Yua had been looking forward to playing with the two of them again that day.
She had prepared the usual tea party in the shade of an umbrella in the garden and waited for them to arrive.
(I did my best to make it today, I hope it’s alright.)
Yua thought to herself, as she looked at the box of slightly misshapen cookies. These weren’t made by her maidservant. For the first time, Yua successfully made sweets. They aren’t quite as immaculate as the cookies her maid would make, and here and there some are chipped or cracked in places. And, when it comes to taste, they can’t even compare.
But, despite all that, Yua still brought the cookies to the tea party. She wanted to have those two eat the cookies she worked so hard on.
(I hope they’ll like them…)
Her feet swung under the table as she slightly adjusts her hair that was drooping over her ear. There was a slight tightness in her chest as her heart pounded. She was nervous.
She took a deep breath and exhaled all at once. She’s still tense, but that helped her calm down just a little bit.
Yua looked at the clock tower that was the highest point of the royal castle. They should be arriving any minute now.
She inhaled once more. Then, she looked at the clock again.
It was at that moment.
Something caused the castle to quake violently.
A ripple spread through the garden, and Yua could feel it through her feet. That quaking had been caused by some tremendous impact.
At that instant, she was completely bewildered.
The parasol bent in half and the tea set was strewn across the flowerbeds. Yua was thrown in the same way, and she rolled to a stop on the lawn. Her box of cookies had been thoroughly smashed beside her.
“Ah… Guh…”
She moaned softly. What happened? Being such a young girl, she couldn’t understand, she didn’t have any experience of knowledge that could help her make sense of it.
The only thing she knew was that something had happened.
Yua raised her head slowly. A tragic scene was playing out before her eyes.
“W-what is this…?”
The garden that the veteran groundskeeper had worked on every day for years had been torn up viciously, absolutely devastated by the impact. All of the surrounding windows had been blown out, and some of the servants had been injured by the falling glass. The giant clock had a wicked crack running through the centre of it, and her once familiar surroundings had turned into a hellscape that she couldn’t comprehend.
“Why… such a thing…?”
As Yua muttered to herself in disbelief, a servant came running towards her shouting “Princess!”
“A-are you okay!? Ahh, you’re covered in dirt…”
Even though she had been injured by the falling glass herself, the servant only cared about Yua’s wellbeing.
“Y-yes… I’m fine. But you’re…”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. It’s just a few bumps and scrapes. More importantly, Princess, it’s dangerous here. We need to hurry and-!”
Before she can say the word evacuate, they’re attacked by a force Yua couldn’t see.
“Watch out!”
Grabbing Yua, the maid dived to the floor. The attack passed a hairsbreadth away from Yua’s face.
It was a pillar of ice. It had been shot at Yua with the full intent to take her head clean off.
“…Eh?”
She doesn’t understand. The servant rose back to her feet with Yua, and disdainfully muttered under her breath.
“The rebel army.”
Yua began to tremble. She knew that name. In fact, she had heard it only recently. “Rebel army…” Yua repeated to herself. “Ku ku, he he he he!” A loud laugh from the other side of the garden.
“So, you already know who we are? I see I see! Indeed I am… No, ‘we’ are the Rebel Army. I’ve come to inform your Highness that this country is at an end.”
The lone man introduces himself proudly. With his hands in his pockets, he has an unnerving smile plastered across his face. Although he is of a medium height, his hunched posture makes him look shorter than he really is.
“Taking over the country. Is that what you’re planning on starting here?”
Standing in front of Yua, the servant asked the man. The stooped over figure just laughed flatly.
“Just slightly off, there. The revolution has already begun! Nyargh!”
The man stomps his foot into the ground, and from the point of impact, icicles burst forth through the earth. They smashed through the ground in Yua’s direction, but something stopped them just before they reached her.
“!? A barrier… But how!? Only the aristocrats should be able to use magic!”
A magical barrier had stopped the pillars of ice in their tracks. Of course, it wasn’t Yua who had projected it. That magic was cast by…
“Hah, don’t make light of me. Do you think they would really entrust the safety of the Princess to some weak maid?”
It was the servant.
“Princess, I will stop him here. You need to escape.”
“W-what about you…?”
“Forget about me and just go. I beg of you, we can’t lose you like this.”
“But…”
“Go right now!”
“!?”
Yua shivered in shock. That was the first time the maid had ever used harsh language with her. The maid continued.
“I beg of you, Princess. Trust your servant and flee.”
Her voice is deadly serious. Yua cast her eyes down and nodded once.
“You mustn’t… You’re not allowed to die.”
After saying that, Yua turns and runs.
“Not so fast, I can’t have a member of the royal family getting away.”
