"YOU told the leader of the aristocratic faction that he won't be king without you? Now that's what they called confidence." Crown Prince Allistair's laugh boomed inside the Order's room where the Crown Prince Yei Lin used as his office. Though it became more of their hideout inside Trifecta Academy just like what they were doing today.

Tori's plan to become their companion paid off. After a year, the two princes became more of her friend than a companion. They also knew of her ambition to become Queen Regent. She told them almost anything except her past and her being Benefactor T.

Glancing at the laughing Allistair who's sprawled on the sofa unethically, Tori raised her brows as a challenge. "Why? Do you plan to test my words right away? I would love to let you become my beta tester for my new plan." The infamous sweet voice made Allistair paled like paper.

"I-I am kidding, Tori. You know that Monakre's loyalty lies only to you. You are the only reason why my father did not declare war with the empire. We can only rest when you become Queen Regent."

Finally butting in with their conversation, the busy president of the Order spoke with his signature no-nonsense voice. "Before you aim to become Queen Regent you must win the Vesta challenge first. Then, you needed the winning candidate to crown you as Queen Regent which means he, who will become king, needs to either love you or trust you that he will choose to give you an equal power as him."

Aah, that word again.

"Love, huh," Tori uttered the hated word. Her tone seems lonely and faraway since she was just reminiscing the times when she was still Talia who dared to dream about love. But for Tori, it was now like a faraway dream within a dream.

She was not able to see how the two princes stopped on their tracks when they for the first time a genuine feeling in her face and voice. And for them, she seems so fragile, a contrasting observation from the dangerous aura she usually gave off.

Prince Yei Lin spoke as his eyes never left hers. "You're already eligible for marriage. Are you perhaps in love with someone else, Lady Tori?"

Of course. In this era, women marry at an early age such as fifteen especially the ladies from high society. Technically, my mind is already legal to marry but Goddess Gaia! This body of mine is still fucking fifteen. I am barely out from puberty.

I will only offer this body to my chosen king though as of the moment he's rebelling against me. But he is my chosen and will stay my chosen king candidate. I just need him to need me and not own me.

I am Victoria Rozenreff, I do the owning.

Tori answered him flatly. "If I am not interested with the second prince anymore as my chosen one then prepare your selves."

What Tori said was supposed to be a joke but the reaction she saw unfolding in front of her meant that the two did not take it as a joke. They took it as a threat. Crown Prince Allistair fell from the sofa he was sprawled on as he hurriedly looked at me. While Crown Prince Yei Lin spilled the ink into his work which became a mess.

Idiots.

"Get your idiotic heads off the gutter." Rolling her eyes, Tori served herself more tea. She just loved the effects of tea during the night. It always calmed her ringing head until she was lulled to sleep.

The door swiftly opened. Tori already knew who it was so she continued pouring the tea from the porcelain teapot. Before, she would have to guess who it was since there would be two people who would barge the office like that. But ever since the second prince started to follow Tessa like a lost puppy, he stopped coming to the Order's office.

"Duke Castaña," Crown Prince Yei Lin greeted the newly arrived person. The impolite Crown Prince Allistair just nodded his head to the Duke.

After setting the teapot, Tori finally greeted the newly arrived Duke with a smile. "It's been a while, Rowan."

He became the Duke of Castaña Duchy as the previous Duke could not take the humiliation he took from the incident a year ago.

Duke Rowan Castaña announced after he took the title that the Castaña Duchy would support Lady Victoria. He did not announce his support to any of the faction thus he became the very first noble who belonged to the neutral zone in terms of support. However, it was not uncommon to the high society that the young Duke pledged his loyalty to the young heir of the Rozenreff Duchy. Rumors even spread about their intimacy and it would not be surprising for them to join hands through marriage in the future.

Duke Rowan, my very first pawn. You are my greatest investment.

Before her, Rowan stood proudly as his uniform hold the Castaña Duchy's sigil. Looking back, he was now far from the malnourished boy she took from the slums of Pivet Alley.

"I thought that you'd be busy with Lady Elisa? Have you finished touring her?"

Elisa Castaña pledged her allegiance to Tori as soon she became the official heir of the Rozenreff Duchy. Without Elisa's father breathing down her neck, she was able to fall in love with the knight, Sir Zulric Lerkenstein, who's now the captain of Castaña Duchy. After the incident in the courthouse, Elisa became an outcast to the high society because she betrayed her mother.

Tori made Elisa realized that it was her love for the first prince that ruined her. That was also the time that Tori pushed Sir Zulric to be Elisa's new love interest.

I never thought I can become a damn awesome cupid.

And now, months later, Elisa made a grand comeback to the high society with Sir Zulric by her side. Though she was now happy, she wanted Prince Lauren to suffer in which Tori gladly accepted. Thus, their newfound alliance was born.

