A/N: A little bit late, but more Vergil in this part.

[A Whole New (Demonic)World (Part Two)]

Felice wasn't sure why something like this was happening, but the selection process –which was supposed to be normal with princesses vying for the attention of a mysterious prince who had yet to show his face to anyone –was all going straight down to hell. Firstly it had been the rat incident, and now things had gotten much more serious.

"Princess Felice Wittengein, you are hereby ordered by the authority of King Sparda to remain in your room until an official is sent to question you with regards to the poisonings. You may receive audience only from your kingdom's representative. If you attempt to leave the room, you will be deemed the culprit and put through trial. Do you acknowledge your orders, Princess Felice Wittengein?" The King's adviser, a tall handsome-looking middle-aged man who had also been at the interview round the day before, announced while reading the paper he had brought into the room with him. It most likely bore the King's orders, and Felice didn't want to try challenging the order given to her so directly.

"I understand." Felice barely remembered to bow politely as the man left the room once his announcement was done, leaving her alone in the guest room assigned to her. She had no doubt that outside the door now would be guards stationed outside, waiting to catch her if she ever tried escaping. She wasn't sure if anyone would be keeping an eye on her window, but she wasn't going to tempt luck. While she had a very bad feeling twisting in her gut that had begun ever since she was informed about everything that was going on, Felice was not guilty enough to try escaping.

She could only pray that the Sparda Throne was kind to facts and was not looking for a scapegoat to blame for the whole terrible situation. The situation itself was hard to explain.

It seemed as if overnight a large majority of the princesses who had reported to Limbo for the running to be the next Queen had been badly poisoned. Only a small handful of princesses –Felice included –had been unaffected and it was understandable that she, along with the others, were placed under suspicion immediately for trying to sabotage their competitors. Felice knew that she hadn't done anything of the sort and that her conscience was clear as glass, but somehow could not shake the bad feeling in her guts that something would happen to her regardless.

She wasn't sure how long she spent pacing around her room, fretting about things she could not help with, until the doors opened. Worry was so heavy within her that she managed to forget everything that had happened just the day before when Vezir walked in and made sure that the door behind him was locked carefully.

"Vezir, how is the current situation?" She asked desperately, running up to the man.

"For god's sake, you are pretending to be a princess. Put some makeup on that bruise on your face, and don't you dare let anyone see that ugly face of yours with that thing there." The man's disgusted reply came as he pushed her aside roughly to take a seat in the couch in the middle of her large guest room that was meant to receive visitors.

"I am not allowed to go out of the room. I cannot meet anyone except you and whoever who will come to interrogate me about the incident." Felice rushed to take the seat opposite Vezir. "How is the situation? How are the other princesses?"

"They will survive." The man answered roughly. "I want to make you the next Queen of Limbo, not start a war with the other kingdoms by killing their princesses."

"Thank goodness they will-" Felice began, then processed the words in her head. "Wait, do you mean that you were the one who poisoned the others?"

"Of course." Vezir rolled his eyes as if he expected any 4 year old to come up with the same answer. "I told you that I was going to take things in my own hands. I made sure that there were some other princesses who escaped the poisoning so that the whole thing won't look too suspicious on you. It was hard to find other candidates who were doing worse than you, but you better thank your lucky stars that I found some. One of them has a secret lover, another was already married once and the third has the ugliest face I have ever seen. I thought you were the ugliest, but she won the prize. You better thank your father when you go back for giving you some genes at least to avoid looking like that."

"You... You poisoned them!" Felice jumped to her feet in shock, pointing the accusatory finger. "Why did you do something like that?"

"You idiot." Vezir's expression was still one of disdain and irritation as he crossed his arms. "You really think you can get anyone's attention with your terrible acting and terrible answers yesterday? I had to do something to make sure that the others drop out of the competition. The Sparda Throne can't be choosy when there's only a few of you left."

"But you can't just poison them! What if someone finds out?" Felice's bad feeling had been spot-on. She was guiltless, but the man who had come with her as a guest to Limbo was the culprit. It did not make her feel any better.

