Morning.
For the past 30 minutes, Steve had been listening to Lawrence and his fascinating stories. Which is why the sleepy mechanic almost fell asleep. The officer was finishing his monologue.
— And after receiving instructions from Ange and Dorothy, they sent me to the castle to tell all this to the Princess and Beatrice, and they themselves did it...
Steve cheered up.
—Wait, wait, wait. Let's sum up, you didn't ignore the robbers on the wings of justice, which is why you were almost killed by the arrow of the attacker, who in theory was the killer that even our restless one was afraid of?
Lawrence replied.
— Yes...
Steve continued.
— And there was a note at the end of this arrow, because of the sight of which even the "strictest general" was worried that he had sent you to the permanent custody of the heiress?
The officer nodded.
— And as usual, instead of calmly completing the task, you do everything again, but not that. By the way, since Ange and Dorothy are on an "urgent mission", why aren't you at the royal house yet?
Lawrence reached for the bottle and answered.
— Well, you know... They went by car, and it's a long way to the castle.
Steve abruptly stood up from his chair.
— Why didn't you say so? Let's go already!
Taking the keys from the table, he added.
— And leave the bottle!
The Royal house.
Charlotte's chambers.
In them, the princess discussed the current situation with Beatrice. There was a sudden knock on the door. Beatrice came to the door and asked.
— Miss Olivia, is that you?
The door opened, and the girl was horrified. Standing on the threshold was none other than Zelda. She walked into the room with a smile, looked around and said.
— It's been a long time, Your Majesty...
The princess spoke skeptically.
— It's stupid to come here so openly.
Beatrice showed it.
— And very dangerous!
Zelda grinned at him.
— Indeed... It would be very frivolous to just take and kill the princess in her own chambers in broad daylight.
The spy came close to Charlotte and continued.
— And that's why I'm offering a deal...
The princess immediately said.
— Beatrice... Close the door on the other side.
The girl is worried.
— But...
Beatrice could tell by the look on Charlotte's face that she was acting seriously and confidently. Beatrice left under Zelda's gaze. The spy spoke.
— And so, princess, you want to become a queen, right?..
It's been a while.
Beatrice lingered near the door, not knowing what to do. By this time, Lawrence came over and immediately asked.
— Is the princess in? We need to talk about Mary right away.
Beatrice replied nervously.
— Princess Charlotte has been discussing something with Zelda for about an hour. Wait, why are you alone? Where are Miss Dorothy and Ange?
Lawrence moved closer to the door.
— I'll tell you a long story later. Stop... Did you say Zelda!? Is she here!?
The officer reached for his gun and knocked on the door.
— Princess Charlotte, are you all right? — there was no noise in response. — I'm coming in.
Lawrence tried the door handle, and then abruptly opened it. Beatrice slowly followed the officer. Pointing the gun forward, he entered the room and saw an innocent Charlotte and Zelda sitting opposite each other. The spy stood up and said.
— The choice is yours, Princess, and now let me leave.
Zelda stopped by Lawrence on her way out and fixed his hair, grinned and said.
— A good soldier...
And then she left the room. Lawrence followed her out, but the girl was gone. The officer returned and immediately asked Charlotte about Zelda. The princess only spoke.
— Nothing special, just a non-offensive pact.
But it was clear from the girl's face that it wasn't that simple. Beatrice was worried, but Charlotte smiled and said.
— It's not that important right now. Lawrence, we have some good news, right?
The officer recounted everything he knew. The Princess sighed.
— Beatrice, get your things ready – there will be guests soon.
The next day, almost the entire team was gathered at the royal house.
Since Mary's ascent, no one had left her side. Sometimes it got to the point where words couldn't describe it. The heiress was hardly allowed anywhere. She spent all her time in the castle.
So the first three days passed, until one night a note flew into Ange's room. After reading it, the girl got lost in thought, she woke Dorothy up and said something to her, and she got dressed and left. Dorothy, half asleep, flopped back into bed.
Ange, with the help of a key ball, went across the roofs to the theater, where she had a meeting with a mechanical dragon. After looking at the full moon, she took out a telescope and began to peer and look for any oddities. Suddenly, a rustle was heard. Ange abruptly intercepted the pipe on a sickle and put it to the throat of Zelda, who appeared from nowhere. But the spy didn't even bat an eye, saying.
— Tasteful, but not practical.
Ange asked skeptically.
— What do you want?
Zelda pushed the sickle away with her finger with a smile and replied.
— For me? The same as you – to protect the heiress from all kinds of troubles. Well, on weekends to earn extra money, to keep track of different ones... persons.
The spy walked forward and looked at the theater.
— Hmm... follow me, Bonnet.
