Chapter 78 Rescue Against Time Andra shook his sword, sweeping the blood droplets away…

Andra shook his sword, sweeping the blood droplets aside.

She looked at the trembling girl in front of her and asked in a less than friendly tone, "Who else is there?"

She was about to explode with anger, but Eleanor was still hiding behind the rocks.

Andra didn't want to leave her lover with the impression of being irritable and easily angered. Would she throw a tantrum just because things went wrong? That would be too ungentlemanly.

She could only hold back and patiently question the woman who had caused the trouble, hoping to resolve all the problems as soon as possible.

Who else is there?

Eliza immediately realized that this guardian-like figure was asking her: How many pursuers are there?

She snapped out of her daze and ran towards the direction from which the sound had come.

They might still be alive!

......

No, they are all dead.

A few minutes later, the girl knelt on the ground and began to sob.

The three loyal guards and the eight treacherous pursuers all stopped breathing.

Some of them held their swords in their hands, while others lay scattered beside them; each of them was covered in blood.

Eliza crawled a few steps to the corpses and examined them closely. She found that many of them had similar wounds: a simple and clean stab or slash to the heart or abdomen.

She was horrified and didn't dare to turn around: it must have been that person who killed her!

The foreign princess named Andra was probably alerted by the fighting here first, and after killing people, she came over to clean up the mess... Will she kill everyone—including me?

"Let's double-check, is everyone here? Are there any others?"

A cold voice sounded from behind, startling Eliza so much that she trembled and shook her head repeatedly.

"I... I escaped... that's all for now... I also want to keep it a secret from the people who are chasing me."

This group of people rushed out in an attempt to atone for their sins, and they don't know when their aunt's people will realize that they've all run away.

She struggled to control her trembling teeth and said, word by word, "Others may catch up in a while, please—please don't kill me, I am Princess Belial!"

The person behind her didn't answer, but walked straight over her shoulder towards the sea.

The young man with golden-red hair plunged the blood-stained sword into the sea, rinsed it back and forth, and even took a moment to tidy his hair with his fingers before continuing to walk towards the reef ahead.

Although she couldn't see her expression, Eliza inexplicably felt that she was smiling.

"Lily." The person called out to someone behind the reef in a sweet voice.

A petite figure emerged from the shadows at her call; the girl was slender and walked with great elegance.

It wasn't until Eleanor came closer that Eliza noticed the girl was wearing a nightgown and a cloak draped over her shoulders.

Looking at the well-matched couple, a vague guess suddenly formed in her mind, but she quickly gritted her teeth and dared not say anything.

Eleanor nodded to Andra, then turned to the anxious Eliza and said softly, “You must be the princess of Baley. Please don’t worry, I am Eleanor, the princess of Norlanna.”

Her calm voice immediately put Eliza at ease: the fact that the other party was willing to give their name meant they probably didn't intend to kill her.

The girl in front of her felt much gentler than the young man.

This gentle temperament is hard to fake; she can give people a strong sense of security just by standing here.

Eliza couldn't help but take a second look. The more she looked, the more she felt that although this Princess Nolana was the same age as her, she felt like an older sister... or even a kind elder?

She gradually calmed down and returned the greeting to Eleanor by lifting the tattered hem of her skirt.

“Yes, Your Highness Princess Norlana. I am Eliza. Thank you both for your rescue.”

Eliza spoke very quickly: "I beg you to have mercy and not hand me over to King Baelai. My aunt is full of malice towards me."

Eleanor would naturally not hand Eliza over to King Baelai.

She knew that the princess's circumstances in her previous life must have been terrible, because no country had a concubine or queen named Eliza. She might have been betrothed to a very remote little country, or even died in the palace of Belai.

Seeing Eliza's youthful face, she couldn't help but think of the first princess.

After their defeat, the Belai royal family selected the most beautiful child from among their many collateral branches and sent her to Andra's side.

That princess was truly an outstanding beauty, only slightly less so than Eliza before her, yet she... remained untouched in the harem.

