CHAPTER 5: 🔯 PROGREDIENS DOLORE NON OBSTANTE 🔯
(MOVING FORWARD DESPITE THE PAIN)
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**[NARRATOR AWAKENS - BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT I'D LET YOU REST?]**
Oh, HELLO there!
Before we BEGIN this glorious SHITSHOW of a chapter, let me test you first.
Hot DAMN! Chapter 4 was CHAOS, wasn't it?! Blood! Beheadings! Catfights! Emotional devastation! Romance! Hope! The whole PACKAGE!
But at least it was WORTH it, right? Because there was HOPE. A tiny, fragile, flickering FLAME of hope in all that darkness. And we should keep moving FORWARD despite the pain, right? RIGHT?!
**WRONG.**
Because this is MY story, and in MY story, hope is just FOREPLAY for MORE SUFFERING.
So how are you FEELING, my little devil? Excited? Anxious? Already regretting clicking "next chapter"?
Uh huh, I KNOW, I know! Calm DOWN! Don't RUSH me! **I'M** the narrator here! **I** lead you and guide you through this story, REMEMBER? **I** carry the torch! **"I,"** your humble narrator, am the LIGHT-BRINGER!
Well, more like ARSON-BRINGER, but who's keeping track?
That's why MY little angel will do her job NOW. And remember in Chapter 2? She had DUTIES. You remember? You thought she had NO NAME, huh?
Well, she DOES have a name! She just didn't want to reveal it to Hexia because she thought it wasn't NEEDED. How RUDE of her!
But it's alright, we can UNDERSTAND, right, my little devil? Ah, we're so COMPASSIONATE! We're not the VILLAINS here, right?
**RIGHT?!**
*(Narrator's note: We're TOTALLY the villains. We've been complicit in Hexia's suffering from DAY ONE. But shhh, don't tell anyone!)*
---
**[META-COMMENTARY BECAUSE I CAN'T HELP MYSELF]**
But before we get to the JUICY stuff—the catfights, the divine intervention, the DRAMATIC REVELATIONS—**"I,"** your humble narrator, just wanted to make you realize something.
Something that **YOU**—yes, **YOU**, my little devil—did NOT notice. Not even ONCE.
You ready?
Deep breath.
Here it comes:
**YOU'VE BEEN ISEKAI'D TOO.**
I KNOW you're probably thinking that's ABSURD, huh? That I've finally lost my goddamn MIND? That the narrator has officially gone OFF THE RAILS?
Well, my little devil, it's NOT absurd! It's FACT!
You kept COMING BACK here, right? You kept DIVING back into this world! Look—we're ALREADY on Chapter 5 of the story! You could have STOPPED after Chapter 1! After Chapter 2! Hell, after the BEHEADING in Chapter 4!
But you DIDN'T. You're still HERE. Still READING. Still INVESTED.
You've been transported to MY world. To THIS world. Every time you open this story, you LEAVE your reality and enter MINE. Every time you read a word, you're INHABITING this space. Every time you imagine these characters, you're BRINGING THEM TO LIFE in your mind.
**That's isekai, baby. You just didn't realize it until NOW.**
Do you realize it NOW? GREAT! Because I just BROADENED the horizon for you! HAHAHAHA! We're the SAME! The only good thing about YOUR situation is you can jump OUT of this story anytime!
But our characters CAN'T! They're TRAPPED! STUCK! BOUND to this narrative until I—your benevolent or possibly MALEVOLENT narrator—decide their story is DONE!
You get my point NOW? I KNOW, I know! Yes, come on, PRAISE me!
But hey, I'll let you in on a little SECRET. You see, **"I,"** your humble narrator, and the AUTHOR are the SAME! We're HALF of each other! You get that now, RIGHT?
**I** do the TALKING. He does the WRITING. **I'm** the voice inside HIS head and YOURS too!
You SEE? I KNOW, right?! The author must be INSANE!
Well, HEY! Let me ASK you this:
Throughout human HISTORY, what did people do to the GENIUSES of the past who had the GREATEST ideas, inventions, and discoveries? The ones who were WAY ahead of their time? The inventors! Scientists! Philosophers! You name it!
What did the idiotic MASSES do and SAY to them, huh?
They said: **"THE GENIUSES OF THE PAST WERE INSANE, CRAZY, ABSURD IDIOTS!"**
Now don't you DARE deny it! And what did the people DO? What did the REAL idiotic people do?!
