The guards tried to intervene to separate Princess Holina and her "ill-fated" fiancé, but it was all in vain! Holina had already begun practicing her favorite hobby: "Roasting her fiancé's head with magical flames!" She stood there laughing with a diabolical euphoria that made the guards' blood run cold as they watched smoke billowing from the man's scalp.
She turned to them with a terrifying coldness and said:
— "Hello, fellas... Would you like to join this 'BBQ' party, or should I just turn you into ashes alongside him? The choice is yours; I'm feeling quite generous today!"
The first guard trembled and cried out in a shaky voice:
— "Your Highness, please! This is a strict imperial order; we cannot just stand by!"
Holina replied, intensifying the flames until they licked her fiancé's ears:
— "I don't care who sent you, even if it were the Emperor himself! Now, get lost before I turn your scalp as smooth as a mirror with this heat!"
While the guard shivered, Holina laughed inwardly with bitter vengeance: "Hahaha, I'll burn you alive! Yes, exactly like this... You were the reason the 'original Holina' died in the novel, and now it's time to pay the bill with interest!"
Before the "party" could conclude, a magical waterfall of water descended, extinguishing her fire in an instant and turning her fiancé into a drowned rat. She screamed with a rage that shook the walls:
— "Who is the idiot who dared to ruin my 'embodied art'?!"
The reply came from behind with a majestic solemnity that broke the tension:
— "I am that idiot."
It was her father, Leith, with the entire family gathered behind him like they were at a funeral. Her grandfather stepped forward, trying to calm the situation with a faint smile:
— "Holina... what is this madness? Calm down, you are a delicate girl; you are supposed to be the flower of this family!"
She snapped back with a sharp disrespect:
— "And does being a girl stop me from taking my rights with my own hands? Flowers have thorns, Grandfather, and my thorn is poisonous!"
Her father, Leith, intervened with cutting authority:
— "Enough of this nonsense. Back to the palace, immediately, before you burn down the entire city."
Chapter II: Daggers of Words and the Guard's Horse
As they were leaving, her eyes caught her mother, Leticia, standing there. Holina stopped and looked at her with a disdain that made everyone hold their breath. She said with lethal coldness:
— "You... I never want to see your face in front of me again. Remember, I won't stop at just breaking your hand next time if you dare stand in my way."
She let the words fall like poisoned daggers into her mother's heart. Then, with pure "royal thuggery," she forcibly "borrowed" a horse from one of the guards and galloped toward home, leaving behind a cloud of dust and stunned faces. She threw herself onto her bed, exhaling: "Ah, how beautiful it is to sleep in my own world..." She fell into a deep sleep, unaware that she was not alone in that room!
Chapter III: The Demon Twins and Shadow Magic
Holina woke up to a soft voice and annoying little pinches on her cheeks. She opened her eyes slowly to find herself in a pink nightmare: the twins, Iyad and Kenan.
Iyad had his arm wrapped coldly around her waist, while Kenan was pinching her cheek with a mischievous grin. She bolted up, shouting:
— "Do I look like your mother for you to sleep in my bed?! And how did you get in when the door was locked?!"
Iyad fidgeted with his usual coolness:
— "I was with you the whole way, hiding in your shadow... It was quite peaceful there."
Kenan added with childish pride:
— "I am an expert in Shadow Magic, so sneaking in was easier than breathing."
Outside, the guards were screaming in panic: "The Princes have been kidnapped! Search everywhere!" Holina looked at them; Kenan, the playful troublemaker skilled in all types of magic, and Iyad, nicknamed "The Glacier," who never caused trouble and couldn't stand being touched by anyone—not even his parents—yet here he was, sticking to her like glue. With their black-to-pink gradient hair and amber eyes, they were a sight to behold, but to Holina, they were just "parasites" draining her energy.
She grabbed each of them by the collar like stray cats, kicked the door open, and tossed them into the hallway in front of the frantic guards, shouting:
— "No nuisances allowed in my room! Get lost to your mother, you pile of rotten flies!"
She slammed the door shut, but Iyad's voice came from outside, icy and calm:
— "But I like sleeping with you, Auntie Holi!"
She flung the door open again, sparks flying from her eyes:
— "Who gave you permission to call me by that disgusting nickname?!"
Iyad replied with a rare smile:
— "That name suits you perfectly." Then he hugged her waist again, leaving her in a real fix with these "little devils."
Chapter IV: The Extortion Banquet and Dancing with Gold
Holina went down for breakfast under the twins' persistence. The moment she entered the hall, a dramatic silence fell; the Duke nearly choked on his tea, the eldest brother dropped the spoon from his mouth, and the second brother's eyes nearly popped out.
Holina said sarcastically:
— "Anyone looking at you would think the Grim Reaper just checked in... eat your breakfast and shut up!"
She sat in the corner, but the twins pulled their chairs and sat beside her like shadows. Their mother, Delia, called out in a sad tone:
— "Iyad, Kenan... come and eat with me."
Iyad looked at her with a terrifying coldness unbecoming of a child, while Kenan said:
— "We don't want to. We will only eat with Auntie Holi."
Everyone was shocked by this shift, while Holina coldly cut the meat for them. She said to Iyad:
— "Listen carefully, don't look at your mother like that. It's bad manners."
Iyad replied with sudden submission, looking like a sad kitten: "I'm sorry... I'll listen to you."
Holina raised her head to the family and said:
— "Why are your mouths open like caves? Don't I have the right to give advice on filial piety?" (The same girl who was threatening to break her own mother's hand moments ago!).
Suddenly, the guards burst into the hall: "My Lord, the father of the 'ill-fated' fiancé is here! He demands a massive compensation for the insult to his son!"
Holina's eyes gleamed (with the symbol of gold). She thought to herself: "Fat... rich... and an idiot... Time to activate 'Money Hunter' mode!"
She went to the drawing room and found the fat man waiting, fuming with rage. She said coldly: "Go on, what's your problem?"
The man yelled: "Who do you think you are, hitting my son and burning his head?!"
Suddenly, Holina turned into an Oscar-winning actress; she pulled out a handkerchief and began to wail with fake, delicate tears:
— "Me? Hitting my fiancé? Oh... how can you accuse me of such injustice? I am just a fragile, weak girl who wouldn't hurt a fly!"
The man was flustered by this sudden change. Then, she snapped with sudden sharpness: "Do you have proof? If you don't, you will pay dearly for this slander against a Princess!"
The man replied foolishly: "Yes, my son is innocent and honest! I will pay any amount you ask if I am wrong!"
At this, Holina stood up straight, wiped her fake tears, and a diabolical grin spread across her face. She pulled a "Magical Recorder" from her pocket and played recordings of his son insulting her and plotting her death.
She said, waving her hand for the cash:
— "And now... pay up 50 gold pieces and 100,000 silver pieces immediately as compensation for 'emotional distress'! I knew it would come to this; I'm always ready to extort my prey!"
The man left in shock, dragging his tail behind him, while Holina began to dance and sing in the hall, clutching the stacks of money:
— "Oh money, my darling... you are so shiny and charming! Hahaha, I love you! You're my only loyal friend!"
Amidst the family's bewilderment at her financial madness, the Grandfather said with forced solemnity:
— "This gifted girl will enroll in the Academy in three days."
Time froze for Holina. The stacks of money fell from her hands, and she let out a scream that shook the palace:
— "The Academy?! NOOOOO! That mental asylum full of disgusting romance and social pests?! Never! I won't go to that hellhole!"