“Welcome back, Ash. And I’m sorry. For putting you through such a hard time.”

“I know. Why didn’t you tell me all this earlier?” Amethyst wiped away her tears.

Belice smiled. “Then you would’ve been destroyed.”

That had not been the answer she expected. “What do you mean by destroyed?”

“Even though I moved the soul in accordance with the Goddess’ will, your fate has to be determined by yourself. No one could influence you until your soul and body becomes aligned. That’s how delicate a piece of soul is. Although, I didn’t think you’d leave Alexcent because you couldn’t accept your fate. But that was probably the Goddess’ will as well. The important thing is that you came back.”

“That means, I don’t have to go back to my old life?” Amethyst asked with hope.

“You couldn’t go back, even if you wanted to. The moment you decided to accept him, you have become a unique individual.”

“Then, if I go back to Alexcent, he won’t get hurt, or become dangerous, right?”

“That is correct. His destiny is you.”

So, this wasn’t a world of a novel? The novel never had a female protagonist that had to be with him. Everything had changed, as she was never part of the novel. Amethyst laughed. How silly she had been, all this time.

“Amethyst,” Belice grasped Amethyst’s shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. “This is the place you belong.”

Amethyst nodded, her green eyes sparkling. Then she erupted once more in tears of joy. Her heart tried to pound out of her chest in excitement. She wanted to see Alexcent. The reasons for leaving him were no more.

***

The first thing Alexcent did after returning to the Skad mansion was to send a message to the Boron Kingdom.

“Gen, tell the rulers of the Boron kingdom that I can only use my ability in war, so if they really want to see it, I am willing to show them personally. A slaughter will begin, with the blessing of the empress. So, unless they want to turn the blue sea red, then they should sign the treaty and follow it rigorously. Make sure to put my seal on it. I’m sure they will agree unless they are stupid.”

“Yes, my lord. I am also to inform you that Her Majesty is looking for you.”

“Of course.” He didn’t want to see Belice yet, but knew he had to. She still needed to remove the seal that kept him from his powers.

When he had returned, he didn’t go to the palace immediately to see Belice. Instead, he concentrated on fixing all of the problems that had arose while he was away. That was more important to take care of before getting rid of the seal. The second thing he had needed to do was recall all of his household knights. As soon as they received the message that he was back, they returned as quickly as they could.

Everything seemed to be going back to normal, like rusted gears that had grinded to a halt until he provided the oil. It was now time to face Belice. In the carriage ride to the palace, he went over in his mind what he would say. Even though she was his sister, the situation would still be awkward.

At Belice’s office door, a servant announced his arrival. “You may enter,” She called from inside.

Alexcent entered. He could feel the tension in the air even before he faced his sister. All the words he had practiced in his mind left him and he just stood there, in the centre of the room, in uncomfortable silence. It was Belice who was first to break the quiet.

Belice stepped in front of him. “Hello, Alexcent.”

“You don’t look so well, Your Majesty.”

Belice frowned. She didn’t like how he was being formal even though they were alone. “Alexcent, I’m sorry. I did something terrible to you. No, it was more than terrible, it was unforgivable.” She knew she had to apologize but had no idea how he would react.

“I can’t say it wasn’t,” He replied.

“Alexcent, I did it for everyone.”

“What do you mean for everyone? To do something so cruel and claim it was for everyone? No, everything was done for you. Look at this.” Alexcent motioned to his new appearance. “Look at the result.”

“Yes, you’re right. I was cruel for my own reasons. But it affected everyone, especially you.”

“I really don’t know what to say to you. Right now, I hate and resent you.” He could see Belice twinge at that remark.

“Alexcent, you can hate me forever; resent me. You don’t even have to forgive me. But I need you.” She was on the verge of tears. The last part, about her needing him, was barely audible.

His heart ached a little, seeing her like this. She had always been confident. He didn’t like seeing her in such pain. “Despite how I currently feel, I know I’ll still forgive you in the end.”

“Alexcent.” Belice looked up, with hope, to Alexcent.

“I told you to be a strong empress, but all you did was cause trouble.” Alexcent then broke out in a smile. “Hurry up and break the seal.”

Belice laughed away her tears and grabbed both of Alexcent’s hands. As she mumbled words of incantation, the complicated seal on his wrist slowly disappeared and he returned to his true form.

She stumbled, the spell taking energy out of her. He quickly grabbed hold of her arms to support her.

Belice looked up into the eyes she remembered. “I’m sorry. And thank you, for forgiving me.”

“Well, it wasn’t all bad.”

“What do you mean? It wasn’t all bad?”

“Becoming a slave wasn’t all bad. And the reasons it had to be done were not all your fault, as well.” He could tell she had no idea what he was referring too, but just smiled in return.