Chapter 2

Rattle—!

The carriage jolted violently.

Despite the dull vibration traveling up through the seat and into my hips, I didn’t take my eyes off the scenery outside the carriage window.

It was the first time I had seen the outside world in a week.

I had never realized how refreshing fresh air could be.

A week ago, I had been dragged away by a group of mysterious men and locked inside an unknown hideout. They had also taken the bag containing my medicinal herbs, poisonous herbs, and research journal.

After being confined to a room with barely any proper windows for an entire week, finally seeing the world outside made me truly realize that I had survived.

But….

“Now, Princess. Open your mouth.”

I carefully placed a hand over my upper abdomen.

‘They called this Helvine.’

That was the name of the poisonous herb they had forced me to swallow.

I had thought I had studied medicinal and poisonous herbs quite diligently in this world, but I had never known there were poisonous plants that could use the human body as a host and live as parasites.

At first, I secretly laughed at them.

If this really was a type of poisonous herb, it would be detoxified the moment it entered my body.

But Helvine was different.

For the past week, instead of being neutralized, it had settled firmly inside my stomach as though it had finally found a home it liked.

Once a day.

They said that if I didn’t take the sedative, the thing inside my stomach would eat away at my internal organs.

The excruciating pain came as an added bonus.

I’d nearly lost consciousness while experimenting with it.

“Think of it as the minimum precaution necessary to keep you from betraying us. If you so much as utter a single word about our guild…. ……The thing in your stomach will chew up and swallow every last one of your internal organs, so remember that.”

I’d die if I didn’t take the sedative, and I’d die if I said the wrong thing.

‘Usually, when someone eats something like this in martial arts novels, they end up being used as a slave for the rest of their life before eventually dying….’

Unless I could create an antidote, there was no way I could escape the Grand Duke’s residence.

‘First, once I arrive at the Grand Duke’s residence, I need to find out everything I can about Helvine.’

What kind of plant was it?

How did it work?

How was its antidote made?

And—

‘How can I get rid of it?’

Haa….

……This was exhausting.

Really exhausting.

I sighed and turned my gaze back toward the window.

Then I met my own eyes reflected in the glass.

But….

‘Was I always this pretty?’

I rubbed my reflection in the carriage window with my fingertips.

Transparent, snow-white skin.

Deep, dark blue eyes.

And platinum-blonde hair cascading all the way down my back.

That was the result of the women who seemed to belong to the same guild as those men bathing me dozens of times and applying scented oils to my body over the past week.

Of course, they couldn’t completely erase the old scars scattered across my body or the calluses that had formed on my fingertips and palms.

‘Still, I might as well have shed an entire layer of skin.’

There was no trace left of Evelyn, the commoner who had spent her entire life crawling through dirt and gathering herbs.

Even if I happened to run into the people from Billot Village while traveling, they wouldn’t recognize me.

‘Maybe this is for the best.’

If I stayed hidden deep inside the Grand Duke’s residence looking like this, I would never have to encounter the people of Billot Village again for the rest of my life.

The problem lay elsewhere.

“But I don’t know a single thing about royal etiquette. Will that really be okay? What if they realize I’m a fake…. Wouldn’t it be better to use the substitute you originally planned to have properly trained—?”

In response to my concerns, the leader of the men gave a snort of laughter.

“You don’t need to worry about that crap. The Princess of Delmar was already a crazy princess who lost her mind from the trauma of the war.”

“……So no matter what I do, people will just assume that’s how I am?”

“Exactly. Whether you spout nonsense or crawl around on the floor, do whatever you want. All you have to do is seduce the Grand Duke and bear his child.”

“Ugh, I have my own preferences too. I can’t just—”

“Then you can die here.”

“I will pour out every last ounce of energy I’ve accumulated over my entire life and make absolutely sure to complete the mission!”

“……”

At the time, I had agreed because I had no choice if I wanted to survive.

But seduce the Grand Duke?

For someone like me, who had never dated anyone in either my past or present life, it was practically an impossible task.

‘And on top of that, the Grand Duke is….’

Grand Duke Varkan Escar was one of the secondary male leads in this novel.

‘How am I supposed to seduce a man whose eyes will inevitably turn toward the original female protagonist the moment she appears?’

In the end, was I destined to die no matter what I did…?

I had even planned to leave for the eastern continent to avoid getting entangled with the original story.

So why did I suddenly feel like I had gotten dangerously close to it?

I couldn’t help feeling dejected.

My modest dream of sailing to the eastern continent, opening an apothecary, and quietly growing old seemed to be waving goodbye as it drifted farther and farther away.

Then—

I suddenly shook my head vigorously.

‘No!’

There was no need to get scared or lose heart in advance.

I had survived being poisoned.

I had survived even when faced with men who treated human lives as worthless.

‘How could there possibly be anyone with a stronger will to live than me?’

