Location: Fancy Office

Time: Saturday Afternoon

“Duchess, no, that name won’t do. That fairy tale has outlived its welcome. We’re starting to regret coming to Wonderland.”

The prince never really looked at people when he talked to them, so Sara wasn’t particularly annoyed that he didn’t stop watching himself in the mirror.

Sara did still think that he should work on his personality though. Too self-centered, right? Right. He should be more open to the world, like Sara.

“We’ll have to come up with new names. Although with only two of you left we’ll have more options.”

“So Sara’s not the Duchess anymore?”

“No. You’re no one. Remember that.”

“Sara’s no one?” What was he talking about? Sara was the only one that mattered.

“Exactly. Now let us ask this nameless operative a few questions. Do you love our empire?”

“Hmm? What are you talking about? Sara loves Sara’s wife.”

“Then do you care about our expansion?”

“Expansion?”

“Do you have any loyalty toward us personally?”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to be? A new kind of pastry?”

“Why exactly did you return after betraying us then?”

“Medicine! Not the normal kind. The stuff they started giving Sara a long time ago. Sara doesn’t know where else to get it.”

“Are you an idiot?”

“Obviously not.”

“Then care to explain how you, a woman whose augmentation makes everything work out in your favor, managed to mess up at every possible opportunity?”

“Who knows? It’s a mystery to Sara as well.” A strange feeling. Good or bad? Sara has trouble remembering what bad is like, so Sara isn’t sure.

“We really wish it was possible to punish you, but we’re certain you’d somehow get out of it.”

“Certainly, right? Right. Sara doesn’t want to be punished by you.”

Sara’s wife, maybe. That’s a different story.

“Knowing you, we’re probably lucky that you even came back. Just, stay out of things for a while. We’re thinking up a new plan of action, and we sent our only other remaining nameless operative to meet with that information brooker. She should be able to connect us with local talents in order to refill our ranks. Now that our blood sucking sister has made her intentions known, we can’t rely on support from back home. Fortunately, she’s in the same boat. The Emperor won’t let anyone else get involved.”

“Sara should stay out of things?”

“Exactly. Unlike a simple peasant like you, we love our empire, and we will see it grow. For that end, you are necessary. We can’t expect to stand up to barbarians in this city without someone like you. In this game our sister is setting up you’ll be one of our valuable pieces.”

“Obviously. Without Sara wanting it, everything is impossible. You need Sara to make things happen.”

“To an extent, but at best, having you act on your own discretion has proven difficult to manage, and at worst, it’s proven absolutely useless. Possibly even detrimental. Once our preparations are done we’ll have you wreck that group of school children our sister is assembling.

“School? Doesn’t seem like much fun for Sara, but in the end it will be. Sara wants her missions to be fun.”

“Fun? This isn’t about fun. We are trying to-”

Sara feels like the prince kept talking, but more important things were happening. There was a screen in the room, showing the news. News is usually boring, Sara would never watch it. This time was different. Can you believe it? Sara’s wife was on!

After that, Sara’s wife was on all the channels, and in all the magazines! Perfect. She was everywhere! Sara couldn’t turn on a TV or look online without seeing pictures of Sara’s wife. Sara wouldn’t expect anything less. Unsurprisingly, even at the end, this was still an epilogue on love.