The moment the Royal Herald asked who Cinderella was…
The entire village square EXPLODED with a collective—
"HAAAAAAAAAAH?!!!!"
Gasps, murmurs, and disbelief rippled like wildfire across the crowd.
"Wait, what did he just say?"
"Did he just say WHO is this Cinderella?"
"Is this a joke? Please tell me this is a joke!"
"The prince was engaged to her! I remember the announcement!"
"She was the princess! Right here—this very square—the prince kissed her hand!"
"Do you hear yourself?! You said it like she never even existed!"
"Has the entire court lost their heads?!"
It wasn't just a misunderstanding.
It was as if the entire court had forgotten Cinderella.
No engagement. No ball. No glass slipper.
As if the princess of Evendelle had been erased from history itself.
Fairy Greatmother's face darkened, stricken with horror, and she snapped with the fury of a storm goddess.
"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!!! NEW BRIDE? ANOTHER ROYAL BALL?! AND YOU JUST ASKED ME 'WHO IS THIS CINDERELLA'…? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MEMORY OR HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!"
She struggled to break free from the guards still gripping her arms, her hood slipping slightly as she shook with disbelief.
More guards rushed forward, forming a protective wall in front of the Royal Herald, hands raised defensively as they called out…
"Everyone calm down!"
"Stand back! No closer!"
"There is no threat! This is just a formal announcement!"
"Do not interfere with official royal matters!"
"By order of the crown, we demand peace!"
"Keep your distance!"
Overwhelmed, the Royal Herald raised both hands, sweat trickling down his brow, his voice cracking.
"U-Uh… Everyone… please calm down… you're all misunderstanding!"
A voice pierced through—
"MISUNDERSTANDING WHAT?!" shouted a woman from the crowd.
The Royal Herald looked at the woman, his tone hesitant and confused.
"This is the first time the Royal Ball has ever been announced… and Prince Vaelric has never had a bride before—let alone this unknown lady called Cinderella."
Gasps.
Dead silence.
Then a second eruption.
"NEVER HAD A BRIDE?! What are you talking about?!"
"Is this some kind of spell or curse?!"
"I remember seeing the Prince with her!"
"We all knew her! Everyone loved her, even before she became a princess!"
"What have you done to our Angel of Evendelle?!"
"This can't be real…!"
"They erased her. Someone erased her!"
"How could the castle forget its own princess?"
"This feels like a nightmare… a waking nightmare!"
But Fairy Greatmother wasn't listening.
She stared at the cobblestones beneath her feet, trembling.
Her fists clenched.
Her lips parted in horror.
A subtle shimmer of magic began radiating off her body, barely visible, but dangerously unstable.
She was on the verge of exploding.
Her grief. Her fury. Her despair.
If it burst in the middle of this crowd, not only would her secret identity as a fairy be exposed, but the people around her would die.
Amidst the chaos, the glow went unnoticed.
Except one person.
Ryo's eyes widened. He whispered. "...Oh crap."
He stood up and ran into the crowd.
He shoved through villagers, stumbling, squeezing through bodies.
"Excuse me! Coming through! Ugh—move!—MA'AM!"
Finally, he broke through the crowd and grabbed her shoulder.
"Ah!" Fairy Greatmother gasped, snapping out of her spiral as the shimmer faded.
She turned to him, eyes filled with pain and disbelief.
"…M-Mr. Detective?" she whispered, shaking.
Ryo didn't waste a second. He turned to the Royal Herald and called out…
"Excuse me—uh, sir Herald, is it?!"
The Royal Herald looked down, still panicked.
"Y-Y-Yes? And… your clothes… you're not from around here, are you?"
"Yeah, I'm a foreigner, you can call me 'strange foreign man' or whatever!" Ryo said urgently. "But forget that, what time does the Royal Ball start in two days?!"
Still catching his breath, the Herald raised the scroll again.
"In two days… the Royal Ball begins at 9PM sharp!"
Ryo gave him a thumbs-up. "ALRIGHT DUDE! THANKS FOR THE INFO!"
"…Dude?" The Royal Herald blinked, puzzled by the strange, otherworldly term.
But Ryo had already turned, grabbed Fairy Greatmother by the wrist, and pulled her through the crowd.
"B-But Mr. Detective… they forgot her… they forgot Cinderella…" she cried, panicking, her hands trembling as she tried to resist him.
"Ughhh! Let's get outta this damn crowd first, Ma'am—talk later!" Ryo barked, shoving past people. "Outta the way, guys!"
Fairy Greatmother, looking defeated, gave no more resistance.
They reached the stall where they had lunch, where the animal agents waited silently, watching.
At the center of the square, the Royal Herald stood panting, overwhelmed by the rising sea of confusion and anger.
"A-Alright everyone! W-We'll see you all there—anyone interested, please… come to the ball! In two days! At 9PM sharp!"
His guards formed a path through the crowd, and the Royal Herald fled the chaos, galloping back toward the castle.