Another pillar of ice is shot. And once again, it is stopped short by the barrier.
“Sorry, but I can’t let you impose on the Princess like that.”
As the icicle that had collided with the barrier disintegrates, the maid smiles.
“Instead, why not take me as a dance partner?”
“Hah, how interesting. If you really think you can keep up with me, then by all means.”
The two magicians clashed in the ruined garden.
—
Yua ran. Overcoming the exhaustion in her legs and the pain in her lungs, she ran as fast as she could down that red-carpeted hallway.
The entire castle seemed to bear the scars of battle.
She doesn’t stay to look, she just keeps running. Even past the point where she should have collapsed, her willpower kept her running. Running with no regard for anything. And then,
“There you are, Yua Lafalis! I have you now!”
She heard a man’s voice. It was a voice she had never heard before. He must be one of the Rebel Army that had caused this chaos.
“Ah!”
She had been found! Yua turned around. Standing there was a man with an ugly scar across his cheek, someone she had never seen in the castle before.
As soon as she saw him, Yua sprinted towards the stairs at the end of the hall. But no matter how fast she ran, a young girl can’t outrun an adult.
Yua fled desperately, but the gap between them was shrinking fast.
(No, leave me alone…!)
The hand behind her gets closer and closer. She can’t escape.
“No, no!”
Yua repeats it in her mind over and over again. However, the hands of her pursuer drew unrelentingly near. No matter how fast her legs moved, she couldn’t shake him off. There was no one there to save her this time. Finally…
“Gotcha.”
The man’s large hand yanks Yua’s arm back.
“Nooo! Let me go!”
Yua resisted desperately. But Yua’s strength is nothing compared to the man’s, and he drags her off the ground by her arm.
“Alright, you’re coming along with me.”
“No!! Someone, anyone…!”
“Shut up! Or I’ll wring your pretty neck!”
“Hii! No, why… Why are you doing this!?”
The man hoists Yua over his shoulder and walks back in the direction they had run from.
“Why? Isn’t that obvious? This is the revolution of the oppressed masses.”
The man laughed to himself.
“Really, isn’t it just wholly unfair? Whilst we’re working ourselves to the bone day in and day out, you get to live in the lap of luxury without a care. Maybe experiencing some hardship for yourself can help you understand.”
He laughs once again. Then,
“Hey, what are you planning on doing with that child?”
She heard a familiar voice.
“A pervert?”
Yua recognized that figure who walked in their direction, parting her blueish black locks behind her head with a flourish. She knew her well.
“Veena-sama…”
Yua said feebly.
“Oi, you shitty brat. The only ones we have business with here are the royal family. Now scram.”
The man stopped walking. But Veena simply kept on approaching, with no regard for the man who blocked her path.
“No, I can’t accept that. I have a job to do, and mother will be cross if I mess up. Besides, that child is a precious friend of mine. Return her.”
That’s how Veena always is. She doesn’t pay the slightest attention to whatever stands in her way, she just always keeps moving.
The distance between the two gradually became smaller.
“Brat… I think it’s lovely that you’ve made a friend, but she’s not worth throwing your life away for. I’ll warn you just one more time, get out of here. I won’t say it again.”
“Fufu, you sure are one to talk, aren’t you? What are you doing in this place, other than throwing your own life away?”
Before he could answer, Veena drove her leg into his stomach.
—
“…Are you alright? That pervert didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
“I’m… okay…”
Veena hugged Yua and rubbed her head. The man’s body lay beside them, he had already stopped breathing.
“Um, Veena-sama… What’s going on?”
Yua did her best not to think about the corpse as she asked about the situation.
“It seems like the rebel army has somehow attacked the castle. But don’t worry, things are almost under control. My elder brother Abel, Glenn and the Knights are taking back control of the city, Leena and I are in the castle and mother and father are going to take the head of the commander. This will all be over soon.”
A gentle voice. As soon as she heard it, the tension slipped out of Yua’s body, and she began to tear up. If she exhaled, she felt like she was going to start bawling her eyes out. The strain of the situation had begun to get to her.
“But, right now, the King and his men are trapped in the throne room. I need to go and help the King, are you able to escape on your own?”
Yua shook her head. It was impossible. She was too scared to even take another step on her own. Feeling as if she might lose her balance at any moment, she clung to Veena’s dress.
Veena sighs at this troublesome girl, and pet Yua’s head again.
“I understand. If it’s like that, shall we go together?”
“…Yeah.”
Veena took Yua’s hand, and began walking again.
(I wanted this child to go back. I’m sure it will be a shock to her to know who planned all this…)
They continued on towards the throne room which was under attack by the rebels.
