If you were to ask Hikari what kind of person she was, she would tell you that she is very average. Nezumi Hikari (14) was a normal junior high girl. The only somewhat interesting fact of hers was that she was a reserve on her school's female lacrosse team.

 

In this way, Hikari was normal and quite average, almost to the point of being completely forgettable. If you were to ask her peers at Morioka Girls' Junior High, they would ask if such a person even attended their school. Despite going to a boarding school, she was so average that her year-mates did not even remember her. She was such an existence.

 

What do you think would happen, if such a person was suddenly transported into a different world? It may sound too ridiculous to be true, but it did happen. The stars must have aligned that night, because one Sunday night, as Hikari turned in for bed, she found herself inside a damp and dark room. This room was surrounded by brick wall. Smoke, as well as an ominous smell filled the room. This made Hikari's drowsiness evaporate. She was in the middle of this suspicious room, and she could not move.

 

The last thing she registered was the scream of a woman. Then, she lost consciousness once again.

 

***

 

When she woke up, she was bombarded with five or six faces smashed up against each other. They were screaming all sorts of words, but Hikari could not understand them. Their voices were jarring, and she wanted to clutch her head. She felt so weak.

 

"Where am I", asked Hikari.

 

Her voice was raspy, but that made no difference to these people. The sheer joy on their faces was palpable, and Hikari wondered why. "You are at your room, Princess. Thank goodness that you are alright. We were so worried!" said a plain brown-haired man. The girl next to him, a blonde girl, nodded in agreement. He stepped closer, looking at Hikari in concern.

 

"Where am I. Who are you," she asked.

That made them tense up.

 

"Is she alright?"

"Is this another game?"

"Did she really go insane?"

 

As if Hikari was not even there, this group of people continued to argue amongst themselves. To be honest, it angered her a little.

Couldn't they just be honest about what happened? Hikari tried to fill in the blanks herself, but it gave her no answers. How could one person go to bed one night, and wake up this battered and bruised? She couldn't even raise an arm, she was that exhausted.

Did a gas leak happen? Did someone poison her? Looking around the room, she noticed that the interior was like a hospital.

It was white, eerily clean, and minimalist to a fault. She concluded that she must have been sent to a hospital following an accident of some kind. What kind? Hikari was scared. She was already thinking about what to write her family.

 

The problem was that these people didn't seem to want to tell her what was wrong. And that wasn't the only thing that was strange about these people. They were wearing strange clothes, too - like some 19th-century waitstaff outfits. Now that Hikari's vision had cleared more, she noticed that they were acting strangely. Who would treat a sick person while cosplaying? It didn't make much sense.

 

If they were not at a hospital, and these people weren't doctors...then there could only be one other explanation.

A kidnapping. Thinking about such a scenario, Hikari's eyes widened as she began to hyperventilate.

The kidnappers, realizing she was aware, began fussing at her again. This time, she didn't cooperate.

 

"Tell me!" she screamed at them. "Tell me where I am! Who are you!"

 

Pandemonium ensued. They started shouting at each other, blaming each other, but none would look her in the eye.

They only tried their best to hold her down. Hikari went into full panic mode. She was alone in an unfamiliar place with people who refused to tell her any useful information. She knew she was forgettable, but that didn't mean she was alright with being kidnapped. She had loved ones who didn't know where she was, or if she would come back again. As she was being held down by these unknown assailants, she shed a tear. For a young girl, this kind of scenario was just way too scary.

 

Until finally, an older man entered the room. "Just what is all this commotion?" He stopped dead in his tracks as soon as he laid eyes on Hikari's form.

 

"Leave her this instant!" It was only once he had ordered it, that they let her go. They fell to the floor, shaking.

"Of all the disrespectful acts I've seen throughout the years, this is the worst. How dare you manhandle the Duke's heir? Out!"

 

The elderly man let out a guttural yell as he glared hatefully at the six strange people.

 

Although they were all cowering in fear, one person had the gall to rise from the floor.

The brown-haired man.

He tried to maintain eye contact, as he whimpered.

 

"But Sir, she resisted help, we did it to help the Madam!"

 

The others nodded in agreement. This only enraged the man further.

 

"So that's it then? If you feel like your way is correct, that means it's alright to carry out?"

 

"No, but..."

 

"Did you become the Duke's heir? Is that why you are so comfortable doling out orders?"

 

The brown-haired man blushed from anger. "I didn't say that, but"

 

"Then understand your place. That place may have been the staff's chambers before, but due to tonight's mishap, it's the dungeons now," said the elderly man in a deceptively calm voice.

 

The brown-haired man stared in disbelief.

 

He stared back. "Well, what are you waiting for? Now!"

 

Then, out of the mahogany door, nine elegantly clad knights came through the door. They towered over the rest. Thumping their staff down dramatically, they were imposing creatures who wore dark intricate masks.

 

Hikari felt a daunting fear pool inside her stomach.

 

They were removed swiftly and instantly. Hikari was left in shock as she stared at the scary elderly man. After the strange people were gone, only he remained. He looked at her differently - with a warm grandfatherly glint to his eyes, he apologized for their actions and promised that they would be severely punished. Hikari believed him, but felt strangely uncomfortable around him.

She tested the waters - there was still one question she was dying to know about.

 

"Sir? Can you tell me who I am?" She looked at him sincerely, and saw how his face scrunched up in concern.

 

"What are you saying, young lady? Did one of your experiments go wrong?"

 

When he saw how she didn't react to what he said, almost as if she knew nothing of what he was saying, he heaved a deep and long sigh. "You, dear, are Renétia Carmichael. This Duchy's Princess and the sole heir of Carmichael Manor."

 

Hikari's eyes widened.

 

'Renétia Carmichael? That sounds familiar... ' 'Wait, did she hear wrong? Then, something clicked.

 

'There's no way?!'