Kain barely had a second to react before the air itself shifted.
One moment, he was standing outside the Duskwind Ruins, heart pounding from his recent escape. The next—
The world blurred.
A rush of blue light surrounded him, and the ground vanished beneath his feet. His stomach twisted, and he felt a pulling sensation, like something had just yanked his very soul through space.
Then—impact.
Kain groaned. He was lying on something soft.
A bed?
The scent of lavender and expensive perfume filled his nose. His vision swam as he forced himself to sit up—
Only to find himself face-to-face with a girl.
A very beautiful girl.
Their faces were inches apart.
Her long silver hair cascaded over silk pillows, framing a delicate, noble face. Her eyes—stunningly blue, like a sapphire reflecting moonlight—were wide with shock.
More importantly—
Their lips were pressed together.
Silence.
Kain blinked.
The girl blinked.
"...Well," Kain said, his voice oddly calm given the situation. "This is awkward."
The girl's face turned red.
The door burst open.
"PRINCESS—!!"
---
The next few seconds were chaos.
A group of royal knights flooded into the room, swords drawn. The girl—who was now very clearly a princess—let out a sharp gasp and shoved Kain away.
Kain, still half-dazed, barely had time to dodge as a dozen steel blades slashed at the bed where he had been lying.
"ASSASSIN!" one of the knights bellowed.
"Who the hell is an assassin?!" Kain shouted, rolling off the mattress just before a spear impaled the pillow next to him.
"HE'S ATTACKING THE PRINCESS!"
"NO, I'M NOT!"
The princess—still red-faced and now furiously wiping her lips—finally managed to shout, "WAIT! STOP!"
The knights froze mid-attack, their weapons inches from Kain's head.
An uncomfortable silence settled in the room.
Kain let out a slow breath, still trying to process what just happened.
Then, slowly, he turned to the princess.
"...I feel like we got off on the wrong foot," he said.
She glared at him. "Who are you?!"
"Believe me, I'd love to know the answer to that myself," Kain muttered. He rubbed his temple, his brain still spinning.
One minute, he was outside a dungeon. The next, he was in a palace, on top of a princess, stealing a royal first kiss.
Something very, very wrong had just happened.
And judging by the soft giggle echoing through the air, he had a very strong suspicion who was behind it.
---
"Oh my~! This is even better than I expected!"
Kain whipped around.
The Trickster Goddess was now lounging in midair, lazily floating above the bed like she had been there the whole time.
Her long pink hair shimmered in the candlelight, her nine golden tails lazily flicking behind her. Her golden eyes sparkled with absolute delight.
Kain felt a headache forming.
"...YOU," he groaned.
The fox goddess smirked. "Me~."
The princess—who had been attempting to regain some dignity—now looked utterly bewildered. "W-Wait. That's a fox spirit!"
"A goddess, actually," the Trickster corrected cheerfully, twirling a lock of pink hair around her finger. "And this lovely thief here just happened to put on my favorite little artifact~."
She tapped the gauntlet on Kain's wrist. It flared with magic in response.
Kain scowled. "Oh, great. So not only am I stuck with a cursed relic, but you decided to teleport me into a royal scandal just for fun?"
The goddess tilted her head innocently. "You did steal my treasure. This is simply punishment."
Kain threw up his hands. "What kind of 'punishment' involves throwing me into a princess's bed?!"
The Trickster giggled, tails swishing behind her. "Well, I couldn't let you get away too easily~. Besides…"
She cast a mischievous glance at the still-flustered princess. "It seems like fate has an interesting plan for you two."
Kain and the princess immediately turned away from each other, both muttering under their breaths.
---
The knights, meanwhile, were still standing there, looking utterly lost.
"So… uh… is he an assassin or not?" one of them asked.
The princess exhaled sharply, rubbing her forehead. "No. Stand down. I need… a moment to figure out what's happening."
The knights hesitated, then slowly lowered their weapons.
Kain, relieved that he wasn't about to be stabbed to death, took the opportunity to shoot a glare at the Trickster Goddess.
"You could've just explained the damn gauntlet instead of teleporting me into a death trap."
The goddess pouted dramatically. "Where's the fun in that?"
Kain resisted the urge to strangle her.
The princess sighed. Then, with an authoritative tone, she crossed her arms. "Start talking. Who are you? Why are you here?"
Kain held up a hand. "Okay, before anything else—can I at least get an introduction? Seeing as I apparently just had a very royal first kiss, I think that's fair."
The princess turned pink again, but managed to compose herself.
"...Princess Lysara von Eldoria. First Princess of the Kingdom."
Kain blinked.
Then sighed. "Oh, fantastic. Of course I end up in the lap of royalty. My luck is so great."
Lysara scowled. "And you?"
"Kain. Freelance artifact retriever."
The princess frowned. "A thief?"
Kain shrugged. "That's just a less polite way of saying it."
Lysara looked exasperated, but before she could reply, the Trickster Goddess clapped her hands together.
"Well! This has been wonderfully entertaining, but we should probably get moving before the entire royal court gets involved, yes?"
Kain stiffened.
"...Wait. What do you mean, 'gets involved'?"
As if on cue—
The castle alarm bells began ringing.
Outside, the sound of armored boots and shouting guards echoed through the halls.
Lysara paled. "Oh no."
Kain stared at the Trickster Goddess.
The Trickster beamed. "Oops~."
Kain groaned. "You're gonna get me executed."
The Trickster hummed. "Oh, don't worry~! I have plans for you, my little thief."
Kain had a very bad feeling about that.