Stop Hypnotizing Me, Antagonist Princess!

When others spoke to her, she would not acknowledge them at all.

She would suddenly ask in the evening, "Is there any news of Lynn?"

Yet, what awaited her was disappointment, time and again.

By now, even emotions like disappointment seemed nearly impossible to read from Ivyst's face.

This was something extremely terrifying.

Aphia even wished that Her Highness would show anger or hatred, or even kill many people, which would be much better than her current state.

However, Aphia could vaguely understand the reaction of the Imperial Princess.

Ivyst was like a little girl with nothing; her father did not care for her, her siblings bullied her, and everyone else despised her existence.

Such a life should have been bleak and dull.

Yet Lynn's arrival changed everything.

Whether it was his outstanding advisory skills or his personal charismatic nature.

In the eyes of that little girl who originally had nothing, it was as if she suddenly possessed a rare treasure capable of illuminating her dreary room.

Her siblings scoffed at this, for as nobles they had so many toys that the little girl had never possessed, toys that were easily obtainable in their eyes.

But the little girl held it close to her chest and cherished it, polishing it again and again.

Her fierce possessiveness led her to not allow anyone to take it away, yet at times, she felt overwhelmed by her excessive love for it.

After all, it was the first treasure in her life.

And it would probably be the only one.

But now, her only precious treasure had been completely destroyed by someone. Continue reading stories on empire

The little girl was left with nothing again, back in that dilapidated and dim room.

Only… what would she become the next time she stepped out of that room?

Aphia did not know.

The fear in her heart prevented her from wanting to imagine this terrible future.

While Aphia was pushing the cold and indifferent Ivyst, mulling over these thoughts, a maid suddenly approached from behind.

After the maid whispered a few words, Aphia's face changed.

"I understand, I will take Her Highness there now."

After the maid left, Aphia bit her lower lip, contemplated for a moment, then leaned down to Ivyst's ear.

"Princess… someone from the Holy Oak has come to see you."

Ivyst's eyes remained unchanging.

She looked out of the window, calm and indifferent, from beginning to end.

...

Ten minutes later, Aphia, pushing Ivyst, arrived at the drawing room fashionably late.

The room was already full of people, including Glaya and Morris, as well as a host of subordinates from Augusta Manor.

Even Duke Tierus was present.

Looking at Ivyst, who sat in her wheelchair with an indifferent expression, a nearly imperceptible trace of regret flickered in his eyes.

He had thought that, with his and that young man's assistance, she would make some achievements in the King's election, but alas, fate played its cruel hand, and all had turned into vain dreams.

Yet even so, he had not initiated to dissolve their alliance.

"Now that everyone has arrived, we can begin."

The Duke, being the highest-ranked person here apart from Ivyst, cleared his throat and spoke.

At this moment, standing in the center of the room beside the familiar faces was a brown-haired youth.

He wore gold-rimmed glasses, dressed in tidy and stiff noble attire, with a Holy Oak emblem embroidered with gold thread on his collar, looking sacred and solemn, much like a clerk to some important figure.

This was the envoy of the Holy Oak Organization, sent to Orn City.

This establishment was specifically founded for the King's election, with a long history, passed down through generations by an ancient family, serving the Royal Family.

They would score each Prince and Princess based on their daily conduct, achievements during the King's election period, and their reputation among the populace, among many other aspects.

The final victor would be the new monarch of the Saint Laurent Empire.

And the Holy Oak's envoy had come to announce the latest update to Ivyst's election score.

Upon hearing Duke Tierus's words, the young man from the Holy Oak Organization slightly bowed, paying his respects separately to Ivyst and him.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, he produced a piece of parchment from within his bosom.

"So next, I will announce the King's election points for Third Prince Ivyst Laurent Alexini."

"In the previous round of scoring, Your Highness's score was -3576 points, placing you last among the nine princes."

"The first rank is held by Second Prince Felit, with 10725 points; second place is Princess Hillena, with 8014 points; third is Sixth Prince Michael, with 7914 points; fourth place..."

"After this scoring update, your ranking remains unchanged, but your points have indeed shifted."

"For successfully resolving the level 0 Sealed Object uprising, you gained 1500 points."

"For securing the support of an elector, you gained 1000 points."

"For reclaiming years of overdue taxes from Orn City for the Empire and successfully curbing the expansion of the major churches, you gained 500 points."

"Your current King's election score stands at, -576 points."

As the words of the Holy Oak Envoy slowly fell, the entire room fell into silence.

Twitches appeared at the corners of Tierus's eyes.

Clearly, he had not anticipated that Ivyst's situation was this dire.

Negative points?

Was that even a possible value?

As Morris lowered his head in embarrassment, feeling the strange glances of those at Augusta Manor and Duke Tierus.

By all accounts, the scoring system of Holy Oak was quite fair.

But the things Ivyst had done in the Imperial Capital... were infamously dreadful.

Even though she had handled so many uncontrollable Sealed Objects and drifted into countless slumbers for them, the points she earned were still not enough to fill the hole.

The saying goes, comparisons are odious.

The Second Prince had already amassed over ten thousand points, and even the Great Imperial Princess Hillena stood on more than eight thousand, yet she remained behind the starting line.

However, the Holy Oak Envoy seemed not to notice the odd atmosphere.

Or perhaps, it was outside of his jurisdiction.

"The King's election ceremony will enter a new phase starting this month," the young man said calmly to everyone, "that is, the first round of elimination is about to begin."

"Before the end of this month, Third Prince must quickly free herself from the negative points, or she will lose the qualification to participate in the subsequent election."

This declaration stirred up a storm in everyone's hearts.

Glaya and Morris exchanged glances, their expressions turning somewhat frantic.

There was less than two weeks left until the end of the month.

Meaning, in the next two weeks, they needed to support the Princess in gaining more than 576 points in the King's election, or be completely out of the running!

How could this possibly be achieved?!

For a moment, everyone's spirits plummeted.

But just then,

An unexpected, cool voice suddenly emanated from the white-haired woman seated in the wheelchair.

Aphia's eyes momentarily brimmed with hope.

But upon clearly hearing her words, she stood frozen in place, at a loss.

"No need." Ivyst's demeanor remained calm and detached, as though resigned to fate, "Tell those in the Imperial Capital, I am withdrawing from the King's election."

...

Soron Mountain Range.

Accompanied by a slowly opening invisible spatial rift, a figure wrapped in a blanket plummeted to the ground.

"Miss Witch! Next time can we land somewhere smoother?!"

While nursing his bare bottom, the young man complained as he got up from the ground.

Then, he looked around with some confusion, feeling that the landscape before him was utterly unfamiliar.

Wait, where have I landed?

(ps: How can I trick my brothers into giving me some monthly tickets? Tsk...)