Chapter 54 A Gentle Trap The little princess's concerned voice echoed in the darkness…
The bathroom was filled with steam. Eleanor immersed her long, seaweed-like hair in the bathtub and listened to Manju's story.
The loyal guard compiled a summary of everyone's hunts against Andra over the past three days and read it aloud in a calm tone.
The Royal Guard initially became more determined despite setbacks, but after being thoroughly beaten by Andra, they learned their lesson and decided to use underhanded tactics to get back at Andra.
As expected, Mysella came up with the idea of flooding, just like in her previous life.
This time they were better prepared. They first dug a large pit several meters deep in the garden, filled it with water, and then laid wooden planks and a layer of topsoil on top. Joandra then came to fight the princess late at night.
Andra fell for the trap and walked into the garden as agreed.
However, this guy was too vigilant; he refused to move forward without someone leading the way.
In order to lure her in, Mysella had to lead the way.
The older sister had a real talent for pranks; she remembered where the edge of the trap was. So Myrcella, who was walking ahead, stepped on the edge of the plank and didn't fall in, while Andra stepped on the middle of the plank, collapsing the trap with a thud.
The wooden piece snapped instantly, and half of Andra's body sank abruptly. The overturned mud and water formed a swamp-like substance, making it even harder to break free.
"Hahahaha!" Mysella stood to the side and laughed loudly, but before she could laugh twice, Andra's right hand grabbed her ankle tightly!
The story could still take a turn here. Myrcella can swim; when she was a child, she practiced holding her breath for a while in order to scare people by hiding in the pool.
"Don't save me! Subdue her first!!"
She shouted as Andra dragged her away—what a display of loyalty and courage!
Then—then she was dragged away by Andra and punched twice, leaving her stunned.
Andra didn't struggle in the pool with Mysella in her arms; she knew that once someone sank, it would be difficult to get back up.
So she decisively abandoned her "bottom line" of not harming Crown Prince Nolana and unleashed a barrage of blows on Myrcella's nose, leaving her face covered in welts.
Crack! Crack!
Blood splattered from the Third Prince's face, flying everywhere.
This terrified the guards who came to help hold her down, and they all scrambled to grab Mysella, but Andra also grabbed her feet and followed... and they got a real beating.
Eleanor knew roughly about this, because Andra came home very late that night.
She had just returned from a bath, and her body still smelled strongly of soap, indicating that she had used up quite a bit of soap in the tub.
The little princess blinked innocently and asked, "What's wrong?"
Andra just laughed and said, "I accidentally fell into the pool."
After this battle, the guards all fell silent. Mainly because they had been beaten so badly by Andra, many of them were groaning and asking for leave from their quarters.
So for the rest of the day, most of the pranks were done by the servants that Manju and Thorn bribed, and some were done by their family relatives.
This group of people were of low status, and even with the promise of Manju's protection, they dared not do anything to Princess Hetuya.
As a result, Andra's body was not harmed in any way, only his face became a little gloomy.
“It’s alright, we didn’t come away empty-handed.” Eleanor stood up and waited for Coral to dry her long hair.
The little princess said gently, "At least we know that this level of roughhousing won't get our mother's attention."
"Yes." Manzhu lowered her head in shame.
While she remained silent, Thorn, who was always quiet, asked softly, "Your Highness, you seem to be in a better mood?"
Hearing her sister's words, Manzhu quickly raised her face and secretly glanced at the little princess's expression.
Eleanor is not quite the same as she was two days ago.
Perhaps because she had just taken a bath and had a good rest today, Her Highness had lost her usual serene demeanor, leaving only a faint melancholy, much like that caused by a headache.
Eleanor nodded. "Yes, because the dream happened a long time ago."
Everyone else says it feels like a lifetime ago, but for her, it truly feels like a lifetime ago.
Memories of my past life are slowly fading; if I hadn't written down the details in time, I would have forgotten them all.
