"SHOULD WE turn down Her Royal Highness's request?"

Marianne shook her head. "If we turn down the royal princess's request, she'd only be suspicious of us."

Right now, they were in their room while having tea.

She made tea for her husband who looked very anxious at the moment. Of course, she felt the same way. But she knew that panicking wouldn't bring them anywhere.

"Can't we use your pregnancy as an excuse?" Maverick asked. "I don't really think that accepting the royal princess's offer is the wisest choice."

"I don't want to be anywhere near the royal princess, too," she said. "But if I avoid her, she'll definitely realize that I already know what I am. We can't underestimate her even though she's just a child."

"Marianne, the royal princess might kill you right away."

"She won't," she assured her husband. "If Her Royal Highness wants to kill me right away, then she would have done it as soon as she found out that I'm a Fire Mage. But if she wants to get closer to me, it means she needs something from me."

"Marianne…" He let out a frustrated sigh. "I called Morgan a while ago. He told me that running to Oakes will put us in more danger."

She nodded in agreement. "Lord Morgan is right. This isn't the right time to run away."

Her husband didn't respond this time but she could see in his face how worried he was.

"I will find out what Her Royal Highness wants with me and our baby," Marianne said, then she put her hand on top of her husband's hand. "Maverick, please trust me."

"I will talk to Morgan again to understand Fire Mages better," Maverick said, then he held her hand and brought it close to his lips. "I will protect you with all that I have, Marianne." He kissed the back of her hand. "You and our baby."

***

"NIA."

Nia stopped admiring the Moonflowers in her garden when Aku arrived. She turned around to face him, then she smiled and bowed to him. "Greetings, Your Royal Highness."

"Why are you being so formal?" Aku complained. "You can talk to me casually, Nia."

"You're the crown prince of the empire, Your Royal Highness," she reminded him with a smile. As the royal princess, she was raised perfectly as a beautiful doll who was supposed to only smile at the crown prince. "I can't speak casually to you."

He scowled at that. Then, he turned to all the servants and knights around them. "Leave us alone," he said sternly. "I need to speak with the royal princess in private."

The servants and the knights looked hesitant to leave.

But as soon as Aku glared at them, they all bowed their heads and scrammed.

A tyrant in the making, I see.

"Nia, why do I feel like you're being distant to me?" Aku said while they were walking around the luxurious garden to admire the Moonflowers. "Did I do or say something to make you upset?"

She shook her head. "I think you're just feeling that way because we hadn't seen each other for a while."

Her brother had been away for almost a year.

As far as she knew, Aku went to the North for his "training." But she knew her brother went there for a different reason.

"I'm sorry for leaving you for that long, Nia," Aku said, then he gently patted the top of her head. "Don't worry. That will be the last time that I will make you feel alone."

She just smiled at his promise that she really didn't care about. "How was your trip to the North, Brother?"

"It was fun," Aku said with an unusual bright smile. "I found a really cute baby there."

"A baby?"

He nodded. "I wanted to bring him home and make him my younger brother."

"Then, why did you come back alone?"

"His guardian was stubborn," he said in a frustrated voice. "He hid the baby from me."

"It's unlike you to just let them go, Brother," she said. "I'm sure you could have easily found them if you chased them."

"That's true," he said while nodding his head. "But I decided to wait until he's strong enough to serve me."

"You seem to have been enamored by this "baby," Brother."

"What are you saying, Nia?" he said with a soft laugh. "You're still the cutest for me."

She just chuckled at that creepy statement.

"By the way, I heard that you hired Lady Prescott as your new dance teacher," Aku said. "Is there a particular reason why you chose her, Nia?"

"I heard that Lady Prescott is the best dancer among the noble ladies," she said. "Is there a problem with my choice, Brother?"

He shook his head. "House Prescott has always been a part of the Royal Faction. They're also arguably the richest family in the empire. It would be nice if you deepen our relationship with House Prescott. They can help me succeed the throne in the future."

"Yes, Brother."

She was actually relieved that Aku didn't seem to know that Lady Prescott and her baby were Fire Mages.

It was as if his brother truly believed that the Fire Mages had been wiped out. Well, one of his flaws was his arrogance. He believed in himself too much. But this time, his too much faith in himself played to her advantage.

As long as Brother Aku is confident that the Fire Mages have been wiped out a long time ago, then I can move freely.

"Nia?"

"Yes, Brother?"

"Now that I've been announced as the crown prince, you know what's next, don't you?"

She clenched her fists. But she smiled and nodded anyway. "Yes, Brother. I'm preparing to be a suitable wife for you."

"Excellent," Aku said with a satisfied smile. "I can't wait to be married to you, Nia."

Nia wanted to vomit but she smiled anyway. "I feel the same, Brother."

***

"THE WHITE Tower isn't happy that I'm frequently visiting your palace, Princess Nia."

Nia continued to arrange the Moonflowers in the vase without looking up at Lahara who sat from across her.

Right now, the two of them were in her room. The female doctor in-charge of her physical health just finished checking up on her. The female doctor was delighted to know that she just had her first period.

The damned doctor was happy to know that she was now capable of getting pregnant. To think about that towards a child…

How disgusting.

"Are you alright, Princess Nia?" Lahara asked while pouring some tea in her teacup. "You seem upset."

