Dragging her feet, Rosa scans left and right, hunting for the telltale points of elven ears.
Nothing. No matter how hard she looks, Saunnie's brother is nowhere in sight.
She sighs again, weaving through crowd after crowd, the shuffle of footsteps and hum of chatter brushing past her ears.
"Rhwsa, whfts thw lwn fwcs?"
Rosa turns to find Lilia, cheeks puffed like a hamster as she crams her mouth full of cotton candy. In her other hand, a basket bulges with figurines of metal and mineral, clinking with every step.
Rosa levels her with a deadpan stare.
"How about you decide whether to talk or to swallow first? Actually—swallow first, will you?"
"Ff cwf!"
Lilia swallows the cottony fluff in slow gulps, her cheeks shrinking bit by bit until her mouth is free again.
"Pwaaah! What a good haul, what a good haul~"
Rosa eyes the basket crammed with trinkets. Curiosity tugs at her despite herself.
"I get that the sweets here are exceptional, but… why the figurines?"
Grinning, Lilia pushes the basket forward like a treasure chest.
"Hehehe! These aren't just figurines! Look—some of them are made with metals and minerals you won't find often in Rausendaal!"
Rosa squints at the contents. Bronze. Brass. Even steel. All perfectly ordinary. Among the stones, she recognizes malachite, soapstone, and calcite—common enough for any jeweler's stall.
"…What's the difference from the metals we already have at home?"
A vein twitches on Lilia's temple as she leans in, indignant.
"You don't get it, do you? Look closer!"
She plucks a figurine and shoves it into Rosa's hands. Rosa sighs, giving it only the briefest glance.
"Doesn't seem all that diff—"
Her words cut off. A prickling sensation crawls under her skin, faint but undeniable. Like a cold pinprick against her veins, her mana is being sapped away. Not enough to harm—just enough to notice.
Her grip loosens in alarm.
"A void-steel!" Lilia crows, snatching it back. "All of these have void properties! Cool, isn't it?"
Rosa shoves her hands into her sleeves, scowling. "So what are you planning with a whole basket of the stuff? Waging war against mages?"
"What!? Of course not!" Lilia puffs up, cheeks red. "I'll analyze them! A-na-lyze! They could be used to purify areas from mana contamination, or sterilize spaces so stray mana won't interfere—"
"Or incapacitate a mage so they can't fight back."
Lilia jerks forward, barking like a kicked puppy.
"Like I said, that's not it!"
Rosa tears her gaze from the dubious haul in Lilia's basket and looks toward the grand stage at the center of the square.
"Have you seen Saunnie? She said she was going to the theater, but knowing her, she might as well be on the other end of the world…" Rosa says with a resigned smile.
This time it's Lilia who gives her a deadpan look.
"…What kind of person do you think she is? I saw her rehearsing just now, right after she came out of the south wing."
Rosa raises a brow. "From the south wing? I'm pretty sure I met her in the west wing…"
Lilia taps her chin, eyes drifting upward in thought. "Maybe she went to both?" Then she beams, puffing her chest with confidence. "I went to the south as well."
She says it as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Rosa drags a hand down her face, too tired to hold back her exasperation.
"So that's why… as expected of you two. I'm just glad you didn't surpass her on this one."
"Eh!? What does that even mean?" Lilia jerks forward, cheeks puffed. "Hey—you're mocking me! You just mocked me, didn't you!?"
Rosa strides past her toward the theater without answering. She glances back only once.
"We're going to check on her, aren't we?"
"Ah—walking it off is unfair! Answer me properly!" Lilia's wailing echoes across the square as she hurries after Rosa.
When they arrive at the theater seats, they find Saunnie lounging on a bench, sipping leisurely from a wooden cup. The sweet, heavy scent of honeyed milk berries clings to the air—and from the reddish mustache on her lips, Rosa knows it's exactly that.
"What happens to the main star as the main role…?" Rosa mutters under her breath, baffled all over again by the elf's inconsistency.
"What's up?" Lilia tilts her head, cotton-pink twintails swaying.
"It's… nothing." Rosa exhales, too drained to offer a retort.
"Ah, you two~" Saunnie greets, smiling warmly, carefree as ever. She raises her cup like a toast.
"Welcome back. Good work out there. Did you at least have your fun?"
Rosa inhales, repeating her silent mantra: don't react, don't react.
"You bet! Look at this!"
Lilia thrusts her basket forward like a child showing off to her parent.
