveillance system, then it would have been in the palace’s best interests to prevent the fact from being known. It wouldn’t be difficult to cover outside eyes and ears if they kept what happened in the Royal Villa secret.