Father turned around and looked at me. “Mille-Feuille, stay close to Parfeil at all times,” he reminded me as we made our way through the crowd.
“I know, father,” I replied. Accompanied by my rabbit-eared female attendant Parfeil, I moved forward through the waves of people, nearly getting smothered along the way. My parents led the way, and Parfeil and I followed behind them. My older brother brought up the rear of our group.
“Mille-Feuille. We’ll leave you if you fall behind,” father threatened.
“Father, you fiend!” I cried.
My father often said: “Be aware that you are a noble, and act as such.” My same father, ignoring his own advice, now appeared to be very excited—elated, even—as we approached the festivities before us. My mother was strict and stern, but today, she opted not to chide my father for joking around and was smiling and enjoying herself. This joyful energy was not limited only to my parents—the crowd around us was ecstatic.
Suddenly, I tripped over a small bump on the stone path.
“Mille-Feuille, look out!” My brother Glacé, who was five years my senior, had been walking beside me and managed to catch me so I didn’t fall.
“Thank you, Glacé,” I said to him.
“Mille-Feuille, be mindful of where you’re walking,” he chided me.
“Yes, you’re right.” I had been overwhelmed by the crowd’s enthusiasm and wasn’t focusing on my surroundings. I needed to be more careful.
After a long walk, we finally reached the palace courtyard. However, the balcony was still a long way ahead. I would strain my neck if I tried to look up to see it.
“Mille-Feuille, do you see the balcony up there?”
“I see it quite clearly, mother.”
Of course, I couldn’t actually see it, but I replied as if I did. As for why I committed such an act, it’s because I simply had no interest in the events about to unfold.
This massive crowd was gathered here for one reason: to witness the majestic face of this country’s ruler, the Dragon Duke. For the last hundred years, the Dragon Duke hadn’t shown himself in public, not even once, and all were kept in the dark about him and his royal family. Yet today, for the first time in a century, the Dragon Duke would appear before his subjects from the palace balcony. Therefore, each and every dragonkin had gathered in this courtyard, which had been opened to the public for the occasion.
My family, too, was no exception. Even though today was my sixteenth birthday, my parents were more excited to get a glimpse of the Dragon Duke than to celebrate me.
This was the Dragon Duchy of Éclair, a state ruled by the world’s most powerful being: the Dragon Duke. Despite being a small nation, this land drew the attention of neighboring states by virtue of its inhabitants’ unique ability to transform into dragons. All its citizens held the Dragon Duke in high esteem—and even getting a fleeting glance of his royal visage inspired great enthusiasm in everyone.
My parents were ecstatic at the thought.
“Incredible... To think that we’d get to see the Dragon Duke himself!” father exclaimed.
“Indeed. What an event!” mother replied.
It seemed that not even my parents had ever seen the Dragon Duke. My brother, normally a quiet person of few words, was gazing at the balcony with tears of joy in his eyes.
We dragonkin live very long lives, with the oldest living up to a thousand years. The Dragon Duke was said to be very young; he had yet to reach two hundred years of age.
Parfeil had been gazing at the balcony all smiles, and I decided to ask her about this.
“Hey, Parfeil.”
“Yes, milady?”
“Have you ever seen the Dragon Duke?”
Parfeil, who hailed from a similarly long-lived race like the dragonkin, was 205 years old. Even so, in appearance she was much younger than me—and much smaller too. Her cute, childlike appearance belied the fact that she was older than the Dragon Duke himself.
“Hmm... I think I might have seen him before, but he was smaller than a tiny bean, so I don’t remember what he looks like,” Parfeil replied with a big smile. Her long rabbit ears swayed left and right as she did.
“Unfortunately, I think he’ll be smaller than a bean today too,” I said.
“N-No way!” Parfeil replied, disappointed, though she still seemed to be enjoying herself.
As for myself, my birthday only came once a year, and I couldn’t help but feel that it’d been canceled by the Dragon Duke’s public appearance. How could I possibly enjoy any of this?
