beta
the second prince does not like kira and theyre just using each others.
Lucas(the prince) actually like Astina(red haired childhood friend) but ignores her bc the empress told him not to interact with her to try and protect both him and Astina from CP bc he'll see them as a threat to the throne and at first Lucas tried to argue against it saying he could just renounce the right to the throne but his mother told him that it wouldnt do anything as long as Lucas had royal blood in him and she also told him that by just having a connection with Astina would put her family, who was famous for being wealthy and politically neutral, in danger. Lucas cried and protested but then she gave him a choice, either he stop talking to Astina or she(the queen) would drink poison and die for him, hoping that would maybe lead to compassion from the emperor and the CP. Lucas, left with no choice(bc he didnt want his mother to die and didnt want to ruin Astina's family bc of him, chose to be cold to her)
the emperor was in love with the queen but his personality wasnt the best, he killed all his siblings just to get the throne and she kinda feared the CP because she could see the emperor in him and even when she told the emperor her worries he just smiled at her, meaning if both the brothers were to fight each others to death, he wouldnt stop them.
Lucas tried to tell her about what was going on but everytime he tried he couldnt get the words out of his mouth and didnt know how to respond to her letters or calls, resulting in him ignoring her. he was kind of ashamed to tell her that he was giving up on love because he was lacking in strength and was afraid of being killed by his brother. but at the same time he felt relieved when he saw Astina shocked by his acting bc he thought to himself that she still loved him.
hes helping Kira because he thinks if he creates a scandal with a commoner the CP will lose interest in him and by doing this he really think both him and Astina will be safe
what Kira gets out of this is exposure bc shes in a hurry to get popular and become a mage so no nobles can look down on her again.
Emily overhears Karloff(teacher)talking about being worried for Kira getting bullied in school bc shes a commoner whos recieved a scholarship bc usually the few commoners who went there would face intense bullying and discrimination.
after a few months they realized Kira was doing pretty well with the help of Emily, people didnt really want to face the consequences for messing with a noble and they also noticed that people felt guilty bc of Emily's puppy-like face.(and also bc the prince was subtly backing her up)
so Kira has been wearing a pink necklace and Sophia whos family owns a jewellery business got interested in what kind it was, asked her friend about it and he told her not to get close to that friend bc the necklace's jewel stole the next' persons luck and gave it to the wearer.(remember how Emily always got unlucky in the beginning with the harrassment that was actually meant for Kira). the jewel got criticized and the production for it stopped and the one who had the leftover jewels was the imperial family. Sophia worries about Emily and hurries to go warn her.
there is an opening ceremony happening and just before it starts Sophia rushes to Emily to try to have her wear a blue jeweled necklace instead and to not be near Kira at the banquet which Emily was reluctant to so Sophia told her about the necklace Kira is wearing.
Emily tried to argue with her self, maybe Kira didnt know, maybe she was used by the prince, maybe it wasnt that jewel but a lookalike.
Sophia also told her that Astina's friend(white haired) might have brought a cursed jewel to give to Kira. Emily was still worried about her bc she was the only one who helped Kira so she decided to pass a bracelet with blessings(given to her by Sophia)to Kira via an employee cuz she still felt conflicted about being near her.
Astina approached Lucas and Kira who came as partners and he thought for himself, i treated her coldly on purpose so she could get rid of regrets(for them not being able to date i guess) but does she still like me? and even felt like giving up on everything just to be with his love. obv he didnt do shit.
she said she wanted to give them a gift but the moment she opened the box, something flew out towards kira but slammed into an invisible shield(i think) and bounced on the floor and rushed for Emily who was on the other side of the banquet hall.
Emily's necklace broke and the thing hit her forehead but if it wasnt for the necklace the curse would have completely taken over her so she was still conscious of what was happening, which made it feel worse for her.
it made her act crazy and Ethan(thats his name, not Eden)tried to stop her by holding her tightly even though she tried to twist herself away from him.
Ethan carries Emily out of the banquet and mids the chaos while being in his arms she locks eyes with Kira and thought
"ah, you knew".
theyre at the infirmary and shes like really cursed and struggles to get out of Ethans arms and bc she was in extreme pain she starts rubbing her face against his clothes and he was afraid she would get hurt by the accessories on his clothing he tore it off with one hand.
Emily felt hot and cold and also resented the one holding her down and when she made contact with his skin, she clung to his bodyheat and bit so hard on his neck he started bleeding a bit. Ethan is trying to keep calm but without realizing hes staring at "the small gaping lips that was dripping with blood and glistening".
suddenly her lips comes up to him and startled he tries to turn his head the other side but shes faster and their lips touches. he cant resist and starts kissing her frantically.
"the kiss was soft and warm, and it smelled of fishy blood. Ethan felt a sense of ecstasy at the same time as his heart swelled with guilt."
when Emily wakes up after a while she have a lot of thoughts of how Lucas was def using her as a shield for Kira, but how could Kira not have know? did she not have any doubts? was all the kindness and friendliness from her just a facade to use Emily as a shield from the bullying?
Emily clearly remembered that while she was under the influence of the curse that the students watched her with excited eyes and countless faces was curved with laugther.
she also remembered what she did to Ethan. she started crying and ran to her room with messy hair and dress and quickly packed her belongings and tried to hide from the students who was coming back from the banquet hall. she was in such hurry and stumbled a few times but her desire to get out of there was strong she didnt feel any pain.
everyone was shocked to see her home and she told her parents that she was sorry that she left the academy. at first her father raised his voice and asked why she suddenly just left and if she knew how much the tution fees was.
Emily fell down to the floor and burst into tears and cried out loud and it was the first time the two of them had seen her crying since she was a child. they sat down and desperately tried to comfort their crying daugther.
William(the third friend with Ethan and Lucas) confronted the prince and asked him if he really thought he wouldnt know what necklace Kira was wearing.
Lucas tells him cuz he cant realistically be by Kira's side 24/7, he cant save her from being bullied so he needed a way to protect her. his answer was that necklace.
William angry, raises his voice and asks him if he really used it to stop the bullying or if he just wanted to make the situation easier by making a low ranked noble the escape goat. Lucas answered yeah, he knew Emily would be the victim but he didnt expect something like that would happen at the opening ceremony.
the door suddenly opens and both of the guys are startled to see Ethan looking at them with an expressionless face. Ethan walked right to the prince.
`A cold rage that seemed to freeze the bones stood in Ethan's eyes.ยด
he asks if what he just heard was true. he had always thought of the prince as stubborn but fundamentally weak with talent for reading the situation and understanding people and no intention for power. never had he thought that the weakness of Lucas would lead him to sacrificing a weak woman with no hesition just to protect his own life.
Ethan spoke after a heavy silence that after the graduation he would withdraw his promise to join the 2nd knights. Lucas was bewildered bc the 2nd knights were knights that would protect the prince, meaning Ethan would not serve Lucas in the future.
Ethan not joining would mean a lot for the public and Lucas himself bc Ethan's family was known for producing military leaders every generation.
part 2 will be in a comment above, its getting too long.