The Guard Captain stepped forward confidently with his elaborate robes swirling around him as the gold badge on his chest catching the moonlight.

His face was stern as it radiated the confidence of someone who’d captured countless criminals.

"By the authority of Rivera City," the Captain declared formally with his voice magically amplified to carry around the surroundings clearly. "turn around slowly and place your hands behind your back. You are under arrest for property destruction, reckless endangerment, and fleeing from lawful authority."

The Princess standing before them hadn’t even noticed their arrival as her mind was completely elsewhere, she was lost in her own thoughts.

’I just love it when Klaus rejects me like that...’ Zephyra thought dreamily with her heart racing beneath her ribs. ’I can perfectly imagine the cute, annoyed frown under his mask and it’s making my head spin with happiness. The way he didn’t even bother responding to my offer... the way he just dropped off the building without a word... so cold, so ruthless, so dismissive...’

Her internal monologue continued in this concerning vein for several more seconds.

’And he used holy magic! A blessing directly from the Goddess herself! He has a connection to Luneth! That means he’s special, chosen, blessed by divinity itself! He’s so amazing! So perfect! So—’

Then a different thought suddenly intruded through her lovesick mental haze.

’Since I’ve caused all of that damage to the buildings.. since I destroyed people’s homes and businesses and endangered innocent civilians... won’t these City Guards hate me as well?’

That thought made her happier than she expected. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Everyone always smiled at her when they learned who she was and slowly, almost hesitantly, Zephyra placed one hand on the edge of her fox mask then she peeled it away from her face with a soft scraping sound.

The moment the porcelain separated from her skin, her magically-disguised black hair shimmered like oil on water and transformed back to its natural flowing white with her striking purple eyes became fully visible in the moonlight, reflecting the stars above.

"It’s me," Zephyra said quietly as her voice was barely above a whisper. "The Prince... I’m the one who caused all of this damage to your city. So I understand if—"

She didn’t get to finish the sentence as instantly, as if someone had flipped a switch... the hateful, angry looks in every single City Guard’s eyes dispersed into thin air like smoke caught in wind and they smiled at her.

They gave her wide, genuine-looking smiles and it was most definitely not fake smiles like she’d desperately hoped to see through.

These were very real expressions... authentic joy and relief washing across their faces like sunrise even their auras began radiating pure happiness and contentment, glowing with warm golden light as not a single trace of anger or resentment remained.

The stern Captain’s authoritative expression melted away completely, replaced with warmth and something almost like adoration.

"Well, if it is you, Prince..." the Captain said kindly, already lowering his weapon with a respectful bow. "We don’t mind at all as these things happen. Property can be rebu—"

SLASH!

Every single body in the formation split perfectly in half simultaneously.

The cuts were immaculate with perfectly horizontal lines passing through armor, flesh, and bone with equal ease, as if reality itself had simply decided to separate at that exact plane.

Internal organs splayed across the rooftop in grotesque, steaming displays as blood sprayed in high arterial arcs that painted the surrounding surfaces dark crimson and bodies collapsed in separate pieces with wet sounds.

Zephyra stood at the center of the carnage, her hand still raised from the unconscious aura slash she’d released the microsecond they’d smiled at her.

She held her head with both hands with her white hair falling around her face like a curtain as her purple eyes widened.

"Why is it like this every single time?" Zephyra whispered to herself as her voice cracked with genuine anguish. "Why? Why?"

They hadn’t even bothered to confirm her identity properly... hadn’t asked for proof, they hadn’t questioned whether she might be an imposter or why she was a girl.

They’d just... accepted it immediately, smiled instantly and forgiven absolutely everything without hesitation simply because of who she claimed to be.

It made her feel more insane than she already was, like reality was fracturing around her and she was losing her grip on what was real.

She immediately turned her head sharply toward the direction where Klaus had disappeared into the city then she jumped forward with absolutely explosive force.

The building beneath her feet didn’t just crack, instead it completely shattered from rooftop to foundation as the entire multi-story structure collapsed in on itself like a demolished building.

The bodies of the guards she’d just slaughtered fell through the disintegrating floors in a grisly rain of corpses and body parts, tumbling toward the street far below with the rubble.

...

Klaus landed in a small shadowy alley directly adjacent to the Moonstone Residence.

