Escape from the evil lady (GL)
Chapter 118 - 26. Hallucination

Chapter 118: Chapter 26. Hallucination

There has been a rather strange atmosphere in the Heilos Residence lately. This could be stated with confidence by those who had been working in this place for quite a long time.

In addition to the unusual atmosphere, first of all, it was the behavior of the mistress of this castle that caused the most questions. Kaena de Ronan spent almost all her time in her office, and left the castle only occasionally, most often in the middle of the night, and at the same time without informing any of her subordinates about her plans. In the end, not only the soldiers of the Dark Host, but also the ordinary servants began to think about what was really going on.

In fact, the Crown Princess preferred to stay on her territory before, leaving it only on special occasions, for example, in order to go to another war. Still, the princess definitely didn’t spend that much time alone, taking an active part in the work of the Dark Host.

Kaena was often present at her army’s training sessions, attended military meetings, and generally supervised the work of her army. But now... The last time the princess attended the training of her soldiers was about two weeks ago.

In addition, the princess has become even more taciturn than she was before, keeping only a few of her closest people around. So what does it all mean?

All this time, the Knights of the Dark Host were wondering what could really be going on.

In addition, there was considerable concern among the soldiers about the fact that the commander of the Dark Army and the right-hand man of the Crown Princess, Jacob Osman, had also recently disappeared. Since that was the case, it really had to be serious. Something truly exciting must be coming for all of them, if not for the entire empire, in the near future.

«Well, I just need to do this.»

The senior sergeant of the Dark Army, who stopped in front of the door of the Crown Princess’s office, was involuntarily nervous before entering there. But he had no other choice, as Commander Osman and even Captain Mag were absent at the moment, so someone had to take over the case.

Finally, gathering his courage, the knight cleared his throat and pulled the door handle:

— Your Highness, I–I’m sorry... I’m coming in.

The knight walked unsteadily into the study. As soon as he did, he saw that the Crown Princess was currently doing official business at her desk and looked quite focused on it. However...

At that moment, the gaze of the golden pupils shot up.

— Didn’t I tell you not to bother me? What’s the matter? — Kaena de Ronan asked coldly.

«...»

The senior sergeant tried to quickly control his excitement, which was rapidly growing in him as soon as he met his mistress’s gaze.

The man spoke again:

— Your Highness, I have come to report that the summons from the Imperial Palace has arrived again today.

— So what?

— It’s simple... — He stammered, — There have already been several of them in the last two weeks. After the emperor passed away, the Imperial council has already summoned you to the palace several times. Are you really going to ignore this again?

— ...

For some time after that, a tense silence remained in the office, during which the knight continued to think feverishly.

The news of the death of the current emperor turned out to be an event that became mourning for the entire empire, but not for the army of the Dark Host. The Crown Princess’s subordinates, who had been fervently supporting their mistress all this time on her thorny path to the throne, could not help but rejoice as soon as this became known. After all, this meant that the long-awaited goal of their organization would finally be fulfilled, and for this they would not even have to make any efforts in the form of a coup d’etat.

Kaena Hessen de Ronan will sit on the throne and lead the empire, while the Dark Army will become the main military organization of the empire, displacing the Imperial Army from this position. The long-awaited victory and the triumph associated with it were literally in their hands. But... For some reason, even though enough time has passed, the Crown Princess still hasn’t taken any steps.

«Y-Your Highness?» The sergeant called out to her uncertainly.

At this time, the Crown Princess looked at her subordinate again and sighed.

«And you really came to bother me over something like this?» she asked.

«A trifle...?»

The Knight of the Dark Host was involuntarily stunned when he heard this.

— I will take measures myself when I deem it necessary. And now... I don’t want anyone else to bother me about this.

When Kaena bluntly stated this, the knight had no choice but to accept her will.

«Y-yes, Your Highness...!»

Still perplexed, the senior sergeant took his leave and quietly closed the door behind him.

At this time, Kaena de Ronan leaned back in her desk chair for the first time in a long time and sighed heavily. It was impossible to read her thoughts from her expression right now, but still.

Continuing to sit in the silence of her office for a while, the woman hesitantly opened one of the front drawers of her desk. Among other items, there was also a red velvet box. After hesitating, Kaena took it out and opened it. There was an elegant piece of jewelry on the cushion.

The diamond ring with the largest pearls in the empire was what Kaena de Ronan was going to present to the duke’s youngest daughter on their engagement day.

«...»

After examining the ring in the box for a while, Kaena finally snapped it shut and was about to put it back. And at this time...

In the drawer of her desk, where there were several more folders with work documents, Kaena suddenly saw a strange book that she had never had with her before. With a fancy cover, this book had an equally strange title, «Darker than Black.»

«What is this...?»

Frowning, Kaena wanted to reach out to take it, but then the book that had been emitting a faint light and seemed almost transparent simply disappeared.

The woman’s golden pupils, resembling the eyes of a predator, blinked absently.

What was that?

The Crown Princess couldn’t understand what exactly had just happened in front of her eyes. Or maybe... Was she already hallucinating because of all the overwork she’d been doing lately?