In the Academy there were vast zones in which the power of well-used magic artificially created nature, especially forests and plains. Such a thing was common in noble schools, but taken to perfection there. 

The objective was to create a safe place inside school walls where one could run, walk or just enjoy the environment.

In the Academy an idyllic view had been created. Flowers and trees, rivers and birds singing. There was a huge forest, going from one side to the other of the border, completely protected from outside intervention. If you chose to run for two hours, you'd still not reach the end.

In the exact middle of that forest, there was the only one place that the Sun didn’t reach completely.

Right in that beautiful place, far from everyone, steps were heard.

 

Alas found it obvious that Sophia would be there. If she had been used to being under the Sun, her position would’ve been impossible to know certainly.

But this was the only place that meshed two things she liked: being alone and remaining as white as a vampire in the skin.

 

“Are you here to confess your love?”

Giving her shoulders to the intruder that had made his steps rather clear, she said such a thing. That was probably what she expected, what she was used to.

 

“No, nothing like that.” Said that person. He had a lot of time as nobody knew he was here or could reach him. But he also had to play around the Princess’s patience.

He needed to get a more realistic mental portrait of her, even if only through small talk.

‘This person can be threatening for Kaios,’ he thought. ‘She’s very unpredictable, so it seems.’

 

“Oh.” She answered. “I thought it was that because of how you looked at me.”

She explained, then finally chose to turn around and look at the intruder.

“Not that it would be a rare occurrence, anyway.” Sophia pointed out, seeing how the boy in front of her wasn’t talking.

 

“And you knew it was me before even looking?” Alas asked, genuinely curious.

“Yes, it was obvious, almost intuitive. Nobody else would’ve had the courage to follow me to such a remote place, if not the only one able to keep eye contact.”

“I see.” He sincerely answered. “It could’ve been the Prince too, couldn’t it? He seemed quite familiar.”

Those words were meant to start a conversation about Kaios. He was unsure whether this would really work with someone who was prepared to avoid spilling secrets, but it didn’t hurt to try.

 

“He would have no reason to. We spoke enough today.” She answered.

“When two people are friends, ‘enough’ means nothing.” 

Again, taking position for no reason. Alas didn’t really believe in what he said. He just wanted her to confirm whether Kaios was considered as a friend or as a foe, maybe even as a lover by this point.

 

“But we aren’t friends.” 

Then, the person took a strand of her hair and moved it away from eyes to see the person in front of her better.

“You talk with courage for an idiot.” She pointed out.

 

“I can’t even bear with him. But it’s not his fault.” 

‘What?’ Alas thought, shocked from the reveal. He supposed a few emotions wouldn’t hurt at that point, so he let his feelings emerge freely. 

Just previously his expression could’ve been described as a ‘poker face.’

 

The Princess in front of him, who at first seemed a person like countless others, had said something unexpected. Very unexpected.

“Sit down.” Said Sophia, almost like an order. “It’ll be a long story. It’s clear you’re not only interested, but I ask you not to say anything.”

 

 

Her gaze was terrifying. It showed danger just like a red sign. The agent, who had been in the scariest situations and was easily the best assassin in Qeo, still felt a vague sense of terror.

“Tell me something, since you hide in your eyes many experiences and seem like an interesting person who doesn’t fear. What do you think about ‘freedom’?”

 

That was Sophia’s first real question.

“Those of Qeo think it’s a great thing. I don’t doubt it. But in my nation, duty is always more important.” The white-haired girl added.

 

In reality, the boy had no answer. So, he felt like trying to understand the situation better.

“Do you disagree?”

“It’d be hard to.”

“You’re not saying you agree, though.” He pointed out, then realized the person in front of him had no intention of helping him anymore. Her face was cold.

 

“Do you miss your freedom? Do you not like that your marriage has been chosen for you?” He immediately asked, trying to complete the hidden link between her words.

 

“I wish it was only this.” Sophia answered, shocking Alas again. Her face was disillusioned, unhappy, almost void.

“If freedom is the ability to make one’s choices without outside influence, I won’t ever be free.”

 

“Me neither, then.” Alas answered in a heartbeat. 

It was hard to see the change in the Princess’s expression, but there was one. She was now minimally interested in the conversation.

“But you seem quite happy about it.” The white-haired girl pointed out. A direct comparison based on external factors between the two would be easy here: she was unhappy, he was not.

 

“Sure. I don’t think there’s anything innately wrong with following someone else, if you lack the ability to be yourself. Do you know what you want to become? If you knew, you’d be a rebel by now. You'd not accept them choosing for you." 

