CORY GLARED at the crown prince of Monakre Kingdom. He just came from meeting Crown Prince Yei Lin. They discussed the deal that Victoria formed with Prince Lauren. He was well aware that after he left her room in the infirmary, Prince Lauren came to meet her.

According to Prince Yei Lin, Victoria was getting curious about the dam. This cause a major headache for Corean since he was becoming busy planting moles inside the noble faction.

And now, the escort of Crown Prince Allistair grabbed him out of nowhere. His knights were not there when he attacked him. The next thing he knew, he was being held captive inside the pavilion owned by the Monakre Kingdom inside the Eckrett Empire.

Cory could not sit still.

The dam construction was a project proposed by Prince Lauren to their father. Hiding behind the pretext of controlling the invisible threat of a flood to the capital, King Elphaim got fooled immediately. What the king did not know that Marquess Zoliel purchased a large amount of Vervain. Thanks to the prince of the merchant country, he finally knew how his beloved brother would kill him.

But Victoria had to meddle with things. Striking a bargain against his brother who planned to kill her after killing him was a desperate thing to do. He agonized with the thought that Victoria would be placed at the center of the power play between him and his brother, Lauren.

What were you thinking, Victoria? Corean thought to himself.

The door opened abruptly followed by the two crown princes who were arguing whilst whispering. Cory stood up to demand his release only to stop midway when Prince Yei Lin's words registered in his mind. "We need to let Prince Corean go. You know that we can't interfere with this empire's politics. All we can do is support Tori from the shadows."

A pair of cerulean eyes glared at him which Cory met.

The newly crowned prince of the Monakre Kingdom spat, "Why him? We can ask Duke Castaña instead! Anyone but him who betrayed Tori's expectations above all else." Venom oozed upon his words, but Cory refrained from replying at the feral prince who was beyond reasons and who did not know the reasons behind Cory's actions.

"Duke Castaña must not know about the young lord of House Larat playing mind games with Tori. He will immediately take action and it will draw the attention of the King. Tori worked hard for this just to be destroyed by the king's obvious favor to his firstborn. No offense, Prince Corean."

Cory shrugged. It was a piece of common knowledge that his father favored the first prince as he was the only remnant of his beloved first queen. Corean never bothered such trivial details. He was contented to keep his mother safe. But a cherry-eyed woman flipped his axis.

Cerulean-eyed prince gritted his teeth. "Are you saying that the traitor from House Larat is with Tori, right now?"

"What do you mean? Where are they?" Cory did not pay attention to the angry prince as he stepped forward to grasp Prince Yei Lin's shoulders. "Bring me to her. You know that Zeno has a sick obsession with people stronger than him. Victoria beat him from the entrance exam at Trifecta Academy. She is in danger with him!"

Prince Yei Lin calmly pried his hands from his shoulders as he faced Cory. "That was what I was saying to Prince Allistair."

Corean did not bother to look back. He dashed outside the door. He knew that Prince Yei Lin would follow. For now, he had to take Victoria from that lunatic.

CORY COULD not contain his anger with Zeno after hearing his malicious words with Victoria. Prince Yei Lin's hand stopped him from storming out from the thick bushes they were hiding since they arrived. He was listening to the whole time. He was listening to how Victoria refused to let him die. Though he knew that Victoria wanted him to be the king for her to be the queen for reasons he could not fathom. Cory pondered, why him? If it was Lauren then Victoria would not have to get injured. If being the queen was her reason, he would rather let her choose Lauren on that fateful day at the Turvy. If he only knew that making him king would endanger her, he could have said no to her that day. That way, he would be the only target of his brother.

"Remember why we are doing this, Prince Corean." Prince Yei Lin whispered to him. Watching Victoria smiled at Zeno McMillian Larat stirred undesirable emotions within him. He wanted to tuck her in between his arms, but he knew he could not.

Funny how Victoria wanted to save him as he wanted to save her but they could not ever meet midway. If only Victoria would open up her heart to trust him. But her eyes held deep pains from betrayals he did not know. Should he choose to tell her the real deal, he knew that Victoria would choose to take the action that would isolate herself again. She would choose to solve it all on her own. Something that Cory could not allow, not when Merilla and Lauren still lurked.

Watching her being bathed by the moonlight as fireflies gathered around her like a moth to a flame, she looked so ethereal for him. She looked like someone he could never have. Steeling his resolve, he walked with a mantra in his mind. He had to be the villain in the process.

