The Flower of Separation

From the moment she was born, Lilian realized she was not like other children.

Even if she was born into an odd family, she was sure they didn't have such twisted thoughts at a young age.

Lillian tried not to get too ahead of Jorah and her husband since she wanted to hear more regarding the little prince curse. It was clear that the latter was trying to prevent giving away too much information, but at Jorah's urge, he gave away a few more details. A cursed transformation, huh? Moreover, wind powers.

She sighed deeply. It is not like she can't handle it; she probably will not even have to use her blade. Even if it is a curse, the kid is only seven years old. She could already predict the extent of the damage he could do. He might be able to push her sister back and damage the surrounding environment, but he won't be able to land a hit on her.

The problem is there are many prying eyes. The kids' area may be secluded, but many forces lurk around in the shadows.

It will be a problem if the little Prince is caught up in a scandal this early on. The Empress just ascended the throne, and she cannot allow their little game to end so quickly. Besides, she has spent a long time preparing for this moment.

Lilian knew who the Empress was before she accepted the role.

Even though her family tried to keep it a secret from her, she learned from one of the people she tortured about a woman with similar eyes in a village slightly in the main town's outskirts.

So Lilian visited her and indeed confirmed her suspicions. The two of them have the same power, but one of them is cursed.

Because of this curse, she refused the Empress position and killed anybody outside her family who learned of it.

When she first tortured those people, Lilian learned for the first time how much she enjoyed torturing people. She could finally identify what was wrong with her.

It was like a small flower bud that finally bloomed inside her, that small twisted feeling she had blossomed.

Rather than end their lives quickly, torturing them was a lot more fun. If she prolonged their life, then she could enjoy herself more.

"Lili, if you wanted to go off earlier, I could have distracted Simon."

Lilian blinked when she heard those words.

This woman isn't simple either. Lilian didn't intend to speak to her at the gathering at all, but this person insisted, and she quickly learned there was something different about her.

"I promised you-"

"You've broken that promise a few times already," Jorah interjected.

"If you were a warrior, it would have been an honor to dual with you."

How can a simple commoner have such sharp instincts? It didn't make sense to her. Lilian learned a lot about Jorah since that tea party and found it very strange. She is far too sharp, and she isn't just guessing either.

There is something about her. It was one of the main reasons she kept up the friendship game with her; Lilian wanted to make sure.

Lilian took another turn down a narrow alleyway, and the two followed behind her. She noted that Jorah was able to somehow keep up with her, and it puzzled her further.

There is something about her, but the situation makes it difficult for her to test her.

They did not exchange any more words as they used the shortcut and soon arrived at the fields at the edge of town. From the hilltop, she spotted her sister in an awful condition.

Lilian frowned. She expected her sister to last a bit lo- she paused in mid-thought when she saw something from the corner of her eye. It was two children that looked to be about four and three years old underneath the large tree. She immediately understood the situation and sighed.

'When you have something to protect, it makes you weaker.'

It was one of their father's teachings and the ageha family. Protecting is a sign of weakness. Lilian never thought deeply about it because she has nothing she wanted to protect before, but her gaze fell on the sight before her; maybe he was right.

Not many people knew this in the family since she made sure Natalia hid it well, but that child has a bit of good inside her. The young girl was a promising assassin and expresses interest in her torturing methods.

But there was a slight problem, and her sister was both good and evil. She was in the middle, which makes it harder for her to survive in the Ageha family.

It would not surprise her if their father noticed something already, and he is just waiting for the right moment to do something.

"Braden!" Jorah exclaimed.

But it did no good, and the young boy could not hear her at all. Lilian scanned the area, and her gaze fell on the kids. If she cuts the tree down, it will create a diversion for Natalia to move, but those kids would die. That didn't matter to her at all, but she knew it would bother Natalia.

Think about the best method to do this- her thoughts broke off when something rushed past her.

The young boy hadn't heard Jorah's voice, but he blasted Nira away, and his wind headed in their direction. Before she could do anything, that person cloaked in black stopped the attack with his bare hands.

"You waste your time overthinking, Lilian."

"Lucas."

It was the Ageha family black mage, Lucas. A man with short black hair and ruby-colored eyes. Even though he did not have Ageha family blood, he had the same red eyes.

He stopped the malicious wind with his bare hands earning Braden's attention.

"So, who is that?"

Lilian sighed deeply at his casual tone. Cant, he read the mood here? "The Empress child."

Lucas raised his eyebrows. "So the imperial family practices dark magic now, that's new."

"Quit joking around.." Lilian scanned the area. Where did Natalia get blown too? She tried to scan her surroundings, but the child's wind grew and created a small fog in the area.

Her thoughts broke off when Lucas patted her shoulder.

"I will grab the young miss, and you stop that kid."

Right she ought to be the one to stop the kid. She looked over at Jorah; her husband was holding her back. That guy is reliable, so it should be fine. She turned to the kid, who was gradually getting closer.

Ah, this isn't very pleasant after all. She disliked little brats, moreover those brats with a lot of power. They should learn to control it. Lilian closed her eyes.

Kill, kill – kill that is the only way.

It is the only way to fill this empty gap. The only way to feed the souls of the dead. But what use is there just killing and giving the souls away? She has to add a bit of excitement. If the game ends so quickly, then it was not worth it from the beginning.

Lilian knew she didn't have to do much. The kid was young, and she could easily knock him out. But her lips curve to a smirk when she felt a familiar presence drawing closer.

Maybe she can put on a little act, just to see her reaction.

She opened her eyes as a red and orange fire aura surrounded her, and she raised her hands towards the young boy a few feet away from her.

"No!" Lilian heard the Empress's familiar voice, but it was too late as she punched the boy's stomach with the fire creating a large hole.

The next second, the malicious wind disappeared, and the boy now had a huge hole in his stomach. Traces of flesh and his organs lay a few feet away from him.

Zushi looked at her with anger in her eyes, and Lilian had to hold back her laughter. Ah, so she can make that type of face, after all. Indeed it seems like she will not be bored for a while.

Lilian was about to find Lucas and ask him to heal the boy when she felt a surge of energy. Lilian looked over and saw a blue and white light around the Empress, who was holding the boy. It was a familiar light, something she saw only once before but a long time ago.

Ah, it seems like all the pieces are falling to place now. Luring the Empress over so she would accept the offer to become the Empress was not the wrong decision after all.

The attack on Prince Pierre, and the pressure from her family, it was all her doing. To think she would finally see the results of her efforts.

It was one of the Empress abilities, a healing ability beyond anything anyone has seen before. Time-space reversal, reverting the damage anybody has done.