Inside Leon's castle.
Click!
"Did I just step on something?"
Lumine flinched as she felt the floor give way beneath her foot.
She quickly looked down and saw that the tile she had stepped on was sunken a few centimeters.
Suddenly, the blonde-haired girl's face turned pale. It looked like she had triggered a trap.
"Lumine, be careful! I told you not to come to this castle!"
"Paimon, we're already here. Stop whining and help me think of a plan."
Lumine glanced helplessly to the side.
Floating beside her was a small, child-sized creature.
Though it looked cute, it was really just airborne emergency food.
The mysterious creature who called herself Paimon—rescued by Lumine a few days earlier—had inexplicably become her traveling companion.
"Uwaaaa~ I never should've taken this mission to begin with! If that prince catches us, we're doomed!"
Paimon said, sounding very pessimistic.
"Alright, don't lose heart, Paimon. If the contents of this plan are true, we can't just ignore it. We have to find out the truth."
Lumine said with resolve.
She pulled a copy of the Plan to Destroy the Lawrence Family from her backpack, her expression deadly serious.
If what was written in this plan was true, then the incident involving the dragon disaster in Mondstadt had been orchestrated by the second prince of this kingdom—Leon Fol Palettia!
That would be disastrous.
Lumine had to uncover the truth.
To that end, she had snuck into Leon's castle to search for clues—and accidentally stepped on an alarm mechanism.
Paimon: "There aren't going to be sudden traps like arrows shooting from the dark, doors and windows slamming shut, or the castle turning into a giant maze, right?!"
Lumine: "Paimon, please stop talking."
Just as the two were beginning to panic...
The floor ahead of them split open, and a classic gramophone rose from beneath the tiles.
"Hello? Ah, ah, ah—testing, testing. Can you hear me?"
"Did that thing just talk?!" ×2
"No need to be so nervous. This is the intercom I invented to welcome intruders into my castle. Oh? I recognize you—you're that traveler who was in Mondstadt, right? What a cute little trespasser. But what's that flying thing next to you?"
The voice of the Black Prince echoed from the speakers.
Lumine recognized him instantly.
It was the voice of the boy who had appeared in her dreams countless times after the Mondstadt disaster—Leon.
"Now that I've been discovered, there's no point hiding it. I'm here to investigate you."
Lumine declared boldly.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"You're the one who planned the Mondstadt disaster, aren't you?"
On the other end of the speaker, Leon raised his eyebrows. How did this girl know that?
No—it doesn't matter now.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. But... you arrived at the perfect time."
"What...?"
"I'm dying of boredom right now, so I'll use you two for my entertainment. According to the laws of this kingdom, illegal intruders face severe punishment if caught—not to mention the two of you who've just broken into a royal's residence. Do you understand what that means?"
Leon's tone was low and dangerous.
"!!!"
Lumine felt her heart race.
Her instincts were screaming that something was very wrong.
So she grabbed Paimon by the leg and pulled her toward the window to escape.
However—
"I admit your reaction was quick... but it's already too late."
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
All the castle's doors and windows slammed shut, and at the same time, ultra-dense metal shutters descended from the walls, instantly transforming the castle into a sealed cage.
But that wasn't the end.
Lumine and Paimon stared in horror at what was happening before them.
The interior of the castle was shifting and reorganizing.
The floor, the ceiling, and the walls began to move constantly.
What had been a long hallway moments ago was now a complex, winding labyrinth.
"Welcome to my secret castle. I'm on the top floor. If you have any questions, feel free to reach me alive first."
"By the way, this castle was renovated three years ago. You two are the 123rd and 124th challengers. Please pray that when you die, you'll at least leave behind a complete body."
With that, the gramophone fell silent.
But several small pipes extended from the holes in the horn, and in the next instant, they spun rapidly—before spewing bullets.
"What the hell!?"
Lumine stared at the bullet hole left in the ground, blackened and smoking, and felt a chill run down her spine. Without thinking, she summoned Geo magic to raise a massive stone wall to block the barrage.
Then she threw her sword without hesitation.
Boom--!
The machine gun exploded.
"Okay, that was dangerous~~"
"That scared the hell out of me," Paimon complained.
Lumine and Paimon let out a breath of relief. Things had escalated so quickly that even a seasoned traveler like Lumine had barely reacted in time.
After regaining their composure, they looked around and realized every escape route had been blocked. The only option now was to move forward.
Even destroying the walls wasn't possible—her sword nearly broke trying to cut through them.
"Lumine, what do we do now?"
Paimon clung to Lumine's head in fear.
"We've got no choice but to go forward. Don't worry, Paimon. We've been through so many ruins and survived countless adventures. Nothing's going to happen this time."
"...Yeah, you're right. I have been through a lot of ruins. I'm sure Lumine will be fine this time too!" Paimon nodded, slightly reassured.
"Exactly."
The blonde traveler puffed out her chest with pride.
She was confident in her experience. After exploring so many ancient ruins, she didn't believe that breaking into a prince's castle would be beyond her capabilities.
Lumine quickly realized how naive she was.
Lumine: "Let me use Elemental Sight first. Where are the traps... Dammit!"
She had a special ability: by channeling magic into her eyes, she could detect traces of other magical powers.
Most traps in this world contained elemental energy. In the past, Lumine had used Elemental Sight to detect and disarm countless traps and puzzles.
So this time, she instinctively tried to scout ahead using the same method.
But then she froze.
It was everywhere.
Every floor.
Every wall.
Every decoration.
Everything was filled with overwhelming elemental magic.
There was nothing in this castle that wasn't a trap!
Leon: "Oops, guess I overdid it. Out of the 122 intruders so far, the record was three steps before dying. I wonder how many she can manage?"
From the moment she stepped on that alarm tile—
The castle had become a deadly prison.
---
(End of Chapter)
"Hmph. If you really want to be useful, then entertain me, try to throw those pathetic power stones at me. Let's see if even your insolence can amuse a king."