Demon Princess - Kyou Kara Maoh Adventure

Chapter 3 - Change of Pace

Anzu pov:

I opened my eyes slowly, having awoken without an alarm. Despite my sleepiness, I noticed that I wasn't in my room – the walls and flooring of wherever I was, was darker in comparison to the mahogany colored flooring and white walls of my room.

I sat up with a start when my thoughts registered and I looked around. I glanced around the room and then out the window at the town I could see in the distance only to recall that I had appeared in the Great Demon Kingdom yesterday after falling into the pond in Yuri's school. I also noticed that it was still night and the moon glowed brightly amongst the numerous stars in the sky.

Sighing softly, I moved the covers off myself and let my feet meet the cool ground. A shiver went down my spine at that but I didn't feel affected by the coolness for long. I wasn't feeling sleepy enough to fall asleep again so I decided to step out into one of the courtyards around the castle for a bit and do some light reading.

I picked up my bag and walked out of the room and to the nearest courtyard while occasionally eyeing the soldiers I passed by in the hallway. They hadn't been here before and it made me wonder why they were here now – well, I guess it was common sense to have more people on the lookout at night when intruders could show up. But I also had a feeling that it was because of my unexpected appearance – the three brothers and Günter were suspicious of me and Gwendal had even warned me harshly when he had showed me to my room. These soldiers were watching me sharply and it was enough for me to understand that I was the reason for the extra security.

When I reached the courtyard, I took a seat on the steps and pulled out one of my law books. I popped in my earphones to listen to some music while I read, pouting a little when I saw that it had just 20% battery left. I'm sure it would give out on me soon.

Despite the volume of the music playing wasn't very high, the silence around me made it seem loud enough to mute out any sound in my surroundings. I didn't mind it though because I knew I would be safe thanks to the soldiers on guard and it felt comforting to be lost in my world at the moment.

I continued to read through my law book, underlining important points and making notes on some things to consider for a small case I was handling for a friend. However, I tensed when I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. Pulling the earphones out of my ears, I turned and looked up behind me only to meet eyes with Conrad. I returned his smile and straightened up a bit.

"Hey, Conrad," I greeted. "Were you calling me long? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you because I was listening to music."

His eyes softened when I held up my earphones with a sheepish smile. "It's alright, Princess. May I sit down?"

"Of course! You don't have to ask that," I said with a laugh and patted the spot next to me. I wanted to tell him not to call me princess and not worry about being so formal with me but I had a feeling that he wouldn't agree to that so I didn't say it. I looked ahead and waited for him to speak but when he didn't, I began to feel a little awkward. To save myself from more awkwardness, I went back to reading through my book.

"What is that book, Princess?" Conrad asked after a few minutes of silence.

"It's my law book – I'm marking out some important points for a case I-I'm handling," I answered, mentally scolding myself for stuttering when I met his curious gaze and was momentarily flustered by his handsome features. Since he was sitting quite close, I couldn't help but notice how charming his appearance was.

"I see...but how come you're reading at this time of the night?" he asked gently making me smile and eased the fluster I was feeling.

"My sleep pattern has been a bit messed up since the past few days. I had to stay up late and travel at all odd hours for a case I recently won so I'm going through the after-effects of all that. I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep – I was bored so I thought I could get some reading down," I answered with a shrug.