The dance hall was filled with magic crystals that dazzled the air with wisps of light to make this year's dance unforgettable since James would be graduating with this dance. Royal knights stood at strategic locations around the venue which further added to the air of splendor as they were dressed up in their best, and most expensive, uniforms. Music from the live orchestra softly hummed through the air awaiting the time to liven up and the proper dances to begin. When we entered the hall, it was like watching a sea part before us as everyone cleared the way to the center of the room. I couldn't see her face but I could easily assume by how desperately she was clenching her fists that Olivia was nervous.

"…Are we a show to them?" Cassandra whispered after taking out her fan to cover her mouth and hide her lips from being read.

"Everyone could tell that something was going to happen tonight," I whispered back. I scanned the room briefly before mentioning, "Though, I don't see James anywhere." I also couldn't spot Derik, Elder Solomon, Andrew, or the Saintess.

"Because the event hasn't triggered yet," Olivia muttered before proceeding up the clearing toward the center of the hall. Students watched us while using the music to hide their whispering as we walked. Before we entered the large clearing in the center of the hall, Olivia turned to us and said, "You two should wait here."

"Are you sure?" Cassandra asked. She could tell that whatever was going to happen tonight would likely begin as soon as Olivia entered the center of the hall; as if waiting for her. James really likes his theatrics, just like his father.

"You should remain on the sidelines and stay as quiet as possible, Cassandra, I don't want you getting caught up in James' mood and possibly getting in trouble," Olivia reassured Cassandra and forced herself to smile. "Once I accept the condemnation, Lucina and her knights will come up and take me away and secretly travel to the villa… So please stay safe."

"…You be safe too," Cassandra still didn't like the plan since Olivia would have to throw away all her hard work in high society and go into exile, but she calmly accepted Olivia's words.

"…" Olivia turned away from us and marched with her head held high into the center clearing of the hall and, as if on cue from a play director, James entered the dance hall from the opposite end along with Derik, Andrew, Elder Solomon, and the Saintess. The Saintess was wearing the exact yellow dress that Olivia had described to me the night prior.

"Olivia Ordrin!" James' voice silenced the orchestra and drew all remaining eyes to him. "Tonight, I will have you answer for your crimes!"

"Crimes?" the students around Cassandra and I started whispering and I could hear them now that the music stopped.

"Did Her Highness commit a crime?"

"I haven't heard anything about it. What's going on?" They were rightfully confused to have their graduation ball interrupted by such a terrible play.

Olivia stood tall and asked, "And what crimes are those?"

"Don't play dumb!" James barked and held the Saintess closer to his side. "Your wicked deeds are known all over the academy and even beyond! As the crown prince, I cannot allow someone like you to become empress when you so openly wrong the innocent of our empire!" He gave an exaggerated wave of his hand toward the Saintess and explained, "Beatrice, a Saintess of Alm, was getting bullied by your underlings from the first year she entered the academy! From the very first day, you were jealous of Beatrice and how effortlessly she did what you couldn't! To think you held such cruelty behind your 'perfect' mask. I tried to let things go as your fiancé, but no more! Your evil ends here, Olivia!" Wow, he must have spent all year thinking up this speech.

"Her evil deeds?" the students whispered.

"Didn't Her Highness try and befriend the Saintess, though?" Yes, she did.

"Plus, those early bullying incidents were caused by other people who were jealous and just blaming Her Highness. That was proven years ago." Yes, it was.

Cassandra muttered, "…This is absurd." Yes, it is.

Not to be outdone in stupidity, Elder Solomon stepped forward and started making his own short speech, "While the imperial family and the temples have had strained relations these past generations, I could not ignore when His Highness came to me with the Saintess covered in bruises!" He threw himself to the Saintess' feet and proclaimed like any professional theater actor, "If you had only confided in me the treatment you had been going through sooner, I would have done all I could to stop it as an instructor at this academy!" He rose to his feet and turned to Olivia with an accusatory point of his finger. "To think you would try to have our Hearth Mother's Saintess killed! Lady Olivia, by what confidence do you still draw breath!? By what conscience can you condemn our Saintess to being thrown down a flight of stairs!? Don't even think about denying it as there were witnesses who saw you push her!"

"What!?!" the students gossiped like any theater crowd, but not the kind of gossip I'm sure James would have wanted.

"What is he talking about? Did she really do that?" Some people didn't know, but others would quickly fill them in.

"Of course not. I remember when that happened last week, but Her Highness was practicing her swordsmanship alone in the forest when it happened."

"The forest? But we have a training ground for practice."

"Don't you know? Whenever Her Highness went to the training ground, Lord Derik would pick a fight with her, or His Highness' servants would fetch her for something. She could never get any meaningful practice in."

"That's right. She talked about it at lunch one time, but Her Highness started practicing in the forest just outside the academy to avoid her brother and the imperial family's servants."

"A few of us secretly sneak out to watch her since she has such beautiful form, and her aura is so stunning! She was there the whole day!"

