"My name is Henriette Belew."
Henri stood at the door and gave Alice a slight bow.
"Thank you for taking me in last night."
Last night, she'd been so exhausted she'd fallen asleep right at the dinner table.
Her sudden collapse had given Charlotte quite a fright, making her rush over in a panic to check on her.
Then, she'd heard the girl's soft, steady breathing.
Early the next morning, Henri was waiting downstairs, looking like she was ready to leave.
Kanaria stood by her side; she didn't really want to leave her sisters, but she was also worried about Henri.
Charlotte, however, was blocking the doorway, her brow furrowed deeply.
"Henri, Kanaria said you're being chased? What's going on?"
Henri hung her head, pursed her lips and whispered, "They want to capture me, to use against my elder sister."
"What kind of people?"
"A group of knights... puppets dressed as knights." As if recalling the pursuit, Henri's shoulders began to tremble slightly.
"It's alright now. You're safe."
Charlotte hugged Henri, gently patting her back, then looked over at Alice. "Can Henri stay here?"
Alice glanced at the flaxen-haired girl, then shifted her gaze to Kanaria beside her. "No one knows you came here?"
"Of course not!" Kanaria puffed out her chest proudly. "The moment we saw the enemy, we whooshed right away!"
Well, if it wouldn't bring other troubles like Shouko did...
"Fine."
"But if I'm discovered here..."
"As long as you don't leave the mansion, you can't be observed from inside." Alice half-closed her eyes, speaking softly. "Charlotte will explain the rules to you."
"Eh~" Shouko, who was watching the scene, let out a noise.
"If you could avoid leading the Japanese military here, I might have considered it," Alice retorted.
With that, Alice walked towards Irori standing by the door. It was time for training.
"Wait for me downstairs."
After instructing her sister, Charlotte began rolling her shoulders, a look of grim determination in her eyes. "I'll be back soon."
Sigmund also fluttered his wings lightly, flying to perch on Charlotte's head.
The girl and the dragon walked into the lounge, heading towards the large mirror, their figures looking a little forlorn.
"What's Sister doing?"
"Training time," Robin said from his perch on the television, making no move to follow.
It seemed because Charlotte had been beaten up so many times recently, he'd gotten used to it.
"Training?"
"Training with Alice." Robin's lips curled into a happy smile as if he'd just thought of something. "Speaking of which, Henri, why don't you go take a peek? You might get to see your sister's heroic figure."
No sooner had he spoken, before Henri could even react, Charlotte's steps faltered abruptly.
"Guh..."
A pathetic sound escaped her lips. Seeing her reaction, Sigmund on her head chuckled wryly. "It's better if you don't follow, Henri. It's a bit dangerous."
"Y-y-yes!" Charlotte immediately added. "Henri, you should rest properly here."
With that, she clattered hurriedly into the mirror.
Kanaria blinked curiously and sneaked after them.
Big Sister Henri fighting? If Henri can't see it, I'll take a look for her!
The mirror's surface rippled, revealing a dimly lit amusement park.
A short while later, Kanaria was sitting meekly on the sofa, her head covered in ice crystals.
"What happened to her?" Shinku asked, looking strangely at the unusually well-behaved Kanaria sitting on the couch.
Kanaria wasn't usually this docile.
"Seems she saw the fight between Alice and Charlotte," Souseiseki remarked in passing from the doorway.
Ah, that explained it. The scene of a massive dragon being pinned and pummeled by a petite girl was rather terrifying.
It was just as well if recognizing the power disparity made Kanaria quiet down.
Shinku elegantly picked up her black tea, her posture leisurely and content.
Beep beep beep.
The timer for Irori's cooking wobbled in the kitchen.
Trimmau blinked slowly, turning her gaze towards Hinaichigo in the room.
Feeling Trimmau's gaze, Hinaichigo pointed at herself, puzzled. "Is it little Hina's turn today?"
The silent maid nodded.
With a 'heave-ho', Hinaichigo jumped down from the sofa and pattered towards the mirror.
Familiar shouts echoed from within the mirror. The dim evening sun shone through the window into the mansion. Another day had passed.
--+--
The holiday passed in the blink of an eye, and Alice found herself back in the bustling school campus.
Perhaps because of Kanaria's presence, the dormitory building had become much livelier.
Many of the girls had taken a liking to this outgoing puppet, and Kanaria never refused their affections.
Whether it was being fed treats or dressed up, the girls pampered Kanaria meticulously.
Today was no different.
The moment Alice returned to the dorm, girls came asking if Kanaria wanted to come out and play.
"I'll be back on time~"
With Alice's nod of approval, Kanaria was whisked away to the neighboring dorm.
Seemingly wanting to show their friendliness and assure her they had no intention of harming a Night Party participant's puppet, the girls next door readily offered up their room.
The dress-up play began.
So those strange stares before... were because of the Rozen Maidens?
Alice recalled the looks strangers, both girls and even some boys, had given the Rozen Maidens when she first arrived on campus.
The charm of the Rozen Maidens truly was peerless, it seemed.
"Well then..." Alice's gaze shifted to Hinaichigo beside her. "Any news about Frey?"
Hinaichigo had followed Alice out today, hoping to find Frey and clear things up.
She'd even asked Suigintou and Kirakishou to help look for her, but they'd found nothing.
"Ugh..." She sucked on her finger, shaking her head vacantly. "No."
"Things should be fine once you meet and talk it out later." Alice gently ruffled her head, then turned and placed her hand on the doorknob.
Then, a faint, rustling, strange noise from inside made her freeze in place.
An intruder? No, Shinku and the others should be inside. It wasn't night, and Souseiseki and Suiseiseki were there too.
No one on this campus could defeat them all without making a sound.
Then that meant...
The door was pushed open gently, revealing Frey's figure.
As expected. Only the arrival of someone familiar would explain this.
Kirakishou's thorns quietly closed the door behind her without making a sound.
Frey was in the middle of the room, intently setting up something. She was so focused on the rope in her hands that she didn't even notice Suiseiseki and Souseiseki peeking at her from inside a box.
Shinku was simply standing by the bed, the height of the bed frame perfectly concealing her.
The wolfhound, Rabbi, beside Frey, however, noticed Alice's presence immediately and arched his back.
Just as Alice thought he was about to bark, Rabbi abruptly sat down on the floor and started wagging his tail.
"..."
It seemed they were too familiar, to the point the dog didn't even sound the alarm.
Alice slowly entered the room, glanced down at the large net at Frey's feet and the ropes on the ceiling, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
A trap?
She stood beside Frey and gave a soft cough.
"Ahem."
Frey's body jolted violently, her hand involuntarily giving a downward tug.
The trap was sprung.
The large net at her feet, like a fishing net, suddenly tightened. Something heavy outside the window seemed to pull the net upwards.
Shinku silently used her cane to pull Rabbi backward.
The rapidly moving rope snagged around Frey's ankle. "Wah...!"
With Frey's soft cry, she was hoisted into the air like a hooked fish, the flying ropes coiling around her.
Within seconds, the chaotically flying ropes had perfectly trussed her up in a tortoise shell bind.
...What kind of magecraft was this?
Alice let out a soft sigh and looked up into Frey's crimson eyes.
"What are you here for?"
Frey struggled vigorously for a moment, but the ropes only tightened with her efforts, forcing her to stop.
"Ugh... Long time no see, Alice."
Trembling under Alice's gaze, she nonetheless spoke with a face full of resolve.
"Um... I'm... here... to assassinate you."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.