Leo couldn’t shake off his uneasy feeling.
Following the Crown Prince’s orders, he had agreed to bring the girl’s younger brother in place of the woman who had fled, and he found him at the inn, wearing a mask.
He had asked him to remove the mask, but he said he couldn’t because of terrible burn scars.
Eventually, he brought Ariel and Anna to the carriage just as they were.
“When you see the Crown Prince, bow your head first, then stay quiet. Keep your head down and stay silent… Got it?”
Ariel nodded, her lips quivering with tension.
***
From the day he arrived at the inn, Gale had been furiously engaging in discussions with someone, his golden leaves fluttering about him dozens of times a day.
“A servant? Not a maid? Right, you said you had a brother. Caught by the Crown Prince, he could be killed? You lied because you felt sorry? Wow, I’m so moved I could cry. Anyway, you’d be dead if you crossed me.”
Gale was visibly furious but would lower his voice and quickly hide whenever Ariel looked his way.
On the third morning at the inn, Gale awkwardly told Ariel, “They’re coming from the palace to pick you up today, and I told them you were my brother.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Well, it’s easier to disguise you as a servant than a maid. Besides, if you were a maid in the palace, Ludwig might fall for you. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”
“I don’t know Ludwig, so I can’t say if I’d like him or not.”
“Ha, really? Ariel, you’re like Rapunzel, not knowing much about the world. You’re too naive.”
“Rapunzel?”
“Yeah, a girl who spent her life locked in a tower with long hair.”
“I haven’t been locked in a tower. There’s a dining hall, an audience chamber, my room… and even a royal garden in front of the palace. The long hair part might be similar?”
“No, you’re much prettier.”
At Ariel’s words, Gale put on a mock sad expression. He dramatically touched his eyes as if squeezing out tears and said, “My dear sister Ariel, just hang in there. I’ll definitely come for you.”
“Okay, but is it acceptable to go like this?”
“Hmm… we might need to make some changes.”
Gale cast a transformation spell on Ariel. With each “poof,” her appearance changed.
First, she turned into a brown-haired old lady, and second, a man with a pig’s nose. With each transformation, Anna gasped in shock.
As the sound of the royal carriage approached from outside, Gale, in a rush, cast the spell.
“My goodness, Princess.” Anna covered her eyes in horror.
Ariel had transformed into a man with burn scars on half his face. Gale was momentarily startled, then seemed to remember something and smiled cryptically.
“This look isn’t bad. It’ll keep the Crown Prince from falling for Ariel…”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t be shocked when you look in the mirror. The spell will wear off in about a month. I’ll come for you before then.”
As the carriage stopped in front of the inn, Gale jumped out of the window, saying, “Oh, and your name is Rapunzel.”
***
“Never, ever take off the mask.” Ludwig spoke with a face full of disgust.
He was immediately furious upon seeing Ariel wearing a mask.
Who dares wear a mask in front of the Crown Prince? Unacceptable, he thought, as he forcefully removed it.
“Ugh.”
The sight of Ariel’s face twisted the onlookers’ expressions into shock and horror.
Half of her face was horribly scarred from burns. The aftermath of the fire left cruel marks, which looked disgustingly like a nest of snakes.
“What is your name?”
“Ariel… no, Rapunzel. I am the Crown Prince’s servant.”
Ariel, confused by everyone’s reactions, bowed her head and remained silent. But when no one responded after a while, she asked, “I should bow and stay silent… isn’t that right?”
No one knew how to respond to Ariel’s question, and soon Ludwig asked again, “Your name?”
“Ariel… no, Rapunzel. I am the Crown Prince’s servant.”
“Leo, take him*1T/N: I will use male pronouns when in Ludwig’s POV since he doesn’t seem to realize that Ariel/Rapunzel is a woman. In the next chapter, there will be a dialogue that proves this. It will be quite confusing, so bear with me^^ away.”
“Yes.”
Leo, seemingly startled by Ludwig’s reaction, gestured for her to leave.
Ludwig closed his eyes as he watched Leo and Ariel leave. A wave of fatigue washed over him.
‘To think there are such horrific faces in the world. I said it was in exchange for a bracelet, but I can’t possibly keep him by my side.’
But there was no absolution for stealing the Crown Prince’s bracelet.
‘If only he hadn’t removed the mask…’
“Your Highness, are you tired?”
“No, I can’t afford to be tired until I’ve dealt with Alfred. Where is Ian?”
“He is on his way, Your Highness.”
“Is Alfred being closely watched? He’s quite capable of slipping through our hands if we are careless.”
“Yes, the Archmage has sealed his magic, so he can’t escape the palace dungeons.”
“Let me know when Ian arrives. Also, make sure to retrieve the bracelet that Alfred sold.”
Ludwig’s steps quickened as he headed to the summer palace. His heart raced, unable to calm down.
The contrast on the servant’s face was too stark; one side horribly scarred and the other exceedingly beautiful. The stark contrast struck Ludwig, who always pursued perfection, as a fatal attraction.
“If only he hadn’t taken off the mask, everything would have been fine.”
Meanwhile, Alfred, familiar with the dungeon guards, was always looking for a chance to escape like a rat.
Then he saw Ariel removing her mask.
