A carriage entered the gates to the Wisterian capital city of Serene. It was not a plain carriage commonly found traveling around the place. It even had a group of soldiers escorting it. This carriage was transporting a daughter of a noble, a beautiful young lady wearing a graceful dress. She was the personal maid of the princess.
From inside the carriage, the lone passenger, ra, looked at the ruined city with a horrified expression. She placed a hand on her chest as she took in a heavy breath. The buildings were heavily damaged, wrecked or burned. People had already started the repair, but considering the scale, it would take a trendous amount of ti to fix everything. Soldiers were also patrolling the streets, with a few also helping with the reconstructions.
What happened here?
She had just returned from her break. The ti with her family was enjoyable. The affairs in their territory were going smoothly, so she had nothing to worry about. But to co back to this? It pained her heart to see all the destruction.
As they went through the street, ra felt pity for the people. They all looked so sad and exhausted. She even saw a lone child sitting at the front door of a broken building. Was that perhaps the child’s ho?
ra took in a shaky breath.
The city was attacked? What about the palace? The princess?
Thinking about the potential danger the princess could have faced, ra had grown restless and impatient.
I hope she’s alright…
Her thoughts were mostly centered on the safety of the princess. There was no way she was hard, at least, that was she was hoping so deeply. ra glanced back outside. People were staring at her carriage and looking at her. She didn’t want to see those struggling expressions of theirs, it was hard, and thus she looked away, avoiding anyone’s eye.
If only this carriage would hurry.
With every passing second and mont, the more she grew restless for the princess’s wellbeing. The ti to reach the palace felt longer than what it was supposed to be. As she got closer to the palace, she saw wreckage on the green plains. They must be so sort of contraptions. There were also a few knights there.
A short while later, she arrived at the gates. The carriage was stopped. Several knights were posted outside. One of the people guarding her got off his steed and went to talk with one of the knights. A mont later, the knights approached ra’s carriage.
“Pardon , milady. But will you please exit the carriage?”
They’re stricter with security.
But such a thing was to be expected. ra didn’t complain and complied with the request. She exited the carriage nervously. She then noticed the main gate was damaged, and people were currently working to repair it.
“Um, I’m the princess’s personal maid, ra Sylvares.”
The knights looked at each other and nodded, confirming her identity. ra wasn’t too worried about it though, the knights knew her and her position.
“I apologize, but we do not allow carriages to go inside for the ti being. You will have to enter alone.”
“I understand.”
“Please, follow .”
The knight began walking to the side entrance. But before she followed, she faced one of her guards that spoke with the knights. It was a middle-aged muscular man with short hair and a beard. He was one of the trusted n serving ra’s family.
ra smiled. “I’ll be going then.”
“Take care, milady.” He smiled back and bowed his head.
“You too. Be careful on the way back.”
“Yes. But should we leave so soon? Things don't look so good.”
“... I think I will be fine.”
“How about we stay in the city for a couple of days? If we don’t hear from you, we’ll head straight back.”
“Alright. But please send soone to tell my family. They might get concerned if your arrival is delayed.”
“I understand.” He turned towards a knight. “Can we ask what happened here?”
“You are a noble’s soldier, yes? If so, it is best to wait until the palace gives an official announcent.”
The soldier frowned and turned towards ra. “We’ll be going then, milady. Perhaps we’ll also try getting information to tell your father.”
With a nod, ra walked towards the side entrance. Inside, she was feeling a bit nervous about the tense atmosphere the knights were exuding. But she gathered up the courage to ask a question that had been bugging her mind.
“Um, excuse ,” she called out to the knight in front of her. “What happened?”
The knight paused. “We were attacked by the Empire.”
The knight told her, despite denying the soldier from earlier. Likely because ra herself was from the palace, so he deed it was safe to tell.
“The Empire…? Um, is the princess I serve alright? She was not hard, right?”
Suddenly, the room dropped silent, giving off a strange feeling. ra was confused on why they were acting this way.
The knight placed a hand behind his head. “Um, I think you should ask the higher-ups about it. We can’t just divulge that information.”
“Can’t divulge? Why? W-What happened? Tell .”
“Please, proceed.”
The knight opened the door and held out his hand towards the outside, indicating for ra to proceed. ra was hesitant for a second because of her confusion. But she realized these knights were not intending on answering her, so she gave a brief nod and continued on.
When she felt the fresh breeze again, and under the light of the sun, she froze when she saw what had beco of the palace. Her eyes widened in shock, placing a hand on her lips. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It was in ruins. The top floor was basically nonexistent. The people had already started rebuilding, but she could imagine it would take a long, long ti to restore it to its forr glory.
Seeing all the destruction, ra only grew more anxious. The floor that was destroyed, it was where the princess's room was located. She shook her head, to shake away all the negative thoughts building up inside her mind. Surely the dear princess was not hard.
ra walked to the palace entrance with a quickened pace. She wanted the answer of what happened now. When she arrived at the entrance, no one was getting in her way, so it must be safe to get inside the building.
