Edited by: Kuro, Lille, and Nyxx
“Don’t give up on love.” Was the phrase that resounded through his mind for a while. It was what Alexis said to Raymond when she went to confess to her childhood friend.
It was almost like she was talking to him, the Host, and telling him not to give up on love. Even though giving up on love was easier said than done, being alone and running away from his problems hurt less.
There was nothing wrong with being single and living one’s life. If people could find the joys in solitude, but still have their needs met, then it was fine. But for him, he fell too easily, fell too fast, and loved too hard. That was what hurt him the most in his original world. Love also hurt him throughout the Villain System even if he didn’t love those people, but the originals did. All those originals (not all but most) got hurt in the name of love, so was it worth it?
Then he saw Damien, being by his side, adoring him, loving him, even though Alec said that he wanted to wait, Damien was patient.
How long could he wait though? Was it even fair for him to let Damien wait?
*****
Alec arrived at the studio for his last scene in Everlasting Bloom.
It didn’t take long for everyone to get ready and get into place.
It was the climax of the story and Prime Minister Vincent’s death…
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Vincent was leisurely walking through the palace with a bloody sword in his hands. His trusted subordinates around him were rushing to clear any obstacle that would hinder their master. Seeing former acquaintances, Vincent had no problems cutting them down. Anyone in his way would have a one-way ticket to the tip of his blade.
He had gathered three-quarters of the Royal Army and brought many court officials to his side. The remaining nobles were all loyal to the current monarch or wanted to take further advantage of their useless King. To see a man so capable, their benefits would be swept up and given to the people, something they didn't want to happen. This caused a war to happen within the country.
Many citizens were rooting for their Prime Minister to win the revolution. Seeing how kind he was to his territory, never leaving behind a single citizen, many people of different territories wanted to flock to him. When news spread that he was going to start a revolution, they calmed their hearts and waited for good news. Once this man was King, their Kingdom would be brought back to prosperity. Their useless greedy King would be no more. Someone who thought of the people would bring them out of poverty and into an era of peace!
Vincent finally reached the throne room and immediately opened it. He stood at the entrance, watching his personal guards eliminating all the guards around the King. Once the King was the only one left, Vincent finally entered through the door.
"My former King, it is quite the pleasure to see you here on this day," Vincent said with the same calm and cold voice he had always used with the King. It was as if today was just a regular day, not the day of the Revolution.
The King glared at Vincent, as per usual, but today was different. This glare had none of the forced tolerance, but it had ruthlessness and was full of bloodlust. "You think I didn't know about your Revolution?"
"If you didn't know then I would have been shocked by your stupidity." There wasn't a hint of formality in his words. All were words meant to put this greedy King in his place.
"Silence!" The King got up and pulled out his sword. "As someone who, with your father, watched you grow up, I will give you this last chance to surrender. If not, your head will be hung on my castle walls." His threats seemed scary, but to Vincent, he had confidence in his ability to dethrone the King.
"I gave you many chances, Former King, but today I will give all that is due to the people of this Kingdom."
Vincent may have walked down a dark path, but his heart was like a candle in that darkness. He didn't care if he had to become the villain. As long as he could help his people, he didn't mind if people thought he was as cruel as the devil.
He flicked his sword to get rid of the blood that was on it. He thought he should uphold proper manners to at least let the former King die under a clean sword.
"Your simple gestures mean nothing when you are dead." The King lunged forward, aiming for Vincent's head.
Vincent greeted the King's sword with a counter.
Gauging each other's strength with just the first hit, Vincent knew he had an advantage.
It was an intense battle with not even a single disturbance. The sounds of swords clanging on one another echoed throughout the throne room.
Vincent barely had to move while the older King tried his best to move around and attack. Getting fed up, Vincent put a lot of strength into the next slash, launching the King's sword into the air and flung it across the room.
The King, with a look of horror, felt a sharp pain in his chest, blood dripped down his mouth. "This isn't over yet."
"Of course, I will see you in hell when I die." His voice was cold and he didn't even glance at the old King.
He walked towards the former King, taking the crown right off his head. He was about to put the crown on his head when he felt a stab through his back. He turned around to see the Knight Commander and the Crown Prince standing behind him.
Vincent's face was not filled with horror but with acceptance. He knew deep down this was going to happen. He even contemplated killing the Crown Prince, but kept him alive instead, thinking if anything went wrong, at least the Crown Prince was left.
