Prologue

The surroundings were filled with flowers. A field of flowers stretched out so vast that its end could not be seen, resembling a masterpiece painted with the utmost effort by an artist. Amidst this breathtaking scenery sat a girl in a bright dress.

Her honey-like golden hair cascaded down to her waist, and her eyes were also golden. Mail approached the girl, who was innocently smiling among the fully bloomed flowers, and spoke.

“Princess.”

The girl turned her head, as if realizing Mail had called her. With the movement of her head, her long hair swayed. Mail softly smiled, gazing at the angelic face of the girl.

“What are you doing here?”

“Mail.”

“Yes?”

“What’s your dream?”

Mail tilted her head in confusion. Why is she suddenly asking that?

Though puzzled, it was best to answer a royal’s question first, no matter the subject. Mail responded softly.

“My dream is just to live happily with the people I love. What about you, Princess?”

“My dream is the ruin of the nation.”

For a moment, Mail thought she had misheard. What?

“Pardon? Princess, what did you just…?”

“I’m a femme fatale.”

The girl added more to her previous words, her face calm. Though it was a brazen self-praise, Mail wasn’t surprised. The princess often complimented her own beauty, so this was nothing new. If anything, Mail was surprised that the princess had used a difficult phrase like “femme fatale.”

Still flustered, Mail decided to agree for now. After all, the girl was indeed that beautiful.

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Then the nation must fall, right?”

“…What?”

“Because of me, the country has to fall. I’m a femme fatale. Isn’t that right? So my dream is the ruin of the nation.”

“P-Princess? What on earth…?”

“Instead of just talking, I should hurry and go destroy the country. Haha~”

“Wait! Princess? Princess!”

The girl, who had suddenly spouted her bizarre logic, laughed brightly and quickly walked away.

Mail stood up abruptly, but the girl had already disappeared like the wind. Left standing there, Mail was dumbfounded, unsure of what had just happened. Was that real? Was it a hallucination? A hallucination with a strange voice?

Jeez, the warmer weather must be making me see strange things.

Just as she thought that, the scene abruptly changed.

“Ahhhhh!”

People were dying.

Homes were burning. Screams rang out in succession, loud enough to hurt her ears. The sound of galloping hooves and the dreadful noise of metal cutting through living beings mingled and spread wildly through the air.

Armored soldiers on horseback rampaged violently through the smoke and flames.

The agonizing screams, like nails digging into her brain. Wailing. Chaos.

People collapsed like wooden dolls, blood spilling everywhere.

“Save… me…”

Amid the unimaginable chaos, the heat of the flames touched her skin. It was hot. Only then did Mail scream, her voice tearing through the air.

“Ah!”

Mail shot up in bed. Her face was deathly pale, with strands of her dark brown hair sticking to her skin from cold sweat.

She sat there for a moment, unable to do anything but catch her breath. Even though she had only just woken up from sleep, her heart pounded as if she had been sprinting. It took her a while longer to fully calm down.

“It was just a dream…”

A dream.

Mail murmured to herself as she stared at her hands. The sensation lingered; her fingertips trembled slightly. The screams felt as real as tinnitus, and the heat seemed so tangible, as if she had truly been there.

Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed the first thing her hand touched. A soft blanket. This wasn’t a field of flowers, nor a war-torn street. It was just the bedroom of a noble lady, with a plush blanket and a wide, luxurious bed.

Mail shook her head, as if trying to rid herself of the lingering sensation from the dream.

Forget it. It was just a ridiculous dream. There’s no need to analyze it for meaning. It was simply an unlucky nightmare, nothing more than a worthless phenomenon.

A few hours later, as soon as the sun rose, Mail jumped out of bed and ran out.