They **"HUMILIATED"** them! They **"MOCKED"** their brilliant **"IDEAS"**! And you know what's the WORST?! They even had the AUDACITY to **"KILL THEM!"** Those geniuses were PERSECUTED simply because their ideas were ahead of their time back then!
Now tell me if I'm WRONG!? Come ON! Let's have a FACT CHECK! Google it! Enlightened NOW?!
**CONGRATULATIONS!** You've earned a skill point! Now do me a favor and put it on your mental state/WISDOM!
Ah, AHEM! Anyway, enough history lessons. Wait! SHIT! What am I even DOING?! Why am I even giving you LESSONS?! I'm not a fucking TEACHER!
Well, it WAS my dream. Well, it USED to be.
**ANYWAY!**
I've given you enough lessons. Now let's get back to BUSINESS!
Now then—at least I'm doing MY job in giving you the experience of the all-time fan-favorite ISEKAI. You see, THIS is the ESSENCE of isekai: to IMMERSE yourself in the world of fiction, fantasy, and ADVENTURE!
**"I,"** your humble narrator, am TALKING to **YOU** right now, RIGHT? SEE?! This is the ESSENCE of the shit that I created—the REAL isekai experience in REAL TIME!
Even if you're ALONE reading this, you know you have GOOD COMPANY with you—it's ME! **"I,"** your humble narrator, am HERE!
Now, did you get the goddamn IDEA?! GOOD! Because if you STILL didn't get what I'm talking about here, then PLEASE! PLEASE! Do me a favor and SELL your brain! Or better yet, DONATE it! Someone would **"probably"** be glad to buy your pretty brain and turn it into a decorative item in a museum with the caption: **"EXAMPLE OF AN EMPTY BRAIN!"**
HAHAHAHA! Just KIDDING! AWW, come on, don't be FLUSTERED now! Stop WHINING!
You see, I just created an ORIGINAL genre! And I'd like to call it the **"4th Wall Disaster"** genre! Or let's just put it in simple terms: **"4th Wall? SHATTERED"** genre!
And HELL, maybe I created a REVOLUTIONARY work here! Maybe this could POTENTIALLY broaden the world of LITERATURE!
Meh, who CARES? I mean, I am JUST a humble narrator here!
But here, at LEAST my work is ORIGINAL and not a COPIED GARBAGE! I make you EXPERIENCE the story while you're READING this, and all the while, **"I,"** your humble narrator, am TALKING with you—while YOU yourself are literally PART of this story!
**FOUR BIRDS, ONE FUCKING STONE!**
Got it?! MULTIPLE EXPERIENCES IN JUST ONE STORY! Where ELSE can you get it?! Tell ME?! Come ON?!
**"CONGRATULATIONS!"** You passed the test, my little devil! I'm very PROUD of you! I'm in TEARS right now, sobbing!
**SIKE!** Just KIDDING!
But hey, GOOD JOB at getting this far! Now I KNOW you're determined, so let's get to the story, SHALL we?
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**[BACK TO THE SHITSHOW - THREE WEEKS LATER]**
It's been **THREE WEEKS** now since Lhoralaine was DUMPED by Hexia, right?
Okay, but there's ONE tiny problem.
She **CAN'T MOVE ON.**
*(Narrator's note: Shocked? You shouldn't be. We ALL saw this coming. This woman has the emotional regulation skills of a TODDLER and the obsessive tendencies of a STALKER. It's a WINNING combination!)*
For three weeks, she's been SPIRALING. Not eating properly. Not sleeping well. Training obsessively like she's trying to KILL something—probably her feelings, but feelings don't DIE from sword practice. Trust me, I've TRIED.
Her party members are WORRIED. Her friends are CONCERNED. Random NPCs—I mean, TOWNSFOLK—keep giving her pitying looks.
But Lhoralaine? Lhoralaine is in DENIAL. Deep, DEEP denial. The kind of denial that builds CIVILIZATIONS, my friends.
She tells herself: *"He'll come around. He'll realize he made a mistake. Sirenia is just a PHASE. I just need to PROVE myself. I just need to SHOW him that I'm the right choice. I just need to—"*
Blah, blah, BLAH.
Classic denial. Classic obsession. Classic **"I can FIX this if I just TRY HARDER"** mentality.
Spoiler alert: She CAN'T. But watching her TRY? DELICIOUS.
