Alistor let out a long calm breath, waiting for their operation to finish. He sat comfily on the Wisterian throne, his handy sword on his lap. It has been very quiet, the Wisterian forces seemed to be having it hard. And that was good.

He leaned his head all the way back, savoring the sensation of sitting on the throne, the symbol of those who sat above all others. If he succeeds here, and he will, the imperial throne will be his. And with that, he could do whatever he wanted. His relationship with his sister will be safer, no threats. They will have the freedom they so desire.

True that they will have to still hide it, but Alistor will have more options. That was one of the reasons he wanted to be emperor so badly. He truly loves his sister, and he wanted to spend all the nights this world will ever have with her.

But, there was also another one now. He wouldn’t set aside his sister, never, but he’ll add another. It wouldn’t be strange for an emperor to have more than one lover. With his victory, he was certain, even before he would be crowned emperor, he expected that Wisteria would be given to him.

Perhaps, after bringing that Pure Princess in the Empire, once everything settled down, he could bring her back here. And he could perhaps visit. But no, he wouldn’t be able to eat the fruit every now and then. In any case, he should think about this later.

He closed his eyes, and he could see her perfect, beautiful form in the darkness. He was excited for this night to be over. And once it was done, she would be his. He could do what he wanted, and none could stop him.

He opened his eyes, and he heard faint footsteps coming from the dark hallway. He put a hand on his sword, anticipating the one approaching from the darkness. And a moment later, she appeared. His eyes widened.

“Estelia.”

She was cloaked, her hand meekly grasping it. Her platinum hair was tied neatly. And her eyes looked around pitifully, she was clearly frightened. So fragile. She looked up at Alistor with wide yet gentle eyes.

“P-Prince A-Alistor?”

Alistor smiled widely and rose from his seat. “Estelia, you have come. Finally, come closer.”

Warily, she walked forward with meek steps. “What are you doing on my father’s throne?”

“Just trying it out, that's all.”

She looked at him, baffled, and she paused. “You’re s-scaring me, Prince Alistor.”

“You do not need to be afraid. I don’t want to hurt you, Estelia. Come closer.”

With moist eyes, she reached before the throne steps and stared at Alistor. And Alistor slowly stepped down.

“I learned that the Empire i-is a-attacking us.”

“Yes, we are.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief. “W-Why? Why would you do this?”

Alistor stopped a step higher from her. “For our goals. To unite the continent under a single banner.”

She was speechless, staring at Alistor with grief-stricken eyes, and tears started coming out of her eyes. “M-Many of my people… are gone.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I-I trusted y-you.” She fell on both knees and lowered her head. Her hands rubbing off her tears.

Alistor took a step down. “Yes. But you can still trust me, Estelia. You know, I was ordered to kill you.”

“W-What?” She slowly looked up.

“You were singled out.”

“W-Why?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. But I don’t intend to do that. Not anymore.”

The way she looked up at him, she looked so pitiful. Somehow, Alistor enjoyed seeing her like this. Her pleading eyes were so endearing. He wanted all of her. No, he craved her.

“I’m saving you, Estelia.”

“S-Saving me?”

“Yes.” He stepped closer. “I’m disobeying the command to kill you, and instead, I’m bringing you to my home.”

“To your empire…?”

“Yes.”

“B-But that is so far away.”

“I know. I will be with you, so you will be fine.”

She lowered her gaze, trembling. “But Wisteria is your enemy. I am your enemy… So you’ll t-take me as a p-prisoner?”

“Not exactly. You will be treated right. I will make sure of it. You will have a comfortable bed, plenty of food, and freedom to tour around.”

“... I don’t understand…”

“To put it simply. You are important to me, Estelia. I won’t let any harm come to you.”

She slowly looked up at him. “Really?”

Alistor’s smile widened, and he crouched right before her, looking into her eyes. “Really. I promise.”

“Is that so?” She lowered her head. “Alistor… You shouldn’t make a promise you can’t keep.”

Before he could react, Alistor saw a metallic glint pass by as a loud clang sounded out. He instinctively went to grab his sword, but it wasn’t there anymore but the empty sheath.

“Ggh.” He tried speaking, but he couldn’t.

He felt pain, and he quickly placed a hand on his throat, where blood was spilling out. His eyes were wide in confusion, while trying to keep a pressure on his wound. He applied Physical Enhancement to his body so he could persist. But the critical wound was already done.

