Some days passed as Melora continued to train hard and spent her free time dealing with the delegation who did not want to leave. They used the excuse of waiting for the crown prince so they could continue the negotiations in earnest, but she knew they were using this time to spy on her. Arthur decided to assign guards; at first, the delegation was against it, but he insisted, and they sheepishly accepted. After finishing her early morning training, she took a bath and donned her usual outfit.

  She made her way to the dining hall with a small retinue of maids behind her. She paused before the door as one of the maids opened it. She entered the hall and passed the delegation, then took her seat at the center of the table. The maids followed shortly after as they pced down the food. Arthur came in te as he bowed and took a seat to her right.

  Melora wordlessly started to eat as the rest followed. The delegation gave her gnces as if expecting something, but she had grown tired of them. She cut a piece of bacon and ate it, savoring the taste for a moment, then reached for another piece. The door suddenly opened as a guard came out and bowed.

  “The Crown Prince of Segar has arrived.”

  “Invite him for some breakfast.” The guard bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. After a short time, the door swung open as James entered with two knights behind him. He had a wide smile on his face as he made his way to Melora’s side. He then kneeled and took her hand. He stared up at her, then pnted a small kiss on her hand.

  “I greet the Grand Duchess of Credoa.”

  Melora was momentarily stunned by this stunt; she did not think that he would be so brazen. “You must be hungry; let’s have some breakfast.”

  “Thank you for the invitation.” James stood up, then stared at Arthur, who sat closest to Melora. Arthur understood his intentions, and he did not take it well. He ignored the crown prince and continued to eat. One of the knights then pced his hand on Arthur’s shoulder. He pced down his fork, then cleaned his mouth with a napkin. Melora understood Arthur better than anyone, and she knew how much he despised people who touched him without permission.

  “I really don’t care who you are, but I will warn you once. Remove your hand from my shoulder, or I will cut it off.”

  “It is fine, Arthur.” Arthur slowly stood up from his seat, then stood behind Melora. James happily took the seat as a fresh pte of food was pced before him.

  “You have truly bloomed into a beautiful flower, Grand Duchess.”

  “You ftter me, Your Highness.” James stared at Melora, whose beauty was intoxicating; she glowed brighter than any jewel he had seen. It was then he noticed a neckce hanging around her neck.

  “Did you receive that neckce as a gift from someone?”

  “This is a gift from a dear friend of mine.”

  “Wasn’t the neckce we gifted you not to your liking?”

  “It is just preference; the heart wants what it wants.”

  “I can agree to that.” James stared at Melora with gentle eyes; she simply smiled and finished her food. She wiped her mouth and excused herself. Arthur followed behind as he gave the group a st gnce. The hall fell quiet as James stared at the delegation.

  “Were you able to make any progress?”

  “No, Your Highness.”

  “I expected as much. Were you able to find out anything of note?” Orson shook his head as James gave him an icy look. He slowly got up from his seat and walked out, with the two knights following him.

  “Do not provoke Arthur like that again.”

  “The Reaper of Credoa, he is disappointing in person.” A husky voice could be heard as James let out a sigh. Vines then appeared on the side of the walls and bloomed beautiful purple flowers. The vines continued to grow as the entire hallway was now covered. James walked towards the vines when the knight stopped him.

  “It might be poisonous, and also, there is a fairy somewhere close.” It was then the fairy came out of the vines and zoomed around the hallway as she inspected her work. James reached out to catch her, but the fairy flew right in front of him.

  “Are you lost, Your Highness?” Arthur spoke in a low tone as he turned to face him; he wore his usual smile.

  “Yes, I was looking for the Grand Duchess.”

  “She is waiting for you in the garden; follow me.” Arthur started to walk, with the fairy now sat on his shoulder. This was not his first time seeing a fairy, but they were usually heavily sedated or dead. The way the wizards described fairies as wild, unpredictable, and extremely dangerous, yet there was one on Arthur’s shoulder.

  They followed him to the back of the castle, where there was a retively rge garden. Even though it didn’t compare to the pace back in the empire, it was still very beautiful and alluring. Melora could be seen sitting alone, drinking some tea. The fairy flew towards Melora, as squeaking sounds could be heard with her nodding, then returned to Arthur, who left, but the two knights remained. James sat across from her as she poured him some tea.