---
**[THE OVERHEARD CONVERSATION - OR: HOW TO TRIGGER A MELTDOWN IN THREE EASY STEPS]**
One night—because ALL pivotal moments happen at NIGHT in this genre—Lhoralaine is heading back to the inn in **Briarkeep** after yet another day of obsessive training and self-destructive brooding.
She's walking through the cobblestone streets, lost in thought, when she hears VOICES.
Two local guards. Standing on a corner. TALKING.
Normally, she'd ignore them. But then she hears a NAME.
**Fred.**
She FREEZES. Her body goes RIGID. Every muscle TENSE.
And like the emotionally damaged disaster she is, instead of walking AWAY like a sane person, she CREEPS CLOSER to eavesdrop.
*(Narrator's note: This is called "making healthy life choices," and Lhoralaine is TERRIBLE at it.)*
**Local Guard #1** *(a middle-aged man with a beer gut and questionable facial hair)*: "So, who killed Fred? Wasn't he in a party with one of the known adventurers here in town?"
**Local Guard #2** *(younger, eager, the kind of guy who LOVES gossip)*: "Yes! I know—he's well-known here in Briarkeep! And he's the lover of Ms. Lhoralaine, the B-rank adventurer! I bet Ms. Lhoralaine must be DEVASTATED by now."
Lhoralaine's jaw CLENCHES. Her fists TIGHTEN.
**Local Guard #1**: "Maybe. But you know what? I HEARD that Fred wasn't actually FAITHFUL to Ms. Lhoralaine the whole time. And that Fred was actually MANIPULATING her. Poor girl."
**Local Guard #2** *(laughing—actually LAUGHING)*: "Yeah, it's devastating, I know! Well, that's what HAPPENS when you let yourself be manipulated and think you're doing FINE even though you're clearly NOT, right? HAHAHA!"
**Local Guard #1**: "Well, I heard that lately—for the past few WEEKS—she's not been herself these days. It's like she's been traumati—"
**"WHO WOULDN'T BE?!"**
The voice CUTS through the night like a BLADE.
Both guards JUMP. SPIN AROUND.
And there she is: **LHORALAINE.**
Standing in the shadows. Blonde hair catching the torchlight. Black eyes BLAZING with fury. Face twisted in rage and PAIN.
She looks like a DEMON. Or a broken ANGEL. Or both. Definitely BOTH.
---
**[LHORALAINE LOSES HER SHIT - A PERFORMANCE IN ONE ACT]**
**Lhoralaine** *(advancing on the guards, voice RISING)*: **"TELL ME!"** Who wouldn't be TRAUMATIZED about what HAPPENED, huh?! **TELL ME!** If YOU TWO were in MY situation, what would YOU have done, huh?! **WHAT?! TELL ME?!**
The guards BACK UP. Hands raised. Eyes wide.
**Local Guard #1**: "M-Ms. Lhoralaine, please—"
**Lhoralaine** *(not hearing him, not CARING)*: **"I KNOW!"** I've made a GREAT MISTAKE by believing that SON OF A BITCH, FRED! **I KNOW THAT!** And I've REGRETTED it EVER SINCE! And HELL—**I'M GLAD** that he's actually DEAD! ACTUAL FUCKING DEAD! **THANK THE FUCKING GODS** for that goddamn MOTHERFUCKER being DEAD!
*(She's SCREAMING now. SPITTING. Her voice echoing through the street. Windows opening. People PEERING out.)*
**Lhoralaine**: **"AND NOW LOOK AT ME! BROKEN!"** So WHAT?! Are you gonna MAKE FUN of me NOW?! **HUH?!**
She's in their FACES now. Close enough that they can see the tears streaming down her cheeks. Close enough to smell the RAGE and DESPAIR radiating off her like HEAT.
**Local Guard #1** *(genuinely scared now)*: "Ms. Lhoralaine, please CALM DOWN for a mo—"
**Lhoralaine** *(laughing—manic, BROKEN laughter)*: **"NO!"** I'm PERFECTLY calm! And also, I am very GRATEFUL that Hexia actually killed Fred, because **I'M FREE NOW!** Hell, I can do WHATEVER I WANT!