"So, then why is the teacher claiming they have witnesses?" Because this is a terrible plan that would've fallen apart if James or any of these people paid even the slightest bit of attention to what Olivia was doing. The only reason no one's speaking up about this misinformation is because of who's saying it and who's backing them up.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I guess it's Andrew's turn to recite his speech since he piped up, "While I may not have a right to say anything as a Wizard, but as a person I can't stand by and let you get away with this!" What a tragic way to start. "Saintess Beatrice loves and cares for all lives, even yours which was why I never acted before. I didn't want to put that pressure on her, feeling that she was the reason for our quarrels, but that was before you crossed the line!" So you were okay with her getting bullied before, but when it almost ends her life you step up? What terrible logic, like a true wizard. "I…I won't remain silent!" His voice just quivered with resentment and sorrow. So far, James is the worst actor here but I'd hire the other two if I owned a theater. "The Wizard's Tower stands behind Saintess Beatrice!"

"Even the tower's getting involved!?" The students were dumbfounded by Andrew's claim.

"But wizards hate the temples!"

"To so openly come out in support for a Saintess… What's he planning?" Noble children lived and breathed rumors and plots and weren't so easily convinced about Andrew's 'sincerity'.

"Look at the Saintess. Even though this is all about her, she's not getting a chance to speak."

"I saw her try a few times when teacher Solomon was talking, but he spoke over her. And now even the next archmage is doing it."

"I wonder what kind of deal they made to come together like this?"

"I think it's worse than that. Look at Andrew's face!"

"Is he…blushing while taking glances at the Saintess!?"

"It's like that!? Is that allowed!?" No, it's not. The temples would never willingly work with the wizard's tower to engage one of their own to a wizard, especially in regards to a Saintess like Beatrice. The only reason this is even a possibility is because Elder Solomon is in their group. Since Elder Solomon is the messenger for the temples here in the academy, I'm fairly certain he's kept them in the dark about all this. I won't ruin the fun, so I'll let the temples figure this out from all the rumors that will flood the empire once this dance is over.

"…Hm?" I heard something snap next to me and I turned to see Cassandra's fan crumbling to dust in her fist that was clenching with strength unbefitting of her cutesy appearance.

"You know," she said in a voice laced with poison, "I get it now."

"Get what?"

"The desire to squash a bug beneath my heel and watch it squirm." She held out her hand to the side and…Kent handed her a new fan!? When did Kent get here? Cassandra's date to the dance was Kent!? Her commoner knight?... He does look sharp when cleaned up in his suit, though. Cassandra flicked open the new fan to hide her mouth and started muttering in an almost chant-like reverence, "You think you can get away with this farce like it's nothing? Vermin? Like you? Do you know how many connections I have? There isn't a noble in this empire I haven't shared tea with. I will end your social life. I'll send that sniveling wizard back to his tower out of shame with his tail tucked so far between his legs people will mistake it as a second groin."

"…" I took a step away from Cassandra.

Annoyingly, I was drawn back to the farce by Derik's voice as he said, "Sister, when I asked you to handle your own affairs it was to do so with the grace of a noble. To see you-" And I can't listen to this drivel anymore so I'm going to focus on blocking out his voice. Derik, out of all four of these idiots, even more than James, is the one I can't forgive the most. The asshole's married and he's doing things like this? To his own flesh and blood sister? While I wouldn't call Vivian my friend, I would never wish anything like having Derik as her lawful husband on her. I'd heard she wasn't attending many social events with every passing year making scarcer and scarcer appearances. Once this news reaches Wortrest, she…

"Countess?" a gruff voice spoke up to bring me out of my thoughts and I turned to see two of my Hellhounds standing behind me. Their plate armor was covered in scarlet red robes with the hoods pulled up over their great helms.

"Ready?" Guess it was time for my turn to act in this awful play I had helped write.

"We're ready."

"Finally, this is almost over," Cassandra breathed a sigh of relief…if only she knew.

"Let's begin." I started walking toward Olivia with my knights in tow and soon the whispers diverged to us, but I ignored them. I met eyes with James and saw him fail at hiding a smile. I glanced at the knight to my left and whispered, "Do you have it?"

"One of His Highness' servants gave it to me while we were waiting outside," he replied and took out the slave collar from underneath his cloak.

"Give it to me," I ordered and held out my hand. "I need to be the one to do this."

"Got it," he replied and handed me the collar. It was heavier than I expected and the heretical runes along its length hummed with magic. According to history books, generations of kings struggled to deal with Magister and Aurister criminals. Oftentimes, the guilty would be immediately executed since it was almost impossible to jail them without filling the ranks of the guards with even more powerful Magisters and Auristers. But what if those same powerful people were the criminals? This problem wasn't solved until the wizards came and eventually invented their own unique magic: enslavement magic. This metal collar and chain leash could seal a Magister's magic or an Aurister's aura while also forcing the wearer to obey the command of whoever was imprinted as the 'owner' of the slave. They were expensive to make so they were only used on special slaves…like Olivia.

