Anna swallowed hard. She would be lying if she said she didn’t like it. The way her words and image was enough to strike fear into people’s hearts.

Then she remembered that it wasn’t even her face.

It was Princess orchid.

And for a fleeting moment, hot jealousy flashed inside Anna’s chest.

I’m losing my mind. She scolded herself, shaking those thoughts off. But still she wondered, what sort of life would I have had if I had power like her?

***

Anna did end up on an impromptu date with Azul in the gardens.

They sat across from each other, sipping tea. Well Anna tried to focus on the tea, no matter how bland it was, while also stealing glances at Azul.

He’s like a wall.

Azul barely moved. Yet despite his silence, he took up a lot of space. Anna felt really intimidated just being beside him.

"You don’t like tea?" She asked, after a few minutes.

"I hate the heat," Azul replied.

"Ah, that makes sense." She called for a servant and instructed them to bring some ice.

Minutes later, Azul stared at the cup of tea swirling with ice cubes. "Thank you, your highness." He said, but still didn’t touch the tea.

Anna bit her lip.

She desperately wished she knew the history between him and Princess Orchid. He was polite, but very distant. Anna began to feel like she was a chore he had to get done and tick off his to do list.

"You came looking for me," she spoke, trying not to pay attention to her thoughts.

"I came to offer my company."

She blinked. "You just wanted to see me?"

He gave a curt nod. "Yes."

Heat crept into Anna’s face. It wasn’t so often she heard such words. Though simple, their effect was profound.

She tucked her head, picked up her teacup and used it to hide half her face. "That’s really kind,"

"It’s simply my duty as your husband."

Anna sighed dreamily.

Out of all Orchids husbands, Azul was the one that felt like a true husband material.

Maybe he should teach a few tricks to Leon.

Anna instantly felt ashamed of her bitter thoughts. Especially when she recalled where Leon’s heart truly belongs.

[you have two hours left, host] the system echoed in her head.

Anna jumped to her feet.

The suddenness of her actions caused the table to rattle. The tea cups spilled over, some of it splashing on Azul’s lap.

"Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!" Anna exclaimed.

Before she could stop it, her old habit of apologizing and making amends kicked in.

She rushed over to Azul and began wiping the spilled tea off his lap. She didn’t even know what she was doing, her mind screamed at her.

Stupid.

Clumsy.

You can’t even do anything right!

You’re going to pay for that glass! Do you think money grows on trees?!

You lazy bitch!

Her hands moved frantically, apologies spewing non stop from her lips.

She didn’t hear Azul calling for her till he grabbed both her hands in one powerful grip and halted her actions.

Only then did Anna blink.

The haze in her head cleared, just enough for her to see what she had done.

A bright red flush overtook her features.

Not only had she made the stain worse, she had also spread it all over his lap and his...nether regions.

"Oh my–" Anna jerked back, her hands covering her mouth. "Azul I...I swear I’m not a pervert! I didn’t..."

"You shouldn’t apologize, your highness. You did nothing wrong."

Her lips pinned shut.

That’s it. I’m going to bury myself and plant strawberries on my grave! How could you be so embarrassing, Anna!

Azul calmly rose to his feet, like nothing had happened. Anna opened her mouth to apologize again but quickly caught herself.

My first date in this world ended in disaster. I knew it. I’m not cut out for love.

"Your highness!" A new voice yelled from the distance.

Anna’s mood turned terribly sour as she recognized that voice.

Leon marched his way up to her, flanked on both sides by a solider. Anna folded her arms and shot him an icy glare.

"Well, well, well. If it isn’t my murderous General? To what do I owe this visit?" Anna said, her tone sharp and biting.

Her dislike for Leon showed plainly on her face. She didn’t bother hiding it, nor was it an act.

Azul moved, like a silent shadow, and stood behind Anna. The soldiers that came with Leon noticed the change in the air and stepped back.