*(Narrator's note: This is what we call "a complete emotional breakdown disguised as empowerment." She is NOT free. She is NOT calm. She is a DISASTER IN MOTION.)*
**Local Guard #2** *(nervously, trying to de-escalate)*: "Uh, about that, Ms. Lhoralaine... We heard that the guy named Hexia was actually the MURDERER. Now the local lord wishes to ARREST him because of the crime he committed. And that capital PUNISHMENT would be his sentence. And also, I heard that he's going to be EXECUTED here in Briarkeep—at the plaza—in the coming future after his arrest."
**SILENCE.**
Lhoralaine's rage EVAPORATES. Replaced by something WORSE.
**Calculation.**
Her expression shifts. The manic energy FOCUSES. Becomes SHARP. DANGEROUS.
A smile spreads across her face. Slow. PREDATORY.
*(Narrator's note: Oh NO. Oh no, no, NO. I know that look. That's the "I just had a TERRIBLE IDEA and I'm going to execute it with ZERO self-awareness" look. Buckle UP, folks!)*
**Lhoralaine** *(voice suddenly CALM, too calm)*: **"What"** did you just SAY? The local lord of Briarkeep, you say? So when will they be ARRESTING Hexia?
*(She's GRINNING now. Like she just figured out the answer to a puzzle. Like she just found a LOOPHOLE.)*
**Local Guard #2** *(unnerved by the sudden mood shift)*: "I... I heard that the guards are about to be moving in TWO DAYS from now. To travel to Korn Village and formally arrest Hexia."
**Lhoralaine** *(grin widening, something MANIC in her eyes)*: **"Really NOW?"**
*(Her mind is RACING. You can see it. The gears turning. The PLAN forming.)*
**Lhoralaine**: "Wait—I could talk to the local lord and ask him to PARDON Hexia! Fred was the one who started it! Not Hexia's fault! It was SELF-DEFENSE!"
*(But in Lhoralaine's mind—and oh, you BEAUTIFUL, BROKEN disaster—her thoughts are SCREAMING):*
*(YES! PERFECT! This can WORK OUT! I get to SAVE him, and maybe—MAYBE—he might change his mind in the FUTURE! Maybe he'd be willing for us to be TOGETHER again! And that Sirenia—I should get HER out of the way! I'm SAVING him! YES! I am PROTECTING him! From HER and from anyone who would HURT him!)*
*(Narrator's note: THIS IS NOT SAVING. THIS IS MANIPULATION. THIS IS OBSESSION. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT FRED DID TO HER, AND SHE DOESN'T EVEN REALIZE IT. THE CYCLE CONTINUES, MY FRIENDS. TRAUMA BEGETS TRAUMA. HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE. AND LHORALAINE? LHORALAINE IS **HURTING**.)*
**Local Guard #2** *(trying to interject)*: "But the lord has made the deci—"
**Lhoralaine** *(cutting him off, voice SHARP)*: **"SHUT IT!"** I'll be going to the lord's house NOW! I'll TALK to him!
*(In Lhoralaine's mind: Just you WAIT, Sirenia! Hexia will come to LOVE me! I'll have what is MINE! My HAPPINESS! And MINE ALONE!)*
And with that DECLARATION of absolutely TERRIBLE decision-making, she STORMS off.
Into the night.
Toward the mansion.
Toward DISASTER.
The guards watch her go, then look at each other.
**Local Guard #1**: "Should we... stop her?"
**Local Guard #2**: "And get between THAT and whatever she's about to do? Fuck NO. I like being ALIVE."
**Local Guard #1**: "Fair point."
They resume their patrol, shaking their heads, already composing the report they'll have to file about the "incident" with the traumatized B-rank adventurer.
---
**[LORD CRUXXE'S MANSION - OR: WHERE EVERYTHING GOES SPECTACULARLY WRONG]**
The mansion of **Lord Cruxxe** is IMPRESSIVE. Not ostentatious—this isn't some decadent noble's palace—but SOLID. RESPECTABLE. The kind of place that says: "I have power, but I'm not a DICK about it."
Stone walls. Polished wood. Tasteful decorations. Guards at the gate who actually look COMPETENT instead of decorative.
Lord Cruxxe himself is in his study, doing the usual lord things: PAPERWORK. So much paperwork. Taxes. Trade agreements. Dispute resolutions. The glamorous life of LOCAL GOVERNANCE.
He's a man in his LATE FORTIES. Graying hair. Strong jawline. The kind of face that's seen SHIT but still maintains optimism. A rare breed in positions of power—someone who actually CARES about doing the job RIGHT.
