Chapter 5: The Hunt for Little Girls
THERE is a castle where the three rivers flow into one and pour into the sea. A secure castle, surrounded by the torrential waters and protected by two layers of walls. Reverfeat’s king once lived here. Now Lord Siegfried, the man possessed by the designs of his own ambitions, resides within. With his first marriage: he became a noble. With his second: royalty. And now the man aims to become king with his third.
Deep inside the throne room, colorful light spills through the stained-glass windows, illuminating the king’s chair atop a step higher than the rest of the room. It’s an impressive, gorgeous throne, crafted from ivory, gold, and scarlet-dyed silk and furs. One year and a day ago, Lord Designs obtained this castle. However, to this day, he has been unable to get his hands on that special chair—due to some ancient laws.
Though he may outwardly mock the ancient laws as superstitions of archaic tradition, behind his façade, he intimately fears it. He believes in them. Because it is none other than Lord Designs Siegfried himself who is trying to benefit from the blessing granted by the intricacies of those very same archaic laws.
Therefore, Lord Siegfried has an objective he must achieve. He has an obstacle he must overcome. He will make whatever sacrifices it takes to get there. No matter how much the commoners and lesser people insult and ridicule him!
“I want to marry Princess Lala Lilia. I have to marry her!” Lord Designs shouts yet again today. Clenching his fists, he shakes his comely beard that has been scrupulously trimmed by his personal barber. “I swear on all the stars in the heavens that I will make Princess Lala Lilia my wife!”
The girl standing in wait beside him coldly looks up at her father. Her eyes are such a deep, dark lapis lazuli that it is nearly impossible to tell the difference between her irises and pupils. However, it is not the blue of the heavens but that of a bottomless abyss.
“You will make her your third wife?”
“Yes, my third wife.”
Her clear, flat voice does not tremble. It does not waver or lose its composure. It hadn’t done so since the day her father revolted against the king. Nor will it in this moment, when he confesses his selfish desires without fearing what those who overhear will think.
There is a reason why this girl, who just recently turned ten, is unthinkably calm, cool, and collected. An open secret everyone whispers, murmuring it in the shadows when asked, before suddenly and abruptly holding their tongue.
“A seven-year-old girl?”
“Yes, a seven-year-old girl!” Does his ability to brazenly assert his desires without shame come from his chagrin or self-abandonment?
“Your idea is proper for royalty, Father. But the masses will see it as…”
“The masses will see it as?” he prompts.
“You being a lecherous pervert.”
“It’s not like I want to marry a child! The kingdom will fall to ruin if someone other than a Blessed Royal takes the throne. I can’t become king without a kingdom.”
“I am aware.”
“Ooh, Megan! My precious daughter. Beautiful pearl!”
Lord Designs throws open his arms and embraces his daughter. Her blue dress, crafted from the most lavish materials and sewn into many frills and pleats, scrunches against him. A great number of pearls, sewn on to suit her name, rub against each other as they clatter hollowly. Her slender golden eyebrows slightly knit together before quickly returning to their place.
“Lend me your wisdom. Every other person out there is incompetent. Worthless oafs. Since the day I started squandering money like water to send soldiers out in droves, today marks a…uh…”
“A year and a day since.”
“Yes. A year and a day since! I’ve futilely wasted that much time. And still, those men have yet to grasp Princess Lala Lilia’s whereabouts. They can’t even find a lone seven-year-old girl!”
Lady Megan smoothly wriggles out of her father’s arms. That’s how superficial his embrace is.
Lady Megan was born through her father’s first marriage and earned the title of noblewoman through his second. She has long, straight golden locks that refuse to bend or lose their perfection even after being braided. Her blue, lapis lazuli eyes are offset by porcelain white skin. Not even the most skilled artisan can chisel her sweet beauty’s likeness into stone or capture her breathtaking appearance in a mural. Anyone who takes a single look at her beauty forgets to breathe. But this girl, who has been blessed with impeccable good looks, lacks one crucial thing.
Just before the birth of his daughter, Lord Designs conducted a supplication ritual. Yet, instead of praying to the gods of the heavens, he prayed to the Devil of the Abyss.
“Grant me kingship! I offer you the soul of my newborn child as payment!”
Though it is questionable whether the ritual succeeded as he desired, his daughter was born without a soul. She sheds no tears, no smile turns her lips, no anger furrows her brow. No matter what she sees, hears, touches, or experiences, she lacks any heartstrings to be pulled.
Thus, he believes it was done. He was going to become king!
Nevertheless, he cannot find Princess Lala. He has not heard any rumors or glimpsed any trace of her whereabouts.
“The mourning period for the king and queen is over. There’s nothing left to hinder my marriage with Lala Lilia,” he bemoans.
“Father.”
“All that’s left is the princess. All is resolved as long as we find the princess! As long as I have the princess! I’ll take her in my hands and—”
“Father,” Lady Megan’s icy voice slices through the air. Her narrowed blue eyes coolly bore into her tortured, impatient father.
“Ah…ahem.” He clears his throat and rushes to regain his dignity. “Let me hear what you have to say, O daughter of mine. You may speak.”
Now that her father has regained his calm, Lady Megan slowly elucidates, “If you cannot find a single four-leaf clover, why not cut down the entire clover hill?”
At first, Lord Designs struggles to understand the meaning of his daughter’s words. He listens with his mouth hanging open, until finally he blinks twice, then thrice…he smirks wickedly.