His frightened eyes were for her. Zeno McMillian was scared for her safety. "Why are you doing this for someone who already loves someone else?"

Tori finally stopped walking forward. "That word again. Is that also the reason why you betrayed the House Larat? Because you allegedly love my sister?" Her mocking red eyes sharpened like a predator's eyes in the night.

"Love is a sentiment that can even ruin an empire and I did not betray my family for that. I did it for something bigger – an obsession that kept me awake at night." He whispered his last words but Tori heard them loud and clear from him. She did not like the way he looked into her eyes so she went back on track to what they were talking about.

"The dam construction is not your whole plan. You're using the dam to have an excuse to overflow this side of the river, haven't you? This part of the river is already contaminated but this does not ensure his death so you needed it to reach the capital. And the dam construction is the best diversion. You stupidly thought that everything ends when he dies. Do you believe that's enough to kill him?"

The noble faction will not kill Prince Corean through the plague but hundreds of thousands already died and you will realize it too late. Poor you, the deaths caused by the Vervain will not kill him but will give the noble faction something to blame for the second prince's death. They will assassinate him.

"I will stop this plan of yours, Sir Zeno McMillian. No one, not even death, can take my fiancé from me."

Tori saw the second prince in Zeno's gentle smile. She trembled upon realizing that she missed those golden eyes smiling at her. Shaking her head from her stupidity, Tori dragged her fingernails to his right cheek. Zeno was still holding his dagger in his hand which Tori was secretly wary of. It was true that he was no killer but amateur ones were scarier than the veterans, they're just unpredictable for Tori. "You are right. Everything you deduced is right. I am stupid and naïve and a hypocrite, name it all. But one thing is for sure, we will succeed in killing him. If sacrificing hundreds of thousands of lives will take to kill him, I will gladly close my eyes and do so." His grip on her shoulders was gentle but firm.

What? Just a moment ago, he's feeling guilty. Why?

His smiling face scared Tori. Without meaning to, she stepped away. "Why are you willing to fall into depravity just to kill the second prince?"

The hesitation in her eyes showed Zeno that she was astounded by his sudden change so he chose to elaborate. "It is not about Prince Corean. Honestly, I have no bad blood against him. I like him compared to the first prince."

"Then why? You could be an asset to the aristocratic faction." Tori offered her right hand to Zeno but the latter just stared at it while slowly shaking his head.

Zeno took her hand and kissed the back of her palm before letting it go gently. Realizing what he meant, Tori's eyes widened. "I am willing to fall into depravity just to see your face when you lose. I have yet to see your losing face, Lady Victoria. Until I see that face, I am your enemy."

Why? Why is this place so twisted?

Tori steeled herself by giving Zeno a mocking smile. "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." The deadly voice of Prince Corean cut Tori off.

Zeno and Tori sharply turned to the newly arrived unwanted guest of the night. Standing two meters away from them, Prince Corean was openly glaring at them. He was with his knight who had already drawn a sword against them.

I am saving your damsel ass so shut up.

Tori returned his glare with a blank look. She clenched her hands once before relaxing.

"Are you jealous, your highness?" Tori stepped closer to the second prince and when she was already a step away from him, he grabbed her harshly by the arms.

"How dare you confine me? Are you still doing this because of Tessa? How low can you get, huh." Prince Corean shook her body like a doll. Tori was staring back at his eyes the whole time.

"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," Tori whispered with a husky voice. Her red eyes burned with temptation.

His hands crawled to her slender neck which alerted Tori. She feared for her life for the first time from the second prince – and not the first prince who was supposed to kill her.

Zeno stepped in by grabbing Tori away from him. He hid her from the grumpy-looking prince thus shielding her from the icy glare of Prince Corean. "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 threat snapped the second prince. He did not dare answer the young lord as he left them with a warning look.

Tori realized later that her hands were shaking even when her face remained emotionless when Zeno's gentle warm hands grasped them as if her hands were cold even if they were not.

His expressive green eyes lost their crazed look replaced by a worried ones which astounded Tori.

"You are an oddball, Sir Zeno McMillian." Tori raised her brows as she pried her hands away from his.

"Why are you protecting that bastard?"

Tori smiled without any lace of humor and shrugged before leaving Zeno wondering.

Simple. I need him for me to live.

TORI SAT WITH PRINCE Lauren inside the same rented carriage, but unlike before they were parked along the Back Alley of the capital. Though Tori did not get any sleep, her mind was wide awake as she followed every move of the smiling first prince.

"How's your little stroll in the river?" Prince Lauren crossed his arms along with his knees as he waited for Tori's answer.

The dark lines under her eyes did not lessen the icy look that Tori gave to the mocking prince. She knew that Zeno reported to him that she already knew. It was difficult for Tori to sit gracefully in front of the person who once killed her body. But it was the price she had to pay to win against the wretched plot.

"Oh, that was a lovely stroll. Sir Zeno McMillian is quite a romantic. I enjoyed it, your highness." Tori's sugary smile replied to his sly smile.

The first prince tapped his chin as if he was thinking deeply before he opened his lips to answer her. "Indeed. It was a lovely scene straight out of fairytales. So, did you find what you are looking for? I remembered Zeno saying you particularly love a wildflower you found at the riverside."

You are good at word games, Prince Lauren. Let's see how long you can put up with your goddess-awful grin.

"Yes. It is such a shame though. Anyway, do you want the information now, your highness?"

The obvious shift of the topic caused Prince Lauren's brows to shift upwards. He wondered why she was saying 'it was a shame' but her eyes screamed victory. The first prince did not like it. But the new topic was more interesting for him.

"It boggles me how you can grasp this type of information, Lady Victoria. First, the location of the Elysian Crown and now the road map to the Hunt, who are you really, Lady Victoria Rozenreff?" Prince Lauren stared at Tori like she was some sort of a clown which she only replied with a shrug. She knew that everyone was wondering where she got the knowledge, even the dam's construction plan, which was secretly developed by the noble faction.

Simple. I am your reckoning from your past, your highness.

"Some mysteries are not worth solving, your highness. I am one of those." Tori's smiling lips contradicted her eyes which held a warning for him should he choose to pry deeper.

"I'll follow what the lady said since the said lady seems to know a lot more than anyone should have though you can't blame me to wonder, Lady Victoria. Now, give it to me." Prince Lauren opened his right hand for the scroll that she hid inside her coat's pocket. Tori handed a worn-looking scroll to the first prince without hesitation, her eyes never leaving his.

Tori watched carefully as soon as Prince Lauren opened the scroll. She did not know this information from her past life as Talia since the Hunt never happened in the original plot. She gathered this information through connections from the best merchant country, Crown Prince Yei Lin's Ming Country, to the largest port kingdom where traders from all around the world meet, Crown Prince Allistair's Monakre Kingdom. This information was worth a year of gathering.

Prince Lauren started to speak even if his cunning sapphire eyes were skimming every word written on the scroll. "You gathered this for my brother but you gave it to me just to save him. Is he worth saving when he's about to lose without this advantage?"