Door.
“Misha, open up! This time it’s really serious!”
Inside the Castle of the First Kingdom.
A woman in silver armor, her red hair tied up in a high ponytail, was anxiously pounding on the door.
There was a sign hanging on the door, with bold letters: “Lola Bell is forbidden to enter—including knocking or shouting things like ‘there’s a problem’ in front of my door.”
“Misha, I swear I’m not lying this time! There’s another voice in my head—I’m sure something’s latched onto me. I need your help, Misha!”
But there was still no response from inside, so Lola Bell simply pushed the door open—the room was empty.
There was only a table and a chair neatly placed in the center.
Misha must have activated her Space Magic again.
With a snap, she closed the door.
No matter how much she tried to threaten or tempt her, nothing could make Misha answer. She really was out of options.
Maybe the Princess could get her to come out?
That thought suddenly popped into her mind.
After all, since childhood, Misha had always been afraid of the Princess. The Princess’s attitude was much tougher than her own—if the Princess wanted, she could even make Misha change her messy hair into the hated twin ponytails. It wasn’t like the Princess hadn’t done it before.
She always felt a bit bad for bothering the Princess with her own problems, but it seemed like this was the only way. Who knew how many days she’d have to wait if she just sat here for Misha to come out?
Thinking this, she lifted her silver-plated armor and trudged toward the palace.
Lola Bell often went in and out of the palace with Misha to find the Princess, so over time, the guards and servants inside had grown familiar with her presence. When Lola Bell appeared, they knew she must be looking for the Princess.
“You’re saying the Princess isn’t here?”
“Yes, Holy Knight.”
After a brief inquiry, a maid told her that the Princess had lately been going to the garden alone every morning, and had instructed everyone not to follow. No one knew what she was up to.
“The garden, huh… Don’t tell me…”
She turned and headed for the garden.
She hadn’t walked long along the winding path before, after passing a small pavilion, butterflies began to appear in greater numbers, and a light floral fragrance gradually filled the air.
Further ahead was the garden, but she didn’t seem to see the Princess anywhere.
“Where is she…”
“Oi.”
Just as she was searching for a hint of pink, a strange, small voice—hard to describe—drifted into her ears.
She looked in the direction of the sound, but still saw no one.
Just as she was feeling puzzled, something suddenly moved at the edge of her vision.
It was a headpiece made of gold and jewels, sticking up in the middle of a flower bush, looking as if it were growing there.
Suddenly, the strange clump of flowers shifted, and two little holes opened at the base of the stems. A pair of sapphire-bright eyes peeked out.
“Princess, are you spying on people here again…”
“What do you mean spying! I’m observing humanity!”
“Oh, stop standing there and get in here.”
She parted the flowers and gestured for Lola Bell to come inside.
Lola Bell hesitated for a moment, then said, “As a Holy Knight, I absolutely cannot do something like peeping on others…”
Before she could finish, the flower bushes pounced and dragged her in.
“Why are you being so fussy? It’s not your first time crawling in here.”
The light around her was blocked by the flowers, making the space dim and causing Lola Bell to instinctively lower her voice.
“We’ll definitely get scolded by His Majesty for this!”
“Oh, come on, if you don’t say anything, no one will know.”
Even so, if His Majesty really found out she liked to hide out and watch other people’s little couples, she’d be grounded for months—maybe even have her favorite picture books confiscated.
“So, tell me, what did you want this time?”
“Did you find that person called Aurora Eve?”
Reminded of her purpose, she lowered her voice and said, “No, I’ve been on the front lines exterminating monsters these past few weeks. I only got back yesterday, so I haven’t had time to investigate.”
“Then what is it?”
“I want you to help me get Misha to come out.”
“Misha?”
The Princess’s eyes shifted from outside the flowers to Lola Bell’s face. She blinked those big, watery, adorable eyes and said, “I’m not giving her to you, you know.”
“I’m not trying to steal her from you…”
“I just have something I need her help with.”
“What is it?”
“Let’s talk somewhere else…”
Discussing things in the bushes always felt sneaky and underhanded, which made the upright Lola Bell uncomfortable.
“You really are troublesome, Lola Bell.”
Honestly, as the Princess, she was the last person who should be hiding in a bush~_~.
After arriving at the pavilion she’d passed earlier, Lola Bell told her about her condition.
Ever since waking up in the forest that day, strange voices had been popping up in her ears from time to time.
The voice wasn’t unfamiliar—it was her own.
So every time she heard it, it felt as if someone was living inside her head, constantly whispering in her ear.
And it was happening more and more frequently—from once or twice a day, to dozens of times a day. Even just now, while talking to the Princess, the voice hadn’t stopped.
It kept saying strange things like, “Give her back to me,” or “Let go of her mouth,” things she couldn’t make any sense of.
This was giving Lola Bell a real headache, especially since she often had to carry out monster or Heretic extermination missions that required intense focus—she’d even nearly been attacked by a monster because she was distracted.
That’s why she needed the help of the kingdom’s most talented researcher of magic and curses, Misha.
“But, I bothered Misha before and let her down, so lately she’s been ignoring me.”
“Ehh~ that’s so creepy, it’s like being possessed by a ghost.”
“Emmm.”
The Princess pretended to ponder for a moment, then asked her, “You’re not secretly possessed by a magician from a neighboring country here to steal Misha’s research, are you?”
“How did you even come to that conclusion, Your Highness…”
“You know, that’s always in those picture books—the neighboring country spy falls in love with the Princess and all that. It’s such a cliché.”
“I think you should read fewer picture books, Princess.”
“Hehe, no way.”
She stood up from the chair in the pavilion and said, “Alright, but before that, I need to check something.”
“How are you going to check?”
Lola Bell also stood up, looking at the Princess in confusion.
“Ahem. Holy Knight Lola Bell Krone!”
She coughed twice and switched to a voice that sounded very solemn, though in Lola Bell’s eyes it didn’t suit her at all.
Still, she cooperated by lowering her head and kneeling on one knee.
“Yes.”
“Tell me: your family, your friends, your kingdom—who would you give your life for?”
“The kingdom, my Princess.”
Mhm.
Hehe.
“OK, that’s it! I’ve always wanted to say that line from a picture book. Come on, I’ll take you to find Misha.”
“……Alright.”
Give me back my dignity from just now.