“Hey, Onee-sama, I’m hungry.”
Sylphid cries out.
Tabitha ignores her, still reading her book. Her deep blue eyes like usual reveal no emotion. In fact, a bystander wouldn’t even know for sure if Tabitha enjoys reading or is even reading right now… It would merely look like she is looking at a page and flipping it whenever she so chose to.
They are near the border that splits Gallia and Tristain, at an altitude of about 3,000 meters.
As usual, Tabitha and Sylphid were on their way to Lutèce, the royal capital of Gallia.
“Oh, I see a pond. Sylphid thinks that there might be fish in it!”
Sylphid mutters to herself, not caring at all about her master who is still reading her book… Granted, the same could be said of Tabitha, who doesn’t reply.
“I’m going to land.”
Tabitha, naturally, doesn’t say a word.
Sylphid begins her steep descent, with Tabitha being thrown high into the air off of Sylphid’s back, admirably still maintaining her posture while falling from the sky.
Falling down out of the sky, Tabitha seems unperturbed… And amidst all of that, Tabitha managed to read an entire page, flipping to the next page mid air.
Bun! With a roar and a flap of her wings, Sylphid quickly accelerates her decline. In no time at all, Sylphid lands safely near the pond, which appears to be an agricultural pond built in the middle of a grassy field.
Kun-kun, Sylphid sniffs the surface of the water… And then suddenly plunges her head into the water. After shaking her head about under the water, she pulls her face out of the water with her mouth now full of fish.
Ngu, ngu, after swallowing the fish in her mouth she looks up into the sky, Tabitha still plummeting and reading her book, and then quickly casts a spell.
“Wind. Air floating in the sky. Become a soft mass and capture her.”
Ancient magic.
Suddenly, the air around Tabitha begins to warp and bend… Tabitha’s small body, which was about to slam into the ground at a speed of nearly 200 miles per hour, appears to sink into a large mass of air, causing her to actually bounce back up from the recoil.
Sylphid quickly jumps into the air and catches Tabitha by the nape of her neck, then gently puts Tabitha back onto the ground… Even then, she is still seated and reading her book.
Sylphid, frustrated now, grabs the book out of her mouth and swallows it, whole.
“Onee-sama.”
Tabitha’s cold blue eyes look up at Sylphid, who is currently glaring at her. Sylphid’s dull black eyes, that do not match her ferocious face, look down at her sharply,
“You aren’t going to lecture me today, aren’t you?”
She tells Tabitha.
“Sylphid just threw you off of her back, and plummeted to the ground all on her own. Normally you would be angry, surprised, or punish me… But instead you just kept quiet and fell? That isn’t like you.”
Sylphid lifts her paw and shakes Tabitha’s head around, who does not resist.
“Do you have anything to say?”
But instead… Tabitha just lets it happen.
“You know what? This is why that stupid younger cousin of yours does whatever she wants with you. Well, Sylphid does understand your situation I suppose… But you know what! Complain! Every time I see that stupid little girl bully you I start to feel depressed! Kiyu, kiyu!”
Sylphid begins to nibble on Tabitha’s head, which fits perfectly inside of her mouth.
At that time… A little girl who had come to gather water from the pond appears… Nothing that Sylphid was seemingly about to decapitate Tabitha’s head off, she screams.
“KIYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! A DRAGON IS ABOUT TO EAT SOMEONE!!!”
Sylphid hurriedly spits Tabitha’s head out of her mouth.
“No! I wasn’t going to eat her! I was just… Holding her head in my mouth!”
The girl can only stare blankly at Sylphid, who has suddenly started talking… Then, she screams even louder.
“TAL-, TAL-, THE DRAGON JUST TALKED!!!”
Sylphid herself began to panic at this. Grabbing Tabitha buy her cloak with her paw and throwing her onto her back, she begins to fly away.
“I spoke! I spoke in public! Mou! Kiyu kiyu!”
Tabitha, having finished her book and having nothing else to read, crosses her knees and rests her cheek on her hand… Then closes her eyes and goes to sleep.
Lutèce, the capital of Gallia.
At Petit Trois, a building in a corner of the magnificent Palace of Versailles, there the owner of the building is spending her spare time in a dishevelled outfit that one would not expect a princess to be wearing.
It is Isabella, the Princess of Gallia.
There Isabella is lying down on her bed wearing only her panties and bra, playing with her long and impeccable blue hair with her fingers. Her slender body is beautiful, with features that can only be described as angelic, and yet… Despite these perfect qualities, her eyes, cold as ice, carry a sense of fear along with them.
With a voice full of arrogance, Isabella calls for her maids.
“Hey, did that doll girl arrive yet?”
The maid looks down with a troubled look on her face.
“Eh, um.. Charlotte-sama…”
Jumping off of her bed, Isabella approaches the maid and pull her ear towards her.
“You, what did you just say to me! Come on!”
“I-, I’m sorry! Isabella-sama!”
“She is nothing more than a doll! And that doll is my personal toy! Don’t you ever call her “sama” again!”
The maid, terrified, begins to bow deeply over and over again, with Isabella slapping the maid at the same time. A look of cruelty, enjoyment of the situation, begins to appear in Isabella’s eyes as she lifts the wand in her hand.
“Hiii…”
The maid steps back in fear.
In Halkeginia, magic is a symbol of both fear and admiration for those who cannot use it.
“Shall I perhaps educate you with my water magic? There is a spell I learned recently… It lets me manipulate someones mind… And make them do whatever I want them to…”
“Please forgive me, please forgive me…”
Watching the maid kneel and beg for forgiveness, Isabella’s face contorts with glee.
Just then, a sentinel announces Tabitha’s arrival.
“Doll no.7! Enter!”
The door opens, and Tabitha appears. She has the same expressionless face that completely hides what she could be thinking. Her looks are similar to Isabella’s with blue hair and blue eyes… However Tabitha is two heads shorter.
While Isabella might be taller than Tabitha, within Tabitha’s small body lies an immense amount of magical power… A fact that causes Isabella to grind her teeth in frustration. That very fact has caused many maids and servants to consider Tabitha to a a “true vessel of a princess”.
But with this mission… Not only will Isabella be able to embarrass Tabitha as much as she wants…
Isabella’s face contorts into an even more sinister grin.
She yells loudly to the maids who are watching with a worried expression.
“You girls! Get the usual stuff ready! Hurry!”
Isabella then approaches Tabitha and points to the crown that she is wearing. It is a luxurious crown made of mithril silver and encrusted with various precious stones.
“Hey, Charlotte. Would you like to try wearing this crown? The crown that could have been yours?”
Tabitha merely stares at her, not saying a word.
“You want to wear it, don’t you? I can see it written all over your face.”
Isabella takes off her crown, and in front of Tabitha puts her finger through a hole in it and twirls it around her finger.
“All you have to do is ask you know? Just say “I want to wear it” and I will let you.”
Isabella’s words cause a wave of tension to form among the maids.
“Stubborn girl like always. But that is fine. Here, you can have it.”
With that, Isabella puts the crown on Tabitha’s head, then claps her hands.
“Come on, you guys! Dress this doll up like a princess!”
In a panic, the maids grab a hold of Tabitha and begin undressing her, taking off her magic academy uniform shirt and skirt. Tabitha does as she is told, and stands perfectly still. Then, a dress is brought out and Tabitha is helped into it.
