Operation Red Book

"Haha! It's okay!"

The joking words made the princess laugh, and a tear came out, but soon disappeared in her smile.

When she calmed down again, the tears in her eyes were even more intense, but the smile on her face did not diminish in the slightest.

"The bell was born with me, and I will not take it off until I die."

"The sound of the bells has long been integrated into my soul. Perhaps I must go to heaven and beg Jesus to avoid punishment..."

"So...it's okay! Miss Ivy, take it if you like it!"

"In fact, I wish my aunt the Queen had never made this bell for me, and I also wish I had never had this bell..."

The princess's face was distorted beyond recognition as she cried bitterly. She sobbed inconsolably and her tears wet the handkerchief she used to wipe her tears.

"To me, this bell is a prison, a bondage, a kidnapping... I know very well that I cannot escape this cage that was built for me, so I can only do my best to welcome the light under the sky..."

Cheerful music came from the distance, a passionate gypsy song. A gypsy girl in a red dress was spinning on the platform, attracting everyone's attention, including Ivy and Princess Constance who were standing deep in the street.

The gypsy girl had black curly hair and a clean, pure and moving face. Her red skirt was patched and her dirty feet were clad in two silver bells.

The bells spun with the light dance steps, leaving graceful traces in the air.

The lively and pleasant silver bells blended silently into the joyful background music, complementing the girl's immature singing voice. Everything was just right.

“What a beautiful bell sound!”

The princess smiled sweetly and praised the beautiful gypsy girl.

"It sounds nice!" Ivy agreed, "But her bells are a far cry from your gold. Does it still sound nice?"

"Sounds good!"

The princess replied without hesitation, but the next second, Ivy noticed that her eyes became lonely again.

"What's the difference between high and low bells? As long as it can make a sound, the bell has fulfilled its duty..."

"The bells of that beauty, worn on her ankles, became the accompaniment of her music; my bells, locked on my belt, became the responsibility I have to bear throughout my life..."

After listening, Ivy turned back, her eyes fell on the golden bell in her hand, and said in a low voice:

"But, Princess, have you ever thought that the bells on that girl's feet are also shackles that she will never be able to remove for the rest of her life?"

"what……"

After hearing what Ivy said, the princess was a little dazed. This was beyond her understanding.

"But that beautiful lady was smiling happily! She dances well, looks good, and sings well. I personally think her performance can definitely compete with Mr. Joshua's..."

"But Joshua has food and clothes. He's not a poor gypsy girl," Ivy replied calmly.

After saying this, she focused her gaze on the gypsy girl again, her eyes full of admiration.

"I once got to know this young girl from a group of children in an orphanage. As far as I know, if she had not been born strong, the unfair fate and hard life might have crushed her long ago..."

"Your Highness, you said that you shouldered the responsibility of the country, but what you didn't see was that the ordinary girl also shouldered the responsibility of the family..."

"There are 11 people in her family. In addition to her mother who is always drunk and her father who left the family to go to France, she has 8 brothers and sisters who rely on her to feed them."

"You said that as a princess, you have no control over everything, but isn't that girl also dragged down by this difficult society?"

"Being from the lower class, everyone looks down on her; being a woman, she is not given nearly half the jobs; and being a foreigner, she is discriminated against and can only survive in the cracks..."

After saying that, Ivy turned to the princess and spoke in a gentler tone:

"I'm not saying this to deny your pain. I just want to say that there are too many difficulties in this world. I don't blame you, nor him... because all these sufferings are caused by this pathetic society."

“When a country prospers, its people suffer; when a country perishes, its people suffer… No one knows what kind of destruction and suffering the people around them have suffered, and no one knows what their future fate will be…”

"The gypsy girl experienced pain that others could hardly empathize with, but she was still able to dance, sing, smile, enjoy her time, enjoy her dreams, and enjoy the beauty..."

"After that, will she meet true love? Will she be picked up by a passionate prince like Cinderella and live a rich and happy life from then on?"

"Or was he dragged into an alley by a drunken homeless man and reappeared on the street the next day in a bloody mess?"

"Perhaps one of her brothers will save her from danger. Although it's not a famous school, at least she can find a job as a lawyer in London..."

"Or perhaps, a plague is coming, claiming the lives of half of Europe, and the gypsy girl who once shone on the stage is burned into a more terrible hell..."

