The town, Port Azuru, stands still this morning.

They watch from within the windows as the soldiers stand guard in the streets and alleyways, they watch as that armored car sits in the town square with its heavy machine gun pointed at any possible movement.

Port Azuru watches them all, watches as they leave.

A single motor carriage carefully navigates its way through the empty streets, joined by stages of military squads at each turn, each corner of this short journey to the dilapidated train station at the edge of town.

It's Jin and Sylvia. The town whispers. Those two newlyweds…

Those two always gave me a bad feeling. The voices argue, trying to find the logic in this silent chaos. Why is the military here?

They roll their eyes. Because they're rich, and they have connections. They have the pockets to pay off an entire division, to come escort out these kids after our Mayor's death by foul play.

The Town pauses, watching as these four black uniformed, gold trimmed Guardians scan the rooftops alongside a single ceramic demon. Port Azuru listens to that voice from an approaching storm cloud from the Adranic, hearing that missive composed to the buildings and the cobblestone streets.

What if it's not the riches that they hold? What if it's power instead?

What if these two young adults, these children barely of age, came from the south? What if they came from the plains, from the seven heavenly guns and the city at the center of it all?

What if these two came from Landfall?

What if, for the past three months, they haggled prices with a monster of murder and drank coffee with a demon of silver?

What if, for the past three months, they had brushed shoulders with the most dangerous bloodlines on the entire Continent of Ensolia?

What if this was the Crown Prince of the Tianci Dominion, and the Fourth Princess of the Ensolian Imperium?

"Murderer." Someone whispers, away from the windows in the dark corners of a home. "How dare he come and kill in our town? How dare he burn our homes like this?"

"Traitor." Another speaks. "What gives him the right?"

"Monster!"

"Demon!"

But a child eats an extra bowl of rice, bought with coins once placed aside for the racketeering Enforcers. A farmer rents just a few extra acres for this winter's growing season, freed of that crushing debt put on him. And a book-store owner hugs his son, still bruised from a beating by corrupt Constables.

Port Azuru cries in rage, cries in that soft hope as these two leave.

And maybe that's all that's needed from them.

The thing awaits a Prince and Princess, an armored train billowing fumes of black smoke into the clean seaside air. Four cars plated with inches of dull gray armor plating, two on each end bristled with cannons and machine guns like lethal porcupines.

And the two step out of their carriage, into the world filled with the roaring of engines, and walk in silence through the train station escorted by their guards.

Because there is nothing to say between them.

Not anymore.

Sophia Elise the Eighth wants to bury herself in a hole, at least five feet deep to really escape any more of this embarrassment that was now washing over her in droves of tidal waves.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

There's a mental audit happening in her mind, this consciousness committee left beneath these uniformed thoughts that pick through the transcripts of last night's disaster.

I cannot believe we actually confessed to this guy. One of them reads out this monstrous act. You thought that right now, when we're just about to enter in the most politically volatile court on the continent, it would be a good time to tell this guy that we loved him?!

They all recoil at that, with one attempting to defend itself. That was the best time to do it! We swear, what other opportunity could arise for this?

Some thought grabs it by the neck. We've known him for three months! That's barely any time to know someone! Much less a stranger that we barely even held a conversation with! Imagine it from his perspective: forcibly married to some person off the street and suddenly while living in a veritable exile she tells you out of nowhere that she has feelings for you?! This is a disaster of the highest order, and why would we even like him in the first place?!

Sophia manages to argue against herself on this. Because he's hot, really cute, and he's really nice. Or at least, he treats me really well. He cooks really well, he's smart too, and uh… he's also kinda cute as well.

Her mind remains in shocked silence at those words, at this pathetic series of descriptors.

And we like him because of it?! How many other men, possible romantic partners, have we discovered during our twenty one years and three months of life so far? How many comparison points can we take for him? How many relationships can we compare to?! NOT INCLUDING THE FICTIONAL ONES, the real ones beyond Mother and Father? Beyond even Beatrice's play-girl days?!

Silence.

How in character is it for us, how pathetic is it for us, to fall in love with literally the first man to ever show us any bit of attention?!

Sophia Elise scowls, keeping that battle internalized, trying not to cry.

Yeah, that's what we thought. We went at this with ZERO idea on his feelings for us, not even a single consideration to the fact that maybe he didn't like us. Maybe he was afraid of us, afraid of the politics behind us. And now look at where we are!

The last three months of rapport GONE, because we were so stupid as to jump the gun and…

There's a part of the transcript that they all missed, the answer from that young man so critical yet overlooked in this argument within herself.

So one thought process, in the midst of this chaos, brings it up with the loudest whisper imaginable. He didn't say no.

Sophia is still, her mind silent at that realization.

He didn't say that he didn't like us back.

And the loudest speaker rolls its eyes. Oh come on, that's pure cope and delusion! This isn't relevant, it's still a no, any answer beyond an absolute yes should be…

He said, "Not now." The quiet one continues to observe. What does that mean?

In this vast darkness of shame and personal embarrassment, there's something more. Something taking shape from the aftermath of this explosion of failure, of molecules drawn together in an empty void to birth a star.

Crown Prince Zai Tianci didn't say no.

There's a long bout of silence as Sophia steps foot into the train carriage, taking one last look at this town with an ocean view.

The Fourth Princess of the Ensolian Imperium stares out at the shimmering waves, breathes in the salty air of the sea, and listens to those distant cicadas and crickets drowned out by the roar of this train engine.

Sophia Elise takes one last look at Port Azuru, at this place in a vast world, and feels something knot in her heart.

He didn't say no. A thought process reminds her. This man, our politically married husband, needs time. Needs to find himself in a world of politics, of blades and blood. Zai Tianci didn't say 'not now' because he doesn't like us, he said it because he doesn't know yet.

This game, our game, isn't over yet.

And as Sophia Elise takes that step into this train carriage, into this new world of death, of murder, of politics and inhumanity, she stands just a little bit straighter.

We will survive out here. She quietly declares to herself, barely keeping it all together. We are a Daughter of the Silver Throne, an Elise for Goddess' sake.

And this monster, this Silver Demon, makes her vow to this universe: from the Courts of the Dominion, to the Axial Powers and their armies at the gates of Ensolia, to a mother Empress sorrowfully watching the suns rise in her distant palace, to her siblings whispering prayers for their sister, to the spirits of the ancient ones in this earth and Unudo above, to even the Goddess herself:

I am Sophia Elise the Eighth, Fourth Princess of the Ensolian Imperium, and I will have my donuts, I will have my rotting time, I will have my most precious smut…

And I will make Zai Tianci fall in love with me.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.