The Princes' Nightmare (Part 1)
Busy, busy! So busy!
Hello!
I'm the second daughter of House Felicia.
Ella Felicia.
Normally, I would have started with an elegant introduction, but…
Sorry.
I don't have time for that right now.
Why, you ask?
Because right now, I’m—
running for my life.
“…Stop right there.”
A low, subdued voice came from behind me.
It was so cold and indifferent, it sent a chill down my spine.
But the anger contained within it…
It sounded like it could freeze a person solid and kill them.
“…Not gonna.”
I muttered as I picked up the pace.
I sprinted madly across the snow.
Boom!
Another pillar of snow shot up behind me.
“Eek!”
If that hit me, I would really die.
No.
Even if it didn’t kill me, I’d be half dead.
So I ran even harder.
“…Damn rabbit.”
The moment I heard those words,
I didn’t look back.
Because…
looking back would only make it scarier.
But you know what?
Every single person who sees me says the same thing.
‘Lady Ella is such a dignified noble lady.’
Dignified?
Me?
Pfft.
What a joke.
I have never once been well-behaved in my entire life.
House Felicia.
The Empire’s most prestigious noble house.
A loyal family that had served the imperial court for generations, and a martial house that had produced countless knight commanders.
And…
our father was the most terrifying person among them all.
“Ella.”
“Yes!”
“Sword.”
“Yes!”
Age five.
My first toy wasn’t a doll. It was a wooden sword.
Age six.
I memorized sword-fighting stances before I memorized the names of flowers.
Age seven.
While the other children my age played tag, I sparred with knights.
Of course…
I cried every day at first.
“Daaad!”
“Do you think the enemy will go easy on you just because you’re crying?”
“Waaah….”
“Again.”
“…Yes.”
Again.
And again.
I fell.
I rolled across the ground.
I got covered in dust.
Then I got back up and picked up my sword again.
For ten years.
Before I knew it, I had become one of the most skilled fighters in the knight order.
And then…
Father nodded as if he were satisfied.
“Now you finally look like a person.”
“…That was a compliment, right?”
“It was.”
In our household, that was the highest praise imaginable.
My older sister was much the same.
Rian Felicia, the eldest.
Beautiful and elegant.
But…
she was a demon in the training yard.
“Ella.”
“What?”
“Get up.”
“No.”
“Get up.”
“I said no.”
“Fine.”
The next moment—
Thud!
“…Aah!”
I went rolling across the sand.
“Counterattack.”
“…Sis.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re never going to get married.”
“That’s fine.”
“…Why?”
“I’ll just marry a man stronger than me.”
“…Does someone like that even exist?”
After a brief silence, my sister said seriously,
“Nope.”
We both sighed at the same time.
The women in our family were a little…
No, they were very strange.
Maybe that was why.
The names of the Felicia sisters had spread throughout the Empire.
‘Felicia’s Twin Blades.’
‘Monsters wearing the masks of duke’s daughters.’
‘The sisters who knock people down with smiles on their faces.’
The last one was a little unfair.
All I did was hit people while smiling.
And so, we lived peacefully…
No.
It wasn’t exactly peaceful, but we were happy enough in our own way.
Until one day, someone from the imperial court came to see us.
“This is an imperial summons.”
“…What did we do this time?”
“…Nothing.”
“Taxes?”
“Nothing like that.”
“Did Father beat up another noble?”
“…No.”
“…Thank goodness.”
The knight wore a slightly troubled expression for a moment before speaking.
“Please become the tutor to His Highnesses the princes.”
“…Excuse me?”
I thought I had misheard him.
“…Me?”
“Yes.”
“…Why?”
The knight looked like he didn’t know either.
The Imperial Palace.
I understood why the moment I arrived.
“…Run!”
Crash!
A window shattered.
“Aaah!”
A teacher came running out, crying.
Then…
A chair came flying after him.
Bang!
The knight and I turned our heads at the same time.
“…What is that?”
“…His Highness the Third Prince.”
“The one burning books over there is His Highness the Second Prince.”
“And the one hanging from the ceiling is His Highness the First Prince.”
I quietly turned around.
“I’m going home.”
The knight grabbed my arm.
“You can’t.”
“I’m not doing it.”
“It’s an imperial decree.”
Ah.
So that one phrase could make a person this powerless.
I opened the door.
Creeeak.
The moment I did, all three princes looked at me.
Fifteen.
Thirteen.
Eleven.
They were handsome.
Really handsome.
But…
their eyes were…
those of wild beasts ready to cause trouble.
The First Prince snickered.
“Another one’s here.”
The Second Prince lightly kicked a chair and said,
“How many days do you think this one will last?”
The youngest had a piece of candy in his mouth.
“Brother.”
“What?”
“Do you think this one will cry?”
I quietly closed the door.
Then I opened it again.
They were still there.
It wasn’t a dream.
The three boys stared at me in silence, too.
All right.
I couldn’t run away.
In that case…
There was only one way.
I slowly rolled up my sleeves.
The princes blinked in unison.
“…What are you doing?”
I smiled brightly.
“Hello.”
“I’ll be your tutor starting today.”
“I look forward to working with you.”
Then I added, very sweetly,
“If you don’t listen…”
All three sets of eyes turned toward my hands.
I picked up a wooden sword.
Spin.
After twirling it lightly once, I smiled and said,
“You get hit.”
Silence.
And then—
The First Prince sneered.
“A woman?”
The Second Prince laughed, too.
“All three of us?”
The youngest giggled and rolled the candy around in his mouth.
“…This should be fun.”
I smiled, too.
“Yeah.”
“I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for me, too.”
That day,
for the first time in the Imperial Palace,
the princes’ screams rang out all day long.
And from that day forward,
everyone in the Imperial Palace began saying the same thing.
“The new tutor is the scariest one of all.”