‘Oops, this isn’t the time for this!’
– Bababaaaaang……!
“Isabelle, hurry!” I shouted. She quickly threw the vines and ran toward us. The last thing I saw before heading under the altar was the vines instantly rotting away. This was definitely different from the plants that the red panda musketeers created. At first it was a dark and dull color, and when it disappeared-
– Chhhhhhh……
“My goodness.”
It released an eerie smoke and a dark purple fluid, melting even the treasures around it. I blinked in shock. Nobody explained it to me but I could tell: This was not your typical earth attribute power.
“Don’t dawdle.”
“I got it!”
The Imperial Crown Prince bastard pulled me hard. I thought that hesitating any more would make him treat me like luggage again.
‘I’d be a bag of rice while India is a little handbag.’
I quickly dodged his hand and crawled under. Cold air and a musky scent welcomed us. Not a single golden light was visible in the darkness of this basement.
– Booboboboooooooooom!
“Aaaaaaaaaah! Please be careful of the ground, everyone. The moss on the ground makes it slippery.” Sand finally seemed to adjust right as we were about to head out.
We could clearly hear the burial room crumbling. I felt emotional, despite it not being right for the situation. Now that Hanan Rumayyan and the ghosts had left, the tomb was getting ready to disappear for good. The ancient treasures and beautiful fabrics would also end up disappearing. This time, it would be somewhere nobody could raid.
*
– Step, step, step.
– Step, step, step……
We ‘walked’ for a while. We might fall if we ran and end up touching something we are not supposed to touch again, so we chose to move like this.
‘Ruuuumble, baaang!’ We could hear thunder-like sounds in the distance. More accurately, it was the sound of the ruin being destroyed. I got scared every time the ground shook side to side, but I didn’t get disturbed and continued to move.
The path out was also dark and narrow. Crown prince Cédric had a flame going as he led in the front.
“Five days? I’ve only been in here for a few hours though?”
This was surprising no matter how much I thought about it.
“We feel the same way, India. But according to Miss Isabelle over there, a lot of time has passed outside. Aren’t you hungry?”
“Yes sir. I ate some snacks and drank some water earlier while I was hiding. I even took a short nap.”
“How admirable. You definitely are Marian’s sister.” I smiled brightly and answered.
India, who was in my arms, smiled and looked around at us. We did do short introductions earlier, but she still looked amazed. The little kid observed the trotting red pandas as well before telling her heroic tale again. There was no harm in hearing the story and I was curious as well, so I paid a lot of attention. Her very large eyes were sparkling.
Marian, who was being carried by Christelle, smiled and looked back at her sister. Her eyes were still red from crying.
“Grandpa Scottie told us we need to respect the ruins. The people of old put a lot of effort into it so he said it was only right for us to cherish them as well. He said the ghosts were coming out because we weren’t polite. But those people had no respect! They kept asking if there weren’t any faster paths and where the treasure was located. They even pushed me and shouted at me. They angrily shouted about just breaking the walls down!”
She talked similarly to her sister as well. The way she was jumping up and down in anger was very different, but the siblings were both so cute.
I breathed heavily and continued to walk quickly. I made sure to keep smiling so that the child would not worry.
“India, I can see why you got angry. They weren’t archaeologists. They must have been Tomb Raiders.”
“Yes sir. They were so bad. I ended up finding a way to the altar and they told me to go in first.”
‘They thought it was dangerous so they decided to send a kid in first. They’re the worst.’
“So what did you do?”
“I said that I would look this way and asked them to look in the other direction. There were murals on the wall in that direction.”
“Are you talking about the picture of the snakes and treasure?” Joanne suddenly asked from behind us. India nodded her head. We all started laughing.
The kind ancestors had given plenty of warnings about the snakes but those bastards only went crazy for the treasure. They told India not to move and to check only this side. They were probably wary of the child following them and asking for a share of the treasure. It was more unbelievable the more I thought about it.
“Things like that won’t happen again. You see that mister in black up there? We are all going to the Vatican to ask them to protect this place properly.” I motioned toward the crown prince in the front.
India’s eyes opened wide. “Then can we no longer study history, your highness?”
“Who knows? Someone should look after the ruins right? You need to know what you are doing in order to protect something.”
“I’ll do it! Please choose me!” The child raised her little hand. Her little body was shaking with anticipation.
Marian scolded her saying, ‘don’t make things difficult for his highness!’ but it was useless. I made a slightly different suggestion.
“Mmph. What if we do this? India is still young, so once an archaeologist comes here to research the ruins, you can slowly learn from that person. Read some books together, get some on-the-field experience… He might even teach you some more difficult things in six years when you become an adult?”
