<b>Fairy Tale Parody ăCinderellaă part two</b>
. The sound of a fist smacking a table resounded inside the elegant office.
The lone person in the room, who had an irritated expression on his face, was the neighboring countryâs prince, Shade.
Though Shade was a prince well-known for his good looks and sociable character, the signs of exhaustion and unbridled frustration were evident even on his face right now. Which wasnât at all surprising. After all, he was now away from his own country to look for his elder sister who had encountered a kidnapper and been missing for two years.
Their father, Kaffir, had been searching all over the country with Shade during these two years. They walked as far as their feet could take them and visited every nook and corner in search of the missing princess.
However, the result bore no fruit.
Shade visited the neighboring country with a heart weighing with overwhelming concern and hope that he wouldnât find proof of his royal sisterâs death. In place of his father who couldnât leave the country, he decided to head as far as the neighboring country to spread the search operation.
It was because Wolfgang, this countryâs crown prince, was someone deeply tied to his royal sister through fate. Had his royal sister, Lycoris, not encountered a kidnapper, she wouldâve already been introduced as his fiancee. The two countriesâ diplomatic ties ran deep and it was easy to travel to and fro between them. Shade staked a small glimmer of hope that maybe he could find his elder sister, who he couldnât find in his own country, in this one.
A ball with a pretext to ădecide the crown princeâs spouseă was held about a month ago. The King hosted this for Shade in order to find Lycoris. Under his royal command, girls of the same age as Lycoris had been gathered from all over the country. However, his dear sister wasnât among them.
The only method left for Shade was straight-up information gathering and investigation. That⊠wasnât going quite well either. Right now, the reports coming back to him were that ăthere was no report of a girl similar to Lycoris in the areaă.
The words ăthen sheâs alreadyâŠăand the words ăthereâs still hopeă clashed with each other inside Shadeâs heart.
It was at that timeâŠ
A knock sounded in the office, and a tall, young man entered.
Black hair and violet eyes. It was this countryâs crown prince, Wolfgang.
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Wolfgang came here to bring a certain piece of information to the dispirited Shade.
ăShade. Did you receive the list of people who didnât attend the ball a month ago?ă
ăâŠâŠYeah. I got it right after the ballă
ăI came to know that there was someone who wasnât on that listă
After Shade took in his words, Wolfgang almost couldnât bear to look at the ray of hope that ignited in Shadeâs fierce red orbs, out of pity.
If it was his father, his sole family member, whoâd gone missing⊠Wolfgang would probably have done the exact same thing as Shade and continued searching, even if went on forever. Heâd cling on to whatever hope was given to him, no matter how small the chances may seem to an outsider.
ăThereâs a girl named Lily who lives in a mansion at the outskirts. She wasnât on the list because her family hadnât reported sheâd be absent. But then again, I hear she has golden hair and green eyesâŠâŠă
ăExternal features can be changed. In any case, Iâll meet her and have a lookă
Contrary to Shadeâs clear response, he looked worn down. Perhaps it was because Wolfgang ended up seeing him in this state that the words ăIâll accompany youă flew out from his mouth.
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The two left the castle without their guards and finally arrived at the intended mansion shortly afterward.
It was quite a large but dilapidated mansion. It looks like the fence surrounding the mansion and the like would fall apart just by touching it.
It was at that exact moment a figure emerged from the mansion.
The two princes would have no way of knowing this, but it was the maid who visited Lycoris to help Lily. Carrying a basket in one hand, she came closer to the fence while paying careful attention to her surroundings.
When Shade called out ăExcuse me!ă with as bright of a voice as he could muster, the maid looked startled and sent the pair a suspicious glance. Judging from her reaction, the mansion probably doesnât get many guests.
ăThereâs something Iâd like to ask, but I wonder if itâs alright? Do you happen to be a servant of this mansionïŒă
Shade plastered on a broad, amiable smile. No matter what was going on in his mind, his outward appearance looked absolutely cheery.
ăY-yes. Well, I am, butâŠâŠă
Even if it hadnât removed her wariness, it seems the maid became inclined to speak with Shade.
ăActually, Iâm looking for someoneâŠâŠSheâs a girl right about the same age as me with golden hair and green eyesâŠâŠă
ăâŠâŠâŠâŠMay I know what sort of business do you have with herïŒă
ăActually, uhmâŠâŠă
Shade tilted his head to the side embarrassedly, and with a bashful smile on his face, said:
ăâŠâŠI fell in love with her at first sight. I happened to see her figure in this neighborhood and couldnât get her out of my head since. I heard from hearsay that a lady fitting the description lived here soâŠâŠăOf course, I donât mean to force her. But, if I could just see her. If I could just have a few words with her at leastâŠâŠă
Wolfgang ended up more impressed than flabbergasted. He was amazed at how Shade could keep spouting lies after lies, chock full of emotion.
