Interlude: The Ruined Kingdom’s Princess and the Ducal House

Boundless, breathtaking nature expanded beyond the horizon. This land, where people lived in harmony with the limitless greenery, belonged to House Denning. This flourishing land—which was beloved by the wind itself—was home to countless wind spirits, though the humans who lived there could not see them.

A child of only six years stood in a manor situated in the heart of this land, its halls adorned with red carpets. Despite his young age, the child already had two personal knights by his side.

“Claude, follow me. It’s an emergency,” the boy ordered.

“An emergency? W-Wait, Lord Slowe! Where are you going? If you leave without permission, the duke will scold you again,” Claude cautioned.

“Father is currently in the capital. He won’t find out if you don’t report my absence as my caretaker... Ah, yes. Silva, you come too. This isn’t going to be peaceful, most likely.”

“Heck yeah!” Silva cheered. “Perfect timing. I have spare time right now!”

“Um... Lord Slowe! Whenever you do something brash, I am the one who gets an earful!” Claude exclaimed. “How many times have I told you that you shouldn’t act out of line?!”

The child marched through the corridor, and the two men in crimson coats hurriedly followed after him. Butlers and servants smiled warmly at them as they passed, shuffling aside to allow the three of them to walk off.

“How many times do I have to repeat this before you get it, Mister Claude? Following our lord is all we have to do, no questions asked. The young lord seems to see something we can’t, after all,” Silva said.

The boy with black hair, the one the child had called Silva, still looked quite childlike himself; he was right in the middle of his growth spurt. He was talking to the tall man, Claude, who seemed hesitant about going forward.

“You’re too careless, Silva,” Claude said slowly. “Don’t forget the existence of assassins. These are not peaceful times. Even on Denning lands, such dangerous people are able to come and go. What would you do if something happened to Lord Slowe?”

“If that happens, I’ll save him again,” Silva insisted.

“You’re overconfident. The world is a big place, Silva. There are plenty of people out there who are stronger than you.”

“If I remember right, though, you mentioned that you’ve never left Daryth before,” Silva reminded him. “If we’re looking at it from that standpoint, then I know the world better than you do.”

Claude did not reply.

Claude looked scarcely a day over twenty years old. From the conversation, one could say that this man with a burly build was being looked down upon by Silva. Claude cut off the conversation, turning his attention instead to the young child walking before him.

The child was the third son of Duke Denning, known as the Prodigy of Wind, and his fame knew no bounds.

A few months earlier, there had been an incident where Slowe Denning was targeted by assassins. Ever since then, two guards appointed by Duke Denning, called the Knights of the Twin Wings, had accompanied his beloved son at all times, as the boy had the habit of going outside by himself.

“Mister Claude. Our lord has been a little different ever since monsters broke through into Huzak,” Silva noted.

Claude Mustahd was the Knight of the Right Wing. House Mustahd, a viscount house, was a branch family of House Denning, and Claude was the extremely talented second son of Viscount Mustahd.

His brown hair had a tint of crimson in it, and he had a memorable, surly face that suited someone like him who would follow instructions to the letter. Even now, the solemn man pressed his lips into a thin, tight line as he walked. This man was the one who was assigned to watch over Slowe.

“Lord Slowe grieves over the fact that he wasn’t able to do anything about the war in Huzak.” Claude paused briefly. “He is a kindhearted child. Also, stop calling me ‘mister.’ I’m not yet old enough to be called that.”

“Mister, you have bedhead. And compared to us, you are definitely adult enough.”

“Ah... That may be true, but the people you’re using in your sample are too young.”

“Well, you have a point,” Silva said, and he grinned slightly.

The boy knight, Silva, was a commoner youth. Despite his status, he was the one who had saved Slowe during an assassination attempt a few months prior, and his skill with the blade was exceptional enough to impress even Duke Denning. Unlike Claude, who kept an eye on Slowe Denning, the commoner swordsman’s job was to protect Slowe from danger. That was the only thing that mattered to him.

“Now, let’s head off, milord. What kind of fun things await us today?” Silva asked.

In the early morning, the three took off on their horses and galloped at full speed down the forest road. They took their meal by horseback, not slowing in their stride as they chewed on their bread. At times, they would wave at the people working diligently in the fields; at others, they would pay their respects to the animals that inhabited the land. With the pleasant chirping of birds accompanying them, the scenery passed them by in their rush.

