Princess Sofia does not Exist

"Help me." The Princess shamelessly requested. 

Heinrich chuckled softly. "The only reason you are experiencing my audience is that I do not want you to meddle with my people and confuse them with your delirious post-apocalyptic stories." He said calmly. "My people have not yet seen an apocalypse. Though they will see a lot of near-apocalyptic situations in the coming years, an apocalypse? Not yet." 

"I do not understand it." The Princess admitted her confusion. 

"Of course, you do not. This is exactly how my people would feel if you continued to talk about a status of yours that is long gone. Princess Sofia does not exist." Heinrich said with seriousness. "I shall not tolerate you if you decide to cause chaos in my mansion." 

The Princess frowned, "If this is your status here, why were you dressed as a commoner in Miraculum?" 

Heinrich bluntly replied, "I am not answerable to you. You are just a slave now. Keep that in mind, and address me with respect. I am sure you were told the rules of this mansion." 

"What do you want from me?" The Princess asked frustratingly. 

"You must think you are the main character or something." Heinrich chuckled, "Sofia, I want nothing from you. You followed me. I did not abduct you." 

"I made a mistake. I request you to send me back." The Princess turned the topic around quickly. 

"I cannot," Heinrich replied. "The wormhole is not under my command. It comes and goes."

"Wormhole…? What does that mean?" 

"That means you are stuck here. Probably for life." 

—

The Princess walked out of the room expressionlessly. She headed straight towards her room without saying a word to anybody. Kaspar let Killian know that she had gone back to her room. Killian knocked on the door before walking inside, seeing the Princess looking out the window. 

"My lady," Killian called her. "What became of that meeting?" 

The Princess didn't turn around. Instead, she started pulling her sleeves down to her knuckles in hopes of hiding the absence of that thread. 

"My lady?" 

She turned around, "Am I still your Princess, Killian?" She asked, "Even if we are not in Miraculum…" 

Killian was taken aback by the unusual question. He looked at the Princess's hands, trembling continuously. 

"Of course." He replied with much sincerity. "Your Royal Highness will always remain as a Princess in my sight. Therefore, do not bother yourself with someone's degrading words." 

"Why do you think he talked me down?" The Princess asked as she sighed. "He knew I was the Princess, Killian. He knew about me all along." 

"That man was suspicious from the very beginning." Killian said, "Let us not dwell on his words." 

The Princess shook her head, "I need to get closer to him. He is the only way to go back. We will be stuck here if he chooses to turn away." 

Killian frowned in confusion. 

"Let me explain," The Princess murmured. "We traveled back in time. People disappeared in the mountains because they let you time travel. I am sure everyone and everything that disappeared in the mountains ended up here. We are much back in time, from 3002 to 1617. Heinrich travels through time frequently, which explains why he lives in the mountains. He can take us back. I am sure." 

Killian shook his head slightly, "My lady-" 

"Killian. This is the only way. We have to trust him and earn his favor." 

"Why would he help his slaves?" 

"Everyone here loves him. There must be a reason! We can also try to see the good in him." 

Though Killian was still not ready to accept any of the time travel theories, he had to abide by the Princess's orders. Time travel or not, they were stuck in someone's mansion as lowly slaves. They had to earn their owner's favor to even dream about leaving the place. 

The next morning, Lady Odila called the two for breakfast. This was going to be their first-ever meal in the mansion. The Princess was eager to find out what kind of meal they would be served as lowly servants. In Miraculum, the servants were usually fed the leftovers of the Royal family. If not, they had their own money to purchase food within their limits. Often limited, servants usually had grains and leafy vegetables for most of the time. Protein sources were limited to the Royal family because of the scarcity of livestock and poultry. After the apocalypse, not many species of animals made it out alive. 

Humans had miraculously managed to keep their creed alive. To this day, no one ever understood why information about the apocalypse was such a haze if humans survived to start another succession series. 

The Princess and Killian followed Lady Odila downstairs to the dining hall. It was so big that it could fit everybody in the entire mansion. There were multiple, long dining tables in the hall. The most extended table stood in the middle of the other tables with more comfortable chairs. 

Heinrich walked into the dining hall followed by his closest servant Aldrich. Some ladies and children followed up, taking their respective seats on the long table. A lot of chairs still needed to be occupied. Lady Odila gestured to the Princess and Killian to take their seats at the long table as well. Maybe it was because of their noble background, but they questioned less and took their seats. 

Kaspar and some other supervisor servants also sat on the long table. While all the other servants took their seats at the other tables. 

Now that everyone was seated, a moment of silence commenced. 

Heinrich cleared his throat while raising his glass of wine, "I do not enjoy alcohol in the morning, however, to celebrate the arrival of our new family, I raise a toast." He said eloquently, "To longevity and evermore happiness!" 

"To longevity and evermore happiness!" All the servants raised their glasses and raised the toast with Heinrich. 

"My dear people, welcome to my humble abode." Heinrich smiled, "I hope you all will be at peace while spending your time here. I am grateful to have you and I hope you all will be grateful to have me and my family too." 

His words were like butter. Even Killian was moved, hearing him speak so eloquently and gently. 

"Please commence." Heinrich smiled and offered breakfast to all his servants. 

He was like a father to them. Their smiles followed by his smile showed how much everyone present in the hall loved him. No wonder he was called the Great Father.