A Sweet Girl Won't Be Fooled By The Villainess - [Vol. 3] Chapter 58

[Vol. 3] Chapter 58: The Luckiest Girl!

The envoys of the Sith Empire, in their preparations to leave the palace in search of someone, did not conceal their actions. In fact, the nobility intentionally created a bustling commotion. As a result, the palace attendants of the Taric royal family, those without tasks at hand, all gathered to watch. For a moment, the palace became significantly quieter and deserted.

Taking advantage of this moment, Irene arrived at a previously marked spot. In her hands, she held a package hidden there. She looked at the rugged small faux mountain in front of her and immediately reached out with both hands, pushing a certain black stone. The seemingly immovable black stone gradually sank inward with Irene’s movements.

Simultaneously, accompanied by a resounding roar, a massive stone behind the faux mountain shifted to the left, revealing a dark opening just large enough for one person to enter and exit.

Looking down from above, stone steps connected to the underground were visible. The top was still clear, but as the gaze descended, the steps were engulfed by darkness, as if the entrance to a terrifying hell was beckoning, causing shivers of fear.

Even if Irene was courageous, she was still a delicate young girl, and hesitation was inevitable. However, considering that rescuing Prince Carloy could bring her numerous benefits!

It could allow her to leap from the powerless and weak commoner class to become one of those elegant and privileged nobles. Perhaps, it might even make the nobles look up to her, filled with envy and admiration…

With this thought, Irene steadied her emotions, and her determined gaze became firm.

She didn’t continue to stand hesitating in place but directly lifted her foot onto the first stone step. Carefully and cautiously, she descended, praying that no danger would appear ahead! Her knowledge of this secret passage was thanks to the palace attendants’ gossip.

Of course, these attendants were not clear about the details, but their idle chatter contained quite a bit of useful information, allowing Irene to unravel the mystery. After investigating, she unexpectedly stumbled upon it!

As for the gossip…

“Hey, hey, have you heard that there are rumors of ghosts near the Small Faux Mountain?”

“Huh? Ghosts? Hahaha, Karalin, did you not wake up yet?”

“Really, really! Some people have heard strange noises occasionally coming from the stone mountain, and then a few figures would suddenly appear and disappear. If this isn’t a ghost, then what is it!”

“Besides a pile of broken rocks, there’s nothing on that side, not even vines. Who would bother to stroll around there? It’s strange that they don’t even clean up all those rocks.”

The palace attendants didn’t take this gossip to heart, but Irene, who was anxious due to Prince Carloy’s disappearance, for some reason, felt as if a voice from the beyond was telling her that there was a problem with that stone mountain! Perhaps it was related to the missing Prince Carloy.

This made Irene increasingly restless. Eventually, she decided to sneak over to the stone mountain alone. Initially, she just wanted to test her luck, but to her surprise, she accidentally bumped into the black stone and discovered the secret passage!

This stroke of luck left Irene ecstatic, feeling as if even the gods were guiding her. However, due to lack of preparation and other concerns, Irene did not set out immediately. Now, taking advantage of the nobles being away in search of the missing person, with no one paying attention to her movements, Irene decided to enter the secret passage alone to see if she could find Prince Carloy.

Perhaps, revealing this discovery to the public and involving other nobles would be safer. However, what Irene wanted was Prince Carloy’s gratitude. If she brought others along, the favor of saving a life would be diminished. This was not the development Irene wanted to see.

Prince Carloy must be grateful to her alone! Converting that gratitude into love would make it impossible for him to leave her!

Therefore, after careful consideration, Irene decided to act alone. After the nobles left on horseback, she remained vigilant, especially towards Ifia, who always seemed to bring trouble. Seeing Ifia directly turn and leave, Irene finally breathed a sigh of relief. Since meeting Ifia at the Pulis Academy, Irene felt that her life plan had become a mess.

This roommate, who also had black hair and black eyes, seemed to have absorbed Irene’s good fortune. Sometimes, in her dreams, she would imagine herself becoming the center of attention at the Pulis Academy because of Prince Carloy, while Ifia suffered as a pitiful victim, ultimately meeting a tragic end.

However, upon waking up, reality was completely different. Ifia, with the status of a friend of the duke’s daughter to the noble elite at the Pulis Academy, stood firmly in the upper echelons.

She enjoyed pleasant conversations with nobles like Jessica, never worrying about money, and seemed completely untouched by the woes of the common folk!

Despite being the focus of everyone’s discussions in her dreams, where praise for her dominated, even the proud nobles treated her differently. This shouldn’t be the case!

In her dreams, she was the center of attention, the luckiest girl!

Ifia was only there to highlight her as the unfortunate one. However, the current Ifia was stealing the spotlight, leaving Irene ordinary!

She continued to dwell in the depressing commoner class, mixing with those foolish and inept people, gazing up at the luxurious dresses and dignified postures of the nobles.

She even had to watch Ifia easily enter the circle she envied, fueling Irene’s burning jealousy, almost consuming herself. However, apart from some initial scheming, Irene was now too afraid to make any reckless moves. Otherwise, she would be regarded with hostility by the duke’s daughter, just like those who opposed Ifia.

Apart from losing her composure in anger, Irene is a person who assesses situations wisely. Therefore, she shelved her resentment towards Ifia and devoted herself wholeheartedly to wooing Prince Carloy. Just like Ifia clinging to the duke’s daughter as a powerful support, Irene also needed to choose a formidable backing.

When she successfully captivates Prince Carloy’s heart and persuades him to annul the engagement with Amelia Barlen, she will become the woman standing by Prince Carloy’s side!

By then, as the most esteemed queen of the Sith Empire, she can treat Ifia however she pleases! Even if the duke’s daughter tries to protect her, she cannot go against the Sith Empire’s royal family!

