"This is so fucking annoying." Anna grumbled, her voice dark.

Her spores turned purple for a split second before she caught herself and turned them yellow again.

"Did you say something, your highness?" Leon asked, his voice dripping sarcasm.

"That’s right," Anna replied. She decided she was done for now and lowered her hands to her sides. "The Council has a message for you."

For the first time since she started soothing him, he looked up at her. "What is it?"

Anna grinned, preparing herself for the lie she was about to blast, and his inevitable reaction.

"The Council has decided that it will be best for you to relax, for the next six months at least."

His reaction was instantaneous.

He jumped to his feet, confusion flitting across his face. "Relax?"

"Yes, General. You do understand the concept of relaxation, don’t you?"

His mane bristled as mild annoyance flashed through his handsome features. "Of course I know what it means to relax. That can’t happen. I have duties, I have men under me."

"I know. The council is aware of this too. You shall be relieved of your duties for the meantime. Don’t worry, your men are in good hands. Your replacement will make sure of it. It is but a temporary arrangement. However, be on your best behavior and you will be reinstated."

"You!" Leon growled, pointing an accusing finger at her. "You got me fired?!"

Anna’s smile widened. "You’re not fired, General. You’re on an extended paid leave. Rejoice, those are hard to come by."

Leon flared up, his mane puffing up like an aggravated lion. "That’s a new low! Even for the likes of you!"

"The likes of me?! A new low?! Oh, my dear General! Maybe you should have thought about the meaning of ’low’ before you held a sword to my throat! Actions have consequences, General."

"And somehow that never applies to you, does it?" He stormed up to her, glaring down at her. He was tall, though not as tall as Azul, she still had to crane her neck up.

A wicked smirk made its way to Anna’s lips. "Tough luck, General."

He opened and closed his mouth. It was the first time Anna had seen him speechless. Truly speechless.

That felt good! Oh my goodness!

"You’re a crazy woman." Leon growled, the sound low in his chest.

"Crazy?! Me crazy?!"

Anna decided then that she had enough.

She drew her hand back and slapped him as hard as her strength could allow. The sound echoed in the air between them like a canon ball.

"You don’t call a woman crazy unless you want hell unleashed, General. Call me crazy again. I dare you."

Leon rubbed his cheek like the slap was a minor inconvenience. When he met her eyes, they shone with an emotion she couldn’t name.

I don’t like that look....

Meanwhile, Leon was stunned. No one had ever slapped him. No one would dare. Not even Princess Anna in her madness and cruelty slapped him.

He did like to test her. Push her lines, see how far he could get away by egging on her infatuation for him.

He called her crazy. Multiple times. She never reacted this way. Her eyes never flashed with anger. And she never slapped him.

Anna responded to cruelty with her special brand of cruelty, one that often left broken bones and battered bodies behind.

She never resorted to slaps. She called them "cheap violence." Yet she flinched. He called her crazy and she flinched, before she slapped him.

The Princess never flinched.

Leon looked at her again. At her dark eyes, her ears rigid, her chest rising and falling with each heavy breath she drew in.

Interesting, he thought. She’s getting better at her manipulation.

"How long will I stay here?" Leon asked. All his anger vanished, like someone had poured water on a flame.

Anna bit her tongue, holding back the colorful curses that boiled on the tip of her tongue. "As long as I deem fit."

***

"System did you see that?! I slapped him! I slapped that arrogant General! Ha! Take that you big cat! Haha!"

[Hostie, you’re a cat too.]

"And I don’t give a shit! He’s so annoying! What did Princess Orchid even see in him?! Oh my goodness he makes me want to claw my fucking eyes out! And to think that he still killed her?! Urgh! She has such horrible taste in men!"

[In his defense, you fired him.]

Anna spun around, jabbing an accusatory finger into the air. "Correction, I didn’t fire him. I got him on a paid leave. He should be thanking me. But wait, I totally made that shit up. The Council didn’t say anything."

The System sighed. [Why was I so worried? You’re doing great as a villainess.]

Anna ignored the condescension in the System’s voice.

She walked to the Coucil room and called an emergency meeting. Before she even revealed her reasons, the king and queen gave their approval.

"The General appears to need some rest. Always two steps ahead of us, Princess."

"The army cannot be without a General for long. What do you think of appointing a temporary General?"

"It’s a good idea," Anna replied. "Will you be assisting, Councilor Valor?"

The snake councilor smiled ear to ear. "I would be honoured, your highness."

That worked better than I expected, Anna thought as she returned to her chambers.

Finally alone, she faced her strawberry plant. As expected, there was no sign of a shoot.

Feeling dejected, she pouted and her shoulders slumped. "What am I doing wrong?" She whined to the empty room.

In her real life, Anna hated fruits and vegetables. But strawberries were the one thing she liked. That was because it was her mother’s favorite fruit. She doesn’t remember much of her real parents, but she remembers her mother’s love for strawberries.

She laid her head on the table, her fingers tracing the side of the pot. "Plants don’t grow in this world, right System?"

[You’ve been reading on this world. What have you discovered?]

Anna sighed.

True, she had been studying this world.

As it turned out, the AI corruption not only affected people but also the soil. Plants didn’t grow, and when they did, they contained pollution and were corrupted.

Like the flowers. Though their traces of corruption were low enough not to cause harm, prolonged exposure wasn’t adviced.

Food crops were long extinct too. Anna found out that the fruit she threw at Bella on her first day in this world used to be an apple.

Everything is corrupted. She thought.

"Then where does the nutrient pills and teas come from?"

[Perhaps you should research more?]

"You’re right..."

A lot of things about this world didn’t make sense to Anna. She knew if she read more, she would find out.

There was a new pressing issue on her mind, and that was the location to Princess Orchid’s laboratory.

Anna did not want to find it.

She was scared of what she’d find there.

"I’ll just avoid it. After all, I don’t need to do anything. Just remain the villainess."

She picked up the pot and stared at the dull dirt. "Grow? Okay. I need strawberries. Maybe I’ll be a better fake villainess if I have a sweet treat waiting for me. Unless the System lied."

[I’m an AI, I am incapable of deception.]

"And yet AI is the reason this world is shit."

[...]

[AI is a tool, hostie. A knife isn’t less a knife just because it’s used to cook and not murder. Humans and their greed is the reason this world is ruined.]

It has a point though,

"Whatever. I’m exhausted. Let’s talk tomorrow."

The System didn’t reply.

***

The next morning, it was time to begin the process of choosing a temporary General.

With the help of Bella and some maids, Anna got ready and made her way to the barracks. A large arena had been set up in the fields, with an elevated platform and three chairs for the judges.

Two judges were already seated by the time Anna arrived. Councilor Valor, and General Leon.

Anna’s face darkened upon seeing the Lion beastman. "You’re supposed to be in jail." She hissed, her eyes narrowed.

Leon rose and bowed, although his posture showed arrogance and defiance. "It’s only natural that I be present, your highness. You may have extensive knowledge of technology, but you’re ignorant when it comes to the inner workings of the army."

"Watch your tongue, General. I woke in a good mood this morning."

"The heavens be praised. I believed you to be incapable of good moods, your highness."

Councilor Valor cleared his throat. "Good morning, your highness."

Anna turned to him and flashed a polite smile. "Good morning, Councilor. Whose idea was it to have him here?"

"It was the King’s idea, your highness."

Anna rubbed her temples. She felt the exhaustion creeping up on her even though her day had only just begun. "Very well. Let us begin."

Anna moved to her seat, the middle and most elaborate one. Leon pulled it out for her, a devious smile on his face.

"Your seat, Princess."