Emerging from the cellar of the Roselin estate and seeing the sunlight for the first time in three months, Faust felt as if a lifetime had passed.
He didn't want to be rude, but he truly felt like a convict who had just been released from prison.
Experiencing this sensation for the first time in his life, Faust clicked his tongue and immediately set off from the estate to return to the palace.
With the prince regent missing for three months, the palace was likely in a state of total chaos.
Though the king was still there, the old monarch had gradually become unable to handle government affairs due to his failing health. Moreover, as a former warrior, the king's talents in governing the country were frankly nothing to boast about.
Faust could hardly imagine what kind of mess he was about to inherit, nor did he know how he would explain his three-month disappearance to everyone.
He certainly couldn't tell them the truth, could he? Say that he had been pinned down in a cellar and fiercely loved by Viviana for three months?
Alas, such matters were not for outsiders to know.
However, when the prince regent stepped into the palace, he did not see the expected chaos. There wasn't even anyone there to welcome him.
Even when attendants and officials spotted him, they only spared him a subtle glance before hurrying away.
This left Faust deeply confused. He walked toward the side hall where government affairs were handled, only to see someone he hadn't expected to find there.
With a mane of silver-gray hair, an elegant and noble princess sat in Faust's seat. Her slender, delicate hand swept through the air, and glowing blue magical trails lifted and categorized various documents and letters, while the princess herself quietly processed the paperwork.
"Heh, it seems our heir has finally decided to leave his nest of tenderness."
Yusewood looked up slightly, her sage-blue eyes meeting Faust's as she said calmly:
"You stayed at the Roselin house for three months. Even for a vacation, that is far too long."
Faust frowned deeply and asked,
"Royal sister, you knew I was at the Roselin estate? Have you been the one handling government affairs during this time?"
The silver-gray-haired princess lowered her eyelids, her already cold gaze flashing with a touch of indignation:
"...You irresponsibly dumped your work on me and ran off to spend your days with Viviana. What, are you going to pretend you don't remember now?"
I really don't remember!
Faust immediately realized there was a discrepancy in their perceptions and promptly kept his mouth shut.
Seeing this, Yusewood reined in her anger and stood up.
"I have settled all the trivial matters I could. For the projects you care about, I have already made annotations and left them on the desk."
With that, the silver-gray-haired princess prepared to leave. Just as Faust intended to bow and see her off, Yusewood paused beside her brother.
"However... you truly surprised me."
A ripple passed through Yusewood's beautiful sage-blue eyes as she gazed meaningfully at the prince, her voice softening slightly:
"Faust, I thought you cared deeply about power and status. I never expected you could also be so intoxicated by the joys of romance..."
After Yusewood left, Faust immediately summoned his subordinates to investigate what had happened over the past three months.
After asking around, Faust fell silent.
In the public's perception, he hadn't been tricked and imprisoned in the estate by Viviana. Instead, he had taken the initiative to go to her, staying at the estate to play around for three whole months!
Even more bizarre was that in everyone's memory, no one remembered a mysterious blonde girl appearing at the prince's selection ball.
Consequently, there had been no selection activity involving the trying on of a dance shoe.
It was truly strange. Faust had personally seen hundreds of people mutilating themselves in an event that had affected the entire kingdom. Had such a massive selection activity simply been erased?
If not for Mephistopheles's records and the unforgettable experience of those three months, Faust would have doubted his own sanity.
"Hiss—is this destiny? This is truly quite an exaggeration."
Faust's expression was grave. If even past reality could be overwritten and altered, was there anything the wheel of destiny couldn't twist?!
Over the next few days, Faust set about dealing with the issues left over from the past three months while simultaneously pondering how to fulfill his promise to Viviana to transfer the position of heir to Yusewood.
He still had to do this, and he couldn't delay it at all.
If one were to ask why... Faust glanced at the royal guard knight girl beside him.
Viviana still maintained that inorganic, calm expression, as if the past three months hadn't affected her in the slightest.
However, there were changes. For instance, the royal guard knight no longer used her hood to hide her face, and the sense of distance between her and the prince of Qingxi had clearly vanished.
The girl's arm was pressed tightly against Faust's, almost deliberately pushing against him to the point that the prince had to physically resist her to maintain his balance.
We're best friends ever.jpg
Faust asked tentatively, "Um... Viviana, are you alright now? I mean, how is 'her' situation?"
Despite being loved by "Cinderella" for three months, while Faust hadn't reached the point of feeling hatred or resentment, it was impossible for him to be entirely without psychological trauma.
While wearing the mask, Viviana dared to ignore and trample upon all the world's laws and taboos. She only had the desire to confess her love and possess her lover. That kind of heated and pure obsession, which was completely impossible to communicate with, gave Faust a massive headache.
At the thought that Cinderella might appear again and kidnap him, Faust almost felt like crying.
Faust-shippers, you win!
Viviana tilted her head upon hearing this, one hand lightly brushing against her high, full chest as she said:
"Everything is fine now. As long as your highness no longer behaves as you did in the past and can achieve the changes you promised, she probably won't appear again."
The knight girl's purple eyes were magnificent and clear, carrying a trace of a smile.
But the meaning revealed between the lines couldn't be clearer.
Terrifying. What kind of deterrence protocol is this?
Faust understood his childhood friend's implication, and his lip twitched.
This isn't right, is it? When did that considerate and obedient childhood friend become like this? Or had she been hiding her true nature all along?
【Witches are simply like this. Any witch, regardless of their origin, their past, or the script they hold—their nature is one of ego and obsession.】
【This is also why they are called witches. Although I do not know where your guesses about destiny come from, to the vast majority of the son of man, witches are disasters that act as they please.】
【In the ages past, witches who could keep to themselves were the minority. If the script cannot be completed smoothly, a witch will stir up a violent storm. It is only that in the history of the son of man, such truths cannot be recorded.】
Mephistopheles's words echoed in Faust's mind. Just as the prince of Qingxi nodded thoughtfully, the fairy spoke up again unexpectedly:
【This "witches' feast" you were involved in is probably over.】
Faust's heart skipped a beat at those words.
"What do you mean 'probably'? There isn't going to be some kind of follow-up plot, is there?"
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