“……Really? Is that really okay, your highness?”
“Of course. We will ask them to send a teacher for Marian to learn theology too. I think it would be even more fun to learn together with the other kids in the village.”
“That sounds great. I really like that a lot!” The child was not shy and gave me a big hug around my neck.
Marian, who had been calm this whole time, dropped her jaw in shock. The little girl looked at Christelle in disbelief. She smiled brightly and nodded her head. We could easily make promises like this.
We had the ultimate special move of the QNW world, the ‘Empire’s greatest bachelor.’
‘He seems to have no idea but we will convince him!’
“But you have to promise me something.”
“What is it?”
“You have to promise not to leave the village when it is too early or too late. And if you have to leave, make sure you take an adult with you. You also have to tell Grandpa Scottie or Monica in person before you leave. A note is not okay.”
“……Yes, your highness. I’m sorry. I apologize for making you all come out here.” Her chestnut-like buzz cut head slumped. Her voice became quieter and the way she was peeking at her older sister made her look clearly like a younger sibling.
I couldn’t help but sigh because it reminded me of when Eunseo was younger. She was very sharp and wise, so she often admitted doing things before my brother or I got mad at her.
I told India it was okay. She was a child after all. “Thank you for apologizing. You’ll think things over next time, right?”
“I promise.”
“Good. You are so reliable.”
As the child and I smiled…
– Pong!
“Eek!”
“Ack!”
My head smacked into the crown prince bastard’s back! It was quite hard because I was walking at full pace. I was tearing up and my nose felt like it might fall off. Christelle was rubbing her forehead and scowling. Isabelle, who was behind her, became shocked and went to look after her daughter. I grudgingly looked up at the young man.
‘Why did you suddenly stop?!’
“Is the path blocked, your Royal Highness? India, do I have a bloody nose?”
“No, your highness. But it does look like it hurts.”
‘It does hurt.’ Instead of annoying the silent crown prince bastard, I stood on my tippy toes and looked forward.
I didn’t see anything. I stared for a while, wondering if I had missed something, but it really was normal.
Christelle seriously frowned. “……I don’t feel anything?”
“What is the issue? We’re not going in circles through the same places! I’ve been ripping and putting pieces of my headscarf as we walk. We’ve been going to new spots the whole time!” Joanne shouted from the back. It couldn’t be helped because subtle earthquakes were continuing. The path we walked through was still full of rumbling noises. Every second mattered right now.
“Under our feet.”
“Excuse me?”
The crown prince mumbled in a low voice. I placed India down and crouched as he seemed quite serious. I sent the red pandas over to Isabelle just in case as well. I then attentively observed his foot. A familiar orange flame roamed around me to shine some light.
I then noticed ‘it.’
“……Fuck.” I quietly swore.
The tile that the crown prince was standing on was pushed down about 1cm. Both he and I instinctively knew. This was originally not like this. It only went down like a button once he stepped on it.
I raised my head and made eye contact with the crown prince. I was relieved that we did not let our guard down. What would have happened if we ran without thinking, hoping to just get out of here as quickly as possible? This was a tomb of ghosts where stone walls burst out and contained tons of poisonous snakes.
“Is it a, m, m, mine?” Sand turned as pale as flour.
I calmly shook my head. “This is the tomb of a Queen. The Queen’s corpse would be in danger if explosives were to go off, so I’m almost certain it isn’t that kind of trap. Something will probably fly toward us as soon as he lifts his foot.”
“Probably something like a poisonous dart. Or maybe they’ll release poison into the air.” Christelle calmly commented.
Joanne looked back at Isabelle. “Miss Rambouillet, does the Queen inside you know anything about this trap?”
“I just asked, but…… ‘How would this Queen know about something that was made after my death? I regret to inform you I don’t know anything about it.’ Is what she said. I’m sorry.”
……That was true. I took a deep breath and looked for Sir Johann. He was already looking at me without needing to be called.
“Will you be okay?”
“I’ll make it okay, your highness.” He smiled and answered.
We nodded our heads and moved efficiently. We moved the divine beasts and the children as far back as possible, wrapped them in blankets, and hugged them to protect them. We also flattened ourselves against the ground.
It wasn’t easy for humans to not move at all, but the crown prince was still standing there like a statue. He didn’t even have a single drip of sweat. This guy sure was amazing.
“Sir Johann, we are ready so please give the signal to his Royal Highness.”
“Yes, your highness. Your Royal Highness, please feel free to move your foot at any moment. I would also recommend that you duck.”
