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And so here I am...

Prince Hao continued to gaze at his dead twin. Things had definitely become interesting back home. The current heir had died but he neither felt grief nor joy. He had waited for this moment to happen. Now that it did, he was unsure what to feel. Was he delighted? Maybe yes. Maybe no. He didn't know what to respond to the blond girl standing on the other end of the stone table. She was removing the stray hair strands as she carressed Yoh's face.

"They said he had poisoned himself." He said to the Kouku princess without looking at her. "Yoh probably wanted his head intact. He was too weak-hearted to go through the execution after all."

"He still died as the king's heir," Princess Anna reminded him. The five pointed star pin was still attached to his funeral suit. "Your father has not recognized you as the next heir yet or maybe he never will."

That struck a nerve. Prince Hao approached her threateningly. He grabbed both of her arms so she won't be able to slap him like she did the first time. He pulled her closer to him until their faces were a few inches apart.

"When I become king, I will destroy Kouku as you watch from your prison tower. Too bad your lovers are both dead now. There would be no one to rescue you."

Outside the Kasai Palace...

"Wait up, Ren," Lyserg whispered as he walked soundlessly after his friend. They had finally arrived at the Kasai palace from the eastern gate. It was quiet on that side as opposed to the palace's main entrance. They heard merriments coming from the southern part where the Kaminari and Kouku armies had encamped. They weren't sure if the war had been over and the side that had won was already celebrating their triumph.

Lyserg was exhausted and dusty from the travel but the Kaminari prince was too excited to even wait for the morning to properly introduce themselves to the king and inquire about the Kouku princess.

They had tiptoed towards the palace in the middle of the night thinking they wouldn't be caught. A royal guard saw them entering through the door but Lyserg was quick enough to tell him that they were together with the Kouku princess. Prince Ren thought the guard would be clueless as to what Lyserg was saying. To their surprise, he did not ask further questions. He gave them instruction instead on where to find her. He directed them to a chamber where they were keeping the heir's body. Apparently, someone had died.

They finally reached the entrance of the chamber and heard an angry voice coming from inside. Prince Ren took a peek and his heart leapt with joy. Anna was there! She had longer hair now and she was slightly thinner than he last saw her. She was so beautiful and more importantly, she was so alive! His hunch was right all along.

He wanted to run to hug and kiss her but she was in the company of another boy about their age. He was squeezing her wrists and speaking to her in a threatening tone. Anna was giving him her signature death glare in return. Another boy who looked exactly like the one his fiancée was arguing with, was lying down on a stone table filled with flowers. He must have been the dead heir the guard was talking about.

"That would have been a mess if they were both alive, don't you think?" The boy asked the Kouku princess with an amused expression.

Prince Ren stepped out into the light for a quick moment and was about to barge into the room to let Anna know that he was indeed alive but Lyserg pulled him back into the shadows.

"I know that guy, Ren. We might stir trouble if he sees us."

The boy seemed to have noticed their presence because he had turned towards their direction.

Prince Hao caught a fleeting glimpse of his former fiancé's cousin, the police chief's son.

What was he doing here?

He was with a boy he had never met personally but had grown to know each time he would eavesdrop at Jeanne and Lyserg's conversation about their school friends.

Ahh... another interesting development...

He chuckled to himself then let go of Anna's hands. "Now, my dear, Anna. Before he died, my brother had declared his love for you in front of everyone this morning. As his brother, I deserve to know... Do you love him as well?"