The crimson princess

Pov General

In the park of Kuoh city, two children, about ten years old, could be seen mistreating a poor cat with pellet guns.

??: "Stop doing that."

The one who had just spoken was a 7-year-old girl with black hair and black eyes.

Kid 1: "It’s none of your business, so get lost."

Kid 2: "Yeah, this isn’t something someone like you should get involved in."

Girl: "You’re monsters for attacking a poor defenseless animal."

Kid 1: "You’re right, we shouldn’t attack something defenseless, because that’s no fun."

He glanced at his friend before smiling.

Kid 1: "Instead, we’ll attack you."

They started to move closer to the girl, who began to step back in fear.

Kid 2: "How about a fist to your face?"

He threw a punch at the girl, who closed her eyes in fear, but the punch was intercepted by an adult hand.

The hand belonged to a woman whose beauty couldn’t be described in words.

She had silver-white hair and red eyes. It was impossible to guess her age; she looked like a woman in her twenties, but she could have been much older.

Woman: "Your mother never taught you that you should never attack a defenseless woman?"

Her piercing gaze gave the two children goosebumps, and they fled as quickly as they could. During this time, the little girl was mesmerized by what she saw, feeling as if a heroine had intervened to chase away evil.

Woman: "Are you okay?"

Her gaze softened once the danger had passed.

Girl: "Uh, yeah. Thanks for saving me."

She spoke with a trembling voice, a tear forming at the corner of her eye.

Woman: "It’s good to want to bring justice, but just because you know what they’re doing is wrong doesn’t mean they’ll listen to you."

Girl: "But I couldn’t just stand there while he was mistreating a poor cat."

Woman: "You should have asked an adult to intervene because, even though talking can solve most situations, sometimes the other party resorts to violence. If you have no way of protecting yourself, you’ll only be a nuisance."

Girl: "But what should I do? I can’t just do nothing. I want to act and bring justice."

She looked at the woman with eyes full of determination, eager to act.

Woman: "I could help you gain strength and learn self-defense, as well as attack techniques for extreme situations. But first, you must ask your parents."

Girl: "I’ll take you to them."

She grabbed the woman’s hand and hurriedly led her, eager to begin training as soon as possible, confident that her parents would not refuse.

They headed for the residential area, more specifically to the front of the Kotegawa family house.

When the mother opened the door, she was stunned by the woman standing next to her daughter. Not only because the woman was very beautiful, but also because her outfit was from a luxury brand. (Author's note: It's somewhat similar to Arlecchino's outfit from Genshin Impact.)

Woman: "Hello, I’m sorry to disturb you. I’m May Eucus, and I’ve come to talk about your daughter."

She extended her hand, and the girl's mother instinctively shook it.

May explained the situation and asked for permission to train the girl, whose name was Yui, in martial arts and self-defense.

Yui’s mother: "With all due respect, I cannot allow my daughter to learn martial arts from someone we don’t know."

May: "If you'd like, I can demonstrate how the training works."

Yui’s mother: "I agree, but we’ll have to wait for my husband and son before proceeding."

In the meantime, May called her driver to take them to her home, where Yui would learn martial arts.

Yui’s father and brother arrived around the same time a limousine pulled up in front of the house.

Yui’s mother explained the situation before they got into the car, where a graceful man with black hair and a red streak opened the door.

The car drove a long distance, almost out of the city.

Yui’s father: "Just a question, do you live in another city?"

May: "No, but my house is within the city limits. It’s more peaceful and less noisy."

The car stopped in front of an immense gate, beyond which a long path lined with sakura trees stretched.

Yui and her brother: "Mom, dad, look at this alley!"

It was at this point that the mother understood what she had heard during May’s introduction.

Yui’s mother: "Wait, you’re part of the famous Eucus family?"

May: "Indeed."

Drops of sweat appeared on the parents' foreheads because everyone knew about this family. This family had appeared centuries ago in the city and lived quietly. Their influence was so great that they could banish someone from the city with a snap of their fingers.

The car drove through the sakura-lined alley, revealing a magnificent Japanese castle, reminiscent of those owned by lords during the samurai era.

The car stopped, and the man with the red streak in his hair opened the door, bowing to let everyone out of the car.

The entire Kotegawa family was stunned by the sight of the castle, their jaws dropping so far they nearly touched the ground.

May: "Come on, the training ground is over there."

She led them to an enormous area, about 1 square kilometer in size, where two people were facing each other with shinais. One was a girl with the same appearance as May but around Yui’s age, and the other was a man in a red kimono. The girl resembled May so much that anyone would think they were sisters.

May: "Inglis-chan, come here. I have someone to introduce to you."

The two people stopped and bowed before the girl ran over to the group.

May: "Yui, meet my daughter Inglis Eucus. She will train with you from time to time. I hope you’ll get along, even though there’s a small age gap of one year."

Inglis: "My name is Inglis Eucus. Pleased to meet you."

Yui: "My name is Kotegawa Yui. Glad to meet you, Inglis."

She was surprised because Inglis pronounced her name in a European way, using the surname after the first name, rather than the Asian order.

Yui might have been surprised, but it was nothing compared to her father’s reaction.

Yui’s father: "Wait, you’re her mother, but how old are you? Guh."

He had just been kicked in the stomach for asking a question that was taboo for women.

Yui’s mother: "Don’t pay attention to his remark, May-sama."

And she bowed while saying these words.

May: "It’s not a big deal, and please don’t call me with so much respect."