Yua had been looking forward to playing with the two of them again that day.
She had prepared the usual tea party in the shade of an umbrella in the garden and waited for them to arrive.
(I did my best to make it today, I hope it’s alright.)
Yua thought to herself, as she looked at the box of slightly misshapen cookies. These weren’t made by her maidservant. For the first time, Yua successfully made sweets. They aren’t quite as immaculate as the cookies her maid would make, and here and there some are chipped or cracked in places. And, when it comes to taste, they can’t even compare.
But, despite all that, Yua still brought the cookies to the tea party. She wanted to have those two eat the cookies she worked so hard on.
(I hope they’ll like them…)
Her feet swung under the table as she slightly adjusts her hair that was drooping over her ear. There was a slight tightness in her chest as her heart pounded. She was nervous.
She took a deep breath and exhaled all at once. She’s still tense, but that helped her calm down just a little bit.
Yua looked at the clock tower that was the highest point of the royal castle. They should be arriving any minute now.
She inhaled once more. Then, she looked at the clock again.
It was at that moment.
Something caused the castle to quake violently.
A ripple spread through the garden, and Yua could feel it through her feet. That quaking had been caused by some tremendous impact.
At that instant, she was completely bewildered.
The parasol bent in half and the tea set was strewn across the flowerbeds. Yua was thrown in the same way, and she rolled to a stop on the lawn. Her box of cookies had been thoroughly smashed beside her.
“Ah… Guh…”
She moaned softly. What happened? Being such a young girl, she couldn’t understand, she didn’t have any experience of knowledge that could help her make sense of it.
The only thing she knew was that something had happened.
Yua raised her head slowly. A tragic scene was playing out before her eyes.
“W-what is this…?”
The garden that the veteran groundskeeper had worked on every day for years had been torn up viciously, absolutely devastated by the impact. All of the surrounding windows had been blown out, and some of the servants had been injured by the falling glass. The giant clock had a wicked crack running through the centre of it, and her once familiar surroundings had turned into a hellscape that she couldn’t comprehend.
“Why… such a thing…?”
As Yua muttered to herself in disbelief, a servant came running towards her shouting “Princess!”
“A-are you okay!? Ahh, you’re covered in dirt…”
Even though she had been injured by the falling glass herself, the servant only cared about Yua’s wellbeing.
“Y-yes… I’m fine. But you’re…”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. It’s just a few bumps and scrapes. More importantly, Princess, it’s dangerous here. We need to hurry and-!”
Before she can say the word evacuate, they’re attacked by a force Yua couldn’t see.
“Watch out!”
Grabbing Yua, the maid dived to the floor. The attack passed a hairsbreadth away from Yua’s face.
It was a pillar of ice. It had been shot at Yua with the full intent to take her head clean off.
“…Eh?”
She doesn’t understand. The servant rose back to her feet with Yua, and disdainfully muttered under her breath.
“The rebel army.”
Yua began to tremble. She knew that name. In fact, she had heard it only recently. “Rebel army…” Yua repeated to herself. “Ku ku, he he he he!” A loud laugh from the other side of the garden.
“So, you already know who we are? I see I see! Indeed I am… No, ‘we’ are the Rebel Army. I’ve come to inform your Highness that this country is at an end.”
The lone man introduces himself proudly. With his hands in his pockets, he has an unnerving smile plastered across his face. Although he is of a medium height, his hunched posture makes him look shorter than he really is.
“Taking over the country. Is that what you’re planning on starting here?”
Standing in front of Yua, the servant asked the man. The stooped over figure just laughed flatly.
“Just slightly off, there. The revolution has already begun! Nyargh!”
The man stomps his foot into the ground, and from the point of impact, icicles burst forth through the earth. They smashed through the ground in Yua’s direction, but something stopped them just before they reached her.
“!? A barrier… But how!? Only the aristocrats should be able to use magic!”
A magical barrier had stopped the pillars of ice in their tracks. Of course, it wasn’t Yua who had projected it. That magic was cast by…
“Hah, don’t make light of me. Do you think they would really entrust the safety of the Princess to some weak maid?”
It was the servant.
“Princess, I will stop him here. You need to escape.”
“W-what about you…?”
“Forget about me and just go. I beg of you, we can’t lose you like this.”
“But…”
“Go right now!”
“!?”
Yua shivered in shock. That was the first time the maid had ever used harsh language with her. The maid continued.
“I beg of you, Princess. Trust your servant and flee.”
Her voice is deadly serious. Yua cast her eyes down and nodded once.
“You mustn’t… You’re not allowed to die.”
After saying that, Yua turns and runs.
“Not so fast, I can’t have a member of the royal family getting away.”