A makeup artist approaches Tabitha’s face and begins to apply a beautiful set of makeup to her face.
In just a few minutes… A princess has appeared before everyone. Tabitha’s small body is adorned with luxurious clothes and jewellery, revealing the hidden nobility that had been previously covered.
But… Even now, her eyes are empty and devoid of any emotion.
That emptiness turns the beautiful Tabitha into something… Mysterious, or creepy.
A sigh leaks out from the maids looking at Tabitha’s noble appearance.
“Hmph. Well, I do have to admit, it suits you, huh?”
Isabella grabs at Tabitha’s head, and turns it around to look at her.
“Well, dress up time is over. Now I am going to explain the mission to you.”
With those words, the maids take their cue and leave the princess’s room.
Once Isabella confirms that the two are alone, she calls for a mage. A voice responds from a non-distinct corner of the room, “you wanted to see me?”, and a young knight appears.
“Basso Castelmor, a member of the order of the Eastern Flowerbeds, has arrived.”
The knight does a light bow. He appears to be just a little over 20, a handsome young man with a well kept beard and a dignified appearance.
“You, put some more “makeup” on this “doll”.”
“If it is your will” Castelmor nods, and then smoothly pulls out his wand. His wand is a wonderful antique looking one, that gives off a pale glow under the light… For someone to possess such a high end antique wand as a catalyst speaks volume to his skill.
Castelmor recites a spell and points his wand at Tabitha.
And then…
Tabitha’s body begins to subtly change… Her face in particular now looks exactly like Isabella’s.
This is an advanced wind and water spell called “face change”… A spell that Tabitha has yet to master herself.
However… Despite being an advanced spell, its effect is limited.
The most it can do is change someones face. Compared to ancient magics “transform” that can completely change ones appearance, this cannot change a persons body, shape, height, etc, so it is not a particularly powerful spell. However, for the mission that Tabitha is to do… It will suffice.
Isabella grabs the glasses off of Tabitha’s face, and begins to laugh out loud.
“Ahahaha! You look just like me! I am going to go out on a trip to the country side soon… You will be my double for the time being.”
Tabitha gives a small nod. From those words alone, she seems to understand the mission.
“Well, then again you are so skinny, flat, and short that you cannot even begin to compare to my beauty… Hmm, we can at least disguise those parts of you by using high-heeled shoes and stuffing out your chest.”
Isabella begins to stroke Tabitha’s blue hair, the blue hair of the Gallian royal family so beautiful and deep blue that no dye could possibly imitate it effectively.
“You are perfect for being my double, after all. You may not be royalty anymore, but your hair colour itself makes you look like royalty after all.”
Inside of a carriage leaving the capital city for a small region about a hundred leagues to the southwest…
Isabella looks at Tabitha, who is dressed up as a princess, with satisfaction. Isabella has disguised herself as Tabitha’s maid, deceiving the other maids and servants by pretending to be a newly hired lady-in-waiting to the princess. At the thought of deceiving not only her enemies but her allies she cannot help but smile.
“This is great! No one seems to think that I am the princess! I guess my disguise skills are nothing to sneeze at.”
Unknown to her, it has more to do with her innate qualities than her disguise skills. Isabella lacks the dignity and modesty that royalty are expected to have… Thus, should she take off her crown, no one would be the wiser, a fact that Isabella doesn’t know. Right now, she is merely laughing and enjoying the situation, not a hint of royalty present.
“Well, I think it is time to tell you the entire mission.. Hey, princess, this trip is not just a stroll out of the palace. The town that we are heading to is ruled by an impudent lord named the Count of Artois. His tax payments are in arrears. On top of that, he did not show up at the palace for this years Advent festival… The worst part, however, are the rumours that he is planning a rebellion. And guess what? Recently, I was invited to a garden party at his home to celebrate his birthday.”
Isabella continues to speak while poking the crown on Tabitha’s head.
“There is no doubt in my mind that this is all just a trap. Odds are they are planning to capture me, the princess, and use me as a hostage. So, might as well take advantage of that, and use this as proof of his betrayal to the crown. What do you think? Brilliant, right? A bold plan, befitting of the Commander of the Norther Flowerbed Knights.”
Isabella looks at Tabitha, who remains quiet as usual.
“This is what it means to be clever. Just because you can use a bit of magic doesn’t mean you are clever at all!”
Tabitha remains silent.
Suddenly… Castelmor, who is sitting in front of Tabitha, smoothly pulls out his wand and points it at Tabitha.
“You are merely a body double… And you remain silent in front of the princess? Are you daring to taunt her?”
“Stop it. Castelmor. I am the one talking here.”
At Isabella’s words, the young knight sheathes his wand.
“My apologies. But I, Basso Castelmor, could not bear the insolence of this knight in her not replying to the words of my beloved princess.”
Then, he turns his eyes, glaring, to Tabitha.
“I believe her royal highness asked you if you thought that you were clever.”
Tabitha has no choice but to reply briefly.
“I don’t think so.”
Tabitha had never cared what others thought of her.
“That is right. You are merely my puppet, a piece that moves according to my commands. But… Why don’t you ever respond, or even move your eyebrows? I cant help but get irritated looking at you…”
Isabella pinches Tabitha’s cheek and lightly tugs it.
“Maybe this will change your expression a bit… I heard a rumour that the lord has hired an incredibly powerful mage, right? They are an mercenary who goes by the name “Groundwater”. Have you ever heard of them before?”
Tabitha nods. That name is well known in the Gallia underworld. A mysterious mage who can move silently like an underground stream, appearing unexpectedly, completing their mission, and disappearing again…
Neither their gender or age are known.
The only thing known is that, once you are targeted, it does not matter if you run away or what resources you have… They will complete their mission at any and all cost.
“Did you know this, Tabitha? Ground water is a user of water magic… Water magic can be used to control the body… and the mind. Groundwater is a mage whose specialty is magic that manipulates the mind… Do you think that you can still win against them?”
“I don’t know.”
Tabitha answers honestly.
“Snowstorm versus Groundwater. Wouldn’t that be an interesting fight to see?”
Isabella says in a happy voice.
Isabella’s excursion is scheduled to take two days to travel, three days to stay, and then two days to return, making it a seven day trip in total. Should someone use a dragon basket it would only take 4 hours in total, but instead the royal family chose to go by horse drawn carriage, which is a much slower method of transportation.
The guards march majestically down the road, holding the flag of the Gallian royal emblem of two intersecting staffs on it, accompanied by horse drawn carriages with attendants as well as escort soldiers in the rear. No matter where they went, citizens would like up along the streets and cheer as they pass by.
“Lady Isabella! Banzai! Long live the kin
When Tabitha, dressed as the princess, waves through a small window that is slightly ajar, the audience becomes even more excited. Isabella bursts into laughter as she watches this.
“Ahahaha! Everyone really thinks that you are the princess! Good for you, princess Tabitha!”
Tabitha continues to just wave silently.
“By the way, what is that filthy wind dragon of yours doing anyway?” When Isabella asks that Tabitha merely points to the ceiling of the carriage, or more accurately, beyond that ceiling and off into the endless blue sky.
“Hmph. I hate that wind dragon of yours. Sometimes she looks at me through the window, and I swear that she hates me. Despite being a mere beast she acts so cocky.”