The black-haired man moved as soon as he heard that. Clack! As soon as he moved his foot…
– Ping, ping, ping!
– Shhhhhhhhhhhh!
Something flashed down from the ceiling!
– Grab!
“Wow……”
‘That’s possible?’ We all gasped in admiration.
Many sharp blades stopped in the air while one of them was in the crown prince’s left hand. To be more specific, it was shaking in between his index and middle finger. That guy didn’t even confirm the direction the weapons came from! I felt like I was watching some wuxia novel.
“They are metal.”
“That’s wonderful, your Royal Highness.”
Clang, clang! Sir Johann waved his hand a few times to get rid of the weapons as he answered. The metal weapons that fell to the ground moved like paper. They were all dark and spotty, as if they were doused in poison. They must have flown out from in between the walls.
I stared at the weapons before looking back up. In that case, this was easier than we thought.
“Christelle.”
“Yes, your highness.”
– Babababang!
Flinch! We hugged the surprised children. The destruction was now at a spot that we could see. Things were breaking less than 100m behind us. Tithé and Rhea were not crying despite being scared, doing their best to look reliable in front of the young siblings.
We had to run from here. This was probably not the last of the traps but we didn’t have the time to test out each stone on this bridge. So-
“Would it be possible to hit every tile in front of us with ice? I want to check them as we run.” I looked at our MC and asked.
Her simulation did not take very long. “Please leave it to me, your highness.”
– Craaaaaack!
– Crack, craaaack!
Christelle jumped up and round sturdy ice orbs started to form. The crown prince and Sir Johann got ready as well.
Booboboboooooooooom! Ruuuuumble! The shaking was getting stronger, giving us headaches. We exchanged solemn glances. I then shouted.
“Now!”
– Whistle! Baaaaang!
– Ssss, ssss, sss!
Christelle launched ice in all directions and attacks flew over from all around us. We clenched our teeth and just ran as fast as we could. Clang, clang! Crackle! The Holy Knights to the front and back of us were going crazy. Flying, spinning, jumping while stepping off walls…
Sand, who finally gathered up the courage, started to go berserk in front of us. The shouting was just extra.
“Aaaaaaah! I’m not a coward! I may be average, but I have a good life! Ahhhhhhhh!”
– Screeeeech!
Everything was chaotic. ‘This is a real exodus!’
*
– Neeeeeeigh!
– Booboboboooooooooom……
The rumbling was continuing for a while. The dark dawn of the desert felt even more chaotic than usual. It was because the Viscount Rambouillet couple, the masters of Riester’s greatest caravan, spent a night out in the wilderness rather than in their lodging. The two of them got up extremely early and put on some warm clothes before coming outside.
This was already the sixth day. It had been six days since the crown prince, the prince, and their granddaughter had left with their friends to look for a missing girl. Their daughter became included in that list starting yesterday.
Viscount Clément Rambouillet anxiously commented, “Honey, I think we need to send a message to her Majesty. The Imperial Army won’t be able to get in here, but we should at least inform her.”
“Please wait a little longer. They are all very strong. Our Ollie and Isabelle as well.”
“But……”
“I’m telling you, they’ll be fine.” Marise brushed a horse as she calmed her husband down.
The horses that her granddaughter’s group had left tied to the entrance were all healthy and well. Christelle had left a bowl of water for them. Her husband was a great merchant noble with great decision-making abilities, but he needed her help in critical moments. Times such as when confirming a large investment, discussing an expansion to their business, or like right now, when he was deeply worried about something.
“I’m sure all of them are fine. His Royal Highness is extremely well-known for his fighting prowess. Sir Geens is with them as well.”
“Then what about the Vatican? They should send a Cardinal right away.”
“It’ll get awkward if someone comes from the Holy Kingdom’s side. We’ll just end up giving them information. Come on, honey. I know you know about all of this. What is with you?”
“Groan.”
Clément groaned with his hands behind his back. His wife chuckled while consoling him.
“I didn’t sleep well either. But let’s at least wait one more day. Who knows? Our granddaughter might pop out-”
– Baaaaaaaaaang!
– Shaaaaaaaaaaa!
A large geyser shot up from the ground!
“Holy Almighty God!”
“Marise!”
The old couple hugged each other and rolled on the ground. The people who came as their guards gasped and ran out of their tents. A ton of them were drenched from the water as well.
Everybody then looked toward the eastern sky. With the bright orange-colored sun behind her back, seated on top of the blue pillar of water with a bright smile on her face……
“We’re aliiiiiiive!”
“Grandma! Grandpa! We’re back!”
They saw their pink treasure.
—
Translator’s Comments
I agree, she is our pink treasure.