The carriage was traveling at such a speed that the trees passing by turned into one solid spot.

«Your Highness, we will arrive at the Heilos residence in about four hours.»

— good.

The Crown Princess waved her hand indifferently when one of her subordinates informed her of their next route. The carriage, drawn by four horses, had not stopped on the way for several hours.

Kaena was alone in the carriage. She sat with her legs crossed and seemed to be absorbed in watching one dark landscape outside the window give way to another. After all, it was already the middle of the night. Most people have already had another dream at this time.

Even in the dark, one could make out the beautiful silhouette of a girl, like a shadow. She had sharp cheekbones and brooding eyebrows with dark brown hair falling carelessly over them.

Although Kaena's gaze was turned towards the window, her thoughts were far away from here.

Despite the late hour of the day, the girl still decided to return to her residence as soon as possible. It was the only place she could feel at ease. Whereas the Imperial Palace was more of a battlefield for her.

The Crown Princess couldn't remember the last time she felt so tired. Previously, it was normal for her not to sleep for a week or even more if work required it.

But this time… in the last six months, she has barely slept a wink.

It seemed that during the time that Kaena was on a military campaign, not only her clothes, but also her body were soaked with someone else's blood. In the end, all these people turned into one solid purple spot for her.

Kaena was so tired that she didn't even bother to stop by and buy herself new clothes. It was impossible to wear what she returned in. There was so much blood on the clothes that they would probably never be able to wash them off.

So the princess just threw it away.

It so happened that while Kaena was at the front, she used up all her clothes. Therefore, she had to borrow clothes from one of her subordinates. Clothes that allowed him to move freely, and a cape with a hood. The fabric was rough, carelessly made. It was usually worn by commoners. But Kaena didn't care what she was wearing.

She hadn't slept properly for a long time, and her cheeks were sunken, and the dark circles under her eyes were more than obvious. And yet the princess did not allow herself to close her eyes before they reached the place.

The only place in the world where she could relax was her own quarters in the residence. Nowhere else did Kaena let her guard down.

Soon the carriage entered the forest. From here, the fork of the western border of the empire began, as well as a direct road to her residence, the castle of Heilos. Deep into the forest, the carriage plunged into pitch darkness. Kaena couldn't see anything, and she had to rely only on her own senses.

And it didn't feel very good.

The Crown Princess's plans for a quiet trip were disrupted by the knight's shout, which suddenly rang out from outside and stopped just as abruptly. Apparently, the man was killed immediately.

«Your Highness, this is an ambush!»

The Crown Princess smiled coldly.

She had many enemies, but few of them would risk attacking her carriage in the middle of the night. It seems that the «beloved» family still did not want to let her go.

With a lightning movement, she put her hand on the handle of the carriage, turned it and jumped out of the carriage.

Outside, the carnage was already in full swing.

There were several dozen attackers. They were dressed in black from head to toe, and also wore masks on their faces. Anyone could immediately see that they were murderers. Despite the fact that Kaena was accompanied by only a few of her closest subordinates, it cannot be said that the outcome of this battle was a foregone conclusion.

The battle was going to be serious.

Kaena drew her newly polished sword from its scabbard. A cold smile crossed her face. All the old fatigue 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 bloodstained, cruel expression on the Crown Princess's face could scare anyone.

A man who killed his enemies without a drop of regret in his eyes, like a monster that burst out. A cold smile shone on her face in the midst of the fight.

The girl lost count of how many people had been pierced by her weapon during this time.

Her red lips became even brighter from the fresh blood. This sight was both frightening and mesmerizing, the princess looked like a demon in human form.

In the end, less than half an hour later, the girl was standing in the center of a field of corpses. Her own men and killers lay in lifeless piles of bodies.

But there was not even a scratch on the body of the Crown Princess herself.

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

— Huh… Mother, you should have chosen a more experienced servant.

At this moment.

When Kaena was about to cut off his head, the killer managed to escape at the last second and stabbed her in the stomach with a knife.

— Tc…!

The Crown Princess was annoyed that this bastard actually dared to hit her. Without hesitation, she pulled out her sword with her free hand and completed the task.

Go ahead!

Blood gushed out in a fountain.

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

At first, Kaena decided that there was nothing remarkable about this injury. It was just a rat that bit her with its little fangs. It's nothing serious. After all, in the old days she suffered much more severe injuries and still survived.

The girl thought that she would be able to return to the estate in such a state even without medical help.

However…

Kaena took a step back and suddenly felt that she was starting to lose her balance. Like a hazy nightmare, the trees around trembled and swam before my eyes, soon becoming distorted altogether.

She felt dizzy.

«It can't be…! Was the dagger poisoned?!»

In a rage, the Crown Princess clung to her sanity with the last of her strength. But it was all in vain.

Everything around was slowly shrouded in darkness and the surrounding sounds evaporated.

Before Kaena Gessen de Ronan realized this, she lost consciousness.