[Adriana's Pov] - Three days before the execution
"Argh! There's no way! How can humans be so stupid?!"
Buried underneath my sea of stuffed animals, I felt my temper rising yet again, thinking of how immensely stupid the humans were.
"How could someone so meticulous as James suddenly do something so sloppy?! It doesn't make any sense! Shit!"
Without a drop of the dignity of a princess present, I didn't care about how I acted right now. This was my safe haven, after all.
"And why is no one questioning it? Do all humans just accept it because the king has said so?"
It just didn't make any sense. Even if James was the heir of a hidden house, there was nothing in the law that could condemn him just for being born in the wrong house. So why would he just suddenly throw away his life by murdering a nobody?
Samantha wasn't some prominent figure whose death would suddenly cause a systematic crash in Mensch, or at Ainu for that matter. She was just a random receptionist that helped the male freshmen with all kinds of different everyday things.
"So does that mean that he has committed crimes in the past? And that Samantha somehow found out and he silenced her? No way..."
There was not a fraction of my being that could believe that the meticulous snake that was James would make such a mistake. Where, how, and why would he suddenly accidentally reveal his past to Samantha?
No, the chances of him having committed past crimes and still getting invited to attend Ainu was incredibly slim, borderline impossible.
"Then that leaves only two answers. He is either just a deranged killer, or things aren't what they seem."
Hugging the pink teddy in my arms even harder, my hesitation toward humans grew to another level as I started to realize what must have happened. Someone had purposely set him up, making sure that he had no way of escaping his punishment.
"But who hates the hidden houses so much that they would just execute an innocent man? The principal? Or someone else at the academy? Argh!"
It was all so confusing, and I still didn't even know why I was even frustrated in the first place. This should have been exactly what I wanted, getting rid of any chances of the hidden houses trying to disrupt the diplomatic work between our countries.
However, a big part of me felt like I had just lost. Almost as if the game I had been playing had been interrupted, making it so there was no winner, only two losers.
****
[Sarah's Pov] - Two days before the execution
"Do you understand?"
"Yes, father. I understand. I'll take my leave now."
Having been bought out of the academy, my father was currently explaining the absurd situation to me.
The fact that James had knowingly gotten close to me, wanting to use me for his own benefit and for the benefit of the family he came from.
Walking through the majestic halls of our castle, I felt disgusted and ashamed.
Disgusted, because I had completely fallen into the trap of the man called James, not having any second thoughts about his origin or his purpose.
Ashamed because of the fact that I had begun to truly love him, and even more ashamed because I still did, even after knowing what he was after.
I hurried as much as I could, making sure I didn't begin to run, as it would have been unbefitting of a princess.
*Click, Bam!*
Entering my room, I threw myself on my bed and let go of the façade of a princess that I had struggled to uphold.
"Sniff! Sob!"
It hurt so bad, knowing that my heart had gotten toyed with. That the man who I had almost begun to think would be worth throwing away my title for in the future, was nothing more than a lie.
"Shit! Why... Why!"
I wanted to scream, I wanted to kill that loathsome man with my own hands, and I wanted to go down to the dungeon this instance and free him.
"This is not fair! Why do I have to feel this way?! Why couldn't I have gotten to at least pretend to be a normal girl for a few years?!"
The pillow below my face was already soaked, the humid heat making my irritated skin even redder. How could one man cause such frustration and pain, throwing my whole being into turmoil, without even being in the same room?
Also, why did he even do it? This was most likely the worst part for me, as I had no idea what went through his mind. Did she know about him and threatened to reveal his secrets? Or was he honestly just insane?
There was no doubt that he wasn't like other people, but that he would kill just for the sake of killing? That, I didn't want to believe. No, that I couldn't believe.
But I had seen the recording, showing the whole sequence of events from just outside his room. He had invited her into his apartment and killed her, and that was a fact. So no matter what, he wasn't the man I had known. James was a killer.
'So why can't I hate him?!'
I truly wanted to hate him, I wanted to feel like his upcoming execution was correct. Yet, I couldn't.
The one thing I could do was to cry, to try my best to empty every single tear that I could possibly shed, so that I could grow stronger in time to see him lose his head.
And after my tears had run dry I would, hopefully, no longer be the young woman in love whose heart was torn to pieces; I would just be the royal princess of Mensch who watched a criminal lose his head.
****
[Sophie's Pov] - One day before the execution.
"So, there's truly no chance that James might be innocent?"
"I'm sorry, Sarah. I don't know what to tell you. I want him to be innocent, but that doesn't change the fact that there's literally a recording of him inviting Samantha into his apartment. I guess he didn't suspect there to be hidden cameras around the corridors of our living quarters."
It was so incredibly difficult to accept Arthur's words, but what choice did I have? Even though my instincts were screaming that something was not right, how could I argue with all the evidence presented?
If I did, it would mean that I believed that not only was the academy of Ainu corrupt, but I would indirectly claim the entire kingdom of Mensch to be so.
And that, I did not believe. I did truly think that humans wanted the best for their brothers and sisters, so that didn't make any sense to me.
"But... What do we do then? Are we just going to let him die?!"
Before I knew it, I was crying once again. This whole week, my eyes had been watering at every chance they got.
Covering my face, not wanting the one I loved to see how unsightly I looked, I felt so incredibly powerless.
"Sniff! I just... I don't want him to die! This just can't be happening! Shit!"
Two sturdy arms quickly embraced me and drew me closer to the one I thought of as home, the man who always brought me comfort and joy.
"It's okay... It will be alright..."
"But... but... Aaaah!"
There were no coherent thoughts that I could bring out anymore, there was only pain. Pain derived from losing a friend, and pain because of not even knowing the reason why he had to disappear.
Still sitting on the bed, with my head wetting Arthur's shirt, I just felt so small, so utterly powerless.
'Please! Someone, anyone! Just please make this nightmare stop!'
****
[James's Pov]
*Clack!*
"Get a move on, scum!"
'So it's finally time... It's a shame. I wanted to enjoy myself a bit more...'
When the prison guard arrived and released me from my shackles, it wasn't hard to guess what was about to happen. How ironic it was, that the only ambition I had in the past was the one thing I wouldn't be able to attain.
'Then again, I guess that was never the truth. I have already achieved what I wanted, after all.'
Walking behind the guard, it didn't take long before we both stood in front of a portal, one I assumed would lead me to the outside of the castle where my execution would take part. On its side stood a small, gray-haired man clad in equally gray robes.
When we approached them, he took a small bow. "Greetings, Mr. Jackson. I just wanted to tell you that all your assets will be properly distributed amongst the orphanages all around Mensch. Of course, this will not be brought to light in the eye of the public, but I thought it might help ease your mind, if only for a bit."
Once more, a rush of euphoria overcame me, making my face twist into an abhorrent smile.
"Pfft! Hahaha! So, you already know as well? Does it hurt? The twisting insides of your own mind that tries its best to correct its mistakes while at the same time defending them?"
Sadly, he only answered with a gentle smile. "I pray for you to have a better life next time."
And with that, we entered the portal.