The feed said that in the original story, I would attend the banquet, be chosen as his fiancée, and then use my new status to bully Seraphina relen- tlessly, adding a healthy dose of angst to their romance.
Knowing this, I had immediately refused the invitation when it arrived. I thought by not attending, I could avoid the whole mess. I never dreamed the King would just issue a direct decree.
“Dad,” I asked weakly, “can I refuse?”
He sighed. “Luna, the King’s choice… his choice of our family, of you… it’s not that simple.”
I knew. My family controlled the planet’s largest mech corporation and its most prestigious academy. The military used our mechs, and more and
more of its soldiers were our graduates. The royal family was starting to feel threatened.
Choosing me as the royal fiancée was a move to control my family through marriage.
I couldn’t refuse.
But I wasn’t too worried. Julian and Seraphina were the main characters. They were destined to be together. My role as his fiancée was only tem-
porary. I just had to wait for the plot to play out.
Clearly, the main characters thought so too. And they were far more ruthless than I was.
12
The title of “Royal Fiancée” was just that–a title.
Julian Pierce told me so himself. “I don’t know what strings you pulled to make my father choose you, but his choice is not my choice.”
“I will never marry you,” he said, his voice cold. “And I suggest you stay far away from me.”
The feed erupted with praise for him, calling him devoted, loyal, a man who only had eyes for Sera. They said he was cool for not giving me any
face, that he was one of a kind. I read it all with a frown, feeling a sense of disgust for my past self. Who in their right mind would fall for such an
arrogant, rude man?
I simply offered him a polite, distant smile. “Then I hope you will dissolve our engagement as soon as possible, Your Highness. To be frank, this
title is quite a burden for me as well.”
He sneered. “Playing hard to get won’t work on me.”
I was speechless. I just turned and walked away.
For the next year, I took his advice to heart. I moved from my second year to my third, graduation looming, and he saw me only a handful of times.
In that time, he and Seraphina continued to live together. They fought often, but their bond only deepened.
Just before the graduation exams, the academy held a final assembly. I was forced to see them, and with them came the long–absent feed.
This time, its contents sent a chill of pure terror down my spine.
The graduation exam had been changed to a practical trial on a remote planet. We would have to find our own materials, process them, and inde-
pendently build a Level 7 mid–grade mech to pass.
This trial was designed, in part, by Julian Pierce.
And he planned to use it to get rid of me and seize control of my family’s assets once and for all.
After this trial, my family and I would be prisoners. The academy would become a royal institution, and our corporation would become the royal
armory.
Julian Pierce, I thought, my body trembling, I have done none of the evil deeds the script assigned to me. Why do you hate me this much?
I bowed my head, bit my lip, and clenched my fists, fighting to control the tremor running through me. I would not let the events on that feed come
to pass