Then—
*KNOCK. KNOCK.*
A voice from behind the door: "My lord, Lady Lhoralaine wishes to speak with you."
Lord Cruxxe looks up from his paperwork. FROWNS. It's LATE. This is UNUSUAL.
But he's a gracious host and a fair ruler, so:
**Lord Cruxxe**: "Let her in."
The door opens. **LHORALAINE** enters.
She's composed herself. The manic energy HIDDEN. The mask firmly in PLACE. She looks like a grieving lover seeking justice. Perfectly REASONABLE.
*(Narrator's note: She's about to lie her ASS off. And the tragedy? Part of her actually BELIEVES her own lies. That's the scariest part.)*
**Lhoralaine** *(with a practiced smile)*: "Good evening, Lord Cruxxe."
**Lord Cruxxe** *(gesturing to a chair)*: "Ah, yes, yes! Good evening to you too! Please, have a seat."
*(She does. Gracefully. Like she PRACTICED this.)*
**Lord Cruxxe**: "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit this evening, Lhoralaine? I heard that you have not been yourself lately. It was UNFORTUNATE that your lover, Fred, died from that murderer named Hexia! Don't you worry—I'll make SURE he'll pay for his crime of taking your happiness away... with his LIFE!"
*(He says this with genuine concern. Genuine SYMPATHY. Because he thinks he's being a GOOD lord. He thinks he's providing JUSTICE.)*
*(He has NO IDEA he's being played like a fucking FIDDLE.)*
Lhoralaine takes a breath. And here it comes—the PERFORMANCE. The LIE wrapped in TRUTH. The manipulation disguised as HONESTY.
**Lhoralaine** *(leaning forward, voice earnest)*: **"No! No, no!"** My lord, I must tell you about something.
**Lord Cruxxe** *(concerned)*: "What is it, dear? Please, go on."
**Lhoralaine**: "You see, my lord... The TRUTH is that Fred was actually MANIPULATING me right from the start. Fred did it so he could exact his REVENGE on Hexia. He had it COMING. And he DESERVED what happened to him."
*(Part truth. Part LIE. The truth: Fred WAS manipulative. The lie: That this justifies what she's about to do.)*
**Lhoralaine**: "And to be HONEST, I was MISERABLE in Fred's hands. It was all a LIE. He lied to ME! EVERYTHING—it was all just so he could exact his petty revenge! So if you'd be so KIND as to refrain from executing Hexia, he can be a VALUABLE ASSET for our town!"
*(And there it is. The HOOK. The ANGLE. Make Hexia USEFUL. Make him NECESSARY. Make his survival BENEFICIAL to the lord.)*
**Lhoralaine**: "Did you know, my lord, about what the captured BANDITS are talking about? The ones our adventurers captured?"
*(She's fishing now. Planting SEEDS. Building her case.)*
Lord Cruxxe leans back in his chair. INTRIGUED. Because what Lhoralaine doesn't know is that he HAS been hearing rumors. STRANGE rumors.
**Lord Cruxxe** *(stroking his beard)*: "Ah, yes... I've been hearing rumors about the 'swordsman of rolling heads protector of Korn Village.' People say that this sowordsman looks as WARM and GENTLE as an angel, but he fights like a DEMON and is COLD as ice."
*(He pauses, recounting the various NICKNAMES that have been floating around.)*
**Lord Cruxxe**: "People are calling him the 'Blade Dancer.' Some call him the 'Swordsman of Rolling Heads.' Well, I don't exactly know if that person is an angel or a DEMON, and I don't have any CLUE who that person is."
*(He looks at Lhoralaine, curious.)*
**Lord Cruxxe**: "Anyway, why have you brought that UP? What are you talking about?"
Lhoralaine SMILES. Oh, she's got him NOW.
**Lhoralaine**: "Well, you see, my lord... The PROTECTOR of that village was actually our childhood friend. Me and Fred. And I LOVED him since we were children. And he loved ME too."
*(Another half-truth. She DID love him. He probably DID love her. But she's framing it like they're DESTINED, like it's INEVITABLE, like Sirenia is just an OBSTACLE.)*
**Lord Cruxxe** *(eyes widening)*: **"Oh?! Really NOW?!"** Color me SURPRISED!
**Lhoralaine** *(nodding, playing innocent)*: "Yes. Well, you see... His name actually IS Hexia."
**PAUSE.**
Lord Cruxxe's eyes go WIDE. His mouth drops OPEN.
