Michael and Raithasu opened their eyes in the same room where they had vanished moments before. Dust floated silently through the dim air, and the ancient wooden walls creaked as though the house itself remembered them.
Raithasu looked around in confusion.
"We came back to the same room?"
Michael nodded slowly.
"Yes… but we're in the past. At least a hundred years back."
Raithasu's expression stiffened.
"This is the time when your sister was murdered?"
Michael lowered his eyes for a moment.
"Yes."
Raithasu blinked in disbelief.
"Wait… you said we traveled a hundred years into the past?"
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
Raithasu stared at him.
"You're over a hundred years old?"
Michael crossed his arms calmly.
"No. I'm only ninety-eight right now. But in this timeline, I'm just eight years old. This was the year my sister got married."
Raithasu looked traumatized after hearing that.
"Only ninety-eight?" he muttered. "How many more years are you planning to live?"
Michael frowned.
"What do you mean? I'm still young."
Raithasu's eyes widened in horror.
"Young?!"
Then he shouted loudly,
"You're older than my grandfather! You should be resting peacefully in heaven by now!"
Michael's face darkened instantly.
"What did you just say, you punk?"
He nearly punched Raithasu in the face, but suddenly the sound of footsteps echoed outside the room.
The locked door creaked open.
Two girls entered the room. One of them carried an elegant bridal dress in her hands.
"In this dress, you'll look absolutely gorgeous," she said warmly.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Raithasu was hanging halfway out of the window while Michael desperately held onto his leg.
"You old man!" Raithasu whispered angrily. "You weigh too much! I can't hold you!"
Michael gritted his teeth.
"Keep your voice down! If they hear us, we'll get caught before we can find anything!"
Raithasu glared downward nervously.
"No, you shut your mouth! Look down before the soldiers shoot us!"
Inside the room, one of the girls turned toward the window.
"You changed your dress? I should close the window first."
She walked closer and slowly pulled the curtain aside.
The moment the curtain moved, she saw Raithasu dangling outside the window… with Michael hanging beneath him.
Both of them awkwardly smiled at her.
Raithasu raised one hand.
"Hello."
The girl screamed at the top of her lungs.
Startled, Raithasu lost his grip.
"WAIT—!"
Both Michael and Raithasu crashed onto the ground below with a painful thud.
Michael jumped up instantly.
"Run!"
Above them, the terrified girl pointed toward the window.
"Two men were spying on us!"
The soldiers rushed into the room.
"Where are they?" one demanded.
"They were hanging outside the window!"
The soldier leaned out and spotted Michael and Raithasu sprinting across the courtyard below.
Immediately, he signaled the others and fired a gun into the air.
A burst of red smoke exploded across the sky like a warning flare.
Michael and Raithasu ran through the castle courtyard, their footsteps echoing against the stone paths. But before they could escape, dozens of soldiers suddenly appeared in front of them.
More soldiers emerged from every direction, surrounding them completely.
The leader of the soldiers stepped forward and pointed his sword toward them.
"Who are you?" he demanded coldly. "And why were you spying on the young ladies… especially the King's daughter?"
Raithasu immediately raised his hands.
"We're guests! We were only searching for the washroom, but suddenly the girls entered the room, so we had to hang outside the window!"
The soldiers stared at him silently.
Then the captain spoke with an annoyed expression.
"Do you truly think we are stupid enough to believe such a ridiculous story?"
Raithasu nodded nervously.
"Yes."
The soldiers tightened their grip on their weapons.
Raithasu panicked instantly.
"No! I mean—yes, we are telling the truth! We are not lying!"
Two soldiers stepped forward with handcuffs.
But at that exact moment, Michael suddenly grabbed a smoke gun from one of the soldiers' belts and fired it directly at the ground.
BOOM!
Thick smoke exploded everywhere, covering the entire courtyard.
"Catch them!" the captain roared.
Using the confusion, Michael grabbed Raithasu's arm and pulled him through the smoke.
"I know there's a basement nearby!" Michael shouted while running.
As the smoke slowly began to disappear, the captain looked around furiously.
"Find them! Search every corner of the castle!"
The soldiers scattered in every direction.
Meanwhile, Michael spotted an old metal gate hidden beside the wall.
"There!" he said. "The basement!"
He pulled the gate open with force.
