She's That Knight Known as Zero 273 Cage Masked By Happiness

After the meeting Rino asked for all of them, squad zero, to remain. The other three then left them alone, knowing that this group have the greatest connection to her.

They were now looking at Raven.

"What do you mean by that? If you are referring to my attitude a while ago towards her, then what I had said was the truth. I am not someone who would meet the other just because of their background," Raven replied seriously.

"But will you meet her? I know even if just half of her were the one who returned, that is still Eureka," Karen asked in return.

"*sigh* I already went and met her. Plus I didn't say that I will never meet her now. I am a lone knight, I would be able to meet her when I move around the castle or the kingdom," Raven explained.

"No, we can feel it. Your voice had a tinge of anger in it. Are you mad she had only returned now? Or are you mad because almost everyone have already forgotten about her?" Rino continued questioning him.

"I don't know. If you all felt that then maybe a part of me is mad at her. Whether it's her decision or her late return, I don't know. But my anger for her, I think is justifiable, I am like the lover whom she left hanging after all," Raven replied with a bit of bitterness in his voice.

With this rebuke, the others have no more reply. Surely he was entitled of such feelings, she gave him a roller coaster ride of emotions after all.

"For now, Feena and Azusa, you shall be tasked as her watcher. Since she was someone who suddenly arrived in the kingdom, she was highly suspicious and that is why a watcher was assigned to her," Rino finally went to business.

"Sir Dai will only be watching from the shadows anyway, so you will be the ones watching her in the light."

"We understand," Azusa and Feena looked at each other before affirming.

"Let's just hope, everything will be fine," Rino then said before dismissing everyone.

Feena and Azusa first changed to their knight uniforms before going their way towards her. The house where Eureka shall be staying was already told to them already and so they were also tasked to bring her there.

It was already close to noon when they returned and upon approaching the room, they could hear Hikari's giggles from inside.

"Let's braid your long beautiful hair," Hikari happily said as she messily tries to braid Eureka's hair.

Both were sitting in the bed and Eureka had a solemn look on her face as she let Hikari do as she wants.

Haruka already talked to Hikari and Hikari told her that she will instead befriend her elder sister. Seeing nothing wrong with it, the former king and queen allowed her to do as she pleases.

The seen of Eureka's closed eyes as Hikari combs her hair with the sun shinning through the window was what Azusa and Feena came upon. Both held their breath as they watch this scene.

Hikari's hair was as white as Eureka, though her's was straight and Eureka's was wavy.

"Sister Feena and sister Azusa, good afternoon," seeing them enter, Hikari jumped down from the bed and curtsied infront of them.

The two smiled and bowed down towards her, "Good afternoon princess."

Eureka also opened her eyes and went down the bed, when she stood up she was infront of the window and the sunlight gave her a different look, as if she herself was shinning.

"Good afternoon," she respectfully said as she bowed down.

Azusa and Feena's breath were once again taken away after seeing her movements, she looked like an angel with the light behind her serving as her wings. She stood beside the beautiful and cute princess Hikari, their position allowed the two of them to see that if the person didn't know them, they wouldn't know that they are siblings.

Hikari looks like a bright light, Eureka looks like a serene river flowing in the midst of blooming flowers.

~"The person who returned was just a shell of her's."~

~"You'll understand once you meet her."~

Both Karen and Raven's words rang in their minds.

She indeed was very much different from the past her, with only the looks that remained. And seeing her calm eyes and solemn smile, both their hearts felt different emotions.

Feena felt like Karen was right, it seems that she should not rememeber her terrible past. She looks so peaceful right now.

Azusa felt like, she was meeting someone else and that she was not Eureka, that they should return her memory instead.

Without speaking with each other of what went in their minds, they smiled and greeted Eureka in return.

"Good afternoon, miss. We are the knights tasked to watch over you. Your arrival is not common and so we have to keep our eyes on you while you stay here, we apologize for such treatment," Feena then explained.

A look of understanding flashed in Eureka's face before she smiled and shook her head, "That is just fine, ma'am knight. Such precaution is to be expected."

She stood and spoke with pure elegance that leave people in awe, this caused the two of them to feel like crying. They could only rein in their emotions for it was not right for the two of them to cry in front of her.

"Very well then miss, please allow us to bring you to where you shall be living with your stay here. We presume you wouldn't want to be going on a different kingdom now," Azusa continued.

"No, I just came after all. Adding to the fact that the moment I opened my eyes this was the first place I see. I can only stay here for now," Eureka replied as she pat Hikari's little head that was looking up and smiling brightly at her.

"Very well then, shall we go?" Feena shifted her eyes away from this scene and turned her back indicating that it is time for them to leave.

"Very well then princess, it is time for me to leave. I hope you'll have a wonderful day ahead," Eureka smiled and bid Hikari goodbye.

"Will you come and visit me?"

Most of the time Haruka and Akihiro would stay with the others outside the castle but Hikari was to remain most of the time inside the castle to learn the proper way of being a princess.

She could barely go out and this caused her a bit of distress.

Seeing her saddened look, Eureka could only sigh. Upon arrival it was this little girl's bright smile that allowed her heart to remain calm. She was not scared of being in an unknown place.

So she started to have a liking to this girl. She looked at Azusa and Feena who was standing outside waiting for her.

"Princess, maybe, we'll have such time in the future. But right now you have to understand that I am a suspicious person, I might bring you danger. So it is better that I prove myself first before I can play with you again," Eureka explained as she knelt down to be of the same height as Hikari.

"But..."

'But you are my elder sister, you are not suspicious at all,' was what she wanted to say but she had to follow her mother's words.

~"You see Hikari, elder sister have faced so many painful things in the past. The reason why she have lost her memories could also be because of this. What if she really didn't want to remember all those? Will you stubbornly return her pain?"~

Hikari could only bit unto her little lips as she stop herself from speaking. She didn't want to hurt her elder sister.

She was a sad child, she was far younger than her siblings. Her eldest sister now lives in a kingdom far far away from her. Her elder brother was in the same castle as her but he was too busy to accomodate her.

Karen would sometimes be with her but that was also just for a short time. Her parents despite retiring were still busy as well. And most of the time they were not in the castle. Being a smart child, she knew that they never got the chance to really enjoy themselves when they were younger.

So she could only endure, the times they brought her out was her happiest but everytime it was also short lived. So when Eureka returned, she was delighted and despite the restriction of her not telling Eureka anything, she still could befriend her.

But her happiness was still short lived, Eureka was actually not to stay in the castle.

Seeing her sad look, Eureka couldn't help but to feel pain for her. She can see how lonely this child is.

"A cage masked by happiness," she couldn't help but whisper, when something caught her eyes.

It was a servant who just passed by the door, out in the corridor and an idea came to her.

She pat Hikari's head, "Don't be sad now, I shall meet you in a proper way. So just wait for me okay?"

"Really? You promise?"

She smiled, "I promise. But princess, you are still a child. Don't bottle everything up on your own, your parents would be delighted to see you be spoilt around them."

Hikari looked at her in shock, "Can you read minds?"

Eureka gave her a final pat, "No, but I can see it clearly in your eyes. If you are lonely, then tell them. No proper parents would get mad to their children who only wants love from them."

Chapter end