Feeling the refreshing breeze against them, the two knights navigated the many winding roads with ease. Morning dew gathered on the tips of leaves, and they seemed to glimmer in the air.

Slowe, on the other hand, didn’t have the heart to enjoy the beautiful scenery of their journey at all. He was lost deep in thought.

“Lord Slowe, if we continue down this way, we will approach our national border with Huzak,” said Claude.

“Milord, we mustn’t go any further than this,” Silva added in warning.

Slowe narrowed his eyes and looked hard at one of the branches of the three-way fork in the road before them from his position at the front of Silva’s saddle.

“No, that’s not the right way,” Slowe said, pointing. “That way. Go that way.”

“Is there something ahead, milord?” Silva asked.

“You’ll know if you go.” Slowe brushed off the question. “Also, I will be thinking about some matters of import after this, so please don’t talk to me for a while.”

“All righty! Loud and clear!”

Before they knew it, their journey took them off the road and down an animal trail. The three dismounted their horses and continued walking down the trackless path.

Bright sunlight shone into the forest, a paradise for animals. Passing rain might have showered on the forest earlier in the morning, and cool, clear beads of water dripped from the canopy of leaves from time to time. Claude led the way, using his height to his advantage, pushing away branches that obstructed his head with a hint of annoyance at the plants.

After trekking through the dense trees for a while, they came to an open field. There were many passenger carriages and cargo wagons parked there. A range of people had gathered here, from the obscenely rich to lowlife thugs, all laughing vulgarly. All of them were perusing the few dozen people standing on a makeshift podium, making heated negotiations amongst themselves.

The three had stumbled across what was most likely a black market auction, and it was obvious what goods they were discussing. The three hid behind trees and watched the trade of slaves from their spot.

“Mister Claude, the slave trade is banned in this country, isn’t it?” Silva asked slowly.

“Of course. Daryth puts order and tradition above all. There was some trouble with the Freedom Union when the alliance was first formed because of that cultural difference. You probably know that too, Silva.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Oh? That old geezer talking on the stage... The necklace he’s wearing is an inverted cross of rebellion. Huh. I didn’t think that the Freedom Union’s Guild of Rebellion would dare do their dirty business here. On Denning lands of all places. Honestly.”

“Just how good are your eyes?” Claude asked, shocked.

“Mister Claude, your eyes are as narrow as always. Are you still sleepy?”

“Don’t mess around,” Claude snapped.

Unlike the Freedom Union, where everything was free game, this country valued the strict rule of law above all else.

“Those children... By the look of them, they had to have fled from Huzak and fallen into the hands of Freedom Union merchants who’d lain in wait for easy pickings at the country’s border. Wow, all the kids they caught are pretty-looking ones... The old geezer sure has a clear preference,” Silva muttered in disgust.

“I’d heard that most of the refugees escaped to the Freedom Union through Cirquista, but some must have broken through the barricade of monsters and escaped to Daryth...”

Slowe only half-listened to the two knights’ low conversation. There was a girl right in the middle of the abductees who didn’t stand especially out of place, and it was hard to distinguish her unless one squinted. The moment he saw her, Slowe’s expression shifted slightly.

“So that’s how it is...” he murmured.

Slowe understood the situation; he didn’t even have to ask the spirits to explain. Even though the war between the monsters and Huzak had drawn to a close, the Dustour Empire had seen this as a good opportunity and sent in troops to Huzak. Slowe had an idea of what their aim was.

After all, the princess of Huzak, Charlotte Lily Huzak, was still missing.

An old man rubbed his hands together as he approached the three people who’d suddenly appeared from the dense trees. “Well, well. What do we have here? Since you know of this place, you are either comrades who love freedom, or you are intruders.”

The man was most likely one of the organizers of the auction. This man also had an inverted cross earring on his ear, a symbol of the Guild of Rebellion, just like the man on the podium.

“If you are the former, I welcome you, but...” The old man noticed Slowe and followed his gaze to see what he was staring at. “Oh, the child seems to be interested in that girl over there. They look to be of a similar age. Surely she will be a very good playmate for him when they both come of age.”

“Milord, please look at the price tag on that girl. She has more zeroes attached to her number compared to the others. She was probably a girl of quite high status once.”

“How uncouth of you, Silva,” Claude reprimanded.

