Within a month of hiring Alexiel as her personal attendant, the princess began to really enjoy his company. He ended up being invited to her room more often than any of her other servants, additionally inviting him to have tea and snacks with her nearly every day. The feeling gradually became mutual with Alexiel, as he really enjoyed the princess's bubbly and kind personality. He just couldn't believe that she would ever be a cruel-hearted and selfish person.One morning, Princess Annabelle received a letter from Prince Aurelio of Casadell'arte that stated that he would be on his way to visit the princess within a month. Delighted, the princess immediately began preparing things for the prince's arrival, from an extra room for him in her castle, to special gowns for herself to wear for him. Once she was satisfied, Princess Annabelle decided to take a break in her room and read the book she had about Morado's princess.She happened to be reading a section about how the princess of Morado got engaged to the prince of the west when a thought popped into her head."The princess of Morado was, and still is, very wealthy," thought Princess Annabelle, "Surely she was able to show all that wealth off and prove to her suitor just how much power and influence she had, and that she was not to be bullied. Maybe I can do the same thing?"A mischievous grin appeared on Princess Annabelle's face as she closed her book.The following week, Princess Annabelle began spending extravagantly on herself, preparing herself for a rather showy display of wealth and power for when the prince of Casadell'arte arrived. She spent so much on herself that the people of Terrasaine started getting neglected. There was no longer a budget set for the necessities of the people, which in turn, led to the important things never getting taken care of. Therefore, a lot of the people began to complain, which resulted in a lot of them either getting dismissed or sent to the guillotine. There was really nothing anyone could do to soften the princess's heart, as she was exclusively focused on achieving an image of great power and glory.Prince Aurelio finally arrived the following month and Princess Annabelle was quite eager to meet him, as it's been over a year since they last saw each other. So as soon as she received word of Prince Aurelio's arrival to the castle, she immediately had some of her best maids get her dressed in one of her best gowns, as well as set her hair.Prince Aurelio was waiting in the great hall when Princess Annabelle finally appeared."Hello, Your Highness," said Princess Annabelle, wearing her finest, rendering Prince Aurelio speechless."...Annabelle..." said Prince Aurelio as he slowly approached the princess, grabbing her hand, "It's been so long since I've last seen you...You've gotten so beautiful."The prince brought Princess Annabelle's hand to his lips and kissed it."Aurelio," began Princess Annabelle, "I'm so happy to finally see you after all this time. I've really missed you. Please, come and tour the castle with me. So much has changed here.""Really?" said Prince Aurelio."Oh, yes. I'm now the richest, most powerful princess in the entire east. I want you to see how magnificent my castle looks.""Oh...Alright. Also, I'm sorry about your mother's passing, and I wanted to give you my condolences, as well as my apologies for not being able to attend the funeral and support you.""...Oh, please don't worry about it. Ha ha. My mother's passing was for the best anyway.""Huh?...What do you-""Come on! There's so much to see!"Grabbing Prince Aurelio by the arm, Princess Annabelle practically dragged him across the great hall despite her small stature. Meanwhile, somewhere in the shadows, Alexiel watched as this scene progressed, noticing how happy Princess Annabelle looked with the prince.Princess Annabelle showed off nearly her entire castle to Prince Aurelio, all the sparkly, new decorations looking as magnificent as they did a month prior. Although the prince was indeed impressed with Princess Annabelle's wealth and possessions, he was also beginning to tire from all of the walking he and the princess were doing, so he suggested that they relax somewhere and have a snack."Oh...Why, yes, of course," said Princess Annabelle, "I'm really, really sorry. I was so happy to see you and show you my castle, that I didn't even notice you were getting tired. Please do forgive me.""Ha ha. Don't be sorry, Annabelle," said Prince Aurelio, "I'm just as happy to see you as you are me, and I'm really happy to finally be able to spend some time with you. I wouldn't have it any other way."After giving Princess Annabelle a hug and kiss on her forehead, the prince and princess made their way to the garden for tea and snacks.The princess and prince enjoyed themselves very much, occupying themselves with sweet snacks and tea and idle chatter on a day with plenty of sun and a gentle breeze, which added to their enjoyment."So, tell me in more detail how things have been for you, Annabelle," said Prince Aurelio, "I really hope the pressure of ruling in your mother's stead hasn't been too much for you.""Oh, no, not at all," said Princess Annabelle, "Thankfully my mother left me a great role model to follow. I appreciate her deeply for that.""Oh, really? What a lovely thing to say about her.""Huh? You know already?""...Huh? I know that you were talking about your mother just now, right? Her being a role model for you to follow?""Oh. No. Ha ha. It's not her.""Oh...Then, who is it?""It's the princess of Morado.""The princess of Morado?""Yes."Princess Annabelle had the biggest grin on her face at the mention of Morado's princess. As she sipped her tea, Prince Aurelio observed her intently before speaking."Annabelle," began Prince Aurelio, "What is it about the princess of Morado that makes you admire her so much?""Oh, only too much!" exclaimed Princess Annabelle, "She's strong, independent, and very, very powerful. She has everything figured out for herself, and her people are very happy, living under her.""Hmm. I see. Those are very noble facts and qualities about her. And even I hear about how peaceful and happy her people are under her rule. But isn't there anything about your mother that you admire?""...Although she would tell me plenty of stories about how great the princess of Morado was, she would never take me to go meet her.""