**Lord Cruxxe** *(standing abruptly)*: "HAHAHA, you silly girl! Wait—**WHAT?! Are you SERIOUS?!** What in the— So the protectorof Korn Village and the guy who murdered Fred are the SAME PERSON?! **HEXIA?!**"
**Lhoralaine** *(calmly, like she didn't just DROP A BOMB)*: "Yes, my lord. It's true."
Lord Cruxxe sits back DOWN. Slowly. Processing. His mind RACING.
*(In his mind: This changes EVERYTHING. If Hexia is the protector —if he's been protecting an entire village single-handedly—then executing him might actually be a MISTAKE. But Fred WAS murdered. There are LAWS. There's JUSTICE. But is justice the same as REVENGE? Is execution the same as FAIRNESS?)*
**Lord Cruxxe** *(carefully)*: "Oh my. Well, this IS a surprise. But you see, I could not just let him get away with the crime of MURDER, you know. People are going to QUESTION my authority if I did that. The people would think I'm being BIASED in my governing. And I don't want my REPUTATION to be tarnished. You know that, RIGHT?"
**Lhoralaine** *(nodding, like she EXPECTED this)*: "Yes, I know that, my lord. That's why I have a PROPOSAL for you."
**Lord Cruxxe** *(leaning forward, interested)*: "Oh, do you NOW? Go on. I'm listening."
**Lhoralaine**: "Well, why don't we have a **PUBLIC TRIAL** for him instead of executing him right AWAY? I can VOUCH for him in the trial. And so can some of the other adventurers—like the group of adventurers who call themselves **Silver Blades**."
*(She throws the name out casually. Like it's just another detail. But it's CALCULATED. Silver Blades is a RESPECTED party. Their word carries WEIGHT.)*
Lord Cruxxe's expression changes. He FREEZES.
**Lord Cruxxe** *(voice dropping)*: "Wait. Wait, WAIT! Did you say Silver Blades?! Do you mean **Silver Blades**? The party of **Sirenia**?!"
Lhoralaine's confident expression CRACKS. Just for a SECOND. Her eyes widen slightly. Her breath CATCHES.
**Lhoralaine** *(voice tight)*: "Wait—**WHAT?!** Hold on, my lord. You KNOW Sirenia?! A girl who has snow-white hair and BLUE eyes?!"
*(Her mind is SCREAMING: No. NO. Please tell me this isn't—)*
**Lord Cruxxe** *(proudly, obliviously)*: "Well, of COURSE! She's my **DAUGHTER!**"
*(Beat.)*
**Lord Cruxxe** *(realization dawning, voice RISING)*: "Wait, wait, WAIT! You mean MY daughter Sirenia is SEEING that murderer?!"
**SILENCE.**
Lhoralaine's face goes through SEVERAL emotions in rapid succession:
1. SHOCK
2. DISBELIEF
3. RAGE
4. CALCULATION
5. MORE RAGE
*(In Lhoralaine's mind: God DAMN it! GREAT! Just GREAT! Just when I'm actually gonna have the chance to get her OUT OF THE WAY from Hexia, now I find out that she's the daughter of a goddamn NOBLE?! This is— This is— FUCK!)*
But she doesn't get to RESPOND because—
---
**[SIRENIA ENTERS - STAGE LEFT, WITH MAXIMUM DRAMA]**
Just as Lord Cruxxe and Lhoralaine are having their conversation—just as the tension is reaching a FEVER PITCH—they have NO IDEA that someone ELSE has arrived at the mansion.
**SIRENIA.**
Our HERO. Our silver-haired, blue-eyed, aggressively optimistic, "I will SAVE you whether you LIKE it or not" DISASTER of a woman.
She came home specifically to ask her father to STOP the arrest and execution of Hexia. She was going to make her case. Present her arguments. Appeal to his sense of JUSTICE.
But when she arrived, she heard VOICES from her father's study. And like any good daughter—or TERRIBLE eavesdropper—she STOPPED to listen.
And what she HEARD made her blood BOIL.
Lhoralaine. In HER house. Talking to HER father. About HER man—well, sort-of-her-man-it's-complicated.
Trying to take CREDIT for saving him. Trying to MANIPULATE the situation. Trying to position HERSELF as Hexia's savior.
**OH HELL NO.**
So Sirenia does what any reasonable person would do in this situation:
She SLAMS the door OPEN.