“Oops. Sorry, mister,” Silva said.

The highest price tag in this auction, in fact, was on that girl. The merchants probably knew that the girl was born of noble blood. They likely intended to put off selling her here, where she could only sell for rock-bottom prices, instead making her purchase impossible until they came to an area with more bidders and bigger purses.

Slowe was quiet, and Silva was concerned. “Milord? Is something wrong?”

At that moment, however, Slowe was losing his composure. Rage, a deep, bottomless rage, simmered and seethed in the air. The Great Spirit of Wind bled emotions into the air, and spirits sensitive to the presence of others of their kind scrambled to flee from the area.

“It appears you are not, in fact, fellow comrades, I see,” the old man said slowly.

The thugs and the hired men were also starting to cast furtive glances towards Slowe and his two knights, watching their every move.

The old man turned towards the only adult in the group: the straightforward Claude. The old man glared at him with a threat in his eyes; if the knight caused a stir here, the guards and his comrades wouldn’t take it lying down. However, Claude looked completely unruffled by the glare.

These people at the auction had yet to realize anything. Though the crimson coat might have been unfamiliar in lands of the Freedom Union where they enjoyed free rein, it was the ultimate symbol of justice in Daryth, the Country of Knights.

“Ah, well.” Claude cleared his throat. “Silva. Our lord seems to find these people very distasteful indeed. Unfortunately, we do not have money on us, and we cannot buy these girls off them. However! The trade of slaves in Daryth is illegal. All of this aside, this is House Denning territory, and we are knights officially conferred by the lord of this land.”

Almost as if Claude was trying to quell his master’s anger, he raised his voice on purpose and put on an exaggerated act.

“Indeed, playing such a role is pretty fitting for me, since I’m a commoner.” Silva nodded, backing Claude up in his slightly awkward attempt to reassure Slowe. Then, Silva knelt before Slowe. Silva had never seen such an expression on Slowe’s face before. It was almost as if he was about to cry, but simultaneously furious, fearful, and resolute.

“Milord. But give me an order, and that’s all you need to do,” Silva said.

“An order...? Ah, yeah... Yeah, that’s right,” Slowe mumbled.

The commoner boy liked this child. Silva was so fond of him, in fact, that he’d taken a fancy to living as this child’s knight for the rest of his life, even though Silva himself had no relatives at all. Well, technically, he did have an ulterior motive, juuust slightly. By serving the great noble house of Daryth, House Denning, he might receive something like a title of nobility one day.

“Just be yourself, milord. Us Knights of the Twin Wings exist to serve you,” Silva continued.

“Lord Slowe, it is exactly as he says. As long as you have Silva and me, we should be able to deal with most situations,” Claude declared.

Slowe looked up at the two knights, kneeling down before him and waiting for orders with hands over their hearts. I can’t see their faces very well due to the light shining through the leaves behind them, but they really are too good for me, Slowe thought.

So that he could answer their faith in him, Slowe spoke without hesitation. “Destroy this place.”

The two knights stood, answering Slowe Denning’s order.

Claude fixed his gaze on the slave auction with anger in his eyes; it was an unforgivable concept in Daryth. He spoke to the young boy standing next to him. “Silva, I’ll leave the left to you. I’ll take care of the right.”

Silva pitied the devout believers of freedom standing on the makeshift podium. As a fellow comrade who loves freedom, I’ll take these people as a perfect example of what I shouldn’t do, he thought and nodded to himself inwardly. Then, like always, he replied jokingly to his senior knight as he stepped forward. “Don’t drag me down, Mister Claude.”

All humor vanished from his expression when both of the two knights began to sprint. They drew their swords without hesitation and crossed steel with the guards. They mercilessly cut down all who’d dared participate in illegal trade on Denning lands.

But Slowe Denning did not even look for a second at the ruckus the knights were causing. His eyes were fixed solely on the young girl weighed down by iron shackles, and he burnt the image of her into his mind.

The small girl with sullied silver hair didn’t look at the uproar that was going on. She didn’t flee like the others either. She was still, as if she was trying to weather the storm, and the girl’s large eyes were staring off into space, somewhere far away, under the same sky.

The girl didn’t register the magnificent scenery of the Denning lands, which existed in harmony with the serene green of nature. Slowe had no idea what the silver-haired girl was thinking.

He also couldn’t decipher what it was she clutched to her chest, clinging to it for dear life.

