Anna tapped her chin, staring at the screen. There was a section down that was blurry and had a black padlock over it.

"What is this?"

[It’s your new goal.]

Anna’s spores flared and her eyes glowed. She perked up, her ears standing upright. "It’s ready?! Already?"

[Not yet. If you’re successful in your current goal, it will be unlocked.]

Hope filled the gaps in her chest, rushing like a flood.

"What does spore efficiency mean?"

[That means how well you’re able to control your spores. If you master it, you will be unstoppable.]

"In a good way or bad?"

[Remind me, are you the villainess or the female lead?]

Anna huffed, convinced the System was a lady. A very sassy, bitchy lady.

Rolling her eyes, Anna asked; "How do I increase my spore efficiency?"

[You have to train. A lot.]

"And the Persuasive Voice, does it mean I can control people like puppets?"

[It means you can make anyone do your bidding. However, once the effects wear off, they’ll realize you manipulated them and they will hate you forever. Regular usage is adviced.]

"Yeah right. That one stays in the back." Anna said, vowing to never use it.

[Princess Orchid would have no guilt about using it.]

"Well I’m not— you know what? It’s fine. Thank you. Now go off and do whatever the fuck you do when you’re not bothering me."

[Rude.]

In a bid to stave her worry, Anna went back to reading.

Seeing her stats made her realize how real everything was.

She was in this world now, in the body of a woman that will be murdered in cold blood by one of her husbands. As someone who had died before, Anna didn’t know how she felt.

But her first life, her death was a side effect of overwork and too much stress.

Now with a second chance at life, she was still going to end up the same way. Dead. All alone.

Anna shivered.

She didn’t want to die alone. All her human life, she had it rough. She went through life alone and built a somewhat peaceful life. Never did she imagine it would end in her dying at her desk, all alone in the office.

I wonder if anyone mourned me. She wondered. Maybe Aunt Camilla?

Anna laughed out loud.

She knew her Aunt probably didn’t make it to the funeral. She just knew.

She hated me. There’s no way she would even care if I died or not. After all, she was the same person that—

Anna shook her head, clearing away all the unpleasant thoughts.

"It’s okay now. I’m not there anymore."

In this life, she was someone.

She was Anna DeMarchess, The Princess Orchid. Once In a Thousand Year Genius.

In this life, Anna Carson was someone who mattered. Someone who had power and wealth and true influence.

Anna wondered what the real Princess Orchid would have done if she woke up in Anna’s body, at her desk, living her life.

The image made Anna laugh. Without a doubt, the real Princess Orchid would dominate the office. She was the kind of person that was born for power.

I bet she’d clobber Manager Park on the first day. She won’t be a doormat, or a slave. And she won’t let Aunt Camilla treat her like trash.

Sighing, Anna rubbed her temples. It was all too much to think about.

She glanced out of the window and found outside dark.

Her daily soothing with Leon flashes through her mind like a glaring alarm. "Shit shit shit!" She exclaimed, jumping to her feet. She didn’t want to sit around and imagine what would happen if she oh so conveniently forgot about it.

As it was a royal decree from the king himself, she didn’t want to test her limits.

So she gathered her gown and rushed over to the prisons.

Anna found the General in quite the luxurious cell. If she didn’t know he was in prison, she would have thought he was relaxing in a five star hotel. She had a sneaky idea the guards had done this, as a way to apologize to their General. It didn’t bother her, in the end, all that mattered was the fact that Leon was still locked up.

She spotted the man she was here for.

The System’s words came back to her mind. This man killed me. I mean, he killed Princess Orchid.

Anna hadn’t asked how he did it, but she guessed it was with that nifty sword he was so quick to draw.

He stood by the large windows, his back turned to her. He wasn’t chained, and he was still fully clothed, a simple shirt, pants and boots. There was nothing to show he was a prisoner.

He looks like a CEO, Anna thought ruefully.

"Your highness," a deep voice called from behind her. She turned and glanced over her shoulder at Azul. "You might want to keep your distance from the General," he said.

Anna understood why.

Leon was a lion. Not just any lion, a wounded lion. And he was caged, to add oil on open flame. Anna had watched enough nature documentaries to know how violent wounded and cornered animals could be.

