She's Not Our Daughter! Ch 106

Operation Rescue Hanael.... Or So I Thought

[Amille] "......Princess, the Crown Prince will not sit idly by."

[Iliena] "Duke Ideos will even risk war. He will not show mercy, even to royalty."

Recalling her past life, Amille knew the Princess spoke the truth. The Princess brought her back to reality from her brief recollection.

[Iliena] "So let us try."

At her rigid stance, Amille hardened her expression and questioned the Princess.

[Amille] "What exactly do you want to try, Your Highness?"

It was certainly no easy task. Therefore, she needed a definitive confirmation from the Princess.

Capturing her hesitation, the Princess replied with unprecedented determination.

[Iliena] "Let us go."

Amille had never seen the Princess act this way inside the palace. She no longer trembled constantly or occupied herself with obeying her brother.

While she studied the Princess' face, Philoes stood beside the determined Princess, lips shaking, and added in a cracking voice.

[Philoes] "......Because I have the keys. Let us go to rescue the child."

He fumbled while drawing a ring of keys from his pocket. Wondering aloud which key it was, he bit his tongue and let out a strange groan of pain.

Watching him, Amille let out a hollow laugh and wiped her dry face.

[Amille] "Really......"

The Princess looked at her, raising a brow.

[Iliena] "Time is pressing. If my brother finds out I came here, he will not sit idly by."

[Amille] "......What are you doing this for, Your Highness?"

[Iliena] "I......"

The Princess squeezed her eyes shut and opened them.

[Iliena] "I want to be proud. I don't want to live like a coward. Of course, I know I have been quite cowardly until now."

Yet these words were insufficient. To cooperate in rescuing Hanael, Amille needed to trust her entirely.

The desperate expression on the Princess' face, despite having no reason to visit this place, clearly showed she had switched sides. Still, when living a second life, testing the waters before crossing is the gold standard. Amille needed one final test.

[Amille] "If the woman Duke Ideos loves and that child disappear, you could claim the Duke for yourself, Your Highness."

The Princess frowned, her shapely brows drawing together.

[Iliena] "What meaning does that hold?"

Amille met the Princess' gaze. She stood noble and proud toward everyone, except the Crown Prince. She didn't want to die at the hands of his brother, and it was true she wished to marry Duke Ideos. However......

[Iliena] "I have no intention of killing anyone just to win my love."

Amille realized that those words reflected the Princess' true heart.

[Iliena] "It was foolish of me to gather my courage so late."

Amille let out a hollow laugh and nodded.

As if Philoes had finally located the key to the cell where Hanael was confined, he spoke urgently.

[Philoes] "Here, the key is right here!"

Sweat poured down his forehead, and his hands trembled violently. The Princess was also incredibly tense, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. They had come to oppose the Crown Prince without any preparation whatsoever.

Standing as the only calm person in the room, Amille muttered quietly.

[Amille] "The three of us are a disorganized rabble."

[Philoes] "What? A rabble?"

[Amille] "Yes."

Philoes flared up in annoyance, but Princess Iliena let out a soft laugh and nodded. She felt a brief pang at Amille's self-deprecating tone. Nevertheless, she felt certain that Amille would help her.

Watching the hesitant Philoes and the expression on the Princess' face, Amille realized that everything was changing from the past.

They still lacked the courage to openly defy the Crown Prince. Yet the present differed entirely from the past. In their previous life, Princess Iliena possessed no strength to act, Philoes served as a simple servant to the Crown Prince, and he controlled Amille completely like a brainwashed puppet.

But this life was different. The Princess gathered her courage despite trembling with anxiety, Philoes cooperated with her, and she retained every memory of the past. Above all, Sierra had grown resolute and strong.

Recalling Sierra's bright smile witnessed from afar, Amille clenched her fists. Excluding the brainwashing curse that threatened to consume her mind, she was finally ready to face the Crown Prince.

---

The Princess and Philoes split up first. To prepare for any unexpected scenario, he handed the dungeon key to Amille.

As he did so, he claimed he would handle the Crown Prince himself. When she asked exactly how he intended to handle it, he firmly declared that she should trust him, wearing an expression that inspired absolutely no confidence.

I suppose he can buy at least five minutes.

Though a bitter taste filled her mouth, she quickly retrieved the key. Pulling the ring from her pocket, she moved forward and finally stood before Hanael.

Hello, Auntie!

Amille recalled Hanael from the first life. Indeed, the current Hanael remained incredibly lovely, except for her skin, which had grown cold like a wax doll. Warmth radiated from the cheek of the living child as Amille's trembling hand gently caressed it with infinite tenderness.

This is the real Hanael.

This was the small child, Hanael, bound in the same state as the past. Amille raised a trembling hand to stroke her hair. Lying perfectly still with eyes tightly shut as if dead, the little child looked entirely alive.

She lowered her gaze, her lips trembling violently.

[Amille] "......My baby, Hanael."

Her trembling voice escaped into the air alongside a ragged breath. Panting heavily, Amille barely managed to clear her head. There was absolutely no time to indulge in sentimentality.

My baby isn't dead, is she?

Perhaps the past served as a trauma, or perhaps it was because she knew the Crown Prince's cruelty. Amille couldn't determine which it was, but sudden anxiety gripped her over whether Hanael was still alive.