"Nobody will find out." The sharp glare shot at her was a good form of a threat. "As long as you keep that big mouth sewed shut, nobody will find out. Just take the help I have given you and try not to screw up more than you have already done."

"But how am I supposed to still be in running when I'm under suspicion for poisoning everyone else?"

"You dense bitch, do I really have to teach you every single thing? You act like you don't know a single thing. That's not hard for you, isn't it? Nobody can prove you guilty if nobody whispers a word, and eventually you will be cleared of your suspicions. The poisoned princesses would be sent back home, and you will stay here. Just keep finding the chances I create for you to get to know the Crown Prince, and you will eventually be chosen."

"That's just cheating!" Felice accused, but a disbelieving snort came back in reply instead.

"Are you 5 years old? Cheating? This is just something people do to get what they want. Do you want your mother to be safe? Then you better listen to me. I'm not going to go back to Wittengein to report to your father about how big a failure this whole mission was. I was dealt with the worst card possible when I left with you, but I will make sure this whole thing is successful in the end. I have already taken measures; there is no way you will fail after what I've done to the King and Queen. There is no way they will not choose you."

"The King and Queen?" Felice repeated, a jab of sour fear in her heart as she lost strength in her legs, falling back to the seat. "What have you done...?"

"I put something in their afternoon tea. Not a poison –mind you, I am not such great an idiot to put our position in peril –but a potion to make them more agreeable to anyone who wears a certain scent. The scent is created from a flower that can only be found in Wittengein, so I have no worries about anyone else having the same scent in my self-made perfume. Whatever I say; they will be eating right out of my hand without even realising anything wrong." Vezir revealed with something akin to a proud smile to himself, as if praising himself for his ingenuity while Felice's horror grew.

Not only did the man poison the other princesses, but he was also planning on poisoning the King and Queen to make them listen to him?

"Speak a word of this, you dirty little bitch, and not only will you be beheaded immediately for committing such terrible crimes against so many kingdoms and treason against the Sparda Throne, but think of your poor mother back in Wittengein, waiting for you to come home. I should think that there will be no need to kill her. She will definitely want to kill herself after receiving your severed head and hearing how you tried to cheat and poison all your competitors and the King." Vezir stood up, patting his clothes as if to dust himself off. The man was clearly satisfied with his own work as he smiled at her, the look of irritation in his eyes side by side with the joy written on his face. "You should know what to do."

Felice was in such a terrible state of shock that she could only watch as Vezir swaggered back out of her room after issuing one more warning glare. She had worried about the other princess when Vezir came in.

Now she was positively terrified for the King and Queen of the Sparda Throne.

Minutes passed by and Felice's stress level only increased with each minute that grew closer to the King and Queen's afternoon tea. Many times, she considered staging a break out of her room and defy her orders so that she could run to try stopping the King and Queen from drinking their afternoon tea. But there were too many uncertainties and the odds were clearly against her. Felice didn't know where the Royal Quarters were; she didn't even know how to get out of the guest-room's quarters. She didn't have any weapons, and she was sure as hell not going to be able to outrun palace guards. Sneaking out wasn't an option after she checked the window to find a few guards badly hidden and keeping their eyes on her room for any princess attempting escape.

She was just about to fake a bad illness –maybe the same poisoning that had hit the other princesses –to demand a trip to the infirmary so that she could have more chances of slipping out, when her door opened again.

Her heart did a flip when someone looking very familiar walked in, a distant amused smile hanging on his face as if the whole situation didn't bother him at all. Considering the fact that he had been the one who had created the first chaos with the rat, Felice silently reasoned that he probably had reasons to be amused and happy now that the whole selection had been put on pause and gone straight down to hell with this mass-poisoning incident.

"Dan, what are you doing here? How did you get in?" Felice asked worriedly as she stood up from where she had been sitting since realising that escape was almost impossible for someone in a situation like hers.

"Whoa, what happened to that pretty face? You sure got busy with someone. Did your opponent get uglier colours in their face, or were you the losing party?" Dan commented with a surprised look at the sight of her, reminding her immediately of the events that had transpired the day before.

"Just Vezir." She answered in dismissal as she rushed to him. "Did you make it past the guards?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Can you distract them?" She begged. "I need to get out of this room."

