Chapter 403 : Please Continue to Stay by Dorothy's Side

There was no point in being coy.

There was no princess here, no songstress.

Only two girls.

"Your Highness, you like Felyn, and I like Felyn too," Zervanie spoke first. "You want to snatch Felyn away, to take him away, so I must stop you."

She paused, looking at Dorothy who was biting her lip, and continued, "What you're doing is wrong, Your Highness. You won't win Felyn's heart this way; you'll only push him further and further away."

Zervanie could understand Dorothy's thinking.

Because in the past, she was just like Dorothy, only not as crazy.

She had thought Felyn was hers, her possession, a character who would become her lover with a simple confession.

But that wasn't the reality.

It took her several months and a lot of effort to make amends with Felyn, just to barely be able to stand by his side.

"Miss Zervanie, you don't need to judge my actions. You can't understand what has happened between Brother Felyn and me."

Dorothy's hands gripped the hem of her skirt tightly. Zervanie's confession to Felyn just now had made her very uncomfortable.

"You, Viloti, Adelina, Daiyi—you all like Brother Felyn. Even his 'sister' likes Brother Felyn. You all want to snatch my Brother Felyn away."

"Brother Felyn is mine, and I am Brother Felyn's. I know what I'm doing will make Brother Felyn sad and hurt, but I will make it up to him later. I will use everything I have to compensate Brother Felyn."

Seeing that the princess before her had no intention of backing down, Zervanie didn't plan to say much more to her.

She hadn't expected to change Dorothy's mind with just a few sentences in the first place.

The negotiation had reached a stalemate. Zervanie turned to face the fans below, intending to continue using the street performance to hold their attention and protect Felyn.

But as she turned, Dorothy wrapped her arms around Zervanie's, pulling at her.

"Miss Zervanie, please leave."

Zervanie frowned, her voice no longer sweet, but tinged with impatience. "Your Highness, let go of me."

Their pushing and shoving brought Zervanie's back into the public's view.

Seeing Zervanie suddenly disappear and then reappear, the fans, who thought the surprise performance was over, once again erupted in frenzied cheers.

If this continued, the scene of Dorothy and Zervanie pulling at each other would be seen by the fans below.

But this time, Zervanie only appeared for a few seconds before the fans below saw her disappear from sight once more.

Felyn had pulled the about-to-be-exposed Zervanie and Dorothy back just in time.

"Wait... wait a minute..."

Felyn held Zervanie with his left hand and Dorothy with his right, almost out of breath.

"Let me catch my breath, let me recover..."

Without a transfer sigil, Felyn had run upstairs with all his might, managing to get there just before they were seen by the people below.

"Do-Dorothy, you ran so fast, aren't you out of breath at all?"

Felyn looked at Dorothy, who had climbed the stairs just like him but seemed completely fine, and felt a little resentful.

He had actually lost to a child's stamina!

Damn it!

"Brother Felyn, my body is a bit special, so my stamina is better."

Seeing Felyn like this, Dorothy couldn't be bothered with Zervanie anymore. She quickly helped Felyn sit down.

Zervanie also hurried to support Felyn, whispering in his ear, "Felyn, what are you doing here? There's hardly anyone here. You'll be taken away by Dorothy!"

If Dorothy used transfer magic here, no one would be able to stop her.

"If I hadn't come up, both of you would have been in danger."

If Felyn had been a step later, the scene of them pulling at each other would have really been seen by the crowd below.

It wouldn't even take until the next day. Tonight, the entire city of Seiva would be buzzing with the explosive news of the popular songstress Zervanie and the imperial princess Dorothy clashing in public.

Felyn looked at the concerned Dorothy beside him and said to her, "Dorothy, if you get into a conflict with Zervanie and it's seen by others, your reputation will be affected."

"Rep...utation?"

Dorothy tilted her head, slowly mouthing the two words.

She knelt beside Felyn, reaching out to pat his back to make him more comfortable.

The wind on the rooftop carried the slight chill of early autumn, blowing Dorothy's pinkish-purple hair into a flurry.

White streams of fire streaked across the sky, exploding into huge clusters of flowers, then transforming into thousands of falling points of light.

With each firework explosion, her exquisite face was illuminated in flickering light and shadow.

"Brother Felyn, what reputation do I have?"

Dorothy lowered her head, watching her hair wrap around Felyn's ankle.

The title of princess was very famous. There was no one in the entire Sivishus Empire who didn't like the gentle and kind Princess Dorothy.

"From the day I was born, not a single person in the royal family liked me. They said I was a curse, a calamity, an agent sent by the Demon King to the mortal realm." Dorothy closed her eyes and turned her head slightly to the side, unwilling to let Felyn see the somewhat pained expression on her face.

"My peers ostracized me. They would throw paper balls at me, throw bugs into my window, and shout from downstairs for me to die sooner."

"Not to mention my elders. They would only tell their children to stay away from me, only speak ill of me in front of my father, the King, asking him to banish me."

Dorothy's hands rested limply on her knees. She had long grown accustomed to being treated this way.

She had resisted, but it was useless. Her whole world was against her.

"So, what reputation do I have?"

Dorothy smiled at Felyn, but the smile on her lips silenced the fireworks in the sky and dimmed their colors.

"While they curse me, they also make me attend various political events, making me act as a representative of the royal family to foster good relations with the public. It's really laughable when you think about it. It's all a sham."

The night wind helped Dorothy by tucking her hair behind her ear, revealing her face with its bitten lip, revealing the pain in her purple eyes.

"But Brother Felyn, you don't have to worry about Dorothy."

Even though her heart was already in great pain, Dorothy still used her hand to smooth Felyn's furrowed brow, leaning in close to him, wanting to use her smile to make him happy.

"The empire has been in a crisis recently, right? The surrounding divine sects are all watching like tigers, and my father has also started to select his next successor."

Dorothy's hand rested lightly on Felyn's chest, feeling its rise and fall, her eyes filled with nothing but his figure.

"I wanted to compete for this position before to get revenge on the royal family, to trample on all those who bullied me. But now, I want to become the monarch, to show Brother Felyn that I can protect you. No matter what you become, I can protect and take care of you forever and ever."

Felyn saw the purple in Dorothy's eyes deepen and could feel the girl's infatuated... love.

"Brother Felyn, Dorothy will protect you well. Dorothy can do it. After Dorothy becomes the monarch, Brother Felyn can do whatever he wants. Brother Felyn, please... please..."

Dorothy pressed her forehead against Felyn's arm, her voice beginning to tremble.

Her long, curly pinkish-purple hair fell across Felyn's chest, speaking the girl's heart for her.

"Don't leave me alone, okay?"

"Please don't leave Dorothy. Please... please continue to stay by Dorothy's side, okay?"

(End of Chapter)