A day ter, in the castle's prison tower.

  Her experien the past half-a-month was enough to vince Melina to publish her memoir. Being kidnapped by demons twi a row was not something every human would experience.

  Melina did not find it difficult to be locked ihe prison for twenty-four hours a day, because the sound of the piano that would py from time to time pletely immersed her in it.

  Suddenly, Melina heard approag footsteps. She went to the edge of the cell and saw the figure of a person that should never have been there—Belle.

  What happened was just like the story. In order to save her loved ohe kind Belle decided to take her loved one's pd stay in the castle.

  The elderly Melina could not fight against Zenarth's strength as she was roughly dragged out of the castle by the tter, then tossed into the gardens outside.

  The castle gate closed once again as Melina fell onto the snow-cround in grief and despair.

  "Mistress Melina! Mistress Melina!"

  Just as despair was about to overe her, Melina heard her servant's voice.

  Her servahe old horse across the garden, which was full of thorns and hurried to her side.

  "You... You actually stayed behind." Melina looked at her servant in disbelief. The servant was just a person she hired with money, and she did not have any master-servaionship with him.

  As a mert, Melina khere was ionship more fragile than the one maintained by money. Yet, the servant actually hid on the castle's grounds despite the risk of being killed by the demon.

  "Hoy is the most basic principle of life, but that's not the point. Mistress, quickly get on the horse and leave this pce. It will take you back all the way to the vilge. Look faston. Perhaps he help you rescue Belle," the servant said.

  "Gaston... Yes, I seek Gaston's help." Melina remembered that she knew a great mage who could move freely around in the Demonic Realm. She quickly got on the horse with agility, unlike an elderly woman.

  "What about you?"

  That was the only horse Melina had brought from the vilge.

  "Don't worry, I've found a hiding pearby," the servant said.

  Melina did not dither. She erson who knew her priorities. After she left the servant with a "Take care", she kicked the horse's abdomen, and the horse started to gallop away from the castle.

  The servant looked on as Melina disappeared into the forest beyond the castle, taking the Ring of Metamorphosis off his finger.

  "To think that you said the word 'hoy' with such a straight face."

  Ciri walked out of the woods oher side of the garden and looked at Joshua, who was standing before the pile of snow. As a behind-the-ses director, Joshua was really handling everything from pnning to scripting and filming. He was also simultaneously making cameos in many roles.

  However, the servant character was not actually a cameo.

  "Why not? I'm a demon after all."

  Joshua quickly walked bato the castle.

  Joshua's retort had Ciri at a loss for words. If it had not been for his deliberate reminder, she would have fotten that Joshua was a demon prince.

  The inner hall of the castle was not as dark as the outside. The moment Ynor arrived at the castle iernoon the day before, Joshua worked overtime to film "Beauty and the Demon".

  The spy Joshua was about to shoot was the most toug se in the whole story. It was a se that would make tless girls scream—the se where Belle and the Beast danced in the castle hall.

  The instant Joshua walked into the hall, Ynor was dang at the ter of the hall while holdih's hands.

  The succubus had already ged into a geous princess dress, and with his unique charm, he was destio be everyone's focus the moment he appeared. Any male or female would be attracted ohey saw him.

  Three mier.

  The music gradually came to an end as Ynor ah slowly stopped dang.

  Ohey stopped, the two demons looked at Ciri by the edge of the dance floor instead of Joshua.

  Speaking of which, Joshua could not believe that the young dy who was so poor she could oree barks every day and the occasional lucky rabbit meal or two was both Ynor ah's danstructor.

  "I'll give it a pass. As much as I don't want to admit it, both of you are fast learners."

  Ballroom dang was not difficult, and anyone who mastered the rhythm would be able to learn it easily. While it was called the dance of the nobility, it was nothing but two people spinning around in Ciri's eyes. It ractically poio her.

  "Let's take a break, theh, Ynet some rest. Also, look at the script and prepare for the se."

  Joshua held the inium crystal that the banshee had handed over to him. The shooting of the se ed seven crystals, each rec various angles. Joshua borrowed all seven of the crystals from the banshee. As faint white magic radiated from his hand, he edited and merged the footage into a single crystal acc to his memory.

  Joshua then wrote a "72" on the surface of the crystal with a runiscription and pced it in his suitcase.

  "Say, you don't even know such a simple ballroom dance?" Ciri suddenly approached Joshua and asked.

  "I wouldn't need you to be my instructor if I k."

  After Joshua got well-acquainted with the young mage, she had bee less and less ed about his status as a demon prince. If not for the "colr" that Joshua had pced on her neck, Ciri could have very well resumed fighting with Joshua with her short staff.

  "Well, this will definitely be useful if you want to visit human societies iure. So, do you want to learn it?"

  Ciri had finally found the opportunity to let off her pent up steam. Every time she unicated with Joshua, Ciri always felt like there was this "Intelligence Repression" thing going on because Joshua would always talk about things that struck her knowledge blind spots. This time around, Ciri finally found something that Joshua did not know!

  Joshua looked at Ciri and recalled a husky he had kept ba Earth... It was bad mao pare a girl to a husky, but for some reason, Joshua saw a few simirities.

  "Then, please do teach, Ciri."

  What Ciri did not expect was Joshua actually asking her fuidance.

  "Al... Alright... I.. will teach... you."

  Ciri admitted that she was impulsive when she said that. In fact, rather than childishly trying to show off to Joshua, Ciri was more affected by Zenarth and Ynor's performance.

  Even as a spectator, even when she khat Zenarth and Ynor were ag, Ciri was still immersed in the most beautiful se of "Beauty and the Demon"... Any girl would be affected by that se.

  That was why she was so impulsive, but it was too te frets as Joshua had held his hand out to her. Ciri could only grit her teeth while she took his hand.

  "Pce... your hand... on my waist." Ciri's body stiffened for a little before she finally uttered that sente.

  Joshua gently pced his hand on Ciri's waist while she pced her hand on his shoulder.

  The music pyed at that moment, and Ciri started to guide Joshua for another performance of "Beauty and the Demon" on the dance floor.

  It was indeed another performance, but Ciri did not realize that her fate would not be as beautiful as Belle's...

  Could this work? Ciri lowered her head as she stole a g Joshua, but just a few steps in, Ciri's dream was brutally shattered by Joshua's tossing.

  "You've stepped on my foot!"

  Reality was never as perfect as a movie, and Joshua, a total novi ballroom dang, ruthlessly tore apart the romantic se Ciri had built in her mind.

  "Sorry..." Joshua's apologies did zilch.

  "You stepped on me again! Did you do that on purpose?!"

  " you give the newbie some leeway?"

  While Joshua was saying that, his mind was not oter. When Joshua held Ciri's hand, he noticed that there were a lot of scars on her hands, even her arms as well. Even when Ciri had deliberately tried to hide them, at such proximity, Joshua could see the various scars that were pletely jarring on her fair skin.

  They were not hands that a girl should have.

  Weebkun