All dragonkin held a deep reverence for the Dragon Duke, so much so that one might think that this devotion was carved deep into our souls. But, somehow, I felt none of that same awe the Dragon Duke supposedly inspired. My parents kept telling me that I’d understand when I grew up, but for as long as I could remember, I’d been aware that I was different from everyone else.
Suddenly, the crowd erupted in celebration. A shock wave that could have shaken the very earth swept across the venue. The Dragon Duke had finally shown himself on the balcony.
Father shouted in wild excitement while mother bowed her head to the Dragon Duke, tears pouring from her eyes. Glacé trembled in awe.
“Wow! Lady Mille-Feuille, look! It’s the Dragon Duke!”
“I can’t see a thing.”
“The lady accompanying the Dragon Duke is gorgeous too!” Parfeil remarked.
Everyone raised their fists and waved their hands in the air. In an instant, the balcony disappeared completely from my view, and I could only see the heads and backs of the crowd in front of me.
“Shall I carry you on my shoulders then, Lady Mille-Feuille?”
“Huh? No, you don’t have to go that far,” I said. “I’d just be a burden to you.”
“No need to be shy! The Dragon Duke showing up is a once-in-a-century event! You might get some kind of blessing if you see him!”
“He’s not some kind of lucky object, you know...”
I couldn’t care any less if I saw the Dragon Duke or not, but Parfeil used her supernatural strength—quite incongruous with her appearance—and lifted me up high. And just like that, I was able to see the events unfolding on the balcony.
The Dragon Duke’s long, silver hair and cool gaze caught my eye. He was a dashing man and looked rather young, as if he were only in his twenties. He was also clad all in black like he was mourning the loss of someone.
The moment I laid eyes on him, I felt my heart leap, but not out of excitement. Why is my heart beating so quickly?
“Lady Mille-Feuille, what do you think?” asked Parfeil.
“Put me down right now!”
“Gotcha, milady!”
I calmed down as soon as I felt my feet touch the ground. The uneasy feeling disappeared, perhaps because I couldn’t see the Dragon Duke anymore. Was it out of fear of his overwhelming power? I couldn’t be sure.
“I think he’s trying to say something,” Parfeil told me. She twitched her ears, trying to pick up the Dragon Duke’s words. The hearing of a rabbitkin like her was many times more sensitive than that of a dragonkin.
“Hmm, let’s see here... ‘Why must I be reduced to a public exhibit on the day I parted with my dear Charlotte?’”
“Charlotte...?” I repeated.
The words from Parfeil’s mouth pierced my chest like a hot knife. At that moment, a stranger’s memories began flooding into my head. I could see a scene of a strange night with the moon shining brightly, despite a heavy downpour.
“Charlotte...! Charlotte...!”
That wail of grief must have been louder than the raging storm.
Long ago, I had once lost my life in the arms of my beloved.
“I’ll find you... No matter where you’re reborn, I promise that I’ll find you!”
They were words powerful enough to be carved into my very soul.
My field of vision went white. For a moment, I heard Parfeil’s earsplitting scream, but I couldn’t figure out what was happening.
My consciousness faded right then.
✦ ✦ ✦
My memories had returned. I was once Princess Charlotte—the beautiful, blonde-haired, blue-eyed princess of the Kingdom of Sacristain, and I had lived without a single worry in my life.
And on my sixteenth birthday, I had fallen in love.
“Oh, who is that gentleman over there?”
“That is the chief of a minority group, the dragonkin. His name is Lord Vacherin.”
“Lord Vacherin... What a wonderful man.”
We had been drawn to each other the moment our eyes met. And by the time we’d held each other’s hands, we were already in love. We kept our romance a secret until one day, when we were finally allowed to marry. My days had been filled with happiness...until I’d been murdered. And I couldn’t remember who had killed me or how. Despite all that, I could clearly remember Vacherin’s wrath as I lay dying.