Villis.

Of course Anna remembered him.

The man that gave Kai to Princess Orchid like a piece of furniture. The same man Kai had no hesitation beating at Thalia’s birthday party.

As Anna walked to the training grounds where he was waiting, she shuffled through original memories hoping to find something about him. All she found was fragments of information, nothing concrete enough to give a well-rounded image of who he was. Even Princess Orchid didn’t know him well. All she knew was that he was a wealthy merchant of the West, with strong political ties in the South. He was also her mentor, and with his connections he made sure she didn’t lack anything when it came to her research.

An important figure in Princess Orchid’s life.

However, Anna didn’t like him.

Not when he smiled through bloody teeth at the party, unfazed by Kai’s beatdown.

Not the fact that he shows up now, uninvited.

Anna couldn’t shake off the slimy feeling coating her skin just by thinking about him. Something was off about him, and she couldn’t wait to see what it was.

The training grounds were empty by the time she arrived. The morning sun beat down on everything in sight, also illuminating the solitary figure that stood beside a wooden dummy. From his elaborate clothes with expensive gold thread embroidery, and the way he held his shoulders and chin high, Anna instantly recognized him. he gave off a certain aura, an amoral billionaire. One that didn’t care about the environment when he built toxic factories that pumped waste into local rivers.

He turned, his silvery eyes lighting up as he spotted her. Then he smiled, a hollow and emotionless gesture that was more of stretch of muscles than anything else. "Princess Orchid," he greeted with a low bow.

"Lord Villis," she replied stiffly. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

He took his time, scanning her with sharp eyes, searching for something only he was aware of. Anna stood still, staving off her annoyance, already itching to leave. He met her eyes, his lips pursing in thought. He tilted his head to the right, pausing for two seconds before shaking his head. "You look different. Your eyes are different."

"I’m the same person you remember, Lord Villis." Anna replied, resisting the urge to ask "what do you want?" this man was one of the few people Princess Orchid respected. He gave her Kai then asked her to marry him and she agreed.

That means he knows something.

He gave a condescending smile. Anna imagined that if he had a moustache, he’d be twirling it. "I see. In that case, I will get right to the point, seeing as you’re a very busy woman."

"Right on the money." She said, missing how his eyes narrowed.

"I haven’t heard from you in months, Princess. What happened? Do you have a shortage of specimen? You could have sent word."

Cold water flooded Anna’s stomach.

A memory surfaced.

This man often gave Princess Orchid rare specimen that couldn’t be found in the East. Anna remembered now. One time he gave her a mutated Mirror beast that had learned how to speak individually. Mutations were extremely rare in AI beasts, one in every million. Princess Orchid cherished that Mirror till her experiments killed it.

Anna’s palms grew moist and she subtly wiped them on her gown.

Villis raised a brow, prompting her to go ahead.

"I’ve been busy with other things," Anna forced the words out. "When I require anything, ill be sure to ask you."

"Is that so?" Villis mused, his voice dropped a note. He scanned her from top to bottom again. "are you sure everything is fine with you?"

"Yes." Anna replied, a tad too hasty. "If that is all, I should be leaving. I have other tasks to get to. I’ll send a guard to see you out."

"Princess?"

Anna froze, jerking her head back. "Yes?"

Villis took a step closer to her. Then another. Then another. Till he was inches away from her, staring down at her with mecurial eyes. He picked up a lock of her hair, twirling it between his fingers. The action, so invasive, frozen Anna to the spot.

What? What is going on now? Why is he touching my hair? Why is he looking at me like that?

"Your eyes are different," Villis said in a murmur.

Her skin tingled, a heavy feeling clogging her intestines. A stiff smile appeared on her lips. "I don’t know why—"

"It’s not the color. It’s you. You’re not letting anyone corrupt you with kindness are you?"

The world tilted for Anna and she felt violently sick. Her breaths caught in her throat, What does that mean? Was this man the reason Princess Orchid became evil?

No. It can’t be.

But what if?

Annas mind raced far and wide, and her heart thrashed in her ribcage as if it wanted to jump out. She tried to pull back but he gripped the strand of hair tighter.

"Ow," Anna winced in pain.

"Even your words are different. Since when did you talk so much, Princess?" Villis questioned, his voice calm as the eye of a storm. "Don’t hide anything from me, Princess. I’m your mentor, aren’t I?"

"Let go of me," Anna hissed. She tried to sound brave but her voice trembled, betraying her fear.

Villis chuckled. "You’re scared? Now I know you’ve been corrupted."

"Back off!" Anna screamed. Her spores flared a bright red violet.

The blast knocked Villis in the face. He coughed, his grasp on her hair slipping free as he stumbled back. When he raised his head, his eyes blazed a bright red. Fangs ripped out of his mouth, and a terrifying growl filled the air.

"You used your spores on me?" his voice sounded like a beast trying to speak.

Anna trembled, strangled sounds coming out of her throat. She tried to turn, run, do something. But her feet wouldn’t obey. I’m dead. Oh fuck I’m dead! Again!

Just as Villis reached out to grab her, a swish sound, like a sword being drawn, cut through the air.

For a few seconds, the air held still.

Anna held her breath.

Villis froze, his hand still raised, ready to strike.

Then a thin red line appeared on Villis’s neck. Blood flowed from the line, first in tiny beads, before getting bigger, and bigger. Till it poured.

Villis made a sound like someone choking on water. Except he wasn’t choking on water. He grabbed his neck. The blood gushed like a waterfall, staining his hands and his clothes.

Then his head slipped out of position.

Sliced clean off his neck, it dropped to the ground with a sickening thud that was imprinted permanently in Anna’s mind. His body followed, dropping to his knees first, then landing chest first on the floor. Blood pumped out of his neck, the sound slick and squelching.

Anna’s mouth dropped open. Her hands flew to her mouth as her voice rattling in her chest.

"Your highness, was this man bothering you?" Tristan stepped out, his sword drawn and dripping with blood. With an elegant flick of his wrist, he flicked the blood off, sheathed his sword, and walked over to her. "Your highness?"

Oh my goodness. Oh my fucking goodness.

He killed him.

He just...

Anna looked down at Villis’s headless body. Mere seconds ago, he was making her scared. And now, his head was no longer attached to his body.

A gentle but sticky touch registered on Anna’s chin. Tristan lifted her chin up, forcing her eyes to meet his. He looked worried, his baby blue eyes filled with concern. "Are you okay?" he whispered, his eyes searching her face, settling a second longer over her lips. "Did this man bother you?"

Kinda late to ask that when you’ve already killed him, no?!

She couldn’t even say it out loud. Her tongue felt like a foreign object inside her mouth. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Tristan’s hand was cold, and soaked with Villis’s blood.

Anna looked at him, unsure who she was more afraid of.

He just killed a man...he just killed a—

He’s touching me

Oh fuck he’s touching me!

With that same bloody hands he used to—

"Your highness..."

Anna gasped, shaking her head as much as the shock would allow her, which honestly wasn’t much. Something about Tristan’s voice rubbed her off the wrong way. Too soft, too caring. He made no move to step back or move forward. He just kept holding her chin.

"Anna," he whispered, his voice heavy. "Anna, please say something."

"Hey! What the fuck do you think you’re doing?!" a voice roared, booming with rage.

Tristan didn’t move. Didn’t tear his eyes away from Anna. Not until Leon grabbed her arm, and pulled her away from him. Before Anna could blink or even react, Leon held her to his chest, one hand on the back of her head protectively smashing her face into his chest, the other wrapped around her waist.

"What do you think you’re doing with my wife?" he growled, his voice rumbling like thunder.