"First, I need to check the effectiveness of things."


    Titania watched in amusement as thedy of the Acacia Duchy stepped out of her room. She grabbed the first maid in the estate by the cor and pulled her to the side.


    "W-what? Who are you—"


    A p usually shut most people up, so thedy did just that.


    "Look away for a bit, little fairy."


    Amused even further, Titania backed away and rested her head on her palms as thedy slowly pulled the maid down. A soft flutter sounded and thedy raised her veil.


    The cursed energy that Titania could sense increased a hundred folds.


    ''Should I have not let her have a moment with Eugy?''


    Titania reconsidered her previous actions at the sheer strength of the curse thedy possessed. It would have been severe if Eugene had been afflicted by the curse in her absence. She didn''t think his inability to see faces would have helped much, but she couldn''t be sure.


    In the blink of an eye, the maid''s eyes lost color and drool started falling out of her lips. Like an obedient zombie, she was only looking at thedy.


    "Gouge out your eye," thedy said.


    The maid moved her fingers towards her fingers without the hesitation of a second.


    "Stop," she said before the maid could hurt herself. "Still as terrible as ever, then."


    Thedy then tried to send the maid far away and issued some dyed orders. Her goal was to check if the curse would wear off with time or with distance since people would forget her in just a few seconds, but as if showing off its tenacity, the curse did not fall off.


    Titania thought at first that they were wasting their time, but ended up finding it fun and gave a bunch of suggestions for orders to thedy.


    "Sleep."


    Thedy said at the end.


    Almost magically, the maid fell asleep at her mere word.


    With crossed arms, thedy and Titania watched the maid. Just a few minutester, the maid suddenly looked up.


    "Eh? Where am I—"


    The life in her eyes had returned.


    Thedy licked her lips as she watched the maid tilt her head and walk away as if thedy and the fairy standing right in front of her were just a figment of one''s imagination.


    At this point, there was nothing that could prove her existence to be anything beyond imagination.


    The one single proof she had was taken away.


    Bitterness rose in thedy''s heart all over again.


    "This is enough, little fairy. I''ll crush them all now."


    Leaving those words behind, thedy stepped out of the estate with renewed determination.


    A highly amused Titania followed in tow.


    She wanted to let thedy know that her partner was a monster of absurd proportions, but was quite enjoying herself at thedy''s antics. Keep the excitement alive on m-vl-em,pyr


    ***


    Thedy strode through the capital. She passed by the entrance of the second district and over to the first as if she were out on a walk in a garden.


    Not a single knight or a single guard turned her way as she ignored everything and passed through the main doors of the Imperial Pce.


    Like a ghost, thedy moved wherever she wanted to and no one could say a word. No one could see her.


    "Little fairy, please tell me if you sense more demonic energy."


    "Hm? Sure. You seem to know where to go though?"


    "I do."


    She knew more than well where she had to go. Aside from the Imperial family, it was only the two ducal houses that knew of the deep secrets of the Empire. If one went to count, it was even certain that the ducal houses would know even more secrets than the Imperial Family. As one of the pirs that made up the foundation of the Empire, their knowledge was the knowledge of the Empire itself.


    Any minor discrepancy between the ducal houses and the Imperial family would spell doom for the Empire. Though, her matter was different. Thedy, like her predecessors, was born to be sacrificed eventually.


    That fact was the only thing that had kept her from blowing up at the Empire, despite her being forgotten and receiving such a dishonorable death never being a part of the deal.


    But now...


    Lost in her thoughts, thedy reached her destination.


    In the lowest pits of the Imperial Castle, a hidden passage was ced behind what seemed like a stone wall. Just touching it would never reveal whaty beyond, but if someone walked through the wall, they would phase right through it and find the most secretive ce of the Empire.


    "Woah..." Titania whistled.


    Thedy frowned as her eyes fell on the sight in front of her.


    Hundreds.


    Hundreds of dead bodiesy on the ground. Their faces had been scrunched up and then bodies were dry, as if all the blood had been sucked out.