Eleanor's health was declining at that time, and she had so many things to do that she really didn't want to take care of her swarming harem.

It wasn't until each child was born and more and more princesses were abandoned that she finally couldn't help but question Andra, "What exactly do you want?"

She still remembers Andra's stunned expression very clearly.

Her innocent eyes seemed to say, "Huh? Their mission is complete after they give birth. I can just settle them in the palace to live out their old age. What else do I need to do?"

After hearing her plea to "release them immediately," Andra patiently explained that if these concubines were divorced and sent home, they would suffer even more persecution and it would also break her alliance with the nobles.

Eleanor thought about it and agreed that it made sense.

Putting aside the inter-family marriages and the children's thoughts, if a concubine who returns home is dragged out by her family to marry someone else and have children, it might be even more unbearable than staying in the palace.

Later, her health deteriorated, and she could only force herself to communicate with the concubines, selecting those who truly wanted to leave and whose families were willing to accept them from the vast harem, and leaving through methods such as faking death.

But that's just a drop in the ocean.

Eleanor took a breath, temporarily setting aside her thoughts of her past life, and focused on Eliza in front of her.

Even disregarding compassion as fellow human beings, there are other benefits to letting the princess go.

She asked gently, "Where did you originally plan to flee to?"

Eliza quickly said, "I have someone to help me! My sister's business association is willing to take me in."

Yes, that's it.

Eleanor nodded to herself: This group of people must have failed in her previous life. Until King Baley was captured by Andra, Baley's political situation was relatively stable.

However, things can change in this lifetime.

Sending Princess Eliza away and then using the Marigold Merchant Guild to stir up trouble might actually hinder Baley's development. At the very least, they could seize some profits, such as shipyards and ship blueprints.

Eleanor really wanted a port in Belly.

Firstly, without Andra, it would be difficult for her to defeat Belaine in the short term.

Secondly, it would be even better if we could capture Belial through methods other than war—or rather, by reducing some of the physical combat.

If this princess can help achieve this goal, then using up a time-rewind opportunity would be a huge profit.

Eleanor smiled gently, took Eliza's arm, and led her to the rocks. "Tell me about what you've been through lately."

A reassuring dimness descended.

Eliza couldn't help but want to confide in her, but looking at the approaching dawn, she said anxiously, "I really want to talk to you all night long, but my aunt's people will find out soon enough!"

Eleanor nodded and stepped on the handkerchief that had fallen to the ground during the commotion.

She took Eliza's hand and said earnestly, "Don't worry, I have my own way. Please tell me in detail about your dispute with King Baley, especially where you were a few days ago, how you escaped today, and who discovered you?"

Eliza had initially intended to keep some things to herself, but after hearing this barrage of questions, she was completely dumbfounded.

Princess Nolana's questions are less about planning for the future and more about revisiting the past.

What good is it to know these things that have already happened?

Many doubts arose in her mind, but looking into Eleanor's earnest and focused eyes, Eliza bit her lip and began to tell her everything in detail.

As dawn broke, Eleanor asked her one last question after hearing her entire story.

"If someone had contacted you a few days ago, or at the latest this morning, what would she have said to convince you in just a few words?"

......

Splash—

The sound of the waves suddenly faded away, and Eleanor opened her eyes, her hair swaying back and forth with the vibrations of the wheels.

She touched the gold pendant; one of the marks on the petals had disappeared, leaving only three bloodstains.

My gaze shifted slightly to the side, and I saw Andra dozing off with her eyes half-closed, her forehead nodding slowly as the carriage moved...

Her lover seemed to notice her gaze, and quickly opened his eyes wide to look back, a warm smile appearing on his lips.

Eleanor smiled in response, then raised her hand and shouted, "Speed ​​up! Speed ​​up—"

The carriage immediately accelerated, and the galloping horses around it made a clattering sound.

Manzhu lifted the carriage curtain, but quickly lowered it again after confirming it was the princess's intention. She rode her horse forward, loudly relaying the princess's command to the surrounding caravan: "Move faster!"