“Slowe. We’re running away.”

“Okay, thanks for telling me. I’ll calm the anger of the Great Spirit,” Slowe replied.

Up until this moment, Slowe Denning had never heard the voices of spirits this clearly.

Indeed. This child had been led here to this place by the spirits. Hearing that a Great Spirit could go berserk at any moment, he’d rushed all the way here.

Humans typically couldn’t hear the voices of the spirits, beings that were blessings of nature. The spirits didn’t always bring good news; the last time Slowe heard their voices, there had been a large wildfire in the forest, and it had been on the brink of becoming a catastrophe of an unprecedented scale.

As for now... Now he understood why the spirits had brought him here. So the Great Spirit of Wind sought refuge in Daryth together with the princess of Huzak, he thought.

Huzak had been destroyed, and its princess and great guardian spirit had escaped to this country. Slowe didn’t know what they wished to do, nor what they would bring to Daryth. Perhaps, they might bring calamity down upon his family’s lands. But now that he knew of their existence, there was no way he could leave them like this.

If I let them be, great harm will be caused to the Denning lands... Now then, where are you right now, Great Spirit of Wind? And what in the world do you look like? The prodigy of Denning hardened his resolve, and he stepped forward.

●

“Ugh, what are you doing?! You only need to worry about those two people! They’re your only opponents! How much money do you think I paid to hire you all?!”

She ran, and ran, and ran, as far as her legs could carry her. She lost count of how many times she thought she would die. She lost count of how many times she was hungry and starved in misery.

What saddened her the most, however, was seeing the lives lost for her sake.

She lost count of how many times she cried. She lost count of how many times she convinced herself that it was all a terrible dream.

“Those two are knights of House Denning! They aren’t just any random knights! They are warriors who can rival the Royal Knights— No, they are warriors who are even stronger than them!”

By now, the castle and the surrounding town must’ve been in ruins. Everything was probably destroyed, and all the places from her memories were gone.

Though she was young, she still understood that everyone was going somewhere, leaving her behind.

Though she was young, she ended up understanding where everyone went.

And in the end, she was all alone.

Her happy memories were painted over with suffering, and many times she thought that she would rather die.

“That was why I objected to holding this here! Picking a fight with House Denning in this country is asking for death!”

That was why I decided on this: I wouldn’t cry anymore. I absolutely wouldn’t cry.

After all, I’m going to forget it all. They took away my clothes, my wand... I am no longer a princess. Everything in my memories is a lie.

They are lies, so I am not sad. I won’t shed any more tears.

The world in her vision became blurry. The once vibrant world lost all its colors, and she couldn’t even see the things right in front of her clearly.

That is why I won’t accept any of it.

“What the hell are you guys?! Why—”

The only thing Charlotte could do in retaliation to this cruel world was to reject anything and everything in it.

●

The young Charlotte didn’t realize the changing situation around her in her torpor. She didn’t notice the two knights, who appeared out of nowhere, fighting below the podium. She didn’t notice that everyone other than her had already fled.

Someone entered her hazy world. She cracked open her eyes slightly. There was a boy about the same height as her in front of her. He wasn’t an adult, and that fact alone made Charlotte a little relieved.

“Hello. My name is Slowe. What’s yours?”

“...”

“Can you hear my voice?”

Charlotte did not utter a single word. Though she could hear him, she suddenly felt embarrassed, and she didn’t reply. Up until just a little while ago, she’d also worn more high-class clothing, like he did. Her clothes had been soft and warm, and just wearing them had made her feel like she was wrapped in a blanket.

She didn’t want to show herself in such a pitiful state to a boy her age. But the boy spoke unhindered, and Charlotte couldn’t tell whether he knew what she was thinking or not.

“Everyone kidnapped by them has run away. Are you not going to run too?”

Of course, she ignored him. The young girl didn’t respond to his questions; she only stared into space.

“What do I do now...? Hm? That’s—” Slowe focused on the thing that Charlotte was hugging. To be frank, he had been curious about it for a while.

From what he could see, he guessed it was a plush toy. One of its eyes and ears were missing, and stuffing was coming out of its left foot. It had transformed into an eerie creature, almost as if it was originally a monster in the first place. Slowe was curious about what animal this toy was supposed to be.

“By the way, what’s that you’ve got there? It’s in pretty bad shape.”

