Suddenly pushed aside, Reibella frantically searched through the crowd for the princess.

Fortunately, the princess was nearby. Though it was just a moment, she called out to the princess while looking as pale as if she’d been to hell and back.

Just then, the princess, who might have been flustered after losing Reibella’s hand as well, approached with a relieved expression.

“That scared me.”

“Me too. I didn’t know there would suddenly be so many people.”

“We’ll have to hold hands tightly so you don’t get lost again, Reibella.”

The princess interlocked their fingers and smiled brightly.

She looked so innocent and pure. Reibella suddenly felt sorry remembering that this child had suffered greatly before the regression. Despite not being in a position to sympathize with anyone.

If she felt this way, how must others feel? She now understood why people gathered around and protected the princess.

With these thoughts, Reibella smiled and held the princess’s hand in return. And once again, they stepped forward together.

Though it was brief, Reibella, startled by losing the princess, searched with her eyes for the guard knights who must be somewhere while moving with the princess.

But there was no way to easily spot those who were secretly assigned.

Quickly giving up on finding the guard knights, Reibella focused on the princess again.

‘There are too many people here, it’s dangerous.’

It seemed better to wait until there were fewer people before going to make lanterns for safety. So as she was naturally trying to guide them to the outskirts—

“Reibella, look over there! It’s a huge flower lantern!”

Suddenly the princess made an impulsive move.

As she squeezed between people, they were instantly swept up in the crowd.

And at that moment, a suspicious person caught her eye in front of them.

‘……What’s this?’

Though they looked ordinary, there was something unsettling about the way they were approaching. Something felt strangely concerning.

Soon she realized. Who the person was targeting.

……We need to avoid them.

With that split-second thought, she tried to pull the princess behind her, but the suspicious man’s arm was faster. He came straight at them as if to grab the princess.

Reibella knocked away his hand and hid the princess behind her back. The man’s hand grasped empty air.

He glared sharply at Reibella.

It was a look filled with killing intent.

“Quickly, run away, Miss.”

“……What’s wrong, Reibella.”

While keeping watch on the man before her, Reibella looked around. Her eyes darted about searching for the knights the Emperor had assigned, but as people surged forward again in response to a loud sound from somewhere, the two small girls were completely hidden.

And suddenly someone sprang out from behind the princess. Reibella reflexively hugged the princess and crouched down.

At the same time, there was a sharp pain in the back of her neck.

With that, she lost consciousness. 

 * * *

 ……la.

……bella.

Reibella!

Opening her eyes as if drawn to the clear voice, an unfamiliar scene filled her vision. A worn wooden ceiling and the princess.

……Princess?

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, yes……”

Reibella answered in a still dazed voice, slowly recalling her memories. She remembered what happened just before losing consciousness. Someone had tried to harm the princess, and she had stopped them.

Reibella looked at the princess with wide eyes.

Her examining gaze was intense.

“Are, are you alright, Your Highness?”

“Yes, I’m fine. How about you, Reibella?”

“I’m fine.”

Though her neck was throbbing as if she’d received a strong impact, it was bearable. While answering calmly, she immediately checked the princess’s neck. Thankfully, there wasn’t even a trace of a mark on the princess’s neck.

“Are you really alright? No headache or aching anywhere?”

“I’m really fine. You worry too much.”

“Then that’s good. But what happened to us?”

“We were brought here just like that. When I opened my eyes, we were here.”

……This is driving me crazy.

Surely there must have been knights following to protect the princess, so why couldn’t they stop this?

It was so absurd she couldn’t even laugh. Everything just seemed dark.

‘I wonder if the Emperor will kill me?’

Honestly, being kidnapped itself wasn’t a big problem. We’d be rescued anyway.

The princess who was kidnapped with her was none other than this story’s protagonist. Someone who could never die until the novel ended. The ultimate victor who would remain until the end.

Plus, the genre was healing. She would survive without a single scratch.

If they waited quietly, the strongest ally in the story — the Emperor would surely come to rescue her.

The problem was Reibella herself. She might be killed by the Emperor for the crime of going out at night with the princess and getting kidnapped.

That’s why she had protected the princess with her whole body, and yet…

‘Seriously, everyone in this world is completely useless.’

No, she was wronged from the start. She had blocked them with this tiny body. The knights were the ones who failed to do their job, right?

At this point, even the Emperor should consider the circumstances. If he had any conscience, he should blame the guard knights, not her.

‘Right, let’s do well from now on.’

If she could quietly protect and guard the princess well from now on, that merit should be recognized.

But……

“……Your Highness?”

“Yes, Reibella.”

“What are you doing right now?”

At Reibella’s question, the princess whispered in a very small voice.

“We can’t stay like this. We have to escape.”

Ah. I see.

So, now the princess seemed about to act like a troublesome female lead who would raise readers’ blood pressure.

“Um, Your Highness?”

“Yes.”

“His Majesty will come to rescue us. Wouldn’t it be better to wait?”

Your father is someone who would find you even if you were at the bottom of the ocean, so why try something foolish when waiting would be the best option?

Judging by how the princess’s hair and eye color had returned to normal, quite some time must have passed since they were kidnapped. Surely by now, the Emperor must be mobilizing all information networks to find his daughter.

No, he might have already found out where they were. He could even be nearby.

Reibella spoke soothingly with such thoughts in mind, but what she got in return was the princess’s embrace.

The princess hugged Reibella tightly as if comforting a young sibling and patted her.

“Don’t worry, Reibella. I’ll definitely save you.”

Thinking that her objection was simply due to anxiety, the princess tried to act like a reliable older sister.

But that action only increased her anxiety. Thinking that she needed to be the rational one, Reibella quietly surveyed their surroundings.

‘Seems like there’s no one around.’

Even when she listened carefully, she couldn’t hear any signs of people. She quietly approached the door and put her ear against it, but it was the same.

Carefully moving away from the door, Reibella tapped the floor lightly. The wooden floor must not have been well-finished, as even small impacts made loud sounds. If anyone approached, there would definitely be creaking sounds.

Feeling somewhat relieved, Reibella turned her head and met eyes with the princess who happened to be watching her. The princess smiled with her eyes and waved her over.

When she got closer, she saw a small gap. Wind was seeping in from outside. The princess whispered,

“We can get out through here.”

But still.

‘Isn’t this… a bit strange?’

No one is guarding, plus there’s an obvious escape route.

They kidnapped the precious princess but didn’t check for such holes?

‘Or are we lucky because the princess is here?’

Come to think of it, protagonists always dramatically find routes that others can’t discover and escape through them.

Though suspicious, it seemed too good to waste now that they’d found it. Reibella carefully examined the small hole. Seeing the dirt ground and dark dense forest outside the hole, it seemed to be night and they were currently in a forest.

‘If we escape through here, can we safely reach the Emperor without the princess getting even a speck of dirt on her?’

It was practically impossible. They would surely get brushed by grass and scratched by trees while being chased by the kidnappers.

It would be better to stay put in that case.

‘But maybe the princess needs to show an escape attempt first.’

The setting where someone always appears at critical moments to save the protagonist usually requires the premise that the protagonist made an effort first.

‘I need to know why the kidnappers took the princess to decide.’

If they intended to keep the princess alive, there was no need to escape. But if they planned to kill her as an example, it might be better to escape through here as the princess suggested.

Just then. There was a creaking sound. Reibella hurriedly put the small gap back to how it was.

And as if waiting for that moment, a man entered.