Mei Ruan April 17th, 20XX

Esmeralda stared at me with widened eyes as she registered what I had just proposed and the documents she held shook as her hands trembled.

“ YOU WISH TO CANCEL THE ENGAGEMENT?”

I winced a bit at her loud tone but nodded all the same.

“ That's correct Esmeralda... I'm sure you already know why as well”

She began to bluster as if she really didn't know. But from the way that her hands gripped the papers without even opening them, it was clear that she knew their contents.

“ But General! you are aware of why the royal family needs the Ruan clan. How can you just back off from the engagement like this?!”

“ Drop the act Esmarelda. I’m sure you are already aware of what happened after you left.”

There was no way that the previous queen's aide would not have any idea of what would happen if she put the prince who had an unreasonable amount of magical power and I, whose great magic perception was no secret, together.

I slowly drew out my wand and set it onto the table beside me, making my intentions clear.

“ There is no way you didn't know what would happen between the two of us. The fault falls on me well for failing to investigate the Prince properly-"

Esmeralda began to look around the room in a not so subtle attempt to plan an escape route but I pretended not to notice and instead continued to talk.

"As well, Since I plan to void the engagement I didn't really intend to investigate why such a thing happened any more than I already have-”

Esmeralda backed up as I stood, obviously scared witless. But I couldn't really blame her. After all, as the child of a fairy as a witch, she really had no chance of retaliating if I chose to attack.

“ But then it occurred to me, 'What Were Esmeralda's intentions?'. Did she have such faith in the General of the Ruan clan that she felt safe leaving the prince with me? Even to the extent of letting his Guards be taken? Or-”

I quickly materialized a small dagger, nothing deadly but more than sufficiently threatening. I let it loose and it planted itself into the wall so deeply that only its short hilt remained, mere inches from her face.

But somehow even seeing the frightened expression on her face did nothing to alleviate my anger.

“ Were you expecting something to happen? Using me as a puppet to act in whatever play you wished to act out?”

She shook her head as quickly as she could, causing her elaborate updo to fall out of place and began to justify herself, realizing that her life depended on her next answer.

My previous actions and thoughts aside, I was still a loyal citizen of the Queendom and on top of that, I was a Ruan.

For someone to dare attempt to harm the prince was a heavy crime in my eyes. This even included me.

But to try to use me as the weapon... Such actions came at the price of a life long debt that could only be paid in blood.

Upon my return, I planned to temporarily surrender the control of the Ruan Army to the Crown until Aruna had matured enough to take control of it all. I also intended to enlist in the royal army as a soldier and work off my crimes there.

It was a somewhat harsh punishment but it was the one I would have given to any one of my subordinates if they had acted as I had.

Well… All this was dependent on whether the prince chose not to have me beheaded or have my wings torn off for my actions.

But perhaps I’ll have my sister swear loyalty to the crown in a grand ceremony to show the Ruan’s family stand on the new prince. In that way, she could also have the protection of the crown while I was away.

Sadly Aruna was still too young or she could have taken my place in the marriage but since that couldn't happen we could still provide the prince and the new queen with ample support as an apology for my actions here today.

And more importantly, the duchy and Aruna would be safe and intact.

“ General Ruan! I wouldn't dare! I truly didn't think your perception of magic was so high, and I really didn't think you would react so volatilely to the prince! especially seeing as Corin and Cambridge are fin-”

Lillian appeared behind her and locked her wings shut, preventing the green fairy from escaping.

It seemed that subtlety wouldn't work if the other party refused to acknowledge it.

“ Esmerelda... Surely even you aren't that stupid? Of course, it wouldn't affect them since their abilities are half sealed. Their perception naturally went down with it as well. Now-”

I extended my wand into a short sword, disliking the lack of range but being forced to use it all the same.

It was what General Ruan was famous for using after all.

Esmeralda began to tremble as she laid eyes on the sword that had slain many much stronger fairies than her and she bit her lip to keep from screaming out for help.

However bad Jaya was she was probably right in calling me a hot-headed brute. If the green fairy had dared scream she would have lost her tongue.

And as a close friend of Jaya, Esmarelda definitely knew what I was more than capable of doing to her.

She had lost her strongest backing, which was the queen and it looked like she had royally failed to get close to the new prince as he seemed either generally disinterested in her or at most annoyed by her presence.

“ You know that the Ruan Family has always been loyal to the crown… We have been their daggers and shields for as long as time was old. If you insist on not clarifying yourself-”

Lillian grabbed her by the scruff of her clothing and forced her to stick out her head, leaving the usually composed woman in an awkward position, being held up only by the neck and the wings.

In such a position she had no choice but to watch as I hoisted up the sword, letting my magic run through it to make it even more imposing and prepare to swing it down.

“ Wait! General! I’ll explain!”

I wasn't going to actually behead her, at most I would have just cut off that obnoxious beehive she called a hairstyle but she didn't need to know that.

At my command, Lillian let go of her scruff and the pitiful wretch collapsed towards the ground, only being held up by her wings.

“ I really did believe that you would never actually harm the prince... As you said the loyalty of the Ruan family to the crown is much too strong. The possibility never even crossed my mind until now….but I couldn't help but think how nice it would've been if the New royal couple was able to have a royal heir within the first year of the wedding?.. or well, the gestation period for royalty is longer, so perhaps within the same decade?”