"Oh! No!" The princess covered her mouth in surprise, her eyes red.

"So, do you know who the person a girl with patched clothes like her has been longing to meet all her life?" Ivy asked with a smile.

"Jesus……"

"There are more people I want to meet."

"The Prince of England..."

"Ugh……"

"It's you." Ivy sighed and said earnestly, "The one she wants to meet most is you."

"I..." The princess blinked, her expression dazed, "Am I Jesus..."

"Hey!"

Ivy angrily slapped the princess, sending her stumbling.

"It's a monarch like you who can save the people from danger!"

"But I am not a monarch..."

"Why do you and your brother have one golden bell each? Why did your aunt, the queen, keep you and your brother by her side to teach them? And why did the lady-in-waiting teach you how to capture a city until her death?"

Ivy said loudly, her face flushed red.

"Because from the beginning, your aunt the Queen and your lady-in-waiting have been training you as the future monarch! Including your cold and ruthless brother, he has devoted all his energy and made countless efforts to consolidate your status!"

"Everyone knows that Princess Constance of Luxembourg is outstanding in appearance and is both civil and military. At the age of only 20, she has already become the president of the Youth Red Cross and the designated diplomatic representative of the Principality of Luxembourg! These titles are your bargaining chips. Don't you understand?"

"Look at how successful you are! You are the next crown prince, you are a royal princess, you are a brave and smart girl, you are a symbol of the people's support, and you are the pride of your family!"

"So wake up!" Ivy shouted with almost all her might, "Your country and your loved ones are all loving you in their own way!"

"What binds you is not your gender, your family, your noble status, or even this golden bell that has been with you for 20 years. What binds you is always yourself!"

Many people were attracted by Ivy's roar, not to mention Princess Constance who was stunned by the roar.

"My dear Princess, it has always been you..."

Ivy softened her tone, but her words were still heavy.

"Because of your twisted personality, because of your cautious speculation, because you have closed your heart, because of your inferiority complex and your envy of your brother..."

"You went from hating yourself to hating this golden bell, hating everything around you, loving your aunt, the lady-in-waiting, your brother, your parents... and even the people..."

"When you said you hated this golden bell, did you ever think of your aunt's expectations and blessings for you?"

"I……"

Princess Constance's eyes were already filled with tears, her lips were trembling, and her eyes were cloudy and unclear.

The burden of more than ten years has filled the princess' heart and has long been connected to her heart that is still carrying the burden.

When she was pulled out, she finally calmed down and became aware of the emptiness in her heart.

"I……"

There were so many things she wanted to say that Princess Constance didn't know what to say first.

The breeze lifted the tips of her hair, like a pair of warm and comfortable hands, soothing the princess's heart with love.

After a while, she decided to start from the smallest seed:

"I want to play with my brother..."

"Don't tell me, I've only known you for an hour." Ivy shook her head and said.

"Tell your brother..."

The princess lowered her head and tears suddenly welled up in her eyes like clear pearls.

The song of Gypsy Girl ended, and as the curtain fell with the last bell, the audience burst into warm applause.

Ivy held the golden bell in both hands and slowly put it into Princess Constance's sight.

"From the moment I took over this string of bells, I noticed your reluctance to part with it. You stared at it, trembling all over. You wanted to take it back but refused to open your mouth."

"Your Highness, I'm going to ask you one last time..."

Ivy stretched out her hands and said solemnly:

"If you give it to me, I will ask the mermaid to bury it in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, so that you and your brother will never see this bell in your lifetime."

"But now you have a chance to take it from my hand and wear it around your waist again, like your brother."

"Choose."

Ivy spread her hands and placed the golden bell on a flat surface.

The princess trembled silently, with her hands clenched into fists on the edge of her skirt.

The breeze blew again, and the pleasant sound of golden bells rose and fell, creating ripples and melting the dullness and turbidity in the princess's eyes.

"Don't forget it."

The time is up, Ivy waves her hand...

"No! I want my brother!"

The princess shouted anxiously. She instinctively reached out and grabbed the end of the bell, quickly pulling the golden bell back from Ivy's hand.

"I want……"

She held the bell tightly and curled up into a ball.

Tears blurred her vision, just like the tears hanging on the clapper.

"I want my brother...I want my brother!"