The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 82: The Princess's Prayer

Vol 2 Chapter 82 The Princess's Prayer

The coordination between 'Dead Embers' and 'Nightmare,' along with the carved serpent ornament, quickly led Sylutia to think of the notorious 'Twin-Snake Cult.'

Even among the many evil cults, the 'Twin-Snake Cult' was one with a particularly vile reputation, even despised by other cults. Other cults would occasionally put on a disguise, after all, to recruit followers and like-minded individuals, they still had to consider the organization's pleasantness. But the 'Twin-Snake Cult' was the type that simply didn't act human, casually taking pleasure in cannibalism. Upon reaching high tiers, they would transform into true monsters, making them utterly detestable.

There was actually a relic of the Twin-Snake Cult here. Could it be that this place was once a stronghold for an evil cult?

Sylutia thought for a moment, then inspected the area again. Sure enough, she discovered traces of some building ruins in the soil.

It seemed that a long time ago, this was indeed a site of activity for the 'Twin-Snake Cult.' However, judging by the remaining traces, it was at least several hundred years old.

Putting away this broken twin-snake cup, Sylutia led her horse away from this forest and began her return journey towards Mammoth.

...

Another corner of the Shadow World.

"Porridge, porridge again. I'm sick of it. Don't you have any better food?" Prince Jabers threw the wooden bowl in front of him to the ground, his mood irritable."Jabers." Hearing his cursing, a golden-haired girl in a black dress hurried over from the next room.

She came to Prince Jabers's side, gently stroking his back with one hand, soothing him with a soft voice.

"This isn't the royal palace. Please endure it a little longer."

"Enough, sister. I really can't stand it anymore." Facing this golden-haired girl in the black dress, Jabers's expression softened slightly, but he couldn't hold back his frustration.

"A month ago, I mentioned that the food here is too shabby, the bedboards are unusually hard, the rooms are so small, and we haven't seen the sun for over half a month. This gloomy atmosphere is unbearable."

"They always say they'll consider improving the conditions and ask us to be patient."

"And the result? I've brought it up three more times since then, and nothing has changed once. These guys are just brushing us off!" Prince Jabers felt deceived, brought to this godforsaken place.

"I know you're upset inside, but this is someone else's territory. We are merely refugees here. Don't make too many demands." The golden-haired girl in the black dress tried to comfort Prince Jabers again.

Because she was his older sister and had once saved his life, Jabers really couldn't bring himself to get angry at her. But he felt they couldn't go on like this.

"I suspect they never had good intentions. Saving us was also for ulterior motives." Jabers spoke up.

"There's nothing to be done about that." The girl standing beside him shook her head. Of course, she could also sense that the 'Hundred-Eyes Sect' that saved them had impure motives. But the situation was critical at the time, and the two of them had no other choice.

"Look, they restrict our range of movement to just this camp. We can't go anywhere. They won't even tell us exactly where we are. Is this how you treat friends or partners? It's clearly treating us like prisoners." Jabers paced back and forth in the room, then pulled open the curtain, his gaze probing the surroundings.

They were currently living in a two-story house, surrounded by walls made of low hedges. In the distance, they could see figures in dark red robes patrolling.

"At least Knight Everett and Knight Gerard are here." The golden-haired Princess Mursa in the black dress whispered comfortingly beside him.

That day, they had fled southward, encountering many pursuers along the way. Many knight squires were killed by the chasing assassins and cavalrymen during the journey. In the end, only two royal knights survived.

"However, we haven't seen them for the past two days. I wonder if they've been isolated." Princess Mursa said with a worried expression.

This princess's appearance was on par with Iona's. If Iona was a blazing golden chrysanthemum in full bloom, then this princess was a black-gold rose under the night sky, possessing a subtle elegance. Her figure and physique appeared slightly more mature than Iona's.

Not far from the house where the two resided, the two knights who had protected the prince and princess on their escape to this place were discussing matters.

"You were also informed about the duchy's situation yesterday, right?" Knight Everett, sitting on a chair with one hand resting on his sword hilt, looked up at Gerard who had just entered the room.

Compared to the nearly sixty-year-old Knight Everett, Gerard was much younger, only thirty-eight now, with short, slightly curly black hair and a mustache.

"That's right." Gerard's footsteps halted.

They had already heard the news of Regas's demise. In fact, they had mentally prepared for such an event. However, when it actually happened, both of their moods inevitably turned somber.