Naturally Isabella does not know what Sylphid is not just a mere wind dragon, but instead a legendary mythical beast far smarter than a wind dragon. Bored, Isabella begins to run her hand through her hair, until she begins to fall asleep.
Tabitha and her guards, maids, and servants were to stay overnight at a post town along the way. With the arrival of the 100 person princess processional, the inn at said post town was filled to capacity.
Tabitha was given the most luxurious room on the second floor of the most beautiful inn in town. Isabella leads Tabitha to the front of the room,
“Look. This is your room, Sleeping in such a luxurious room must be like a dream come true for you, right? You should be grateful to me, granting you this opportunity.”
Isabella, still dressed as Tabitha’s lady-in-waiting, gathered several of her closest subordinates who knew about Tabitha’s true identity and retired to a room downstairs.
The time is now night.
Since this is a undercover mission, Tabitha cannot keep Sylphid near. Naturally, it would be troublesome if someone heard Tabitha talk or saw Sylphid near her.
When Tabitha is finally alone, the first thing she did was stare at the dress that she was wearing. The princess’s dress and her crown… Isabella had said “You want to wear it, don’t you?”. However, Tabitha’s face at the time conveyed no such desire.
What she truly wants…
“Your fathers head.”
Tabitha mutters to herself. Isabella’s father, King Joseph, was so desperate for the throne that he assassinated his own brother, Tabitha’s father.
She remembers the day well.
Her mother had gone out on a hunting trip with her father, but came back pale and covered in blood.
“where is daddy?”
Asks the young Tabitha.
“Daddy isn’t coming back.”
Replies her mother.
Tabitha’s mother had never told Tabitha why her father was killed.
However, not long after that, King Joseph, not content with just killing her father, set his sights on Tabitha herself.
One day, Tabitha and her mother were invited to a party thrown by the royal family.
Before they had left, however, Tabitha’s mother had told her to not speak at the party, and that she was to remain silent.
“Charlotte. I need you to face tomorrow… Forget about your fathers death… And me. Do not seek to avenge us.”
At the dinner party…
Luxurious dishes were lined up along countless long and beautiful tables. However, all of the nobles merely stood around, hanging their head in fear… Without warning Tabitha or her mother, they had a vague idea of what the purpose of this party was.
The only one smiling at the party was King Joseph, who was seated comfortably on his throne.
“You, why did you kill me husband?”
At this the dinner party turned into an uproar.
With these words Tabitha finally knew who her fathers enemy was… King Josephs knights moved to try and sit her mother back down.
“I am a royal consort, you may not touch me.”
The knights stood still, stunned by her spirit. At this King Joseph makes a faint smile on his face, amused at her resilience.
Tabitha’s mother turns back to King Joseph now that the guards have stepped back,
“I have disowned this child. With my husband murdered and my child disowned, with that you must be satisfied.”
Josephs faint smile grows broadly.
Perhaps taking that smile as an approval… Her mother picks up the plate of food before her, that was meant for Tabitha, and begins to eat.
The food had been laced with poison… A poison that corrupts the mind, turning the victim insane.
As a result of that… Tabitha’s mother became insane, and has shut herself with the walls of the Ragudorian mansion. The kind mother that Tabitha once knew is no longer there… Her mother no longer even recognizes her.
Tabitha closes her eyes… Closing them allows her to remember her happy days with her mother and father. Her childhood had been full of laughter and light…
With these images in her mind, she lays her small body on the luxurious bed with a canopy.
Then… A quiet singing voice begins to escape her lips.
It is a lullaby.
Whenever Tabitha was laying in bed and did not want to go to sleep yet, her mother would sing this lullaby to her.
Should Sylphid or Kirche somehow ever see the quiet and reserved Tabitha sing a lullaby, surely their eyes would pop out of their head or question her sanity.
This song is the only thing still keeping Tabitha chained to this world. Singing it brings back memories and old feelings, if only slightly. Memories of when she was happy… Days filled with laughter and joy…
As she is singing that… There is a knock at the door.
Tabitha gets up off of her bed and grabs the staff beside her.
Her expression returns to its usual coldness.
“Who?”
Upon asking, the voice of a young man responds.
“It is me. Castelmor.”
Upon opening the door, there is the young knight who had applied the “face change” spell to Tabitha.
“Why?”
Upon being asked why he is here, Castelmor carefully look around, examining the area in detail, before casting Detect Magic.
“… It appears that no one is listening on on us using magic.”
After confirming that no one was listening on on them, Castelmor removes his hat and kneels on one knee at Tabitha’s feet.
“Please allow me to protect her highness. I would like to guard you day and knight. Please, with your permission I will station a squad of men in the next room to guarantee your safety.”
Tabitha nods her head, given the situation she has no choice but to accept.
“Very well. I am not her highness, I am just a decoy.”
”No”… Castelmor shakes his head.
“Charlotte-sama will always be our true princess. All of the knight of the Eastern Flowerbed have sworn their unwavering loyalty to Charlotte. During the day I was extremely rude to you, but given the circumstances I do hope that you will forgive me. I could not allow the daughter of that usurper of royal power know what feelings were truly in my heart…”
Unknown to Tabitha, Castelmor is a knight who was indebted to her father. His attitude towards Tabitha throughout the day was nothing more than a deception meant for Isabella.
Despite having a trustworthy ally in front of her, Tabitha’s expression remains unchanging.
“I am a knight of the Northern Flowerbed. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Castelmor looks up at Tabitha with serious eyes.
“Charlotte-sama. If you are willing… We would be more than happy to help you exact revenge…”
Tabitha merely stares at Castelmor. Castelmor in response stands back up, grabs Tabitha’s hand, and kisses the back of it.
“My loyalty is unwavering to the true heir of the throne.”
After saying those words, he leaves the room.
Tabitha stood at the door for a while, but then there was a pounding coming from her window. Turning around she could see the blue scaled rhyme dragon peering intently into her room. Opening the window, Sylphid boin! Using her transformation magic Sylphid turns herself into a young girls and rolls through the open window and into Tabitha’s room.
Still butt naked, Sylphid points her finger at Tabitha.
“Onee-sama is an idiot.”
“……”
Tabitha quietly scratches her cheek.
“Even though someone appeared who is willing to fight on Onee-sama’s side, why would you ignore him and push him away?”
”Kiyu“, Sylphid says as she gently flicks Tabitha’s forehead. While Sylphid does have a point, Tabitha’s goal is to avenge her father using only her own two hands. Besides… She does not want to needlessly involve others in her own revenge. Castelmor would not be involving only himself. He would also be involving his family, too. A rebellion is a dangerous gamble with reaches far beyond those directly involved… Tabitha knew that all too well.
There was a more pivotal reason as well.
No matter what happens, Tabitha wants to be the one to avenge her father.
To do that she has to become stronger, even more so than she is now. She must read, acquire knowledge, and fight as many enemies as possible to gain more strength.
“Hey, isn’t this your opportunity to get some revenge on that hateful cousin princess? Huh, how about it? Uriuri. Hey, don’t you have anything to say at all?”
Tabitha says nothing, making Sylphid get more and more irritated, leading to Sylphid beginning to lecture Tabitha.
“To be honest, it is because you are like this that you don’t have any friends at school. Don’t you understand that? Actually, no, today I am going to tell you outright.”
However, Tabitha remains silent, and not wanting to deal with Sylphid merely points at the window.