Boom! Boom!

The leather-wrapped wheels thumped loudly across the wilderness, and even the shockproof Enlin carriage swayed like a tractor.

"What's the emergency?" Andra braced himself against the carriage, holding Eleanor protectively in his arms.

The car was going too fast, and the princess's head kept bouncing backward, making her feel flustered.

Eleanor nodded and said matter-of-factly, "I have something I need everyone to get to Felli as soon as possible—and you need to help too."

She leaned close to Andra's ear and explained the plan to rescue Eliza step by step.

"...Once we're done, let's go to the beach."

......

O Gods—whether it be the Mother Goddess or any other deity, please bless me.

Eliza prayed this every morning and night after her mother's death.

She had no choice; her only way out was to find an opportunity to travel to Cadland through the Sapphire Merchant Guild and reunite with her sister.

Eliza and her guards agreed not to disobey King Baley's orders for the time being, and to remain inactive for the next few days to see if there was any opportunity to escape.

She thought this to herself, but as soon as she opened the door after praying, she saw the guard collapse limply to the ground.

What happened?!

Eliza was confined to a palace resembling a set of building blocks, with King Baelai changing her location every few days. Not only could those outside not know in advance where she would be staying that day, but even she herself had no way of knowing beforehand.

Could it be that someone is trying to assassinate King Bale and has found me?

Crack—

She suddenly looked up, and although there were more than one intruder in her field of vision, only one person occupied her entire mind.

She was a young woman with golden-red hair, and her sword-wielding posture was elegant and languid.

This person wore an expression of disdain, but upon noticing her, a mask of politeness appeared on their face. The switch was so natural that others thought it was their imagination.

"You must be Princess Eliza?"

Andra brandished his sword and walked over briskly. "Don't be afraid, my lord is here to help you."

"Your Highness is..."

Eliza should have been afraid, but what surged in her chest was not fear.

With her heart pounding with excitement, she wanted to fix her hair, but quickly clenched her fists to avoid making such an unseemly gesture in front of the other person.

Andra ignored her question and chuckled to himself.

"Oh right, there's a code, right? Hmm... a big fish in the sea?"

The secret code that he and his sister had agreed upon—a code known only to the two of them—slipped out of this person's mouth at will.

Eliza's shoulders trembled slightly, and her turbulent emotions finally subsided.

Her eyes returned to normal, and she nodded to the person who had come: "Okay, I'll go with you now. Can I take a few more people with me?"

Without a personal guard by her side, she really wouldn't feel safe. But... would this person in front of her be wary of others?

You'd better not bring it.

The young man politely said, "His Highness said that most of them would betray you, so it would be a bit troublesome for me to kill them."

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Author's Note: Today's author's note is unrelated to the main text! Don't let it affect your mood! [Sprinkling flowers]

Although I really don't want to say anything irrelevant when the story is reaching its climax—but to the reader whose comments I've repeatedly deleted and who directly told me not to ask anymore, please don't ask the same question again, even though it's clearly marked in the text.

I have answered countless times, and each time I have answered in great detail and care.

But you keep asking it, changing a few words and asking again. I'm sure you saw it, but after a while you keep asking. (I don't know what the point is; I've already answered this question from every angle...)

I have great respect for my readers, and I believe that everyone who leaves a comment does so hoping that I will reply. I have severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, so I reply to every single one.

But this isn't about you repeatedly asking me the same question, like "Did you eat noodles today?" and I answer that I ate bread, only to be asked again a couple of days later, "Then why do you like noodles?" or "Is there anything wrong with noodles?" I utterly don't understand the point of such behavior.

I strongly object to this gaslighting-like attempt; please stop immediately.

I will never answer that question you asked repeatedly in different ways again. I will delete it immediately if I see it! My obsessive-compulsive disorder and internal conflict are severe, so please do not use this strange behavior of repeatedly asking the same question on me!