  “What brings you here, Your Majesty?” James took a sip, then stared at Melora, who was smiling. Something about that seemed off.

  “I came to make sure the alliance remained strong and also to secure military support from Credoa. Many have died so far at the hands of the monsters; we did not expect such a thing would happen.”

  “As I have mentioned to the delegation, we have a subjugation of our own, so we won’t be able to support the empire.”

  “I understand, but this matter is far more important.” Melora stared at James as she took another sip of tea.

  “I will see what we can do?”

  “I also wanted to formally ask for your hand in marriage. I believe this will be enough to put an end to this senseless war. Credoa is an important part of the empire.”

  James raised his hand as one of the knights stepped forward with a small case and a sheathed sword. He opened the small case, revealing a beautiful ring with a white crystal, then the knight handed her a sword. She slightly unsheathed the sword; the spine of the sword was silver, and its edge pure bck. It was a retively thin sword, but she could tell it was very well made.

  “This sword is a symbol of my intentions. It was created using a mixture of mithril and adamantite; it was made by Goro, and it took three years to finish.”

  Melora sheathed the sword and pced it on the table. Her eyes then nded on the beautiful ring, then moved to James. A smile appeared on her face as James’s hopes slowly rose. She picked up the ring and stared at it.

  “This ring was also made by Goro, using the same metals.”

  Suddenly, Melora’s arms erupted into a purple fire as the heat increased. The knights approached James, but he stopped them. The heat continued to increase as the ring started to glow red. Some time passed as the heat became even more unbearable.

  “Your words and actions do not match, Your Highness.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I find it funny how you choose to py dumb. Do I truly need to spell it out for you?”

  The ring slowly started to melt as the crystal started to crack under the intense heat. Finally, it gave out as it shattered into pieces, and the molten metal fell, burning through the table. James narrowed his eyes as he watched the purple fmes disappear; he had miscalcuted her strength.

  “The empire betrayed me. My knights died protecting me, then I was thrown in a hole surrounded by orcs who fed me shit.” Melora aggressively hit the table, breaking it. Tea fell on James’s clothing and face.

  “You have the audacity to come here and think I would even consider this. Who do you take me for?”

  “My intention was not to insult you.”

  “All you have done is insult me and Credoa, every step of the way. You don’t think I know what the empire and the former grand duke plotted?”

  James remained silent as he shook his head in disappointment, then got up from his seat. It was then a sharp sp could be heard. James fell to the ground while holding his reddened cheeks. The two knights stepped forward and unsheathed their swords.

  “Take one more step, and both of you will die. Don’t even think of turning around.”

  One of the knights sharply turned as he released his mana. Arthur’s rapier easily deflected the attack, then pierced the knight’s head through his visor. He then released his mana, making his held explode as the knight’s body to the ground.

  “You are a long way from home, little prince.”

  “This is an act of war, Grand Duchess! Do you understand what your actions mean?” Melora picked up the sword and unsheathed it. She slowly walked towards James, who was scrambling to get up. The remaining knight attacked Melora, but she easily blocked the attack.

  “Are you even a knight? You are all pathetically weak.” The knight swung his sword once more, but Melora easily dodged, then cut off both of his arms. The knight fell to his knees as Melora beheaded him. Her dark dress was now covered in blood and brain matter. She grabbed James by the neck and lifted him up as if he weighed nothing.

  “If you kill me, then you won’t be able to avoid war. Think through your actions really carefully.”

  “I have thought about it, and thanks to you, my decision has been made.” A loud crashing could be heard as Melora turned towards the source of the commotion, then back to James, who was still struggling to free himself. Melora raised her weapon as Arthur took it, her hand becoming engulfed by the purple fme.

  “Your little shadows won’t help you; they are being dealt with as we speak.”

  “Wait, please don’t do this! I will do anything you ask of me; there must be another way.” Tears started to roll down his beautiful face as he continued to struggle; he even summoned his mana, but it was futile. She brought his hand closer to his face as he tried to look away. It was then pee started to drip down his pants.

  “Shh, don’t fight it.” Melora touched James’s face as he combusted into a purple bze. He screamed and struggled, but it was for naught. Melora let go of his burning body as he squirmed on the ground. Melora watched until his body finally stopped moving and simply burned. The skin slowly turned into a goop as his bones started to crack under the intense heat. This marked the beginning of the war.