“Mou! Fine! I am just worried about you, you know!” Sylphid shouts, jumping out of the window and returning to her original form.
Two moons line up side by side on the other side of the window.
Moonlight streams into her room… And draws shadows onto the floor from the window lattice.
Tabitha, sensing a figure approaching her rooms, snaps her eyes wide open.
Grabbing her glasses from her night stand, she puts them on.
Then, she grabs her staff and lights the candle in her candlestick.
The room is bathed in a faint light.
Suddenly…
The door is slammed open and a maid enters, pushing a tea cart with a rattle. Tabitha recognizes this maid.
– She is one of the attendants that had joined the convoy.
As Tabitha watches, the maid grabs a teapot from the tea cart and begins making tea.
Looking at the magical clock on the bed side table, it is currently 2am.
What is a maid doing here at this hour?
“Here.”
Says the maid, handing Tabitha a cup of tea. When Tabitha took the cup, she looks straight at the maid and merely murmurs:
“Groundwater.”
The maid smiles.
“You know me well.”
Tabitha smells the tea… It doesn’t smell particularly suspicious, but… It is a tea from a mage who specializes in water magic. It is impossible to know what it is made of.
“It is just a simple tea, there is nothing wrong with it. I am merely serving you some tea of my own volition.”
“Are you kidnapping me?”
Asks Tabitha.
Groundwater pulls out a dagger and a rope from his pocket.
“Yes. That is the mission I received from my client after all.”
“IS your client the Count of Artois?”
Tabitha names the nobleman that is planning on visiting.
Groundwater merely smiles.
“Who knows? I cannot tell you… Now. If possible, I would like to kidnap you quietly. It is not by hobby to make a fuss during my work. Besides, I don’t want to act violent towards someone as prestigious as her Royal Highness.”
She bows politely, her dignified yet polite gestures confirming her confidence in this situation. Tabitha springs to her feet, casting a spell and waving her staff.
“Lana Del Winde.”
The air before Tabitha’s eyes bulges and distorts.
A huge mass of air forms and begins to attack groundwater who has dressed herself up as a maid.
Groundwater rolls to the right, dodging the air mass, her movements so astounding that it is hard to believe that she is a mere human. The air mass missing its target hits the wall behind her and scatters. Without hesitation, Tabitha unleashes another attack spell.
“Air Cutter”.
A razor sharp blade of air flies towards Groundwater, who again dodges the spell with amazing physical skill. The blade of wind end up hitting the floor and wall, leaving fresh gouges wherever they land.
Tabitha lowers her raised staff. Should a mage cast attack spells in quick succession, they will just end up draining their mental power in no time at all. Beneath her expressionless face, impatience is swirling. It would seem that Groundwater is no ordinary mage, and her physical control and skill are a level far beyond average.
“Isabella-sama seems to be quite the expert mage. As expected of a member of the Gallian royal family…”
Groundwater mutters, still under the rouse that Tabitha is actually Isabella.
“Now, this way, please.”
As she says this, the maid holds out her left hand.
“Iru uotaru sureipu kuraudi.”
A pale cloud forms and envelops Tabitha’s head.
A sudden and violent drowsiness attacks Tabitha… However, Tabitha, a powerful triangle-class mage, manages to withstand the sudden mental attack.
However, that does not mean that Tabitha isn’t surprised.
“Sleep Cloud”.
It is a modern spell.
However… Groundwater does not appear to be holding a catalyst. Unlike ancient magic, modern magic utilized by nobles requires something like a book, staff, or wand.
And yet, somehow without a catalyst, the maid managed to cast magic.
“Raguz wateral isu isa winde.”
The next spell that Groundwater cast is Tabitha’s specialty, “Windy Icicle”. From that spell ice arrows fire out, aimed at Tabitha, who manages to dodge any fatal hit but is grazed in the attack. Blood begins to flow from her arm.
Groundwater give Tabitha a relaxed smile.
“It would be better if you didn’t move. I am not aiming for anything vital, but if you move I might end up hitting your heart or throat…”
What will be her next spell?
Tabitha’s mind begins to race at all the possibilities.
From her usage of Windy Icicle, the water vapour in the air has been depleted, with humidity in the room probably close to zero now. Therefore windy icicle is not a possibility.
Tabitha quickly casts a spell and a small tornado envelops her body.
This is done as odds are Groundwater would cast a wind spell next.
As Tabitha expected, Groundwater cast “air cutter”. But… It was not aimed at Tabitha. Instead, it targeted the tea cup, spilling its contents.
And then, she cast Windy Icicle.
The scattered tea freezes, a look of anxiety and fear plastered on Tabitha’s face.
At that moment,
Barin! The window shatters.
“Guh!”
A short scream escapes the maids mouth and she falls to the floor.
“Kiyu kiyu!”
It was Sylphid. She had broken through the window and stuck her head through, pushing the maid who happened to be standing by the window.
Tabitha cast a wind spell on the maid who was lying on the floor.
Tabitha sends her flying using “Wind Hammer”.
Hitting a wall the maid lost consciousness before her body even hit the ground.
“Onee-sama! Are you okay?”
Sylphid begins to scream in a panic, Tabitha does not respond but instead raises a finger to her lips.
The door, gaban! It is slammed open and a squad of guards rush in. These are not Castelmor’s guards but instead guards who had been guarding the first floor.
“It is her Highness the Princess!”
“Isabella-sama!”
Tabitha nods.
“I’m fine.”
“No, you are injured! What is going on!?”
A user of water magic quickly approaches and casts a spell on Tabitha’s bleeding arm. The mage, however, quickly notices Sylphid sticking her head through the window and her eyes widen in shock.
“Is that a wind dragon? what is it doing here?”
“I have a new pet” Tabitha responds, her face still expressionless.
The guards, used to the eccentric behaviour of the princess by now, immediately disregard Sylphid and pick up the maid that had been knocked unconscious.
“Hey! Wake up!”
The maid after being shaken awakes with a deep yawn. Then, startled at all the guards surrounding her, begins to scream.
“KIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
“Stop screaming! How dare you attack the princess!”
“At-, attack the princess? What do you mean? I was sleeping and when I woke up I was here…”
The maid seemed to know nothing about what just happened.
“Isn’t that Natalie?”
A guard, familiar with the maid, seems to recognize her face.
“Captain, this is Natalie, the princess’s tea attendant. She is one of the maids who is stationed in the room across from the Princess’s and tasked with looking after her.”
In other words, this is a maid who has been tasked with a serious role and trusted as such.
A knight who appears to be the captain of the guard stares at Natalie with a bitter expression on his face.
“Natalie, why would you attack the princess?”
At this the maid turns pale.
“Wha-, I, I um, uh…”
Natalie’s attitude and lack of memory reminds Tabitha of Isabella’s earlier words…
“Groundwater is a mage whose specialty is magic that manipulates the mind…”
“You! Come here!”
However, before the captain can roughly drag Natalie away, Tabitha stops him.
“Wait.”
“Do not worry over this, your Highness. Let us handle this, we will interrogate her and find out why she would seek to harm Her Highness.”
The guards naturally are unaware of the existence of the mercenary Groundwater that is targeting Isabella.
“This girl was being manipulated.”
“Manipulated?”
The guards look at each other, confused.
“Leave her to me.”