The crowd, though unsettled, slowly dispersed.
But the weight of the moment clung to the air like smoke after a fire.
Ryo and Fairy Greatmother sat in silence, back at the food stall.
Neither of them said a word.
Because somehow…
The court had forgotten Cinderella.
Yet the Royal Herald's announcement had reached not only the ears of Evendelle but echoed far and wide across mountains, rivers, and distant kingdoms beyond its borders.
Word of another royal ball and Prince Vaelric's search for a bride spread like wildfire. Some nobles and commoners were stunned… but others? Others were thrilled.
For them, this was a golden opportunity to marry into royalty… to climb the ladder of status and power, indifferent to the truth that Cinderella had vanished.
Many of these individuals had once tried on the very glass slipper that had belonged to Cinderella, during the Prince's desperate search after the fateful midnight. But now… with the slipper out of the way, and Cinderella forgotten. Nothing stood between them and their ambitions.
Excited chatter filled the markets, gardens, and manors. Among commoners, especially young women, hopeful fantasies bloomed anew…
"Did you hear? The Prince is single again!"
"No slipper to prove anything? Then the crown is up for the taking!"
"Do you think he'll fall in love with a baker's daughter?"
"All I need is a decent gown and a smile, he'll choose me for sure!"
"I've practiced my curtsey every day just for this!"
"The castle! The jewels! The gowns! EEEEEE!"
"I just need to get his attention for one dance. Just one!"
"If he's forgotten Cinderella, that means she's out of the way, right?"
"Ugh, she didn't even last three months. I'll last forever."
Meanwhile, noblewomen—duchesses with sharp grins and sharper schemes—sat poised in parlors, smiling behind their teacups.
"How very fortunate… another chance to claim the crown."
"The Prince needs a bride? Why, I suppose I'll have to grace him with my presence."
"Oh, poor little lost Cinderella. How inconvenient of her to vanish."
"Perhaps this time, the Prince will choose someone of proper pedigree."
"That glass slipper was a mistake. I'm his fate."
"I've been waiting for this moment ever since that foolish glass shoe nonsense."
"We both lost someone. He lost his bride-to-be. I lost my patience."
"One royal ball? One night? Ha! I only need one glance to win him."
"If the court no longer remembers her… then neither will he."
"Let's see how long I last on the throne, shall we?"
But in a towering castle veiled in thorns and roses, deep in a distant kingdom, a pale-skinned woman in a black gown sat smugly on her throne of Black Crystal. Her white hair gleamed under candlelight. A black tiara crowned her brow.
She—one of the very ones who had kidnapped Cinderella—smiled with a curling grin and let out a cold, elegant laugh.
"Hahaha… all going according to plan."
She rose and approached her mirror, fanning herself as she stood before it. Its smooth gold frame curled into the shape of an apple at the top, the surface shimmering faintly with hints of green and red.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?"
A mist of blood-red swirled across the glass until a ghostly face with jagged horns appeared, eyes glowing red.
"Your Grace… you are the fairest here… however—"
She raised a brow. "However?"
"Princess Cinderella is a thousand times fairer than you," the mirror spirit said, its voice calm but firm with disappointing finality.
Her face fell flat. She let out a cold, empty sigh.
"Well, now. The same answer as always… A mirror this useless deserves to be shattered."
The mirror spirit blinked and looked aside awkwardly, visibly offended.
She snapped her fan shut with a clap.
"I suppose it's about time I returned to Evendelle."
Just as she turned to go, the mirror suddenly called out.
"WAIT!"
She paused mid-step.
"What? I don't have time for you anymore. I've had enough of you praising that girl I kidnapped. Hmph! Honestly, I should've known I was getting a cursed bargain when I accepted this mirror from my old friend… what was her name again?... Oh, whatever. Let's just call her the 'Evil Queen.' Fits her rotten attitude."
The mirror flared again. "There is… another girl. Another fairest of them all."
She groaned. "Ughhh… never mind. I have to go. You're basically insulting me right now."
"Princess Schneewittchen," the mirror declared ominously. "She is also the fairest one of all."
She tilted her head back, sighing toward the ceiling.
"Another one… wonderful. First Cinderella, now her? This mirror really is defective."
She flicked her fingers dismissively. "Shoo! Off you go now."
The red mist faded, the mirror's spirit vanishing with a final hurt expression after being shooed away like a dog.
Two maids stood obediently near the chamber door.
She swept toward them and lifted her hand.
"Prepare a carriage. I must leave for the Kingdom of Evendelle."
"Yes, Your Grace, Duchess Carabosse, ruler of Rosenthorn," the two maids answered with bows, opening the tall double doors.
Not long after, her grand carriage was prepared, decorated with golden vines, pulled by six black horses. She descended the marble steps of her castle and entered the carriage.