    Below those bodies was an enormous magic circle glowing in red.


    "Hahaha..." thedy chuckled. The glow of the magic circle was way too bright.


    They had surely charged it up well.


    Sighing, thedy confirmed thest parts of her n.


    "Just hold on a few more hours, guard..."


    ***


    Aegisthus von Tantalus Atrues, the noblest of the lineages in the age-old Atreus Empire, and the sun of the continent, the Emperor of Atreus Empir, sat in the enormous audience hall of the pce.


    With his purple robes flowing down the throne and the podium whole, the emperor leaned back and watched as his children stepped inside the room and lined up in front of him.


    The shadows of the Emperor, the highest trained soldiers had filled the room and were ready to sacrifice their lives for the Emperor.


    On both his sides were two of the only three Mythril Ranked adventurers, and the strongest beings in the world.


    The ruler of the dead, Death Queen, and the Strongest Adventurer in history, Kaiser.


    Even with such protection, the Emperor''s heart was aflutter.


    In this room where only the people he could trust the most remained, his mind was tense with the mattering up in a few days.


    At the end of the line, his youngest daughter, Anatolia, stepped inside the room following after her elder siblings, and stood at the side. Emperor Aegisthus watched her with a prolonged gaze.


    His mostpetent child. He felt deeply apologetic to her. It was during the time she should be celebrated that the fate of the Empire was hanging on the line.


    Aegisthus noticed a small bandage wrapped around Anatolia''s arm and made a note to ask her about it after this meeting ended.


    For now, they had to discuss the greatest problem for the umpteenth time.


    "The day, ising closer."


    Everyone in the room turned to the Emperor at his words.


    "We have taken hundreds of precautions, but their effectiveness will remain a mystery."


    Whether it be the gathering of the adventurers or the Acacia family that had failed to bring the newest generation of their ''flowers,'' nothing was certain to work.


    The Emperor sighed and turned to his side.


    There, Kaiser stared ahead at the princess with eyes wide open.


    The Emperor felt a bad premonition.


    ''What the hell is that monster shocked about?'' he thought. In a rush, the Emperor aligned his gaze with Kaiser''s but saw nothing.


    Suddenly, the chair behind Anatolia started floating up—


    CRASH!!


    —And smashed into the princess.


    Everyone stood up in shock as Anatolia stumbled forward. The chair broke from the sheer force it was smashed with and only one of its legs was still floating.


    Anatolia''s hair was pulled up before anyone could react, and the princess was pulled back.


    The sharp floating leg of the chair was pointed right at her neck, and the figure of a veileddy slowly revealed itself.


    Her every breath, every flutter of her hair, every slight movement of her veil was enough to topple a country.


    "W-who in the world!?" A minister screamed.


    Aletes, the crown prince was about to move and attack the neer that had popped up from mid-air, but all the shadows of the Empire came out of hiding and pointed their des at the people inside the room.


    The Emperor too, was being pointed a sword at, and the two adventurers were being threatened with the safety of the Imperial Family.


    Something very, very wrong was happening.


    Before the Emperor could speak, thedy''s voice boomed.


    "Remember me, motherfuckers?" she said. "Well, I guess not."


    Thedy then pulled Anatolia by her hair and smashed her face into the wall.


    "You!" Alete screamed.


    Thedy snapped her fingers, and the shadows slowly dug their des into the neck of the other members of the Royal Family in the room.


    "Who are you?" the Emperor spoke.


    "Shut up, I''ll smash you with a chair," the answer came back. "I do the talking here."


    "Do you know who you are engaging with? Who in the world are you?" the Emperor spoke again in an attempt to threaten.


    At that, thedy stopped.


    She looked at the Emperor with Anatolia in her grasp. The young princess heaved and sighed as blood dripped from her forehead and nose.


    Thedyughed.


    In a go, she pulled back the leg of the chair.


    "Stop!!"


    "AHHH!"


    And stabbed it straight into the eye of the princess.


    "Bow, humans," thedy said.


    "Your mother is here."