Chapter 28: A Dance for Two
Ethan never liked wasting time. In the days that followed, he turned every moment by the princess’s side into an opportunity. She probably guessed he was plotting something, but seemed to treat it all as a game of teasing and laughter, though her smile never looked truly real.
They talked during walks through dark stone corridors, at private dinners where only the light of golden candelabras separated their faces, and even on balconies where the wind carried her secrets away. She spoke, always with her completely empty expression, as if she saw no reason to hide anything. Little by little, Ethan managed to analyze and understand more and more about how her magic and kingdom worked.
He discovered that her kingdom kept fragile alliances with two neighboring realms, both still indebted from old wars. The courts were full of arrogant nobles, but with no real ambition, which left room for her to act without opposition. That was how the princess, using her mind domination magic, placed the most influential nobles in key positions, turning them into seemingly intact puppets. They didn’t need to kneel before her; it was enough that they obeyed on critical matters.
She also showed a lot of interest in the supposed new hero who had appeared. She believed that having someone like him under her control would bring more political power than a few foolish nobles. This made Ethan wonder if that had always been the princess’s goal in the novel.
In the original story, the hero killed her. Her questionable choices and the fact that she had started a war enraged him to the point of driving his sword through her heart.
A lovesick princess who made the wrong choices and ended up killed by the one she loved because of them. But each day he spent by her side, the more certain he became that the truth behind that story was far from what it seemed.
Ethan, for his part, listened patiently. His calm smile never wavered. She noticed that, and it seemed to amuse her. Between sips of wine, she explained the limits of the power she wielded. "Despite everything, it’s not absolute control," she said one night, as the moon lit half her face. "At least not over the living. It’s more like... planting ideas, strengthening insecurities, twisting wills until they choose what I want."
The princess’s gaze seemed far away as she recalled scenes from the past. "I increase the guard’s sense of loyalty and duty to protect this kingdom and the royal family, while also weakening any desire they might have to rebel." She swirled the wine in her glass. "With the servants, I simply deepened the fear they already had of failing me, something they had in abundance."
Ethan replied with a compliment and a brief touch on her hand, noticing how proud she was of her own choices and plans. The princess was cold, but not immune to the fascination she felt for Ethan. Over the days, he tested how close she would allow him to get. But so far, it didn’t seem like he had reached that limit yet.
When she asked about him, Ethan said little. He left deliberate gaps, feeding her curiosity without revealing anything that truly mattered. Throughout those days, she drew closer too, as if testing his limits as well.
To outsiders, they might have looked like nothing more than a couple hiding their romance from those who would want to end it. A princess and a stranger? The king would never allow it.