"Too bad, I don't plan to lose-"

"You are accusing Tessa, sentencing her for a life of solitude, but you are in cohorts with the enemy all along." Cory cut Victoria off.

Zeno and Victoria sharply turned to Corean. Standing two meters away from them, he openly glared at them. He was with his knight who already drawn a sword against them.

Victoria returned his glare with a blank look. She clenched her hands once before relaxing. "Are you jealous, your highness?"

Yes, I am. Cory wanted to tell her so badly. Victoria stepped closer to him and when she's already a step away from him, Corean could not stop himself as he grabbed her harshly by the arms. He wanted to show him that he could protect her, but Victoria's walls were so high.

"How dare you confine me? Are you still doing this because of Tessa? How low can you get, huh." Please leave me be. This is my fight. Let me protect you, Victoria. Corean wanted to tell her these words. Instead, he shook her.

"I can get lower, your highness. But I don't think we need an audience for me to do that. I prefer doing it with you in private," Victoria whispered with a husky voice. Her red eyes burned with temptation.

His hands crawled to her slender neck. Cory wanted to caress her cheeks. He stared at her neck, remembering the necklace he brought for her two weeks ago. As he looked at her eyes, Cory froze. He saw fear in her eyes, a fear that he caused. He realized that Victoria saw him as someone who would harm her. Before Zeno grabbed Victoria away from him, he already let go of her. His hands shook so he hid them inside his pockets.

The young lord of House Larat hid Victoria away from Corean's sight. The very image before him mocked Cory. He became the monster and the monster became the knight, a fitting end for Cory's role. "Our business is our own, your highness. You are laying your hand to the future Duchess of the Rozenreff House, your highness. We don't want this to add to your long list of scandals."

Zeno's words snapped Cory from being frozen. He did not dare answer as he left abruptly after he sent the young Larat a warning look. Every step that he took away from the two punched a hole in his entirety. The weight of the situation sunk in. He was not at the point of no return.

Prince Yei Lin's carriage awaited him. "You took your time. What's bothering you, Prince Corean?" asked the prince of the Ming Country to the disheveled second prince.

Cory did not bother to answer him. He went straight inside the rented carriage and slumped down as he sat. Cory leaned his head to the seat before he closed his eyes. Prince Yei Lin followed inside the carriage and sat directly in front of him. "I saw Tori and Zeno leave an hour before you came back. And your right hand is bleeding, I see."

Prince Corean did not answer him. For him, Prince Yei Lin did not have to know that he punched a tree repeatedly. Cory could feel his right knuckles getting numb. He could feel the blood dropping to the cushion. But what he cared about was the look that Victoria gave him. Without realizing it, tears started to fall from his eyes.

"I became a monster in front of her eyes," uttered Cory. The carriage moved, he would return to the Monakre's pavilion as planned.

It took Prince Yei Lin a few minutes before he replied to the second prince. "This is the only path. Tori will never trust us. And even if she did, it will take time, something we don't have as of the moment given the situation. Sometimes, we have to hurt those we care about to protect them. We live in such a twisted world, you see."

Prince Yei Lin was right for Corean. He needed to become a monster to defeat a beast like his brother. This feud would not be settled by bloodshed such as wars. He needed to outsmart him.

"Prince Lauren got the information you wanted him to have. I feel so torn fooling Tori about the information of the northern region. But just like you, I have to fool her to catch those who wished her harm."

"You're betraying Victoria. Are you turning into a monster too, Prince Yei Lin?" Cory sat straight to meet his raven-colored eyes.

"We share the same goal. Unfortunately, one pair of fangs can't defeat the beast of a brother of yours."

Grinning like a fool with a blank look in his eyes, Cory chuckled. "Cheers to that."

Prince Yei Lin just gave him a deadpan look before shaking his head. "We only need to stop the Vesta challenge."

Cory almost forgot that the Vesta challenge and the Hunt for the Elysian crown were almost near. Lady Sabina and Duke Luwen Rozenreff would show themselves again with their plans in tow. They knew that Merilla was preparing her plans to ruin Victoria in the event.

He would not be surprised anymore if a setup for treason would await Victoria in the Vesta challenge so he needed to stop it. "But the risk of Victoria approaching the king will increase," said Prince Yei Lin.

"That's what Merilla will be aiming for. She needed an opening so I will create one for her."

Prince Yei Lin's eyebrows knitted. "And how will you do that?"

Glancing at his hands, Cory smiled sadly. "I have to make her hate me more. She needs to hate me enough to make a drastic trip to the north."