After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

"I... am the princess of this country, the heir to the throne, and the last remnant of the Arte family. I will not give up the throne, nor will I give it to you!"

As she spoke, Heidi took a step back and kicked the broken piece of the coffee table away. It hit the defenseless Duke Brian directly, knocking him to the ground along with his unpleasant face.

"master!!"

Rufus quickly stepped forward to help Brian up, and Brian was also mad because of Heidi's reaction.

"It hurts, it hurts—damn girl, you're not going to take my toast! I think you really don't understand your current situation and are still struggling in vain!!"

situation?

Heidi smiled.

Aize died, his confidants betrayed him, and the rest of his teammates were far away in the Anlin Plain.

I am isolated and helpless.

But am I going to be isolated and helpless from today on?

From the day his father placed the crown on his head with his bloody hands, from the day his respectable brothers and sisters were brought back in coffins, he was isolated and helpless.

Even with Aize, or Brian before, he was just using them and never really opened up to them.

I have always been alone.

His only purpose was to preserve his throne at all costs—to preserve all that was left of his family.

So, the situation has never changed.

Heidi sneered:

"I am struggling. I have always been struggling. I will continue to struggle and continue to struggle in this position. If you want my throne, come and take it yourself!!?"

Heidi looked around and her eyes fell on a set of decorative knight armor in the corner - the broadsword on it was the only weapon she could use.

He immediately rushed over.

The two guards wanted to stop her, but the adult male in heavy armor was no match for Heidi's petite body and was knocked away and fell to the ground.

Heidi took advantage of the situation and grabbed the sword, then raised it against the guards surrounding her.

"Have you forgotten that I'm not just a princess, but also a genuine God-chosen hero? You think you can deal with me with these worthless people? You're not worthy!!"

From a rational point of view, Heidi's best option now is to rush towards the window and wait for an opportunity to break out.

But she didn't want to do that.

Here, Brian, the shameful traitor, must pay the price.

A brave warrior who has entered a combat state is a great threat even if he does not have the armor and weapons bestowed by God.

The guards surrounded Heidi and cornered her, but no one dared to step forward easily.

Same thing with Heidi.

The two sides entered into a state of confrontation.

She raised the corner of her mouth and said provocatively:

"What? Aren't you going to take my throne? Why don't you dare to move? Do you think you can rest easy after killing Aize? I'm not... the same as that guy..."

Before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt dizzy.

Similar to the previous one, but much more intense.

My head was splitting with pain, my vision was blurry, my heart was beating violently as if it was about to explode, and cold sweat was pouring out uncontrollably, soaking my clothes in almost an instant.

"What... this—"

The strength was rapidly draining away, replaced by an extremely intense feeling of fatigue and unbearable pain that spread rapidly throughout the body.

The weapon that had just been obtained fell to the ground with a clang and bounced to the side.

Heidi was unable to support her body and fell to one knee on the ground.

"You...did...what..."

Covering her chest, she raised her head with difficulty and saw Brian's smug smile.

"What did you do? Hahahahaha, what an idiot! You didn't really think that I didn't find a way to deal with your Hero's Divine Protection?"

As he spoke, he pulled out an empty small glass bottle from his pocket and shook it in front of Heidi.

Heidi understood immediately.

"Tea... that cup of tea just now... you... uh——"

The pain intensified and slowly spread throughout my body.

Every muscle, every organ, every bone, and every blood vessel screamed in agony as if being gnawed by flesh-eating worms.

For Heidi, who has the inherent pain reduction in the Hero's Protection, such empathy is something she has never experienced before.

Even thinking is becoming numb little by little.

"Uh--"

Soon, Heidi could no longer maintain the kneeling position on one knee and had to support herself with all fours to prevent herself from falling completely to the ground.

The cold sweat that kept flowing out had soaked the carpet beneath him.

Brian, who thought he had succeeded, walked over with a smug look on his face:

"You know, Princess, the potion you just drank was made by the witch clan specifically for heroes. Even the repairing power of the hero's blessing cannot purify it... No, quite the opposite..."

As he spoke, he bent down so that he could better appreciate Heidi's painful expression.

"Every time the protection tries to repair your body, the poison penetrates deeper into your flesh, causing even deeper pain that will never subside."

Heidi had to use all her strength to even lift her head.

She gritted her teeth and glared at Brian who was so close to her:

"You...actually...actually...colluded with the demons?"