Similarly, her pain and her deep hatred for Andra eventually began to fade, leaving only a bloodstain on her chest as a vivid crimson.
She was glad that she had been willful with her mother goddess one last time.
If it weren't for this little bit of willfulness, once the wounds of her soul were fully healed, she might have thought that this small act of revenge during this period was enough for her entire life. Andra is just a child now, and she hasn't done anything yet.
"Your Highness," Manzhu asked tentatively, "shouldn't these actions be stopped?"
She respects His Highness, and if His Highness suffers because of this, she is willing to kill Andra at any cost, provided His Highness's safety is guaranteed.
But looking into Eleanor's clear eyes, Manju wished even more that Her Highness could live a carefree life as a princess and never let her pure white hands be stained with blood.
Eleanor nodded. "Their operations—the Royal Guard's—can be suspended for now. They're not suited for this kind of thing."
Upon hearing the princess's words, Manzhu's heart skipped a beat: the implication was that the princess was not prepared to give up her plan to kill Andra.
Sure enough, after a few breaths, Eleanor said softly, "Operation Kite will proceed as planned, except for you and Thorn... don't bring any of the other Royal Guard members."
It's not that she doesn't believe in these people's future loyalty.
She could name several reliable figures, such as Patina II, who had always been on her side.
But Eleanor dared not gamble on their current level of loyalty.
These guards are all still children, well protected by their families when they were young. They've only served the princess for a few years, how did they get involved in murder?
Put yourself in her shoes; she couldn't have done that at all when she was a child.
“Coral, let’s take Amber, Xiao Mu, and Rose with us,” Eleanor said, listing the names of several more slave servants.
Unlike noble servants, all slaves were required to be buried alive with the princess if she died.
Because of this rule, Eleanor did not arbitrarily transfer these slaves to others in her first two reigns.
In her first incarnation, she went to great lengths to grant these slave servants the status of free men and, together with Andra, abolished the practice of human sacrifice.
Some of the slaves who gained status were placed in Enlin, while others were placed in the Hetuya court. She tried her best to get them away from her to start their own families and businesses. Those who were particularly clever and loyal could also manage her shops and become stewards.
Some slaves believed they should dedicate their lives to serving the princess.
Eleanor doesn't understand these people, but she respects them. She tells them that she hates human sacrifice the most and that no one is allowed to be secretly sacrificed for her. Human sacrifice is a shameful betrayal.
Eleanor II did not have as much time to arrange the fate of the slaves.
She arranged for some of the more freedom-loving people to stay in Enlin, while others who couldn't adapt to her ideas were entrusted to her business partners in the Chamber of Commerce before she "got married."
As for this lifetime...
A hint of guilt flashed across Eleanor's face; she was ultimately going to use their unwavering loyalty to the royal family to kill Andra.
If this plan works, these people will all bear the consequences of losing a life for her.
Even though their understanding of life may differ from Eleanor's and not cause long-term trauma, she was still saddened by it.
Princess was overcome with grief once more. Manju quickly knelt on the damp floor tiles, took Eleanor's arm, and solemnly promised, "I will definitely fulfill your wish!"
Eleanor put her arm around Manju's neck, about to say a few words of comfort, when she heard the sound of hopping footsteps.
The people in the bathroom all wore helpless expressions when the door was suddenly flung open with a bang!
Mysella raised her hands and shouted energetically, "I'm back!"
The child had a clump of hair that looked like rotten straw, and in those days there were no bandages, so her face was covered with strips of linen.
Because Eleanor was a staunch believer in herbalism, the cloth strips contained herbal ointments that looked like mud, making them appear quite abstract.
Coral covered her mouth and turned her face away, clearly recalling the miserable state of the Third Prince two days ago when he was covered in a blob of smear.
Eleanor watched Myrcella dancing merrily on the bathroom floor, a sight that left her both amused and exasperated.
She was just worried about the teenagers' mental health, and here comes a husky that won't have any psychological trauma at all.
A few days after her rebirth, Eleanor was finally able to rationally recall her experiences in her previous life.
