Reincarnated Princess Wishes To Avoid Death

Chapter 591

The Serpent Priestess and Citrina

Deep within the forest, a long-forgotten, abandoned castle served as the base for the Chaos Serpents.

That day, an unexpected guest came to visit the High Priestess of the Chaos Serpents, Valentina Remno.

Valentina Remno, who was sitting at the table and enjoying her tea, flashed a sweet smile at the man, Ka Kunrou, who had just arrived.

“It’s been a while, Kunrou. I didn’t think you would return, so I’m a little surprised.”

“Oh my! High Priestess, that’s quite harsh. ‘This is your home and you can return whenever you want.’ You sent me off with such warm words. Where is that version of you from back then? ”

“Hehehe. As usual, Kunrou, your memory is hilariously wrong. It was the Fire Clan village that sent you off. Of course, you’re welcome here, however…”

Valentina then shifted her gaze to the spot next to the Kunrou.

“It’s bad to treat a girl so terribly…”

Ahead of her gaze, there was a girl seated in the chair.

Citrina Etoile Tearmoon, the girl with lovely honey-coloured hair and daughter of the Yellowmoon House—one of the four main ducal houses of the Tearmoon Empire—had her slender arms bound behind her back, preventing her from moving. She squirmed uncomfortably, unable to speak. Her mouth was gagged painfully, and she was blindfolded.

“I feel sorry for the way she has been treated.”

Kunrou looked displeased as Valentina reproached him.

“Can you please stop that? Don’t lump me in with Jem and Barbara. If it were up to them, they might resort to violence for revenge. I’m not doing this to be malicious. If she were to bite her tongue, it could be quite troublesome.”

“There’s no need to worry about that. The girl is well aware that if she dies, it will cause trouble for Princess Mia.”

Kunrou tilted his head in bewilderment, looking dubious when he heard this.

“Is that so? But this girl won’t eat anything, and I have to force her to drink water. I thought she had given up on this world and was seeking to die.”

To support his words, a slight stain was visible on the collar of Citrina’s nightdress.

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“You still have a poor understanding of people. Perhaps she thought you might poison her. Didn’t you use some questionable drugs to render her unconscious?”

Valentina sighed in exasperation and quietly stood up, her long black hair swaying beautifully.

She stood next to Citrina, who was seated in a chair, leaned over, and carefully removed the cloth gag from her mouth.

Perhaps it had been painful, as Citrina let out a small sigh when the gag was removed.

Next, the blindfold was removed. Since her eyes had been covered for so long, Citrina squinted as everything appeared too bright, then looked around and frowned.

“Where am I?”

She asked in a hoarse voice after a small cough.

“This is one of the Chaos Serpents’ bases—an abandoned castle deep in the forest, not far from the Remno Kingdom.”

After speaking in a melodic, smooth tone, the Serpent Priestess Valentina smiled brightly.

“And I am Valentina. Valentina Remno, the Chaos Serpent Priestess.”

“…huh?”

Citrina had been listening absentmindedly, but her eyes widened in shock as she grasped the meaning of what had been said.

“Oh no… I went to the trouble of blindfolding her, but if you reveal so much, I might not be able to let her go home alive.”

Valentina shook her head at Kunrou, who shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Kunrou, I told you to not say anything that would scare the girl. You went to the trouble of capturing her alive, so I have no intention of killing her needlessly.”

She spoke in a gentle tone and then looked at Citrina.

“I’ll make good use of you while you’re still alive. I’ve just thought of a good idea.”

Suddenly, as if noticing something, Valentina traced a finger along Citrina’s slender neck. Citrina flinched when Valentina’s fingers caught on a thin string around her neck.

“Oh… what’s this?” Valentina asked, pulling on the string.

“Ah…”

Citrina let out a small sound. Ignoring it, Valentina revealed what was hanging from the string—a small horse amulet.

“Hehe, well, well. Such a cute little trinket—definitely not what one would expect from someone who betrayed the Serpents.”

Valentina playfully tugged the string, breaking it, and then toyed with the horse amulet in her hand.

“N-no, please… give it back.”

Citrina’s voice was panicked, but Valentina laughed, clearly enjoying herself.

“Hehehe, no.”

Her tone was light, as if she were teasing a child, as she dangled the horse amulet.