Zelda went to the theater with the help of the key ball, and Ange slowly followed her.
They entered through the roof and then followed in the direction of the garage. There, with the help of ventilation in the ceiling, they overheard the conversation of the workers.
— When will they finally be taken away?
— I do not know, they have been standing here for half a year, but they say that even a man was called to sort out this shit.
— Don't yell like that, or the boss will throw a job.
Zelda, however, did not finish listening and immediately headed towards the warehouse. Ange hurried after her.
There was a guard outside the warehouse and Zelda had already prepared a key ball, but Ange immediately offered.
— There is a more harmless way.
The spy sighed.
— Well, what is it, to set fire to the building?
Without a word, Ange took out a smoke bomb and threw it as far back as possible, while she hid with the help of a key ball. The guard noticed the smoke and rushed towards him, and Zelda hid in the nearest door.
When the man ran past, Ange ran to the warehouse, Zelda following her and talking after her.
— Do your children's squad know the meaning of a silent mission!?
Ange, opening the door.
— No, but they know how to distract attention.
They went to the boxes, examined each one, and noticed that one of them was half empty. Zelda guessed.
— It looks like they were talking about this one. Apparently he took a job at home.
Ange walked around the box and started examining the wall. Zelda asked blankly.
— Have you completely lost your mind? It's a completely bare wall.
Ange continued to inspect the wall and, taking out a hammer, began to knock a little. Zelda sighed and went back to the boxes. The spy began rummaging through the pile of details and soon found something that looked very much like a key. Suddenly, the sound of stones scattering was heard. Zelda returned to Ange and saw a gap in the wall.
Under the layer of rock, there was a small room with scattered papers and in the center of them stood an apparatus resembling some kind of gate. Ange began to look at the notes, and Zelda went to the panel located to the left of the car.
There were various levers and indicators on the panel, and next to it, for convenience, there was a piece of paper on which a key inserted into the lock was drawn. Zelda took out the key, inserted it, and said.
— Do you mind if I wind it up? — And she turned the key...
Ange whirled around and suddenly... Nothing happened. Zelda told you.
— So you haven't finalized it...
Ange returned to the papers, suddenly interested in one of them. It showed a key ball-like instrument, followed by a diagram of its location. The girl looked at the device and noticed a tool hanging by a thread. When she reached him, she reached for him, but then Zelda's hand grabbed him too.
— Please give this to me.
Ange raised her head and said.
— No...
Zelda pulled out a pistol, but Ange immediately knocked it out of her hands with a sickle. Both girls turned on the cue balls and started a small fight. After a burst of throwing each other around the room, Zelda leaned Ange against the panel, but then the gate began to emit light. A flash formed, which pulled both of them into the device.
Both girls found themselves in some kind of green tunnel and seemed to float through the air. Suddenly, their course abruptly changed and they found themselves in a large dark basement, and behind them was the same device, only newer.
Zelda immediately asked.
— Where are we? My keycard is overheated, what did you do?!
Ange, recovering, replied.
— I don't know, my toy key ball is too, but...
The girl noticed how the instrument began to emit a similar light, and immediately Ange noticed a certain button. Zelda shuddered.
— Hey, don't you dare push it... — The spy grabbed the girl's arm.
At that moment, Ange pressed the button and they were covered with energy, as if under the action of a key ball. There was a flash, the girls disappeared again. They woke up in the very room from which they had disappeared. But only the car was overheated, the ends of the scattered papers were set on fire.
The girls quickly got out onto the roof, Ange wanted to say something, but Zelda suddenly interrupted.
— Look, I understand that we have a very specific relationship, but... Can we both forget about today?
Ange nodded. And Zelda wanted to add something, but Ange seemed to have disappeared.
Ange, under cover of night, sneaked into the castle, quietly entered Charlotte's room, but then she was grabbed and threatened with a katana around her neck. A gun was pointed at her, but the girl immediately said.
— Planet of the black lizards.
Beatrice lit a candle, and the attackers turned out to be Chise, Dorothy, and Charlotte. The princess immediately hugged Ange. Dorothy showed it at once.
— Where have you been for so long!?
Ange calmly replied.
— There is an urgent mission.
Dorothy lowered the gun.
— Delayed, urgent, but not for six days!
Ange was surprised.
— Did you say six?
Dorothy replied.
— Yes, imagine six days, at least you would have left a note, otherwise Beatrice was already making up everything she could.
Ange was still confused, but Dorothy continued.
— On the other hand, everything you need for tomorrow's "walk" to freedom is ready. We'll give you full instructions in the morning, and now go to sleep...
Before going to bed, Ange went out onto the balcony. The girl stared at the night sky for a long time. The girl took out the copied papers, examined them, then tore them up and retired to the room.