Princess Alice Vic. Draken.
In the game, she was one of the most fearsome combatants in her batch.
In fact, the few times she fought Alexia made it clear that they both were equals in terms of martial talent.
Of course, Alexia never admitted it out loud.
But that wasn’t all.
Alice was regarded as a better strategist than Thalia, nearly matched Michael and Juliana in swordsmanship, and was widely acknowledged as the academy’s best overall duelist.
Her reputation wasn’t just built on strength or skill, but on her ability to adapt and overcome any opponent, no matter how unpredictable.
It was said that Alice could dismantle her enemies with a blade all the while breaking their wills with insidious schemes, a balance of martial dominance and tactical genius that left even her enemies in awe.
She wasn’t just a warrior.
She was a force to be reckoned with.
Then there was her twin brother – who followed her everywhere she went.
He was her Shadow.
Her sworn blade.
Yes, it was not rare to see siblings swearing loyalty to one another and becoming their Shadow in the royal families.
The practice was most common in twins.
Willem Vic. Draken was everything his sister was — just a little less. He was forever destined to be in her glorious shadow, as ironic as that might sound.
Yet, he was the most fiercely loyal individual in the entire game.
When the Scarlet Assassin ambushed the two of them, Willem had a chance to flee. Alice even urged him to take it.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he fought by his sister’s side… and died in front of her eyes.
It was a tragic event, part of a small arc called — The Killing of the Royal Twins.
And that seemingly small arc unleashed big consequences throughout the story, snowballing into many events and eventually causing the Total War of the Five Monarchs.
Though to be fair, that war was inevitable. It was bound to happen sooner or later.
But let’s get back to the point.
After all, those events were going to happen in the future — a future I was determined to change.
Yes, I was going to prevent their deaths.
I would stop their assassination before it could even begin… no matter how much I was tempted to just let them die.
Why? Because I hated them.
Why did I hate them?
Because they were childhood friends of my sister, Thalia.
And much like her, they tormented me throughout my childhood whenever we visited the Central Safe-Zone.
A couple of years ago, when we were still young, a civil war was raging in one of the now-Conquered Territories of the Draken family.
My father played a significant role in that conflict — in fact, he wae one who ultimately brought it to an end.
As a result, he spent most of his time in the Royal Palace of the Central Monarch back in the day.
Whenever we visited him — though it was mostly Thalia who did the visiting since my father rarely wanted to see me — we would run into Willem and Alice, who were close to our age.
They were also twins, just like Thalia and me.
So the elders thought it would be a good idea for us to get acquainted.
It wasn’t.
These two, along with Thalia, made my life miserable. Not with malicious intent — no, that would’ve been easier to understand — but in that thoughtless, casual cruelty only children seem capable of.
Alice and Willem were perfect twins.
Alice was sharp, strong, and always composed, while Willem was warm, charming, and quick with a laugh.
They had each other’s backs in everything.
They had a seamless partnership that made them seem unstoppable.
Thalia, of course, fitted right in with them.
And then there was me — the odd one out.
I didn’t just feel like an outsider, I was an outsider.
Alice and Willem were royalty, heirs to one of the most powerful families in the world.
Thalia, being a Theosbane and one of the suitable heirs to our family, was practically nobility herself, and everyone adored her.
Meanwhile, I was just… me.
The son of a Duke who barely acknowledged my existence. I was a shadow trailing behind my sister’s radiant light.
But it wasn’t just our difference in status that made it unbearable.
It was the way they treated me — not out of hatred, but out of carelessness.
They didn’t see me as a person, not really.
To them, I was just Thalia’s awkward, weaker twin, someone to tease, someone to laugh at — not with, but at.
I remember one winter evening in particular, when the snow was thick on the palace grounds.
We were supposed to be playing a game of tag, but it quickly turned into something else.
Willem and Alice decided it would be more fun to play “Capture the Weakling.”
Thalia agreed, of course.
They chased me across the courtyard, laughing as I slipped and stumbled in the snow, calling out mocking encouragements as I desperately tried to get away.
When they finally caught me, Willem pinned me down while Alice crouched beside me, snowball in hand.
“See, Sammy?” Alice said to me with a smirk, packing the snow tighter. “This is what happens when you don’t keep up. Weaklings get punished.”
Then she shoved the snowball down my collar, and the icy chill burned against my skin.
Thalia laughed. Willem laughed. Alice laughed.
And I? I laughed too, pretending it didn’t bother me. Pretending I didn’t feel the lump in my throat or the sting in my chest.
Because crying would’ve just made it worse.
Afterward, when I snuck away to warm myself by the fire, Willem found me.
For a moment, I thought he might apologize. Instead, he grinned and handed me a steaming mug of cocoa.
“Hey, don’t take it so seriously,” he said, as if that excused everything. “We were all just playing, you know?”
And the worst part? I believed him.
I believed that maybe, just maybe, they didn’t mean to hurt me.
That maybe they’d grow out of it.
That maybe one day, I’d stop being the weakling and finally stand on equal footing with them.
But that day never came.
The war ended. We stopped visiting the Central soon after that and fell out of touch.
Well, I did.
Thalia still kept up with them for a few years before drifting apart like people in long distance usually do.
Anyway, with all that history between us, it shouldn’t be a surprise that I had no desire to see either of them.
But since when has the universe ever cared about what I want?
Standing before me was Alice. Just as stunning as she was described in the game, and smirking just as cruelly as she always did in my memories.
“Come on, Sammy. You weren’t thinking of leaving without greeting me first, were you?”
I sighed internally, took a deep breath, and put on the most joyously friendly smile I could fake.
“Ali! How are you!?” I greeted with the kind of over-the-top enthusiasm reserved for meeting a long-lost best friend.
Then I turned to Willem, pretending to notice him for the first time. “Oh, and look at you, Will! How are you, man? It’s been forever! You’ve grown so tall!”
Willem kept smiling, clearly enjoying this little act. “Didn’t you just try to ditch me a second ago?”
“What? Pfft!” I laughed awkwardly, waving my hand like his comment was ridiculous. “That doesn’t sound like me.”
“Wow, I’m hurt,” Alice cut in, her sharp tone laced with mock solemnity. I turned to see her placing a hand over her chest, feigning wounded pride. “You were really trying to sneak away without even saying hello. And let’s not forget — you didn’t even bother to meet us at the freshman party, either!”
“Don’t be like that, Alice,” Willem chimed in smoothly. “You saw how busy he was during the party… devouring that cake on the ground.”
Alice burst out laughing, and so did Willem.
Their laughter sounded exactly the same as I remembered — light, teasing, friendly, and just as infuriating.