"Staging a runaway? Why? Are you really the culprit?" Dan's surprised look was understandable, though there was no look of suspicion written on his face at all –just plain surprise.

"No, I need to get to the King and Queen." She checked her watch. "Within the next ten minutes, before they go to their afternoon tea."

"Why? I don't think they appreciate a suspected princess joining them for tea."

"I'm trying to stop them from drinking their tea!" Felice exclaimed, frustrated at herself for trying to keep the secret.

Like how she had made her decision the day before instantaneously to trust Dan's advice, Felice made another decision in that split moment.

"Remember you said that I would always have one wish that you will fulfil?" Felice asked, grabbing the man by his shoulders even though he was taller than her, staring at him straight in his blue eyes. "I will use that wish now."

"I'm your genie, babe." He answered, seemingly oblivious to her rush for time.

"I wish you will go to the King and Queen right now and stop them from drinking their tea. Pour the whole pot out. Not a single drop should touch anyone's lips. There is poison in there."

"Poison?" The word was effective in making the man lose his amused grin as a serious expression affixed itself immediately. Felice was relieved to see that Dan was finally taking her seriously, and even though she had no idea who he actually was, her only hope was him. "Explain yourself."

"Vezir, the representative who came with me, is the culprit of everything. He poisoned the princesses. He put some potion in the afternoon tea for the King and Queen to make them more susceptible to his suggestions so that he can make me the chosen wife for the Crown Prince." Felice reported. "Go, please. Go to the King and Queen now before it's too late."

"Got it." Dan was surprisingly quick to process her words, and Felice's gut told her that she had trusted the right man when his serious composure came and he turned back to the door. "Stay here."

Felice had no plans to go anywhere else.

________________________________________________________________________________

It was dusk by the time someone else other than the maidservant who timidly left her lunch at the door walked into the room. Felice had almost gone crazy with the waiting and worrying, and watching the guards run around below through her window had only confirmed that something had happened, but she didn't know exactly what.

Thus, when someone finally came into the room, Felice was so uptight that she almost flew across the room to meet the newcomer.

It was a familiar person. It was the man who had saved her from being beat up by Vezir the day before. It was the man who had the figure and eyes of Dan, but had a tone who and attitude that confirmed that it wasn't Dan. He also had a face mask on today as well too.

"Is the King and Queen safe? Did Dan make it on time?" She asked immediately, despite the fact that she had no idea who the guy was, and what he was here in her room for. What she was sure from their interactions the day before was that this man took seriousness with regards to the kingdom of Limbo, and thus would definitely be updated enough to know the current situation with the King and Queen.

"Dan?" He repeated, and even though most of his face was covered behind the face mask, she heard a distant frown. "You mean Dante. He made it on time. Threw the cups to the floor and smashed the pot against the table."

"Thank goodness." Felice sighed her relief, a whole load of tension that had worked its way into her shoulders leaving in a quick moment. She had worried so much that her legs felt almost like jelly now. "Thank goodness they are alright."

"You should worry about yourself first, Princess Felice Wittengein." The man said. "You should be informed that after Dante told us about what you reported to him, a palace-wide search was activated for the man you call Vezir. He could not be found and there is one reported sighting of him leaving the gate before the alarms were raised. While he is missing, you will be held responsible, as representative of the kingdom of Wittengein, for both the case of the poisoned princesses as well as the attempted poisoning of the King and Queen of Limbo."

"I was ready for it the moment I told Dan –er, Dante –the truth." Felice replied. "I am ready to take responsibility for all that has happened. Even though I know that my words will be insignificant now, I apologise from the deepest of my heart over the chaos that has happened."

"Don't apologise to me." The man answered. "Wear your coat. You will bring me to Wittengein immediately, where I will discuss about this issue with your father as representative to the Sparda Throne."

"I understand." Felice said, and rushed to get herself ready. The man had not introduced himself at all, but the way he held himself gave her an impression that he was a terribly important person. Also, the fact that he was being sent to Wittengein with her to discuss with her father about the incidents also meant that the King of Limbo trusted him to make the proper decisions regarding relationships between the two kingdoms.

