Kuro no Maou

in that carriage who would reprimand her for such improper posture.

“Tell me, Helen, which knighthood was it that you wanted to enroll in after graduating? You know, for someone as useless as you, I can tell Father to appoint you as a warehouse keeper.”

Sprawled back on her seat like a discarded doll, Nell speaks rashly about snatching away Helen’s brilliant future from her, muttering as if she was half-asleep.

“There’s this old gramps named Thomas who’s in charge of the castle’s 13th warehouse, but he’s been on that post by himself all this time, even before I was born… He’s been doing that for so long, it would be nice if someone else were to take over his post so he can finally rest those old bones, don’t you think?”

Protecting the castle’s treasury was one of the duties of the elite knights, but Helen quickly understood that this ‘13th warehouse’ was obviously a much less important place which was clearly much less used, let alone talked about. 

“Hehe, it’ll be a perfect job for someone as incompetent as you.”

Helen could do nothing but endure, biting her lip as she continued to shed tears.

Crying her heart out, Helen’s heart was being painted with dark emotions rather than filled with sorrow.

The princess had changed.
No, rather, she had been changed.
Changed by that devilish man.

The kind and tender Nell would never abuse or ridicule anyone like that.
She was pure and kind-hearted.
She was an example, no, an ideal, of what a princess should be.
That’s why it made no sense that she would be so cruel to Helen that it would test her loyalty like that.

Helen couldn’t feel anything but hatred for the one responsible for driving her beautiful, pure princess this mad.

“–Oh well, how am I going to see Kurono, then?”

Who was she asking that question to? At least Helen had no interest in answering it.
She already thinks highly enough of her princess, but her heart wasn’t so numb that she would take further abuse from her.

“I want to see you, and yet, I… I… I’m no good, am I…?

She buried her face in the seat’s cushions as she mumbled incomprehensibly, answering her own questions.
It was almost as if she didn’t want to hear her own answers.

“Why, why am I not the one at your side, why is that… that… ah…”

Her words were suddenly cut off.
Helen noticed.
Nell’s body trembled as she moaned, unable to say another word.

“Princess!? Stop! Stop the car now!”

Helen raised her face, which still had traces of dry tears, as she yelled her command as loud as she could, and the carriage’s driver reacted instantly.
The carriage stopped without making any sound nor shaking even once.
Needless to say, the knights who were around the carriage also stopped, forming lines next to it.

“Ah, uh, uuhh…”

“Princess, let’s go outside.”

Helen quickly unlocked the door and opened it, then carried Nell’s tender body outside.
The princess’s face was pale, and her eyes were blank and devoid of light.

The two tumbled out of the carriage and onto the snowy ground, almost falling.

Paying no mind to the silver knight who hurriedly got down from his horse to tend to her princess, Nell faced the white ground and–

“Uh, kuh… bleeaaaaargggghhhh….”

Started to throw up.

Despite not having had anything to eat or drink during their journey home, dirty vomit was being expelled from Nell’s pretty mouth.

Seeing that unsightly and miserable display, Helen started to cry a third time.

“Oh, poor, poor princess…”