Putting everyone else aside, let's just talk about Sister Mysella... If she had survived the battlefield in her past life, she might have said, "I was evenly matched with Andra, but I lost by a single sword strike."
"Lily!" Myrcella exclaimed excitedly, waving the soap around like a ball of flowers. "Don't worry, I've got everything ready. It took me ages to carry it all upstairs; it's all hidden in the bushes!"
Eleanor nodded and quickly reminded her not to roll anything strange on the stone, especially "mud".
"Waaah, no way..." It seems even Mysera has some psychological trauma. She pinched her cheek and said painfully, "They're all clean stones. I had them wash them several times!"
No need to wash...
Eleanor sighed, not wanting to add any more burden to her sister's smooth cerebral cortex. She patted Myrcella's little head and whispered, "Thank you. Stay away from the forest tomorrow and the day after, and don't come over."
"Hey, why?"
Mysella stared wide-eyed, utterly bewildered: How could she miss out on something as fun as smashing Andra!
Because it's not simply about smashing rocks...
Eleanor looked at Myrcella with mixed feelings; in a sense, this operation was a revenge.
But firstly, as my sister also said, a person only has one life, and she is not "her" now, nor is Andra the Andra who made the mistake before.
Secondly, using violence is never a good thing.
Manju, Thorn, and Coral are all mentally stable individuals and unlikely to be negatively affected, while Mysella not only enjoys bullying others since childhood, but if she were to become queen in this life...
Eleanor paused for a moment upon thinking about this.
If Andra had died earlier, everything would have been fine; she could have kept her sister in check from a young age, preventing her from misbehaving. If she had died early enough, she could have simply drunk the medicinal soup and become the crown princess herself, overcoming any difficulties that might arise.
Eleanor was determined to poison Ophelia rather than let such a mediocre and suspicious person become king.
But if Andra lives to adulthood, Eleanor will certainly not be able to pass the throne to Myrcella... So who should she pass it to?
If Andra survives, she will most likely have to maintain her status as a princess and wait for an opportunity to continue to deal with Andra, and will not be able to become the Queen of Norlana.
Eleanor frowned and decided to put those thoughts aside.
You haven't even started killing yet, why are you saying such discouraging things!
She pinched her sister's cheeks and pulled them apart, making up a random excuse: "Because you just got beaten up by Andra, you need to rest."
“Bitterly…” Mysera was still unconvinced.
Eleanor pinched his cheek harder, her face stern, and said, "Get some rest! And if she sees you, the plan will be ruined."
"Oh~"
This reasoning effectively convinced Myrcella, who saw herself as the protagonist of the world, radiating a mocking aura that naturally made her a target of Andra's apprehension.
"Okay~ When you get back, you must tell me how badly Andra was hit."
Mysella made a gesture of covering her mouth, meaning that she would never reveal the secret, and then ran out laughing.
Eleanor looked at her comical appearance and wanted to laugh but couldn't.
My sister is so happy. If only it could be a little more useful... It is useful.
She felt a dull ache in her chest.
When exactly did it start? Her opinions of the people around her always focused on whether they were useful or not.
If only she could regain the mindset she had in her first life. Back then, everything in this world was new and exciting, like falling into a love game... No, never mind, maybe it's better this way.
Eleanor took a deep breath and led Coral out of the bathtub. The servants dried the last strand of her hair, then laid her on her back on an absorbent linen blanket to be carefully dried and wrapped up.
The princess closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep in the quiet room... until the sound of soft footsteps woke her.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I woke you up."
Andra's voice was slightly hoarse. Of course, she wasn't crying; someone had just sprinkled powder that scratched her mouth into her food, and her throat was both sore and itchy.
"Andra, what's wrong with your voice?"
The little princess's concerned voice came from the darkness.
Andra could see the silhouette of her suddenly getting up and breathed a sigh of relief: although the princess had been showing concern for her the other day, she seemed a little too slow to notice.