Felice kept her head down and was silent the whole way as she was led to the waiting carriage at the main entrance of the castle of Limbo. It appeared that this issue was to proceed in a hushed manner –which was probably the wisest thing to do considering how bad it would be if news of the poisoned princesses and attempted poisoning of the King and Queen came about.

The carriage was silent as it rolled quickly out of the castle, through the castle-town and quickly into the woods. The journey would be half a day judging by the speed that the carriage driver was putting on the horses, and it would be half a day in which Felice would prepare herself emotionally for all that had happened. While she was not the culprit of the whole thing, she knew that she, as the only representative of Wittengein left in Limbo when the truth broke out, would have to answer for her kingdom during the questioning that would undoubtedly happen when they reached her home.

"Dante mentioned about your family situation." The sudden sentence that punctured the heavy, tensed silence made Felice spin around from viewing the scenery to the man whose eyes were still focused on something outside the other window. "You taking responsibility will undoubtedly cast your mother in a death sentence."

"I... know..." Felice's voice was low like a whisper now. The confidence that she had about holding responsibility wavered a little, but she forced the fearful thoughts away from her head. Felice had made sure to keep her head swimming with thoughts of responsibility, of weighing the pros and cons and telling herself that she had addressed the issue with justice even if she was putting her own mother at risk.

"I understand that you came to Limbo in the hopes to save your mother. And now you are returning home with news that will seal her into her death sentence."

"I know..." Felice repeated, her voice trembling slightly now. If the moral, mental torture was a way that the man was going to start with her punishment, he was doing it very well. "But... I pray that my mother will forgive me when she finds out that I cursed her to death to do the right thing...She always taught me that I should do the right thing... even if it is not popular."

"I cannot interfere with the politics of the Wittengein Throne. The death of your mother will not be by Limbo's responsibility." The man stated clearly.

"I understand. I will not blame Limbo for my mother's death... Telling Dan –I mean, Dante –to save the King and Queen was my decision, and I accept the consequence." Felice said, her heart growing sourer as she turned the words in her mind. She was probably the worst daughter to ever have. Instead of saving her mother by being the chosen wife of the Crown Prince, Felice had ended up herself a criminal, sent back to her kingdom to anger her own father, who would undoubtedly order her mother beheaded immediately.

"Dante also told me about the wish he offered you." The topic change was abrupt, but at the moment Felice was willing to accept anything as long as it brought her thoughts away from how she was probably a cursed daughter that her mother's biggest mistake was to birth. "You never wished to be the Crown Prince's wife even though Dante had the means to make you. Why?"

"This whole selection process was made so that he could choose his own suitable wife. If I did anything other than to prove myself to the best of my own abilities, then it would be unfair for him. I didn't come here wanting to be his queen-to-be because I wanted to be, but because I needed to. It wouldn't have been fair for him to marry me and lose his chance to choose a princess who is better for him just because I have family problems."

"You shouldn't be thinking about others when you are in such a disadvantageous position yourself. Thinking about the welfare of others is a luxury that only the rich, the free and the fool does."

"Then I am the fool." Felice cast her eyes down to her hands, refusing to cry because she knew she had to be strong. "But I am a happy fool who has done what she wants and is ready to accept the consequence of her actions. I do not think I have done anything wrong."

"The same thought will not be shared by your father." The evened voice reminded, and unconsciously, Felice's hands closed into fists.

"I have never shared thoughts with him. If he really does something to my mother... if he really orders her executed, I will do everything I can to make his life hell. Even if I am just an illegitimate daughter, even if I am just a nobody, I will do what I can to make him pay. I have always allowed him to control me by threatening my mother, but I will never let him do it again."

"You speak too soon." He replied, never once having turned his head to face her in the conversation and showing no intention to either. "Arrange your thoughts well, and prepare yourself for the consequences. There will be no rest when we reach Wittengein."

"I understand."

No more words were shared, and amidst the worry, determination, responsibility and slight regret of all that had happened within one single day, Felice fell into unrestful sleep.

