“Young Master Norton, my men slipped up. The lady you’ve been fixated on has escaped into the Northern Forest’s Dungeon.”
Inside a villa in the heart of Moravia City, a hooded Intelligence Dealer reported his failure to a young nobleman.
“Useless!”
Half-clad in a silver silk nightgown, the drunken man angrily threw his wine glass to the floor.
“Calm down, Young Master Norton. I’ve secretly placed a Tracking Mark on her. It won’t be easily removed. You can send people to find her using this mark. To make up for the failure, I’ll tell you for free how to track it.”
After whispering something into his ear, the Intelligence Dealer bowed and stepped back, pausing at the door to flash a meaningful smile before politely taking his leave.
The irritated nobleman didn’t notice anything unusual, pouring himself a new glass of wine, swaying as he left the sofa.
He stopped before a portrait.
The woman in the painting had shining, silky blonde hair and a delicate, youthful face with a hint of baby fat. She wore a white dress.
She bore a seven-tenths resemblance to the girl Norton had seen before outside Miss Hilvi’s room, but there were differences.
The girl known as Su Yao looked more mature, her eyes a passionate crimson, whereas the girl in the portrait’s eyes were a gentle pale green.
Still, he had mistaken her for the Royal Princess, no, the former Royal Princess.
As the eldest son of the Ashley Family, when he was fourteen, he had the honor of attending a royal banquet with his father.
It was at that banquet that Norton first saw King and Queen’s eight-year-old daughter, Clorel Greenville.
Among the heavily made-up noblewomen in lavish gowns, the Royal Princess in her simple white dress left a deep impression on him.
After returning to his border territory, he immediately commissioned an artist to paint the girl who had left such a mark on his memory.
“My future husband must be an outstanding noble!”
That innocent declaration from the girl at the banquet remained etched in his heart, and since then, inheriting his father’s title became his lifelong goal.
Unfortunately, his idea of “outstanding” was probably very different from Clorel’s.
You can’t make two of the same mold — Norton was just like his father Willey, indulging in pleasure, or rather, he believed that enjoying life was the duty of a “noble.”
They were destined to live on parallel lines forever.
But the news from his men brought unexpected joy: the missing former Royal Princess was found in Moravia and had escaped into the Northern Forest’s Dungeon.
Soon after, the girl calling herself “Su Yao” also appeared in the city.
The coincidence was too strong—not only their appearance but also the timing of disappearance and appearance.
Not believing it to be a coincidence, Norton began sending people to tail and investigate her.
Every time the girl disappeared, it was at the Dungeon where Clorel was last seen escaping.
Combined with local rumors, the Royal Princess and this girl must be deeply connected.
Fantasizing wildly, he believed that Clorel hadn’t died but had found the legendary Rejuvenation Secret Art inside the Black Dragon’s Lair, and “Su Yao” was what she looked like now.
Whether this theory was true didn’t matter; it was just an excuse to satisfy his desire to “have a toy from his youth.”
Whether the girl really was the Royal Princess was irrelevant, as long as he believed so.
Driven by this obsession, he hired the Intelligence Dealer to bring the “Royal Princess” to his villa.
No need to worry— even if she really was the princess, he wouldn’t hand her over. He planned to lock her in the basement until he was done with her, just like he had done with other girls.
Though she escaped this time, next time he would personally lead the operation and keep it secret.
His men were useless; next time, he’d hire mercenaries or adventurers. Money was no object. If needed, he’d even get help from Sylvie’s Trading Company. That wretched woman was surprisingly good at business.
He just didn’t know if the Vichy Kingdom’s royal family would let her off easily. Those “merchandise” he was eyeing—how could the hyenas possibly allow her to escape?
Getting sidetracked—now that the Black Dragon was confirmed absent from its lair, he had no hesitation.
As long as he appeared before the “Royal Princess,” she would have to come with him—no, she had no choice but to come with him. After all, he was the only one willing to protect her now…
–
Inside the Dungeon’s room.
“Clorel, I never thought you could be this cute. Hahahahaha…”
“What do you mean ‘My future husband must be an outstanding noble’!” The golden-haired loli clutched her stomach and rolled exaggeratedly on the bed.
“Su Yao, what did you just call me?”
The chestnut-haired adventurer blushed deeply, embarrassed by her own embarrassing past, but fortunately, she had ways to handle this silly loli.
“Tsk, ma… master.”
Hah, just a mere Su Yao, and you dare tease me.
“What should we do now? Hilvi’s brother won’t let this go easily, and it seems he’s already discovered our secret.”
“Don’t worry. The bait has been set. We’ll deal with him once he enters the Dungeon.”
To those who meant harm to her and her companions, “letting go” was not in Su Yao’s vocabulary.
If possible, she still wanted to greet Hilvi, but given their strained sibling relationship and Hilvi’s childhood experiences, the upcoming plan wouldn’t affect her cooperation with Hilvi going forward.
“Ma… master, please swap Sofia out of the Boss Room. I want to continue training with her.”
Putting Hilvi’s brother aside for now, Su Yao needed to level up quickly. She couldn’t let Clorel and Sofia be stuck guarding the treasure chest in the Boss Room, especially with that guy Norton planning to attack.
In the three days since the news broke, over one hundred and ninety adventurers had gathered in the improved labyrinth, and Su Yao had earned nearly ten thousand DP.
Why the number was about a dozen less than she estimated was simple—they had internal conflicts.
Especially in the Rotating Room, when adventurers discovered a complete set of Rare Material Leather Armor inside a precious treasure chest, fierce clashes broke out among those originally cooperating to fight monsters.
Some conflicts ended peacefully; the adventurer who got the armor paid enough money to compensate their comrades.
Others escalated into full-on fights. For the sake of the armor, casualties were inevitable.
But none of this was Su Yao’s concern. As the Dungeon Core, she wasn’t the adventurers’ mother.
Besides, those who hurt each other were their own kind.
Not long after Clorel left the room, Sofia entered dressed in knight’s armor. She took off her helmet, sweat beads on her face.
Whether due to rising body temperature or something else, the faint scent of lilac on her had become stronger.
Truly a beautiful girl—even her sweat smelled sweet.
“You’ve worked hard. Want to rest a bit?”
“No need. Not many reach the deepest room. I taught those greedy ones a lesson.”
Sofia said brightly. As a knight, her specialty was protection. As the Royal Guard Captain, she was also one of the country’s top warriors.
“Good. I’ll leave it to you then.”
“My honor, Miss Su Yao.”