"So now, Olivia Ordrin!" James was wrapping up his final speech. "I will officially announce that I, James Arlexton, hereby annul my engagement with you and will instead be married to Beatrice!" It was time to play my part.

Olivia attempted to play her card, "I acce-"

But James' words made her hesitate, "Countess Sanguine, I leave the enslavement to you!"

"Luci-!?!" I'm sorry, Olivia.

***

Cold iron clasped around Olivia's neck when she turned around to face Lucina. Olivia felt a part of her, deep within the core of her being, get wrenched away leaving only an emptiness in her chest; her aura had been sealed. The wind was knocked out of her lungs and she stumbled back a few steps while her hands shot up to her neck to grasp the slave collar. The chain that connected to her collar magically lengthened itself and snaked over to touch the back of Lucina's right hand where it left a magic sigil to signify her as Olivia's owner. This wasn't part of the plan. Hesitantly, like a frightened animal daring to peek at the predator in front of it, Olivia looked over to Lucina.

"Caught you~," Lucina cooed and made her voice sound both whimsical and desperate while giving her best smile. She needed to keep James thinking that she was still on his side, so Lucina played up her unstable mind to lower James' guard.

"L-…Lucina?" Olivia started trembling as realization hit her and the betrayal sank in. "W-Why ar-!?"

"Silence," Lucina spoke with authority that activated the magic sigil on her hand. The runes along the slave collar glowed and Olivia fell silent. The less Olivia spoke out of fear, the easier Lucina could handle the situation.

"!?!" Olivia couldn't speak or even make the slightest sound as her voice refused to listen. The sudden loss of her free will was making her panic and she started to claw at the slave collar with her fingernails digging through her white gloves and into the flesh of her neck.

"Calm down," Lucina ordered while grabbing Olivia's hands to stop her.

"…" The order activated and Olivia stopped struggling, though she continued to tremble in fear and tears started pouring down her cheeks.

"…" Lucina had to hold herself back from ruining her plan and just slaughtering the male leads right here and now. She needed to move quickly.

"Such is your punishment!" James' voice echoed throughout the hall which only fueled Lucina's desire to kill. "Repent your deeds under the watchful eyes of my Hellhound!" He gave a dismissive gesture toward Olivia and added, "I fulfill my end of our bargain, Countess."

"…?" Olivia flinched at James' words and her heart was ripped in half. Bargain. Lucina had planned this with James and acted like she was on Olivia's side. The James from the game also mentioned a 'bargain' but Olivia thought she avoided that by having Lucina be on her side; a desperate lie to herself. If it wasn't for the order to 'calm down', Olivia would have collapsed to the floor.

"I thank you for the gift, Your Highness," Lucina replied and snapped her fingers to cause the collar's chain to magically shorten to only a few lengths. "I've…always wanted my Olivia to be by my side~." She gave a bow toward the male leads. "Thank you for helping me fulfill my love~."

"Love…right," James chuckled as he was basking in the glory that was Olivia breaking down.

"…" Love? Olivia couldn't see how anything that was happening could be considered love.

"Which is why…" Lucina desperately wanted to leave; to get Olivia out of this terrible place and back to Solfin. Her desire to kill kept rising. She needed to move. "I would like to beg your forgiveness for me asking to be excused from this dance. Now that I have her…well…" She deliberately stopped talking to allow James' mind to fill in the blanks himself.

"Feel free, Countess." James gave his permission and gestured toward the main door. "Having a criminal here would only spoil the occasion as our empire must celebrate its next empress!" His hand wrapped around Beatrice's waist and she shyly looked away.

"…" But what James and the male leads missed, that Lucina caught, was the flash of sorrow on Beatrice's face as if she were resigning herself to her fate. "…Then, it's fate," Lucina happily said before turning around toward the exit. She gestured to Olivia and ordered, "Let's go, Olivia."

"…!" Olivia's legs jerked forward as the magic compelled her to walk just a few feet behind Lucina, and the knights fell in behind her. Her tear-filled eyes were fixated on Lucina's back that was obscured by her hair; a mass of thorns that now held her freedom in its prickly vines. Despite how hard her heart was racing in her chest she couldn't show an inkling of it, and that only frightened Olivia further.

"…" Lucina moved quickly while ignoring the stares she received from the students so she could get Olivia to a private place to properly calm down or else she might have a heart attack. She saw Cassandra drop her fan out of shock from the corner of her eye but ignored her and quickly moved past. There would be time for explanations and venom-filled words of hatred later, once Olivia was safe. The shadows that danced along the walls kept pace with Lucina and their gazes were fixated on Olivia. Lucina needed to move. As the main doors to the dance hall opened to allow Lucina's group to leave, Sailest's light poured into the hall. The cool spring air blew over them to contrast the warmth of the hall and to snuff out whatever remained of youthful innocence. And as the large doors swung shut, the male leads swooned over Beatrice as they each took a turn to dance with her. But there was no fade to black. No splash screen popped up. No credits rolled. Time would march on and life would move forward, only now they would do so without the bindings of fate.