________________________________________________________________________________

"Bring me straight to your father." The man instructed the moment both of their feet were off the carriage, standing in front of the steps to the Wittengein Castle, where her home and the terrors of her life had happened for as long as she had lived. Standing at the front entrance, and looking up at the old structure, she suddenly became very aware of how different Limbo and Wittengein were.

"This way." She nodded and began to lead the way.

It was probably because of the fact that she was back in a familiar environment, but Felice was not aware of her own changes unconsciously as she led the way through the castle until the man she was leading spoke up.

"What is it about these walls that make you keep your head  and face down?"

His sudden question in the empty corridor made her pause and look up at him.

"I grew up learning that keeping my head down and not attracting attention would not get me hit or scolded." Felice confessed, her face going red. "I am sorry, but I am not treated like a princess here. I apologise for not having been a better host."

"You are not a host." The man answered. "Even if your mother is a maidservant, through you still runs royal blood. No princess should keep her head down. Not even one holding the responsibility of crimes to her name."

Felice had no idea if his words were meant as a consolation, encouragement or reminder that she was still a criminal. In all honesty, Felice had no idea what to think of the man because his words had always been cruelly factual. He obviously did not care about how his words might hurt her, but in those words there seemed to be some sort of encouragement as well.

Felice nodded, swallowed once nervously and continued to lead their way to her father's throne room. It was the early morning, and she knew that her father would be conducting his morning meetings with his advisers at the moment. In any other situation she would definitely not try to interrupt her father's morning meeting, but the current situation was more urgent than anything.

The guards outside her father's throne room looked partly surprised, partly disgusted when she stood in front of them.

"We require audience with my father immediately." She informed the guards. "Please let us through."

"Nobody goes through while the King is having his morning meetings. Strict orders." The guard on the right announced. "Go back to the hellhole where you crawled from, little whore, and wait for your father to call you."

"This is urgent-" Felice began to protest, having been used to the verbal insults that had been slung at her ever since she had been born, even from the other servants of the palace.

Her company had other thoughts.

Felice had no idea how, because she was very sure that the man had not brought with him any items other than the clothes that fit him like a glove, but suddenly he was holding a long, thin (and most importantly, unsheathed) sword expertly at the neck of the guard who had replied. It had been such a quick movement that nobody had moved a single inch, and nobody dared to move a single inch as everyone struggled to realise that a sword had been drawn in threat.

"I, representative of the Sparda Throne of the Kingdom of Limbo, demand audience with your King. Now. If you do not open these doors, then I have no hesitation to open them myself, hands stained with your blood." He said, in a low but very sure tone of voice that promised exactly what he meant.

There was only a short moment of hesitation, and it was all it took for the pale-faced guards to work immediately in reply to the threat. Felice kept her words back as the two of them stepped back to allow the guards to swing the doors open, and she noticed that as quick as it appeared, the sword had disappeared from her company's hand. She had no idea how he had done it, and where he had kept the sword, but it had definitely answered the silent question of why he as a representative was so fearless into coming to her kingdom all alone without backup. The man was clearly capable of protecting himself.

"Keep your head up." Felice heard a soft voice say, but before she could react, the man had begun to walk through the now-open doors. Doing her best to obey the instruction given to her, Felice moved her feet quickly to chase behind her company, unconsciously keeping herself behind the man as much as possible because she could already feel her father's intensely irritated gaze on her.

"Such audacity. Get out; I will not entertain any audience while I am in my morning meeting." Felice heard her father say, and felt a chill down her spine. His voice spoke for his tightly held anger, and it promised a world of punishment for her.

"I apologise for interrupting your meeting." Her company said in reply, but there was no inch of apology in his voice at all. "But the nature that I come to you right now is urgent and demands immediately attention, King Leonard Wittengein."

"You address me by name? Who gives you the right?" Felice could easily hear her father's upset growing and prayed for a swift death.

"I go by the name of Vergil, and I appear before you as representative of the Sparda Throne from the Kingdom of Limbo. I stand as representative of my King who cannot appear before you physically, but I carry his wishes and my decisions will be his. My word will be his while on this mission." Her company had finally introduced himself by name, and Felice did her best not to act too surprised.

