Chapter 77: Villainess Princess × Slave (40)

A blinding red warning screen suddenly exploded into existence right in front of Lyra’s face, pulsing frantically in her vision!

Ding! Ding! Ding!

[ URGENT HIGH-ALERT EMERGENCY! ]

TARGET: Female Lead (Mabel)

STATUS: CRITICAL MORTAL DANGER! LIFE SIGNS DROPPING!

Lyra’s dark eyes widened in terror. Her gaze darted past Cassian’s broad shoulders toward the empty air behind him.

SHIT! WHAT SHALL I DO?! Lyra screamed frantically in her mind.

Cassian’s pitch-black eyes narrowed slightly. Seeing her sudden flinch and her panicked expression, a slow, dark smirk curved the corners of his sharp lips. He leaned in closer, his thumb lightly tracing her trembling lower lip as he stared straight into her wide, dark eyes.

"What happened, my Princess...?" Cassian purred raspy and low, his deep voice dripping with a possessive charm. "Are you not happy with the news? Do you not wish to become my Empress?"

Lyra knew he was asking about his declaration regarding their grand imperial wedding in three days, but for some inexplicable reason, asuffocating chill swept over her entire body. She gulped heavily, her throat feeling drier than a desert as she forced a stiff smile onto her face.

"O-Of course I am happy..." Lyra stammered out, her voice barely above a whisper.

System! Dang it! You can’t even show up or display normal messages properly when this Male Lead is standing right here! Where are you?!

BANG!

Before Cassian could press her any further, the doors of the grand bedchamber were suddenly thrown wide open

A high-ranking rebel officer, covered in armor and holding a blood-stained sword, barged into the room, gasping for breath as he dropped onto one knee!

"Your Imperial Majesty!" the officer shouted frantically, his voice trembling with tension. "Something big has come up! An emergency breach has occurred!"

Cassian didn’t look surprised at all. In fact, he seemed to have been expecting the news. He slowly stood up to his full height, sweeping his royal black-and-gold cloak over his broad shoulders.

He turned his head, casting one last lingering glance back at Lyra resting on the chair.

"Stay here, my Princess," Cassian commanded smoothly, his dark eyes softening into a scary, affectionate glint. "Your body needs more rest after last night... Do not think about anything sneaky. Your soon-to-be husband will be back very soon."

With that chilling, sweet warning, Cassian swept out of the grand bedchamber, his long strides echoing down the stone corridor as the doors slammed shut and locked tightly from the outside once again.

Lyra let out a long, shuddering breath, slumping back against the velvet cushions.

"Soon-to-be husband my foot!" Lyra barked out loud, wiping her forehead. "SYSTEM!!"

Ding!

The blue screen flashed into existence, glowing brightly right beside her shoulder!

[ HOST! THE FEMALE LEAD IS IN MORTAL DANGER!! ] the System shrieked, its digital face sweating profusely.

"I ALREADY KNOW THAT!" Lyra yelled back in her mind, her dark eyes flashing with frustration. "TELL ME WHAT I DON’T KNOW!"

[ Oh, yes! ] the System explained frantically, displaying a mini digital map of the estate. [ The Female Lead, Mabel, is currently located in the deep underground prison at the back part of the mansion! She was imprisoned there by Cassian’s guards, but it seems an unknown rogue group of assassin infiltrators has just broken through the prison gates! They are slaughtering all the guards and prisoners, entering the inner cells- and the Female Lead is literally seconds away from being stabbed to death! ]

Lyra’s jaw dropped in absolute outrage. "WHAT?! Cassian, that brat! He actually locked her up in the dark dungeons without telling me?!"

She clutched her head in sheer panic. "Shit! What should I do now?!"

[ We need to leave immediately, Host! ] the System urged frantically, its red lights flashing violently. [ The Male Lead definitely won’t save her! In his mind, Mabel is completely irrelevant! If we don’t intervene right now, Mabel dies and we both get erased! ]

"Of course I know that, because your stupid story timeline has been completely messed up!" Lyra snapped back.

She jumped out of her chair, running straight over to the doors and rattling the iron handles with all her strength. CLACK! CLACK! CLACK! It was completely locked solid from the outside, guarded by dozens of heavy-armored knights!

"There’s no way I can break out from here!" Lyra groaned in utter despair.

[ Wait, Host! ] the System chimed in suddenly, a bright green icon glowing on the panel. [ I can help you teleport directly to the dungeon! ]

Lyra froze mid-motion, her eyes bulging out of her head. "YOU COULD DO THAT THE ENTIRE TIME??!" she shouted out loud in disbelief.

[ Uh... not actually, Host! ] the System stammered out nervously, sweating digital drops. [ Normally, short-range teleportation breaks narrative rules... but since the entire world thread is literally about to collapse into complete destruction, I received emergency high-level permission to execute a one-time spatial jump! ]

Lyra rolled her dark eyes toward the ceiling, letting out a soul-draining sigh. "Unbelievable..."

Before she could utter another word-

FLASH!

A bright white light enveloped her entire body, and the world around her tilted on its axis!

The very next second, the warm, luxurious smell of rose oils and woodfires vanished completely, replaced instantly by the stinky stench of damp old blood, and rotting straw.

Lyra’s slippers touched down on cold, slick cobblestones.

Her dark vision slowly cleared up as she blinked away the lingering spatial dizziness. She found herself standing inside a pitch-black, narrow stone corridor deep underground.

