Prince Ardwyn walked as if he believed the floor should feel grateful to be stepped on by his boots.
He was surrounded by a suffocating Empero.
Golden hair that bordered on white, falling down to his shoulders. Amber eyes that looked carved by a god's personal jeweler, and a jawline so square you could use it to level a wall. He wore the Mayorka uniform, but with royal modifications: golden trim, buttons bearing the seal of the Jahke crown, and a white cape that was... unnecessarily long; it dragged half a meter across the floor.
Beside him, two royal guards in armor that reflected like polished silver followed his lead.
The entire hall bowed.
You might think it was a bow born of pure respect. But the truth is, everyone did it out of sheer survival instinct.
Everyone, except me.
"Stay behind me," I murmured.
"I'm not some damsel, Dariel," Lianza hissed from my side.
Lianza began to release her Empero.
"I know. But he doesn't."
Ardwyn advanced among the nobles, who parted like the sea before the bow of a ship. His smile was the kind painted in official portraits: so perfect it seemed rehearsed, and soulless. His eyes swept the hall until they landed on Lianza.
And they stopped.
Not on me. To the prince, I was as important as the furniture.
"Princess D'Tariel," he said, with that deep voice that made readers sigh in the web novel. "I thought I would arrive before you. It seems destiny has the kindness of always keeping me one step behind."
He approached. Too much. Each stride reduced the space between him and Lianza with a confidence that made the hair on my arms stand on end.
Lianza didn't step back. She couldn't. Her ice mask was her only defense, and breaking it here, in front of half the hall, would be openly admitting weakness.
Ardwyn stopped one step away from her. His gaze dropped. From her eyes to her neck, to her neckline. It was quick. But I had seen it.
And something inside my head screamed at me to move.
I took a step sideways. I positioned myself between them, enveloped by their Emperos.
You see, the color of Empero is reflected in the user's eyes. And as you might have deduced, Lianza's is garnet.
And there they were, both Emperos, one garnet and the other golden, mixing together.
Let me explain again: if you mix garnet red and gold, the result varies. If the red dominates, you get a reddish-brown or mahogany tone with a bright metallic gleam... but if the gold dominates, it produces a warm, bright orange.
The result was the latter, a warm, bright orange.
Ardwyn's Empero had no equal in the web novel.
The prince blinked. As if he had just noticed a pillar—meaning me—where there hadn't been one before.
"Ah," he said. "The bodyguard."
"Your Highness," I replied.
"Could you step aside? The princess and I were conversing."
Lianza, behind me, dug her nails into my forearm.
"You weren't conversing, Your Highness," I replied, pointing my index finger at the orange Empero. "You were invading her space."
Ardwyn stared at me. His golden eyes lost that brilliance of a portrait painting considered a work of art, and gained a more... ominous tone.
"Excuse me?"
"I said you were invading her space," I repeated slowly, as if speaking to a child.
"The princess is very reserved about her proximity. I suppose a man with your upbringing would understand that."
Ardwyn's smile widened. And, to be honest, that did terrify me.
"How considerate. The princess has a very... attentive guard."
"I'm exceptionally good at protecting what I consider mine," I said defiantly.
The words came out on their own. Impulsively on their own. And the moment they left my mouth, I knew they had gone too far.
The entire hall would add more weight to them.
Lianza stopped breathing behind my back.
Ardwyn chewed on them as if they were metal.
"Yours?" he repeated after savoring it. His voice dropped half a pitch. "Interesting choice of words for a noble from a cradle so low I'd break my neck bending down to look at it." He paused to look at Lianza. "And you do so while speaking of a real princess."
"With your permission, Your Highness, the choice of words is mine. As is the responsibility."
Ardwyn made another pause. He studied me. He was a predator evaluating something he didn't expect to find in his territory. His eyes moved from my face to my hands, from my hands to my posture, from my posture to Lianza, who remained motionless behind me.
Then he smiled again. But this time it was different. His Empero became thicker and brighter; I could feel it brushing against my skin. If he decided to release it all at once at this short distance, it would undoubtedly kill me. And what was worse: my Lianza could be seriously injured.
"Interesting. You are interesting, Elcronne," he said. "Most guards know when to stay silent. You haven't learned that trick yet, it seems. But it's understandable... time teaches everything."
He touched his right pocket with one hand. It seemed to be a parchment-shaped letter. But then he pulled his hand away and turned around. His cape swept the floor. He walked to the other end of the hall, where a group of nobles waited with more of those prepared bows.
My hand was trembling. The muscles in my back were as tense as violin strings.
Lianza released my forearm; she did it slowly, finger by finger, each one requiring an effort.
"Dariel," she whispered. "You just declared war on the crown prince of Jahke."
"I know."
"And you don't care?"
I held my trembling hand with the other, and squeezed it.
"No."
"He will kill you if he sees fit."
"He'll have to go through me first."
"That's what I just told you, and it's also what has me so worried."
I turned to look at her. Her garnet eyes were moist.
"Are you okay?" I said. "Are you?"
"Clearly I'm not," she snapped, and her voice was louder than she expected; it cracked a millimeter. "He didn't look into my eyes... he looked... down... somewhere else."
To be honest, it was very hard for a man not to notice that part of Lianza. But that didn't make me any less angry.
"I know. And that's why I will step in every damn time it's necessary."
[⚠️ CRITICAL ALERT: Mandatory Mission]
[Hello again! Our hero has marked the User as a threat. The plot is accelerating. So I'm going to accelerate things too. 😊]
[Objective: Locate and flirt with the heroine before sunset. You must make her feel flattered. Can you make her blush more than Alexia?]
[Penalty for non-compliance: Lianza D'Tariel will suffer an "accident" with sulfuric acid in the Alchemy lab. The evidence will point to Alexia Vane. See how everything connects, Romeo? 😊]
Telling me such things and sending me the emoji of a brightly smiling face twice. How creepy...
Acid. The system intended to threaten me with acid.
Acid on my Lianza's face.
I looked out the window. The sun was setting. I had until sunset.
"Dariel," Lianza said. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"You're lying."
"I always lie when I say 'nothing'."
"Then stop saying 'nothing'."
"I have to go run an errand."
"An errand?"
"I'll be back soon."
"Dariel Elcronne, if you leave me alone to go keep fighting with that prince..."
"I'll be back. I swear. I'll be back before you know it."
"I already know it, so stay."
I allowed myself to look at her for a few seconds, our hands clasped. If I failed, that beautiful sharp face and those soft pink lips you'd fall asleep on would vanish from this world.
I let go of her hand. I shouldn't have. But there was no choice. I had to find the heroine before the sun touched the horizon.
I ran out of the hall.