Dearest Anonymous, Let Me Be

Chapter 17: ARC 1 - The Lost Princess

A Phantom Knight is a common beast that was revamped into a form of a human being if the transformation was successful but if not, then it will mutate into a more powerful beast. The phantom knights possess strength greater than that of a human's. Unlike the phantom beasts, the knights have higher intelligence and are able to speak and move on their own accord except for following the commands of the Mad King, their creator.

But seeing one Phantom Knight who was supposedly a human being with her two eyes, Umi was not able to resist herself from freaking out due to the woman's alarming condition.

The amethyst stone on the pendant of the necklace glinted a purple light as Umi paid attention to the voice of the female lead who was already miles away from her location.

The necklace, aside from being a tool for disguise magic, is also a secret communication device that Umi can use to contact the others.

"I deeply apologize for not warning you beforehand, Fae. I really will compensate you after all of this...I'm really sorry. I was not thinking properly." Rosalyn's feeble voice was heard from the pendant as the light emanating from it flickered with every word.

Umi held the doorknob tightly to make sure the door was closed shut as she hid inside the bathroom. Then she grumbled, "Well, no need to warn me anymore. Your mother's inside the room already, on the bed, waiting for me."

A gasp was heard from the call. "She is... there... in my room?"

Umi sighed, lines started to form on her forehead as she scrunched her eyebrows, already becoming impatient to understand the situation. "Yes. I think I need an explanation, Rosalyn."

Rosalyn paused for a while then she started to confess, "I'm sorry Fae. I didn't expect that you'll meet her before I call you. It's my fault...I was not thinking straight."

Umi breathed out a deep sigh as she waited for Rosalyn's next words. Words of "have patience" and "she's still a child" were already running wild in Umi's mind as she tried to calm herself.

Umi already expected before that she will meet a phantom sooner or later if she was about to fight in the upcoming and inevitable war, but she did not expect at all that her first meeting with one will be like this.

"She's—" Rosalyn paused to take a shaky breath. "My mother...she's a phantom. I didn't want to tell you in front of the others, they don't know about my mother's situation. I don't want them to know."

Umi's jaw dropped and then she pinched the bridge of her nose. She already felt a headache coming. "You didn't tell them? General, what is this all about?"

The child's voice shook, "Only Lily knows, my other substitute. That's why she got sick after seeing my mother when she last came here. I...erased her memories but her trauma can't be taken away by magic so she fell ill while not even knowing the exact reason why."

Umi was speechless. She didn't know what to say after this discovery. She bit her lip, trying to fight the urge to curse.

This female lead is indeed something. If Umi didn't know her well, she would have thought this was all a trap to kill her.

After a few seconds of long silence, Rosalyn spoke again, "It has already been a few days that my mother turned out like that when the guards forced her to drink a suspicious potion. I...don't know why the Mad King did that. He's crazy Fae—"

Then silence came over again but after a few moments, soft sobs can be heard from the other side of the call.

"I...don't know anymore. My mother is a phantom, yes. When she turned into something she had always feared, she...immediately stabbed her eyes. I wasn't able to stop her."