She placed a finger beneath the child's nose. A faint, steady breath brushed against her skin. It was a living Hanael. The very Hanael whom she could protect and rescue. Gripping Hanael's hand tightly, Amille closed her eyes. It was time to draw the magic circle to teleport Hanael outside.

Drawing a circle, placing a triangle inside it...... Slowly, ensuring absolute success even if Amille died right here.

At that exact moment, a sharp sense of wrongness struck her, and she opened her eyes wide. A faint smile touched the lips of Hanael, who still held her hand.

Instantly, an intense agony ripped through her mind, as if a bird were devouring her brain. The pain felt as though her entire head were being pecked away.

Simultaneously, someone gripped her shoulder viciously.

[Prince] "Amille?"

The husky voice invaded her mind. The voice that had tacitly dominated her until now resonated like an auditory hallucination. Amille slowly turned her stiff body to look back.

[Prince] "What are you doing, Amille?"

A chilling glare and sharp eyes met her. His hand gripped her shoulder with a powerful pressure that threatened to crush her body.

Amille turned her stiff neck. The Crown Prince glared back with a demonic expression. It was clear the prince had caught her trying to rescue Hanael. In that case, what she needed to do was......

[Amille] "This child."

[Prince] "......"

[Amille] "It is clear this child possesses mana, so you must extract it slowly, Your Highness."

As the situation took a dark turn, the Princess managed to speak. Princess Iliena, who had rushed into the room to restrain the Crown Prince, froze. Failing to regain her composure, she bit her lip hard and called out to Amille urgently.

[Iliena] "What on earth does that mean, Amille?"

Even though the Princess trembled violently, looking at Amille as if staring at a traitor, Amille remained silent. She merely stared at the Crown Prince, as if awaiting his judgment.

[Prince] "Ah, Amille."

The mad smile spread across his lips.

[Prince] "Of course, Amille. That was it, wasn't it? My loyal subject came here to verify it personally for my sake."

He chuckled as he swept his gaze down Amille's figure. It was a satisfied smile, matching someone looking at a puppet completely bound by his brainwashing curse.

[Prince] "Since you are my dog, you naturally obey my will."

Realizing the situation had taken a dark turn, Princess Iliena managed to speak.

[Iliena] "......Do you intend to slaughter someone? A child of the Duke......"

Her words remained unfinished, as he cut her off ruthlessly.

[Prince] "Shut your mouth, Princess. Or rather, my sister."

Amille merely stared at the Princess.

As Amille smiled faintly, the Princess looked entirely convinced that she had been deceived. Trembling violently with a sense of betrayal, she whispered toward Amille.

[Iliena] "How...... how could you......"

Yet that was all. Under the Crown Prince's overwhelming presence, even the Princess could say nothing more.

She spoke up to provide an escape route for the Princess.

[Amille] "The Princess didn't intend to betray you either, Your Imperial Highness. She merely felt a shard of sympathy."

The Princess remained silent, malice filling her gaze.

Amille watched with a cold expression as the Princess shook violently like someone confronting a traitor. Though she trembled with betrayal, she spoke no further, clearly wishing to avoid death.

After all, one must survive to plan for the future. Retaining a mocking smile on her lips, she addressed the Prince.

[Amille] "......Isolate the Princess, Your Imperial Highness."

[Prince] "Why?"

He removed his hand from Amille and let out a soft laugh, stroking the Princess' silky hair. Watching the Princess bite her lip with a face full of malice, murderous intent flared within him.

[Amille] "Because she might rebel. Naturally, executing her is out of the question."

His eyes narrowed.

[Prince] "Why is execution out of the question?"

[Amille] "Your Highness, His Majesty the Emperor is still alive. Would he not fly into a rage?"

[Prince] "Ah...... Right. He is 'still' alive."

He wiped the rage from his face and nodded slowly.

Amille spoke the absolute truth. He had an imperial father who turned a blind eye to his actions—at least for now. The Princess needed to stay alive.

[Prince] "Confine the Princess to the Rose Mansion, Philoes."

[Philoes] "That is......"

[Prince] "Do it without another word."

Philoes lowered his gaze. The Crown Prince had already discovered the Princess' true intentions. He couldn't understand exactly what Amille intended.

Creeeak. The door shut.

Even then, Hanael remained sitting perfectly still, bound like a wax doll. Amille left her behind in the cell and stepped out.

In that cold, chilling space, Hanael's mana would be devoured. Yet this didn't mean Amille had abandoned her. Frankly, not everything would unfold according to the Prince's desires. Because......

That child is not the real Hanael.

Amille recalled the Crown Prince isolating Hanael and barely breathed a sigh of relief. A secret remained that the Princess, trembling with a sense of betrayal, didn't know, but she did. Not only was it not the real Hanael......

It isn't even a human.

It was a doll filled with a sinister malice. Though incredibly detailed, the Crown Prince would eventually realize the truth.

It must be a doll.

Amille had launched a rescue operation believing it to be the real Hanael. She had come close to exposing her plans, but it was fortunate she recognized the truth immediately. Had it been otherwise, she would have risked her own life.

Did Sierra perhaps foresee all of this?

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