厨房从后面挺进李婷

In the reflection, a beautiful girl with emerald hair was looking back at me, but her expression didn\'t look very enthusiastic.

To keep me from getting bored, Melinda used to fill the empty space during such procedures with cheerful conversation. When I was in a good mood, I encouraged them.

But today all I said was:

— If you want, you can take the day off and go for a walk.

— Madam, what are you talking about! — The maid cried out fervently, «How can I go without you?»

She smiled wryly.

— I am not in the mood today.

Melinda puffed out her cheeks. She had grown up since we had first met, outwardly but inwardly she was still the same. She also hadn\'t sold the pendant I\'d given her back then, and she still wore it around her neck.

The pretty girl, with freckles and brown hair, seemed perfectly ordinary, but at the same time she had a heart that was rare for a commoner and unselfish. Sometimes I felt sorry for her that she was wasting her youth in this palace instead of arranging her personal life.

— Madam, you don\'t go out much as it is! — She objected, «And you have such pretty hair today. Why not go into the garden? It\'s the beginning of the blooming season in the Imperial Greenhouse.»

I shrugged.

— Exactly. Why would I need that hairstyle if I\'m sitting here anyway.

— Madam…! — The maid exhaled.

Melinda knew I still hadn\'t come to terms with my current situation, much less the title of crown princess. This palace was a stranger to me, and I had no desire to consider it my new home. Eventually, though, if things continued this way, one day I would have to accept it.

Realizing this, Melinda didn\'t insist when I asked her not to address me like this in private. It was sickening to hear «Your Highness» once again.

Meanwhile, the maid still tried to cheer me up. From the moment I entered the palace, she tried in vain to induce me to be more active.

It did little good, though.

— If you don\'t want to go outside, shall we walk through the palace? There are many more halls you have not seen.

— But in the palace, I\'ll be sure to meet Rachel.

— I-it\'s…

Despite the fast-approaching wedding, the girl was well aware of our relationship. And that it was all against my will. With that in mind, I didn\'t want to run into Rachel at all in this place.

There was a short silence in the room.

— Melinda, just leave me alone. I want to be alone for a while.

«Mistress, you almost always want to be alone…!» — those words threatened to come out of the maid\'s mouth, but she held back. She knew it was never easy for anyone here.

In the end she decided not to argue and obeyed orders.

Melinda was about to leave my quarters as soon as she finished brushing her hair, but at that moment…

There was a sudden noise of some kind on the lower floors. It sounded like something you might catch during a massacre of some kind.

I started to get worried.

— What on earth is going on?

The maid rushed to reassure me.

— Madam, don\'t worry. Everything in the palace is under control.

— But just now…! — I objected…» It sounded as if there had been a fight.

— W-it\'s…» She hesitated, trying to think of an excuse, «It\'s the training of the guards! Yes! It\'s their training day.»

— «Training…?» — I asked.

— So it is,» I nodded vigorously, «Don\'t worry, ma\'am. It will soon be over.»

— Mmm… Okay.

I tentatively agreed, though deep down I was still anxious. But why would Melinda lie to me?

She must be.

***

There was a sudden commotion in the imperial palace of the Empire of Azeroth.

As if out of nowhere, someone who, until recently, had considered this place his home appeared before the gates. It was where he had grown up and spent his childhood, and where he had many fond memories.

Now he was forced to trespass here as an enemy of the empire.

A handsome young man a little older than a teenager — with short black hair and blue eyes. Dressed in the traveling costume of an aristocrat.

Some of the servants recognized him and gasped in surprise.

— Your Highness…!

— Let me in at once! — Razor Blanche demanded,» Or have you forgotten who this country really belongs to?

Despite the fact that this guy was the true and last descendant of the Blanche dynasty, the guards had to draw their swords against him. For now, even he had no power left here.

— You…!

The second prince was terribly outraged that his father\'s once loyal knights were now treating him this way. But since there was nothing to be done, he was already about to draw his weapon himself to force his way through.

The carnage at the gates of the imperial palace was about to begin, but…

At that moment, the commander of the guards received a message: the queen had given permission to let him in.

The men looked at each other uncertainly, then put their swords back in their scabbards. Razor exhaled angrily, then rushed inside and ran down the corridor. No one else stopped him.

The second prince ran until he stopped at the throne room. Rachel was already waiting for him there.

The boy didn\'t hesitate to swing the door open with a kick of his foot, and the scene he saw made his heart swell with anger.

The throne where his father had once sat and should have passed to his older brother was now occupied by the heiress of the Cassius family.

As in his original vision, the girl had pulled off a coup d\'état. Only this time, instead of slaughtering the entire palace and committing suicide afterward, she seized power. It was something the boy didn\'t expect at all.

But why…?! Why did further events unfold in this way?

— You…! — Razor held out a finger trembling with anger against her,» How dare the Cassius clan betray us?!

Rachel watched the change in his expression-without much interest. Because she knew from the start that this was what would happen. She had only agreed to let him in so that he wouldn\'t make an even bigger fuss and thereby get Leriana\'s attention.

She wasn\'t supposed to know that her best friend had come for her.

— You\'re pretty brave for showing up here yourself. No, more like an idiot.

Razor flared up.

— How dare you say such a thing after what you\'ve done! — This palace has always been my home.

— Not anymore.

— How dare you…!

— Ah,» Rachel pretended to sigh, «I advise you not to make a scene here, or you\'ll repeat your brother\'s fate.»

— Wha…? — The other prince dropped dead when he brought it up.

Rachel laughed sarcastically.

— The Imperial worm cried so hard when I came for him,» she said with particular pleasure, «begged me not to kill him and let him live… I only regret that he had already crossed my path.

When Rachel began to speak of how she had mocked Philip before he died, Razor could not stand it and drew his sword from its sheath.

— Enough is enough! — He shouted,» Shut up!

Rachel grinned.

— Shut up,» Rachel grinned. «What is it? Are you going to fight me?»

— I\'ll never forgive you! — Tears of desperation and anger came to his eyes,» After all this time… I\'ll avenge my family right now!»

— …

— Don\'t think I\'m as weak as I was then. I can fight back now!

The boy\'s words were backed up by action. In these three years, Razor Blanche had really changed. Though he did not grow taller, he looked much stronger than before. All of this was the result of the hard training he had undergone. In any case, the prince could not be hurt as easily as before.

But the scene produced did not impress Rachel one bit.

While the boy\'s blue eyes lit up, preparing to engage in a deadly and possibly last fight for him, the girl didn\'t even bother to come down from the throne.

— I\'ll only let you live because you\'re a friend of the crown princess,» she declared, «So get out of here before I change my mind.»

Razor was very angry that she didn\'t even take him seriously.

— I said I wanted to fight you!

Rachel sighed heavily.

— I think your head would look great on a palace peak, too,» she admitted, «Except that Lerian wouldn\'t be too pleased if one day she caught a scene like that on her balcony…»

— You…!

— Besides,» Rachel\'s scarlet pupils suddenly flashed, «I\'m well aware of what you\'ve done.»

Her earlier indifference evaporated in an instant as the girl\'s tone turned icy.

Even Razor was involuntarily shaken by that deadly stare.

Finally, Rachel slowly rose from her throne.

— It was you,» she began with terrible calm, «You helped Lerian escape three years ago.»