“I won’t give it back because it seems important to you. If you have this, I won’t be able to break your spirit.”

She looked at Citrina with cold, serpent-like eyes.

But her expression quickly changed, and her gaze turned mischievous and innocent.

“Just kidding! The reason I won’t give this back is because I plan to use it to summon that girl.”

“That girl…?”

“Of course, I mean the Wisdom of the Empire, Mia Luna Tearmoon.”

Valentina then handed the horse amulet to Kunrou.

“Until everything is ready, you’ll have to stay here. By the way, can you manage to change clothes and take care of yourself? If you’d prefer, I can have someone look after you, though they might be a bit rough.”

Valentina glanced over at Kunrou as she said this. Noticing this, Citrina frantically shook her head.

Seeing her pale, frightened face, Valentina reached out and gently caressed her cheek.

“Your frightened expression is quite cute… Hehe. But half of it is an act, isn’t it?”

She looked directly into Citrina’s eyes.

“Even while you were blindfolded and gagged, you listened closely to our conversation, didn’t you? You were carefully considering how to extract information and create a favourable situation for yourself. You’re probably even thinking now that you’ll be able to avoid being watched, right? You’re trying to lull us into a false sense of security with your frightened demeanour, aren’t you?”

In an instant, Citrina’s expression went blank. But soon, it transformed into a smile—a sweet, saccharine, flower-like smile.

“You see through everything, don’t you, High Priestess? Is it true that you can read people’s minds? And from your name, are you really royalty from the Remno Kingdom, or is that just what you want Rina to believe?”

She looked up at Valentina with a probing gaze.

“My, my, as expected of the daughter of the Yellowmoon Duke house. You have a strong heart,” Valentina said, clapping her hands and laughing.

“Yes. If I were lying about my name, it would be convenient for you. It would mean I’m trying to deceive you into taking false information back to Princess Mia. But unfortunately, I am indeed Valentina Remno, the first princess of the Kingdom of Remno.”

“Is there a reason you would tell Rina that?” Citrina tilted her head adorably.

“I could tell you… But since we’re going to have a long talk, why don’t we have a tea party? I was hoping to do this with Aima, but I think it would be nice to have a good, long chat with you as well.”

Valentina winked playfully.

“There are only crude and rough people here, so I’m starved for good company. If you entertain me, I’ll tell you anything.”

“Hehehe, I understand. I never imagined the High Priestess would invite me. I’m so honoured,” Citrina said with a sweet, perfect smile—a smile that anyone would love.

Valentina, still smiling broadly, leaned in close to Citrina’s ear and whispered.

“But before that…”

Citrina’s body tensed slightly in response. Noting this, Valentina continued in a slow, teasing tone.

“You should take a bath first. You’re a little sweaty, you know?”

“What…!?”

Citrina’s face twitched at the unexpected comment. A moment later, her cheeks flushed faintly red, a mix of shame and anger colouring her expression—a raw, unguarded emotion.

Thus, Valentina had found a foothold into the true self that Citrina hid behind the facade of a sweet smile. Like a serpent, Valentina silently slithered into that vulnerable space.

“If you stay like that, even your friends will start to dislike you.”

Despite the remark, Citrina shook her head boldly.

“That’s not true. Bel wouldn’t dislike me just because of something like this… Ah…”

Citrina raised her head and glared at Valentina. But then, realising her mistake, her face quickly filled with anxiety.

“Hehehe, I see. So, her name is Bel. This friend of yours must be very dear to you. Perhaps she’s the one who made the little horse amulet for you?”

Citrina bit her lip and fell silent, lowering her gaze to avoid meeting Valentina’s eyes.

“Haha, you’re adorably prudent. Keeping quiet to avoid leaking any more information is the right choice. It would have been even better if you could have acted like none of this bothered you at all, but you still get a passing grade.”

Citrina fell silent, squeezing her eyes shut as if trying to escape. After observing her for a moment, Valentina slowly stood up.

“I see, that friend of yours is really important to you. I understand now. You could never become a serpent. Clinging so dearly to something precious, you could never be one.”

Valentina then continued in a sing-song voice.

“Oh, the tea party. I’m really looking forward to it. Let’s have a long chat, shall we?”