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nThe North Empire, Back to the present,

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"Revenge is more important than love.

" the voice came from the one in blonde hair talking to the commander of the empire, Victor.

nThe purple phoenix flew to its owner with a concerned feeling when seeing Philip walking away from everything.

n'Your highness, it might not be the real lady Marinette...you know...I might make a mistake sensing the wrong magic energy...

" the phoenix Mary tried to comfort the heartbroken prince but it didn't seem to be effective when the prince only smiled in an unpleasant way to the phoenix.

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"I'm alright... besides...what she said was right, revenge is more important for people like us.

"

n'Your highness...'

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"Don't worry...I'll fix everything...this time, I won't let those things repeated again.

" walking away from Marinette into the dark, that darkness won't hurt him, he won't go the part of gathering comrades any longer, when you were alone, no one will become your weakness and that went the same for love too.

nTo win, he had to give up on loving her. His heart was saying otherwise, but he already made his decision. Coming all the way to the northern empire was just to check on her, seeing her in Diana's body, her safety will be guaranteed.

nHe was happy for her, that way, she will never be abandoned by her family again.

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"Let's go back, Mary.

"

nThe phoenix turned paler and paler and soon vanished back into his heart. It was the only legacy Marinette from the last timeline gave to him.

nMarinette wasn't much different from the first prince when standing in front of the man who betrayed her in the last timeline.

nEvery single piece of memories had already returned to her.

nHis tears no longer affected her, all that was left was his warm hands on her waist hugging her to not pushing him away.

nHer cold hands yet again moved his hands away, she got all the emotion from Marinette's memories, her pain, and everything.

nWhat he did was for her, but that didn't mean it was right.

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"Commander...you came here for a business trip, right?? Then go on. I'll be going my way now.

" she tried to be strong in front of him, even though she was broken inside.

nHer heart was shattering into dust at that moment, she could only look down at his feet waiting for any words coming from him.

nBut it was a long silence. Only the sound of the wind with the snow came past her ears.

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"Marinette. Then can I ask you one thing?

" standing apart from each other, the distance between them was similar to a broken bridge.

nThe bridge was on the verge of collapse just like the trust she had in him.

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"Ask.

" with the short reply, Victor clenched his hand looking at Diana's figure in front of his eyes.

nNo matter which timeline, or which body was she in, she will always be Marinette whom he cherished in his heart.

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"Why did you bring me to the past?? Even though I betrayed you?

" she didn't have an answer to that question, even she didn't know. She wasn't even the real Marinette was what she thought. She tried to put herself in Marinette's shoes, Marinette from the last life pushed Victor away, told him she regretted meeting him, but despite all that, she gave him the second chance of traveling back into the past.

nHis comrade didn't die, he was a high-rank commander, the ideal figure in the capital. He achieved many things which he couldn't because she and he never crossed paths once in the second timeline.

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"It is all I could give you. Why do you keep coming to me?? You said you planned this for many years...how?? How did you unlock the memory I locked??

"

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"...

" she finally looked at that man in the eyes. The golden pair of eyes gazing at her, the cold dry lip, she put her hand on his cheek.

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"Marinette...I've always felt like something was missing in my life...I kept searching for that one person I forgot...and the memories you locked unlocked when I laid my eyes on you...I won't lie, I won't go against your wish...but this is all I have to say to you...I only want you to be safe...and for that, you have to run.

" his eyes were saying the truth.

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"I wanted to run too...if I could, I will escape from everything. But, this will be the last timeline, there will be no turning back. I don't want to live my life hiding...at least, I could lose and die in peace when I try everything.

"

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"Are you speaking from your heart?

" Marinette nodded. The snow passed her blonde hair, the boundary between them broke.

nLooking into Victor's golden eyes, Marinette could see the boy crying with the knight doll. It was the same at that time when he first met him, he was also sobbing when his comrade died. It was also the same when he killed himself in front of her, he was also crying.

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"I appreciate everything you've done...but I couldn't do what you wanted. I only want to say this to you...Victor, just trust me...and watch me till the end.

