Chapter 79 "Princess, you've been disobedient again today..."
The carriage sped off, the black horses pulling it moving like lightning. The only sound was the whooshing wind; the scenery flashed by, barely visible: broad, dark green leaves, thick tree trunks, dense, green grass, and countless strange red and white beetles crawling on it. Even a glimpse of them was enough to send nightmares into your mind. Their sticky, tiny shells speckled with red and white, and their beady eyes, like green beans, seemed to speak—they were terrifying.
Occasionally, huge red and green spiders would fall from the towering trees, scaring me so much that I would scream loudly, which would make the sailors laugh.
Luo An said, "Sister, let's switch seats," but I was so crowded that I couldn't even move. How could I get up and switch seats?
And so, amidst surprise, fear, and the jostling, we made our way through the forest.
After passing through the forest, the carriage sped towards a vast, mirror-like silver lake. Just as I was wondering how the carriage would cross the river, it suddenly plunged into the water, and I cried out in alarm. It turned out that there was an underground tunnel beneath the lake, pitch black, almost impossible to see one's hand in front of one's face.
I don't know how long we drove, but suddenly the carriage was lifted into the air. Before I could see what was happening, it burst out from the cliff of a towering snow-capped mountain.
Yes, a very large snow-capped mountain.
I turned around in surprise and saw dozens of colorful birds with long tails flying around the white snow-capped mountain.
Where exactly is this place?! I looked at Luo An in fear, but Luo An was watching all of this with great interest.
He was a boy, after all, and much braver than me.
After flying over the snow-capped mountains, there was a vast expanse of beautiful green lawns, lakes, and forests, and a black domed castle perched on a light gray mountain in the distance.
The carriage flew directly towards the castle. Along the way, I saw a bustling market below, with crowds of people, houses of all sizes in red and green, fountains, squares, and cobblestone paths.
I was extremely surprised; it turned out that this was a hidden kingdom.
The carriage quickly flew to the black domed castle high in the mountains. The iron chain drawbridge had already been lowered, and the carriage drove straight in. After flying for a short while, it landed in a very large courtyard.
The courtyard was empty, devoid of anything. There were no trees, no flowers, not even a single weed; only a large expanse of open space paved with bluestone slabs.
Everyone got off the carriage one after another and stood scattered in the courtyard.
After getting off the carriage, I stood with Luo An, feeling somewhat uneasy.
“You,” the chief officer, who had already dismounted from the carriage, coldly pointed at the half-goat and the other sailors, and ordered Roan, “follow them.”
Luo An glanced at me, then silently walked towards them.
I wanted to say something, something like, that Luo An is still just a child and it's best not to separate from me, but I didn't say anything.
Because estimation is useless.
After they left, several tall, thin maids arrived. The head steward handed me over to them and left without a word, acting all high and mighty.
——
Two hours later, after being washed and dressed, I was led to a tightly closed black carved door.
The head manager, who had changed into a simple, pure white robe, was already standing in front of the door waiting for me.
He pushed the door open gently, and I was a little hesitant to go in. He kicked me, and I stumbled and fell inside.
The room was very large, even larger than Princess Yani's room in the Southern Territory. The walls were light green, the floor was pure yellow, and the floor-to-ceiling curtains were off-white. Apart from that, there was nothing else.
The room was empty, as if no one lived there.
The head supervisor led me through the room to a small room inside, knocked twice lightly on the door, and then pushed it open.
In an instant, I froze on the spot.
The room was decorated the same as the outside room, but much smaller. What was chilling was that inside was a silver wheelchair, in which sat an old girl with a long lace-trimmed dress and light blonde curly hair. She was completely paralyzed, her head tilted limply to one side, her body and legs limp in the wheelchair.
—A spitting image of another Hawking.
She was called an old girl because her face looked a bit old, wrinkles had crept onto her white neck, and her golden eyes were sharp and piercing, almost like the eyes of an owl.
"Princess, you've been disobedient again today." The head steward, abandoning his usual sharp and ruthless demeanor, revealed his most beautiful smile and strode towards her. "I heard you refused to eat lunch. Why is that?"
The old girl didn't answer. Instead, she tilted her head and scrutinized me from head to toe with a critical look.
I felt a chill run down my spine, as if I were being scrutinized by an old witch from a fairy tale.
“Princess,” the chief steward knelt down on one knee and said with a doting smile, “weren’t you curious about what girls on the main continent are like? So I brought her back.”
My legs were trembling so badly that I wanted to run away if I could.
The old girl's sharp eyes frightened me a little.
The older girl kept staring at me without saying a word or paying any attention to the manager.
Just as the head manager slowly stood up, preparing to lead me out, the older woman looked in another direction and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "What do you think?"
That's when I noticed there was a wheelchair behind the floor-to-ceiling curtains.
Against the sunlight, a faint shadow falls.
The person in the wheelchair was not clearly visible, but a gentle male voice, slightly hoarse, could be heard: "Whatever you wish."
The old girl stopped talking, tilted her head, and squinted her eyes.
The head manager glanced at me then and said, "Remember this: from today onwards, whatever the princess asks you to do, you will do."
