Chapter 15. Battle in the woods
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— Your Highness, we will arrive at the Castle of Shadows in a few hours or so!

— Good.

Kayena waved her hand indifferently as one of her knights announced their next itinerary. The carriage, drawn by four horses, had not stopped en route for several hours.

Kayena was alone in the carriage. She watched indifferently as one dark landscape succeeded another. After all, it was already the middle of the night. Most people were already dreaming.

But despite the late hour of the night, the girl still decided to return to her estate as soon as possible. Only there could she feel at ease. While the imperial palace… Represented a continuous battlefield for her.

The Crown Princess could not remember the last time she had felt so tired. Before, it had been normal for her not to sleep for a week or more if her work required it.

But this time… She hardly slept a wink for a month.

It was as if during that time not only her clothes but even her body had become soaked in the blood of strangers. In the end, they were all a blotch of blood to her.

The girl was so tired that she didn't even bother to stop by and buy herself new clothes. It was impossible to wear what she came back in. There was so much blood on her clothes that they would probably never wash out again.

So Kayena simply threw them away.

It so happened that during the war, she had used up all of her clothing supplies. So, a temporary piece was provided to her by one of her men. A plain linen shirt and pants, but Kayena didn't care what she wore.

Her eyes were closing on their own from fatigue: but the girl would not let herself fall asleep before they arrived. The only place she could relax was in her chambers at the manor. Nowhere else Cayena allowed herself to let her guard down.

Soon the wagon pulled into the woods. From here began the fork in the western border of the empire, and, the straight road to her residence, the Castle of Shadows. Driving deep into the forest thicket, the carriage became quite dark. Kayena could see nothing, and she had to rely only on her own senses.

And feelings were not good.

Kayena's plans for a quiet ride were shattered by a servant's scream, which suddenly came from outside, and also stopped abruptly. Apparently, the man was killed at once.

— Your Highness, we are under attack!

The crown princess grinned coldly. She had many enemies, but few would risk attacking her carriage in the middle of the night. Her «beloved» family still seemed unwilling to let her go.

In a lightning motion she placed her palm on the handle of the carriage, turned it, and jumped out of the carriage. Outside, the carnage was already in full swing.

From the sword technique, one could guess that these were professional assassins. There were several dozen of them. While the crown princess was accompanied by only a few, the closest subordinates.

The battle was going to be serious.

Kayena drew her newly polished sword from its sheath. A cold grin crossed her face. All the fatigue she'd felt before was gone.

In the next couple of minutes the real meat grinder began.

The sharp sword, which had previously had a bluish sheen, turned scarlet. And the bloody, cruel look on Kayena's face could have frightened anyone. The girl lost count of how many people her weapon had pierced in that time.

Eventually, not ten minutes later, the girl stood in the middle of a field of corpses. Her own men, and the assassins for hire, lay breathless bodies.

But not a scratch remained on the body of the crown princess herself.

She grabbed the last living mercenary, who was struggling with her last strength, by the hair.

— Ha… You should have chosen a more experienced servant.

At this point.

As Kayena was about to cut off his head, the assassin managed to break free at the last second, and stabbed her in the stomach.

— You…!

The crown princess was annoyed that the bastard actually dared to stab her. Without a second's hesitation, she pulled out her sword with her free hand and finished the job.

Pleas!

The blood rushed in like a fountain.

The mercenary's body collapsed to the ground with his throat slit.

At first, Kayena thought there was nothing remarkable about the injury. Just a rat biting her with its little fangs. It was nothing serious. After all, she had been injured much more severely before and still survived.

The girl thought she would be able to return to the manor in this condition.

But…

Kayena stepped back, and suddenly felt herself begin to lose her balance. Like a foggy nightmare, the trees around her trembled and swam before her eyes, soon becoming distorted. She felt dizzy.

«It can't be…! The dagger was poisoned?!»

Furious, the girl clung to her sanity with the last of her strength. But it was all in vain.

Everything was slowly enveloped in darkness and the surrounding sounds evaporated. Before Cayenne de Ronan knew it, she was unconscious.

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