Chapter 4

Vasilios

Walking around the garden, the scent of roses filled the air. Spotting a white octagon gazebo beside a pond, I walked inside it, taking in the lovely view of the marsh.

I stayed in the gazebo until the sun started to set. A few little rose bushes near the pond caught my eye, I went over to the bushes and plucked some roses to take a few home.

This should be enough, I grinned.

Suddenly, I detected a swish, the sound of a blade cutting through the air. Huh? Instantly noticing the edge of a sword had cut a few strands of my hair.

“Do you have a death wish trespassing into the Rose Palace?” A harsh voice spoke out from behind me, likely to be the person pointing the blade at me.

“Who are you, turn around.” His voice sounded not from a man, but more of a little boy.

Is he.. I turned around and faced him. My eyes widened in horror.

The boy who stood before me was no other than Vasilios, worse... he’s gripping a sword towards me. Will I meet my fate sooner than expected? My hands started shaking.

Vasilios, one of the capture targets, and the only one that didn’t provide a happy ending with the heroine. He included two endings with the heroine, one of the endings involve slaughtering his entire family, killing his lover, and ending his own life. In addition, the heroine cannot avoid him since she must meet him to trigger the start of the game.

Vasilios goes to great lengths to force the heroine to be with him throughout all the routes, rendering him far more of a threat than Adeline. In Mayhem Wonderland, he was the true villain disguised as a capture target, his sick measures in the game made Adeline nothing more than a trifling bully.

Alice, the little sister of Vasilios, was a follower of Adeline and tormented the heroine in the White Prince route. Although Alice and Vasilios were siblings, neither of them spoke to one another and thought of each other only as strangers.

“Who are you? What are your intentions of being here?” He glared at me.

For now, Vasilios doesn’t look much intimidating as a little boy. His hair was coal-black, a bit waved at the tips. Merely looking at it reminds me of a sheep, wanting to run my fingers and play with his hair. We don’t appear to be that much alike, besides our eyes. Though his were darker and had a deeper tone of red.

His background story as a kid was the most heart aching out of the other capture targets. Not only was he alone for most of his life, but his only love left him. Though, understanding the judgment of the heroine. It’d be insane to live with a man who has wiped out his entire family for the sake of love. Perhaps if I warmed up to him, there’s a chance I could avoid Alice’s fated death in the meantime planning an escape...

“Brother..?” I blurted out. Hastily covering my mouth, realizing I said something without thinking.

“..What?” He raised an eyebrow.

I saw Theron walking towards us, “Your highness, it seems you’ve already met Princess Alice.”

Giving Theron a troubled look, eyeing the sword and looking back at him, hoping he could get the message. 

“Your highness, what are you doing pointing your sword at the princess!”

“Since when was she a princess?” Vasilios sets down his sword and stared at Theron. I expressed a pleasant relief.

“Princess has arrived from the Myrilles household, your highness. She is the daughter of Ellone.” Theron added.

“Tsk. Daughter of that wench...” Vasilios murmured. He then walked away, tossing his sword to Theron.

“Princess, it’s getting dark, would you like to go back inside?” Theron asked.

I nodded. Pointing my index finger at him. Theron looked at me puzzled.

“Finger,” I said, smiling.

Theron lifted up his finger, confused. I wrapped my small hand around his finger and walked alongside him.

We were walking to the palace. Vasilios was only a few steps ahead of us. It was silent the rest of the way until Vasilios curiously looked back and immediately stopped walking.

“Why is she still with us?!” Vasilios raised his voice towards Theron.

“Her highness will be living in the Rose Palace with you,” Theron answered politely, as if he were accustomed to Vasilios shouting at him.

Vasilios noticed I was clinging to Theron’s finger and glared at me, “Theron, walk beside me.”

“Y-yes, your highness.” He proceeded towards Vasilios, causing me to let go of his finger.

I frowned as we continued walking to the palace.

…..

I sat at the end of the long table. No one was in the dining room besides Theron. He was stood beside me while I consumed my soup. The dining room was spacious, but it was empty. I’ve never seen any maid in this house, just Theron, Vasilios, and me. Compared to the Myrilles household, this place was extremely empty. And lonely.

Wondering where Vasilios went, shouldn’t he be eating in the dining room as well?

“Theron,” I looked up at him, “Where has brother gone off to?”

Theron gave me a tender smile, “Vasilios always eats in his room, and he rarely eats his dinner.”

“..Where are the maids?” I asked.

“Vasilios doesn’t want any maid in the palace, they're only permitted to come here and clean the palace once a week.” He took a brief pause, “Would you like a maid, Princess?”

“Hmm... no, I’m fine. I prefer being independent.” Continuing to eat.