My legs were still trembling, and I managed to reply with a single word: "Yes."
I hate this place, but I have no choice but to stay.
The scenery here is beautiful, but the people here are terrifying.
The next day, before dawn, I was sleeping in the small room opposite the old girl's room when a tall, fair-skinned maid woke me up to do chores.
"Get up! Get to work!" the maid said.
"What?!" I was still half asleep and hadn't reacted yet.
"Get up!" the maid repeated. "Get to work!"
I was startled and followed the maid into a tool room, where I picked up cleaning tools.
From that day on, I didn't become a so-called toy, but instead started working like a cleaner, running around in circles.
But being a cleaner is just as terrifying as being a toy maker!
Every morning, I have to get up early and work for ten hours straight: cook medicinal porridge, clean up phlegm and feces, wash diapers, change clothes and sheets, and clean the floor after the old girl princess has become incontinent.
He squats on the ground and wipes the floor four or five times a day, cleaning it thoroughly.
The tip of my nose is often surrounded by the stench of feces, and I often vomit multiple times a day.
I often have this illusion that I've returned to the old Black Castle, spending my days cleaning up manure, washing iron cages, and changing straw.
Those days were bleak and hopeless, with no hope of ever getting better.
But all things considered, this place is still better than Black Castle; at least you don't have to shovel manure.
The food was guaranteed, with milk, bread, meat, and fruit every day; it was like living in paradise.
But I still resent Luo An. If it weren't for his pursuit of a bag of gold coins, we wouldn't have ended up in this predicament.
When we occasionally meet, I can't help but say a few more words, and Luo An looks ashamed and just lowers his head.
Exhausted and overwhelmed, I sighed, "Now you know what it means to be penny-wise and pound-foolish, right?"
"I'm sorry, sister."
"Alright, I have to go back to work." I was just about to leave.
Luo An suddenly asked, "Sister, do you know where this place is?"
I was taken aback. "Where?"
“The elves. The former masters of this continent—the elves.” Roan said in a low voice, “I heard from my former clansmen a long time ago that their race was severely suppressed and then suddenly disappeared.”
"Is it true?" I could hardly believe it. Memories of the Elf Queen suddenly flooded my mind; I never expected to encounter elves here.
No wonder the people here have such fair and radiant skin; it's a characteristic of the elves—even the Elf Queen has such skin.
"Why were they at the northern border that day?" I asked.
"The elves are skilled at raising horses and have a secret horse trade with the orcs. That night, I happened to be giving the horses laxatives when I encountered the horse thieves. The thieves were involved in both horse trading and human trafficking, and they planned to sell us all, but the elves discovered them and ordered the orcs to capture the thieves."
"Aren't the elves supposed to be very powerful? Why don't they take action themselves?" I asked.
"The elves don't act rashly because they dislike the people of the main continent, don't want to dirty their hands, and are afraid of revealing their whereabouts."
That evening, I chatted with Luo An until late, and I came back a little late as well.
He was filled with anxiety, expecting to be punished, but he had just run breathlessly up the spiral wooden stairs of the palace, and before he even reached the second floor, he heard the old princess shouting hoarsely, her already slightly husky voice even more raspy, "Get out of here, all of you! I'm not going anywhere!"
Her hoarse voice distorted again, "Daio, Artis, I curse you!"
Like the terrifying cry of a dying crow.
Still panting heavily, I was both shocked and terrified.
Thump, thump, thump, a series of heavy footsteps came from upstairs, and I quickly hid in a corner of the stairs.
A group of fierce-looking guards in silver armor rushed downstairs, some carrying a silver wheelchair on their shoulders. The old princess sat in it, cursing and crying. The guards ran so fast that they reached the palace gate before the old princess could utter her second curse.
Behind them followed a group of black-robed maids who watched in terror as the old princess was forcibly carried out, helpless and only able to weep.
Before long, another squad of silver-armored guards rushed in, their menacing demeanor like that of bandits, ransacking the palace and taking away all the suspicious letters, files, and valuables.
They left menacingly after looting everything.
I huddled in the corner, too scared to even breathe.
At midnight, the corridor leading to the princess's former room was filled with maids. Some were weeping softly, some were asleep with their heads on their knees, and others were talking in hushed tones.
I hid in a corner of the corridor, eavesdropping on their conversation. It turned out that the old princess had once been a powerful figure, but after losing power, she was resentful and had been plotting a comeback. However, she was discovered halfway through her plan by the current ruler, who immediately arrested her and is now searching this place for evidence of her rebellion so that he can publicly punish her.
So that's how it is! I sighed inwardly.
I don't know if it's lucky or unlucky, but I've only been here for half a month and this has already happened. But maybe it's lucky that I avoided potential misfortune before the old princess even had time to treat me like a toy?
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Author's Note: Jinjiang crashed for most of yesterday, sigh! I was really worried I wouldn't be able to update today, but it's great to see you all safely now!
I also encourage everyone to read "Cinderella Wants a Satisfying Novel Script," which is a very popular novel. Some readers have even said that it is a novel that left a deep impression on them throughout the year.
There will be one more update today!
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