"Oh, void elements! These are rare here!"
Saunnie sets her cup aside and plucks one of the figurines from the pile. She doesn't simply look—she studies, fingers brushing across the surface with practiced ease. A faint smirk tugs at her lips, like some hidden answer clicks into place.
Lilia gasps, jerking back. "You can tell!? Even the all-knowing Rosa wasn't able to!"
Rosa resists the urge to protest the ridiculous title. A deep breath almost convinces her to take up meditation.
From her last run-in with Saunnie, she already has a hunch.
"It's probably because she can smell it. Elves are surprisingly good at that."
"Smell it!?"
Lilia snatches another figurine, presses it to her nose, and sniffs hard. Her baffled frown deepens.
Saunnie smirks, leaning closer. "I'm actually surprised you know about us that much."
"Well, that's what you just—"
Rosa exhales sharply, cutting herself off before she can take the bait. Saunnie tilts her head, puzzled by the half-swallowed words.
"Never mind."
The elf lifts the figurine higher, eyes gleaming with curiosity.
"It always fascinates me—how voids can sap mana like this. I'm even more surprised they're not outlawed here like in Alfgarde. Things like this could end badly for nations with magic as their backbone."
Rosa arches a brow. Beside her, sweat trickles down Lilia's temple.
"Outlawed!? R-r-r-rosa… w-we'll be fine, right? Right?"
Her voice quivers like a leaf in the wind. Rosa can't resist.
She grips Lilia's shoulder in mock reassurance.
"Don't worry, Lilia. I'll be fine. But… it's been nice knowing you."
"Haauuuuu…"
Lilia crumples, going limp as if her very soul just left her body. The pitiful sound she makes is more satisfying than Rosa wants to admit.
"I was joking."
Rosa smirks.
"If that were the case, the festival committee would've already swept the vendors away."
"Don't scare me like that!" Lilia barks, her outburst music to Rosa's ears.
Saunnie drops the figurine back into Lilia's basket and drains the last of her drink.
"Now then, I need to change and do a quick rehearsal, so I'll excuse myself~"
Lilia jolts upright, her earlier gloom vanishing in an instant.
"So you're performing at the theater, after all?"
Saunnie nods, eyes sparkling.
"Yeah. It was so sudden—someone mistook me for another actor. Their prince charming couldn't make it, while the witch was apparently lost somewhere in the festival."
She flashes a bright smile. "So I couldn't help but volunteer as the prince charming~"
Rosa narrows her eyes. "And your brother?" She gestures toward the rows of seats filling fast. "The theater's the perfect place to search—everyone gathers here."
Saunnie's ears twitch as she waves a hand, smile easy and unbothered.
"Well, about that… I don't think you need to look for him anymore."
"Ah, you found him!?" Lilia's face lights up.
But the elf only chuckles, the sound poking at Rosa's nerves.
"You'll see soon enough. For now, just sit back and enjoy the play."
And with that, Saunnie slips into the backstage, leaving Lilia baffled and Rosa fuming.
Rosa exhales sharply. "I can't believe her, even though we—"
Her words cut short as she levels a flat stare at Lilia, who happily munches her cotton candy.
"No." Rosa corrects herself, arms crossing in a pout. "I was seriously looking for her brother, and she acts like it's none of her problem at all."
A cloud of pink candy suddenly bobs into Rosa's face, flicked like an offering. Holding the stick: Lilia.
This time Rosa bites down on it like a pouncing cat.
"Now now," Lilia coos, "I'm sure she has a good reason. Don't you think?"
Rosa doesn't answer, only strides toward the seats.
"Oh my, oh my. Someone's in a mood…" Lilia sing-songs, trailing after her.
Once seated, Lilia makes a whole show of trying to cheer Rosa up—feeding her candy, fanning her with a hand, even giving her shoulders a quick squeeze.
Gradually Rosa's pout softens, replaced by her usual mask.
"Um… you don't have to do all that… but thanks…" she mumbles, eyes averted.
"Don't mind it, don't mind it~ Ah—look! It's starting!"
The streetlamps dim, shadows swallowing the square until only the stage remains lit—its glowing glyphs casting blue patterns across the wood.
With a rustle, two great banners unfurl at either side, each marked with the same sigil pulsing faintly.
At center stage stands a woman in a festival gown, wand in hand. The tip glows with the same pale light.
"Ladies and gentlemen…"
Her voice rolls through the entire theater, magnified by the glowing sigils.