A repulsive expression bloomed across her face as she continued and made me seriously reconsider my decision to not behead her. She looked towards me as if she hoped for me to see the benefits in forcing the prince and becoming Queen in such a shameful manner.

Regardless of whether I was marrying the prince or not, I couldn't leave such a snake at his side.

The Queen’s aide or not.

“ You mean you intended to have me assault the prince?”

A self-righteous expression impressed itself onto her face and she began to preach, having completely forgotten what position she was in.

“ It would be the Prince’s honor to be with you and pioneer a new era in the Queendom General Ruan. And I’m sure you would treat him well after the union, even if it was from a place of guilt. As well you would be the next queen and our safety would be guaranteed. It really would have worked out best for everyone!”

Even before I could give the order Lillian had grabbed Esmeralda by the neck by magic, opting for a single thick rope instead of the thin needles she usually used to attack and pulled her up, suffocating her with the aid of gravity and her own dead weight.

The usually stone-faced fairy had a murderous expression on her face and spoke quietly but the savageness in her tone could not be hidden.

“ It. Would. Be. His. Honor?”

The dark fairy was livid at such a statement and I couldn't help but light a silent candle in my mind for the green fairy.

Lillian had originally been born from a large family with one male as the youngest child and three elder sisters to over-doting on him.

Who would have known that their mother would pull the same trick as Esmarelda, leaving him to be taken advantage of by someone from a much higher place of power and then had married him away for power?

As clear as day I still remember the look on her face when the news got out and he was labeled a ‘social climber’ and many other less pleasant names.

Afterward, the sisters had overthrown their mother, with the eldest taking control of the family and used their power to make sure that their youngest brother was treated well.

And (not that I would ever voice it out loud) but he would have been fine regardless. The woman he had married was of the decent sort… she was just a drunkard.

But even the thought of such a thing was enough to send her into a rage.

Esmeralda sensed this and went dead pale but she couldn't comment as her airways were being crushed. she clawed at the magical rope and desperately tried to fly upwards to avoid being hanged but each time Lillian would lower the rope to put her off guard and would then raise the rope just a bit higher than it had been.

She really behaved as wickedly as she looked sometimes.

I let Lillian go for a bit longer, until the snake had all but given up and would only give a few half-hearted flaps of her wings every so often before stopping her.

" That's enough Lillian… Sadly enough she hasn't actually committed any crimes so we don't have the right to have her killed. Even what we have done has overstepped out bounds. Isn't that right General and Lieutenant Gagnon?”

Cambridge and Corin stepped out of the doorway with matching expressions of hatred and wariness but made no move to release Esmeralda from the choke hold. Although part of those looks was directed at me, I took no offense.

After all, I was still at fault.

The two came to a stop in front of the spectacle we had created.

I took a knee and bowed to the sisters,

“ You have my apologies, general and lieutenant but as a member of the Ruan family as well as for myself I had to punish her for her actions. To attempt to use me like that while putting the prince at risk…. Even if the previous queen were still alive her execution date would be no later than tomorrow.”

Corin and Cambridge only stared at the fairy that still dangled in the air as if they wished they could take over from Lillian and finish the jobs but Cambridge recovered much faster than her sister and stepped forward.

“ Let her go, General. You really have overstepped your bounds. As we now know the full story we won't have you killed for your actions… I myself have done worse to the previous queen when we first met. In fact, your self-restraint should be praised.”

Since she spoke with the authority of a trusted retainer of the crown I knew that my crimes were considered as pardoned but I knew that that wasn't the end of it.

True to my suspicions Cambridge continued speaking.

“But apologies still need to be made to the prince for what happened and punishment still needs to be given-”

A bad feeling arose in me as I looked at my royal counterpart. We were both military people and had both won our own fair share of battles and wars so why was it that when she let me off with a light punishment I felt more endangered than when we were surrounded by an army thrice the size of my own?

I cut her off before she could finish and said as firmly as I could.

“ Of course I have thought of it and am prepared to have my Ruan duchy swear further fealty and alignment with the prince and whoever the queen becomes.. and as for my punishment I will temporarily merge my army with the royal army and join with them.. truly devoting my body to the crown and the people under its protection.”

Neither of us were idiots and our intentions were crystal clear to one another. She was determined to keep me within the royal family and to use my transgressions as a collar to keep me under control and I wanted to make up for those same transgressions but not at the price of my freedom.

I definitely needed to face repercussions for harming the last active member of the royal family but if not for such strenuous circumstances the prince would have actually been the one punished for even being suspected of attempting to cast a bewitchment spell on a general of the empire, never mind one from the most powerful of the Four duchies.

As the two of us faced off Corin looked around with an odd frown on her face, much like one would look at an infant that had wandered into an important meeting. But as much as I looked around I couldn't find the source of such an expression.

Unwilling to get angry but like wisely displeased.

Cambridge drew my attention back to her and a frightening glint lit up in her ash-grey eyes. It reminded me of the stories I had heard from my Mother, who had fought side by side with the sisters.

Even my mother, as fearless as she used to be, had confessed to feeling terrified whenever she saw that look.

“ General Ruan-”