Three figures walked down the treaded path.
The young girl in the lead wore a battle-style black and white dress with red highlights and a lion-themed motif. She had black stockings, bare shoulders with puffy sleeves, and golden trim that was second only to her short, messy blond hair, which shone brightly under the afternoon sun.
Behind her, two figures followed, two weapon-equipped battle maids.
One carried a towering stack of supplies on her back, looking like an over-packed camper on a long walk who had already exceeded her carrying capacity. The other, an equally young woman, traveled much lighter, keeping a hand resting on her sword's hilt, ready to clear the path ahead at any moment.
Both female servants were young, with a breathtaking beauty that could cause any man to turn.
Aside from them, there were no others.
Rolilly, in the lead, looked around. While lazily putting one hand on her hip, she sneered at the surroundings, curling her hand into a tight fist and cursing her bad luck.
She was slightly dishevelled, clearly not used to this kind of long-term hiking.
The two servants paused their steps, looking ahead, only to discover that the path began a deep and dark descent into the depths of the earth. From a glance, it was clear that they would be led underground if they kept going forward.
This caused both girls to share a look, but it was impossible to know what they were thinking.
Rolilly took a few more steps forward, then stopped at the slope.
After some time to think, she decided to go down. She was followed by both attendants as she slipped down while balancing on her heels, and they descended into a decent-sized alcove that dipped down a few meters into the earth.
The scent of soil permeated the air, while the unstable footing made it difficult to move too quickly. Above their heads was an opening leading to the sky, but even this could not illuminate the entirety of the alcove, because the ceiling curved in on itself, constricting the skylight.
One of the attendants stepped to the side with a frown. "This is…"
Rolilly didn't answer; instead, she kept looking ahead, as if peering into the depths of the darkness that awaited them quietly.
Not far away, there was a vertical crack in the mountain wall, creating another descent in the path, but unlike the previous slope, the path ahead seemed to lead into an even deeper underground cave system that should eventually open into a ravine-like abyss.
Rolilly tilted her head.
Her eyes flickered.
The reason she wavered was twofold, first, because Rolilly didn't like these kinds of damp, dark, and depressing places, and second, such places were extremely dangerous, especially when in a place like a secret realm. Not only could the cave collapse, but any number of creatures could emerge and attack, many of which were unpredictable and difficult to detect in advance.
The attendant whose back was free stepped downwards from behind, then looked at the Third Princess and warned, "Mistress, I feel as if there should be another way around. Why don't we…"
She didn't finish—
Rolilly looked at her, then smirked before stepping much, much closer!
Swoosh!
She closed the distance in an instant.
"Hm!"
The young woman leaned back, but Rolilly had already reached her, her face only a few centimetres away, nearly touching lips. Because Rolilly was a bit shorter, the young princess had to look up slightly. The young maid could practically see the unblemished details on Rolilly's face and was overwhelmed by her striking appearance, causing her mind to flash in a daze.
The scent of flowers filled the air, and the young girls' ears rapidly reddened.
Rolilly narrowed her eyes, then raised her hand toward the young woman. She pinched her chin, and while teasing her, Rolilly chuckled, "Are you perhaps worried about me? Hm~?"
"I—I—I!"
Rolilly let her go, and the inexplicable pressure disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. While stepping back, Rolilly patted the girl's head, then rolled her eyes before adding, "It's rare, it's rare that I don't feel annoyed when someone tells me what to do. Hm~! I'll let you off today, how about it?"
"Y—Yes! Mistress!" The attendant's face had turned completely red.
From the back, the luggage-carrying servant rolled her eyes, feeling as if the new girl wouldn't last long.
Rolilly returned her gaze ahead, then looked into the depths of the darkness. "Let's go!"
"Understood!" Two voices overlapped.
The three young girls began their descent into the darkness…
-
The deeper they went, the larger the ravine became.
Tock, tock, tock!
At first, the cave had only resembled a cramped tunnel carved through the mountain, but after descending for nearly half an hour, the surroundings gradually opened into a sprawling underground abyss, leaving only one line of sky barely visible above their heads. They followed along the path, but at some point one side was replaced by a towering wall, and the other was an unending cliff that disappeared into the darkness below. Wide layered cliff split the darkness, while enormous stone pillars stretched from floor to ceiling almost like supporting roots that held up the mountain-like ceiling. Pale glowing moss-covered sections of the walls, providing just enough illumination to vaguely reveal the terrain ahead.
Their footsteps continuously echoed.
Drip…
Drip-drip…
Drip…
Water occasionally fell from the surface beyond the ceiling, vanishing into the unseen depths below, highlighting the unclear height of the vertical drop.
As they advanced, the first difficulty came in the form of a collapsed stone slope halfway down the cliff. Countless broken rocks and unstable debris had formed a steep decline that angled down into the depths of the ravine, which was clearly caused by a predecessor who had taken this path not long ago.
Loose gravel constantly shifted beneath their feet, forcing the three girls to move carefully while balancing themselves against the cave wall.
The attendant carrying the luggage nearly slid backward several times, but after years of 'survival', she had long learned some 'subtle tricks' to keep up, allowing her to recover just in time.
Rolilly would occasionally watch from the corner of her eye, not stepping back to help.
This kind of treatment was not uncommon, so the young maid didn't complain. If she did, then it would probably end far worse than just having fallen in the first place.
Rolilly was just like that…
After finally reaching a relatively flat groove in the cave wall, an underground river silently cut through a hollow in the cliffside, dividing the path entirely in two. The water was dark and almost mirror-like, strangely still despite continuously flowing deeper underground.
Rolilly was the first to cross, but halfway across, something enormous moved beneath the surface.
All three girls instantly froze, and Rolilly's eyes darkened as she turned her gaze down in irritation.
Buzz!
After several long seconds, the shape vanished back into the darkness below without even surfacing. It was impossible to tell if this was Rolilly's influence, but one thing was for certain, and that was that this large creature had been scared away by something.
Afterward, nobody spoke…
-
Time passed…
The deeper they walked, the quieter things became.
It was clear that as they advanced, the touch of human hands had slowly disappeared, allowing them to understand that not many people had reached this far, at least, not alive...
Rolilly's eyes swept across a corpse that had fallen from above, then dismissed it.
Eventually, the ravine opened into a large underground cavern, a bit like a large oval-shaped cave.
Thin vertical rock formations rose from the cave floor like giant swords or thin stalagmites, many of which were so large that only one person could squeeze around at a time. Strange poisonous fungi grew between the stone pillars, faintly releasing glowing spores into the air, creating a fairyland appearance that momentarily mesmerized those who approached. As they moved, more and more unknown and mysterious things appeared one after another, and at this point, even Rolilly had stopped talking, turning all her attention to the surroundings.
Her eyes flickered.
Ahead, several glowing plants grew between the stone blades, illuminating this part of the cave with a strange, faint green, glowing ethereal light. The atmosphere became damp and humid while a strangely slow spiritual energy drifted heavily through the surroundings like a mist.
"This is…?"
Hearing the servant's voice, Rolilly turned, only to have her eyes immediately brighten.
"Oho?"
Nestled between a narrow gap within the eroded center of one of the blade-like stone pillars was a strange crimson flower. Its petals resembled layered fangs, while black mist continuously drifted from its center in a spiraling pattern that spilled out and swept across the floor.
This was a high-level poisonous herb!
Without hesitation, Rolilly walked toward it, but at the exact same moment—
Another hand reached toward the flower from the opposite side of the stone blade! Neither side saw the other because the large rock formation completely divided the cave into two separate sections.
Then—
Tap!
Their fingers touched simultaneously.
Silence followed…
"Heh?"
Rolilly's eyes widened, then narrowed as she looked up, peering through the small opening, only to spot a young man with long black hair streaked with strands of green, tied back into a low ponytail. He had dark green eyes that seemed to flicker with an ethereal light, and a lean, almost slender frame, with a bit of a sickly air about him.
"Oxin, was it?" Rolilly asked, her expression shifting between a bratty and malicious facade.
She didn't seem to know exactly what face to wear, because after recognising him, she knew that he knew her truest face, the one she concealed deep down.
In that same split second, Oxin had flicked his sleeve, snatching the strange crimson flower and swiftly putting it away. He looked up, meeting the venomous eyes of this slightly short girl. He blinked in confusion before his brain seemed to register her identity; his eyes instantly widened as an unknown wave of rarely felt panic flooded through the body of this methodical and somewhat scheming young master.
Boom!
His mind slammed down the name like a mental mountain, crushing all other thoughts: Rolilly Hellion, Third Princess of the Hellion Empire!
An instant later, he grimaced!
How could he have known that it would be this particular brat contesting him for this natural treasure?!
Damn it!
Bad! This is bad!
He panicked, desperately calculating his options.
Rolilly stepped back, then paced around the blade-shaped rock wall to get a better look at this young master from the Barak Family. Seeing her approach, Oxin knew time was ticking!
Just as he suspected, a moment later, she spoke—
"Would you mind handing that over? I would appreciate it."
It was a casual, almost pleading request, but Oxin could feel the dagger hidden beneath her words.
"You…"
As a high-ranking member of one of the four great families, how could he not harbour a little bit of hidden resentment toward the Royal Family? After all, a thousand years was far from enough to wipe away the grievances of that ancient massacre.