Green light shone on his hand holding the wound. Healing magic.

His eyes shifted to the side, and there, in the distance, was his sword on the floor. He wanted to reach out for it, but with this fatal wound, it would threaten his life. He must focus on healing.

“Unbelievable, you’re still alive and upright.”

As Alistor was getting frantic, he heard a cold, apathetic voice. He faced forward to see the same princess, now standing a few feet away from him. In her hand was a dagger, so meticulously made and designed. With golden and silver embroidery.

“I even cut halfway to your throat. People in this world really make my job harder.”

Alistor did all he could to breathe as he looked up at her. And he was baffled. The Princess was different. Her eyes weren't the usual kind and tender, but now they were cold. As if it was a different person.

“Oh well. At least you’ll get to suffer a little.” She waved her other hand.

Thin ice spikes grew out of the floor and stabbed into Alistor’s unguarded parts of the body. But they were not fatal, like they were only there to make him feel pain and bleed. As he winced, he poured all he could in his healing magic, but the damage in his throat was too severe, it will take some time.

“You really are a fool, Alistor.” She slowly walked to the sword and picked it up. “But I guess even fools can cause a large share of trouble.”

She checked out the sword, and she nodded, impressed.

“First those non-human men, and now you, the Empire.” She turned her gaze to him. “It never ends.”

She approached Alistor with a stride full of confidence, complete contrast to what she was. To what she should be. Alistor could not understand what was going on. Why was she acting so differently? The way she regarded him with such insignificance was too bizarre.

He wanted to speak, but he just couldn’t. He wanted to ask what was going on.

“Do you know what you have done? With what you did tonight, you have made early conflict between two countries unavoidable. Whether you kill us, or we kill you, in the end you’ll get what you want. War.”

She crouched a couple of feet away, glaring at Alistor with her cold empty eyes.

“Don’t know if I should applaud how clever you are, or how bold. But I have to hand it to you, you got me. You really got me.” And the expression in her eyes changed. It turned to anger. And her ice slowly pierced even further, Alistor grimaced in pain.

“If we’re getting into a war anyway… Then I would rather have you die here and now. You two imperial royals. And I don’t care about taking you prisoners just because you are someone special. I don’t want you out there during the war. And especially…” She smiled. “I want to kill you myself.”

Showing him his sword for a moment, she casually threw it away. The sword clanged loudly as it ended up so far that Alistor couldn’t hope to reach it.

“It saddens me, Alistor.” A blush formed on her cheeks. “It saddens me that we don't have all the time in the world. Guess I’ll have to get pleasure with what I have… You hear that, Alistor?” She tilted her head with an almost ecstatic face. “You get to give me pleasure. And believe me, I am getting satisfied.” She giggled adorably.

Alistor felt cold, not with the air, not with the ice piercing his body, nor the loss of blood. It was because of fear. What he was beholding terrified him.

“Isn’t that something you should be happy about, Alistor?”

She was no pure princess. She was a deceitful monster. She entraps you with her feeble actions, and sweet words. She plays with your urge to protect her, to only consume you later on. Where she finds pleasure in your pain, and your realization of her lies.

“I learned a new trick tonight. Would you like to see it?”

She tapped her dagger into Alistor’s blood on the floor. The blood began to move and crawled to her blade. Alistor couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He has never heard or seen magic of that kind. To control something as blood, was it something even possible?

“This blade can easily penetrate your armor now.”

Just a little longer, and his bleeding should more or less stop.

“Now then, let’s start with the pleasure, shall we? O Prince.”

But she didn’t give him more time, and she easily stabbed her blade into his chest, the tip touching his heart. Alistor groaned in pain, but it didn’t end there. She slowly twisted the blade as her ice began to move again. Alistor screamed, but all he could do was a gargled cry.

He could feel his heart being slowly shredded. His flesh and internal organs being wormed and pierced by the cold. He had never felt so much pain in his life. His Physical Enhancement was failing, losing his focus. His healing magic flickered.

Alistor met eyes with the Princess’s. And there was not even a sign of pity or relent. Indeed, for there was no point. For this was a moment of pleasure. And she was indeed pleased.

 

It would take some time later before he could no longer endure, and Prince Alistor Tarquen Celum Tornridge was finally terminated.