Charlotte showed her first reaction after she heard those words. Her body tensed up, and she tightened her arms around the item she carried.

Slowe’s intuition told him that this item was the only small thread tying the princess of Huzak to this world.

“Is it a puppy? Or is it a cat?” He tried to peer a little closer. “It has four feet, and its one ear is small. It’s a little puppy. I’m right, aren’t I?”

Charlotte glared at the boy before her with her big eyes. To Charlotte, this soft toy was a friend, a comrade in arms that consoled her all this time. Charlotte couldn’t understand how someone could think that her friend was a puppy, no matter what angle they were looking at him from.

Charlotte looked down at the toy she was hugging. There, in her arms, was a dirty soft toy falling apart. He had also lost his black left eye. True, maybe it couldn’t be helped that the boy had made that mistake.

“...ong.” Her voice was small and hoarse.

She sounded almost like she’d forgotten how to speak, as if she was trying to regain her voice. The sound she made was unintelligible, fumbling as she went.

Charlotte was supposed to have forgotten everything. But she couldn’t very well stay silent after hearing her friend being called a puppy, of all things.

“That’s strange. It doesn’t look like anything other than a little puppy to me.”

In all honesty, she hadn’t intended on responding to the boy’s words. Since the whole world was a lie, she’d thought she’d ignore him. And yet...

Within Charlotte’s vision, Slowe, who was tilting his head in question, started coming into focus.

He isn’t a little puppy. You’re wrong. This little one is a soft toy filled with all kinds of memories, she thought.

“Y...You’re wrong. This boy...is...” she stammered.

It all came back to her. All the memories that Charlotte had tried to forget played vividly in her mind.

Painful memories. But before she reached the painful memories she’d wanted to forget, she found her memories from happier days.

“This... This boy...is...” she rasped.

Charlotte’s small body trembled. She trembled because she remembered precious memories, ones that she must not forget, within those terrible memories she’d tried to erase. Those happy times pushed themselves to the front of her mind.

I decided that I wouldn’t cry anymore, and yet... A single tear slid down her cheek. Then, as if a dam had been broken, her tears immediately gushed out, as if all the things that had accumulated within her were bursting out.

She breathed in once, and it all spilled forth.

“This...b-boy is...” Charlotte sobbed. “A...little...iglet...”

Trying to stop the overflowing tears rolling down, Charlotte rubbed desperately at her eyes.

Seeing her like this, the prodigy started losing his composure. Even someone like Slowe had never come across a girl crying right in front of him like this.

Not only that, but the Great Spirit of Wind was still observing them from somewhere. If he made this girl cry, he didn’t know what kind of retaliation he would receive. “Wait, stop! Sorry! That was all my fault, so please don’t cry! I’m begging you! If you cry right now, there’s a lot of things that could go wrong!”

Charlotte wailed. “Y-You’re the one...who made a mistake, though...!”

“Look here! Oink, oink! I’m pretending to be a piglet! Oiiink, oiiink! Sorry! So please, don’t cry!”

Charlotte bawled. “Nooo! You’re completely different!!!”

“Oiiink!”

He didn’t sound like one at all, and Charlotte thought the boy was absurd.

Charlotte cried a while after that, but suddenly, she felt a gentle wind envelop her. With that, Charlotte realized this. I’m...still alive.

Almost as if he was comforting her, a black cat approached Charlotte’s feet. He was a very kind kitty, one who had always been with her ever since she’d escaped Huzak.

Charlotte’s expression softened, and in contrast, Slowe’s face tensed up. He realized that this small living thing was the Great Spirit of Wind themself. They were the boss of the spirits and currently the overlord of this place.

This was the first time that Slowe had ever met one of the beings known as Great Spirits. On reflex, his whole body went tense.

The cat looked up at Slowe and opened its mouth, meowing. “Knowing you, you should know what I am asking for, meow.”

The spirit looked like nothing more than a mere cat. However, Slowe knew he must not be deceived by its appearance. Even now, the eerie creature was pressuring Slowe with killing intent, and they were an existence that was on a scale that humans could not comprehend. Even though they sounded like a cat meowing to Charlotte, Slowe could clearly understand their words.

Slowe’s first impression of the Great Spirit was a wounded, giant demon cat.

“I need a human to protect Charlotte in my stead, meow.”

