As Kaguya was still trying to understand what was happening, Sayo, with her long hair hanging down to her shoulders, slowly walked in and curiously asked, "What happened to her? Did she take the wrong medicine?"
"Nothing, I'm not sure what happened either," Kaguya shrugged. It was the first time she had seen Kurome so panicked.
"It's probably that time of the month," Sayo said with a sweet, innocent smile on her snowy white face.
Kaguya wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but it seemed like Sayo's tone was filled with malice.
"Don't worry about her; maybe she'll be fine in a while," Sayo said as she walked over with a small plate from behind her. It had a piece of exquisite fruit cake on it. She smiled and said, "Princess, please try the fruit cake I made. It just came out of the oven, and the fruit was just delivered today."
"Is that so?" Kaguya's clear eyes lit up. She took the plate from Sayo's hands and used a spoon to take a bite. It was indeed very sweet and delicious. Kaguya didn't expect Sayo to have such good culinary skills; it was really surprising. "You did very well; it's almost as good as Air, the head chef's cooking."
"Oh, not at all." Sayo feigned modesty, but her smug expression completely betrayed her.
At that moment, a gentle and beautiful pink-haired girl pushed the door open and entered. She said, "Sayo, did you ruin more than twenty cakes again?"
She was Air, the royal chef of the princess.
Suddenly, Air walked in and noticed that the princess was also in the room. Sayo was winking at her repeatedly, so she quickly closed her mouth and gave an awkward smile.
"What's this about twenty cakes?" Kaguya asked, curious.
"It's nothing, nothing," Sayo quickly waved her hand, forcing a smile. "Those are for the guards in the palace. I'll send them over later."
"Oh, I see," Kaguya realized and then smiled. "That's very thoughtful. Standing guard in the cold winter is really hard work. Why don't you send them some ginger tea to warm them up?"
"Yes, I will do that," Sayo laughed.
That night, it was said that the palace restrooms were overflowing with guards clutching their stomachs and lining up to use them. They claimed they had eaten something bad, though no one knew exactly what.
Winter is a good season for sleeping, and nothing is better than sleeping in during winter. Conversely, nothing is crueler than getting up early in winter. However, Kaguya was awakened early in the morning.
"What's going on? Why are you bothering me so early in the morning?" Kaguya, dressed in her nightgown, yawned as she lay on the sofa, sleepily muttering.
Seeing the princess in such a lazy state, Captain Ieyasu turned his head away awkwardly, not daring to look directly at her. Upon hearing the princess's question, he banished all irrelevant thoughts and focused seriously, saying, "Princess, the investigation into a series of missing persons cases has made progress. The culprit may be a danger beast created in an Imperial military laboratory."
"A danger beast?" Kaguya asked, puzzled. "How could something like that appear in my territory?"
"It's likely that the Imperial Army secretly built a lab here before the princess acquired this land," Captain Ieyasu said gravely. "These danger beasts were originally kept in an underground lab and somehow got released. Given that it is winter, they are probably hunting for food, and the missing people might be related to them."
"Oh," Kaguya became a bit more alert after hearing this and sat up. "Is there any information about what these danger beasts look like or what their abilities are?"
"We are not entirely sure. Most of those who have seen the danger beast were killed, but one person who barely escaped said that the beast is very large, covered in thick armor, and wrapped in a thick chain."
Captain Ieyasu's description reminded Kaguya of a danger beast from the original anime, which was similar in appearance. However, it was challenging to deal with due to its thick iron armor, and Kurome had suffered at its hands.
At that moment, the door suddenly opened, and a girl rushed in—it was Air.
"What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?" Kaguya asked curiously.
"Kurome left a note this morning saying she went out to train and is nowhere to be found," Air said anxiously, handing a small note to Kaguya.
"Huh?" Kaguya took the note, and seeing the elegant handwriting, she immediately recognized it as Kurome's. She frowned slightly, not expecting Kurome to be so disobedient as to sneak out on her own. Clenching the note, she turned and asked, "Which way did she go?"
"She went east," Air replied quickly.
"East?"
The east was precisely where Captain Ieyasu said the danger beast frequently appeared. If this danger beast was the same as the one Ieyasu described, it was likely the same as in the original story.
Kaguya stood up, thought for a moment, and said, "Stay in the palace and don't wander around. Also, Ieyasu, prepare to recall the elite guards to protect this place."
"Recall all the elite guards?" Captain Ieyasu asked, surprised.
"Yes," Kaguya nodded. "The snow has stopped, so the commoners should be fine now and no longer need the guards' assistance. It's pointless to keep them there. Moreover, I have a feeling that something is wrong. The Imperial Army is too quiet, suspiciously so."
"You think they'll try to attack here?" Captain Ieyasu asked solemnly.
"No, they wouldn't dare to make trouble under my nose," Kaguya chuckled. "I'm worried about something else."
Meanwhile, in the forest dozens of kilometers away, due to the winter cold, the trees had shed all their leaves, leaving bare branches adorned with sparkling icicles.
Suddenly, a white hand reached out, grabbing an icicle. With a "crack," it broke off and was placed into a slightly dry mouth.