When the princess, or rather when Tabitha says those words, the guards nod and after gathering the ropes and knife that the maid had dropped, they leave the room, leaving only Tabitha and Natalie in Tabitha’s bedroom.
Natalie, who is well versed in Isabella’s domineering behaviour, becomes even more frightened than before and begins to tremble when Tabitha approaches her.
“Pl-, please, forgive me…”
“Do not worry. I am not going to punish you”
“Hiiii…”
Tabitha asks Natalie a question.
“Please tell me, in as much detail as possible, what you can remember. Where does your memory start?”
Natalie recalls what she can still remember. After eating her dinner, she had immediately retired to her room to sleep since all the other maids had gone to sleep as well. Then, the next things she knew… She was laying on her back in Tabitha’s room with a guard shaking her.
Judging from her story, Tabitha came to the conclusion that Groundwater must have cast a spell on her while she was sleeping.
After Tabitha finished listening to everything that Natalie can remember, she instructs Natalie to return back to her room. While Sylphid can guard her window, still…
There is the still the danger of someone close to her coming through her front door and attacking her, and there is nothing that Tabitha can do to prevent that.
Tabitha returns to her bed, and sits down on it with her knees tucked into her chest. She gave up on trying to sleep that night.
As Tabitha sat on her bed…
The guards who had returned to the rooms that they were stationed were unconvinced regarding the maid being manipulated, however the princess had strictly told them to leave everything to her so they decided to go to bed without thinking any further on it.
“Hey, Jake. Is something wrong?”
The guard named Jake who had ran to Tabitha’s room was staring intently at the knife that Natalie had been holding.
“No…” he mumbles softly.
“By the way, her highness was acting a little strange today. Normally she would have thrown a fuss, saying things like “what were you useless guards doing!?” and threatening to lower our pay, right? What on Earth happened to the normally hysterical girl? Honestly I am more worried about that. Hmm?”
Still, Jake merely continues to stare at the knife, and doesn’t respond.
“What’s wrong? Is something up with the knife?”
“Nothing is wrong.”
Murmurs Jake, before wrapping the knife in tanned leather and stuffs it into his pocket.
“Nothing is wrong.”
Once the convoy arrives in Grenople, the entire convoy receives a grand welcome from the entire city.
The Count of Artois himself was waiting at the city gate to greet the princess. He is part of a branch of the royal family, and himself has blue hair, although his blue is not nearly as deep of a blue as Tabitha or Isabella… It is more dull, a light blue.
Upon seeing the princess, the Count of Artois slowly bends his old and thin body, bowing as deeply as he can.
“Well well. Lady Isabella. Welcome to Grenople. We have all be anxiously awaiting her highness’s visit.”
The count then raises his body, and opens his eyes to look at Tabitha. (Does he realized?), Tabitha stiffens slightly, but unless he had cast a powerful detect magic spell, her true identity should still be hidden… The odds of that are low, though, casting a detect magic spell on a noble is a great insult… There is no way that he would do that on a whim.
Still, Tabitha is concerned… However, those fears turned out to be unfounded.
Count Artois gives her a friendly smile.
“You have become even more beautiful than the last time I saw you. Compared to Lutèce this is but a humble rural town, but please make yourself at home.”
Tabitha and her convoy are taken to the mansion of Count Artois. The garden party is to be held tomorrow, but preparations for the party are already taking place in the garden. The highlight of the party is to be a dance called the “Spring Awakening” that is to be performed by the local nobility. For the nobility of this town, dancing and singing are a popular way to pass the day away, and every once in a while a theatre show or a poetry party would be held. Thus, these garden parties are the perfect opportunity for one to show off their skills and talents.
For this purpose, a large stage had been prepared.
The room that Tabitha is shown to is the most elegant of the guest rooms. It would seem that, for the princess, regardless of where she went only the best is offered.
Once he had shown Tabitha to her room, The Count of Artois before leaving informs Tabitha that a banquet is to be held in the evening, expressing his desire for the princess to attend.
Once everyone had left her room, Tabitha quickly goes to the window to look outside, Sylphid happily taking this opportunity to come down from the sky and lick Tabitha’s face. Much to her chagrin though, the window is closed, causing her to cry out in sadness as she helplessly licks the glass.
Suddenly the door swung open, causing Sylphid to panic and fly back into the sky. It was Isabella, still dressed as a maid with Castelmor behind her.
“What is your impression of the Count of Artois?”
Isabella asks her first question, which Tabitha immediately answers.
“An ordinary aristocrat.”
He seems to be a gentle, kind local aristocrat who could be found anywhere. It is hard to imagine such a man planning something as drastic as a rebellion.
Once she was told that, Isabella smiles.
“I cannot seems to tell what he is thinking inside that little head of his. By the way, I heard that early last night you were attacked by Groundwater. It is all the guards are talking about right now.”
Tabitha nods.
“What do you think? How does it feels to be attacked by one of your own relatives? Now you cannot even get a good nights sleep, right? I always live with that fear. Every night, all I can think about is “when will my servants or maids finally slit my throat in the night?”. At the minimum surely you are frightened by such a thought now? I am sure that soon you will realized how blessed you are not being royalty anymore.”
Isabella laughs as she exits the room.
Castelmor, left behind, bows deeply to Tabitha once Isabella is out of sight.
“I apologize for being unable to be stationed in the room beside yours and thus being unable to stop such a disgusting act towards Lady Charlotte… I cannot apologize enough. Last night I had been instructed by that girls who claims her place on the throne to guard the entrance to the inn from the outside…”
Apparently, Tabitha’s requests for guards to be stationed next to her had been overridden by Isabella’s request.
“Is it not your fault.”
As Tabitha consoles him, Castelmor drops to one knee, his face filled with emotion and on the verge of tears.
“Than-, thank you so much…”
Castelmor, having left Tabitha’s room, passes by a guard.
The guard is a member of the convoy.
For some reason, the guard looks stunned.
“Hey.”
Castelmor approaches the guard, confused as to what might be going on.
Once the guard turns around to look at Castelmor… He holds out a dagger in his hand, reverently.
Confused, Castelmor grabs the dagger and begins to fiddle with it, as if checking it out…
“You have to hold onto it.”
Before long, Castelmor gives the dagger back to the guard.
At night…
Tabitha, who had been laying in bed, suddenly wakes up.
Ideally, she wants to end this mission tonight.
Walking to her window, she opens the window and whistles, calling Sylphid who comes whizzing down from the sky above.
“Kiyu?” Tabitha gives a short command to Sylphid, who for the time being was avoiding speaking a human language.
“Let me on.”
Carrying Tabitha on her back, Sylphid takes off into the darkness of the night.
“Where are we going now?”
“The Count of Artois’s room” Tabitha responds.
“Aren’t you sleepy?”
“I’m fine.”
Sylphid flies over the house, which is dimly lit in places from the torches in the garden.
“Hmm, I don’t know where his room is though, kiyu.”
As Sylphid begins to complain, Tabitha points to a corner of the mansion. In that room, there is light streaming through a window.
“Over there.”
“Why do you think it’s that room?”
“Top floor. A room with its own light source. And that is magical light.”
Tabitha lays out her reasoning for her deduction.
“I love it when Onee-sama goes on the offensive.”
With that mutter, Sylphid enters into a dive towards the window. Flying low over the roof of the mansion Tabitha hops off of her back, using levitate to gently land on the ledge outside of the window.