There was an invisible tug-of-war of wind between the giant black cat at the young Charlotte’s feet and the Prodigy of Wind. Slowe was desperately trying to suppress the storm of power that the Great Spirit was conjuring up.

“I’ll hear you out, so please...suppress that murderous intent of yours...” Slowe said slowly.

“Huh?” Charlotte let out, confused. Charlotte, exhausted from all the crying, could only hear one half of the conversation. She had no idea that the Great Spirit of Wind was speaking at all.

Slowe turned to look at Charlotte, who had confusion written all over her face. He smiled, reassuring her that it was nothing of concern.

“It’s a promise, meow. You will protect Charlotte from now on, Slowe Denning, meow. If you understand what I’m saying, pet the piglet that Charlotte is holding, meow.”

The Great Spirit of Wind had come to the Denning lands because it wanted to see the prodigy that the wind spirits had gossiped about. And provided he measured up to the spirit’s standards, the spirit had planned to ask him to take custody of Charlotte.

When the Great Spirit met the boy in person, the boy greatly surpassed their expectations. Even before the intimidating aura of the Great Spirit of Wind, the boy wasn’t affected. He had great potential. In Huzak, at least, no human had ever measured up to the same caliber as him.

“Okay. As long as you don’t go berserk, I’ll listen to anything you say...” Slowe muttered.

“I’m not going to go berserk! I’m not!” Charlotte wailed.

Slowe tilted his head in question before realizing what he’d done. “Ah, no, I’m not talking about you!”

Charlotte glared at him with her big eyes. But she wasn’t crying anymore, at least. She seemed tired of crying, and she now had a higher priority: the weird boy in front of her who had piqued her curiosity. One moment, he brought the young Charlotte back into the world, but then he started muttering to himself suddenly. It was...curious, she decided.

Just as she was doing that, her stomach growled, and she immediately pressed on her stomach with her hands, embarrassed by the pathetic sound.

“Ah... Uh, this is, well, that...” Charlotte stammered.

It was very heartwarming in contrast to the intimidating aura seeping from the Great Spirit of Wind, and Slowe found the sound so funny that he laughed.

Charlotte groaned with embarrassment.

“Sorry, sorry,” Slowe said, chuckling. “You’re hungry, huh?”

“Yeah... I’m hungry.”

“Then let’s get some nice food to eat together after this.”

Charlotte took a small moment to think about what she should do. Then, she shoved the soft toy she had been hugging into Slowe’s chest. “Yeah. Also, this boy isn’t a puppy.”

“You’re right. I was wrong.” Slowe smiled wryly and gently patted the head of the soft toy.

Though nobody else noticed, that was a sign that he had accepted the promise with the Great Spirit of Wind.

“Slowe Denning. You must protect Charlotte, meow. You need to do all you can so that Charlotte’s real identity doesn’t get out, meow. You must live only for that purpose, meow.”

Slowe’s second impression of the Great Spirit was an overprotective parent.

He almost had to admire that the spirit was such a doting parent, rather than being taken aback. It was obvious that the Great Spirit of Wind worried a great deal about Charlotte, and Slowe agreed with them that he didn’t want this girl to suffer any more than this.

But that wasn’t the main reason why he had been able to make such a decision so quickly. He thought that protecting a princess in secret was something like the heroes who showed up in stories would do, and that doing that would be cool.

“Well now, their battle has been over for quite a while now, so let’s go back to my house and have some delicious soup or something,” Slowe said.

She made a noise as she thought about it, then said, “Yeah, let’s. I’m hungry.”

“Speaking of which, what’s your name?”

The girl hesitated for a long time before a name spilled forth in a voice that was barely a whisper. “Charlotte.”

Slowe repeated that name over and over in his head. He had heard that name from the spirits, but hearing it from the girl herself was a completely different experience.

“Charlotte, huh? It seems that we have a long relationship ahead of us... Please take care of me from now on.”

“Okay...”

Within the forest on the Denning lands, with the two knights taking control over the slave auction behind them, the two young children met for the first time.

The girl hid her real identity, and the boy pretended that he didn’t know anything. Even though the boy knew everything, he accepted the wounded girl and her beast within his fold. He was almost optimistic to a fault, thinking and naively hoping that everything would work out somehow.

The boy’s biggest miscalculation, however, was probably the fact that he ended up loving the princess of a destroyed kingdom more than his fiancée, who was coming to visit him the next day.