Sein Lorelai's POV
A while ago...
Today is the last day of the hunting competition, and while I was not able to go to the Creek Forest, it didn't matter anymore. Also, I can't sneak out because of Archer. He must have sensed that I wanted to go there.
"This is a five-year budget," Archer stated.
This is another reason why I didn't bother going to the Creek Forest. The four of us were staring at the gold coins on the table and wondering how we were going to spend those coins properly. These are the gold coins I got after securing the victory of the guild I joined.
"Five years!?" I burst out. I didn't expect it to be a five-year budget. I mean, if I had these gold coins back in my world, I would be an instant billionaire and could literally afford a 50-year retirement pension.
"The guild is way too generous to you. Not unless," he said, tilting his head at me. His face, saying that I was suspicious, made me swallow my saliva unconsciously.
"What did you hunt?" Archer asked me in his serious tone of voice. He is still probably mad that I joined the hunt without telling him.
"Just a couple of boars and big animals."
"Really?"
"And an ancient demonic stag," my mouth uttered on its own.
"What!?"
"Listen, someone gave me a stag and said that I could sell it to the guild," I said, trying to save myself from him. I half-lied to him, or is it a white lie? I don't know anymore. I just want to save myself from suspicion of him. Archer is way too sharp.
"Who gave it to you?" he asked.
"I don't know either. I can barely see her face."
"Whoever she is, we should have thanked her more properly."
"I know right, we really should have," I said, averting my eyes to avoid any more suspicion.
Archer let out a deep sigh and stood up from his chair. He grabbed the pouch from the cabinet. Archer said this while putting all the gold coins in the pouch. "Let's go. We need to go to the market and shop for our supplies before the sun goes down."
"That's a great idea. We should also buy some new clothes," I suggested.
"My lady, can you get the twins ready for me? I have to go get the carriage first," Archer said. I only nodded in response.
"We're coming too," Felipe asked in excitement. Archer and I smiled at the twins and nodded in agreement.
"Of course, we can't just leave the two of you alone in this castle."
"Now go to the changing room and dress properly. Also, the potion is in the red cabinet," Archer added before he left.
The twins cheered in excitement and followed along. While Archer went to get a carriage, the twins and I went to change into more decent commoners' clothes. Since Archer is not here to assist us, Felipe volunteered to change Felix's hair and eye color using a magic potion. He grabbed the potion from the cabinet and called out to his twin brother. The twins helped each other, all the while I was just standing there in awe. Magic still amused me like a dumb kid. When they were done, Felipe gave me the magic potion and stared at me as if anticipating seeing a magic trick.
I took the potion from him and lifted it where the sun shone. The sun reflects a beautiful, dreamy red light on the bottle. The liquid inside was like a red galaxy. It was alluring. It fascinates me more than I can resist. Before I waste any more time, I carefully put one drop of potion in each of my eyes and my hair. In just the blink of an eye, my hair turned brown, as did my eyes. I went to get a look at myself in the mirror. It doesn't seem like much of a big change at all. I could still recognize myself if I were someone, and the androgynous nature that I possess can still captivate even myself. Even the twins looked at me in amusement.
"Shall we go, sister?"
"Sure."
The three of us headed out of the castle, where we were expecting Archer to be there, waiting. However, when we got there, there was no one in front of the castle. I tried to look for Archer a bit further and saw no trace of him or the carriage.
"Are we here early, or is he taking too long?" Felix asked in confusion. Felipe also agreed with him and wandered his eyes to look for Archer. I was so distracted by my looks that I didn't even notice how long it had been since Archer went to get a carriage.
"Come. Let's go find Archer."
The twins nodded in response and stuck together as close as possible to each other. I ruffled their soft hair to ease them. I guess it wasn't only me who felt something was going wrong. I don't want to think negatively, but I hope it's not another assassination. I mean, it's way too early for another assassination.
I don't really have any clear memory of where the House of the Hands is located, but I got to rely on those small and vivid memories of the real Sein Lorelai. The twins and I head straight to the forest, where I usually see Archer going whenever he goes to that house. A few minutes later, I heard voices not far from where we are right now.
"Wait," I said as I tried to listen to where the voices came from. I have a very bad feeling about this.
"Arghh! S--stop, please."
It's Archer's voice!
Automatically, my legs started to run when I heard Archer's voice. Even the twins run fast along with me. I pray this isn't what I am thinking. I ran even harder, straight to where the voices were.
"You theft! You really thought we would believe you? Your masters are dead. Now hand us those coins!"
"Who said we're dead!?" I jumped out of the bushes. I tried to hide myself, catching some breath. I also made sure that the twins caught up with me before focusing on them.
As soon as the twins arrived, my eyes immediately focused on the three servants harassing Archer, who was already in the ground protecting the pouch from getting taken away. I felt my teeth clench to restrain my anger.
"Who are you?"
"What are you all doing here? This is a place only for servants."
I assume these idiots are the servants of the other family. I can't provoke them yet when I'm still weak in power.
"Leave," I ordered. I went straight to help Archer stand up from the ground. The more I look at his pitiful state, the more I get angrier. I was known for having a bad temper and getting a bit violent, but I have to remind myself of what my uncle said. I have to be rational.
"What!?"
"I said leave this instant!"
"Who do you think you are ordering from?"
"Yeah, we don't follow peasants like you."
Ah, I forgot. I am hiding my royalty appearance.
"I am Sein Lorelai Arch Angelus, the 11th princess of Deborah Kingdom, and I order you to leave!" I yelled in rage. The three servants went stiff upon hearing my name. There was a moment of silence. The longer these idiots stay silent, the angrier I feel deep inside me. If only I could punch them, then I'd be able to relax.
"Look! He--her eyes are turning gold."
"My lady!"
I looked at Archer. His face was full of surprise. Was the magic potion disappearing? I turned to look at the twins and saw their eyes widen in surprise as well.
"What is it?"
"She's truly a princess!" One of the servants said and pointed at me. He was smirking as if he had succeeded in something.
"We apologize, my lady. We will leave at this instant, so please have mercy on us," one of the servants exclaimed. I didn't even get to answer them, and they went away immediately.
"This is bad. You should not have said your name."
"Huh? What do you mean!?"
"Only a fool would announce their name to the assassins."
And then it occurred to me. Assassinations between families aim directly at the princess's head only when it is known that they were born or are still alive.
"F*ck."
"We need to go back this instant," Archer said, hysterically carrying the twins on his own.
"I'm sorry."
It was all my mouth could say to him.
I went to get Felipe in his arms. Carrying the twins in our arms, Archer and I run fast. Time went way too fast for us. The sun was already setting, which meant the night of assassination was coming.
When we arrived at the castle, I put down Felipe and immediately ordered Archer to go straight to the master's bedroom to hide while I went to get the swords I left in the changing room. The small dagger that I have right now is not enough to protect our lives tonight. We went our separate ways. The night was here, and I felt like I was counting my days once again. I know I have changed the story by saving my life, but I pray that death won't come to me, especially to my family.
Before I could even run upstairs, a familiar smell lingered on my nose. Gasoline?
"Archer!"
"Arch-"
Right before my eyes, a big explosion unfolded.