Using the spell “Unlock”, Tabitha unlocks the window.
Quietly hopping through the window, Tabitha finds the Count of Artois reading a book in front of the fireplace. Seeing Tabitha sneak through his window, his eyes go wide, nearly bulging out of his head.
“Is that her highness the princess? How could, no, why would you come visit me at such an hour and through my window…?”
Tabitha steps in front of the Count of Artois.
“Please hide me.”
Tabitha says in her best sad voice.
“Hide you? What is wrong! What on Earth is happening right now?”
“The truth is… I am running away from the castle.”
“What do you mean you are running away? What is happening in Versailles?”
Count Artois is speaking with a face of pure surprise.
Tabitha lightly tilts her head. Should his goal have been to kidnap her, requesting that he hide her would have been extremely convenient for him. However, Count Artois’s tone remains purely surprised, not giving away any sign of such a underlying conspiracy.
“Is there a rebellion occurring? Well, being in such a rural town like this, I am not exactly up-to-date on the going-ons of the capital…”
“Yes. A rebellion.”
Tabitha continues to stare at the Count of Artois.
“Actually, you are one such suspect for treason.”
“Treason! Me? You are calling me a traitor!”
At this Count Artois’s face turns pale.
“Your taxes are are in arrears.”
“Last years harvest was poor! Didn’t I tell the crown that! If you want, I can even show you my records! Here!”
The Count of Artois, in a complete panic now, runs to his bookshelf and hastily pulls out his record book.
“I was also told that you didn’t show up for this years Advent Festival.”
“Another accusation of me! I have a chronic illness, gout, and it is getting worse to the point where I cannot go far away from home! Didn’t I tell you that already too!”
His claim seems to be true, too.
“I see…” Tabitha nods, looking far away.
“I cannot believe you would doubt my loyalty! This is an unbelievably insulting act! Your claims have belittled me and my value as a count! If you want proof of my loyalty than take my head from my body and take it back to the royal family to prove to them of this old mans loyalty!”
As he shouts, he grabs his staff and points it at his chest, ready to cast a spell on himself, so Tabitha uses wind magic to blow the staff away from his hands.
“What are you doing now!”
“Your loyalty is not in question. I apologize.” Tabitha, still posing as Isabella, consoles the old nobleman.
Count Artois begins to burst into tears.
There is no way such a loyal nobleman would even think of staging a rebellion.
Since that is the case… Who is the one that sent Groundwater after Tabitha?”
One such person immediately comes to mind.
“… Cannot forgive.”
Tabitha murmurs softly to herself. Tabitha could see her own father in Count Artois. Her own father, the Duke of Orleans, had been killed for no reason other than he “was a potential threat to the throne”…
“I cannot forgive you!”
Cries Count Artois.
“Not you.”
Suddenly, the door opens behind Tabitha.
Turning around, standing at the door is a man, dressed as a guard.
On his face is a mask, hiding his identity, modelled after an eastern spirit. Behind the eye holes of his mask are a pair of sharply lit eyes.
“To visit the room of a gentleman who is old enough to be her grandfather at such a late hour… That is behaviour unbecoming of a princess.”
“Groundwater?”
Tabitha asks, the man bowing gracefully.
“Your highness… It is an honour to meet you two nights in a row now.”
Tabitha, her voice now carried by anger,
“Who hired you? Tell me.”
“I thought I already told you this last night, I cannot tell you that.”
Tabitha is beginning to get frustrated by Groundwater’s seemingly polite and kind attitude. However… Casting spells carelessly would only repeat the events of yesterday.
Such hesitation was fatal. At an astonishing speed, Groundwater casts his own magic.
“Ice Cutter.”
A blade of frigid cold air begins to attack Tabitha.
“Del Winde!”
Tabitha quickly wraps herself in a whirlwind around her body for protection, but… It could not stop the entire attack. Tabitha’s thin nightgown is torn to shreds.
The power when compared to yesterday is drastically different… This must be the real Groundwater.
With a thin stream of blood running down her arm, Tabitha chants her own spell.
Her opening spell is her specialty, “Windy Icicle”.
Faced with such a fast and deadly opponent, Tabitha loses her composure.
“Raguz wateral isu isa winde.”
Before her arrows of ice could reach their target, flames begin to dance from the tip of Groundwater’s staff.
“Fire wall!”
A wall of flames form, melting the ice arrows targeting Groundwater. Tabitha, faced with an opponent that can effectively use both fire and wind magic groans.
He is quite adept.
Tabitha takes a slight leap backwards, focusing her mental strength.
And kneads her magical power, releasing it all at once.
“Snow Storm.”
A storm forms inside the room, mixing ice attacks into its wind, enveloping Groundwater in the middle. Tabitha had used that spell in the hopes that it would at the very least limit his mobility.
However… Groundwater releases a “Snow Storm” of his own. In that small rooms, two storms collide for dominance.
The two storms immediately turn the room into a war zone. Beds, closets, and any and all furniture are immediately shredded to pieced, fabric flying through the air. With the flames of the fireplace blown out, the room is plunged into darkness.
The results of the two storms colliding…
“Ugh!”
The one who is blown away is Tabitha. Swallowed by the raging snow storm, she is flung and slammed into a wall.
“Kuh…”
A groan of pain escapes Tabitha’s mouth.
“Ahya ahya… To think that the Snowstorm would be blown away and bested by a Snowstorm… Truly, you have been betrayed by your own nickname.”
With those words, the doubts in Tabitha’s mind turn to certainty.
The only person who knows Tabitha’s true identity is… Isabella.
“… That is cowardly.”
Tabitha murmurs, remembering her cousins face. What reason does the capricious Isabella have for doing this anyway?
With her face being distorted by her anger… Ironically, it began to look even more and more like Isabella’s.
Tabitha tries to stand up.
But… Her limbs are battered and numb, she couldn’t move. Groundwater is at the minimum a square class mage… Perhaps even stronger.
“Then, shall I capture you and complete this mission?”
Groundwater slowly approaches Tabitha.
At that moment, a breeze rushes in through the door.
“You bastard!”
Castelmor.
Noticing the collapsed Tabitha and the slowly approaching Groundwater, he bites his lip in frustration.
Twisting the lips under his mask into a grin, Groundwater jumps out of the open window.
“How dare you! How dare you do such a thing to Lady Charlotte!”
Castelmor follows Groundwater, jumping out of the window. Tabitha tries to stand up, but her body remains numb and unresponsive. The Count of Artois, who had been trembling in the corner of the room this entire time, crawls over to Tabitha.
“Wh-, what the hell is going on! Tell me!”
Count Artois, perhaps the unluckiest person of the entirety of Halkeginia for today, repeatedly asks Tabitha why the hell his bedroom had become a war zone.
At that moment, Tabitha’s face change spell wears off, perhaps due to the influx of magic around her or simply time having passed. When the Count of Artois sees Tabitha’s true face, his already wide eyes somehow got even wider.
“Aren’t you Lady Charlotte? No, you must be, that is what the knight from earlier said! I had heard that you were studying abroad, but why were you made to look like her highness Lady Isabella and at my mansion…”
As soon as he finishes his sentence the Count of Artois faints. Too many things had occurred in the last couple of minutes for his old mind to handle and must have imploded in on itself. Tomorrow was meant to be a birthday to celebrate his birth, but needless to say as of this moment he is not particularly happy.