...Maybe she was just busy. Ruling a country can be quite time-consuming for a queen.""No. She wasn't always busy. I know ruling a country can take a lot of time out of your day, but not every day. The princess of Morado gets to have days of leisure, for example. Even I have days of leisure sometimes. So, she was obviously lying to me for some reason about being too busy to go to Morado. For this reason, no, I have nothing to admire about her."An awkward silence ensued between Princess Annabelle and Prince Aurelio before they were interrupted by one of the princess's maids rushing towards her."Your Highness," said the maid as she knelt onto the ground in front of the princess, very noticeably anxious, "There's someone here to see you. We told him that you were busy, but he insisted on speaking to you and wouldn't leave, trying to force himself past the guards and other staff. Please present yourself, Your Highness. The great hall is in an uproar at this moment.""*gasp* Did he break anything?" asked Princess Annabelle."No, Your Highness."Prince Aurelio noticed the princess breathe a sigh of relief as she stood up from her seat and turned towards him."i greatly apologize for this intrusive interruption, Your Highness," said Princess Annabelle, "Please allow me a moment to handle the situation at hand.""Oh, but of course," said Prince Aurelio, "Please, take all the time that you need. I'll be right here. But before you leave, can you have one of your maids bring a fresh pot of tea?""Yes, of course!"A subtle but cold expression on her face, Princess Annabelle turned to her maid, who was still kneeling on the ground before her. Once she understood what the princess meant, she immediately excused herself to go and bring fresh tea to the prince, the princess giving one final warm smile to Prince Aurelio before leaving herself.Once they left, Prince Aurelio couldn't help but notice how anxious and scared the princess's maid looked earlier, and he started to wonder why. But when she returned to him with a fresh pot of tea, she seemed fine. So, the prince simply concluded that maybe she was just nervous because of the situation she reported earlier. Having put his mind at ease, Prince Aurelio sipped his fresh tea, waiting for the princess's return.Quite some time passed since Princess Annabelle left the garden with no return. Growing a bit restless, Prince Aurelio decided to go for another walk around the castle in hopes of finding and checking in on the princess. When he didn't find her in neither the throne room, nor the great hall, he concluded that maybe she decided to make whatever the issue was private and take it to her room. So, he went there. When he got there, the door was slightly ajar, and he could hear low voices between a servant and the princess when he peeked his head in through the door a little."Your Highness, please do something. A lot of the people are beginning to starve. Before long, if nothing is done, there will be a famine here. Moreover, the high taxes you've imposed on the people is outrageous. Could you please maybe spend a little less on yourself? Or you could even share food from the royal pantry with the people. There's plenty.""*scoff* Why should I do any of those things? What have those people ever done for me? All they know to do is criticize me and complain. If they're so hungry, tell them to eat cake. At least they'll be safe under the powerful image I've worked so hard to acquire. Soon, I'll be as invincible as the princess of Morado.""...The princess of Morado would never starve her own people.""What did you say?!""...N-nothing, Your Highness...So, what do you want done with the man who barged into the castle earlier?""...Him? Send him to the guillotine...And if you don't watch your words around me, you'll be sent there as well.""Y-yes, Your Highness."Prince Aurelio couldn't believe his ears."Is this really the same sweet princess from childhood I'm to marry in the future?" thought Prince Aurelio. Upon hearing the princess's servant approach the door, the prince ran down the corridor, on his way back to the garden, disbelief and pain lurking throughout his heart.Back at the garden, Prince Aurelio still couldn't believe what he heard earlier. He wanted so much to believe that what he heard was just an illusion. But he very clearly heard his future wife's voice. There was no mistake. His heartache grew even more when he began to think about how to even deal with the princess after everything he's heard. Hurt and confused, the prince couldn't help but to lean facedown onto the table, trying to think of what he should possibly do. But no sooner than later did Princess Annabelle appear in the middle of Prince Aurelio's inner conflict."Hello, Your Highness," said Princess Annabelle, "I'm really, really sorry for the delay. There was just so much I had to handle."Looking up from the table, Prince Aurelio couldn't help but to look at the princess and wonder just how she could pretend to be a sweet, caring, and innocent person when he knew how evil and selfish she really was on the inside."Your Highness? Aurelio? Are you ok?" asked Princess Annabelle when the prince continued to stare at her without a word."...Yes. Yes, I'm ok," said Prince Aurelio, composing himself, "Why don't you have a seat?""Oh, yes. Of course."Another awkward silence ensued between the prince and princess shortly after the princess was seated by one of her maids. But this time, Prince Aurelio broke the silence."Annabelle..." began Prince Aurelio, "I...I need to take an unexpected trip somewhere for a bit.""What?!" exclaimed Princess Annabelle, "Why? You just arrived here, and I've missed you so much. Please don't leave me again.""I'm...sorry, Annabelle. It's just that...there's something I forgot to do, and I really must do it...Right away, actually...But as soon as I'm finished, I will return to you, okay?""...""I'm sorry, Princess Annabelle."Getting up from his seat, Prince Aurelio left the garden, leaving Princess Annabelle behind, still sitting at the table. He left Terresaine that same day.Later on, that evening, Princess Annabelle was in her room again, pouting, when Alexiel asked to see her. When she gave him permission to enter her room, Alexiel appeared in front of her with a slightly uncomfortable look on his face."Why do you look like that?" asked Princess Annabelle."...Your Highness...I have a favor to ask," said Alexiel."Proceed.""...I have some business that I need to attend to in Frieden. I wanted your permission to go there for a few days.""...So, you're leaving me, too, huh?" mumbled Princess Annabelle."...Your Highness? What do you mean?""Nothing!...Just go. But don't stay there too long.""...Of course, Your Highness. I'll return soon."After Alexiel left her room, Princess Annabelle threw a small fit that left her slumped onto the floor, leaning against the side of her study, a soft sob escaping her lips.