Just a few yards ahead of her in the dim torchlight, a group of five rogue assassins were surrounding an open cell

One tall, masked assassin had pinned Mabel against the cold stone wall, raising a long, gleaming dagger high in the air, preparing to plunge it straight into Mabel’s heart! Mabel was weeping silently, her hands tied behind her back, her face pale with absolute terror

Lyra’s eyes darted around frantically. Right beside her feet lay the fresh corpse of an imperial dungeon guard, a throwing dagger still tucked firmly into his belt

Without hesitating for a single fraction of a second, Lyra leaned down, snatched the dagger from the guard’s belt, and gripped the hilt tightly in her palm.

She drew her arm back, pulled on all her strength, and hurled the blade straight through the dark corridor!

SWISH- THUD!

The steel blade flew through the air, embedding itself straight into the back of the lead assassin’s skull

Blood spurted out instantly! The tall assassin didn’t even get a chance to scream as his eyes rolled back, his body collapsing lifelessly onto the cold stone floor

Lyra stepped out from the deep shadows of the corridor, a cool, arrogant smirk playing on her lips.

"Bingo..." she murmured smoothly, her clear voice echoing through the silent, bloody dungeon.

The remaining four assassins spun around in instant shock, their blood-stained swords raised as they glared at the mysterious intruder. But when the flickering torchlight illuminated her striking, fine silk gown, her long dark hair, and her sharp, beautiful face, their eyes widened in sudden recognition.

"This... This is that useless, vicious princess!" one of the assassins spat out, sneering with disdain.

The moment the word "useless" echoed through the stone corridor-

Lyra’s dark eyes instantly turned deathly, terrifyingly gloomy. A coldness radiated from her small frame.

"Did you just call me... useless?" Lyra purred raspy and low, her voice dropping into a chilling register that made the air in the dungeon drop to absolute freezing.

Mabel, who was slumped against the cell wall, raised her tear-stained face in , breathless shock!

"My... My Princess?!" Mabel gasped out, her liquid-blue eyes sparkling with wide, emotional disbelief. "You... Don’t tell me that terrifying tyrant captured you too?!"

Lyra didn’t even turn her head, her dark eyes remaining locked dead on the four approaching assassins.

"Save your own skin instead of thinking about me!" Lyra barked arrogantly, her clear voice ringing through the space.

As the four assassins let out wild roars and charged at her simultaneously with their swords raised, Lyra didn’t pull back a single millimeter

She gracefully ducked under the first swing, her slender body moving with incredible agility. She snatched two more daggers from a fallen guard’s belt, spinning around and plunging the sharp steel directly into the first assassin’s throat!

SPURT!

Blood sprayed across the stone wall!

Without pausing to catch her breath, Lyra ducked beneath another blade strike, driving her second dagger straight into another attacker’s chest, twisting the blade with ruthless efficiency

STAB! STAB!

One by one, the men collapsed around her in pools of blood!

Mabel sat on the cold floor cell, her hands clutching her chest as her blue eyes stared at the scene in absolute awe.

Surrounding the princess was a gruesome pool of dark blood and fallen enemies, yet Mabel’s eyes were completely, utterly fixed on Lyra’s glowing, fierce figure. The way her long dark hair swished through the air, the cold, protective dominance in her dark gaze, and the fearless way she stood before danger made something deep within Mabel’s chest shatter and rebuild itself.

Ba-dump... Ba-dump... Ba-dump...

Mabel’s heart started beating fast- not out of fear, but out of a sudden, overwhelming, and breathtaking wave of pure devotion!

She came to save me... She risked her life to descend into this dark dungeon just for me... Mabel thought, her cheeks flushing a soft, burning pink amidst her tears as her soul surrendered entirely.

She had fallen hopelessly, utterly, and completely in love with the Princess!

Meanwhile, the last surviving assassin, bleeding heavily from his shoulder, let out a desperate, cowardly roar as he lunged from behind the shadow pillar, aiming his sharp dagger straight toward Lyra’s exposed back

"Princess! Look out!" Mabel screamed in pure horror

Lyra’s eyes widened. She tried to turn her body around to block the strike, but her stamina was completely drained

However, before the assassin’s blade could even graze a single thread of her silk gown-

FLASH!

A blinding silver light slashed through the dark air like a bolt of thunder

SLICE!

The assassin’s head was cleanly severed from his neck mid-air! Blood burst everywhere as his headless corpse crashed heavily onto the stone floor

Before Lyra’s body could lose its balance and fall into the bloody mess, a pair of broad, rock-hard arms reached out from behind, catching her waist and pulling her back into a solid, towering chest

THUMP!

Lyra’s breath hitched in her throat.

Shit... I am so dead! Lyra gulped heavily, her dark eyes shaking in absolute panic.

She slowly, fearfully raised her head.

Standing over her, holding a massive, dripping steel broadsword in his right hand, was Cassian.

His sharp, handsome profile was rigid. His pitch-black eyes were glinting with a dark and unhinged fury so terrifyingly intense that the very air in the dungeon felt as though it had turned to solid ice

It was a darkness so utterly possessive that even the System inside her brain shrieked in digital horror- before its blue screen glitched violently and completely vanished into thin air, leaving her totally stranded

Lyra swallowed the lump in her throat, her face pale as paper as she looked up into his pitch-black, murderous gaze.

"Ehe..." Lyra let out a tiny, awkward squeak, forcing a weak smile. "...Hi?"