Leon grit his teeth. His eyes moved to Azul. The image of Azul behind The Princess was one that didn’t sit well with him.

Simply put, he hated it. He saw Azul as a traitor. A boot licking traitor.

"We suspect the detectors are broken, your highness." Leon forced the words out, pinning his eyes on The Princess. "Yesterday we got a reading for an Empath."

Anna blinked. Then blinked again. "An Empath? How does this concern me, General?"

What the fuck is an Empath and why does he say it like it’s bad news?! Detectors?! Oh my goodness it’s something brainy isn’t it?!

I’m fucked.

"There is a possible breach, your highness. If an Empath was able to slip in, either the detectors are broken, or the shields are down. My men ran an assessment of the shields this morning. All of them are fully functional."

The more Anna listened to Leon talk, the more her spirits wilted and wilted.

Everything he said sounded technical. Way too technical for Anna who had barely aced science classes with a C at best.

"Is this about my assassin?" She questioned, doing her best to imitate Princess Orchid’s detached manner of speaking as well as she could from two memories alone.

Leon nodded grimly.

Anna laughed. "General, really? Are you this incompetent? Maybe instead of checking if the detectors are broken, check upstairs."

"Upstairs where?"

Oh. Inside joke.

Inside, Anna was cackling. But outside, she remained calm and collected.

The systems task continued to count down in her mind.

Accuse an innocent.

An innocent.

Anna looked up at Leon. At his chiseled features and hateful eyes. He was anything but innocent, but in this context he technically was innocent. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

And, the System said I should accuse an innocent, it didn’t say anything about punishment. Anna rationalized. Oh my fucking hell! The devil is always in the details!

A brilliant idea came to Anna’s mind.

She took a step closer to Leon.

The soldiers stepped back. Leon’s hand went to the hilt of his sword. Anna felt a swoosh, and Azul was gone from her back, appearing behind Leon, pointing a small dagger right over Leon’s carotid artery.

Anna blinked, bedazzled at how fast everything had happened.

"It was you, General." Anna announced like she had uncovered the secrets of the universe.

Leon’s hand froze over his sword. Even Azul glanced at Anna briefly as if to ask "are you sure?"

Anna stepped closer to Leon, a smile curling on her lips. "Am I wrong?"

"I have been cleared, your highness." Leon said through gritted teeth.

Anna cocked her head to the side, a long finger tapping her chin. "Were you? I’m not buying it. The investigation was done by your men, as we’ve all seen, their loyalty lies more to you than to the crown."

"That is not true!" One of the soldiers shouted. He quickly bowed, but still went on to say. "General Leon is not that kind of man, your highness."

Anna rounded on him. "I don’t recall giving you permission to speak,"

The soldier sucked in a sharp breath and went on his knees, his head pressed into the ground and his hands clasped in front of him like a prayer. "Forgive me, your highness! I didn’t mean to speak out of turn!"

"But you did." Anna snapped her fingers and six guards appeared. "Take him away, have him whipped. Five lashes."

"Anna!" Leon exclaimed, his voice uncharacteristically emotional. "He did nothing to warrant such punishment!

"I get to decide what punishment he gets, General." Anna’s eyes widened. "Unless you’d prefer to take his punishment instead?"

Leon grit his teeth. His hands clenched into fists so tight his palms bled. Hatred stirred in his heart for the Princess, and if he could, he would have harmed her. "Yes. I will take his punishment."

"General! You can’t do that! Please, I can handle it!"

"Let him go," Leon said, his attention pinned entirely on Anna.

Huh? He’ll willingly sacrifice himself for his men? So pretentious.

Anna glanced over at the soldier apprehended by the guards. With a soft and annoyed sigh, she made a "free him" motion. By now the solider was crying, begging Leon to let him take his punishment.

An uncomfortable feeling stirred in Anna’s heart. For a second, she wondered where this attitude of hers was coming from.

But then the timer blinked, reminding her of her task.