She flashed a calm smile at Azul. "I have you here. Do I still need to worry?"

Azul bowed. "No, your highness. If he tries anything, I’ll cut him down."

His voice carried nothing but ice. Anna shivered, resisting the urge to hug herself. Even the air became colder.m. For a second, she thought if he turned on me, I will be dead in seconds.

She didn’t want to imagine it, Azul not being on her side. She knew that when Leon tried and failed to kill her, Azul would not record such failures.

So she vowed to make sure he will never leave her side. She only hoped the System won’t give her any tasks that’ll involve hurting him.

Leave those tasks for Leon. He deserves it.

Inhaling and squaring her shoulders, Anna walked closer to Leon. "General. It’s time for your soothing."

"Get out." Leon replied, his voice flat.

Anna blinked, multiple times, shocked at his audacity. "I beg your finest pardon?"

"I said get out, your highness."

Anna scoffed, pushing her cheek out with her teeth. This man! "Unfortunately, that won’t happen. Stop your whining and—"

Leon snapped his head to her.

Anna gasped, stepping back. She stumbled into a solid, icy wall.

Azul.

Leon looked up over her shoulder, and the anger in his eyes burned even further.

"What are you doing, Azul?" He spat, turning to face them. He looked only at Azul. "You’re standing behind her like some royal lap dog. Are you so quick to forget this woman’s atrocities? Have you forgiven her for all the things she did to you? To us?"

"This woman is our wife, General. You will show her some respect."

"I will respect her the day I die."

"I can make that happen."

Anna stepped between them. "That’s enough. No one is killing anyone."

Leon chuckled. The kind that made cold shivers crawl up the back of Anna’s skull. "Don’t bet on it, Princess."

He said the last word like it was a dirty slur.

Anna faced him, her jaw clenched and her fists curled tightly. He was being insufferable and honestly annoying. But at the same time, she kind of understood why he was acting so.

His fight is not with me. It’s with Princess Orchid. She reminded herself.

Clearing her throat, she swallowed her emotions and met his eyes. "Don’t mistake my silence for stupidity, General. The only reason you’re still alive is because of the value you hold to this kingdom, and my very thin patience. For your sake, don’t test its limits."

Leon glared at her. Then he gave a mock bow. "I am eternally grateful for your paper thin patience, your highness." He spat.

A dull ache exploded in Anna’s head. She rubbed her index finger and thumb together, the way she did to ground herself in reality whenever she got overwhelmed.

"Whatever." She hissed under her breath.

Truth be told, no one had ever pissed her off like this man. Not even Manager Park. Not even her annoying colleague Jeremy that always ate her energy bars and pretended it wasn’t him. Or Annie from Accountancy that always spread pregnancy rumors about her.

Anna couldn’t place why Leon pissed her off so much.

She decided to just soothe him and get over with it.

"Sit on the bed." She commanded.

He looked ready to argue. Azul moved an inch. Leon grunted, muttered a curse word, and obeyed.

Her spores turned yellow and calming and she focused it on Leon. His shoulders tightened and she didn’t miss how his jaw tightened. She told herself that she didn’t care.

The minutes ticked by.

Her eyelids drooped and her spores began to turn dull. Today seems a bit heavier, she noted, rolling her neck to soothe the crick that was forming. It felt like more energy was being zapped out of her compared to the previous days.

Meanwhile, Leon did his best to hide his true feelings.

He was used to pain, his body bore scars as testament of that. But for whatever reason, the whip marks from earlier hurt more than anything he had ever felt.

Granted, he was no stranger to the Princess’ punishments. But this was a new level. She tended to stay out his path, using her twisted feelings for him as leverage.

And now she was done playing nice.

Yet here she was. Soothing him. Something she had sworn never to do for as long as she lived.

He refused to look at her. He didn’t want to. Not while the welts on his back healed and relief like an ice bath after a sweltering summer day washed over him. It felt so good that the weight on his shoulders vanished, and he wanted to lie on the bed and succumb to twelve hours of deep sleep.

Then he remembered who was responsible for that feeling. Her. That malicious princess.

His jaw clenched and he shook the relief away, straightening his back, his fists clenched on top of his knees.

This woman wasn’t capable of kindness or softness. It’s all an act.

One he would rather cut his arm off than fall for.