"There's going to be a banquet tonight," Nia said. "We will celebrate the fact that I just got my first period."

The mage laughed bitterly. "Everyone in this palace is crazy. You and the crown prince are still little kids and yet, they're already looking forward to your future heir."

This was why she liked Lahara.

If only she had enough power, she would like to take the mage out of the White Tower and make Lahara her personal knight. But since she was just a royal princess whose job was to bear a royal heir for the crown prince, she didn't have the power to choose her own people yet.

And for that reason, she had to suck up to Aku.

"Lahara, will you believe me if I tell you that before I was born as Nia Moonchester, I lived in a world where marrying your brother is against the law?" she asked the mage, then she looked at the mage to watch her reaction. "In that world, marrying your relative is called inc*st. Also, the babies born out of an incestuous relationship usually have birth defects."

Too bad it didn't work that way in their world.

In this world, aside from genes, babies were created from the Mana of their parents. That was why the Moonchester babies were still born healthily. Heck, they were even born with a beautiful appearance and strong Mana.

"I believe you, Princess Nia," Lahara said seriously. "I am not that narrow-minded to think that in this vast universe, only our world exists."

She smiled at that. Of course, she already expected that answer from Lahara. She wouldn't have been close to the mage if she didn't get her. "I'm glad that you think the same, Lahara."

"Your Royal Highness, there are quite a few mages that apparently travelled into different worlds," the mage said. "Do you want me to look for them and bring them to you?"

She shook her head. "I don't need to know more about the world that they've seen, Lahara. What I desire is to return to the world I came from before being reincarnated as Princess Nia." She looked at the Moonflowers with a sad smile. "But as long as my soul is tied to Aku, I will never be able to return to that world again."

Aku had followed her into that world before.

He hated it because it was a world where kings couldn't lead a country alone. He hated the laws that limited a king's power, and he hated the fact that marriage between siblings was illegal and frowned upon.

Also, Manas don't exist in that world. He knew that even if we conceive a child, there's a high possibility that the baby will have birth defect.

Aku, who valued perfection, couldn't stomach that possibility.

And so, he forcefully brought her back in this world.

To make Aku believe that he had finally "tamed" her, she pretended that she didn't remember their past life in the modern world.

"Your Royal Highness…"

"Don't pity me, Lahara," she scolded the mage. "I have a plan."

"I'll help you in any way I can, Princess Nia."

She was waiting for the mage to say that.

"Then, will you help me find a medicine that can destroy my reproductive organ?" she asked the mage. "I'd rather die than carry my brother's child in my womb."

"I support your decision, Your Royal Highness. But I'm afraid for you," Lahara said worriedly. "If His Royal Highness and His Majesty find out that you're trying to make yourself infertile, they will be very angry at you. And since you're the future empress, you can get executed for failing to give the future emperor a future heir."

"I'll make sure that I'd be freed from Aku before they find out that I'm trying to destroy my reproductive organs," Nia said coldly. "And for my plan to succeed, I need the heart of the Supreme Fire Mage."

***

MARIANNE was impressed.

Princess Nia's moved like flowing water. Her movements were graceful, and her beautiful face was very captivating. The royal princess was more feminine and elegant than most noble ladies she had met.

"How was it, Lady Prescott?" Princess Nia asked her after her dance performance. She just finished dancing but she didn't look tired. Heck, the royal princess wasn't even sweating. "Did I make you proud, Teacher?"

"Of course, Your Royal Highness," Marianne said with a smile. She knew that the royal princess was targeting her and her baby. But for some reason, she couldn't see a child as an enemy. "You're already a very elegant dancer. I'm sure you don't need me as a teacher anymore.

The royal princess smiled and nodded. "That's true, Lady Prescott."

That hurt her pride a bit.

"Oh, I apologize for being rude," the royal princess said with a bright smile. "But Teacher Prescott, we both know that I didn't request you to be here just to teach me how to dance when I'm already a brilliant dancer."

Okay, that sent shivers down her spine.

How did she know that I already know what I am…?

"The look in your eyes has changed," Princess Nia said with a smile. It was as if she could read her thoughts at that moment. "Lady Prescott, you already know that you're a Fire Mage that I'm currently targeting, don't you?"

She panicked a bit and thought about lying.

But the look in the royal princess's eyes told her that she couldn't escape that situation by lying. Also, she hated running away from confrontations.

Maverick hated the stubborn side of her and she knew he'd get upset with her decision to face Princess Nia.

And so, she held her ground despite the risks.

Marianne took a deep breath. Then, she finally asked the question that had been bothering her since she found out about her real identity. "Princess Nia, why are you hunting down the Fire Mages who survived the purge?" She instinctively clutched her stomach protectively. "What do you need from me and my baby?"

"Your heart," Princess Nia said seriously. "I need your heart to summon the sky beast, Lady Prescott." Then, the royal princess looked down at her stomach. "If your heart doesn't work, then I might need your baby's heart, Teacher."

She laughed at what the royal princess said.

But it was a laughed caused by disbelief. Did the little princess really say that she needed her heart and if it didn't work, she'd get her baby's heart instead?

"Princess Nia, you're right. I don't need to teach you how to dance," Marianne said with a "sweet" smile. "How about I teach you how to become a decent human being instead?"

***

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