The coachman cracks the reins. The carriage glides forward above the ground, its wheels spinning and hooves trotting just inches above the ground—both trailing thick black miasma—as it journeys toward Evendelle.
Inside, Duchess Carabosse leaned back in her velvet seat, placing an angry volto mask over her face, its expression twisted in silent fury.
Back in Evendelle…
High above the castle towers, floated a boy in black.
A wicked grin tugged at his lips. His cloak flared with wind, black miasma and purple sparkles swirling beneath his feet as he hovered high in the air.
He gazed down upon Ryo and Fairy Greatmother, who were now back at the food stall, seated and deep in conversation.
He punched his fist skyward.
"YEEEEEEHAAAAWWW!" he cried, overjoyed.
Then, launching upward, he soared through the clouds, an arc of darkness and glitter trailing behind.
He hovered above the sea of clouds, arms stretched out dramatically, like a stage performer delivering a grand announcement to absolutely no one.
"Ladies and gentlemen! As of today, we shall witness twinkling wonders, curious charms and perhaps… a mystery? Hmmm, who knows!!"
He spun midair, then pointed to the world below.
"We have a guest in this Fairytale World! What was his name again? Ah—Detective Sherlock Holmes? Hahahaha! Something like that! I believe he accepted my invitation… back at that place called… what was it again?... Fairytale Convention?"
He leaned forward, eyes glowing with glee.
"Now, let's see if this detective can find Cinderella, the missing Princess of Evendelle… whom I proudly kidnapped with the help of my buddies."
He smirked sinisterly, eyes fixed on Ryo far below.
"Let's see if you can twist the tales of this world… and perhaps… even those buried in shadow… to your favor, Detective," he whispered, a cold chuckle slipping from his lips like morning mist.
He let out a spine-chilling laugh, arms raised like a theatrical conductor of chaos.
"Because I… Petyr Pann… will stop your every advance in saving this kingdom's princess! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Then, placing an eerie laughing volto mask over his face, Petyr Pann rocketed into the horizon.
Ready to make his move to hinder Ryo's investigation.
And so began the game of chaos and wits between him and the detective… a game that would twist every tale ever told.
Somewhere in a high, dark place...
So far above the world it felt like the clouds themselves bowed beneath it—sat a lonely girl behind wrought iron bars.
The cold stone room was shadowed, the only light streaming in through an arched window with no glass and no bars. But beyond it was no freedom, only a cruel fall so deep even the sky seemed afraid to look down.
There… sat Cinderella.
She was no longer dressed in silks and dreams.
Only a tattered gray gown clung to her frail frame, stained with soot and ashes, like her former self before royalty.
Her once-bright golden hair hung across her face, now dull and tangled in waves, and her hands trembled against the cold floor.
Her eyes were hollow. Not with sleep, but with something far heavier… hopelessness.
A little over a month had passed since the night she vanished.
No candles.
No moonlight.
No music.
Only the silence, broken once each day by the scraping of a tray—two pieces of stale bread and a cracked, stained cup of water.
She didn't know if anyone was searching.
She didn't know if anyone even remembered her.
And yet, in the silence, she began to sing.
Softly. Brokenly. Like the voice of someone remembering what hope used to sound like.
Cinderella sang softly, her voice raw.
"Once upon a someday..."
"I wore the stars like gowns..."
"Now the stars are strangers..."
"And no one looks down…"
She sniffled, rubbing her wrist across her tired eyes. Her lips trembled as she kept singing.
Her voice cracking.
"I danced where dreams would bloom…"
"Now I sleep inside this gloom…"
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"…And the only voice I hear…"
"Is the wind, that won't come near."
She let out a shaky breath, hugging her knees to her chest.
"Mama… I miss you…" she whispered sadly, longing for the days she could visit Aurelia's grave, a mother she never had the chance to know.
The name choked in her throat like a childhood lullaby that no longer worked.
Still, her voice pushed on, as if her heart had nothing else left but song.
"If you're watching from above…"
"Tell me… am I still enough?"
"Did the stars forget to shine?"
"Did the world forget I'm min…"
She couldn't finish the last line. Her breath hitched, the sobs clawing their way out now, shaking her shoulders as she pressed her hands to her face.
"Someone… please… save me…"
She dropped her hands, looking out that cruel window — not to escape, but to reach something. Anything. Anyone.
Then, with trembling lips, she whispered the only name that had saved her once before.
The only name that had once meant hope.
She whispered, her voice barely a breath.
"Fairy Greatmother… I want to see you…"
Silence.
No magic.
No shimmer.
No rescue.
Just the sound of wind through the open window…
...and the sky staring back.
The girl who once danced beneath chandeliers now wept in the shadows, unseen and unheard.
Her song faded.
But far, far away… in a kingdom, her home… Evendelle kept moving on without her.
No one knew the princess was still alive.
No one knew where she was.
And maybe…
Just maybe…
She was starting to wonder if anyone would ever come… to reach for her hand, and pull her out from the darkness.