n

n

n

nThe Northern Empire, the underground palace,

nOnce Marinette and Victor entered the ball locking arms with each other, everyone praised with their eyes glittering staring at the stars of the ball.

nMany hours passed, the true mission of getting the gem Marinette planned was already abandoned long ago since...

nBoth of them were in the prison...

nThe one who was at fault was none other than...Marinette herself.

nThree hours earlier before dawn,

n

"Wow, the atmosphere sure is lively.

" one more shot down her throat after finishing the sentence, her face was already hot and red drinking the handmade wine of the north enjoying the dancing performance all of those dancers danced for the emperor sitting on the throne.

nVictor squinted his eyes seeing Marinette drinking many bottles of wine without stopping having no idea what she was going to do.

n

"Enough drinking...

"

n

"Yah, shut up...I have a plan...see that gem??

" she almost raised her finger pointing in the emperor's direction but Victor stopped her on time or else she wouldn't have a finger to use anymore.

n

"I see it!!! How are you going to steal it if you're drunk like this??

"

n

"Shut up!! I'm not drunk.

" she burped smiling like a drunk person rejecting Victor's accuse and hugging her arm around his neck laughing and smiling like a psycho.

nShe just wanted to ruin Diana's image in Victor's eyes and every noble in the noble empire.

nThat was her plan at first until she was drunk after just one shot.

n

"I have a plan~

" she leaned her face whispering to Victor's ear in a seductive way.

nHe was blushing red feeling the warmth of her breath on his ear was taken aback by her boldness.

n'What's with her tonight????'

n

"I'm gonna dance~dance~dance, you...steal the gem, 'kay??

" she put her finger on her cheek trying to be cute and walked to the middle of the ball, she made Victor really embarrassed of her crazy behavior. But he still obeyed her order and blended into the crowd making way toward where the gem was put, it was near the emperor's hands.

nThe emperor with white hair, his long pure white hair laid down to his knees while he put his hands on his ear feeling boring because of the repeated dancing of all of those dancers.

nBut then, when a drunk woman came into his sight, he felt amused in anticipation seeing such a drunk lady being bold enough to dance for him.

nIn the novel Sun-hee used to read, no matter what the main character did, she will do very well. Especially, in the cliche scenario like dancing for the emperor, she will nail it with her talent.

nBut then Marinette completely broke the cliche making everyone gasp in disbelief, even Victor was stunned in one place staring at the woman in the middle of the ball spinning her hair and doing the strange choreography people in Anastasia had never seen before.

n

"Yah~Yah...yah...boombayah~

" Victor dropped the gem when he got the second-hand embarrassment seeing Marinette in Diana's body muttered the lyric of music when the music completely stopped. And that led them into the situation in jail.

n

nShe was finally sober and wanted to run into the wall to break her head, but she couldn't. She was blushing cover her face from Victor remembering what she did when she was drunk.

n

"Why didn't you stop me??!!!!

" she yelled at Victor whose stomach was hurt from all the laughing as she hit his arm with her small fist.

n

"You were just so into it...pfft...even the emperor watched you dancing till the end before they captured us...Hahaha.

"

nShe used the reason she was in Diana's body as an excuse since no matter what she did, they will just think Diana was the one who did it. But it was so shameful.

nWell, no matter what happened, as long as they succeed. Victor showed the real gem to Marinette and smirked waiting for her to praise him. But she just took it and looked at it closely to confirm it was real then got up leaving the poor guy pouting on the prison's floor.

n

"It's gonna be hard breaking out now. But oh well, I have my trump card.

" she knew the time she woke up in the prison was already dawn, which meant escaping under the mighty dragon's eyes will be difficult. She grinned looking at the big door across the cell they stayed in waiting for someone.

nThud!!!

nOne guard fell down on the floor one after another, and the hero finally arrived with the little rose monster sitting on his head.

n

"Oliver, I know you would come.

" she was calm as she kicked the cell of the prison breaking out of the prison.

nThe security of the jail was lacking since they really trusted their mighty dragon.

n

"You left me with hundreds of guards back there. I almost died!!

" he yelled sulking but Marinette patted his shoulder to comfort him and then took her monster back.

n

"It's not a big deal, is it? Since...you're the emperor, aren't you??

" Victor was confused when Marinette said that to Oliver.

n

"Pfft...uwahahahaha!!!! Since when??? When did you notice??

" Victor started to feel the presence of the knight he fought before surrounding the underground prison and tried to warn Marinette but one look off Oliver glancing at him, he was on his knees shaking in fear.

n

"Do I look like a kid who believed some random thief could find the duke's uniform to wear?? Your lie was so lacking.

"

n

"Uhuh??? I thought I almost fooled you completely...

" short white hair turned long down to his knee, the clothes transform to silky white clothes with the purple bell on his waist, the eyes turned pink just like the color of the dragon scale embedded on his staff that came into his right hand.

n

"...

" Marinette gulped seeing the true power of the emperor of the north, walking back to Victor step by step sweating cold sweat even her little monster climbed on her back hiding from the emperor.

nSomeone walked into the prison until he reached the back of the emperor, it was the person who sat on the throne a moment ago. He transformed himself to his original self wearing glass and the list on his hands with the golden rectangle on his black suit written 'Secretary, Oliver.'

n

"Your majesty, we caught two of them. There're two intruders left, one of them is captured by the dragon hunter and another one was...

" he whispered to the emperor's ears, the emperor's eyes widening as he heard the name.

n

"Send all the knights to capture them at once, for these two, I'll kill them myself.

"

n

"Yes, your majesty.