It appeared that hearing that Vergil was a representative of the Sparda Throne was making her father reassess his situation, because he dismissed his advisers immediately with the instruction that the meeting would continue as soon as he was done with the two of them. The three of them waited in silence as the advisers took the order wisely, rushing out of the throne room. Felice kept her eyes away from the old men that she knew would have despising looks written on their faces at her presence. She would have kept her head down, but Vergil had expressively told her not to.

"We have the room to ourselves. Explain yourself." Her father ordered Vergil, but the man only stepped to one side, exposing Felice clearly to her father.

"It would be better if your daughter explains everything herself." He answered, and gave a gesture for Felice to go ahead, in which she felt her heart freeze. While she knew she had already claimed responsibility for the crimes, having to stand in front of her father suddenly and explaining everything was a challenge that she hadn't been prepared for right from the start.

"What is this about, Felice?" Her father asked, but it didn't take someone of the family to understand that there was a heavy sense of threat in his tone of voice.

Still, Felice had claimed responsibility. She took in a deep breath, did her best to calm her fluttering heartbeats, and spoke. Her voice trembled a little embarrassingly towards the end in fear at how red her father's face was becoming, and how he seemed to be having a hard time holding his composure and holding back from screaming at her outright. She wasn't sure if she was trembling physically actually, but Felice knew that she was a ball of stress at the end of her explanation, barely daring to look at her father's face.

"Logan." The first word that came after the long moment of silence which followed her explanation was the call of her father's attendant who was always present and ready to receive her father's orders. The man rushed forth from behind her father's seat, bowing to show his respect and awaiting his orders.

"Go down to the dungeons now and make sure nothing stops you. Tell the guards to rid this whore's mother off her head. Make sure that the woman breaths no more, and come back to report to me once it is done."

Felice had tried her best to steel her heart against what she knew would happen, but the cry still tore itself from her throat. The tears that she had thought she could hold back flooded immediately as she fell to her knees immediately.

"Please, spare my mother! It's all my fault! Please, don't kill her... She has done nothing wrong, I was the one who did you wrong. Kill me instead!"

"Don't you worry. I have many things in prepared for you. Once I am done with you, you will be glad that the only thing your whore mother suffered was just her head rolling off." The cold voice said in reply, completely unforgiving.

Felice watched, her feet jelly and with a completely sour heart as Logan began to move towards the door to carry out his order. Desperate to do something to stop the man, she rushed to get to her feet, but her fear and sorrow was so strong that she could not move fast enough. Tripping over her own feet, she lost her balance and fell into the quick hands of Vergil who caught her. Felice offered no thanks, because her tear-filled eyes were only on Logan as he wisely kept a wide berth from her, and reached the door.

"NO, PLEASE NO!" Felice screamed, but nobody heard her.

At least that was what she thought, until the door opened before Logan could open it.

"You might want to go back into the room, good man. You will not be carrying out any orders until we have things all talked out." A familiar voice in a familiar tone said, and Felice's heart felt as if a balloon had been tied to it as it rose at the sight of Dan –no, Dante –pushing Logan back into the room, firm hands on the man's shoulder as Logan protested, but failed to resist Dante's strength.

"There you are, Verge. I guess I'm in time." Dante said, with a smile that was sorely out of place. "By Hell, what happened? Did you do something to Felice?"

"I did not." Vergil answered, but firm hands still held Felice up, holding her back too. "Do you have any news?"

"Yup. Vezir was caught in the forest. We shot him before he could cross the border. He's on the way back the castle. I came immediately to update you, because I had a feeling that you might screw something up." Dante answered, stepping further into the room, and pushing back Logan with every step he took.

"Who are you?" Felice's father boomed, his anger that he had barely been keeping back exploding. "On what capacity are you to step into my throne room and stop my order from being carried out? Unhand Logan at once!"

"Whoa, someone needs a chill pill." Dante's answer was so condescending that it was almost unbelievable.

"Manners, Dante. He is, after all, a king." Vergil reminded.

The two of them clearly knew each other very well. Felice began to scrape back whatever composure she could now that Logan was being held back from carrying out the orders that would put her mother to death. She wasn't very sure what was going on, but her focus now was keeping Logan as far away from the door as possible.

