Chapter 170
Chapter 170
The Mouse Head Chef’s paw was facing Wei Sen, so from her angle, the mark looked like a smiling face. But viewed from the angle someone would use to read a Watch, it was a crescent moon, identical to the one on the Raven’s leg!
There weren’t supposed to be any Ravens in the Red Queen’s Castle. Any that were spotted had to be expelled!
Yet the Head Chef bore the same mark as a Raven that should not even exist.
That mark must represent some kind of secret identity, and it likely granted its bearers special abilities. Otherwise, there was no explaining how a mere Head Chef possessed the same authority as a Queen or a knight to command soldiers.
Then there were the fingers specifically mentioned in the rules.
Wei Sen remembered that in the movie Alice in Wonderland, the White Queen could use magic. She had even used a dried finger as an ingredient while brewing a potion!
What if… all of this was connected to the White Queen?
Wei Sen slowly moved toward the door as the footsteps of the Playing Card Soldiers drew closer.
It was only a theory, so now she had to test it!
With that thought, she opened the door and dashed out before the Playing Card Soldiers could reach it.
“Quick! There she is!” The Mouse spotted Wei Sen and hurriedly redirected the Playing Card Soldiers.
The Playing Card Soldiers pursued her relentlessly. Wei Sen ran at full speed toward the first-floor corridor.
She reached the hallway lined with countless picture frames.
“Help me!” Wei Sen shouted as she charged inside.
The next second, everything around her fell silent. The pounding footsteps of the pursuing Playing Card Soldiers abruptly vanished.
Wei Sen stopped with her hands on her hips, panting for breath.
This place really was the perfect hiding spot.
“Is that all you’re capable of?” The voice of the man who claimed to have once been the White Queen’s Knight rang out.
Wei Sen said, “Don’t any of you know about the Red Queen’s Giant Transformation?”
“Giant Transformation? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Wei Sen hadn’t expected that none of them had ever seen the Red Queen turn into a giant.
Then again, without witnessing it firsthand, no one would ever imagine that the Red Queen could transform into something like that.
The rules had also stated that if night fell, everyone had to return to their rooms without peeking outside, or immediately lie face down and close their eyes.
If the Red Queen hadn’t voluntarily assumed that form just now, they never would have learned about it either.
After all, anyone who broke that rule and saw the Red Queen in that form would inevitably die.
And it was obvious that none of these people had died from breaking that particular rule.
Speaking of which, Wei Sen suddenly remembered something else she had discovered while searching Areas Three and Four of the castle with Little Bear…
“I heard the Red Queen keeps an Evil Dragon,” Wei Sen said.
“That’s right! They say the Evil Dragon can swallow the sun and moon. Whenever it appears, the skies churn and no one survives!
“Wait. Don’t tell me you’re trying to use the Evil Dragon as an excuse to cover up your failure and cowardice?!”
“First some Giant Transformation, and now an Evil Dragon. You’re nothing but a liar!”
“Liar! Liar!”
“A liar should stay here and keep us company!”
“Stay forever!”
The clamor rose and fell around her once more.
Wei Sen swept a cold gaze across the corridor. “Someone else here is the real liar! If one of you hadn’t informed the Red Queen, my plan would never have been disrupted.”
“Impossible! You’re the liar!”
“That’s right! You’re the liar!”
“You won’t fool us again!”
Wei Sen raised her voice. “Then tell me this: Have any of you actually seen the Evil Dragon?”
The corridor fell silent once more.
Yesterday, while Wei Sen and Little Bear were searching for a way to save the Mad Hatter, she had also taken the opportunity to study the castle’s layout and gather information about the Evil Dragon.
If she wanted to chop off the Red Queen’s Head and escape alive, that Evil Dragon would inevitably pose an enormous threat.
But after searching yesterday, Wei Sen had discovered that there was no Evil Dragon in the castle. In fact, the castle did not even have the means to keep one.
Little Bear had told her in no uncertain terms that everyone knew the Red Queen kept an Evil Dragon, and that the beast was imprisoned somewhere in one of the castle’s towers.
But Wei Sen had searched the entire castle without finding any trace of the Evil Dragon.
That was why she suspected the Evil Dragon might not exist at all.
Perhaps the true object of everyone’s fear had never been the rumored Evil Dragon, but the Red Queen herself!
She ate fingers to transform into a giant, then killed anyone who posed a threat to her.
But the ruler of a kingdom turning into a monster was no small matter.
The Red Queen knew she could never let her subjects discover the truth. Otherwise, they would despise her even more, and the White Queen would have the perfect opportunity to strike!
What was more, growing gigantic was bound to come with repercussions and a price. That was another reason she had to keep it secret.
So she had fabricated the lie about the Evil Dragon to make everything seem more plausible.
“The so-called Evil Dragon is nothing but a lie invented by the Red Queen! I saw it with my own eyes. After she ate the dried hand, her entire body rapidly grew gigantic. Knowing this secret isn’t a bad thing for us. We may even be able to find another way to deal with the Red Queen!
“As for why I’ve come to you now, first, I need you to find the informant. Otherwise, once I leave this place, it will report me again, and I’ll be as good as dead. Then you’ll lose your only hope as well!
“Second, I have a question for you, White Queen’s Knight.”
The corridor remained silent for a long time before the Knight finally spoke. “Very well… I’ll trust you one more time. Leave the informant to me. What is your question?”
“Do you know what a Moon Mark represents? It isn’t shaped like an ordinary moon. The notch beneath it has a wavy pattern,” Wei Sen asked.
“A moon with a wavy pattern!” The man paused, then said, “Look at the first painting to your left.”
Wei Sen turned toward it. The lines within the painting began to twist and shift, gradually forming the shape of a moon.
“Does it look like this?” the man asked.
“Yes.” Wei Sen’s expression turned grave.
The marks on the Raven’s leg and the Mouse’s paw looked exactly like that.
The man slowly explained, “This mark appears on those who have been enchanted by the White Queen. Where did you see it?”
Wei Sen narrowed her eyes slightly. Just as she’d suspected…
Every strange occurrence in Red Queen’s Castle was connected to the White Queen!
The Ravens in the castle were acting under the White Queen’s orders. Why had she sent them there?
To spy on the Red Queen?
Or did they have some other purpose?
The Head Chef Mouse was also one of the White Queen’s agents. Everything the Red Queen ate each day passed through the Head Chef’s hands, which meant the dried human fingers had most likely been offered to the Red Queen at the White Queen’s instruction.
Wei Sen refused to believe that someone capable of plotting all this and treating her own elder sister this way could possibly be a good person.
The White Queen’s objective was not difficult to guess.
There could only be one ruler in this world. The Red Queen was the current victor in their battle for the throne, so naturally, the White Queen would stop at nothing to seize it back.
The White Queen’s forces were weaker than the Red Queen’s, which was why she had gradually infiltrated Red Queen’s Castle and targeted the Red Queen herself!
She was making the Red Queen increasingly unstable and irritable, fueling more malicious rumors about her and eroding the people’s support. In the end…
Even if the White Queen never acted personally, the people of this world would rally behind her and overthrow the Red Queen’s tyranny themselves.
“I understand now. Thank you. Let me out. I know how to kill the Red Queen,” Wei Sen said calmly.
The man’s voice was filled with astonishment. “Really? But it seems she’s trying to kill you right now!”
“Just wait and see.”
“Very well. Let’s see what you’re truly capable of!”