Both men had grown up in Regas, and many of their family members were also in White Cliff City. They didn't know what had happened to those people after the royal capital fell, which filled them with a faint, nagging worry.

"The people from the Hundred-Eyes Sect told us they've already sent people to contact their informants in the city. Probably in a while, there will be results." Gerard walked to the counter, picked up the tin pot on it, and prepared to brew some tea.

Soon, the fireplace was lit. The faint red flames added a bit of light to the room, bringing a minuscule trace of life's warmth under this gloomy sky.

The two looked at the hearth fire, silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

After a long while, Gerard spoke. "Senior Everett, what are your plans?"

"Plans?" Hearing this, Knight Everett's brow furrowed slightly, but he quickly understood what was meant.

He had followed Grand Duke Grace of Regas for many years, fighting alongside Grace in his youth. His loyalty had long become part of his life. Now, although Regas was destroyed, he would still protect the prince and princess until the end.

But Gerard was different. He was still relatively young, only thirty-eight. Reaching the Third Tier at this age was quite outstanding, even in the royal capital. Now that Regas had fallen, he probably wasn't willing to stay on this sinking ship any longer.

"Did those Hundred-Eyes Sect people promise you something?"

"As expected of old man Everett, you guessed it so easily." Gerard did not deny it.

"I advise you not to trust them too much. The reason evil cults are called evil cults is because they are mavericks who don't follow rules or keep promises." The aged knight admonished.

"I'm well aware." Gerard nodded and didn't continue.

In the following days, Prince Jabers demanded to go outside, but the Hundred-Eyes Sect people told him the Shadow World was quite dangerous and that keeping him in the camp was for his own good.

Prince Jabers clearly didn't believe this explanation. He demanded to meet with the two knights. Faced with this demand, the Hundred-Eyes Sect did not refuse.

After meeting and talking freely with the two knights again, Prince Jabers became much more compliant. In the eyes of the Hundred-Eyes Sect, this was indeed a good thing.

However, this compliance suddenly changed after lasting two weeks.

One night, with Knight Everett's help, Prince Jabers took Princess Mursa and escaped, attempting to leave this Hundred-Eyes Sect camp. Yet, not long after leaving the garrison, they stumbled into an unfamiliar gray-white world and lost their sense of direction.

"Where on earth is this?"

Getting lost in the gray-white world was a constant drain. They urgently needed to find a 'colored' area to rest temporarily. However, all three of them were in the Shadow World for the first time, unfamiliar with the environment and situation here, having only learned partial information about the Shadow World from books.

Finally, on the fourth day, the three were caught up by members of the 'Hundred-Eyes Sect.'

These evil cult members in dark red robes seemed to have anticipated that the three would get lost in the gray-white world. They followed at a leisurely pace not far from the trio, only revealing themselves when they were exhausted.

"Now Your Highness understands that we weren't exaggerating the dangers, right?" A man who seemed to be a middle-ranking member of the cult stood before the three and spoke slowly.

"I know this place is dangerous. But you people, who are ambiguous and never state your goals, are even more suspicious." Jabers raised his eyebrows, drew the gold-hilted longsword from his waist, and held it vertically before him.

Facing this, the man in the dark red robe shook his head, expressing some regret.

"We actually bear no ill will. We merely wish to use Your Highness's prestige to unite a small portion of Regas's forces to consolidate and protect ourselves." In fact, over the years, the Hundred-Eyes Sect had been hiding and moving around, and the organization's strength had gradually declined. They sensed a crisis of survival, hence their all-out effort to secure this group with the prince.

Originally, they thought that with the royal descendants of Regas in hand, they could naturally win over a group of nobles, allowing the Hundred-Eyes Sect to also 'parasitize' within a new national organization, gaining resources and fresh blood.

But what they didn't expect was that Regas's collapse would be so swift, and the other nobles would surrender at the first sign of trouble, with no intention of sharing the fate of the royal family or resisting together.

This forced them to repeatedly change their plans and intentions. And because the plans kept changing, they hadn't negotiated with Prince Jabers.

"If Your Highness had been a bit more sensible and hadn't broken this tacit understanding, we could have coexisted amicably. What a pity, what a pity..." He shook his head and sighed repeatedly, but his words made the three uneasy.

"Seize them. Don't harm His Highness the Prince's life." He waved his hand to give the order, and the cultists beside him began to move.

These hooded cultists suddenly threw back their hoods, revealing pairs of strange pupils, their expressions fanatical.

Under the gaze of these bizarre eyes, the three felt a numbing sensation instantly spread along their bodies, making it difficult to move.

"Shield of Sanctuary!"

Knight Everett roared. A gray-white light shield unfolded before him, temporarily blocking the cultists' line of sight. Then he pulled the prince and princess to escape.

"Old fool." Seeing this aged knight obstruct them, the leading man spat out a low curse, then raised his hand.

A dark purple ray materialized behind him, piercing through the obstructing gray-white light shield, then continued to sweep, grazing the trees along the path and striking Knight Everett in the back.

Tall trees slowly toppled, pressing down on their branches and leaves. Knight Everett's back was scorched black.

"Your Highness, go!" He called to Prince Jabers and Princess Mursa ahead, urging them to flee quickly. Then he turned around, drawing the longsword from his waist.

Unexpectedly, Prince Jabers only took a few steps before stopping.

"I surrender." He looked back at these cultists.

Escaping was useless;

they couldn't outrun these guys. Moreover, this was the Shadow World. They had no knowledge of the local situation. Where could they even escape to?

Facing Prince Jabers's change of heart, the man opposite him wasn't surprised.

"If only you had been this sensible earlier." The man lowered his hand, making the 'Gloom-Gaze Evil Eye' behind him cease its attack.

The cultists stepped forward and bound Prince Jabers. As for Knight Everett, they used a special dagger to pierce his shoulder blade, rendering him unconscious. Finally, facing the golden-haired Princess Mursa in the black dress, they were slightly more polite, merely tying her wrists with rope.

"Let's go, Your Highness."

"We were indeed poor hosts before. But in the coming days, you will witness the power of the Alien Star's Evil Eyes."

"Rest assured, we won't harm you. In fact, our goals will be exceptionally aligned from now on."

"You desire to restore the kingdom and avenge your family. We can provide you with assistance, make you stronger, and have many hidden cultists assist you."

"Similarly, we also need Your Highness's identity to open new strongholds for our sect and gain new space for development."

"Although the nobles of Regas have surrendered, they have now been stripped of much wealth and territory. They probably harbor secret resentment as well."

"They need a banner to unite and rebel. We happen to be able to provide that banner. Likewise, you also need us as your backing."

"You see, isn't this a wonderful future? Everyone gets what they wish for." His voice seemed to possess a magic that confused the mind, reigniting hope in the eyes of the previously dejected Prince Jabers.

Facing this scene, Princess Mursa, walking behind, was deeply worried.

Among all his siblings, Prince Jabers was the youngest, having just turned eighteen. He wasn't yet mentally mature and was easily led astray and misguided by these people. Moreover, Princess Mursa was well aware of her younger brother's situation.

Among the three princes, his talent was only slightly better than the Crown Prince's, far from being considered excellent, and even more distant from those true geniuses. Even if he joined the Hundred-Eyes Sect, he would likely end up as a puppet in the end, with no real authority for him to wield.

However, no matter how much worry she felt now, she could only keep it in her heart. If she spoke up to persuade him, it would instead break this superficial, tacit peace. At that point, no one could predict the outcome for the two of them.

At the very least, now the two of them still had value to the Hundred-Eyes Sect, which meant they could still survive.

Walking on the road back to the camp, the golden-haired Princess Mursa in the black dress clasped her hands together, silently praying.

To begin, Mother in the celestial gardens, how can I protect my younger brother Jabers and ensure the continuation of our family's bloodline?

Now that my elder brothers are no longer in this world and my older sister has married far away to another country, I, a princess raised deep within the palace, although aware of a little about government affairs and political maneuvering, am far from matching Mother and Father. My talent for cultivating supernatural Aspects is also only average. This makes me deeply feel the twists and mercilessness of fate, finding it difficult to see the path ahead clearly.

In the end, the only thing I can probably boast about is this appearance of mine. Even during the time when Iona was active, she didn't surpass me in looks. Many nobles often discussed and compared us on this point.

If Regas hadn't perished, I would likely have been married off by the royal family in the future, as a tool, a decorative vase for political marriage, to win over a neighboring country or a powerful noble within Regas.

But now, I can only pray that the Hundred-Eyes Sect abides by the rules and doesn't mistreat me arbitrarily.

If I could marry a high-ranking member within the Hundred-Eyes Sect, I might also be able to exert some influence and protect my younger brother Jabers a little.

Perhaps this is the only good outcome possible.

Under the dim, overcast sky, this golden-haired princess in a black dress closed her eyes in prayer.