It has been a few days since Keith disappeared. The academy is in a state of gloom and a lot of the people who knew Keith are either depressed or angry, I cannot say whether I am a part of one or the other but right now, all I know is that my heart is in shambles.

Keith had a confrontation with that parasitic leech, Rolando. Lin and I wanted to give the bullies an in-depth lesson on humility but Keith decided to face the problem on his own.

It was not arrogance, at least I did not that think it was.

I think that it was pride.

Lin and I conceded and simply waited alongside Belle. Despite herself, we felt that she was raring to go end Rolando right then and there and who could blame her? I know about her past, that she has history with Keith.

All of us have a shared past with Keith. We each loved him wholeheartedly and we understand that the relationship between the three of us is a lifelong rivalry as well as a lifelong of friendship. A kind of sisterhood, perhaps.

I met Keith during my childhood as I was running away from my lessons in etiquette. I always hated those. I fell in love with his sense of freedom. I wanted that for myself. I found out that he was the son of ‘those’ nobles and that he was experiencing a life of poverty.

Wanting to take this man for myself, I decided to make him my Knight. I wished for him to be with me, not for who he was but for who he was to become.

Making him my knight without the Queen’s approval could be considered lese majeste or the act of committing an offense against the dignity of the reigning monarch but I didn’t care.

See, Keith was and still is my elder sister the Queen Regnant Astarte Claire Marte’s beloved fiancée. They were always playing together in their youth but the trauma of losing his parents made him forget all about his life prior to his family’s downfall.

Forgive me my Queen. I have permitted harm to come to the man we both love. I will accept any punishment or burden but I have to find him. I have to believe that he is still alive, somewhere, somehow.

I am alone in my room. It’s a modest room, compared to my usual quarters but I like it. It has a desk, a simple bed and a simple lamp. The most extravagant object in this room would have to be the white bow that I had propped up against the wall.

I have no attendants and no other friends to speak of in this academy, at least real friends aside from Keith, Lin and Belle.

Alone with my thoughts, I recount the events of what happened when Keith disappeared.

__________________________________________________________________

Lin was obviously mad. “Belle, why didn’t you say anything! You’re his instructor aren’t you?”

“Ara, Belle was too busy scheming to take Keith away from me again.” I sipped from my tea. I laughed at Belle’s perplexed face. “I’m only kidding, dear.”

“You princesses sure have it easy.” Looking into our eyes, Belle continued, “but they are taking too long.” We were getting worried.

“Should we go check after all?” Lin stood up and started stretching. “I can take them down with Instructor’s Laser Beam.”

Pok.

“Troublesome child.” Belle calmed herself down and smiled, “You do realize that the only one who has successfully replicated Laser Beam is Keith, right?”

It was a funny sight. Lin was hit by the very technique she was bragging about and she couldn’t even react to it. Then again, I don’t think I can even flinch must less react to that ungodly speed as well.

I started laughing, uncaring to the gazes directed at me. “But Keith would never use Belle’s Laser Beam in a non-combat situation.” I paused, “because he knows exactly how dangerous it is.”

Lin, visibly annoyed said, “I don’t care. I protect what’s mine.” Her ego, seemingly fueled by our flabbergasted faces spoke for her. “Simple as that.”

As things started to heat up behind the three of us, our attention was caught by the back door opening. Rolando and his cronies went out of the room, covered with filthy stains.

“B…blood?” As usual, Belle notices it too.

Minutes pass by like seconds and we find ourselves still starting at the door, Keith nowhere in sight.

We heard a bone chilling exclamation from the outside.

“Oh my God!”

Followed by a sudden mana burst.

“Warp?” Belle, realizing the urgency of the situation was the first to stand. She used Blink and was instantly transported to the door.

“Lin, let’s go.” I stood up, and together with Lin we rushed towards the stockroom.

Opening the door, we see a distraught Belle, kneeling in a pool of blood. We soon realized that it was Keith’s blood but his body was nowhere to be found.

I started tearing up, feeling hopelessness take over my body.

“I knew Yuriko wasn’t anyone normal but to think that she was a part of that Iron Maiden Squadron.” Belle punched the wall and I watched a significant portion of the cafeteria building dematerializing right in front of my eyes.