The loud creaking sound echoed through the courtyard.
One soldier immediately heard it.
"They're heading to the basement!"
Michael's eyes widened.
"Oh no… they found us! Hurry!"
Both of them rushed down the dark stairs into the massive underground basement.
"It's huge," Raithasu whispered while breathing heavily. "We can hide somewhere here."
—
On the other side of the castle, Daiki and Elysia walked through the grand hall disguised as noble guests.
Daiki wore a black party mask over his eyes, while Elysia elegantly hid part of her face behind a small decorative hand fan. Both carried snacks and cold drinks stolen from the servants' tables.
Daiki took another bite and asked,
"When will the main lunch start?"
Elysia sighed.
"I don't know, but I'm starving too."
—
Two hours earlier…
Daiki and Elysia suddenly opened their eyes near the castle gates.
Elysia looked around in confusion.
"Daiki… where are we?"
Daiki rubbed his head painfully.
"I don't know. After hearing those strange voices, I lost consciousness."
Elysia stared at the giant castle ahead of them.
"Doesn't this place look familiar?"
Daiki slowly widened his eyes.
"Yeah… wait…"
Then realization struck him.
"This is the castle where we fought that damn Weston!"
Elysia nodded.
"Yes… but it looks completely different now."
At that moment, the sound of horses echoed through the road.
A groom riding a white horse approached the castle while his family followed behind him.
Elysia tilted her head.
"Looks like there's a wedding ceremony."
Suddenly, Daiki's stomach growled loudly.
"I'm hungry," he said shamelessly. "Let's sneak into the wedding and eat something."
Elysia blinked at him.
"What if it's your brother's wedding?"
Daiki froze.
"Wait… is it Raithasu's wedding?"
Elysia slowly turned toward him with a horrified expression.
Before either of them could react further, cold metal suddenly pressed against their backs.
Two soldiers stood behind them with guns.
"What are you doing here?" one soldier demanded.
Elysia suddenly smiled at Daiki.
"Looks like we just got our invitation to the ceremony."
The soldiers exchanged confused looks.
A few moments later…
Daiki and Elysia were now wearing stolen soldier uniforms.
Elysia grinned proudly.
"Let's go enjoy the wedding."
Daiki nodded seriously.
"Yes, but first we find the kitchen. I'm literally dying from hunger."
"Fine," Elysia replied.
They entered the castle through the massive front gates.
As soon as they stepped into the grand lobby, a strict-looking lady called out loudly.
"Hey! You two soldiers! Come here!"
Daiki and Elysia froze in fear, thinking they had been exposed.
Elysia forced a polite smile.
"Yes, ma'am?"
The woman pointed toward the entrance hall.
"The guests will arrive soon. Go bring flowers immediately."
Daiki blinked.
"People eat flowers here?"
The lady stared at him in disbelief.
"What?!"
Elysia instantly stepped on Daiki's foot as hard as possible.
Daiki nearly screamed in pain.
"He's new," Elysia said nervously. "He still doesn't understand his duties."
The woman sighed deeply.
"Just hurry."
Elysia quickly dragged Daiki away.
They collected baskets of flowers and returned just as the groom entered the castle lobby.
Together with the other servants, they began throwing flower petals into the air.
Daiki whispered angrily,
"I came here for food, not to welcome random rich people."
Elysia ignored him and stared at the groom.
"Wow… he actually looks handsome."
Daiki looked at her with complete disappointment.
"We are starving and hiding from danger, and you're admiring the groom?"
Before Elysia could answer, the strict lady called them again.
"You two! Come here!"
Elysia smiled awkwardly.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"You," the lady pointed at Elysia, "bring drinks for the guests."
Then she pointed at Daiki.
"And you, take the groom's horse to the stable."
Daiki frowned instantly.
"That's not my duty."
Elysia immediately stepped on his foot again.
His eyes watered from pain.
"He's new," Elysia said quickly. "He still doesn't understand that this is also his duty."
The lady shook her head tiredly.
"Whatever. Just do your jobs."
As Elysia walked toward the kitchen, she forced a fake smile on her face.
Inside her mind, however, she was furious.
"One day," she thought, "I'm going to throw drinks directly into that woman's face."
Then she looked down at her servant uniform and sighed.
"…Actually, never mind. I really do look like a servant."