Chapter 71: Villainess Princess × Slave (34)

The entire royal mansion was in a frantic rush, preparing every last detail for Princess Lyra’s outgoing journey. Servants ran back and forth through the hallways with silk chests, gold jewelry, and red banners, their faces pale with anxiety.

Mabel, who was biting her nails down to the quick with extreme anxiety, hurriedly bypassed the main courtyard to avoid the bustling crowds. As she slipped behind the grand pillars near the inner sanctuary, she suddenly heard sharp, furious voices echoing from the private study.

"Father! How could you do that?!" a harsh voice demanded violently. "Lyra will go nowhere! She will stay right here!"

"I thought you were smart!" another deeper, older voice came in reply.

Mabel’s eyes widened in shock. That... that’s the Emperor!

She hurriedly hid behind a curtain, holding her breath as she listened closely to the heated conversation.

"Don’t you know that warlord is no one but that dirty slave?!" the crown prince sneered, his voice trembling with hidden fear and anger. "How dare he provoke our kingdom! Do you think giving Lyra for him to tear open will burn down his fire?"

Wh...at...? Cassian...? Mabel muttered under her breath

"I am just buying us some time!" the Emperor declared, slamming his hand onto a wooden table. "We have to defeat him! Sending her to his frontline base is the only way to stall his march!"

"No!" Crown Prince Julian shouted back, his voice dripping with dark obsession. "She will stay here with me! If she has to die, she will die with me!"

The two royal men continued to argue bitterly, their toxic words filling the room.

Hearing their horrifying plan, Mabel didn’t stay a second longer. She backed away in terror and ran out as fast as her legs could carry her.

"No, no..." Mabel whimpered, tears welling up in her eyes. "That crazy guard... I can’t let my princess be eaten alive by him! I won’t let them sacrifice her!"

She sprinted through the corridors, barging straight into Princess Lyra’s private bedchamber.

"Princess!" Mabel cried out, bursting through the doors.

She froze. Standing before the grand golden mirror was Lyra, dressed in a breathtaking, magnificent red dragon wedding robe embroidered with pure gold threads. She looked like an untouchable, divine queen, her dark eyes calm despite the impending doom.

The moment Mabel saw her, she lost all control. She ran forward and fell straight onto Lyra’s lap, clutching the silk of her red robe tightly, sobbing hysterically.

"No! You can’t sacrifice yourself!" Mabel wailed, looking up at Lyra with tear-stained eyes. "The Emperor and the Crown Prince... they are sending you directly to that crazy guard, Cassian! He’s the warlord! They’re just using you to buy time! Please, Princess, you can’t go!"

Lyra looked down at Mabel, her dark eyelashes fluttering in deep thought.

As Mabel wept and begged on her lap, a brilliant, sneaky idea suddenly formed inside Lyra’s mind!

Wait a minute... Lyra thought, her eyes lighting up with sudden hope. If Mabel doesn’t want me to go... and if Cassian is expecting a bride... why don’t I pull the ultimate classic novel trope?!

Lyra bent down, gently grabbing Mabel’s shoulders and pulling her up. A cunning, sweet smile spread across Lyra’s lips.

"Mabel, my dear..." Lyra whispered smoothly, her voice full of mysterious charm. "If you truly want to save this princess... will you do something very important for me?"

Mabel wiped her tears frantically, nodding without a single second of hesitation. "Anything! I’ll do anything for you, Your Highness!"

Two hours later...

Everything was finally prepared. The grand bridal procession was assembled in the central courtyard under a grey sky.

Dozens of maids and guards escorted the Princess out of the estate toward the luxurious golden carriage. Strangely, as the procession moved through the gates, one by one, the guards and maids were silently changed and swapped out by hidden figures in the shadows. Yet, the Emperor and Crown Prince were far too preoccupied with their own chaotic battle plans to notice a single thing.

Crown Prince Julian walked down the marble steps, stopping right before the veiled bride.

The bride stood silently in her red dragon wedding robe, her face completely hidden beneath a thick veil adorned with hanging ruby beads.

Julian stepped close, his amber eyes burning with a toxic possessiveness as he reached out to lightly touch the edge of her veil.

"Wait for your brother," Julian purred softly, his voice chillingly sweet. "I’ll take you back to me soon... and keep you right in front of my eyes like a precious victory doll. I’ll definitely chop that bastard’s head off and bring it to you on a silver plate."

The bride remained completely still, refusing to say a single word.

Assuming she was simply heartbroken and terrified, Julian let out a cold chuckle and stepped back, gesturing for the guards to shut the carriage doors.

CLANG!

The golden carriage rolled out of the capital gates, surrounded by a squad of silent knights.

As the carriage vanished into the misty horizon, the Emperor and Crown Prince watched from the high palace balcony. Everyone in the capital let out a collective sigh of relief, believing that giving away the Princess had finally bought them peace.

Yet... something massive was about to happen.

The long journey along the eastern road wasn’t rushed at all. The path was eerie, quiet, and completely cleared by invisible forces.

After hours of smooth travel, the golden carriage finally came to a slow halt in front of a grand, fortified military base area nestled deep within the eastern mountains. Black dragon banners fluttered high in the autumn wind, signaling the absolute domain of the Eastern Warlord.

