The Lord House, dormant, mad, stood out in the middle of the hills, enclosing darkness; he stood here for 1000 years and could well stand the same amount. Its bricks fit tightly against one another, the boards did not creak, the doors did not slam; unshakable silence lay on the stairs and in the galleries, and what lived inside lived there alone.

The footsteps echoed echoing through the empty corridors, creating an even more depressing mood for someone who would come here from a bright sunny courtyard, but not for the butler, who had lived here for as many years as the castle. The proud posture of a short man, whose gray hair was silver in the pale radiance of the moon, which penetrated through the slots of the rhombo-angular roof. His dried face was as pale, sunken cheeks and black bags under his eyes that the only ones shone brightly on his emaciated face, were as young as before. His tread was light, as in his youth, holding a torch with a hot figure in his hands, he with an impenetrable expression, climbed the stairs to the second floor, without going into the dark corridor, went to the oak door, knocked softly. Without waiting for an answer, he pressed the door handle, opened it, entered the room.

The room that he entered without invitation was different from the rest of the rooms of the gloomy castle in that it all shone in the rays of morning light, which made its way through the handmade curtains. Large windows, opened to the full width, let fresh cool air from the street into the room, bringing a lively atmosphere into silence.

The most chic and modern furniture stood here, perhaps this was the only room furnished in such a way that spoke of the century in which they were now. A bed hung on all sides with a red hoodie stood in the middle of the room, its length and width indicated that more than 10 people could fit on it, it was too chic for one person. Mirrors in the form of emerald flowers were cheerful opposite the bed, a bed of maple leaves stood nearby, on its smooth surface stood various tubes of cosmetics.

A chandelier hung in the form of a small apple from the ceiling, but it was never used, a candle always burned on the table or window sill, and when winter came, they lit a fireplace built into the wall with fancy tile patterns.

The butler walked along the fluffy carpet laid on the floor, his eyes did not see, although strange things were happening inside, his ears did not let out a sound that was distinctly heard in the room, he was taught from the very childhood the manners of the true butler of this castle. He was always on the side of the owner and his heirs.

He did everything not to order the whimsical owner or heirs. He was "deaf and dumb." If he had blabbed when he was given one day off for weeks, and he drank his salary in a beer eatery, he would be fired instantly. And not just fired, but his name would have disappeared from the registration of city passports.

“My lady, visitors to you,” he courteously bowed, to the young lady, that at the moment she was amusing herself with a little white puppy, who was chasing the toy smartly.

He was taught not to feel, but he could not resist the sweet image of the young heiress of the castle, the princess. No one could resist such beauty! Her beauty blinded her eyes, attracted. Once you see, you are no longer able to forget the image of a girl.

- I asked you not to bother me - lazily opening her eyes the color of amber liquid of aged whiskey, the girl said, the puppy's soft fur.

“You were waiting for them, my lady,” the butler said, still in an advanced form, without raising his head.

A laugh was heard near the bed, the curtain rustled and a long-legged girl with black hair came out, dressed in an elegant suit, with a black tie. From the aroma, the butler realized that the princess’s bodyguard, Jeongyeon , was present here , possessing the power and energy of the water.

- Waiting? Mm ... - the girl leaned back on the pillows, raised her hands up, a light peignoir that covered her slim body, did not hide the fact that she was , the girl looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. - I had an appointment at 10.00 am, and now it's half past 11 am. They are late.

“Their train was delayed, my lady.” There was a breakdown in the rails - his voice remained impassive, only now he was looking right in front of him, not blinking.

“So they wanted to see me like that?” - the girl easily jumped out of bed, getting up barefoot on the fluffy carpet, ran to the open window to look out into the courtyard, where small figures stood alone. - Father, at home?

“He left on business, yesterday, my lady.” In the castle, except for you, only your elder sister reported the situation in the castle, the butler inaudibly went to the closet, opened it, and neatly hung different models of dresses, trousers, blouses and skirts.

Her eyes ran over her clothes, found the lady's casual clothes, took them out, and, holding her weight, held out Jeongyeon that came up to him. After his words there was silence, the girl still stood by the window, peering down, as if looking for something, her pose said that she was unhappy.

- Dubu, will you change clothes? - cautiously asked the silent girl Jeongyeon, exchanging glances with another girl whom the butler had not noticed before.

I’m already old, before I would immediately have discovered her scent, the scent of gold , the butler thought to himself, meeting the gaze of the dark-gray eyes of the blonde beauty. Another bodyguard is Momo . She, like Jeongyeon , the possessor of the energy of water, defended the princess from her very birth. They voluntarily became her squire. They independently accepted all the conditions to live, no, to be here. Looking at their beautiful faces and slender figures, feeling a special aura, no one would have believed if they had said that they were already over 500 years old.