"From the far south comes a tale unlike any other—of a witch who stole a kingdom, vowed to kill its prince, yet lost her heart to him instead.
Tonight, we bring you the story that spread across every land not for its triumph, but for its tragedy—The Tale of the Smitten Witch."
Applause ripples through the seats, sharp and eager. Lilia claps with childlike vigor, her rhythm clashing against Rosa's slow, deliberate pats.
A sudden beam of light drops from the ceiling, snapping the crowd into silence as if on cue. Rosa squints. That intensity can't be from rows of glyphs—it would be too much trouble to maintain. A hidden sigil, then. Clever. For a heartbeat she wonders if she should design her own, sell them during festival season.
Beneath the glow, a white-haired elf stands in a shimmering gown. At her feet, the king sprawls in a puddle of thick crimson. They don't hold back with presentation.
A bluish orb hovers before the elf's lips. Her voice booms clear:
"Alas! I, the Crimson Witch of the southern continent, have seized the kingdom I so long yearned for!"
She laughs. Saunnie laughs. But the sound is twisted, her face contorted into madness so vivid it surpasses the storybooks. Rosa stiffens—no fortune-telling trick could have prepared her for this.
Soft murmurs ripple through the audience. Beside her, Lilia grips her hand, trembling.
"Rosa… I think my hairs just sprang up just now…"
No kidding. Rosa squeezes back, the stage pulling her in despite herself.
"Hehehehe… Mirrors of the world!"
The witch throws her arms skyward, fingers splayed as if to snatch the stars. Countless panes of glass burst into existence, spiraling outward from her feet like fireworks. They bloom into the audience, their frames glowing blue.
Rosa's breath catches. Each mirror reflects not the witch, but the image of a prince—another white-haired elf, his hair tied in a sharp ponytail, his features regal, commanding. He moves. He breathes.
Gasps ripple through the crowd, awe tightening the air. Rosa swallows hard, sweat slipping down her chin. This isn't festival trickery. Not simple glyphs, not even common sigils. It would take a full court of mages to conjure something so intricate.
And Saunnie does it alone.
The gulf between elf and human yawns wider before her eyes.
"Oh, prince… it is truly unfortunate for your reign to end so soon. But…"
The witch's gaze softens, the madness in her eyes fading into something almost tender.
"It truly is unfortunate… O prince…"
Purple fire erupts at her feet, swallowing her whole. In an instant, she vanishes. The mirrors shatter into flickering motes of light, dissolving outward until the stage is bare once more.
The curtain drops with a heavy thud, a wall of fabric cutting off the stage. For a moment, there is only silence. Then it unfurls again, revealing a ruined cityscape.
A man in regal armor kneels before Saunnie—no, before the prince, his form now identical to the figure etched in the mirrors.
"Young majesty…" the knight rasps. "With a heavy heart, I bring ill news…"
Rosa feels the weight in his voice, raw and heavy. He coughs, blood spilling onto the floorboards.
The prince extends a steady hand. "Speak, o brave knight. What has become of thee?"
His voice is deeper now—regal, commanding. Different, yet still unmistakably Saunnie.
"The Crimson Witch has seized our kingdom. The king is slain. Only a handful of us remain…"
The prince clenches his fists, teeth grinding. The stage lights flare crimson. The ground trembles beneath the audience, the very air shuddering as if shaken by the prince's fury.
Gasps ripple through the crowd, panic threatening to rise—no one here, not even Rosa, has ever experienced theater with such immersion.
Then the quake ceases. Silence crashes down, heavier than stone.
"Naissaich…" Rosa breathes, eyes narrowing as a faint glow stirs in her gaze. Darkness no longer hides details from her sight.
Near the backstage, people whisper nervously. One makes a cross with his arms toward Saunnie—Saunnie, who doesn't react.
And behind him, another elf steps into view. White hair, pointed ears. Another Saunnie.
Rosa's breath catches.
On stage, the prince's eyes burn with resolve. Flames burst at his feet, light shifting once more—this time into a brilliant, blinding white.
"Raise your head, o brave knight!"
The messenger lifts his face, sorrow etched deep into his features.
The prince's voice rings out, strong and unwavering:
"See to the wounded—and to thyself. I shall gather all who remain, and we will reclaim our kingdom at once!"
The audience erupts in awe.
But Rosa doesn't move. Her eyes widen. Her lips part.
Because standing in the shadows of the backstage—calm, silent, watching—
is another Saunnie.
If she's there… then who is that on the stage?