"Who sent—"
"I will never betray my master!"
The woman cut Dolores off. Her voice was strange, as if her throat had suffered a terrible injury. Just as she declared her loyalty, the bullets flew. With a forward wave of her hand, a thick wall of ice materialized, shielding her from the attack.
"Aargh!"
She let out a sudden shriek, and the gunn preparing a second volley imdiately clutched their ears and collapsed. But just as the woman shattered her own ice wall to press the attack, a delicate arrow of ice sliced through the air with a soft whizz and pierced her heart.
"You..."
She pointed a trembling, shocked finger at the ice archer who had appeared behind Dolores Stuart, but she would never have the chance to finish her sentence.
"How tireso."
With a troubled expression, Julia lowered the carriage curtain and signaled the driver to proceed.
"I can't believe even this place isn't safe anymore."
The princess grumbled under her breath, "My brothers are so petty. Why must they pick on , their sister who poses the least competition?"
"It's because you are too exceptional, Your Highness."
Julia placated her from the side. Outside the departing carriage, cloaked figures were already skillfully disposing of the corpse.
On the way, Dolores's complaints about losing another secret eting spot gradually shifted to how she absolutely must maintain her friendship with Miss Miller and Mr. Williams. Julia could only nod along, her mind preoccupied with a single question: which of the princes had tried to kill her mistress?
It was late in the night when they finally arrived at Miss Miller's residence. The surrounding streets were hushed, filled only with the soft fall of snow and the sigh of the wind. Though the grand house was dark, both won knew Miss Miller would be waiting for them by the fireplace.
"Julia, do you think Mr. Williams might appear here tonight? Just like last ti, materializing out of thin air!"
Dolores strode ahead, her cloak drawn tight around her as she speculated excitedly, one hand pressed to her shoulder to keep the garnt from flying off in the wind. Julia, holding an umbrella over them, had to quicken her pace to keep up.
"I suppose it's possible," Julia said. "That Mr. Williams has always been an enigma. He was in Ruen, and then less than three days later, he was being photographed with the Queen in Bel Diran. How he managed that is anyone's guess."
Julia spoke as they reached the entrance to the estate's courtyard. High walls concealed everything within; before leasing the property to Miss Miller, Dolores had often used this space to practice her abilities.
"Mr. Williams brings a surprise every ti he appears!"
Dolores declared.
"Yes, yes."
Julia's agreent was a little dismissive. Noticing her own lack of enthusiasm, she added, "Perhaps the gentleman is inside the house right now, waiting for the perfect mont to surprise you again."
Julia unlocked the main gate with a key. They walked through side by side, and then both froze in the entrance.
The courtyard was a sea of silver-white. Only the small trees along the wall stood resilient against the cold. The pond in the center had long frozen solid, its surface a pristine canvas for the gently falling snow.
And there, in the center of the snowy courtyard, a small, snow-white creature lay contentedly. Its azure eyes were utterly captivating, and its single golden horn seed to glow in the night air, a beacon of light.
A man lay beside it in the snow, leaning against the creature's belly. His eyes were closed as if in sleep, his left hand resting absently on the back of a cat that was curled up on the unicorn's flank.
The scene was so tranquil it seed the world itself held its breath, unwilling to disturb the subli mont. The unicorn, the man, the cat, and the snow—together they ford a flawless tableau, a vision of such perfection that even the greatest master painter could never have conceived it.
Julia swallowed instinctively and glanced to her side. Sure enough, Dolores was trembling with excitent. Her face was flushed, a strange, choked sound escaped her throat, and her hand shot out to seize Julia's wrist.
"Your Highness..."
Pop!
A soft pop made them both jump. Only then did they notice Miss Miller, standing hunched over her cara, facing Jenkins directly. She erged from beneath the black cloth, tossed the flash pan she was holding aside, and waved a hand to disperse the puff of smoke from the ignited magnesium powder.
"Jenkins, that's a wrap! Oh, quick, help get the cara inside. I want to develop the plates tonight!"
She finally noticed the pair standing in the gateway. Rolling up her sleeves, she gave them a cheerful wave.
Julia could tell from Dolores's expression that, for the foreseeable future at least, there would be no keeping her princess away from that infuriating man.
Here is what had happened: with nothing else to do that evening, Jenkins had just finished the final proofreading for *A Tale of Ice and Snow*. He had spent so much ti mulling over vampires recently that he'd grown sick of the topic and decided to co to Ruen for a change of scenery.
When he brought up the topic of vampires with Miss Miller, he also happened to ntion that he had acquired the ability to summon a unicorn in a Mysterious Realm. At that, the excited woman imdiately proposed taking a photograph of it.
"You have no idea, Jenkins," she had said. "Female Enchanters of old were obsessed with these beautiful creatures, absolutely mad for them. I never imagined I would get the chance to see one in my lifeti! Quick, let's just get one picture out in the courtyard. I'll send those nosy servants away!"
And that led to the scene they had just witnessed. In truth, both Jenkins and Miss Miller had noticed the princess and her maid arriving outside. Jenkins figured that trying to hide would only anger them, so he decided to use the unicorn as a way to smooth things over and didn't interrupt the photoshoot.
As for what Miss Miller was scheming, he truly had no idea.
Before encountering a unicorn, Jenkins had always assud—based on his reading—that they were creatures only slightly more intelligent than a common horse. In reality, he now knew, they were only a little less intelligent than his cat, Chocolate, who lately was showing alarming signs of sapience.
The unicorn, sensing Jenkins's friendliness toward the three won, didn't mind being touched by them. Princess Stuart hadn't blinked once since she laid eyes on it and practically threw herself at the small creature.
"See?" Jenkins murmured to his cat. "If you let people pet you, you'd be even more popular than this thing."
He whispered this to his cat and reached out to stroke it, but Chocolate's tail flicked sharply against the back of his hand, a clear sign of its displeasure.
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