He reached up with both hands and removed his distinctive cloak and cat mask in smooth motions, dismissing both signature items back into his storage ring with small flashes of blue light.

He ran a hand through his black hair pushing the sweat-dampened strands back from his forehead, and let out a long utterly exhausted breath that seemed to deflate his entire body.

"Finally," Klaus muttered to himself with profound relief. "I’ve lost that crazy bit—"

A figure dropped from the sky without warning and landed directly in front of him with a heavy impact that spider-webbed cracks across the cobblestones.

It was Zephyra, still in her true form with flowing white hair, striking purple eyes and her aristocratic features.

Notably, there was a spray of fresh blood across her left cheek that looked almost black in the dim alley light and Klaus’s relieved words died completely in his throat.

"So," Zephyra said. "do you accept or reject my marriage proposal?"

She wasn’t used to asking for anything over and over like this, even while showing her real body and laying herself completely bare emotionally.

It made her heart race uncomfortably in her chest and made her feel vulnerable in ways that combat never did.

Klaus looked at her for a long moment with his dark eyes meeting her purple ones.

He could see she wasn’t going to let this go and wasn’t going to give him peace unless she got her way.

"You aren’t giving me much of a choice here," Klaus replied.

The absolute last thing he wanted was for this obsessive Princess to keep nagging him about this for the rest of his life, or worse, to keep appearing out of nowhere at critical moments and causing catastrophic chaos that got him killed.

Sometimes you had to choose the lesser evil to survive.

"But fine," Klaus continued with a defeated sigh. "If it makes you happy and gets you to leave me alone, then yes. I accept your proposal. Are you satisfied now?"

Zephyra’s pale face immediately flushed a deep pink with a blush spreading from her cheeks down her neck and her purple eyes went wide with joy.

Klaus didn’t wait for her response. He simply crossed past her without another word, walking directly toward the front door of the Moonstone Residence with tired footsteps.

He reached for the handle and pulled it open, immediately seeing the warm, welcoming glow of lamplight spilling out from inside.

Everyone was gathered around the dinner table eating food together in a scene of domestic normalcy that made him smile slightly despite everything that had just happened.

’Finally, peace and quiet and—’

"Welcome home, Mast..." Mirela’s greeting died instantly in her mouth as the words cut off mid-syllable.

Someone jumped onto Klaus from behind with incredible overwhelming force.

The impact was like being hit by a charging bull. Klaus’s body was sent sliding helplessly across the polished wooden floor with his momentum carrying him forward until he crashed directly into the solid legs of the dinner table with a painful thud.

The door slammed shut behind them from the force and the culprit of this was visible.

A beautiful woman with flowing white hair and piercing purple eyes sat firmly on Klaus’s back, pinning him down completely. Her weight was far heavier than her delicate appearance suggested, pressing him flat against the floor.

Klaus tried desperately to push himself up with both arms, muscles straining, but found he absolutely couldn’t budge her weight even slightly.

Zephyra looked up from her dominant position on Klaus’s back with her purple eyes calmly meeting the utterly shocked, wide-eyed stares of the three women frozen at the dinner table.

She cleared her throat delicately, as if this were a perfectly normal way to enter someone’s home.

"Who are you?" Taula demanded with her blond hair bristling with immediate hostility as her hand already moved toward an axe.

Zephyra smiled warmly like sunshine breaking through storm clouds.

"I’m so glad you asked," Zephyra said brightly, as if this were a pleasant social introduction at a royal ball rather than a home invasion. "You see, I’m Klaus’s fiancée and the First Princess of the Erell Empire."

The room went completely silent and even the crackling of the fireplace seemed to quiet.

"And my very first demand as his future wife," Zephyra continued cheerfully, reaching down to pat Klaus’s head affectionately like one might pet a beloved dog. "is that you give him some food immediately. My dear Klaus has been running from the City Guard for such a terribly long time tonight that he must be absolutely exhausted and starving."

She looked down at Klaus’s head beneath her hand, her fingers threading gently through his hair.

"Isn’t that right, honey?" Zephyra asked sweetly.

And so, in that single moment, Zephyra had successfully assumed her new role as Klaus’s loving, devoted fiancée preparing to become his wife...

Whether Klaus wanted it or not.