**BANG!**
The door CRASHES against the wall. EVERYONE jumps.
And there she is: **SIRENIA.**
Long silver hair flowing behind her like she's in a goddamn SHAMPOO commercial. Blue eyes BLAZING. Face set in determined FURY.
She looks like a VALKYRIE about to deliver JUDGMENT.
Or a very angry daughter who just caught someone trying to manipulate her dad.
Probably BOTH.
**Sirenia** *(voice RINGING through the study)*: **"YES!"** You're actually RIGHT, Dad! I AM seeing him! I am seeing HEXIA! And I **LOVE** HIM! I can love him MORE than this **BITCH** right here!
*(She POINTS at Lhoralaine. Finger extended like a WEAPON.)*
Lhoralaine STANDS. Slowly. Her chair scraping against the floor.
**Lhoralaine** *(voice dripping with false sweetness)*: "Well, isn't this a SURPRISE!"
*(In Lhoralaine's mind: Well, isn't this a SURPRISE! God DAMN it! GREAT! Just GREAT! Just when I'm actually gonna have the chance to get her out of the way from Hexia, now I find out she's the daughter of a goddamn NOBLE!)*
**Sirenia** *(advancing into the room)*: "As you can SEE, Dad, I actually CARE for him! Unlike this **BITCH** right here, who is just making Hexia an **OPTION** for her CONVENIENCE!"
*(She gestures at Lhoralaine with CONTEMPT.)*
**Lhoralaine** *(voice RISING)*: "Oh, REALLY?! For my CONVENIENCE?! After **YOU** stole him from ME?! Hell, **I'M** the first one here to suggest stopping the execution of Hexia, and now **YOU**—you think you can just SWOOP in and steal the CREDIT again from me?!"
Both women are ADVANCING now. Circling. Like WOLVES. Like GLADIATORS.
The temperature in the room drops TEN DEGREES.
Lord Cruxxe watches, HORRIFIED, as his study transforms into a BATTLEFIELD.
**Lord Cruxxe** *(nervously, trying to de-escalate)*: "Oh! Oh! Sirenia, my dear! I-I had no IDEA you'd come home so soon! Uh, please—the two of you—CALM DOWN!"
They DON'T calm down.
They do the OPPOSITE of calming down.
They get CLOSER. Faces inches apart. Eyes LOCKED.
**Sirenia** *(voice low, DANGEROUS)*: "You don't GET to play the victim here, Lhoralaine. You made your CHOICE. You chose FRED. You chose the LIE. And now that your lie is DEAD, you think you can just WALTZ back into Hexia's life?!"
**Lhoralaine** *(matching her intensity)*: "I loved him FIRST! I've known him my ENTIRE LIFE! You've known him for SIX MONTHS!"
**Sirenia**: "And in those six months, I've done MORE for him than you did in YEARS! I made him SMILE! I made him FEEL! I brought him back from the DEAD!"
**Lhoralaine**: "By taking advantage of his TRAUMA! By positioning yourself as his SAVIOR! You're just as MANIPULATIVE as Fred was!"
**Sirenia** *(voice like ICE)*: "Take. That. BACK."
**Lhoralaine**: "Why? Because it's TRUE?! You saw a broken man and decided he'd make a good PROJECT! Well, NEWSFLASH—he's not YOURS to fix!"
**Sirenia**: "And he's not YOURS to claim just because you finally grew a SPINE!"
They're SHOUTING now. Voices ECHOING. Lord Cruxxe is trying to interject, but they're not LISTENING.
And then—
**Lhoralaine** SHOVES Sirenia.
Hard. In the chest.
Sirenia stumbles BACK. Catches herself. Looks at Lhoralaine with something between SHOCK and RAGE.
**Sirenia** *(voice deadly CALM)*: "Did you just—"
**Lhoralaine**: "What are you gonna DO about it?!"
**Sirenia** *(smiling—but it's not a FRIENDLY smile)*: "Oh. OH. So that's how we're doing this?"
TO BE CONTINUED. Well my little devils that's enough for now see you on chapter 5.2
I've talked enough! I also get tired you know? I'll continue with the story next time. I have my agency you know, and i know I'm inside the story you don't have to tell me that, and I'm also in your head. Hehehe! 4th wall is shit, i break the 5th wall, you kept on reading, and I'm just acknowledging your existence, my little devil. Remember I'm always near your, inside your head that is. See ya. Muah!