" the secretary Oliver brought all the knights outside the prison obeying the emperor's order without wasting a second.

n

"Victor...can you run??

"

nVictor turned his head at her when she asked him that in a low voice.

n

"What about you??

"

n

"He won't kill me. At least, run for yourself.

"

n

"I won't leave without you.

"

n

"Haa...you're such a stubborn person.

" Marinette cast the magic turning the monster on her back into a big one and ordered that monster to grab Victor leaving her there.

nIt obeyed her order and jumped from the prison creating a hole above her head when it left.

n

"No!!!! Mari--

"

nShe couldn't hear his scream, she let out a slight relief and then turned to face the emperor.

n

"Should I call you Oliver or the emperor...? Or Mr. worldwide handsome thief???

" she giggled hiding her fear. She knew from the start something like this was bound to happen, the fact she wanted to stay in the prison because it was located to the nearest escape route.

n

"You're really confident that I won't kill you, huh???

" the emperor set a barrier in an instant without lifting his finger with a face of no emotion.

nMarinette gulped but tried to stand tall, showing no weakness to the emperor whose eyes could see through your weakness.

n

"Hiding your weakness??

" again he caught on to what she was doing.

n

"I don't have one, what's there to hide?

"

n

"Aww, Marinette. You're so naive. I didn't rule over the dragon and all the humans for all those years just to be fooled by a newborn kid like you.

"

n

"Uhuh...yeah.

"

n

"I haven't killed you because you reminded me of someone in the past.

"

n

"...

" he walked around Marinette saying what he wanted, the barrier wasn't for decoration, all the elemental magic was forbidden inside it. The magic energy was distorted, one use of it, if the user was inexperienced, they might die.

nHe really thought ahead to use it on Marinette who hasn't mastered her magic yet.

n

"And that someone stole something from me!!!!

" he was enraged just by the thought of that someone. He pulled Marinette's chin looking at her eyes, the pink eyes which were the same as his, and the blonde hair which was the same as his father.

nThe woman's face was like the split image of the woman in his mind.

n

"Who's your mother? No, who is this body's mother?

"

n

"Why do you want to know???

"

n

"Just answer, your life depends on the answer right now.

"

n

"Duchess Catherine.

"

n

"Duchess?? She had a husband??!!

" Marinette nodded as he threw her across the prison with his anger.

n

"I'll help you get your body back, no matter what, I have to put the real soul back in her body.

" the emperor walked out of the prison after saying that to Marinette in a harsh tone abandoning the bleeding Marinette.

nWhen the emperor wasn't in her sight, Marinette smirked in arrogance looking at her hands which touched his hands a moment ago.

n

"Not only you who could see the weakness, your majesty...

"

nMemory Magic: Memory Land

nTo look at Regna's memories, a price needs to be paid!

nTwo screens appeared in front of Marinette in the black surrounding, one screen showed the face of her father and the other one showed the face of her mother.

nShe tapped on her mother's screen without any attached feeling and the one memory of her mother was fading, her only memory of her mother was her in the portrait, that was all.

nYou will see Regna's memories and experience his pain in three, two, one!!

n

n

nThousands of people begged him to spare them but not one of them was spared, blood splattered into the emperor's eyes. From the age of three, no one beat the emperor, not even the dragon. He was born to kill, to rule, to look down on those people kneeling to him as he sat on the throne until his weakness came in front of him.

nWhen everyone in his eyes was just rats and insects, the woman in the red dancing outfit with white hair walked to the middle of the ball.

nHer light step as she performed for him was never once before seen in his empire, the fragrance coming from her hands spread across the ball making the emperor smirk when seeing all of those cunning nobles falling onto the floor one by one.

nHer face was hidden under the transparent red veil but the deep of her eyes had already stolen his heart as he walked to the woman with one hand holding the dagger and the other hand using her death roses magic to kill all of those nobles in front of the eyes of the ruler.

nThe performance finished, her dancing stole the emperor's attention, even without music, she really danced well on all of the corpses she killed.

n

"What's your name??

"

n

"Is that matter?

" she put her hands on his neck and bit his underlip till it bleed. The bitterness of his blood and the sweetness of her lipstick as they kissed each other was first for him when she suddenly stole his first kiss.

n

"Be my empress...

" his eyes for the first time became soft for her staring at the woman on top of him kissing all over his body, his sight started to fade away when she whispered to him,

"I only want your child and the energy inside your body...I'm weak against power, your majesty.

"

n

"You...cunning woman...

"

nMarinette stopped immediately when they were about to make out, when she snapped back to reality, the emperor was already in front of her staring dagger into her eyes,

"My only weakness was that woman!! You'd better not try that sh*t on me again.

"

n

"I get it now...so this body was the daughter of that woman, was it??

"

n

"Those eyes...like mother, like daughter.

" he gritted his teeth in anger grabbing Marinette's wrist dragging her out with force, he couldn't wait any longer to meet the woman that year since it had already been twenty years, and that woman...was the reason he didn't get any empress or concubines.

n

nThe Nova's household,

n

"Isn't around this time...when I went to the northern empire, right?

" the lady with white hair grinned glancing at the north as she sipped her tea chilling on the balcony.

n

"...hmm~

" her eyes wide when looking at the thing in the newspaper.

nShe chuckled eating the cookie and muttered,

"The Mortel duchy exploded?? Marinette and Diana disappeared?? Well, things are starting to be interesting, isn't it?

" the white-haired woman, Jessica laughed loudly making all of the underlings in fear since she will do crazy stuff again when she laughed like that.

n'It looks like the potion I gave to that black hair worked.' little did they know, she already did...the crazy things.

nTo be continued....!

n