Another pillar of ice is shot. And once again, it is stopped short by the barrier.
“Sorry, but I can’t let you impose on the Princess like that.”
As the icicle that had collided with the barrier disintegrates, the maid smiles.
“Instead, why not take me as a dance partner?”
“Hah, how interesting. If you really think you can keep up with me, then by all means.”
The two magicians clashed in the ruined garden.
—
Yua ran. Overcoming the exhaustion in her legs and the pain in her lungs, she ran as fast as she could down that red-carpeted hallway.
The entire castle seemed to bear the scars of battle.
She doesn’t stay to look, she just keeps running. Even past the point where she should have collapsed, her willpower kept her running. Running with no regard for anything. And then,
“There you are, Yua Lafalis! I have you now!”
She heard a man’s voice. It was a voice she had never heard before. He must be one of the Rebel Army that had caused this chaos.
“Ah!”
She had been found! Yua turned around. Standing there was a man with an ugly scar across his cheek, someone she had never seen in the castle before.
As soon as she saw him, Yua sprinted towards the stairs at the end of the hall. But no matter how fast she ran, a young girl can’t outrun an adult.
Yua fled desperately, but the gap between them was shrinking fast.
(No, leave me alone…!)
The hand behind her gets closer and closer. She can’t escape.
“No, no!”
Yua repeats it in her mind over and over again. However, the hands of her pursuer drew unrelentingly near. No matter how fast her legs moved, she couldn’t shake him off. There was no one there to save her this time. Finally…
“Gotcha.”
The man’s large hand yanks Yua’s arm back.
“Nooo! Let me go!”
Yua resisted desperately. But Yua’s strength is nothing compared to the man’s, and he drags her off the ground by her arm.
“Alright, you’re coming along with me.”
“No!! Someone, anyone…!”
“Shut up! Or I’ll wring your pretty neck!”
“Hii! No, why… Why are you doing this!?”
The man hoists Yua over his shoulder and walks back in the direction they had run from.
“Why? Isn’t that obvious? This is the revolution of the oppressed masses.”
The man laughed to himself.
“Really, isn’t it just wholly unfair? Whilst we’re working ourselves to the bone day in and day out, you get to live in the lap of luxury without a care. Maybe experiencing some hardship for yourself can help you understand.”
He laughs once again. Then,
“Hey, what are you planning on doing with that child?”
She heard a familiar voice.
“A pervert?”
Yua recognized that figure who walked in their direction, parting her blueish black locks behind her head with a flourish. She knew her well.
“Veena-sama…”
Yua said feebly.
“Oi, you shitty brat. The only ones we have business with here are the royal family. Now scram.”
The man stopped walking. But Veena simply kept on approaching, with no regard for the man who blocked her path.
“No, I can’t accept that. I have a job to do, and mother will be cross if I mess up. Besides, that child is a precious friend of mine. Return her.”
That’s how Veena always is. She doesn’t pay the slightest attention to whatever stands in her way, she just always keeps moving.
The distance between the two gradually became smaller.
“Brat… I think it’s lovely that you’ve made a friend, but she’s not worth throwing your life away for. I’ll warn you just one more time, get out of here. I won’t say it again.”
“Fufu, you sure are one to talk, aren’t you? What are you doing in this place, other than throwing your own life away?”
Before he could answer, Veena drove her leg into his stomach.
—
“…Are you alright? That pervert didn’t do anything to you, did he?”
“I’m… okay…”
Veena hugged Yua and rubbed her head. The man’s body lay beside them, he had already stopped breathing.
“Um, Veena-sama… What’s going on?”
Yua did her best not to think about the corpse as she asked about the situation.
“It seems like the rebel army has somehow attacked the castle. But don’t worry, things are almost under control. My elder brother Abel, Glenn and the Knights are taking back control of the city, Leena and I are in the castle and mother and father are going to take the head of the commander. This will all be over soon.”
A gentle voice. As soon as she heard it, the tension slipped out of Yua’s body, and she began to tear up. If she exhaled, she felt like she was going to start bawling her eyes out. The strain of the situation had begun to get to her.
“But, right now, the King and his men are trapped in the throne room. I need to go and help the King, are you able to escape on your own?”
Yua shook her head. It was impossible. She was too scared to even take another step on her own. Feeling as if she might lose her balance at any moment, she clung to Veena’s dress.
Veena sighs at this troublesome girl, and pet Yua’s head again.
“I understand. If it’s like that, shall we go together?”
“…Yeah.”
Veena took Yua’s hand, and began walking again.
(I wanted this child to go back. I’m sure it will be a shock to her to know who planned all this…)
They continued on towards the throne room which was under attack by the rebels.
