The Duke summoned Victoria to his office in order to discuss matters with her. Victoria on the other hand, was not ready for what she was about to hear.
"Victoria, I'm sorry that it has to be this way, but it has to be done. "
The Duke said without a sense of sensitivity in his tone.
"So you're saying, that not only am I attending the School of Dark Magic, but I also have to live in the Dark Kingdom? " Victoria reassured.
"Yes. " The Duke replied.
*I am so fucked.*
"THEN JUST SEND ME A TUTOR FOR GODS SAKE! WHY ARE YOU MOVING ME INTO ENEMY TERRITORY?! " Victoria yelled.
"Enemy territory? What nonsense are you saying? The Dark Kingdom is our ally. "
*What? But in the book it said....*
"Dad, what are you talking about? The Dark Kingdom and the Kingdom of Light are in divide. "
"Yes, they are, but we aren't. The Everdeen Estate has many allies in both the Dark Kingdom and the Kingdom of Light. You still remember what I said to you yesterday right? "
"Yeah. How could I forget. "
"Then let me tell you a little secret. Do you know the reason why the Dark Kingdom and the Kingdom of Light are in divide? "
"Umm... Because the people of Dark Kingdom are evil monsters? "
"Now why would you say that? The citizens of the dark kingdom are just people who have dark magic. You have dark magic, are you saying you're evil? "
"N-no."
"So 'that' isn't the reason. The real reason is because the King of Light and the Queen of Darkness, had their engagement cancelled fourteen years ago. "
*What?*
"The King of Light and the Queen of Darkness were once engaged? But why was it cancelled? "
"They said it was because the King, who was a prince at that time, found his true love. Obviously I didn't believe that bull, I knew that there had to be another reason. "
"Right. You told me the reason. But if that was the case, then wouldn't the problem be solved? "
"No. If it went that way, it would have started a political panic. The royal family is already drowning in corruption, I doubt that they actually wanted to unite the two kingdoms. That incident actually gave them quite a good excuse to cancel the engagement. Thus, the divide between the Kingdom of Light and the Dark Kingdom, only grew bigger. "
*Hearing all of this now, I'm starting to realize that I can no longer rely on the book. I'm no longer in some romance novel, I'm in the real world. In this world. And somehow, I've been swept in by its problems.*
"Tch, well this is just so freaking complicated. " Victoria mumbled.
"I know that this is all so burdening, but as heir to the household, you should be able to handle this. "
*Huh? I thought Victor was the heir to the household?*
"I thought the heir of the estate was Victor? "
"Have you lost your memories sweetie? You are the first born of the Household. It is the responsibility of the first born child to inherit the leading position of the family. "
Right. I forgot that in the novel, Victoria was supposed to be dead by now.
"I'm sorry, I'm just forgetful these days. " Victoria muttered.
"Well don't forget what we discussed about yesterday. "
"I won't. "
"Good, then let's get back to our main topic. You will be living with a close friend of mine in the Dark Kingdom. Fortunately, he is also a vampire, he will be able to help you in case you are in need of a mentor for your powers. His name is Baron Cohen Clive, he has only one successor, and that is his daughter, Lady Caroline Clive. He and his daughter agreed to foster you in their care, so from now on you will be the illegitimate child of Baron Cohen and the half sister of Lady Caroline. Lady Victoria Clive. "
Though Victoria was able to control her facial expressions quite easily, she couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Father. If this divide will keep going on forever, that means I'll never be able to come back as Victoria Everdeen. I'll be Victoria Clive."
Victoria looked down on the floor. Her eyes welling up and ready to flood tears.
*I don't know why it's stirring me up so much. I'm not actually Victoria Everdeen by heart, I'm Emily Cork. But ever since I woke up here, I've felt so at home. Even though this family isn't normal, I was ready to get used to it and actually live my life as Victoria Everdeen.*
"I'm not giving you up sweetie. You will definitely come home again, not as Victoria Clive, but as Victoria Everdeen. I will make sure of it. " The Duke comforted.
Duke Burboom got up from his chair and walked towards Victoria. He leaned in towards her and opened his arms and embraced her.
"I promise. " the Duke whispered.
Victoria couldn't help it. Her eyes were flooding with tears, and she had to cry.
When Victoria finally had to leave, she said goodbye to the Duke, and the two had a long farewell embrace. Victoria could not say goodbye to her brothers since their carriage already took off, she had to take another carriage ride to school and go through the dark forest, but this time, with more guards.
Victoria wasn't at all comfortable with the idea of going into the dark forest again, but she had to ignore it.
*The heist has already happened, and there's no way anyone would attack the carriage now. They'd have to defeat an army if they were that desperate to rob some cash.*
Thankfully, nothing actually happened in the dark forest, and Victoria's carriage ride out of the Kingdom of Light and into The Dark Kingdom, was a complete success.
While Victoria reached the Dark Kingdom, she was quite surprised at how unique the villages of the kingdom looked. The first village was Abyss.
Abyss has no morning and the sun will never shine there, so everyday was night time.
The second village was Enchancer. The Village was a lot bigger than Abyss, but it was also quite stunning. All the buildings were colorful, some were in weird geometric shapes, others houses were floating in midair, and everywhere you looked, you could see flowers of all colors, shapes and sizes.
The third Village was Rodenburg. The village was like a nature reserve for giant bugs and reptiles. At first, Victoria was kind of nervous, since she didn't know whether or not the lizards would eat the carriage. But that fear quickly faded when she saw a bunch of kids riding horsey on a giant chameleon.
And finally the last village she had to pass by was where Baron Cohen Clive and Lady Caroline Clive resided in.
The villages was called Elizabeth, and it looked like a very sophisticated little city. The village had many small business like café shops, clothing stores and business centers. What made Elizabeth unique was the fact that there was nothing peculiar about the village. There were no floating houses or night days or giant insects and reptiles, there were just people, doing normal everyday things. Just like the villages in the Kingdom of Light.
Victoria looked out the window and noticed the diversity in the population. Back in the Kingdom of Light, everyone was just a normal human being, with normal hair, natural skin color and wore proper everyday clothes. But here, in the Dark Kingdom, there were people in all different shapes and sizes.
There were giants, people with blue skin, children with wings and couples walking their giant spiders to the park.
*I guess the Dark Kingdom isn't bad after all. These people look so peaceful. In the book, they sounded so chaotic and divided. I guess it really just depends on someone's perspective.*
Victoria looked down. Her mind deep in thought.
*This isn't good. If I'm going to continue to live here, it won't be long until Princess Amelia will start to brainwash everyone and we'll all be sent to the Nether Realm.*
"Ugh, all I wanted was a quiet life doing whatever I want. " Victoria mumbled.
*But I guess I can't have that. After all, Victoria was supposed to be dead. Since I changed the plot, the book is somehow trying to get rid of me.*
"Haah, this is a mess. "
Victoria placed her arm on the window sill of the carriage and continued to think.
*If my presence in this book is a hindrance to the original plot, then the book will try to make sure I'm out of the picture.
Which means that if I can stop Amelia from becoming evil, and if I can find Aurora first before Prince Arroyo, my life will always be in danger.*