The problem was, seeing her here, face to face, things were not as simple as they were back in the capital. He couldn't call for help, he couldn't fight and kill her, and he couldn't run away! Not only did he not dare, but he felt as if he couldn't win! This was a thought that even shocked him, but not knowing where it came from, he decided to trust it anyway.
By all means, he should be stronger. Whether it was intelligence, cultivation, or even equipment and preparations, he had no doubt that he was superior, so why...
He felt his stomach twist.
His only option was to hand it over, giving it to her on a silver platter!
But he was unwilling!
To make matters worse, Rolilly was the most unreasonable of the three princesses. Running into her like this was incredibly unlucky. The situation would likely be the same if he ran into any of the three, but Rolilly was still the one he least wanted to meet.
His fingers tightened, reluctant to give it up.
What should I do? What can I do? Should I hand it over? No, even if I do, will she let me go? Shit!
His thoughts flashed.
Cold sweat began to run down his forehead. Even as a cold and calculating young man, he knew he had to be exceptionally careful facing this young girl.
Rolilly took a step forward.
Buzz!
"Why aren't you saying anything? Is there something wrong? Don't tell me you're unwilling?" Her smile was like that of a devil, a cute devil, one filled with mischief and pride, but it was this petite figure that only further contrasted the terror she silently projected, like a shadow twisting on the wall.
Rolilly had left a very different impression on those from the Four Great Families…
This wasn't because she was anything special, at least, as far as they knew, but rather because she had personally come to each and every one of them and asked if they were willing to rebel.
She didn't even try to hide it!
She didn't need to flip the table; the table just flipped upon her arrival!
She was just that dangerous!
Not only could you not hold the table down, but you also had to place it back, then pretend that it didn't happen in the first place!
The worst part was that none of them could report it. If they did, they would only call down an even greater calamity upon themselves and their families!
Gritting his teeth, Oxin spoke the words he would regret for a long time into the future. "Third Princess, I'm sorry, but would you be willing to part with this medicinal herb? 'I really need it for someone in my family. ' I am willing to trade, if that's acceptable to you?"
"…Oh?"
These words were incredibly reasonable. Any normal person would view them as an attempt to de-escalate a tense situation that was becoming heavier by the second. But to Rolilly, they were no different from a straight-up refusal! A slap in the face!
Her dark green eyes seemed to flicker with a bright green light.
Her cute and caring expression twisted into something dark and vengeful.
"Is that so… what a shame! What – a – shame!"
Buzz!
She took another step, and the pressure this young girl created caused even Oxin to step back. For some reason, his soul seemed to be shaking—no, crying? NO! Something was wrong!
His eyes widened, and finally realizing something, he quickly scanned his body, his sea of consciousness, and then looked all the way into his soul. He discovered that the ethereal phantom of a cicada's wing seemed to have manifested around his soul at some point, resonating with something outside.
He looked up in horror, only to see a similar cicada shadow flickering like a transparent ghost.
Oxin felt blood rush to his head as an enormous pressure began to build up inside his brain. His ears felt clogged as the taste of iron began to taint his mouth.
Pain shot through his mind, making him instantly dizzy.
Buzz!
Rolilly took another step forward. "Since you won't give it to me, then I can only take it myself…." She sighed, "How troublesome!"
She shrugged her shoulders.
Oxin felt his body convulse. Dark blood tinged with green streaks began flowing from his eyes.
He trembled, collapsing to his knees.
"W-what! Is! T-this! Aah!"
Rolilly took one more step forward.
Buzz!
"Don't worry, I have a deep respect for your four families. After all, you belong to us!" She smiled sweetly. "But that doesn't mean you can just forget your place! Hehehe!"
Oxin couldn't even open his mouth.
The world was darkening, but before falling unconscious, the final thing he heard was her voice: "After all, there's nothing I hate more than a liar…"
Then, everything went black…
* * *
Thud!
Oxin fell unconscious to the ground.
Rolilly looked down at him, then sneered before kicking him. She snapped her fingers, and one of the two maid servants jogged over and checked his condition.
"…Mistress, he should survive."
Rolilly looked away, rolled her eyes, and then looked back before nodding. "Let's go. It's better to keep him alive for now. Like this, I've placed a psychological shadow in him that he probably won't be able to remove for a long time…"
The two young girls nodded.
Rolilly walked up and crouched down. She took the bag he had hidden in his sleeve, then retrieved the strange red flower. Exerting a little bit of force, she withered the pouch and all of its remaining belongings to dust.
Her eyes turned up, scanning the darkness ahead. "Let's go!"
"Yes!" "Yes!"
The trio disappeared into the darkness...
* * *