I couldn't breathe when her question slipped into my ears. It echoed through my skull again and again, digging for the answer I didn't want to give. What was I supposed to say? Should I stay calm? Should I panic?

My throat tightened as I tried to steady myself, remembering how I felt each time I stood beside a human body on an operating table, their bare chest rising and falling under the dim surgical light. I would breathe slowly, lock in, press the scalpel between my fingers with a steady grip.

But those patients never woke up swinging. They never opened their eyes to kill me.

Here… every word I spoke could decide whether I walked away alive or became her toy again. Even silence felt dangerous. She was too clever, too calculating, too practiced in peeling apart lies from truth. If I hesitated too long, she would read everything from my eyes alone.

My lungs burned, refusing to pull air.

She watched me closely, as if my fear entertained her, as if she wanted to see how long it would take before I cracked.

And the worst part was knowing that any answer I gave her… might be exactly what she wanted.

"I see how it is. It is truly, truly wondrous…"

She knows… My mind screamed it so loudly I thought she might hear it. There was nowhere to run. Even the air around her felt like a cage.

"I wonder what you are. And where the real Beatrice went. But… I do not mind." Her voice softened into something uncomfortably sweet.

"That girl was useless to me. Nothing more than a spoiled brat with a fate bigger than her own worth. But you… you are different. You bring entertainment into my world. I do not know how you are doing it, but you grow at a tremendous pace. You are clever, brave. If not for the fact that you plotted against the little heroine and her pathetic friends that day in one of my castles, I would have simply let you die."

She giggled, light and elegant, the sound sliding under my skin like a blade. In that moment, everything made sense. That was why the real Beatrice died in the story. Lyssandra had decided she was boring.

"What are those eyes for? Are you afraid of me?" Her fingers brushed across my lips, pulling my lower lip between them with a softness that chilled me. "You do not have to fear. I am quite gentle when I want to be."

Her breath warmed my skin, her words sinking into me like honey laced with poison.

"I can grant you everything your heart desires. I can unlock every piece of hidden potential this body holds. I can give you the power to kill every enemy who stands in your way. How does that sound? Mm?"

That was alright. It was what it was now. I knew I could not trick her. This would either end with her taking me away or she would let me walk free for a little longer. It was clear she already saw me as a toy to pull apart and examine at her leisure. I knew this… but the thought still left a sour taste in my mouth.

I let out a slow breath, forcing myself to steady my heartbeat. Then I met her eyes directly, refusing to blink.

"So that is why you brought us here, isn't it? Just to talk to me. To convince me to become your most treasured puppet." My voice stayed steady, though my insides threatened to twist.

"I know you are the one who transported Elira and Beelzebub to this place. I did not understand it before, but now I am certain. You took them into beast territory. That is why Elira mentioned the giant gate that only separates the holy lands from the beast lands."

Her smile faltered just enough for me to see the truth in it.

"How did you manage that? I thought even you would hesitate to move openly there. Is that because of what happened in the capital?" I continued, letting the pieces fall together in my mind. The woman I freed… she drew the attention of the strongest in that city. And in that chaos, she slipped her hand into these lands without fear. Not even the old saints who guard the border scared Lyssandra away. She saw an opportunity.

I breathed in sharply as the realization solidified.

"You used the catastrophe I caused to make your move..."

Lyssandra's smile widened even further. Her eyes stretched with a sick light, something twisted and almost ecstatic, no, definitely ecstatic. That expression was not sane. It was the look of someone savoring entertainment so deeply it bordered on delirium.

Actually… maybe I could use that. If she was this interested in me, maybe I could turn that obsession into something useful. Maybe I could use her to get what I wanted.

"Clever, clever girl…" she purred, her voice dripping like honey turned venom. "Ahh… you would do so well under my ranks. Right beside me… the things we could accomplish together…"

Her lips brushed my ear as she leaned closer, whispering with a heat that sent a shiver down my spine.

"But you won't do that, will you?"

She still wore that silly, weightless expression, as if nothing in this world could ever trouble her. She smiled like she already ruled everything she set her eyes on.

"Never." My reply came out cold enough to freeze stone.

"Ignorant," she murmured, flicking her hand lazily. "But I like that about you. You have an attitude, and it makes you strong." Her tone walked the thin line between mockery and amusement, as if she were toying with a pet that did not know it was already caged.

She lifted her hand again. Crimson energy shot toward me so fast I flinched, bracing for pain. Instead of an attack, the magic washed over my clothes, reshaping fabric in an instant. My worn, torn outfit dissolved and reformed into crimson and black. A fitted dress hugged my curves, modest compared to hers but still far too revealing for my taste. Short heels wrapped around my feet, lifting me slightly from the ground.

I stared down at myself, stunned. Why would she do this?

"You look better now." She smirked, clearly pleased with her handiwork. "So, as I was saying, I have a proposal."

Her fingers moved gently through the air, as if she were making an offer of tea rather than fate.

"Come with me to my palace. Serve me willingly as one of my top commanders, and I shall grant you the strength to end the entire world if you desire."

My breath caught, but she continued without pause.

"Or, you can walk away now. I will still give you a gift, but I will come to retrieve it in one year. If you fail to defend yourself against me at that time, I will take you away by force."

Her melodic voice twisted into something I wanted to claw out of my ears.

"And no, my dear Beatrice, I am not offering a third choice. If you refuse to choose at all…" She rolled her shoulder playfully, almost bored. "Then I will simply have to kill you."

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