It was a fairy tale world, through and through. In Jenkins's eyes, both the maid and the princess were so beautiful they scarcely seed human.
"'Oh, young Sophia, the mont has finally arrived! The mont we settle our intertwined destinies!' the maid cried out."
Following the storyteller's calm narration, the maid, her lips sealed, nacingly slashed the air twice with her dagger.
"'Oh, my Felicia, why would you do such a thing!'"
An expression of wounded betrayal appeared on the princess's face.
The scene was utterly farcical. The princess and the maid were like actors in a pantomi, their lines voiced by an old man whose tone bore no resemblance to their own. No matter how skilled a storyteller he was, his aged voice was a poor fit for young maidens.
While the story was still unfolding, Jenkins tried to dig a small stone out of the dirt, but found he couldn't throw it beyond the grassy area toward the palace.
He suspected this would be the final stage.
"...Accompanied by the sound of her own sobs, the maid Felicia raised her dagger and charged."
Everything in the palace froze. The old man looked at the four of them.
The four looked at each other, surprised that this ti it was not up to them to act, but the main character of the story. It was Miss Knight's turn in the sequence:
"Though surprised, Sophia deftly dodged to the side and snatched the dagger from the maid."
"No, the princess isn't capable of that."
Shaking his head, the old storyteller holding the book unexpectedly continued the tale himself:
"Sophia tried to force her way past the dagger's attack, but failed. She stumbled to the wall and was soon cornered. Felicia raised her dagger once more..."
Ti froze again. The four of them stared at each other in bewildernt.
"So, that ans we have to make the most suitable choice for the princess, one that's within her capabilities. Otherwise, things will only get worse, leading to the worst possible outco... I can't imagine what that would be. But if that's the case, what was the point of all the previous stories?"
Mr. Kreide concluded.
"No, there was a point to them!"
Mr. Black Cat shook his head. "I think I'm starting to understand. Rember the choices we made for the princess before? I believe those choices were ant to train her, to give her the ability to do certain things in the end."
Seeing no objections from the other three, Mr. Black Cat continued:
"Just like when she snuck snacks from the kitchen, Sophia suddenly vaulted out the nearby window. She was familiar with the move, as the secret passage to the kitchen was even more complex than this."
It actually worked!
Ti in the palace resud its normal flow. Sophia placed a hand on the windowsill and, with an incredibly complex maneuver, successfully launched herself out the window.
"The princess's escape infuriated Felicia. She lifted her head toward the bedroom ceiling and chanted a wicked spell. Under the influence of this evil magic, Sophia found herself uncontrollably tumbling back through the window. The maid smiled triumphantly and threw her dagger."
"But Sophia wasn't flustered. While dodging the apple bombs falling from the apple tree, she had co to fully understand the essence of evasion. With just a tilt of her head, the dagger flew out the window. She began to cry out for help, as the banquet hall was not far from here."
This was Miss Knight's answer.
"Felicia flicked her hand, and the wicked magic took effect once more. An invisible barrier enveloped the walls, preventing any sound from escaping. She laughed loudly and pulled another small, poisoned knife from her apron."
"Sophia gathered her skirts and began to run, just as she always did when dodging assassins at the banquet. She reached the door, pushed it open, and behind it stood the kingdom's most loyal guards."
Mr. Kreide's response.
"'Oh, poor Sophia, you cannot escape my grasp! Fate has long since decreed this mont!' 'Oh, Felicia, I have never believed in fate. But you will surely et your ruin. Yes, you surely will.'"
As the storyteller continuously added all sorts of strange abilities for the maid, Princess Sophia, despite using every thod she could think of, remained trapped in the bedroom, locked in a struggle with Felicia.
But the Enchanters, who were gradually grasping the rules of the ga, had their own thods. For a ti, not only was Sophia unhard, but she also managed to gain the upper hand. She successfully retrieved a magic sword from the bedroom wall—a sword that had only appeared after three prerequisite additions from Jenkins and his companions.
"Sophia brandished her magic sword. Felicia cried out in pain, clutching her shoulder as she fell to the ground. Yes, Sophia's swordsmanship was superb, for she had once fought the wicked chef in the kitchen with a cleaver; yes, Sophia could break through the evil magic barrier, not only because her sword was sharp, but also because she had been blessed by a unicorn!"
Following Mr. Black Cat's sentence, the maid collapsed onto the carpet, blood from her shoulder staining the floor, while Sophia held her sword aloft, a look of eager anticipation on her face.
"Felicia attempted to heal herself with wicked magic, but she failed. The kind princess had finally triumphed over the evil maid, and she eagerly looked forward to the upcoming banquet."
Having spoken, he looked at the four again. Now, all they had to do was choose to kill the maid, and the story would truly co to an end.
But Jenkins didn't think so. He had experienced far too many Mysterious Realms. Even the smoothest one, the plant-thed realm, had nearly ended in disaster. It didn't make sense for the ending to be this simple. In fact, throughout this whole sequence, they hadn't faced any danger at all.
Besides, since it was a story, how could there not be a twist?
Jenkins was quite fond of viewing such things through the lens of a conspiracy theory, so he believed that choosing to kill the maid wasn't necessarily the right move.
"Does anyone else feel like sothing's not quite right?"
Unexpectedly, the first one to voice this was Mr. Black Cat. It had to be said that while the man was exceptionally timid about so things, his intuition for danger was uncannily accurate.
"Yes, I feel it too."
" too."
His three companions had all voiced their opinions, and as it happened, it was now Jenkins's turn. He consulted with the other three, carefully observed the storyteller's expression, then cleared his throat and continued their story:
"Sophia laughed out loud. She was truly happy because fate had once again smiled upon her. Just like in all the stories she had ever read, Sophia couldn't help but reveal all the secrets hidden in her heart..."
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