- Princess DaHyun?

- Momo, did you send her a letter? Why can't I see her among those people? - not turning to them, deafly asked the girl. She leaned against the glass, which reflected the sun's rays, mirroring the reflection, which was not there.

-The letter has been sent, but we have not yet received an answer, - Momo answered calmly, adjusting the golden curls, short-cut to the shoulder blades, behind her back.

She kept herself free, not afraid of anger from the princess. The girl did not even rise from her place where she was sitting on a rocking chair near the fireplace that she did not warm. At the moment, she was sitting at a computer, on the Internet, and quickly typed something:

-And how can she come, if I just sent her a letter?

“And it's true,” the princess sighed, pushing the curtain back from her face that she caressed with the wind. The princess gracefully her toes, dancing a little, extended her hands to her clothes. A playful smile shone on her lips, and little eyes glittered in her eyes. Something conceived. - Well, well, while I wait for my bride, let's play a little. You also change clothes, your clothes, um, they won’t understand why there’s practically nothing on you.

-But you yourself said that we should dress like this today?! You said that today you are waiting for handsome and hot guys. We have not tried male flesh for so long, I missed you - Jeongyeon complained about looking at herself in a mirror reflection. Momo joined her, nodding in agreement. - I think so, you told us to dress like this for one reason only — you — the accuser pointed with her index finger to the cheerfully smiling princess. - Do you like to tease us, yes, Tofu?

-Yes, but you're wrong. I wanted you to dress like this for another person who is now watching through his binoculars from that shore. For six months he strips me with his eyes, and who allowed him to look at a flower like me for free?! - the mood changed in an instant, now lightning flashed in her eyes, and those present in the room felt the icy aura emanating from the princess. - I do not belong to him, but he will belong to me. - A crooked grin bound her lips. Not calming down much, she added.-Now I will be busy, so when Mina returns, take her in my place.

-Yes, my lady — the three knelt before such a magnificent girl; they did not dare to raise their eyes from the floor until she changed clothes and until she closed the door behind herself, leaving the room. - We will take care of the present - their words in an empty room somehow ominously sounded.

No one had the right to do so with their mistress, no one!

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That one-room apartment, which he rented from his arrival here, to the city of undisclosed secrets, was inexpensive, with his journalist’s salary, he could always pay for his stay. Why he was so interested in a city where nothing happened during the day, and if something happened, it was either a drunken brawl or the cries of a wife against her husband. Everything is as usual, the same picture as in the poor areas of New York, where he arrived a month and a half ago.

The reason for the arrival was rooted in one simple legend, which he repeatedly read in different books, in different publications. The legend of the castle and the princess. His journalistic breed sniffing out a dog’s footprint led him here, and the inhabitants, such a strange nation, showed him the path to that castle.

Path? Ha. There is a real labyrinth. In short, he didn't get there, but he found another way to find out. One incident helped; one night he admired the stars through his binoculars, accidentally his hand slipped off, and his eyes noticed some kind of smoldering light on the other side of the island. By adjusting the lens and placing a powerful lens, he could make out that lock and one window especially attracted his attention. There in the moonlight stood the silhouette of a divinely beautiful girl, he grew in two circles with his eyes, his heart instantly flashed to the heights, and fell down as soon as the ray of the moon disappeared and everything darkened.

Those six months that he lived here, he spent all his talent on sitting near the window and watching the girl on the other side of the shore.

Sometimes it seemed to him that her eyes looked straight into his soul, enticing, possessing him.

Sometimes he thought that he heard her sweet voice, she dreamed of him at night.

He was insane by her. Without knowing the name, he fell in love, but no matter how he asked the city residents about the girl, no one said a word. Everyone just looked at him strangely, behind his back they twisted his fingers at his temple, considering him crazy. Why is he asking about what does not exist? Why does he always point to the wreckage of a charred bridge, to a pile of fallen stones and say that there is a castle there? Soon they began to bypass him, only a guard dog, sleeping peacefully near the house, which he rented, sadly watched him when he left his room only to buy food.

And now he was absorbed in the contemplation of the morning sunrise and its rays that gently caressed the girl's face from the castle, that she looked out onto the street.

“Good morning, my beauty,” he greeted her, holding out his hand forward, as if it were a ray and caressed the girl’s pale face.

Her beauty was like an icy flower, and often in a dream he saw himself warming her icy heart. He dreamed again and almost missed the moment when she looked into his eyes.

