The solider had barely lowered his sword before someone caught his hand and tossed him aside.

Anna watched as Kai stepped in between her and the soldier, his posture calm as he asked: "Shall I get rid of him, cutie?"

[Host, if you order your husband Kai to kill your assilant, you’ll get 200,000 villain points.]

Anna’s heart forgot how to beat for three seconds. When it came back, she muttered out the words; "Is that an official task?"

[Just a friendly suggestion.]

Countless thoughts ran through her mind at the speed of light.

I should be the villainess.

I should be the monster.

I know what to do.

I need the points.

I need all the points as fast as I can.

Anna walked up beside Kai. The soldier looked at her, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

He looked young. His face still had traces of baby fat, and he had a youthful innocence of someone who hadn’t seen the harsh world yet.

Painfully young. He was a new intake, Judging from the anger and enthusiasm on his face. Perhaps the General was a mentor to him, and he only wanted to avenge his mentor.

Anna thought of the nameless solider that Leon had taken a punishment for. And now this soldier who wants to kill her because he thinks she harmed Leon.

I shouldn’t care. My focus should be the points and nothing more. These people are just fictional characters. They’re not even real.

Anna sighed. She knew what to do, even as the offer of 200,000 villain points was tempting enough.

This is hopeless.

"Let him go." She said to Kai. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Kai obeyed without question.

The solider jumped a safe distance away, his eyes still shooting daggers at Anna. With a rough and arrogant bow, he left.

"You let him go?" Kai asked once the soldier was gone.

Anna avoided his questioning eyes. "He’s just a kid."

"When has that ever bothered you?!" Kai exploded.

The sudden outburst made Anna freeze.

The horror of his words sank in. Her stomach twisted and coiled within itself, like a snake on the verge of death.

"What?" She whispered, her voice barely there.

Kai ran his fingers through his hair. He muttered something in an unknown tongue before staring at her. "You’ve changed. And it’s not good type of change. Back then? You would have used your spores on everyone. No one would have even made a sound. And that kid?! He tried to kill you! You would have told me to eat him!"

"Why on earth would you eat a person?!"

"I’m a shark. What do you think I eat?"

Anna gasped, the sound rough and too loud.

Kai stared at her like he was seeing a ghost. He shook his head, looked like he was about to say something, then decided against it and left.

[They’re starting to notice,]

"I guess the manual isn’t in me afterall."

[It is.]

"Does Kai actually eat people?"

[Are you using one of your plot reveals for this?]

"Yes."

[One Plot Reveal activated. Kai’s diet consists of rare purified meat and the occasional assassin or faulty test subject. Yes, he does eat people. On the Princess’s command, of course.]

Anna stomach turned.

"How many—"

[Don’t even bother asking that, hostie. How many chickens have you eaten? Or sausages? Did you think twice about it? Did it bother you? That is life. No specie should feel guilty for their diet.]

The System made sense.

A lot of sense.

But Anna felt like instead of making progress, she was going backwards.

She’d never forget the look in Kai’s eyes just seconds ago.

He looked disappointed. Did he prefer the old Orchid that much?

I guess the end of the day, I’ll always be a cheap replacement.

I can’t even be evil enough.

She couldn’t be evil enough, and yet she wasn’t good enough. Somewhere in the dark and lonely middle.

Anna hated it.

***

She easily found Leon’s room in the clinic. Every servant she asked gave her looks filled with animosity and fear before they pointed her in the right direction.

The doctor attending to Leon was the same doctor that saw to her injuries a few days ago. His posture straightened and he looked on edge when he saw her.

Anna didn’t say anything, not even a greeting as she walked over to Leon’s side.

He was asleep, unconscious, whichever it was. Tiny tubes and small machines hovered over him, beeping and flashing colors.

"What happened to him?" Anna asked the doctor. The man pulled a seat out for her. Anna sat, and let her yellow spores flow freely.

"He was poisoned, your highness." The doctor replied.

"What kind of poison?"

"Snake venom."

Anna noticed the accusatory tone in the doctor’s voice and turned to him. "Is there anything you’d like to say to me?"

He took a step back, his hands clasped behind him. His eyes skittered across the room, anxiety bleeding from his body.

"You have ten seconds to talk, doctor."

He hesitated, his brows furrowed and his eyes deeply conflicted. Then he turned to her. "The venom that was used to harm the...the general, is one that is found in only one species of snake beastkin. It’s highly neurotoxic and...and thankfully, the amount used wasn’t enough to kill the General."

"When do we get to the part you’re dying to say?"

He shook his head. "You’ll have my head if I say it."

"Why will I have your head, doctor? You’re important."