Sylphid, noticing this, sticks her head through the window.
“Onee-sama. Just now, two unusual people came running out of this window… What is going on? Kiyu?”
Upon noticing Tabitha covered in wounds… Naturally, she begins to scream.
“KIYAAAAAAAAAAAA, ONEE-SAMA, YOU ARE COVERED IN CUTS! WHAT HAPPENED! KIYU!”
Tabitha, finally having gathered her energy, sits up.
“Let me ride you.”
Staggering over to Sylphid, Tabitha gives her an order.
“What are you hoping to do! You are ripped to pieces!”
“Chase.”
“I don’t want to chase such a scary person who can do this to Onee-sama! Kiyu!”
Sylphid, a coward at hear, is reluctant to chase such a dangerous person, but as it was her masters orders ultimately she has no choice but to follow them.
Groaning in reluctance, she grabs Tabitha with her mouth and places her on her back.
“I want you to let me eat as much meat as I want later! Kiyu!”
Soaring into the night sky, both Tabitha and Sylphid begin to search for the two mages who had disappeared into the darkness.
However… The garden is large and almost completely dark. Even if they tried to listen for the sounds of magic warfare, all they could hear was the wind.
At a loss in terms of her sense, Tabitha proved useless, but Sylphid with better night vision than a human manages to spot the two.
“Onee-sama, there is someone over there.”
It as at the stage that Tabitha had seen during the day.
Under the moonlight, Tabitha could just make out a figure lying down on the large wooden stage. Raising her staff, she orders Sylphid to land.
“Ehhhhhhhhh, you want me to land down there? It looks scary.”
“Hurry.”
Unable to defy Tabitha’s unusually strong tone, Sylphid descends as she was instructed.
From the looks of it, the battle is already over.
–One person is kneeling down on one knee, peering down at the other.
Odds are, it is Castelmor and Groundwater.
But… Who won?”
Sylphid descends onto the stage. Readying her staff and not taking her eyes off of the two, Tabitha does not lower her guard. Noticing the pair, the person on one knee stands up.
“Charlotte-sama?”
Tabitha inwardly was relieved. Apparently, Castelmor had won. The fallen mans mask was already taken off, he was one of the guards who had burst into Tabitha’s room yesterday.
“Is that Groundwater?”
Castelmor nods.
“Yes… He is one of my more recently enlisted men. This is a blunder on my part, I must be more diligent in identifying recruits in the future.”
Tabitha looks at the fallen man. Despite being young, he was a powerful mage. He had managed to push her so far into a corner…
Looking at the guard… Tabitha notices something odd. His clothes were impeccable. Surely having been knocked over by magic, there would be some trace of that. If it was a fire spell his clothes would be singed, a wind type would have cut his clothes, and water would have drenched him. Earth magic would make it even more obvious…
And yet, his clothes are perfect, not a single fault.
Tabitha returns her eyes to Castelmor. Taking out a rope and knife, Tabitha asks him in a quiet voice,
“Where did you get that knife?”
“Eh? Ahh, he had it on him.” Castelmor responds.
In the next moment, with his knife in his right hand, Castelmor quickly pulls out his wand.
However, Tabitha this time if faster.
Waving her staff, she quickly chants,
“Wind Icicle.”
The arrows of ice converge on Castelmor’s left hand.
“Kuh!”
Castelmor had immediately dodged, but a single arrow managed to pierce his left hand, forcing him to drop the knife. Then… He collapses to the ground, like a puppet who had just had their strings cut.
Without any hesitation, Tabitha chants her next spell.
The air trembles, with small sparks of lightning running through it.
“Lightning Cloud”, an electric spell.
However, the lightning was not aimed at Castelmor… Instead, it was aimed at the dropped knife.
“Ugyaaaaaaaa!!”
A scream… And then, the “knife” jumps up into the air and falls down.
“Groundwater.”
Tabitha mutters. The knife twitches, but there comes no response. As Tabitha begins casting another lightning cloud…
“Okay, I get it, I surrender! Please, refrain from casting any more magic!”
The knife somehow yells, in the language of humans.
“You are an intelligent knife.”
Sylphid mutters in front of the knife that had rolled closer.
Yes.
The true identity of Groundwater is… A knife. A magic dagger that had been imbued with a will… An intelligent knife.
The knife is capable of changing its host based on who is carrying it, stealing their will and controlling them… That was the mysterious mage mercenary named Groundwater. It is no wonder that no one had been able to identify them till now.
Tabitha jumps off Sylphid’s back and approaches the knife. While initially reluctant to answer what is going on, upon being threatened with being buried underground Groundwater began to tell Tabitha everything that it knew.
“You must be very powerful to make Onee-sama suffer such a defeat.”
Sylphid says with admiration for the mage before her.
“The magical abilities of whoever I am possessing are added to my own abilities.”
“That must be why you weren’t very strong when you took over the body of the maid, right?”
“That’s right.”
Groundwater says in a fearless voice.
“Did Isabella hire you?” Tabitha asks.
“The knights of the Northern Flowerbed have always been good customers of mine. They hired me this time as per the usual… That is all. I have actually been pretty active with the Northern Flowerbed you know. Well, it’s not like you would know anyways, Northern Flowerbed knights tend to keep things to themselves after all…”
“Why do you work as a mercenary?”
“Because I am bored.”
Groundwater replies matter-of-factly.
“Us intelligent tools don’t have a lifespan. Once we become imbued with a will… It is a constant battle against boredom. As a dagger it is my job to fight, might as well have some kind of goal. Money… Fame… Something.”
Intelligence… A tool becoming magical and imbued with a will is not that uncommon. However, it is rare to find such a magical tool that can control the will of whoever is holding it. A very high ranking mage odds are is the one who gave it a will, but that has nothing to do with Tabitha right now.
Tabitha finally arrives at the main question she has… Why did Isabella hire the knife to attack her.
“… Because she was bored.”
Isabella was simply bored. She was planning on having Groundwater and Snowstorm fight each other like the “Dragon Fights” that are so popular in southern Gallia.
“Isabella sees her knights as nothing more than chess pieces on a board. You and I were merely forced to participate in her game of chess.”
Tabitha’s shoulders begin to shake and seethe with rage.
For Tabitha, something unusual happens… Her expression changes. She frowns, and bites her lip in frustration.
There was a look of anger on her face that would cause anyone, regardless of if they know her, to take a step back.
Noticing Tabitha’s changing behaviour, even Groundwater begins to tremble.
“Hey, hey! Don’t get so angry! I was just following orders you know! Please don’t melt, bury, or submerge me in water!”
Tabitha taking deep breaths… Speaks in a voice filled with anger.
“I will forgive you, but you must listen to me.”
“Ah, um… If it means that my life will be spared, Iw can agree to most things.”
Groundwater begins to visibly tremble.
Tabitha explains her plan to Groundwater.
Groundwater listens to the plan in silence… And at the end, begins to laugh.
“Okay, I can do that. It will be a nice way to relieve some boredom… And I was getting kind of tired of getting hired by that damn princess anyway!”
The next morning…
Isabella, with a bored look on her face, listens to the report from Groundwater who is being held in Castelmor’s hands. From the moment of being held by Groundwater ones memories can be manipulated. The user can have those memories erased, made to feel as if they are dreaming, or can be forced to separate their memories from Groundwater’s. Castelmor right now is having these memories erased.