As for the maid, she looked like she now firmly believed in Shadeâs act of an ăinexperienced, love-struck, young ladă. Looking at their appearance, it was evident that the two young men were people who were living good lives.
ăWellâŠâŠăMiss Lily is a cute girl, so I suppose these sort of things happen tooă
ăâLilyâ⊠so thatâs her nameâŠ? Would you perhaps allow me to meet with herïŒă
ăBut, I have to ask her about it⊠She isnât at the mansion right nowă
ăIâll gladly wait however long it takesă
ăEh?ăAah, is that so. ButâŠâŠă
The maid, who, for some reason, had been deep in thought with an expression indicating there was more to this than meets the eye, finally gave Shade this suggestion.
ăToday is inconvenient for her. Please come around at this time again tomorrow. The young miss, herself, will decide whether sheâll meet with you or not before thenă
With an immediate response of ăGot ită, Shade gave a broad smile, conveyedïŒwith a naturally fake persona) how he understood that it was because he had this sort of origin and withdrew.
Of course, that was just for show.
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Now, unaware that she was being tailed by the two young men, the maid continued on her way to the witchâs house.
Lilyâs mother hadnât opposed when Lily decided to live with the ăgood witchă.
There would be one less person to feed and there would no longer be a daughter to inherit the house. After weighing those two factors in, it seems she worked out that it was a good opportunity to get rid of a nuisance.
The maid now found spare time at work to enter the forest under the guise of looking for wild berries and nuts. Sneakily concealing souvenirs of pastries in her basket.
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The path she traveled on often in the past month was something the maid had gotten used to. So long as she carried the scented bag she got from Lycoris, she will never get attacked by the animals inside the forest.
The maidâs stride turned into a bounce. She was looking forward to informing the ladies about the pair of young men she met a while ago. She was a woman who also loved tales of beautiful young men and love.
Halfway along the path in the forest, the maid spotted two shadows walking towards her direction. It was a pair wearing long hooded cloaks that Lycoris calls a ămagician uniformă.
Truth is, the maid was dissatisfied with their outfits that didnât exude an ounce of sex appeal. The maidâs precious young misses, which wasnât limited to Lily but also Lycoris, were young, beautiful women. It wouldnât kill them to wear slightly more glamorous outfits.
ăYou two!ă, when the maid called out, the pair noticed her and waved their hands at her.
ăI was just about to visit. Where are the two of you heading off toïŒă
The maid started talking loudly to the pair who were still a little far away.
ăThereâs a job request. Iâm even allowed to come along as a discipleïŒă
Lily answered, looking a little jolly, and Lycoris also gave a friendly smile.
ăIâm thinking of taking on several more requests. I did get a reliable discipleă
After hearing that, Prince Shade could no longer stay still.
ăElder SisterïŒă
Shade leapt out from the shadows and started running up to Lycoris in a beeline. How overwhelming must have been the happiness in his heart!
But the one who displayed the most remarkable reaction of them all over his behavior â perhaps due to something called wisdom from ageâ was the elderly maid.
She tripped Shade, who tried to run towards Lycoris and Lily, and climbed on top of him without waiting for him to get his bearings and said:
ăUnbelievable! You actually tailed me! To think, I actually thought you were a good young man!ă
Once she said this, looking indignantly, she turned to the girls and warned them.
ăPlease run away, misses! Iâll deal with this hooligan somehowïŒă
With the maidâs reliable push on the back, the pair turned their heels.
However, the princes couldnât let the pair get away from here either. Wolfgang started to chase their retreating forms.
Although they didnât quite understand the situation, Lycoris and Lily had the advantage. The pair decided to escape in different directions to confuse him.
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Now, here came the problem.
The one who had the problem was Prince Wolf.
He didnât know the figure or voice of the person who shouldâve become his fiancee.
The princess was abducted before he could meet her face-to-face. Whatâs more, because Lycorisâs father, King Kaffir, was stingy on his daughterâs portraits, he hasnât even seen her on a portrait.
Still, he knew that her eyes and hair were both black, at least. But the young women were both wearing hoods over their eyes. Inside the forest where the trees obstruct the light, it was impossible to distinguish the pairâs eye colors.