A high-ranking rebel officer rushed toward the central command tent, bowing deeply.

"Your Highness! The Princess’s carriage is here!"

Inside the magnificent tent, Cassian stood before a tall mirror. He was dressed in a striking, royal red and black wedding attire decorated with silver dragon crests. His pitch-black hair was tied back neatly, his handsome jawline look imposing.

He slowly looked up, a rare, breathtaking smile curling his lips.

He knew those cowardly royals very well. He knew that pathetic excuse of a father would gladly sacrifice his own daughter anytime just to save his own skin. After all... in their eyes, his precious Princess was nothing more than a pitiful, convenient tool to be thrown away when trouble arose.

It’s fine... Cassian thought, his pitch-black eyes swirling with an intense obsession. I will soon give her the supreme status, the unyielding power, and everything she truly deserves in this world. No one will ever dare touch her again.

Without waiting another second, Cassian stepped out of the tent to oversee her arrival.

Soon, the bride was carefully escorted down from the golden carriage by high-ranking rebel guards. She kept her head lowered, her veil completely concealing her face and upper body as she was brought straight into a luxurious, beautifully decorated private chamber inside the central fortress.

The wooden doors clicked shut, leaving the bride sitting silently on the edge of the grand silk bed.

As the princess sat there with her veil down, her small hands clutched tightly together in her lap. She waited nervously, expecting Cassian to step forward, speak soft words of devotion, and gently lift her bridal veil.

SWI-SH!

Instead of gentle fingers lifting the silk... a razor-sharp, freezing cold steel sword was placed directly against her delicate neck

The icy metal pressed lightly against her skin, radiating a bloodthirsty aura that instantly made the temperature in the room drop to absolute freezing.

"Where is Princess Lyra?"

Cassian’s deathly cold voice echoed through the quiet room, sending a violent shiver straight down the woman’s entire body.

Underneath the veil, the woman trembled hysterically, unable to utter a single word as the Male Lead’s gaze pierced right through the silk fabric.

Meanwhile, miles away on a quiet dirt road leading toward a peaceful countryside village...

A simple, wooden merchant wagon rolled lazily through the green trees.

Sitting on the back of the wagon, dressed in a comfortable, plain linen dress with a wide straw hat covering her dark hair, was Lyra! She was happily munching on a crisp, sweet red apple, her legs swinging casually over the wooden edge.

Ding!

A bright blue screen popped up right before her face, flashing green checkmarks everywhere!

[ CONGRATULATIONS, HOST! ]

MASTERMIND PLAN EXECUTED: Successfully swapped places with Mabel using her devotion!

CURRENT STATUS: 100% Free from the Imperial Palace & Royal Marriage!

REWARD: +200 Plot Points & 25% Soul Fragment Recovery!

Lyra let out a loud, blissful laugh, tossing her apple core into the bushes.

"HAHAHA! I AM A GENIUS!" Lyra cheered happily, clapping her hands together. "Cassian gets his original Female Lead, Mabel gets to escape the crazy plot, the Emperor gets tricked, and I get to live a peaceful life in the countryside with my soul fragments! This is the ultimate win-win situation!"

[ Host... are you sure about that? ] the System chimed back nervously, its screen flickering with yellow caution lights. [ You literally left the Female Lead alone in a room with a 100% obsessed Male Lead who just realized his bride was swapped... ]

"Oh, come on!" Lyra waved her hand dismissively, taking a giant bite out of a fresh peach. "He’s the Male Lead! He won’t kill his own Female Lead! They’ll probably glare at each other, realize their tragic destiny, and fall in love by tomorrow morning! Everything is completely under control!"

Back inside the dark, suffocating chamber of the eastern fortress...

The room was dead silent.

The cold steel sword remained pressed firmly against the woman’s neck. Cassian’s pitch-black eyes were narrowed, a terrifying, dark aura suffocating the entire space.

Slowly, using the tip of his sharp sword, Cassian flicked the veil upward

The red silk fluttered to the floor.

Revealed beneath the veil was not the dark-eyed, arrogant, and captivating Princess he had been obsessively yearning for day and night... but Mabel, shaking like a leaf, tears streaming down her pale, terrified cheeks!

"P-Please..." Mabel choked out in horror, staring at the man standing over her. "H-Her Highness... she..."

Cassian stared down at Mabel’s face.

His expression didn’t just turn cold- it completely shattered into a dark abyss of unhinged fury

She ran... Cassian thought, his hands clenching so hard around his sword hilt that his knuckles turned ghostly white. My Princess tricked me... and ran away from my side again.

An insane smirk slowly curved across Cassian’s lips. Deep within his pitch-black eyes, a dangerous, possessive flame erupted into an uncontrollable inferno.

He slowly lowered his sword, stepping back as he turned his head toward the open window, looking out toward the vast, open roads of the continent.

"You really think... you can run away from me, Princess?" Cassian whispered raspy and low

"Search every village, every city, and every corner of this continent," Cassian commanded, "Bring my bride back to me... even if you have to tear this entire empire apart to find her."