“Iron Maiden Squadron?” Lin inquired. I guess she doesn’t know about ‘that’ unit.

Belle nodded. “They are non-magic people who built combat suits that rivals even our strongest soldiers.” Belle shook her head, seemingly correcting herself and added, “But the Iron Maiden Squadron is different. I heard that their Captain rivaled even me in power.”

“But will they hurt Keith?” Lin’s sincere question took us by surprise but it was one that I wanted to ask for myself.

Thinking deeply, Belle replied, “No. I do not believe so. I’ve seen her looking at Keith. That woman…” Belle was clearly hesitating but added “she’s one of us.”

One of us. I knew how both simple and complex those three words are but I was comforted nonetheless.

“But this amount of blood is abnormal. Rolando and his peons didn’t even look injured.” Realizing the meaning behind her words, Belle froze.

“Belle, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Princess, the Instructor, she’s saying that there’s only one person who all of this blood could belong to.” Lin’s eyes were tearing up.

“Keith?” My voice cracked.

I was consumed by rage. I knew that Yuriko had Keith but even then, I was unsure if he was alive. I have yet to see him after all.

I turn around and make my way back inside the cafeteria.

From a distance, I can hear Rolando laughing and recounting what he did to Keith. He was proud of having crushed a man who could not fight back. He was delighted. He was satisfied.

Before I can even voice out my anger at this injustice, this horrible deed, I felt a dangerous presence behind me. It was Belle, finally succumbing to her rage. This was not the rage of a lover rather, it was the pure rage of a teacher for what happened to her beloved student.

Belle was surrounded by blue flame and surging from her body was the mythical black lightning. It was truly a sight to behold. Each step she took shook the building and objects to her immediate vicinity spontaneously exploded while some started to melt.

Rolando stopped dead in his tracks. It was, after all, a most terrible fate to make an enemy out of this dreadnought. Belle is the most powerful soldier and the most brilliant tactician in our kingdom, some might even argue that she was the best in the whole entire world.

“What have you done, Rolando?” It was a tired voice, coming from the speakers scattered around our academy.

It was Governor Seras, Rolando’s father and the governor of this kingdom.

“I have done nothing wrong!” Rolando cried out. “I merely squashed an insolent bug!”

The fury surrounding Belle intensified. The cafeteria started crumbling and the students, sensing the danger, started evacuating one by one. They were now watching the scenes before them from the outside.

“Is that really the instructor?” Inquired a random student.

Shaking, another student said “She’s…really scary.”

Breathing heavily, another student said “I…I think that I want her to hit me when she’s like that.”

“Ewww! Pervert!”

“Still, that bastard Keith sure is lucky to have someone like that mad on his behalf.”

“Imagine all the crazy angry sex that they co –“

“”EEEPPP!”

I gave them a sharp look conveying my dissatisfaction and disgust. These prentices really are quite stupid.

Governor Seras continued speaking. “Well that bug’s lover is about to destroy you and this kingdom. Are you willing to take responsibility for that my stupid son?” Seras coughed, he really was sick. “Can you take it upon yourself to protect this kingdom from the dreadnought?”

Rolando was sweating bullets. He couldn’t say anything. He shouldn’t say anything.

“But before you destroy my son and my kingdom, Instructor Belle,” Governor Seras beseeched her. “Would you please repel the oncoming enemy attack? I trust that the prentices would not do so well against enemy bombardment.”

The strange thing about this is that he sounded completely cool, as though he was uncaring that an enemy was coming towards us.

Belle was silent for a while, contrasting her outwards appearance that of a destroyer. She nodded. “I understand.”

She took out her sword, Grandia, and disappeared, leaving nothing but ravaged debris and the tension in this room.

The citywide alarm started ringing. There really was an enemy attack and Belle was dispatched to eliminate the foreign threat. Of all times, why now?

I shook my head, dispelling my worries. I am a princess. I must protect the people.

I shouldered my bow and headed out with conviction and a sense of duty in my heart.

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Author's notes

Alizoned here. What did you think of this chapter? Let me know in the comments below. Hope you enjoyed.