Leon groaned, beginning to stir. Anna didn’t glance at him, her eyes pinned solely on the doctor.

He began to sweat. Buckets of it. He opened and closed his mouth, stammering mindlessly.

"You’re wasting my time." Anna sighed, in a cold voice she didn’t think she was capable of using.

Leon coughed. The bed creaked as he sat up. He looked around with blurry eyes, blinking back to clear the fog in his head. His eyes focused on two figures, but his attention was on the Princess.

What was she doing here? He wondered.

Anna felt Leon’s eyes on her. She didn’t care about him, but she kept the flow of her spores steady. Annoyance crept into her eyes.

"Oh just spit it out!" She yelled at the doctor.

The man jumped and yelled out "your husband Drax! He’s the only one in the entire east with a venom the same as...the same as..."

"Drax?" Anna laughed, her mind going back to the ethereal man that kissed Princess Orchid. "He’s locked up. How did he poison the General?"

"That’s what you’re worried about?" Leon rasped. Even though his voice was weak, it didn’t cut his anger.

Anna finally turned to him. "Ah, General. You’re awake. Praise to the gods."

He sat up fully, knocking off the tubes and machines, his eyes sparking ambers of fire. "You. You did this to me."

Anna opened her mouth to deny it.

Then decided against it.

She cut off her yellow spores, turned them pink, then rose to her feet. "And?"

The anger bleached from Leon’s face, replaced with shock.

The doctor gasped, a ragged sound like a rusty hinge.

Leon’s eyes narrowed in disbelief. "Anna..."

She grit her teeth, her chin jutted out in a show of superiority. "And if I did? How does it feel, General? Brushing up with death? You should be lucky I used a tiny drop. You have no idea how potent Drax’s venom is. We would have been planning your funeral."

"You!" He roared, lunging at her.

Anna didn’t budge. She didn’t need to.

His hand fell short and he burst into fits of violent cough. The doctor was at his side, holding up a small bowl of medicine.

"Be careful, General. You’re still in recovery. Don’t stress your body too—"

Leon knocked the medicine away. "I’m going to kill you!"

Anna folded her arms, her head tilted to the side. Her spores flared purple. "Do you know what happened when my spores meet Drax’s venom?" She asked.

Leon’s eyes went to the cloud of purple spores floating around her.

"It produces a very interesting blend of poison, General. One that not even my healing spores can save you from. You tried to kill me. Thrice. I’d like to say we’re even, but I still have two more chances left. Threaten my life again, and I will slaughter your men before your eyes. Trust me, General, the birds will pick their pieces for months."

The room fell deathly silent.

Leon watched Anna, her cold voice resonating deep inside him.

There.

That was Princess Orchid in all her cruelty. The past few days she had been strange but in that very moment, Leon had his worst suspicions confirmed.

She had always been herself all along.

It was all an act. Pretending to be good. Pretending to be different. It was all an act that led up to this very moment.

He never expected her to resort to poisoning. Her methods were more direct. But now she was changing. For the worst.

Drax.

Select few knew about the snake beastman. Those that knew rejoiced everyday that he was locked up. One small serving of his poison was enough to kill an army.

If Leon didn’t slowly build up immunity to poisons as a General, he’d have died.

Her threats echoed in his ears.

And for the first time in months, Leon felt fear. The same fear he felt when she threatened to kill Princess Lotus in front of him, and went through with it. It had been years since that happened. But also, since then, the Princess Lotus has been in a coma.

A woman that didn’t spare her sister from her evil.

Leon got out of bed and closed the distance between him and the Princess.

She stared up at him with detached anger.

It made him scoff. She looked like she couldn’t even be bothered with him.

Getting closer to her meant walking into her spores. He stopped a few inches away from the purple clouds.

"I should have finished the job last night."

She smirked at him. "You should have."

Leon’s heart skipped a beat.

That had never happened before.

Confused, he stepped back from her. He turned to the doctor, as if the man had any answers to provide.

The doctor appeared engrossed in some medicine shelves, eager to get out of the room.

"Have a safe recovery. The General Games have been called off. The sooner you get better, the sooner you can find your replacement." The Princess said, heading for the door.

"You called off the games?!" Leon exploded. "Your highness! You cannot make such decisions on your own!"

The door opened and three guards walked in. "Escort the General back to his cell the moment he gets better." The Princess ordered them.

Leon realized his words weren’t getting through to her.

"Princess!" He yelled after her. "Anna! Anna!"

The door slammed shut.

Leon stood there, confused and angry, strange emotions rising in his chest.

He needed to get out. Immediately. Leaving the army without a General was the same as inviting the AI beasts into their homes.

They were doomed.