"So this is the plan you had, Master?"
Anne read through the plan- no, the story which was part of it.
"You ignored everything and focused only on the story though?"
Ignoring her master's words, Anne continued to read the story, it was nothing more than a summary but the descriptions of the scenes were detailed enough to cause Anne to get teary eyed.
"I took half a day writing that summary, you won't finish it that quickly-"
"SHUSH!"
"..."
Rexford could only sigh as he watched Anne read through the summary that highlighted specific lines and scenes. The key moments were outlined and it was not even a good story but Anne seemed to be using her imagination to fill in the blanks as she paused and closed her eyes after reading over and over again.
He could tell that Anne was creating the scenes in her mind, who she filled them with was up to her own devices but the story was not going to end well…
"Master! Is the female knight in love with the prince?"
"Yes"
"I knew it! Then how about the princess' knight?"
"He loves the princess"
"Oh my!"
The story was a combination of three distinct fairy tales from his past life, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and the tragic Romeo & Juliet.
It was a simple tale of an abused princess, used solely as a tool by her parents getting kidnapped and presented to a cursed demon prince.
The prince was set to be a classic Diabolus Empire noble, he was cursed because a witch offered him her love but he not only declined her but also berated her because of her heritage as a succubus. The witch curses the prince turning him into a monster and the prince had since locked himself in his castle.
The meeting between the two came about after the Prince's knights decided to bring him a human woman, a princess who he could use to bear him offspring that would take human form. They could also use magic to manipulate her mind to make the prince look human but the prince rejected them.
What follows is a long drawn out drama, the prince finds a way to return the princess without anyone finding out about her kidnapping. The princess falls in love with his kindness, some unrequited love scenes from the female knight and the male knight…
The climax would start with a "Ball of Peace", the human and demon nobles have a masquerade ball, the princess was not allowed to go, she makes a deal with a mysterious witch.
The prince meets the princess, the deal with the witch is revealed and the prince was unwilling to make the princess suffer so he gives up on his love and the two separate.
Troubles come, engagements, marriages and after spending filler time making the two harden their resolve, the lovers, even without a strong connection choose to elope.
A chase sequence would ensue, the prince sacrificing his life to give the princess true freedom. She could escape the title of being a princess without having to live a cursed existence with him but the princess refuses.
Magical BS then reverts the curse on the prince, he dies realizing that the princess had always seen him for who he truly was. The princess then dies giving a vow to be together even in death and the story ends with a magical moment when the princess and prince are discovered sealed in a crystal coffin where their forms are both obscure and clear. They wore wedding attire and were locked in an eternal embrace for all time.
"Uwaaaa!!! Why! Why can't they live together happily?! That bastard human! That bitchy Dragonewt! That Witch! WHY DID SHE HAVE TO MAKE THEM SUFFER LIKE THAT!"
Anne was already crying, Rexford spent the rest of the day watching her reactions and answering her question.
"Everything was obviously planned by the witch but is she really the villain? Why would the princess and the prince be immortalized in a crystal coffin if she really wanted to make them suffer?"
"Huh?"
"In fact, the prince is an idiot, he knew that the princess truly loved him but it was he himself who could not love his own existence. If he had accepted the princess' proposal then they could have lived happily ever after as a pair of monsters"
"That…"
Anne was speechless but as her mind tried to make sense of Rexford's words, she realized something-
"YOU WROTE IT THAT WAY!"
"Exactly"
"So why did the princess have to be so perfect? Why did the prince have to make countless mistakes!"
Rexford smiled upon hearing her words.
"Eh?"
"You think the princess had not made any mistakes?"
"Uhm… she tried her best for the prince, she sacrificed everything and the prince had to make…"
"Really?"
Seeing Rexford's expression, Anne paused, she calmed her heart as she recalled the story once more. Suppressing her own emotions she analyzed the story, the characters and their decisions-
"The princess was… "
"She was acting spoiled"
In truth, the story did not have great characters but it was hard to notice since Rexford made all characters act extremely.
The princess who grew up logical and jaded was presented as such. The suffering and abuse made her a strong woman and her actions seemed to reflect that but if you analyze her closely, you'd realize immediately that she was acting spoiled.
Despite knowing that the love was bound to cause suffering for her and her lover, even when her lover pushed her away knowing of this, she still ignored it all and chased after that warmth, that light.
The princess got spoiled by the prince and the prince despite being someone who acted on impulse and emotion would always move with calculated action. Despite most of his notable actions being an impulse and a reaction to events around him, his way of thinking and the method by which he acts was logical and rational.
"The prince, despite being portrayed as emotional, always considers the bigger picture. He always saw his love as impossible due to the countless pressures that would never allow their love to bloom. Meanwhile, the logical and rational princess always acted on emotion, ignoring the obvious dangers and jumping head first into trouble"
"..."
Rexford explained it to Anne who was left shocked but even then-
"Is that why they can never be happy?"
Anne had ignored the logic of the story, she stopped thinking of it that way and asked.
'Was their love doomed for such tragedy?'
But to her surprise Rexford's reply was beyond her imagination-
"Ha? That's stupid, the two were destined for tragedy because I said so"
"...", Anne was dumbfounded, her expression turned blank as she stared at Rexford with dead eyes.
"In the first place, a "happy ending" would hit you at the moment with the "awe~" feels but then it goes away and you forget about ever watching the show. But tragedy? You build up this amazing story, this captivating love story between two people and then-"
Rexford paused as a smirk spread on his face, he extended his hand forward with an open palm than clenched it hard as he continued-
"You crush it hard, if the transformation scene at the end is accompanied by a bright light, we could create a sequence that gives people hope that "the prince is healed by love!". But then, when the light dims, it reveals the prince in an even worse state! The wounds he sustained as a monster were bad but his monstrous physique allowed him to bear them for quite some time but as he returned to his smaller and more fragile frame, the wounds ended up harming him more! The rush to let out her feelings and the regret of never being able to properly tie the bond, the princess making a vow to her dead lover's corpse as she embraces death! THAT'S THE MOMENT! NO ONE WOULD FORGET IT! IT WILL BE FOREVER IMPRINTED IN THEIR MINDS!"
"..."
"Then the crystal coffin! That could be turned into a product! First the Empire, then the WORLD! Humans and demons alike would use charms made of clear crystal shaped in the form of the crystal coffin! Lovers who defy racial and cultural boundaries! To escape the sorrowful tale, the tiny dim light we offer will be something they will cling to! Don't you see Anne?! This is why their fate is trag- buhaa"
*CRASH*
"Asshole!"
Anne glared at Rexford, her hands clenched tightly before turning around. Her naked body shone with a black light as a maid uniform wrapped around her.
The third prince could only watch weakly as Anne left the room, no one rushed in to check on him and none seemed to care that the prince might have been attacked-
"Why?" Rexford muttered before he fell unconscious.