So I had to survive this time too.

I would survive, visit the eastern continent that was supposedly a paradise for poisonous herbs, and open a respectable little apothecary there!

I looked out the window at the magnificent mansion ahead.

Its walls were solidly built from dark blue-black stone, while tall dark-red roofs and spires rose high into the sky.

Rather than being built for elegance, the old-fashioned estate had clearly been designed with practicality and defense as its foremost priorities.

It looked exactly like the Grand Duke’s residence I had heard the men describe.

‘So that’s the Escar Grand Ducal Residence….’

Yes.

Whether I died this way or that way, the result was the same.

‘Now that things have come this far, I have no intention of dying as easily as the princess did in the original story.’

I will survive somehow.

And once I survive, I’ll leave the Grand Duke’s residence like the wind!

As the Grand Ducal Residence drew closer, I clenched my fists tightly.

And a short while later—

“Your Highness, we have arrived.”

The voice of one of the men disguised as a guard knight came from outside the carriage.

I took a deep breath, exhaled, and straightened my posture.

Then the carriage door opened.

The cold air of the North rushed inside all at once.

I took the man’s hand and slowly stepped down from the carriage.

At that moment, the man whispered in a low voice.

“Don’t forget your mission.”

“…….”

Honestly.

Had he spent his entire life being betrayed or something?

I didn’t answer and walked toward the servants of the Grand Ducal Residence.

A large number of servants, matching the scale of the estate itself, were standing in front of the residence to greet me.

But there was no warmth or welcome in their eyes.

Their silent gazes were directed toward me, tinged with subtle wariness.

Then a white-haired servant standing at the very front stepped forward.

Judging by his neat attire, perfectly upright posture, and expression that revealed not the slightest opening, he was undoubtedly the head butler of this Grand Ducal Residence.

And sure enough—

“Welcome to the Escar Grand Ducal Residence, Your Highness. I am Hendrick Terdano, the head butler in charge of managing this residence.”

His voice was polite.

But the temperature within it was every bit as cold and frigid as the gazes of the other servants.

I gave Hendrick a bright smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hendrick. I am—”

I paused briefly before continuing.

“I am Ibellina Delmar, the sixth princess of the Kingdom of Delmar.”

It was an exceptionally cheerful greeting for a hostage from an enemy kingdom.

Hendrick’s eyes grew cold as he looked at me, as though he were trying to confirm the rumors that the princess was insane.

“Yes, Your Highness. I will do my utmost to ensure that you experience no inconvenience during your stay.”

He bowed politely.

I answered with an even brighter smile.

“Yes, please do.”

“…….”

“But.”

I looked around at the servants and tilted my head.

“I don’t see the Grand Duke?”

Hendrick answered without even blinking.

“His Grace has gone to deal with the magical beasts that appeared in the Millidren Mountains of the North.”

His voice was calm.

It wasn’t an excuse.

Nor was it an apology.

It was simply a notification.

‘Wow. Even though I’m a fake princess, on the surface I’m still a princess of a kingdom.’

And yet, instead of welcoming me, he had actually left the Grand Ducal Residence?

‘What an absolute jerk.’

When I blinked innocently, Hendrick continued.

“The timing happened to coincide with the appearance of the magical beasts. However, such incidents are common in the North, so His Grace left word that he hoped you would kindly understand.”

I scoffed inwardly.

‘Magical beasts, my foot. He just ran off to the mountains because he doesn’t want to see my face.’

Even in the original story, Grand Duke Varkan despised the Kingdom of Delmar to an extreme degree.

It was understandable.

He had lost countless subordinates during the war.

There was no way he would enthusiastically welcome a princess whom the Emperor had forcibly dumped on him, especially one whose mind was supposedly no longer sound, together with his knights.

The servants who might have to accept that crazy princess as their future Grand Duchess must have felt the same way.

I nodded lightly.

“There’s nothing we can do about it. I’m not so—”

I paused.

“I’m not so narrow-minded that I can’t understand something like that. I only hope that he returns safely.”

Perhaps because my response was far more normal than they had expected, Hendrick’s eyes narrowed for the briefest moment.

“……Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness. Then, I will escort you to your room.”

“Yes, please.”

I followed Hendrick as he led the way.

Then, suddenly, I stopped walking.

“Oh, by the way.”

Hendrick turned around, and the servants who had been keeping their heads bowed also looked at me.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

I slightly raised my chin and spoke calmly to them.

“I’m not crazy.”

“……Pardon?”

Hendrick asked a beat too late.

I spoke with an even more confident expression and voice.

“I said I’m not crazy.”

“…….”

“…….”

A brief silence followed.

Looking at the expressions on the butler and servants as though they were staring at a woman who had completely lost her mind, I smiled with satisfaction.

‘Phew. That was natural.’

Apparently, my first performance as the crazy princess had gotten off to a pretty successful start.