Without practically adding anything new to the discussion, Alas had unconsciously tried to make Sophia understand her way to see freedom was just condemning herself to unhappiness. 'If choices not taken by you favour you, why would you be mad?'

 

Sophia didn’t answer. She had a thoughtful expression on her face, but didn’t seem like she wanted to continue talking.

Alas just shrugged, understanding their discussion was over.

 

“Maybe I shouldn’t have said that…” he thought, thinking that maybe he had hurt her. Her view of things, in his opinion, was needlessly pessimistic, but how could she be blamed? He had more freedom of choice than her, despite not even needing it.

 

So, he stood up and chose to leave, but the gaze of the Princess, as he noticed, wasn’t full of hate as he expected. It was more one of curiosity.

'You misunderstand.' She thought to herself. 'I'm already doing something to change my current situation.'

 

Then, Alas turned around one last time.

“You don’t want to be a Princess, do you?”

“Nor an Empress.” She said, fairly surprised by the odd thing the boy had said, which was true. Those paper rankings annoyed her to no end. Power was something much simpler, which didn't have the same limits as a role in society. 

 

"Is your mother, the Empress of Xal, at fault?"

This was, in Alas’s mind, not that rare. Many people disliked being nobles, so it’d only be normal that someone disliked being a royal. When you’re born into something — he soon realized — it’s not impossible to hate it even just because of that. 

“W-what?” Now she was really surprised. Her blue eyes, previously lacking any emotion, were now fully interested.

“You don’t want to be like her, or to become like her. You’re annoyed by being similar to her, following her orders, choosing her choices. That’s why you hate being a royal, isn’t it? Because she is one. She is both unwinnable competition and a sense of duty that kills your life.”

‘No, what am I doing?’ Alas immediately thought. ‘Just because her feelings are quite interesting and she’s unique, it doesn’t mean that I have to analyze her. I can be punished for disrespect to a royal now…”

 

“So, what should I do?” The girl asked, losing at that point the sense of indifference she held towards the person who was talking to her.

 

“It’s just your age.” The Agent soon realized he had an agenda to push and this was the easiest way to do it. “If you marry Prince Kaios and become an adult, you’ll probably enjoy your life as a royal later on.”

After those words, he was definitely gone from that sweet spot under the shadows of trees.

He could bet that being pale was not an aesthetic objective for her, but a sense of antithesis.

‘All my money on her mother being tanned.’ He thought to himself.

 

Despite Alas's first impression of Sophia, the two were quite different. 

‘I think relations between Qeo and Xal in the future will be better, when she ascends to the throne.’ He thought.

What he didn’t know was that the girl herself had shown, just like before, a side of herself. This was common… making other people see what they want to see. 

 

“Me… hating my mother. Maybe it’s true. The rest clearly isn’t. I have clear goals set for myself.” She thought. “But I wonder if he thinks he has found a person who's similar to him now."

She had also gotten a few conclusions.

"He thinks I hate my mother because I don't want to be a royal. That's wrong. I hate her because she's the main roadblock for my plans."

Alas had underestimated her. The presence of marquises in Class 1A was already very suspicious, but her behaviour was often contradictory too. This person knew well how to play with dangerous and smart individuals.

 

"But he's definitely interesting." She said to herself, there not being anybody to listen. "He seems the sort of person who would struggle to get up from their bed*... but he isn't. I wonder why that is."

 

"Still..."

'A secret agent, isn’t he?' The girl with an aethereal look thought, thinking about what she would do in the near future.

“So, he won’t have any interest in talking to me after this.” She reached that conclusion, understanding his primary objective was guaranteeing a good relationship between her and the Prince.

 

There was no relationship, though. Well, the Princess had been as insincere as possible about the figure of Kaios, one that she thought was quite harmless.

‘Still a kid… full of insecurities.’ He had been so timid at the beginning because he felt inferior. She had to talk very informally to change such a thing.

‘I won’t marry him for sure. I don’t hate him, but it’s like marrying an eight year old.’ She believed, considering the gap in maturity.

 

'But what a distorted view of freedom. I don't get it.' She thought back on the conversation she had with Alas. 'Freedom, after all, is just a matter of power.'

'The mighty king and the farmer can have the same freedom in the end, despite their ambitions being so different. That's because they can both be able or unable to control their external circumstances. As long as a farmer has power, they are equal to a king, if not better. And they can become one, if they so desire.'

'And as long as a king is a puppet of his family, then he's equal to a farmer.'

'That's why...

My plans will go on.'

-=-

*depression.