In the corridor of the human castle.
Head maid Gesi stared absentmindedly at the red hair tie in her hand.
She was certain she had seen this thing before, though it seemed like it had been a very long time ago.
“It’s rare to see you so lost in thought, Miss Gesi.”
A deep male voice sounded beside her ear.
She snapped out of her daze and looked toward the source of the voice.
It was a man dressed in a white robe, his face concealed behind a silver mask.
In his right hand, he held a silver staff.
Golden patterns were emblazoned across his robes, each detail marking his noble status.
“High Priest! I’m so sorry, I was just lost in memories of the past.”
She hurriedly lowered her head and performed a maid’s curtsy.
“It’s nothing. At this age, even I sometimes recall all manner of things from the past—the mistakes, the rights and wrongs. Even now, I’m not certain if all I’ve done was correct.”
His voice carried an invisible pressure that sent chills down Gesi’s spine.
Forcing a smile, Gesi lowered her voice and said, “I didn’t expect the High Priest to have made mistakes too.”
“Mistakes, from a personal perspective, Miss Gesi. As for the bigger picture, everything I’ve done has been right.”
Gesi laughed awkwardly, silently confirming in her heart that the High Priest really was a strange one.
Well, it made sense—after all, he’d lived for over a hundred years and remained completely unchanged.
Surely there had to be something off in his head.
In fact, whether he was even human was up for debate.
Besides Her Highness the Princess, who possessed the blessing of the goddess, how could any ordinary human live this long?
“Miss Gesi, allow me, in a personal capacity, to thank you for your contributions to the kingdom.”
“This is merely my duty, High Priest…”
Bribing the demon nobles and stealing information—this had been her own decision from the start.
She couldn’t bear to see Her Highness the Princess labor under such crushing pressure day after day, so she’d resolved to do something—anything—for her.
That was why she’d personally volunteered for the plan with the High Priest.
But it hadn’t taken long for everything to be exposed, and she had almost lost her life in the process.
The High Priest gazed out the corridor window, the deep eyes visible through his silver mask betraying no hint of what he was thinking.
“In just a few days, it will be Her Highness the Princess’s wedding. Before then, I must trouble you with more hard work.”
Gesi nodded slightly, replying softly, “Of course.”
Her Highness had been alone for so many years—it was time she had someone by her side.
But this wasn’t merely a marriage of convenience; in truth, it was more of a partnership.
The Princess’s betrothed was the Holy Lord from the Land of Eternal Frost, a people born with powerful and unique magic.
For some reason, though, their clan had been isolated from the world for a thousand years.
With the current war between humans and demons raging on, what was needed was a turning point—a force strong enough to change the tide of battle.
The Princess coveted their magic, and in turn, they surely had their eyes on the supreme rights and resources she could provide.
It was a marriage with no love involved—only mutual benefit.
At this same hour, seven days from now, the Princess and the Holy Lord would wed under the gaze of the goddess.
The High Priest and the Saintess from the Land of Eternal Frost would also be present to conduct the blessing ceremony for the couple.
But what a pity for Her Highness, who had never been with the one she truly loved.
Even though the matter had been suppressed back then, everyone who knew understood her feelings for that maid.
But identity and status—those stood in their way, and in the end, they could never be together.
Moreover, that maid had met a tragic end on the road…
Thinking of this, Gesi let out a silent sigh in her heart.
After the High Priest left, Gesi glanced at her pocket watch—the hand had just passed the eleventh hour.
“It’s already this late, I must hurry and prepare a meal for Her Highness.”
She quickly hurried down the corridor toward the palace kitchen.
By the time the meal was ready, the watch hand pointed precisely to one o’clock.
Gesi arrived at the door to the Princess’s study.
She’d rushed here and her appearance was a little disheveled.
After tidying the wrinkles in her maid uniform, she took a deep breath, calming her racing heart, and finally knocked on the door.
“Your Highness, please take a break. It’s time to eat.”
A long silence filled the room, until a crisp “click” sounded and the door slowly opened…
A woman of about twenty-five stood inside.
She wore a light, gauzy white dress, her beauty cold and ethereal.
Atop her long, sky-blue hair sat a gold crown studded with jewels—though at a glance, the crown looked heavy and uncomfortable to wear.
Below her embroidered brows were deep, ocean-blue eyes.
Meeting her gaze gave one the sense of being plunged into the depths, as if countless thoughts swirled in that unfathomable sea.
This was the current Princess of the humans, Eulice Lei.
Her appearance had not changed at all since the moment she received the goddess’s blessing upon ascending the throne, maintaining her graceful beauty for nearly a hundred years.
Yet compared to before, her face seemed even colder, so much so that one might wonder if she even had any other expressions left on that gloomy countenance.
In truth, Gesi hadn’t seen her smile in decades.
Her face seemed calmer than the snow of early winter—only when she was angry did that snowstorm grow fierce, quietly burying the guilty in frozen earth, silent and eternal.
A single-lens monocle adorned her right eye, and the desk inside was cluttered with papers.
Dark circles betrayed long nights of work.
With just one glance, Gesi knew Her Highness had been up all night handling state affairs again, working straight through until midday.
Gesi gave a deep curtsy and spoke respectfully: “Your Majesty, please come to the hall for your meal.”
Eulice was silent for a moment. Her lips parted, and a chilly breath escaped: “I have no appetite. I won’t eat today.”
“But Your Majesty, you haven’t eaten for days. If this continues, your health will suffer.”
Gesi couldn’t help but plead, her voice anxious.
“And in a few days, it’s your wedding…”
Gesi added, noticing Eulice’s brows draw together slightly.
A silent sigh, then came the reply: “Take me, then.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
***
In the hall, Eulice looked at the table overflowing with delicacies but felt not a trace of hunger.
After only a few pieces of bread, she stood to return to work.
“Your Highness…”
Gesi hurriedly stepped forward to persuade her, but as she passed the table, her pocket caught on the edge, and the red hair tie tumbled out, landing before Eulice.
Seeing the familiar hair tie on the floor, Eulice visibly froze.
Her eyes widened, and the pain she’d buried deep within was suddenly pulled back to the surface…
“I’m so sorry, Your Highness, I’ll pick it up right away…”
Before she could finish, Eulice had already bent down to retrieve it.
She stared at the vivid red hair tie, her eyes uncharacteristically sorrowful.
“This… where did you find it?”
She spoke quietly, her tone calm as ever, yet her fingers caressed the hair tie with remarkable gentleness.
“It fell from a cat demon I encountered on a mission before.”
“…I see…”
This hair tie carried her wish to escape with Mo Zhi.
She’d had a black cat take it and run as far away as possible, pretending she and Mo Zhi had truly escaped together.
But now, it had returned to her hand once more…
But the world had changed, and she was no longer the naive, kind girl she’d once been.
Her little maid would never return.
She could not escape her fate—not even like this…
The red on the hair tie was the color of Mo Zhi’s blood.
She could still sense the lingering presence on it—so achingly familiar…
“Your Majesty… are you all right?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because… you’re crying.”
Eulice suddenly snapped back to herself, almost in disbelief as she raised her slender fingers to her cheek. Warm tears slid down to pool in her palm.
She clenched the hair tie tightly in her hand, but in the end, let it fall weakly to the table.
“Throw it away. I don’t want to see it again.”
Her voice was faint, as if it had taken all her strength to say it.
She was no longer that princess.
She was now the Princess, leader of humanity.
She could not cling to the past.
She had to give everything she was to the humans, to this war…