The moment that Castelmor lets go of Groundwater, he will just be merely asking himself “How did I get here?”.
“After I hit her with a few wind spells she just dropped to the ground. I wonder how it felt to have been defeated by her own specialty, wind magic.”
“Really? In the end you won that easily? Apparently that doll girl isn’t that impressive after all.”
Isabella lets out a big yawn, unimpressed.
In front of her, a dance, the highlight of the garden party, is taking place. In front of a stage set up in the garden, Isabella is sitting in the front row with her retainers in tow. The Count of Artois is nearby as well. When the two had met earlier, he had asked Isabella what last night as all about, but Isabella had only explained that it was merely a “slight rebellion”. While this had infuriated the Count of Artois, he did not dare ask anymore, as he realized that sticking out his neck would merely make it easier to separate his head from his body.
“You didn’t kill her, right?”
“Of course not… However, as she had been seriously injured, I thought it difficult for her to carry out any more missions for the time being, so I sent her back to the royal palace with some guards attached.”
“I cannot let her live as she pleases but I also cannot just let her die… You will be my plaything for a long time to come, so I need to make sure that I take good care of you after all!” At this Isabella begins to laugh.
On the stage in front of her are many nobles dancing. Beautiful girls clad in layers of thin cloth appear, their dances expressing their joy at the arrival of spring.
It was a beautiful dance, like a field of bright and brightly coloured blooming flowers.
Isabella adamantly admires their elegant dances.
“Your Royal Highness. I have a message from that girl.”
Groundwater whispers to Isabella. However, the fickle Isabella is already entranced by the dancing.
“Later. I want to watch them dance for right now.”
“In that case… This is for you.”
At that, something is handed to Isabella, who reflexively grabs it.
“What is this?”
Isabella tries to look down at her hand, but her body won’t move. Trying to making a sound, just then she realizes that she has no voice, either.
(“Your highness. There is one more thing I would like to do before I take my leave for today.”)
The voice of Groundwater reaches Isabella’s heart directly. At that, she realizes what is happening. In her hand is Groundwater itself. Her right hand is holding a shiny silver dagger. Just like Isabella had commanded Groundwater to control others many times before, now she is the ony being controlled…
(“KIYAAAAAA!!”)
Isabella can only scream inside her heart right now. No sounds are made.
Suddenly, her body stands up.
(“Wai-, wait a second… What are you doing! Groundwater!”)
(“I would like to thank you for everything that you have done for me… So I am asking you to have a dance with me.”)
Isabella tries to scream, but there is nothing that she can do as the dagger has complete control over her body. However, Isabella does hear herself speak… Groundwater is controlling her body and is now making her talk.
“In honour of the Count of Artois’s birthday, I would like to perform a dance.”
Cheers erupt from the audience.
Isabella unsteadily walks up onto the stage, controlled by Groundwater.
The dancers onstage noticing the Princess’s entrance vacate the area in time with the song.
(“Wait, why do I have to dance!?”)
(“Hm, I think you should once in a while experience what it feels like to be manipulated by someone. It is only fair, right?”)
The crowds cheers turn into screams.
The knife… Groundwater, in her right hand, is lifted up before coming down and piercing her body.
Isabella screams inside her heart as well.
(“STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!”)
Sylphid, circling high above the stage, observes the commotion below.
There appears to be an uproar occurring.
That is understandable… After all, Isabella, manipulated by Groundwater, suddenly began to cut her own clothes with a knife and dance in her “natural” form.
Some in response cover their eyes, some were transfixed by the lithe and elegant limbs of a princess that hey had never set their eyes upon before, some scream at her to stop, and some began to ramble on and on that it would be an insult to stop her as it must be art…
Regardless, Isabella will go down in history as the first princess in Gallian history to dance naked.
“Amazing! She does look pitiful right now, but this is punishment for being so meant Onee-sama! Kiyu kiyu!”
Sylphid says in an amused voice, but her master sitting on her back, who was the one that orchestrated the entire thing, stares blankly at the sky.
“Look, look! Onee-sama! The princess won’t be able to get married anymore! Look, look! Wow! If I wasn’t positive that this was real I would think that I was dreaming!”
Tabitha hits Sylphid on the back of her head with her cane.
“What?”
“Go home.”
“Ehh… I wanted to watch until the end…”
With Sylphid complaining Tabitha simply says,
“Bad taste.”
”I don’t think Onee-sama should be the one saying that…” Muttering to herself Sylphid begins to flap her wings harder than before.
The wind blows, ruffling Tabitha’s blue hair…
Tabitha brushes her hair to the side, looking a little conflicted.
Tabitha pulls her new book from out of her bag and began turning the pages in a calming manner. Perhaps her earlier conflicting emotions hadn’t subsided yet… Suddenly, a faint hum begins to escape from her mouth.
This song… It’s a lullaby.
The same lullaby that Tabitha had sung just the previous night.
“Onee-sama, what are you singing?”
When asked by Sylphid, Tabitha hurriedly hides her face behind her book… For some reason, she looks unusually flustered. Sylphid under the misunderstanding that Tabitha had begun reading due to that gesture begins to complain.
“Ahh, you read books all the time! You need to remember to talk to people too! Surely you have some friends that you can talk to, right!?”
“I have friends.”
Tabitha mutters as if to excuse herself from the conversation. Sylphid shakes her head, as if not convinced.
“Wait, Onee-sama has a friend? Wait, are you talking about that red-haired promiscuous curvy girl? To be honest, Sylphid doesn’t like that sexy body woman. She is a hedonist, all she is thinking about is how to have fun and nothing else. Why don’t you try making some new friends? Actually, no, not a friend, you should find a lover! That’s it, you need a lover! Then you can tell me how you both met! That would help me with some of my boredom! Kiyu kiyu!”
Sylphid peers into Tabitha’s face. In an effort to relieve some of her usual boredom… She made the unreasonable request that Tabitha find herself a lover.
Tabitha looks to her side, confused.
“Isn’t there a boy you like?”
“No.”
“Then why don’t you find one?”
Tabitha looks down at Sylphid.
“Sylphid was thinking about this earlier… I wonder what kind of person would be a good lover for Onee-sama? All of the wizards at Tristain Magical Academy are pretentious so I don’t like them… Who then? Hmm…”
Sylphid begins to deeply ponder this question, in the meantime wagging her tail happily. Finally, she seems to have come to some kind of conclusion.
“Ahh! How about that boy? The weird commoner boy who defeated Guiche-sama! Isn’t he the perfect boy for Onee-sama to have as her first lover? He is friendly, cheerful, and personally Sylphid likes him. Kiyu kiyu! Next time you see him, ask him out on a date. No, actually, that is too much for Onee-sama… Instead, just walk up to him, quietly and cutely look up at him for a little bit, then walk away. I am sure that that will be enough for him to say “What is going on?” and become interested in you. Kiyu kiyu.”
Tabitha, however, is no longer listening to Sylphid.
Only one word is running through her head right now.
Friend…
Tabitha stares across at the endless sky.
When she returns to the academy… There her friends are waiting for her. Although she only has a few, she feels relieved whenever they are near.
Tabatha smiles slightly upon realizing that her school and her friends are a strong and important emotional support for her, just like the lullaby that she was humming earlier.
Silvered Tongue Reborn 