When she stepped inside the main lobby, she looked around, looking for soone she knew. Her first thoughts may have been the princess, but she also didn’t forget the other maids, which were also her roommates, on the sa floor.
There were knights and other servants in the lobby, but it would seem the hard part of the cleaning was already mostly done. At least in this part of the palace. She didn’t know where to start searching.
I should search for the princess first.
She was about to do such, but then she noticed two maids coming out of the hallway.
“Ellie! Macey!” ra called out to them with a joyful smile.
The two maids turned to ra with a surprised expression.
“ra!” Ellie shouted.
“You’re here!” Macey smiled with teary eyes.
The three maids ran at each other and hugged together tightly.
“Thank the gods you two are fine!” ra said.
“You too,” answered Ellie. “But it’s good you were not here when it happened.”
Macey sniffed. “It was so scary…! I thought we were going to die.”
ra stared at Macey for a mont, seeing how scared she was recalling what happened.
“It, it was that bad?”
“It was too terrible…” Macey rubbed the tear rolling down her cheek.
ra lowered her head, there must have been so many that died.
“It’s good that you’re here,” ra said. “Now I’m relieved to see you’re alive. Have you ssaged your families yet?”
Macey nodded. “Yes, but the palace still needs servants to clean things up.”
“It will be so ti before we get to return ho to rest. At least until the funeral.”
“... Funeral… whose funeral…?” She was scared to ask that question.
Macey had a sad expression on her face. “The queen is dead.”
“What…?” ra took a step back with a heavy heart. She was shocked to hear it. A royal was dead. The queen. She had never imagined sothing like this would happen. For sothing like this to happen in the capital city. ra placed a hand on her mouth. “Oh no…”
For their queen to die, it was too terrible. She was a gentle and kind ruler. She was an extrely respected person. It was too terrible of a feeling to realize that her queen had died. But, it would be even worse for the princess.
“H-How did this happen?”
“... I heard one of the Empire’s soldiers killed her,” Macey answered.
“Those fucking bastards,” Ellie remarked.
The princess loved her own mother so much. It must be heartbreaking to see her die. The princess must be crying so much.
“The princess,” ra said. “How is the princess doing?”
Strangely, Macey and Ellie looked at each other, hesitation evident in her eyes. ra was puzzled on why they were acting that way.
“ra…” Ellie pursed her lips for a mont. “... Princess Estelia is missing.”
ra blinked a few tis and shook her head. “Missing? Missing how?”
“... We don’t know much…” Macey answered.
“No, no. How can she be missing? What kind of missing? Is she just missing? Is she alive? She’s alive, right? Since when is she missing? How is she not found yet? How…?” ra’s heart throbbed, and she took in rapid deep breaths. Her thoughts were swirling in chaos.
“Calm down, ra!” Ellie held ra’s shoulders, trying to snap ra out of her panic. But her efforts didn’t seem effective.
“W-Where is she? I-Is she okay? Is she alone? S-She must be alone. Who, who took her?!” she asked Ellie who was directly at her face.
“We don’t know.”
“What kind of people took her…? What if they’re doing sothing terrible to her? No, no, no! This can’t be happening!”
ra couldn’t help but imagine things happening to the princess. Without anyone to watch over her, to guard over her, without ra by her side, she could be in a terrible and scary place. Given the terrible situation, it felt like a terrible nightmare. Sothing like this had never happened before. The princess never left far from her ho.
“Slow and deep breaths, ra. Calm down. The knights are searching for her, don’t worry.”
“B-But, how long has she been missing? Can they still even find her? What if she is not in the city anymore? What if she’s already far from here?”
Suddenly soone stepped in beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
“ra.”
The princess’s personal maid turned towards the source of that familiar voice.
“Sir Vernon…”
“Panicking will not do you any good.”
“B-But—”
“Can you two ladies please excuse us for the mont? I want to talk with ra.”
The two maids nodded at each other.
“Understood,” Ellie answered before turning back to ra. “We’ll be around. Find us if you want.”
With that, ra’s friends left. Once they were left alone, Vernon gave ra a sad look.
“ra, the princess was lost during the assault, likely taken. We are still gathering more information about the situation.”
She stayed silent for a mont, as though she was processing what she had heard. “... Please tell she’s still alive.”
Vernon sighed. “Considering that there’s no corpse or anything, it is safe to assu she’s still alive.”
“Safe to assu…? So all we have are assumptions?”
Knowing that, ra couldn’t help but feel frustrated about it. It wasn’t confird she was alive, nor was she dead. She started to regret that she even ca ho. If she was here, perhaps ra could have done sothing. Perhaps she could have prevented the princess from being taken. She could have helped, even if she were to sacrifice her own life for the princess.
