"WHY CAN'T YOU DO ANYTHING RIGHT!? ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS POUR THIS INTO ARI'S DRINK!" Aderi's stepmother, Leni said angrily as she slapped Aderi in the cheeks. Aderi held her cheeks, biting her lips to hold her tears back.

"YOU AND YOUR MOTHER ARE MY CURSES!" Leni said groaning in anger. Aderi just stood there helplessly. The 16-year-old girl was always abused like this.

Leni walked away from Aderi leaving the room. Finally, Aderi let her tears fall as she also fell to the ground. Today wasn't that bad...usually she would pull out Aderi's hair, slap her, throw things at her, or even hit her with things in her body.

Aderi's snow-white skin was always filled with bruises, she rarely goes out so she doesn't see the sun often. Her curtains in her room are always shut.

She look up and she was met with her crying reflection. In front of her was a large big mirror.

"Why...? Why do I have your appearance-- mother?" She whispered as she looked at her hopeless self in the mirror.

She despises her reflection, she hates it. Her father and even her stepmother hate her appearance due to her looking exactly like her mother.

----

At the age of 17 Aderi's grandparents died. The only one who supported Aderi. She received a lot of money after her grandparent's death.

But that money wasn't used in good deeds.

°

°

"Come on, you have money right? Hire a maid to go do your dirty work on killing Ari. Come on my daughter" Leni whispered in Aderi's ears from behind. Aderi gripped her skirt tightly before nodding. She was excited maybe if she did this right her stepmother would finally treat her like her own daughter.

"That's right..." Leni smirked after Aderi nodded.

°

°

°

"Pft! You look pathetic Ari" Aderi said giggling after she poured her drink on Ari's head.

"L-lady Callista..." Ari said looking at Aderi who was giggling. Her eyes were full of pain.

"Remember...that girl will take everything from you, so...you have to make her life miserable, r" Aderi remembered her stepmother's words. It made her guilt completely gone.

"Boring..." Aderi said dropping the empty wine glass on the floor making it shatter in front of Ari.

"Pft- miss Ari looks hopeless" people started whispering in the ballroom.

----

Why do people support Aderi bullying Ari? Since these two are the most beautiful ladies in the kingdom. If Aderi's schemes succeeded in making Ari miserable and damaging her confidence or even killing her, she wouldn't be chosen to be the crown princess A dead cannot be a princess after all.

The future crown princess must be strong and have high self-confidence and can help rule the crown prince. If Ari doesn't have that, it's one less lady out of the competition for the crown and the love of the crown prince.

And there's Lady Aderi Nova Lacita Callista, the most beautiful lady in the kingdom. The villainess, if she's so evil she won't be chosen to be a crown princess. Who wants a villainess to be the crown princess that will be the future queen anyway, right?

They are trying to eliminate the ladies that have the most potential to be the crown princess. Everyone wants to be the crown princess. Everyone wants their daughters to be the crown princess. Everyone wants to be part of the royal family.

----

"Aderi Callista...her looks are a waste," The man in front of the crown prince remarked.

"she's the most qualified to be the crown princess, but, her attitude isn't fitting, what should we do, your highness? This time her sin is far much worse!" The man spoke up again.

"The bullying has gone too far...without a doubt, she needs to be executed, that's the fitting punishment," the crown prince said leaning back, as he then again looked at the paper containing Aderi's violation.

----

This time Aderi went with her plan of killing Ari by hiring a maid to assassinate Ari. But of course, the maid got caught and told them who paid her to do this.

----

"Indeed...it shows on the document that she indeed hired a maid to kill miss Ari, the poor woman is living her life in fear" The man spoke as he also looked at the paper.

"Seize her at once" the crown prince ordered.

"Are you sure, your highness?" The man asked shocked.

"Yes I am...jake, seize her at once," the crown prince said, the man bowed, making his long pink hair fall in front, and he stood up straight again as he turned around leaving the room.

