Chapter 3

Rose Palace

“Alice... Our family loves you with all our hearts, but it’s time you take your leave...”

What does he mean taking my leave? Are they kicking their own daughter out?

A maid hurries down the stairs, holding a leather suitcase. She stood by the front doors, perhaps waiting for me.

“..Papa,” I hesitated, assuming he is Alice’s father, “Where am I supposed to go?”

“The carriage is waiting outside, hurry along...” He said, not giving a single glance at me.

I stood for a few moments, waiting for words like, “I’ll miss you,” “Farewell,” or at least a warm goodbye embrace. Yet, I knew it was hopeless. I decided to move along, passing by the maid who stood by the door.

At the rear of my sight, I saw Adelina and another person looking down at me from the upstairs. I wouldn't be surprised if she’s smiling at this precise moment.

Even though I don’t know much about this family, I pity them. Especially for Alice, who must’ve had to deal with this family throughout her whole life.

Climbing into the carriage, apparently the maid will be coming along with me. At least I'm not going anywhere alone.

I saw her take out a cross necklace out of her undershirt and began to mutter phrases. Assuming she was praying— until I heard, “I’m sorry we couldn’t hold our word, mistress...”

It caught me a bit off guard. I’m starting to doubt if she’s really praying or saying some cult shit. Shrugging it off and withdrawing my mind by staring out the window.

The world here is significantly unusual from where I’m from. Nature really does enjoy getting creative with checkered patterns, and it’s vivid colors. Somehow it gives me a vague uneasiness gazing across the open field.

After a few moments of looking through Mayhem’s nature, I began to doze off into a slumber.

..That's when the (irritating) maid woke me up. Rubbing my eyes to restrain them from getting heavy, we hurriedly got out of the carriage.

I finally took a view of the new home that I’ll be staying in for hopefully the entire game.

“!!” My eyes grew wide. As to my shock and displeasure, this also happens to be the Red Prince’s home. The most dangerous capture target on Mayhem Wonderland.

I cussed under my breath.

…..

The maid and I sat in a luxurious room. Every sole piece of furniture had a golden tint. Are they really gold? Wondering how much I could get out by selling one of these furnitures.

The door opened, exposing a tall man with long lustrous black hair. I’d nearly mistake him as a female if it weren't for his sharp jawline and his tall muscular frame.

“Your majesty!” The maid perked up.

“Is that the child that noble had been blabbering about?” He starts walking towards me.

“Y-yes, your majesty.”

He cups my chin, tilting my head to the side, “You do resemble a lot like your mother,” Examining my features, “Unfortunately you've inherited the eyes of your father.”

“Theron,” The man amplifies his voice mildly, sufficiently to be heard by a boy entering the room, “Guide Alice to the Rose palace, she’ll be staying there for the time being.”

The man strokes my head, “Welcome to the family, little sister.”

..

We left the grand palace, Theron, an imperial guard was escorting me to the Rose palace. Following a checkered path, surrounded by dense rose bushes that are at least 7 feet tall. Offering a sense of being in a labyrinth.

The checkered path encircled a red fountain, in the center of it erected a statue of a lady. Noticing that there were three more paths linking to our current one, leading to various areas. Theron took the less well-maintained course, that occupied a lot more cracks than the others.

The path got narrower and narrower as the bushes steadily began to creep into my space. It has gotten to the point where I can feel the petals brushing against my shoulders. I winced as a rose thorn gave me a little cut.

Throughout the walk, I was curious about what the man said along the way.

Little sister, huh?

It took me a few moments to puzzle it all out. My eyes widened as it finally dawned upon me that Mayhem's Alice, was the princess of the Red Kingdom.

Being a princess is great and all, but knowing that the royal family will be massacred sends shivers down my spine. The thought of dying in this world... What's going to happen to me back in my original world?

Biting my lips, perhaps there could be a way to prevent Alice’s death. To escape? It’d take me some time to organize an escape, especially collecting money and where to live. In the meantime, I’ll keep an eye out for the Red Prince, Vasilios.

…

We entered the Rose palace, my legs felt sore after the trip.

“Go upstairs, take a left, the last door to the right is your room,” Theron said.

I nodded.

Opening the door to the room, to my astonishment the room is twice as big as my previous room. There were already furniture set for me, but they seemed old. Setting my suitcase on the bed, the bed let out a small creek.

Opening the suitcase the maid had packed for me, what contained inside were the clothes from the closet, a wooden box, and a number of dolls. I felt as if I was invading someone’s privacy.

Picking up a few of the dolls, they were definitely handmade... by an amateur. They all resemble the people Alice had lived with. Adelina, father, mother, the maid, Denver... And Alice.

Denver’s was torn and disfigured, but it was still identifiable. I don’t know much about Adelina’s brother’s background, he remains nothing more than a mere extra. Existed to convey depth to Adelina's background. My body began trembling just thinking about him. Putting back the dolls in the suitcase. Although the dolls are charming, I don’t want to be reminded of how poorly these people treated Alice.

As I finished putting the dresses in the wardrobe and sliding the suitcase underneath my bed, I decided to go out.

To explore the Rose garden.