Tears began welling up in her eyes.
ra took a deep breath. “... Where is the queen…?”
“... She’s currently in the throne room.”
“I wish to pay my respects.”
“... Very well. I’ll bring you there.”
ra rubbed her tears off as they began making their way to the throne room. Her steps were heavy, almost felt like she was about to collapse. However, she pushed on.
She arrived at the throne room. In the hall were chairs lined up together. ra saw so capital nobles sitting down wearing their formal outfits. A heavy and depressing air filled the chamber. At the front of the hall, instead of the thrones, was a single coffin.
It was a coffin made of the highest quality. Emblazoned with gold and silver, made with the finest and polished wood. The upper part of the coffin was open, allowing one to behold the queen’s face once more. The coffin was surrounded by wisteria, and so other colorful and beautiful flowers.
“Do… Do the people in the city know about this…?” ra asked in curiosity.
“Not yet…”
ra nodded. And she began walking towards the coffin. On the way, she noticed that the queen’s brother was absent. She expected he would be here. But he might be just so busy right now, especially the chaos the country was currently under.
ra arrived right beside the coffin. And there she saw the silver haired queen’s face. It was almost like she was peacefully sleeping. She was completely clean and beautiful, like her daughter.
“My queen… may you find peace and paradise in our Lord and Lady’s embrace.” ra placed a hand on the coffin’s wooden surface. Tears slowly flowed down her face.
I’m sorry about your daughter… Please, wherever she may be, watch over her.
After a mont, ra turned her back, about to leave. But then she encountered the king.
ra grew stiff and curtsied.
“Your Majesty.”
“Hello, ra. I’m glad to see you safe.”
“Y-You too, Your Majesty. And, I am deeply sorry for your loss.”
The king faintly nodded and ford a small smile. “Are you doing alright?”
“... Um…” She didn’t know how to respond.
“I take it you have heard about what happened to Estelia?”
“Yes…”
“I see… Don’t worry, we’re doing everything we can to find her.”
“Yes, thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Have you told her about him?” the king asked Vernon.
“... Not yet. But I was about to.”
ra was puzzled. “Him?”
“Perhaps we should talk outside the room. If you’ll excuse us, Your Majesty.”
“Of course.”
ra anxiously followed Vernon until they were in the hallway going to the main lobby. Then, Vernon stopped.
“It’s about Rogan.”
“... W-What about Sir Rogan?”
“During the battle, he fought bravely. Unfortunately, he did not survive.”
“W-What?” It felt like her ears rang. “You’re saying he, he’s dead?”
“Yes…”
ra leaned on the wall.
“How…? Why is this happening?”
She took several deep breaths. There was just too much. The princess was lost, the queen perished, and now Rogan too. Her coworker and friend. The princess’s personal knight. The growing weight of the pile, she couldn’t carry them all anymore.
“H-Has Sir Rogan’s family taken his body?”
“No, we will prevent that. He’s in another room, along with the other elite knights that died.”
“… Can I please see him?”
“Of course.”
Vernon led her to a large room. Inside were several coffins lined up. These coffins were by no ans cheap, they were so luxurious as well. Vernon stood at a particular coffin, one that ra assud to be Rogan’s. Vernon slowly opened the upper lid.
ra approached and saw Rogan’s face. ra couldn’t help but lean on the coffin. Her eyes blinked rapidly. Her heart throbbed in pain. It was too much. She couldn’t endure the shock anymore. Seeing him lifeless, his eyes closed, was different from hearing it.
“ra…”
“I can’t believe this…”
“... He fought to his last breath. I heard he took out a lot of the enemies. He died fulfilling his duty. He kept the enemies off the princess.”
ra took a deep breath. “Of course… He may be annoying sotis, but he is reliable. With him beside her, I can be relieved to know that he too would protect her with his life.”
And he did.
“May you find peace and paradise in the Lord and Lady’s embrace, my dear friend…” She touched the coffin with respect as she did the queen’s. A mont later, she nodded at Vernon.
Vernon closed the lid.
ra lowered her head, sobbing, tears falling down on the floor. “Too much is happening… This is too much, Sir Vernon… I can’t… I can’t…” She kept wiping her tears, but another would take their place.
And her knees weakened, she was about to fall but Vernon caught her.
“T-This is too much. Why, why does this have to happen?”
Vernon gave her a gentle embrace and patted her back.
ra leaned her head on Vernon’s chest, and his cloth was starting to wet in tears.
“I-It’s only the two of u-us left. Sir Rogan is gone. The princess i-is missing…”
“We’ll figure it out, ra.”
“I-I…”
It was then Vernon noticed that she limped.
“ra?”
He tried calling out to her, but her eyes remained closed. It would appear she passed out. Vernon heaved a long, heavy sigh and carried her to a room. She should take a rest. The shock and grief were too much for her to handle.
“I’m sorry, ra. But you’ll get through this…”
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