"You changed...but your crimes cannot go unpunished, I know I'm gonna regret this but, I cannot see any other way around...I'm sorry" the crown prince spoke clenching his fist as he looked at the moon.

°

°

----

That night the young 20-year-old Aderi was seized by the royal knights that were being led by a young tall man with long pink hair.

----

°

°

"She's here crown prince," the leader of the knights who captured Aderi said as he was leading the crown prince to the now-imprisoned Aderi.

"What do you want your highness?" Aderi looked up at the prince. The prince's white hair was being hit by the moonlight, his hair was sparking.

"I just want one answer..." The crown prince spoke before pausing.

"Why did you change?" The crown prince asked with disappointment, Aderi scoffed.

"Me? Change? Do you even know me personally, your highness?" Aderi asked tilting her head to the side and lifting one of her eyebrows.

"Yes, I do" the prince spoke as he looked at Aderi in the eyes, her eyes were empty, with no light at all, there wasn't a single star in her eyes like she used to have.

"You don't know me personally" Aderi spoke glaring at the prince. The prince fell silent as he clenched his fist.

"I do know you" he muttered as he tightened the clench on his fist.

"What are you muttering about!?" Aderi asked after not hearing what the crown prince muttered.

"Why are you doing all of these to miss Duncan? What is her treason to you?" He asked confused with a frown. Aderi scoffed again.

"Do you think I want to do all of that?" Aderi asked looking down as her voice is now trembling.

"Then why?" The crown prince asked.

"If I disobey them...they would hit me since I was young I've experienced it...so, what makes you think I won't disobey them?!" Aderi asked as she looked up, the crown prince was shocked to see aderi cry.

~~~

"Why are you crying?" A soft voice asked, The girl looked up and She was met with a little boy that is about the same age as her, that boy has black hair and blue eyes, the boy was wearing a cloak.

"It hurts!" The girl cried as she tried wiping her tears. the boy has a worried look on his face as she saw the girl crying. The girl has reddish hair and eyes.

"It hurts!" The girl cried out once more as she gripped her chest, the boy panicked and pulled the girl in a hug.

"It hurts..my heart hurts..." She said crying in the boy's arms.

"Why does it hurt? Why do you have a scar on your cheeks?" The boy asked as he caressed her hair.

"It hurts...why does father hate me so much? Why do I have to have my mother's appearance? Why does the world hate me?" The girl cried out.

~~~~

The crown prince took one step back as a certain memory flashed at the scene of the villainess crying.

"It hurts!" Aderi cried out.

"it hurts!" Aderi yelled out again as she held her chest gripping it tightly.

"It will be over now, wouldn't it?" Aderi asked looking at the crown prince, the crown prince hesitated to ask this but he did anyway.

"Why are you crying?" The crown prince asked.

"It hurts!" Aderi replied again. The scene again reminded him of another scene that happened a long time ago.

----

It was an almost perfect recreation. It was night and the moonlight was shining on the scene. It would be perfect if he could hug her...again.

But, Aderi doesn't know his identity. So he left the prison leaving the crying Aderi behind not knowing what to do.

----

That morning Aderi was executed by none other than the crown prince himself.

His hands were trembling to hold the sword, he held his breath before muttering a word.

"I love you," he said before swinging his sword downwards cutting Aderi's head. The people cheered after Aderi's execution.

There in the crowds stood Ari. At that moment she knew her suffering from Aderi's grasp is over.

But she looked at the crown prince who freed her from all of this and fell in love.

There were no other candidates for the position of crown princess that is as strong as Aderi nor Ari so...Ari Noelle Duncan was officially announced as the official crown princess.

The crown prince wasn't happy with his marriage especially after he killed the one who he truly loved for a long time. But as the crown prince, the future king, he has to do what he has to do.

In their family, they have a saying.

"To be a king, you must put your feeling away and don't be swayed by your emotion. If you have to kill someone you love to keep the kingdom and the citizen safe. You must have to do what you have to do"

But deep down he regretted following this saying.