"Right. Okay, I'm sorry. Hello, King Leonard Wittengein. I'm your daughter's best friend back in Limbo. My name is Dante. I'm also this guy's younger brother." Dante introduced, and a tiny part of Felice was surprised. No wonder the two men had such similar physique and voice.

"Unhand my attendant! I don't care who you are, but I will have your head for interfering with how I deal with my kingdom's problems!" Felice's father shouted, raging.

"That will be a problem." Dante frowned, fearless. "Do you think Dad will like a headless version of me, Verge?"

"Any version of you without that terrible mouth will be a better one." Vergil answered his brother, then turned back to Felice's father. "I apologise for my brother's manners. But he has brought important news and I fully intend to inform you of the decision that the Sparda Throne will take in light of the incidents that has happened. Unfortunately, your attendant Mr. Logan will be unable to carry out his orders until I have made clear the actions that Limbo will take against Wittengein in compensation."

"This whole thing is Vezir's idea. I sent him with my daughter to gain the attention and affection of your Crown Prince. I didn't ask him to poison anybody. If you want to punish anyone, take those two. Wittengein surrenders these two to Limbo. You may do anything you wish to them."

"The Kingdom of Wittengein must take responsibility of these incident. Simply punishing the offenders will do no good. Limbo views incidents like these seriously, and we intend to make yours an example of a kingdom that has taken advantage of our hospitality." Vergil answered, hands leaving when Felice felt composed enough to stand on her own. She had no idea how he was aware of her confidence to stand, but she appreciated his help silently.

"What is it that you wish to do?"

"We will take two hostages from your kingdom. They must live in the palace of Limbo and serve us as servants. They will never be allowed to return to Wittengein. From the moment this discussion ends, they will be belongings of Limbo. Above any order that you, as their king, may give, they must obey the orders of the Sparda Throne first. This will hold for them, and the entire family line that come after them. Their families will never be allowed back to Wittengein, and Wittengein will never have any claim on them, their families and their properties." Vergil explained clearly, setting out the boundaries very clearly with no space for negotiation.

"Who will you take? I demand that you allow me to choose the hostages."

"Your kingdom is the one at fault, King Leonard Wittengein. You are in no position to negotiate. However, the kingdom of Limbo will be kind enough to return the captured Vezir to your kingdom to do as you see fit. Take this as us extending an olive branch amidst the harsh punishment that we intend to take against your kingdom." Vergil answered, voice hard as steel and utterly fearless against the anger that Felice's father was visibly showing.

"Then state who you intend to choose."

"Members from the Royal Family will make a fitting example."

"I forbid you take my heir! If you take my Crown Prince, I will go to war with your country, damning all consequence."

"I am not here to make war, King Leonard Wittengein. I will not take your Crown Prince." Vergil answered. "I will take your Princess and her mother."

"You cannot take a Queen away from-"

"Princess Felice Wittengein, and her mother." Vergil interrupted sharply. "Not your lawfully wedded wife."

Silence fell all of a sudden in the throne room as Felice stared at Vergil in shock. The Sparda Throne was taking her and her mother as hostage from Wittengein?

It wasn't a punishment at all.

"Take them. Take these two whores out of my kingdom. Leave, if there is nothing else to be discussed." Her father was clearly glad that the damages to his kingdom was limited, and Felice was suddenly very aware that Vergil had created a win-win situation for both her and her father. But what did Limbo and the Sparda Throne have to earn from this?

"Then rescind your order to your attendant Mr. Logan. You cannot order the beheading of Princess Felice's mother now that she is officially a hostage." Vergil demanded, and Felice's heart soared when her father did as he was instructed, and Logan nodded to show that he understood. It was only then did Dante let Logan go, and Felice caught sight of a wink made at her.

"Dante, go fetch Felice's mother and meet me at the front." Vergil instructed –clearly at ease with giving orders and expecting to be obeyed. Felice watched with some leftover tears in her eyes as Dante gave the affirmative and left the throne room, with something akin to a skip in his step.

"Then we will take our departure, King Leonard Wittengein. Thank you for understanding our position. This punishment is regrettable, but a crime has been made by a citizen of your kingdom, and we do not take kindly to it."