Alfred screamed in shock when Ariel took off her mask, but luckily, everyone else reacted similarly, so his outburst was lost in the commotion. Seeing Ariel, whom he had inadvertently caused to become a servant, Alfred felt a pang of guilt.
“Rapunzel? I thought I heard a different name before… Anyway, I’m sorry it turned out this way.”
Alfred quickly looked around and made his escape.
***
“Princess… Princess Ariel.”
Ariel was resting in the room Leo had shown her when Anna called out in a low voice.
“Shh, Anna. Don’t call me princess here. It could be big trouble if anyone overhears you.”
“Yes, I understand. You’re all right, aren’t you?”
“Fortunately.”
With the tension released, Ariel collapsed onto the bed, prompting a look of sympathy from Anna.
“The prince is too much. Not only did he send you to serve the notorious Crown Prince, but he also transformed you into this… monstrous form.”
“Monstrous?”
Ariel asked, puzzled, causing Anna to bite her lip in embarrassment.
Gale had instructed Ariel to wear a mask as an excuse for her burns, and since Leo arrived shortly after, she hadn’t had a chance to look in a mirror.
Ariel, sensing Anna’s strange reaction, quickly took off the mask and was horrified when she saw herself in the mirror. Now she understood the disgust and pity in people’s eyes.
“Ugh.”
In the mirror, she saw herself as a monster marred by hideous burn scars.
Suddenly angry at Gale and saddened by the thought of living with such a disfigurement for a while, she thought, ‘I must avoid the Crown Prince at all costs. I might be tormented for being unsightly, or worse, called a monster and executed.’
Imagining herself standing at the guillotine, Ariel felt all strength leave her body and she collapsed.
“Princess! Princess!”
Anna called out to Ariel, pale with fear.
***
Ludwig’s patience hung in the air for a long while as Ariel’s actions were incredibly slow.
As Ariel wiped the sweat dripping under her mask with the back of her hand, her hand, now damp, stuck to the paper.
Ludwig felt his patience running out and his face turned red. He had wanted to crush her underfoot like before. But after seeing the scars under the mask, he found he couldn’t treat her harshly without feeling a twinge of pity.
Knowing that pity could be as dangerous as any other emotion, he treated Ariel even more coldly.
Leo, noticing Ludwig’s flushed face, quickly peeled the paper stuck to Ariel’s hand and laid it on the floor.
“Again!”
Ariel struggled to match Ludwig’s pace while trying to lay the paper.
But keeping the mask from slipping was just as crucial as laying the paper, making it impossible to keep up.
“Ha, even a snail would do better than you. Is it really that hard?”
“…It is.”
“…?”
“It’s quite difficult and hard. Can’t you walk without me laying down the paper?”
“No. Your purpose here is to lay paper under my feet.”
“That’s strange! It makes it hard for me too, and it slows down my steps. Why would you make someone do this when it helps no one?”
“Because I like it. That’s enough reason to have you do it, isn’t it?”
Ludwig was momentarily at a loss for words at Ariel’s bold question, stumbling over his response.
“So, Crown Prince, do you like walking on paper?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You truly are a pitiful person.”
Ariel said this with a tone of compassion.
Ludwig felt a strange sensation. A mere servant daring to pity the Crown Prince of the Empire, living with a masked face due to burn scars, not envying but pitying the heir of an entire empire…
Ludwig felt uncomfortable as if Ariel could see the hidden wounds within him, and this sensation made his heart clench unexpectedly.
Suddenly, he recalled his mother’s resentful eyes as she faced death at his father’s hands. Those bloodshot eyes haunted him, often constricting his heart with pain.
Through his slightly blurred vision, he saw Rapunzel smiling.
The mysterious yet innocent-looking violet eyes and red lips hidden behind the mask caught his eye. For a moment, he found her appearance endearing.
Surprised by his own emotions, Ludwig’s heart raced uncontrollably.
“Leo! Whether it’s Rapun or Rapunzel, take him and train him. Make sure he can perform this task perfectly by tomorrow.”
Ludwig spoke harshly to Leo and strode away.
“Why is my heart like this? It must be because he’s so infuriating. He’s bad for my heart.”
He muttered to himself as he walked ahead, and Ariel, flustered, chased after him with the paper in hand.
“Your Highness, Your Highness! Crown Prince!”
“…Do not follow me.” Ludwig spoke coldly, trying to hide his flushed face with a stiff expression.
“But Your Highness, you’re walking without the paper now, is that alright?”
Ariel, with wide eyes full of surprise, almost ran to keep pace with him and asked.
‘What’s with those wide eyes, he looks just like a squirrel? He seems naive yet annoyingly sharp, which is irritating.’
Ludwig, feeling his stern look softening, forcibly tightened it as he spoke.
“Is that alright? What kind of question is that…”
Ludwig snatched the paper from Ariel’s hand and tapped her head with it several times.
“I left because you were so frustrating to deal with.”
“Your Highness, I’m sorry. I will practice diligently so as not to disappoint you.”
“Hmph, I don’t even expect that. You have three days to get it right. Understand?”
“Yes, Your Highness. …Thank you.”
As Ariel smiled joyfully, dimples formed on her cheeks. Ludwig frowned and gazed at them as if dazzled.
🍉🍉🍉
