Chapter 4: The First Meet

LOTTE slowly opened her eyes and stared blankly at the black stone ceiling above her—the first thing that greeted her.

It felt as though her consciousness were floating somewhere far away. She wanted to think, to make sense of what was happening, but her mind refused to process anything.

“Go to the Forbidden Forest at the edge of the village. Run as fast as you can, and don’t ever look back.”

“Run, Lotte. Save yourself. Don’t worry about us. Please… live for us.”

It was as though someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her when her father’s voice echoed through her mind, one line after another. Everything that had happened replayed in her head like a video playing at double speed.

Was that a dream? Had she just been dreaming all this time?

She pushed herself up into a sitting position on the hard bed. She winced as a slight sting shot through her arm and leg. When she looked down, however, she noticed that her wounds were already close to healing.

She swept her gaze around the room—or rather, the cell.

She was all alone inside. Aside from a small table holding an oil lamp, a chair, and the hard, thin wooden bed she was sitting on, there was nothing else inside.

The place reeked of blood, and iron bars separated her from the hallway beyond.

Lotte slowly climbed down from the bed. She was still wearing the same clothes from earlier, but they were stained with blood. The sight drained what little color remained in her lips.

Her hands curled into fists as the truth finally sank in.

She hadn’t been dreaming. Her mother and sister really were lying lifeless on the floor. Her father really had begged her to live for them. Every tear she had shed was real, and everything she had witnessed had truly happened.

Her knees weakened, and she sank back onto the bed as one painful realization after another flooded her mind.

She gripped one hand tightly with the other, allowing her tears to fall silently down her cheeks. She bit her lower lip, desperate to keep herself from making even the slightest sound.

She had no idea where she was, but for now, that hardly mattered. All she wanted was to let herself feel the pain she had been holding back.

It felt as though thousands of needles were piercing her heart as she imagined what her parents must have endured in their final moments and how they might have begged their attackers to spare their lives.

“I’m sorry, Dad. Mom. I’m sorry, Lilly,” she whispered.

She felt as though she had failed as a daughter. At that very moment, she had been at the hospital, saving the lives of others, while her own family had been fighting for theirs without her even knowing.

The thought shattered what little composure she had left.

She wept quietly, mourning her family and allowing herself to grieve until she no longer noticed anything around her. She didn’t notice someone approaching her cell. She didn’t hear the faintest sound as the iron bars swung open.

It was only when her silent sobbing gradually came to a halt that she began to sense that something had changed.

Slowly, she lifted her gaze. A tall man stood before her, his sharp eyes fixed on her with a serious stare.

His broad shoulders and imposing frame practically blocked out the light from the oil lamp behind him, casting a shadow over her.

Lotte squeezed her eyes shut, trying to clear the tears blurring her vision. When she opened them again, she finally got a proper look at his face.

For one absurd second, her grief faltered.

He was tall, handsome, and intimidating, with the kind of face that belonged on the cover of a romance novel. His sharp jawline and piercing silver-gray eyes only made him more attractive, while his cold expression gave him the air of a man who wouldn’t spare anyone a second glance.

He looked like the sort of man who could silence an entire room simply by walking into it, and that was precisely the kind of man Marisol would go crazy over.

Is this real? He looks like a god who descended from heaven!

For a fleeting moment, Lotte almost forgot where she was and why she had been crying. Then the memory of her family returned, and the fleeting distraction vanished.

She blinked twice. “W-Who are you?” she asked, confusion evident in her voice.

The man tilted his head slightly. “I should be the one asking you that. Who are you, and which territory do you belong to?”

Territory?

Lotte furrowed her brows. Was he asking for her address? And why? Was he going to let her go?

“Our address is 214 Alder Street, Hollowbrook, Washington. Please, wherever this is, let me out. My family needs me,” she pleaded.

She still needed to call the police!

“Washington? We’re not here to play games with you, Miss. Tell me, are you a spy? Which council do you belong to?” the second man demanded, stepping into view from behind the serious-looking stranger.

“I’m not joking! Do I look like I’m joking?” Lotte shot back, her confusion quickly turning into frustration. “And who are you people? Were you the ones who killed my family?!”

The accusation burst out of her before she could stop it.

She knew she shouldn’t have accused them without proof. Her parents hadn’t raised her to point fingers at people without knowing the truth, much less to lash out at strangers.

But her family was dead. She had no idea where she was, who these people were, or how she had ended up in this strange place. And right now, she was terrified that the people standing before her might know more about her family’s deaths than they were willing to admit.

“Kelmor,” called the quiet, handsome man standing before her, his voice cold.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” Kelmor answered promptly.

“Bring her to my study.”

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Lotte sitting there in a daze.

She had no idea how long she sat with her mouth hanging open before she finally realized he was already gone. A soft, incredulous laugh escaped her lips. It felt as though everyone around her was deliberately messing with her.

“Your Majesty? What kind of nonsense is this?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I thought you people weren’t joking around here, so what’s with that? Are we in another world filled with all kinds of creatures and supernatural beings? Or did I somehow transmigrate into a princess’s body from a book and end up meeting a king or prince, just like in those manhwa?” she said sarcastically.

To be honest, she was a patient person by nature and knew how to deal with people. She had also learned not to let her emotions get the better of her. But right now, there was only one thing on her mind—she needed to see her family.

The man called Kelmor, who stood before her, furrowed his brows as if he couldn’t understand what she was saying.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but to answer your question, we weren’t the ones who killed your parents. In fact, we were the ones who saved your life in Orrukai before anyone else could find you there. You should be grateful His Majesty didn’t have you executed,” Kelmor said. “Now, change your clothes and stand over there. His Majesty still wants to speak with you.”

Lotte found his words even harder to believe, especially given how serious he looked. She couldn’t see any hint of a joke or any sign that he was holding back laughter. He genuinely meant every word he said.

He handed her a brown dress. It was wrinkled and seemed a little too big for her petite frame, but it was better than wearing her bloodstained clothes.

“Where’s the comfort room?” she asked.

His brows furrowed again. “What’s a comfort room?”

“The comfort room. The bathroom. The room where I can change. Seriously, what year is it? How can you not even know what a simple comfort room is?”

Realization dawned on Kelmor’s face. “Ah, you mean that? Only His Majesty has one here in Kuravorn. Just change in this cell,” he said before stepping out of the cell. “And since you’re asking what year it is, it’s currently the twenty-seventh day of Marogai, HC 9,412,” he added.

Before she could even protest, Kelmor had already left, leaving her alone to change. She stood there with both hands planted firmly on her hips, unable to believe what was happening.

“This is not happening.”

She shook her head in disbelief, hoping that somehow, this was all just a terrible dream. But the cold stone walls surrounding her and the bloodstained clothes clinging to her body were all too real.

And if Kelmor was telling the truth, she was no longer in the world she knew.

What the hell was going on?