- Hello, my prince - he did not have time to shout, as his face died from what he saw in front of him when he heard the girl's voice behind him. The only thing he managed to do was to think: "She is like a black swan ." “I am not a swan, master, I am your nightmare.” How would I have fun with you, oh, what I would do with you, but ... The princess invited you. You are lucky, our princess personally invited you, she has not personally invited anyone for a long time - a melodious voice merged with laughing eyes.

The girl, dressed in stylish clothes from Gulches Havana, looked around, making sure that she left nothing behind. No one should know that she has been here. Gathering blue-and-black hair in a bundle of tail, she covered her head with a cap, threw her backpack over her shoulder, opened the doors, and left the apartment silently.

▫▫▫▫▫

Three young people who arrived on the island with curiosity looked at the gate, behind which the majestic castle of Lord Demos hid. They often heard about him, and they used to call him by another name - the Old Castle of the Lord. How they dreamed to be here! Such a beautiful and magical castle they did not see where. Before them the castle appeared in all its beauty and power. It was as if it was covered with gold, and shiny coins smelled of it. Their eyes did not see the threat that was not terrifying, hanging over the castle; they saw a peaceful house, a rich house where you could heal. Not only legends, but also to learn secrets, and then sell them for a high price to newspapers or antique dealers, lovers of antiquity.

Yes, you were not mistaken, ordinary thieves and tomb raiders stood in front of the castle, especially if they knew that gold was lying there. They hid their true identity behind adventure lovers, but all the inhabitants of the castle recognized them long ago. And therefore, for such people they have a special approach. If they were not so absorbed in a thirst for profit, they would have fled as far as possible from the castle, fearing what would follow after the little greeting of the castle princess. They would pray for mercy for the one who was now leaving the castle, dressed in a light apricot-colored dress. They could take a step and run away, only they already looked at the angelic creation, they already liked what they saw, their hearts already did not belong to them.

“I'm sorry to keep you waiting,” the girl sang in an angelic voice, stopping at the gate and opening it without difficulty. “Usually our butler welcomes the guests, but I couldn’t find him anywhere.” How did you get here, I heard what happened on the way a little accident? - she was all friendliness, her eyes the color of amber liquid glowed with happiness, and her cold appearance attracted.

“We were sure that you would not accept us,” the girl honestly answered, distinguishing her pure energy among the two guys. They shouted at her, asked to be silent, but she did not pay attention to them, continued, even took a step forward so that she could be seen. - Hello, I am Choi Tzuyu, one of the adventurers who was late for our meeting - the girl jokingly bowed her head, her eyes flashed in the light of the day when she heard laughter from the owner of the castle. “But I really didn't want to be late, really.” Just when we left the station, we began to ask how we could get to you, but everyone looked at us as if they were crazy. Everyone, as one, said that such a castle does not exist ...

- Tzuyu! Enough! - her companion tried to reason with the girl that she had blabbed too much today.

Not much else and she will blurt out the whole truth about them. He looked everywhere, his eyes lingering on the facade of the house, on well-tended flower beds, on the gravel that rustled under his feet. He looked everywhere, just to not see the beauty that stood close to them and laughed. He tried to drown out his hearing, his mind, which was rapidly pursuing her lips, her smell. His thoughts continually saw her bend her neck, her waistline, he longed for her. He madly wanted to touch her lips, to possess her!

-If my castle didn’t exist, you wouldn’t get here, right? - the girl said in a semi-questioning manner, lowering one part of the gate that she held while Tzuyu spoke . She straightened her hair, threw her head up, her eyes lingered in the sun, then dropping them down, met Tzuyu's gaze, made an inviting gesture. “You must be tired of the road, let’s get into the house.” Today, your company will be only my older sister, father on a business trip and me. You say your name is Tzuyu? - once again looked at the girl with long light brown hair, with dark brown eyes. Her waist was so thin that it could be wrapped in one palm. Her innocence and naivety, her eyes attracted, the princess could not take her eyes off her for a long time. - We are of the same age, let's turn to each other without formalities.

- Excuse me, what is your name? - the girl timidly asked, looking into the back of the mistress of the castle, that she was escorting them to the door.

- Oh, I didn’t introduce myself! I am the mistress of the castle - DaHyun - she smiled, her warm smile warmed the girl’s heart, she immediately won her trust.

To be honest, all the thoughts about taking something from this girl led Tzuyu into a stupor. She did not want to hurt her, not to do anything to make her disappointed in her. Therefore, she decided to abandon the plan, which they nurtured in ideas all the way, while getting here.