" Marinette's hand slid down his arm and held both of his cold hands, she embraced it.

nHe also came so far in the second timeline, he became stronger than before alone. He was no longer the pathetic commander who spent many years mourning for his dead comrade. He saved his comrade. Many people survived because of him. History changed, a lot of people survived thanks to his leadership.

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"Can I stay by your side?

"

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"No.

" she shook her head refusing that guy's request, he was sulking and trembling to hold her hands.

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"I won't betray you. I swear I won't sacrifice any people for your sake any longer.

"

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"We'll see then.

" she smiled sarcastically, a pair of puppy ears seemed to come out of Victor's hair when hearing those words.

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"Then let me get the antidote, it will swap your body back with Diana.

" he went through his bag, the gem they stole from the hidden palace dropped, and a couple of Marinette's favorite snacks dropped on the snow but only one thing was missing.

nMarinette who looked forward to turning back to normal was waiting eagerly, then a train of disappointment hit her right in the head when Victor showed her the empty bag.

nHe muttered in hesitant,

"It seemed like...I dropped it...

"

nShe grabbed her collar in an instant making Victor flinch in fear,

"What do you mean you dropped it??!!

"

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"It might be that time...I think I lost it when the dragon of this empire chased after me.

"

nShe tried to be calm releasing her collar then picked up the body of the demon Valencia. Everything will have a solution, if a thing was lost, you just have to find it.

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"You'd better not lie to me, let's talk about how you swap my body with Diana later, for now...

" she nodded at Victor when noticing the group of people walking toward them.

nThey ran and ran till they got all of those dragon armies off their tail, they arrived at one stream. The water was warm there despite it being located near the mountain full of snow.

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"Who is that woman??

" Victor asked, Marinette was still awkward talking to him when knowing his feeling for Marinette.

nShe replied awkwardly to him while avoiding eye contact,

"She is the demon, I already manipulated her memory, so we have nothing to worry about.

"

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"Alright. I trust you. Let's rest here for a bit then.

"

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"...by the way, Victor...was it really the first prince whom I love in my last life??

" Victor went silent for a while standing full of anxiety.

nNo matter what his answer was, she will know the truth later on.

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"That's right.

"

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"Strange...why didn't I remember anything about him??

" she felt something was missing. Everything related to Philip seemed to be blurry, even the time which she was sure she spent the time with Philip seemed to not occur in her mind.

n'Did Marinette really love Prince Philip...?'

nShe looked up to the sky and took a deep breathe when the situation started to be complicated, it will be a long journey up ahead.

n'She didn't...remember??' Victor's eyes darkened as he stared at her back from behind. The little hope in his one side love seemed to have a spark hoping for a chance.

nWhile Marinette and Victor were lost in their thought, a woman who was unconscious the whole time, with her eyes which couldn't see anything, turned her head to Marinette who was by the stream of the river, and grabbed the sword beside her.

n'...Marinette...Marinette...'

n'Marinette...Marinette...' she murmured getting up walking toward Marinette passing by Victor, even she was in his sight, he didn't notice her presence at all. It was as if she wasn't there.

nShe came closer and closer to Marinette who was crouching washing her face with the warm water.

nHer pale white hand reached out to Marinette's neck with the sharp fingernail and the blood lingering on it.

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"Victor...let's go--

" when Marinette finished washing her face, she turned back and screamed out of her lung when seeing the black-haired demon right in front of her.

nAHHHHHHHHH

nAlso, Valencia was screaming like crazy when Marinette suddenly turned herself like that.

nAHHHHHHHHHHH

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nAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

nMeanwhile,

nAurora, Tristan, and the army were screaming in chaos inside the portal. Everything was distorted there.

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"Calm down!!! We need to find a way out of here!!!

" even though Tristan tried to calm the situation down, the army was still screaming in fear.

nEverywhere was the mirror, the wall was made of a mirror, even the floor they stood on was also a mirror.

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"How could I calm down??!! You should've figured out a way from outside, why did you come in??!!

"

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"It's because--

"

nHe didn't get to reply then the mirror of the wall flipped up to separate the last people who stick together.

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"Let the fun game begin!!!

" the demon, Valencia's underling was giggling looking at those people in panic on the couch looking at many screens of each person including Aurora and Tristan.

nTo be continued....!

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