Nevertheless, Wolfgang didnât commit the folly of stopping his chase just because he was troubled over which one to follow of the pair that split up.
In other words, he followed his instincts and pursued the one that caught his eye to the best of his abilities.
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Being the one getting chased, Lycoris was honestly rattled.
A tall, unknown young man in black was wholeheartedly chasing after her.
It was a justifiably terrifying experience. Her heart was pounding like crazy. She couldnât even afford to scream.
Since their stride and physical endurance were poles apart, before long, the gap between the two steadily grew narrower, and finally, Wolfgang caught the escaping Lycoris by the arm.
And around nearly the same time, a fierce cry reverberated inside the forest.
ăDonât touch LycorisïŒïŒă
The owner of the cry was Lily.
A strong gust of wind, that suddenly brushed aside the cool breeze, swept across the forest. Her talent was exquisite. However, given that she only started learning a month ago, Lilyâs magic was still lacking in control.
Hit by the strong gust of wind, Wolfgang and Lycoris lost their balance. Though to be exact, the one who lost the most balance was Lycoris.
It became a disaster because there was a tiny bump in the road beside the two. With her eyes shut, Lycoris tripped on the bump right away, unaware that Wolfgang caught her in his arms to shield her from harm.
After getting tangled up and tumbling down, the pair skidded to a halt on top of a carpet of grass on which sunlight was streaming onto through the trees.
And so, Wolfgang and Lycoris, whose hood fell down during her stumble, saw each othersâ faces up close for the very first time.
Having easily sat up and paused, Wolfgang was now supporting the back of Lycorisâs head with his right hand. Thanks to that, they were extremely up close. No doubt, close enough to feel the otherâs breathing. Although it was clearly an inappropriate distance for a man and woman of the same age whoâd only just met, they didnât try to distance themselves from the other.
This was because by peering into Wolfgangâs violet eyes, Lycoris was assaulted by a sense of deja vu strong enough to deprive her of thoughts.
ăWhat bewitching violet eyesă
âIâm sure I said that sort of phrase once beforeâ, Lycoris thought.
It wasnât long ago when Lycoris thought of Wolfgang as ăan unknown young mană, but she had, in fact, seen his portrait many times in the past.
The king wasnât stingy with his sonâs portraits, so he often has portraits painted of his son, Wolfgang, and sends them to Lycoris.
As she witnessed the young boy gradually growing up through the paintings, Lycoris nurtured the small love that budded in her heart.
It was at that time⊠that the previous ăgood magiciană discovered Lycoris.
Her predecessor also saw through that the young girl in front of herâ Lycoris, was someone who should become her disciple according to fate. And so, the magician brought Lycoris home in order to pass on the wisdom dwelling in her withering, old bones.
âŠall without permission from Lycorisâs family.
In short, it was an abduction.
It was an occupation that one could do nothing about even if they get called ăevil witchesă . You could say that was a good example of something predetermined which causes a great deal of trouble to others from time to time.
The witch cast a spell for Lycoris to forget her past. Of course, the witch was still human. It wasnât a spell that erases the memories of the past, but a spell that prevents one from forcibly recalling their past until something triggers it.
And so, around three months ago, after passing on a wealth of knowledge to Lycoris, whose memorization skills, at least, was acceptable, in just a short span of two years, her predecessor died a natural death.
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Now, while Lycoris was lost in thought while staring into Wolfgangâs eyes, Wolfgang naturally continued to look into Lycorisâs eyes as well.
There was no longer any doubt that this girl with black hair and black eyes was the neighboring countryâs princess. It hadnât quite occurred to him before this encounter that this was his own fiancee. Seeing her in front of him, Wolfgang was perplexed.
He couldnât take his eyes off her.
An indescribable feeling swelled up inside him for the girl who was meekly settled in his arms. It was something that Wolfgang has never felt before.
If pushed to describe the feeling, it was the sort that felt as if ăno matter what happens, he didnât want to let go this handă.
And Wolfgang was a very decisive man.
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ăOi, Wolfgang, quit fooling around, get away from her! Father may very well collapse next if thereâs a huge lump like you sticking to Lycoris when she comes home! Even though you were acting like you were only concerned out of obligation till just now! You closet pervert!ă
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Said the neighboring prince who raged on and on.
ăIâm sorry Lycoris! Please forgive me! Donât hate meïŒă
Said the witchâs disciple who was in a panic for getting Lycoris in this mess with her magic.
It seems thereâs still a long way to go before this situation gets settled, but the story will be brought to a close here.