Crown Prince Felix smiled. "My dear Teacher, thank you for everything you have done until now." His voice was still the cheerful voice Vincent remembered. "It's time for you to rest and let me take over everything from here."
He said that, but his words held a bit of malice. His father was killed by this man. This was supposed to seem like he avenged his father as well as pave his path as King. But avenging his father was something he didn't care about. To begin with, he never really liked the Prime Minister. That was why using Vincent for his goals was nothing.
"I see, then please take care of the people of this Kingdom..." He couldn't muster anything else before falling onto the ground. He had already closed his eyes before feeling himself go cold.
If there wasn't any blood around Vincent, it would look like he was sleeping peacefully. He had a smile on his face, one he rarely showed to anyone. The camera zoomed in on his smiling face, before zooming out. It was to show how peaceful Vincent looked. He had no regrets and lived his life as best as he could. Everything he did was for the people. He could only hope the Crown Prince would realize his dream and make it a reality.
When the scene was edited, they played flashbacks of everything that Vincent had done. They showed every face of sorrow and madness; showed his face when he was suffering or starved so that his people could live another day. They showed how he sewed his clothes so that he could continue to use them a day longer. They showed every dark path he took to make his light come true. All of this was to show the audience the sides of the villain. Whether he had good or bad actions, his intentions had stayed true to the very end.
Seeing Vincent dead on the floor, Knight Commander Lewis took the crown that had fallen onto the ground and went to Felix. He knelt, hands extending the crown to the new King, King Felix Renuad.
King Felix thanked his trusted ally and put the crown on his head. He looked over at Vincent's former personal guards. "Take the former Prime Minister to his estate. Have his people arrange a proper burial for my teacher."
The personal guards saluted and gently picked Vincent up. This was their former master so they took the utmost care of him. They felt aggrieved to see the way their master died, but they could not stop the Knight Commander and his subordinates. Especially since they were outnumbered. They could only watch with regret from afar.
"Lewis, arrange for a meeting with the Court Officials. It is time to show them who their new King is."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The camera was angled to get the best profile of Crown Prince Felix. His face was not filled with pride or guilt but filled with determination. It could be seen from his expression that all his actions were thought out for the people.
"I will be the King of all Kings. A King that would completely trample on my father's reputation and one former Prime Minister Vincent will be proud of."
With his expression, no one could find fault in the young King who betrayed his teacher.
But only King Felix knew how he truly felt.
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"And cut!" The Director wiped the sweat on his forehead. He was happy that the actors and actresses had made this episode perfect. There was not a single fault and he was even surprised by Alec's smile that wasn't mentioned in the script. Even so, it made the scene even more emotional.
"Alec, to think just a simple smile could turn that scene into something so heart-wrenchingly beautiful." The Director praised Alec highly.
"Thank you, Director, it was honestly unintentional."
"Even so, it was amazing. Good job." He then moved over to praise all the other cast members for a successful episode.
After a while, everyone said goodbye to Alec who had his last shooting for the season. The next time they would see him would be at the after-party in a few weeks. He got flowers, stuffed animals, and lots of hugs. Even if he looked stiff, everyone (besides Stephan) knew it was because he didn't know what to do.
When Alec and Damien got into the car, Damien asked the usual. "Where do you want to eat dinner?"
"Sushi," Alec answered with a serious expression. He was very keen on eating sushi.
Damien laughed. "Alright, since you did good today, and it's your last episode of this season, we can celebrate with sushi."
It was a happy occasion for Alec and Damien.
Meanwhile, the climax annoyed Stephan to no end. The TV show was supposed to have him as the MC, but it somehow turned into the struggles of the so-called Villain, who saw his plans through to the end with no regret. His own character could even be viewed as someone with ulterior motives who is also ungrateful to his teacher.
"Tsk. I was supposed to be playing a princely gentle character. How did it turn out like this? It’s fine, I can still ruin him..."
What Stephan failed to realize was that written words can be interpreted in different ways. The intentions and meanings behind those words become something more when a person is saying or acting them out. Stephan had ill intentions towards Alec since the very beginning and that was portrayed in his acting. He helped shift the story to what it was. Alec didn't have such intentions towards Stephan. He just let Stephan cause his own downfall. Their personalities, though subtle in terms of acting, changed a lot to the story.
The directors knew that but thought it was a good change so he didn’t say anything. He let the actors run the story even though it was different from what he had originally envisioned.
It was time for the people to see Alec in a different light.
