After Anastasia left, she shot through the air at a terrifying speed.
In an instant, she arrived at the third prince's estate.
She walked up to the door, and after opening it, walked in.
" Ezekiel, are you here?" She called out gently.
" Ah! My apologies princess, his highness is out at the moment." A middle-aged butler came as soon as he heard the voice.
" Is that so?" Anastasia opened her eyes slightly, a small pink flame appeared before her forehead, as an almost transparent wave of a peach-colored mental erupted from it.
Her mental energy wave reached close to a mile in diameter, before fizzling out.
Afterward, she just turned around and left, leaving the stunned butler rooted to the spot.
" So the king didn't approve of our marriage?" A girl with long, flowing, light brown hair sat in a wooden chair.
Her figure was average, and while her face was also average, her golden, pearl-like eyes caused her face to appear slightly above average.
On the other side of the wooden table was a boy, who was about 15 years old.
He had short greenish-black hair.
The boy wore a plain, yet elegant green robe.
His skin was that of a person of high birth, smooth and delicate looking.
They sat in a small wooden restaurant, in a corner.
" I went to him multiple times, but every time he would just send me away." The boy said.
" W-What should I do? If I do-" The girl was interrupted.
" Your orders, sir, miss." A waiter walked up with two plates of rice with braised chicken, the gravy staining the pearly white rice, cooked potato, beans, and other vegetables.
The waiter's sudden appearance caused the girl's words to be trapped in her throat.
" You should eat more so that the baby will be well nurtured." The boy said with a weak smile.
" But, if the king does not approve of our marriage, third prince, what should I do? I will be known as a loose woman where ever I go..hic..." The girl began to weep softly.
" Don't cry! It will be bad for the baby! I will continue to convince my royal father, I will not stop until he approves of our marriage, you don't have to worry."
" Go back first, I will go see my royal father again." The third prince coaxed.
" Hicc...Alright...Sniff..." The girl wiped her tears, before getting up and slowly walking away.
"..." The third prince got up after thinking silently for a while, just as he was about to leave, a gentle voice rang in his ear.
" I have been looking for you, little brother." Anastasia appeared beside him in an instant, her white floral robe shifting ever so slightly in the breeze.
" Why were you looking for me, big sister? If you are trying to convince me against fighting for the throne, then don't bother!" The third prince strongly stated.
He was neither aggressive nor humble.
"..." Anastasia opened her eyes and looked at her little brother, her body unconsciously releasing an overwhelming pressure, causing the third prince's body to freeze.
He could hardly breathe, as cold sweat rapidly flow down his face.
Restraining the pressure, Anastasia grabbed the third prince's hand and both of them disappeared.
" Wh-Where is this?" Both of them appeared in what looked to be a large bedroom.
In the dark room was a bed with a silk cloth hung over it, and a small, well crafted wooden dresser, with a mirror.
The windows were covered with dark cloths, blocking out the sunlight.
" Do you know what this is?" Anastasia walked up to the small dresser and picked up a circular bronze disk.
This disk had a hole in the middle, with a silver, almost crystal-like cylindrical piece of metal stuck inside.
" No..." The third prince answered honestly, while a bad feeling appeared in his heart.
" This is a small recording disk array. It can record both sound and images, just by turning this piece of metal in the center."
" It can be powered by both qi and sunlight, but sunlight allows the images to appear better." Anastasia said, without her usual gentle tone.
" Wh-Why are you telling me this? Gulp..." He had a bad feeling, and it just kept getting stronger.
" Do you know why I am not using sunlight to power this array?" Disregarding his question, Anastasia asked.
" No...." He replied.
" Because I do not want any other person to see this." Anastasia said.
Click!
She turned the cylindrical piece of metal, and as she sent her qi into it, the bronze disk floated from her hand, as a lot of different colored lights shot out.
After a few minutes, the lights came together, forming a girl with long, flowing light brown hair and golden eyes.
This girl was in a dim room, but everything in the room could be seen clearly, including the boy with slightly long black hair standing at the door.
" What is this?" The third prince asked with a shaky voice.
' Are we going to do it again today?' The boy licked his lips as he began removing his robe.
'...I think we should stop...." The girl softly said.
' What? Stop what?' The boy froze, before asking.
'....All of it...' She said.
' All of what?' The boy asked again.
' All of it! Deceiving the third prince that this is his child in my stomach! Trying to use him to rise to power using the imperial family's name! Us! all of it!' The girl shouted, as a clear tear formed on her lower eyelid.
'....You want to stop? Too bad! If you stop now, the royals will have your head, even if you are from the scorching sun clan! They don't know my face, so I will be long gone by then!' The boy shouted viciously, as he robes dropped to the ground.
The girl bit her lip, causing blood to flow.
But the tears falling from her eyes were not because of the pain.
' So be a good girl, and continue doing what you were doing!" The boy walked up to her and forcefully took her clothes off.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
During this period of time, the girl's tears continued to fall.
Not because of what was happening to her at that moment, but because she realized how foolish she was.
Every time she saw the third prince, he would be nice to her.
Although many people looked down on him, he would always be nice to them.
He tried his hardest when doing things, even if they resulted in failure.
She now regretted her actions against the third prince, but it was already too late for her to turn back.
She could only swallow her tears while crying silently.
Thump!
The third prince dropped to his knees, eyes widened in shock and filled with sadness, as tears flowed out.
" Ahhhhhhh!!!" He curled up on the ground and cried loudly.
" Why did you show this to me?" He asked, his turbulent emotions echoing through his voice.
" I just wanted to show you that what you are risking your life for is not worth it. Do not fight for the throne." Anastasia said without emotion.
She knew it was cruel to show him the recording, but so what?
Even if he hated her in the end, she could live with it.
" No, it is worth it." He slowly got up from the ground.
" What are you talking about, Ezikiel? You clearly saw-" Anastasia was interrupted.
" Even so! Even so...i...still love her...." The third prince looked up at his sister, tears, and snot flowing down his face.
" I...seemed to have crossed the line." Anastasia looked into her brother's eyes and saw a trace of loathing for her.
Although she prepared herself, although she told herself that she would be ok as long as they were fine, as she looked into his eyes, sadness flooded her heart.
" W-Wa-"
Swoosh!
Seeing his sister's sadness, Ezekiel tried to say something, but before he could begin, she had already disappeared from the room.