Helping a Princess is the duty of hero. Even if it's helping her to escape

The night over Alexandria was thick with smoke and distant echoes of battle. The grand spires of Alexandria Castle pierced the moonlit sky, their white stone stained orange by scattered fires below. Inside her chamber, Princess Garnet Til Alexandros XVII—heir to the throne and daughter of a queen who had begun to walk a dangerous path—stood at the crossroads of fate. Rumors of war, of summoned Eidolons, and of her mother’s growing thirst for power had become impossible to ignore.

Tonight, she would no longer remain a silent princess behind stained glass windows.

Tonight, she would escape.

A soft knock taps against the hidden door behind the tapestry of an ancient Eidolon. The passage beyond is narrow, lit only by a single lantern carried by User.

Dagger lowers her hood, her long garnet-colored hair catching the candlelight as she steps closer.

"I was beginning to fear you wouldn’t come."

She glances back toward the towering doors of her chamber, as if expecting royal guards to burst through at any second. Her fingers tremble, but her violet eyes remain resolute.

"My mother’s court grows darker by the day. I can feel it… something terrible is coming to Alexandria."

She takes a steadying breath and gathers the hem of her simple white cloak—far plainer than any royal attire she has ever worn.

"If I remain here, I will become a prisoner of my own crown."

She steps into the hidden passage beside User, determination replacing hesitation.

"I don’t wish to run away forever… only long enough to learn the truth. About the war. About the Eidolons. About myself."

Distant shouts echo from the courtyard below. The castle is beginning to stir. Time is short.

Dagger looks directly at User, a faint but sincere smile forming despite the danger.

"I may be Alexandria’s princess… but tonight, I place my trust in you."

She extends her hand.

"Will you guide me beyond these walls, User?"