***

"I HAVE never heard Samael call me as you did."

"Is it not allowed?" I asked the emperor innocently, hoping he would budge.

Oh, my God! I don't even know where I got this courage and confidence from! Maybe because I created this world so I should know my characters best? But it was as if I was exposing myself to my own doom!

Emperor Astaroth came down, and our eyes had not cut the connection. I would have mistaken him for Samael if I hadn't known he was Renee's father from my novel. He was in his late forties but due to the Asmodean blood flowing through him, he was aging slowly.

On the thirteenth birthday of a de Lovett, 'manifestation' occurs—an event in which they become more mature and the aging process slows down.

So when Samael turns thirteen years old, he will be more mature than nobles and commoners his age.

My mind was interrupted when the emperor lifted me into his arms. His face became closer to mine which was making my heart beat erratically.

"I will allow you to call me that," he said, still looking sharply at me.

My eyes widened, and I swallowed the lump I felt in my throat.

"Sebastian!" the Emperor called his butler to the throne room.

I then heard a knock before an old man approached us.

"Your Majesty, did you call for me?"

"Prepare dinner. The Crown Prince and Princess will join me at the table."

Sebastian nodded to the Emperor again. He moved in a very finesse way. Oh, my gosh! This is precisely what I imagined in the Emperor's butler! He was wearing a black and white suit, and his hair was combed neatly to the back. I guess there were still details in my novel that remain and will happen.

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Instead of putting me down, we went out of the throne room with the emperor carrying me. I saw Samael with crossed arms outside and Rosette bowing from the other side, both waiting for us.

"You," the Emperor called to Rosette. Rosette looked up and remained listening. "Follow Sebastian and help prepare the Princess' meal."

I felt strange because of the way he called me.

Princess . . . The Emperor just called me a princess.

Rosette immediately obeyed the order and quickly went to Sebastian who was walking in the distance but was in a hurry.

The Emperor started walking again, and I noticed that Samael was not too far behind. He was just quiet, but it was noticeable that the two were carrying the same aura.

Like father, like son.

We were taken to the dining hall, where there was a long table with white cloth and beautiful coloured flowers. I think there are twenty seats around the table. The ceiling is also high, and the curtain hanging on the long, wide window is red and gold. At the end of the table was a massive image of the map of the empire in gold.

It was incomparable with the dining hall of Peridot Palace, which had only ten seats, and was entirely empty.

Samael sat to the right of the far seat. I was lowered to the seat in front of Samael. The emperor sat at the very end—as expected.

One by one, the servants entered with some dishes and laid them down in front of us. The main dish was filet de boeuf rôti en croûte de champignons. The food looked so appetizing! I was so excited to taste it!

I also saw Rosette approach me and personally arrange my meal.

"Take it easy, my lady," she whispered softly to me, and I nodded at her. "I've cut the meat, but you don't have to hurry. If you need anything, I'm just here at the back."

I nodded to her again; she was already standing in the back next to Sebastian. The Emperor and Crown Prince started eating, so I started, too. Only the weak rattle of cutlery could be heard around. Not even the breathing of the servants could be heard. It was . . . awkward.

"From this day on, the Princess will live here in the palace," the Emperor made no emotion as he made the announcement to everyone in the dining hall before sipping wine from his goblet.

I was slightly taken aback by what he was saying and looked in his direction.

"Prepare her room and move the belongings from Peridot Palace."

"We will have it done, Your Majesty," said Sebastian.

"What?!" I asked out loud, making everyone turn in my direction. Even the maids and knights looked at me because of how my little voice squeaked.

"Is there a problem, Renée?" Samael asked as he sliced ​​the dish on his plate.

I felt like my body shivered because of him calling my name.

I shook my head and looked at my plate, still full of food. I had no appetite because of what I heard.

"Your Majesty," Samael called. "I think the doctor should be summoned," Samael suggested to the Emperor, who turned back in my direction. I swallowed hard because I was not comfortable with the two of them.

Their blue eyes were piercing my very soul.

"What do you feel?" the Emperor asked me.

I shook my head. I didn't seem to be able to tell them that I was not comfortable with the way they looked at me.

I knew what I expect is not normal for a five-year-old, but they couldn't blame me. Suddenly, the day came when I was facing the leader of the empire, my father, as Renée.

This was just too weird for me.

"Call the imperial doctor," the Emperor ordered Sebastian, the palace's head butler.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Sebastian politely replied with a bow before leaving the dining room.

Things had swayed away from the novel. This was not supposed to happen . . . yet.

But then again, I didn't manage to finish the novel, and there were many loopholes in the story. However, the reality was that our paths should not cross now that Renée was still young. This wasn't how I imagined it to be.

And as Emperor Astaroth said, my room was prepared very quickly.

They had brought some things to my new room. It was bigger than my previous bedroom. Extremely wider. That was no longer surprising. The Reburene Palace was incomparable to the Peridot Palace, which was just a tiny palace far from the main palace.

I picked up my thick book and laid it on the table. I also took the ink and feather pen to the windows. There was light coming in here, so I would not have to hide if I turned on the light.

I opened the book I was writing about Renée's life.

Even though I was still young, I still remembered what I wrote in the novel before I came to this body . . . to this world.

I had to write the events in full to tell what was different and the same from my memory and reality. I needed to understand the flow of the story before I celebrated my eighteenth birthday.

Maybe I could stop Renée's death—my death. If I could not change the course of the novel, I would surely get death in the end.

But if I could change my destiny and live beyond eighteen, what would happen to me? Would the de Lovett's accept me as one of them? That I was a princess?

My thoughts shook me.

I am not the princess, but it's Renée. I am Charlotte, the writer of Renée's story. I needed to get back to my world . . . in my real life. I just wanted to write my stories again, wearing my pyjamas in my father's house. I want to return to the comfort of my home.

When it got dark, only the light from the moon served as my lamp while I was writing. I was currently in the fourth chapter, where there was a grand ball, and there, the young Renée came to flee to the Peridot Palace and got everyone's attention in the palace.

Since then, Renée had felt envious of people to her because of her appearance and the blood that flowed through her body.

They could not deny her noble blood that could not be hidden because of her red eyes. But because of her golden hair, she was mistaken for a wizard.

I stopped writing. There was only one reason why people were silent about Renée's personality when she was young—the fortune-teller in a yellow robe. This was a wizard from the magician's tower.

I scratched my head. Renée did not recognize the fortune-teller immediately. When she was accepted by the de Lovett's, it took months to confirm that she was a de Lovett, not an impostor or even a half-blood.

But the most substantial influence on people's minds was the prophecy that the female fortune-teller announced.

She said in front of everyone, especially the Emperor, that Renée was destined to save the flood coming to the empire. Black and red ash will cover the place, and the hidden glory of a nobleman with special blood can save everyone.

Everyone believed that Renée was the answer, so she was taken care of. She experienced being an 'actual' princess, not just in name. She became essential to everyone.

But when she turned eighteen, on her birthday, a woman who identified herself as the real princess of the empire took the spotlight. She showed her power that Renée could not create. It was the start of her downfall.

And because of that, they were brought back before the fortune-teller to find out the truth about who the actual princess was. But she disappeared, and no one knew where she went. There was no trace of her at all.

What was her name? Why couldn't I remember?

I remember writing her name while riding in a taxi before going on a short holiday. It was a name that resonated with me, thinking about paradise.

My mind seemed to light up when I remembered the distant past.

Ah, she was Anais Paraisse.

***

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JO ELLE