“Anna, what do you think?” Leona looked at Anna and asked in a soothing tone.
Anna shook her head. “There's no need to ask me. You are free, Leona. The book is what my mother left for you, so just take it, regardless of whether you choose to rescue Grant.”
She did not try to dissuade her, for she had already seen into Leona's heart.
Leona casually flipped through the leather-bound book. When she saw its contents, her pupils shrank abruptly. If she had been wearing a heart rate monitor, her heart rate would have probably spiked in a straight line.
She quickly snapped the book shut, forcing herself to calm her racing heart.
“I agree.”
Anna was the most astonished. Over the past few days, she had come to understand Leona's personality very well.
Once Leona decided to do something, no amount of talking could change her mind. Yet, Leona had changed her decision in an instant. What on earth was written in that book that could alter her mind?
“Leona, you don't have to...” Croll still wanted to dissuade her.
Although Leona's choice delighted her, she still felt guilty. The girl was a total stranger to her; there was no need to take such a massive risk for the sake of a single book.
“Say no more. I've already agreed. Just tell me the plan—where Grant is locked up and when we act,” Leona said firmly.
Croll's concerns were unnecessary. This book was well worth taking the risk for Leona.
“Thank you, Leona,” Milan thanked her from the bottom of her heart, the weight finally lifted from her mind.
“Thank you,” Croll murmured in a soft voice, her head hanging very low.
Her heart grew complex at last—joy, helplessness, confusion... all sorts of emotions twined together. At this moment, even Anna found it a bit difficult to read her.
“What about you, Princess?” Leona teased. Whether Anna thanked her or not didn't matter; she had already received equal value in return. If not for her thick skin, she might have felt overwhelmed by their gratitude.
After all, to her, this was simply a transaction.
Anna, however, took it seriously. She stood up with polished grace.
Curtsying slightly and resting a hand on her chest, her bright eyes shimmering, she said, “Leona, on behalf of Grant, my late mother, and myself, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Anna will never forget this kindness. I will surely repay you in the future, I swear it in the name of the Princess of the Kingdom of Ferent.”
Just as Anna finished her elaborate sequence of grand gestures, Croll prepared to follow suit.
Seeing that her little joke had escalated too far, Leona immediately caught Croll's body just as she was about to kneel down.
“Save the thanks for after I rescue Grant,” she said hurriedly.
If things kept going like this, wouldn't it be hard to face them if she failed to rescue Grant?
After much earnest persuasion, Leona finally managed to break free from the thanking ritual.
As for the plan to rescue Grant, whether it was Anna, Milan, or Croll, each of them had an elaborate process in mind. It seemed the three had been plotting this for a very long time.
In the end, they settled on Milan's proposal, as her plan was much more prudent than the other two's.
The four of them squatted harmoniously on the ground, watching Milan draw and write on the dirt with a tree branch.
“The dungeon where Grant is held lies beneath the castle, right under the Throne Room. The only way inside is down a stone staircase behind the tapestry in the Throne Room's side corridor. But security there is tight: four guards are stationed permanently, and another six guards patrol nearby in shifts, two per group.”
Milan explained while sketching the layout on the ground.
Leona listened attentively, afraid of missing a single detail, while mentally simulating the scenario.
“Ten guards? That many?” Leona gasped in surprise.
“Not only that, they are all well-trained, experienced soldiers who have seen battle. Charging in by force is completely out of the question,” Milan continued.
Croll nodded in agreement; otherwise, she would have stormed in alone long ago.
“Right, to get into the dungeon, we'll also need keys,” Anna suddenly interjected. Although Milan knew the layout around the dungeon, she had never been inside even once.
Anna, however, was able to move freely at night and had visited the dungeon more than once.
The critical problem was that Grant also disappeared at night. To take Grant away, they had to wait until the next day, but on the next day, the guards would also appear right on time.
This made it completely impossible for her to complete the task of rescuing Grant alone.
“These are the keys to the main dungeon door, the key to Grant's cell door, and the key to the chains binding Grant.” Anna reached under the stone table, dug into the dirt, pulled out a ring of keys, and displayed them to everyone.
The shock of the three could no longer be expressed in words.
“Your... Your Highness, how did you get these keys?” Milan could not help asking.
“Can I not answer?” Anna did not make up an excuse, but she did not want Milan and Croll to know about what happened at night. She did not want to frighten them.
Leona, seeing through everything, could not help smirking. It seemed the beautiful princess turned into a greedy thief once night fell.
She was just surprised that even though the keys had gone missing, the guards hadn't made a fuss.
But thinking carefully, they probably didn't dare speak of it. As long as the prisoner remained, the King wouldn't do anything to them, but if the King learned the keys were missing, who could guarantee what their fate would be?
Seeing that Anna did not wish to answer, both Milan and Croll tactfully refrained from pressing further.
“I can disguise myself as the King or the Queen to go in, but how am I supposed to bring Grant out?” Leona suddenly asked at this point.
This was the most difficult part of the whole plan.
Milan seemed to have anticipated this long ago. She looked at Anna beside her, then at Croll.
“The assassin has made the palace security much tighter, but we can turn that to our advantage. Your Highness, Croll, Leona cannot do this alone. I will need your help,” Milan said after a moment of silence.
“Milan, this is our business; there's no such thing as 'help.' Ask for whatever you need,” Anna said in a gentle tone, taking Milan's hand.
“You may order Croll as you wish,” Croll said seriously, her gaze resolute.
Before Milan had even finished speaking, Leona had already guessed her idea.
“You mean using the assassin incident to lure the guards away?” Leona murmured while rubbing her chin with her index finger, pondering.
This plan was highly feasible. Anna was the princess after all, so the guards couldn't ignore her. As for the assassin, Leona reckoned Milan intended for Croll to play the part.
Although it would be tough for Croll to deal with so many people, luring them away was completely different from a frontal assault.
A frontal assault meant facing many opponents at once, but luring them away was mostly about running. Even if many people pursued her, their speeds wouldn't stack together.
“Exactly,” Milan agreed with a nod, turning to look at Croll. “Croll, could I trouble you to pretend to be the assassin? Among us, only your skills are good enough to escape from so many guards.”
Just as Leona had guessed.
Croll readily agreed. After all, the person to be rescued was her father.
“However, the guards won't be stupid enough to all rush off to chase the assassin; some will definitely stay behind. Leona, how many can you handle?” Milan asked, shifting her attention back to Leona.
“Me?” Leona glanced down at her underdeveloped body and said awkwardly, “If I'm lucky, tomorrow I might be able to take on five.”
Of course, that was on the premise that she got her hands on the King's scepter.
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