"This is no punishment." Felice heard her father say, finally letting go of some of the anger, as she was turned away by Vergil's hands on her shoulders. "You have helped me get rid of a whore and her dirty daughter. I should thank you."

"You will regret your words, King Leonard Wittengein." Vergil answered, stopping them at the door of the throne room. The man spun around to face her father again, and she unconsciously turned to face him instead, wondering what more wonders she could do to her life more than what he had already done.

"Forgive me, but I gave a partial introduction previously. Let me introduce myself fully." Vergil said, with a polite bow.

"My name is Vergil Sparda, I am the Crown Prince of the Sparda Throne. Now that I have understood what goes on in your kingdom, King Leonard Wittengein, I have no intentions to maintain our relations when I ascend the throne. The princess here with the characteristics of a stellar leader is despised, bullied and viewed as a dirty whore, while the king who puts himself above everybody else sits on the throne. This kind of kingdom is what I despise to the largest extent."

A short moment of silence was allowed for both Felice's father and Felice to digest the man's words, at which Felice felt like her world was taken from underneath her.

"By absolutely no credit to you, you have made a princess who I have deemed suitable for me. It should please you that your wish to marry a daughter to the Sparda Throne has been successful, but she will never heed your orders ever again. I will make Felice my Queen, and when I have completed conquest of your throne, I intend to install her as the ruler to clean up the mess that you have made here. That will be your punishment."

The words were said with such certainty that it sounded more like a promise. And it came from a man who claimed to be the Crown Prince and heir to the throne of the largest kingdom. There was nothing the Kingdom of Limbo could not do if the Crown had decided on it.

"Y-You're lying! You are no Crown Prince! No Crown Prince will leave his kingdom so close to his Coronation; definitely not for a whore like Felice!"

A hand finally removed the face mask that Vergil had been wearing the whole time, and Felice was surprised to see the same face printed on Dante as on his brother. She distantly remembered Dante as being introduced as the younger brother, but their likeness was striking. But... this was the face of a Crown Prince? The Crown Prince that she was supposed to attract the attention off? The Crown Prince who had apparently decided that he would marry her despite her impure wishes?

"Remember this face well, King Leonard Wittengein. This is the face of the future King who will remove you of your seat and give it to the daughter you hate and despise. But if you will not believe my words because I carry no proof of my lineage, then let me provide you with an evidence." The man answered, and gave a dramatic wave of his arm in front of him.

Felice's confusion at what the wave was supposed to achieve turned immediately into shock and partial fear when the floor in front of them wavered, and demons climbed up. They, in all their forms and shape, lined up nicely in front of Vergil –and Felice –and bowed in the best ways they could. If they could speak, Felice would have been sure that they would have said some respectful greetings.

"Disperse yourselves." Vergil instructed the demons in front of him.

"Hide in plain sight and never hurt anyone. Only come back to report to me when this man," Vergil pointed at Felice's father who had frozen up now, his face going pale as paper, "does or plans something against Felice and/or her mother."

The demons nodded with whatever substituted for their heads, and disappeared in quick black mists. Quick as they came, they had disappeared, leaving Felice and her father both speechless –but in very different extremes.

"Thank you for being so cooperative, King Leonard Wittengein. I will remember to send you an invitation to attend my Coronation. I am sure you want to watch your daughter become the Queen you hoped to control." Vergil concluded his introductions with another polite bow, this time turning back to the door and taking Felice's hand in his free one.

"I told you; I cannot interfere with the politics of Wittengein, but you and your mother are not belongings of Wittengein anymore. Now that you belong to me, let us leave this place." He urged, pushing the door and leading her out to make sure she would have no hesitations. "It is time for you to see the world outside of the doors that has always kept you in. A kingdom filled with all things demonic awaits you, and soon you're going to meet the biggest one again."

"Again...?" Felice asked quietly, not really daring to speak aloud for fear of breaking the spell or waking up from this dream that she was convinced that she was in.

"Dante is biggest demon, and you have had the misfortune to be rid of one demonic father to be replaced by another." Vergil answered. "But this time, you will have me by your side."