"Elisa was following Sabina discreetly. Your sister decided to throw a welcome party to the new noble ladies who just came today in Trifecta Academy." Rowan sat on the sofa which was adjacent to where Crown Prince Allistair lazily laid.

So, you want to gather your sources in this school huh. I am looking forward to watching the show you're weaving, dearest sister of mine.

After losing her chance to become the head of the Duchy, Sabina did not falter. Not the slight. Instead, she used the fact that the Castaña Duchy became neutral zone nobles thus rendering Lady Elisa forfeit for the seat of the noble faction's candidate for Vesta challenge. Sabina still acted friendly with her in the estate which Tori would return in equal fervor.

Duke Luwen Rozenreff, on the other, stopped dining with them. He would usually stay up late in his office and would leave early in the morning for the royal palace. Tori knew he's up to something so she took the precautionary measure to alert the aristocratic faction. They needed to guard the Elsysian Crown well.

Tori smiled slyly at Rowan, "Your sister never wasted her time huh."

"Elisa just hated the fact that Sabina became the Vesta candidate from the noble faction." Rowan took the extra tea she served.

Upon seeing what Rowan did, the two princes followed suit. Crown Prince Allistair finally sat and took the tea for him while Crown Prince Yei Lin simply stood up and took the teacup with him on his table.

Rowan looked around, "Prince Corean is not coming again?" His eyes held worry for Tori's feelings but the latter just dismissed it with a nonchalant shrug.

"Let him do whatever he wants. The more you hold into him the more he'll try to run away. But trust me; he will grovel back to us in no time."

"You are just letting your future husband like that?" Crown Prince Allistair looked at Tori seriously. "The aristocratic faction will not like his actions."

"We have greater problems than his rebellious stage. Yei Lin, did you bring what I asked of your father?"

Sighing heavily, the chinky crown prince stood up to give Tori the parchment that held all of her needed information. "May I remind you for the nth time, Lady Tori, I am not your errand boy. I don't do fetch." He glumly sat next to Crown Prince Allistair who was just grinning.

You don't do fetch, huh. Smiling wickedly, Tori dropped the parchment on purpose making it fall to the floor helplessly. "Crown Prince Yei Lin, will you take it for me?"

Her red eyes were mocking her but for Yei Lin, he would follow those eyes everywhere. Yei Lin already surrendered his loyalty to her. And now, by kneeling to the ground as he took the parchment for her, Yei Lin proved his submission to the future queen of the empire. Somehow, the fact that she would be someone else's queen made him felt the emotion he never dared to name, sadness.

Tori's smile widened upon understanding his action. She tilted his chin to make him look at her while his one knee was down to the floor. "You're such a good boy, Prince Yei Lin."

When Crown Prince Yei went back to his seat, the two young men bumped fists with him which made Tori shook her head. Tori's focus turned to the information passed by the king to her.

Tori asked it for herself. Even the three young men wondered why he needed that information. After all, what she's asking was the list of all recognized diseases in the world and their details although; the last part was the list of medicines and their uses.

"Why are you asking for those? You even included the newly recognized diseases." Crown Prince Yei Lin asked her with wonder, the same question that Rowan and Crown Prince Allistair were thinking.

"Someone important for our future will die this month and no it is not from assassination but a plague that the empire will not expect. Hundreds of thousands will die and that person will be one of the casualties. I need to stop that."

The look of disbelief reflected in their faces after listening to what she said. Her once smiling face was now emotionless as she looked straight to them to convey her feelings.

That's right. I have no intention to busy myself with the second prince's antics. There's still a bigger issue that needed to be resolved. The fact that Prince Corean's death is one season earlier than the original plot is something that I am wary of. At least, like in Season 2, the clues of his impending death never changed.

Like the original plot, the construction of the dam was the clue that the plague will start that month. And four days ago, I heard from Johanes that father is the one in charge of the construction of the new dam.

I need to stop this plague or prevent it. So to do so, I will need information.

"Before we dwell into the roots of this matter, we must plan first how to get Zeno McMillian Larat to our side. After all, he pledged his loyalty to the noble faction."

It irritated Tori that in one year, the original plot was able to stay no matter how big she intervened. The betrayal of Zeno McMillian Larat of the House Larat under the aristocratic faction still happened.

I must get you Zeno McMillian before that wench will get her claws in you since you are supposed to fall in love with her. I will get you and use you to make the antidote for me. After all, you were the one who created the miraculous cure in the original plot. But that happened after Prince Corean's death and I won't let that happen again.

Death has no right to take away the king candidate of my choosing, that role is mine. It should be me who will dictate that for the second prince. Not the plague, not the noble faction, and not even death.