Thinking about this, Irene felt pleased. Even though she walked in the pitch-black secret passage holding a torch, there was not much fear in her heart, and she even quickened her pace.

Soon, the long stone steps reached their end, allowing her feet to finally touch the ground. Irene used the torch to illuminate her surroundings and found a finely carved stone door ahead. It seemed to have some special patterns, prompting her to stride forward, lifting the torch to reveal the carvings on the stone door.

To her surprise, the patterns on the stone door depicted grim and menacing black demons. These demons all had sharp fangs and red eyes. Illuminated by the torch, the demon eyes studded with rubies glowed. They looked so lifelike, as if they would come to life and struggle to escape from the stone door at any moment.

Seeing these terrifying patterns, Irene took a few steps back in fear. Fortunately, knowing she needed to remain quiet to avoid detection, she quickly covered her mouth, swallowing back the scream that had escaped her, with only her widened eyes staring straight ahead.

Irene took a deep breath, silently thinking about Prince Carloy.

And the beautiful future of successfully entering the upper echelons of the Sith Empire’s aristocracy…

This thought gave her boundless courage!

After stabilizing her emotions, Irene dared not continue staring at the demon patterns on the stone door. Instead, she extinguished the torch and retrieved a small oil lamp from her bundle. Wrapped in a cloth strip, it emitted only a faint glow—barely enough to illuminate the path without drawing attention.

After pushing open the stone door with determination, Irene controlled her breathing as she entered. For a moment, there were no sounds except for her own heartbeat and footsteps, sending shivers down her spine and causing uncontrollable goosebumps.

As she progressed, Irene left markings along the way to avoid getting lost. And how did she decide which path to take? Irene entrusted the choice to her past reliable intuition, having a mysterious confidence that everything would go smoothly!

However, moving forward in this unusually quiet atmosphere made even the passage of time blurry. After an unknown period, Irene suddenly heard the dripping sound of flowing water ahead.

This excited Irene, finally some other sound!

Due to her cautious nature, as she approached the source of the water, she didn’t act recklessly. On the contrary, she became even more careful and vigilant, fearing encountering strange creatures or ruthless individuals ahead.

As it turned out, Irene’s caution was necessary!

The next moment, her body froze in place, her face filled with fear. She initially thought she had come across an underground water source, but in reality, it was a pool filled with crimson blood.

Several torches were tied to the walls, casting a sparkling reflection on the surface of the water amidst crackling sounds of burning. The thick, vibrant red liquid carried a bloody odor, leaving Irene with no room for self-deception. This was a pool of blood!

It wasn’t just the sight of the blood that terrified Irene. Immersed in the pool was Princess Sissi, the one who had been severely injured by Amelia Barlen.

She now lay with closed eyes, relaxing her body. The shoulder that had been deformed due to shattered bones in the duel seemed almost completely healed!

It was an unbelievable recovery ability! When Irene could finally move her own body, she cautiously observed Princess Sissi in the blood pool. She noticed that the princess’s normally smooth lips protruded, revealing the faint shape of pointed teeth.

What in the world was the Taric royal family?!

Seeing this scene, Irene suddenly regretted her actions, she had been too reckless. If she had known that the Taric royal family was different from ordinary people, she would never have acted alone, putting herself in such a dangerously precarious situation.

Fortunately, Princess Sissi had kept her eyes closed, seemingly shutting down her senses, and had not detected the surreptitious intruder. This eased Irene’s tension a bit. She didn’t dare to continue observing the princess’s anomalies and quietly and quickly left.

After finally getting away from the vicinity of the blood pool, Irene felt weak and powerless, as if she could collapse at any moment. However, not being discovered this time was lucky. Initially, Irene had only suspected a connection between Prince Carloy’s disappearance and the royal family. Now, looking at the pool of blood, she confirmed that her speculation was correct!

The Taric royal family needed blood. The blood of these foreigners, especially someone as distinguished as Prince Carloy, would undoubtedly attract the royal family’s covetousness. Perhaps the missing Prince Carloy was somewhere here, awaiting her rescue!

Trying to calm her heart that had been racing in fear, Irene continued forward. Soon, she reached a fork in the path with two options. Surprisingly, her usually reliable intuition failed her this time, leaving Irene to make her own choice. Relying on luck, she chose the left path, hoping to soon encounter Prince Carloy!

Irene’s anticipation grew as she quickened her pace, and before long, she arrived at the end of the path. Once again, she found a stone door carved with ‘demon’ patterns. Two crossed long black strips were affixed to it, seemingly bearing red writings. It looked like a sealed place, not meant to be easily entered.

However, Irene paid no attention to these warnings. Her sole purpose in coming here was to find Prince Carloy. So, even if it meant facing great danger, she was determined to push through.

With force, she opened the stone door again. Before Irene could carefully take out the oil lamp, as soon as she stepped inside, a blinding intense red light illuminated the space, as bright as daylight! A strong wind accompanied it, causing Irene to stagger.

In the unbearable glare, Irene forced herself to open her eyes. In just a glance, her eyes began to tear uncontrollably, making it impossible to see the surroundings clearly.

However, in that mere second, Irene saw it!

The demons on the stone door. They actually existed in reality!

……

*Clatter*

Ifia was in the kitchen, teaching others how to cook, when suddenly the carrot she was slicing broke with a small ‘clatter.’

This minor mistake didn’t catch anyone’s attention. Instead, they continued discussing the deliciousness and wonders of Eastern cuisine. However, Ifia absentmindedly listened, one hand instinctively covering her chest.

Her heart was pounding desperately, and a bad premonition kept sending warnings. She felt as though danger was about to arrive at any moment!