She could understand the princess's trust in Manzhu and her favoritism towards the guards, but she still felt a little resentful.
You said you liked me and asked me to come to your side, but are you going to turn a deaf ear to all this bullying?
Before tonight, she had some resentment, but now that the little princess had timidly opened her mouth, Andra felt a surge of deep affection for her.
I was overthinking it. Her Highness is still so young. How much cunning could she possibly have to deal with all these people?
Andra shook her head and said, "It's nothing, I probably caught a chill after falling into the water. Anyway, this little wound will heal in a few days."
The lie seems plausible, but the claim that she's as strong as an ox is pure fabrication.
"Mmm." The little princess nodded obediently, then her voice lowered, "Today... Manzhu came to see me today."
What?
Andra frowned immediately, pondering in his heart how to complain about Manzhu to the princess.
It's quite difficult.
The main reason is that Manzhu has been by the princess's side for longer, and it's easy to imagine that their friendship of several years couldn't be so easily swayed by a few words from her. In fact, she might even be accused of slander by the princess.
She thought for a moment and said, "Their welcoming ceremony is far too vicious..."
Andra glanced at Eleanor out of the corner of her eye.
The little princess carefully took her arm and gently comforted her, "Manzhu also regrets it. She said she was very jealous of you, but she was too embarrassed to apologize... She will talk to everyone tomorrow and ask them to get along well with you in the future."
Andra wanted to laugh. "You little devil, you're digging a trap for me right here, aren't you?"
She didn't think Manzhu's "apology" was very sincere. She thought it was mostly because she knew she was a tough nut to crack and couldn't really kill the neighboring princess, so she took the initiative to lower her stance to plan for the future.
She really wanted to say: even if the other party kneels down, she will not forgive him. Let's just have a duel and see who's the real fighter.
But seeing the princess's pitiful little expression, with her shoulders huddled in her arms, Andra couldn't bring herself to say anything harsh.
Forget it, Eleanor is more important than taking my anger out on those bastards.
So Andra lowered her voice, coughed twice, and said, "It's okay, I'm not angry with them." Yeah, right!
"Really?" Eleanor's smile had barely bloomed when she quickly added, "I...I know you must be feeling a little sad. How about this, I was going to go kite flying with Manju and the others these next couple of days, would you like to come along?"
The little princess hugged her arm and said earnestly, "I will tell them they must accept you. If Manzhu or the others' apologies are not sincere, I will stand by and watch... and I will scold them!"
Eleanor, just like a little teacher, took a breath and said in a serious tone, "If they still dare to bully you after I've scolded them, I'll convince my mother to let you study under the strongest swordsman in our country."
This comforting reassurance made Andra feel at ease.
If she were truly a child who was bullied and unable to fight back, she would probably be moved to tears by now, right? Even if she isn't, this genuine tenderness is still touching.
She didn't refuse the princess's kindness, smiling as she put her arm around Eleanor's shoulder and said in a hoarse voice, "Alright, then I'll wait for you to make the decision for me~"
Eleanor's chin, which was resting on her shoulder, suddenly twitched, and her eyes widened slightly.
Andra.
She called out to the original phantom, the girl who would joke with her and promise to always be by her side to protect and support her.
"Your Highness?" Andra's respectful address suddenly widened the distance between them and the phantom.
Eleanor nuzzled against her, her voice trembling with tears. "Well, let's go to bed early tonight, I'm a little tired..."
“Okay.” Andra considerately lay down, loosening her arms to let the little princess lie back on the pillow in a more comfortable position.
However, several minutes, even tens of minutes passed, and Eleanor remained nestled in her arms, without making a sound.
Andra glanced sideways at the girl in his arms.
She was asleep, sleeping so soundly. The little princess clenched her fists tightly, as if an infant was clinging to a warmth that would soon be gone.
Don't be so reluctant to part, Your Highness. I can stay with you forever.
Andra silently made a promise in her heart and closed her eyes peacefully.
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