Bonus Short Stories

The Fool’s Faux Pas

Once we were in our carriage and a safe distance from the masquerade ball, Lady Therese and Julia slipped off their masks. They peered into my face, their grins stretching wider by the second.

“So how was it, Lady Elianna? Did you enjoy your first masquerade ball?”

After untying my mask as well, I stared at them for a moment and sighed. “I feel a bit...exhausted.”

“Oh dear.” Lady Therese and Julia exchanged glances.

Julia smiled over at me. “Eli, you disappeared off to the garden with that dashing fellow. We thought it would be rude to interrupt you two, so we didn’t butt in, but...”

“Honestly, I was waiting with bated breath wondering if he’d make it in time. That man has a habit of swooping in at the most opportune moment and stealing the show,” Lady Therese grumbled, cutting my cousin off.

“Well, it’s not like we did anything too spectacular aside from setting the stage,” said Julia.

Lady Therese giggled at that, but I was completely confused as to what they were referring to and could only tilt my head.

I smiled carefully, trying to keep my feelings suppressed. “I’m only filled with remorse that I caused that stranger so much trouble.”

The two of them stared at me, dumbfounded. “Huh?”

“Eli,” my cousin said, “surely you must have realized that phantom was actually—no, this is you we’re talking about. Um... Didn’t you ask his name?”

“It was a masquerade ball. I thought you weren’t allowed to ask people’s names?”

“Well, yes, that’s true,” she mumbled, frowning for some reason as she glanced over at Lady Therese.

The latter expelled a sigh as she spread her folding fan open. Behind it, she mumbled to herself, “That fool...”

I cocked my head at her, but she only smiled back at me.

“It’s fine, Lady Elianna. It’s a gentleman’s duty to clean up after a lady with a smile on his face. And if it erases the involvement of the Fairy Princess in this matter, I am sure he will be all too eager to see it through.” A wicked grin spread across Lady Therese’s lips. “Besides, this is what he gets for not stating his name. And this is our little secret, after all. His Highness knows nothing about it, so he has no right to scold anyone.”

“I suppose so...?” I nodded, though I still wasn’t sure what she was going on about.

Beside me, Jean was pale as a sheet as he mumbled, “You girls sure are carefree in the face of the demon lord. I’d be shakin’ in my boots if I were you.”

Of course, none of us had any way of knowing that another man had shared those same sentiments earlier that night.

The Demon in the Stars

“The stars have an intimate connection to farming—people even have names for them like ‘The Wheat Planting Star’ and ‘The Wheat Cutting Star.’ Observing the heavens is also imperative in the creation of the calendar. In fact, some think the movement of the heavens is intricately linked to events in our past as well.”

A glimmering sky full of stars stretched out overhead.

There were an unusual number of couples this summer attending Orphen’s astronomical observation soiree. This was partly due to a certain girl sharing a story she’d read in some foreign literature with her maid. Word of it spread from there, enveloping the entirety of the palace.

The girl in question was standing a short distance in front of me, listening to the old man’s lecture with vested interest.

“You’re referring to Nostra Oak’s Prophecy from the Stars,” she said. “Entertaining, assuming you read it as a fictional tale, but—”

“No, Lady Elianna. That book prophesied the fall of the Kai Arg Empire, the outbreak of the plague, and our war with Maldura. Every time any major event has happened in history, there has been a disturbance in the stars. That we can say for certain!”

In other words, any time meteor showers, eerily crimson red stars, or enormous comets were spotted, some monumental change followed. All of these were recorded in Prophecy from the Stars, ergo people worshiped Nostra as a prophet. At least, that was the questionable line of thinking this official was imparting, and the girl listened to everything he said without even batting an eyelash.

Oh boy...

I, Alan Ferrera, couldn’t help chuckling in frustration.

The girl in question was, as I am sure you all must have guessed, my master’s betrothed. If her demonstration at the masquerade ball a few days ago was any indication, she was far too gullible and trusting. Well, part of that was my master’s fault for being so overprotective and coddling her.

I spotted Scarecrow standing at the edge of the gathering and made my way over to him. “Why is Lady Elianna here at the palace so late?” If he didn’t inform me of such anomalies promptly, I had no way of dealing with them. The only reason I showed up to this little party was because I was hunting down rumors. Imagine my surprise at seeing my master’s betrothed here.

Scarecrow, who likely knew what this entire party was about before coming here, shrugged as if he couldn’t care less. “The marquess and Alfred were swamped with work. The miss brought ’em some stuff to eat, then that old owl got his claws on her.”

“Aha.” Now I understood how things wound up like this, but we were in no less of a dangerous situation now than we had been a few days prior at the masquerade ball. This was an observation party in name only—it’s true purpose lay elsewhere.

Scarecrow must have understood what I was about to say because he blurted, “Well, don’t worry. We’ll head back soon.”

Unfortunately, right as he finished those words...

“Elianna!”

Word of her being here tonight shouldn’t have even reached the prince yet, but His Highness appeared nonetheless. He sure had a keen intuition and a sharp sense of smell when it came to Lady Elianna.

The couples who’d been whispering sweet nothings to each other under the cover of darkness moments ago now erupted in new whispers. Despite the lack of illumination, our kingdom’s heir to the throne had hair such a brilliant, shining gold color that not even the shadows could not conceal it completely.

“Your Highness...” Lady Elianna shared everyone else’s surprise, spinning around to face him.

The prince hurried over to her, exuding a threatening aura which drove off the man who’d been standing close to the lady. “Is something wrong? It’s so late. If you wanted to partake in this party, you should have asked me to come with you.”

“That’s not necessary,” she said, sounding as monotone and oblivious as she always did.

Prince Chris wasn’t to be deterred, too excited by the delightful surprise of being able to meet with her even at this late hour. “Apparently the foreign love story you shared has started a new tradition among couples of late night dates beneath the stars. I would love to hear what this love story is all about. Won’t you share the tale with me?”

His smile spread, pearly whites sparkling through the darkness as Lady Elianna tilted her head in confusion. “I merely shared a folktale about love from the far east. If you want to know it in detail, the book it came from is in the archives currently. Shall I borrow it for you?”

“No, I would prefer to hear it straight from your lips.” He was being unusually persistent today. Perhaps he was feeling the effects of their evening at the masquerade ball. The thought tickled me with delight.

Sadly for him, the worst pest imaginable chose that most inopportune moment to appear.

“Eli!” called the cheerful voice of Prince Chris’s archnemesis—Marquess Bernstein.

“Father!”

“After eating the food you brought, I sped through the rest of my work. Come now, it’s late. We should be getting home.”

“Of course.” She nodded before turning to pay her respects to the prince.

The latter’s smile was pulled taut, lips twitching with irritation.

Uh oh...

I was on the verge of bursting out into laughter.

The love story that had been making the rounds at the palace was basically about a princess who’d fallen in love, only for her father to intervene between her and her lover. Thus, the two were only able to meet in secret one night each year during the summer. A similar scene was playing out right in front of me, but sadly for Prince Chris, he wasn’t even getting the opportunity for a secret rendezvous with his beloved.

I bit back my laughter. Both Scarecrow and I hurried away from the scene, though not before we could listen in on Prince Chris’s archnemesis delivering the killing blow.

“By the way, Prince Christopher, I’ve sent along some documents requiring your stamp of approval. We’ll need them first thing tomorrow morning for our meeting. I do hope you’ll have them done in time.”

We didn’t even need to look back to know the demon lord had descended.

The official that babbled all that nonsense did have one thing right: when stars streak across the sky, they foretell the descent of the fearsome demon lord.