As a possible candidate for Imperial Crown Princess, Lady Astra Cross had been at the height of society. Of course, even before that, House Cross had produced countless mages and healers widely known across the two Empires.
Lady Astra was known not as a healer but as a dark mage skilled with the sword, the opposite of all her family members.
The Empire of Xia considered Lady Astra a possible candidate for Crown Princess, so the Kingdom of Lucia had no choice but to let her be. Lady Astra's marriage would create a union between the Empire of Cardena and the Empire of Xia.
The Kingdom of Lucia was extremely religious and shunned all that was different, which is why, for generations, any time a dark mage was born within the Cross bloodline, they were sent far away or secretly executed, claiming the child had been stillborn.
That all changed when Lady Dahlia Cross became head of the family. To keep her sister's child safe, she changed all the rules of the Duchy. Thus, it was officially announced that the Cross Duchy had produced the first dark mage of its bloodline.
Since Lady Astra's father was unknown, many believed that to be the cause of her dark attributes. So long as Duchess Dahlia Cross lived, no one dared speak such words out loud, but unfortunately, not all good things last forever.
In the year Lady Astra turned ten, the Duchess fell ill, and a distant relative suddenly appeared to take over the Duchy.
The new Duche wanted to find a way to get rid of Lady Astra, as he believed her dark attribute was a stain in the Cross bloodline. Not only that, but the new Duche wanted to make his daughter the next Imperial Crown Princess.
To Duke Cross's misfortune, the Emperor of Xia refused to change the arrangement, stating that the promise had been made generations before. As such, that which the ancestors decreed would remain.
Thus, the high regard many held towards Lady Astra was not due to her name but to her skill. During an uprising within her fief, she had led a small group of soldiers to quail the unrest, so no matter what Duke Cross threw at her, it always came to bite him in the end.
All the battles Lady Astra won were not enough to save her from the cruelty of Duke Gerard and the ninth Prince of the Lucia Kingdom. Lady Astra's ability to use dark magic allowed her to remain among the living and led her to a dying Gardenia. Like herself, Lady Gardenia had been neglected by her household and had no one to rely on. Perhaps that was Astra's downfall, for she relied on all the wrong people. After all, loyalties can be bought, and promises can be forgotten.
When the High Mage asked, "Do you remember what you promised that child?" Something like a veil was lifted from Gardenia's mind. She had been acting without a real plan, simply going through the motions. What had she promised Gardenia Honeysuckle?
Ah, yes, she promised to double the pain she had suffered if she gave up her vessel and went into a deep slumber. Once Astra successfully gets revenge for them both, she will leave this world, and Gardenia will regain her body.
The Imperial Crown Prince simply smiled as realization dawned on Gardenia. The Imperial Crown Prince had come for his bride and found her inhabiting another body. To make matters worse, Lady Gardenia's engagement to Duke Gerard had already been made public. No wonder he sought to take her away; the Imperial Crown Prince would have his bride.
"How do you know of the promise made amongst the dead?" Gardenia now regarded her fiancé with distrust.
The Prince remained calm as he answered, "Not only am I an Imperial Prince, I am also the High Mage. I had traveled to tell you in person that our marriage could not be as I renounced the throne. But to my surprise, you had met with an unlikely end."
Too many thoughts jumbled up in Gardenia's mind, and she was beginning to get a headache. Shouldn't she burn the Kingdom of Lucia down if she were to leave this world either way it went? Not only that, but, "If you came here to break the engagement, why ask me to become your follower? Why seek me out?" Gardenia asked.
A small orb of flames appeared on the Mage's hand. The flames were a beautiful violet. "I, too, am a dark mage. There doesn't need to be any precedent in the bloodline for one to be born this way." The flame vanished, and icicles danced at his fingertips, "As you can see, I can choose how others perceive my magic, but it requires great control. Even in Great Xia, the use of dark magic is frowned upon. My Master did his best to help me, but alas, not even blood can be relied upon."
Gardenia wondered how genuine the Mage's words were, but all she could ask was, "How should I address you?"
"Jia er, works just fine," something like relief flashes before his eyes.
"Jia er, earlier you used the name Ignasius, and now your Jia er," Gardenia squinted her eyes like a cat with sunlight in its eyes. "Which is it?"
Jia er smiled, "For you and only you, it is Jia er; my Imperial Father is unaware of my whereabouts. To keep it that way, I borrowed a friend's name."
"If I said I wanted to keep this body, would you help me?" Gardenia asked as a million thoughts swarmed her mind. "Or if I said I wanted a new one, would you help?"
"If you asked for the world to burn, I would do it all over again. What skin you wear is irrelevant as long as it is you." Jia er leaned forward and pressed his forehead against Gardenia's. A cooling sensation filled her with calm, and then there was darkness.