"Hmph, didn't Princess Princess also teach and collude with the heroes? She even became a hero herself. So what's wrong with me borrowing a little power from the demons?"

You opened it first.

"However, Your Highness, there is no need to worry too much. This poison has an antidote, and once taken, it will take effect immediately without any side effects."

As he spoke, he took out another small bottle from his pocket, which contained some rose-colored transparent liquid.

"This is the antidote. As long as Your Highness signs the two documents just now, I will give it to you immediately. Not only can it end your suffering, but it can also save your life. Why not?"

As he spoke, the blue-haired butler took out two identical documents and placed them on the ground in front of Heidi along with a pen.

"Um...I—"

The pain was so intense that Heidi's vision began to flicker.

After thinking for a while, she reached out her trembling hand and picked up the pen.

Chapter 97 Death Struggle

Seeing Heidi pick up the pen, Duke Brian was very proud and said with a smile:

"That's right, Your Highness, if you had cooperated earlier, wouldn't there be so much trouble? You'd have suffered so much in vain."

"I……"

Heidi looked at the pen in her hand, breathing heavily, but did not sign for a long time, as if she was thinking about something.

Brian curled his lips in displeasure, then put on a disgusting smile and continued hypocritically:

"Princess, what are you still hesitating about? Even if you don't sign here, won't you be driven from the throne the same way when the Dukes' Alliance forces you to abdicate?"

"Sign now and give me the throne. I will also, for the sake of our blood relationship, ensure that you can continue to enjoy wealth and glory in the future. What's wrong with that?"

"..."

Heidi was trembling.

Not only because of the extreme physical pain, but also the psychological pressure.

After hesitating for a moment, she held the pen and brought the trembling tip close to the paper in front of her.

The smile on Brian's face grew deeper.

Then--

“You…die!!!”

The extremely weak Heidi suddenly jumped up from the ground and knocked Brian to the ground. While pressing her knee on his chest, she raised the pen in her hand high and stabbed it directly into Brian's face.

"Ah ah ah ah ah--"

A heart-wrenching scream.

The tip of the pen pierced Brian's right eye, and blood mixed with black ink splattered out, splashing on Heidi's body and mixing with her cold sweat.

I wanted to stick the pen directly into this old bastard's brain through his eye socket.

But just this one jump completely drained all of Heidi's remaining strength, and she was unable to make even the smallest movement.

“Let go of the master!!”

Rufus, the butler, reacted immediately and gathered his magic power, shooting out a ball of light that hit Heidi right in the middle.

Heidi, who didn't have time to make up for it, was knocked away and fell heavily against the wall, then slipped to the ground.

Under normal circumstances, this level of attack can't even break Heidi's defense.

But now, the effect was extremely significant. As soon as she landed on the ground, she spat out a mouthful of blood.

But surprisingly, there was no pain - compared to the toxins in the body, this was not even an itch.

But Brian's situation is a bit miserable.

“Ah ...

Covering his injured eye, he rolled over on the ground, his miserable wails making it seem as if he was the one who was poisoned.

Rufus quickly went up and held him down:

"Master, don't move! I'll treat you right away!"

As the magic power gathered, green light shone into Brian's eyes.

Under its irradiation, the bleeding quickly stopped and the pain subsided.

But eyes that have been blinded cannot be restored.

Brian got up from the ground, looked at his blind eyes in the mirror, and trembled uncontrollably.

And then, of course, got even angrier.

"You damn bitch!!!"

He rushed to Heidi who was lying on the ground, raised his foot and kicked her hard in the abdomen.

"Woo——"

Heidi, who was already injured, suffered another blow and curled up into a ball, unable to move.

But he still stared at Brian with angry eyes, showing no sign of giving in.

This time, Brian was completely out of control.

"You filthy beast! I gave you a chance, but you turned your back on me! You even blinded me! Die, die, die!"

"Why the hell don't you understand? Your damn royal family is dead! It was dead the day your parents died! You're just wasting everyone's time!"

"Your damn father is the same! He was so badly injured! He was clearly beyond saving! But he still insisted on giving you the crown! If he had died on the battlefield, I would have already obtained the throne!!"

While venting his emotions with words frantically, Brian's kicks fell all over Heidi's body like a storm.

Face, back, chest, arms, waist, legs.

Everything, every touchable part, was covered with footprints, and the place looked even more dusty and messy than before he had washed and dressed up.

But Heidi was still staring at Brian.

There was even a hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth.