Chapter 551: The Rebel Princess

"Does that mean you will talk to the King, Princess Tifa?"

"Hm…

..I already did."

And almost like a playful dog, Riley's ears, and even some strands of his long white hair started to perk up and even wag.

"He said no..."

But alas, his growing excitement did not really last long as Princess Tifa's sighs reached his ears. Riley was about to take his seat again, but it would seem Princess Tifa was not finished with her words.

"But I did manage to get you on the stand, Professor."

"The stand?" Riley tilted his head to the side as he remained standing.

"Hm. Aerith already talked in her previous trial, and the alien friend she brought also tirelessly talked during the trial; so they're not allowed to defend anymore, but you…" Princess Tifa continued to gently cradle the baby she was holding as she faced Riley,

"You might offer a better insight—my sources say that you claim to be her lover, no?"

"..."

"Who knows," Princess Tifa lightly hummed, "The judge and jury might just change their mind if they hear your words."

"May I ask who the judge is, Princess Tifa?"

"The King," Princess Tifa sighed, "I have told you, everything has been decided already."

"And the juries?"

"My children, and some other people."

"..."

"I know your expression and I am going to say it to you straight…" Princess Tifa let out a small chuckle as she focused on the baby, "...My oldest boy wants the throne."

"I have heard of that, Princess Tifa," Riley let out a small and very deep breath as he returned to his seat.

"And as is obvious, he is one of the juries," Princess Tifa nodded, "I can talk to him to convince him to go against my brother. Aerith doesn't care about the throne, after all—but Lucien can be stubborn sometimes, and he is loyal to my brother."

"If the King dies, who will inherit the throne, Princess Tifa?" Riley once again placed his hand on his chin.

"If my brother dies right now, at this very moment, then Aerith would inherit the throne. You're not planning to kill the King, are you?" Princess Tifa's voice was still as soothing as it could be as she continued to cradle the baby she was carrying, "Because if you are, I am obligated to report it."

"If Aerith dies before the King?"

"Then I would be the heir to the throne," Princess Tifa let out a gentle chuckle, "But as I said before, I am old and could care less about that stupid chair. I will pass it to my oldest son, which leads us back to Lucien."

"..."

"I could try talking to my brother more and delay the inevitable—If you continue teaching," Princess Tifa finally returned the baby to its crib, "I already boasted you to some of my peers, and they want their children to learn from you too. Perhaps when this little one learns how to talk, I would put her in your class too."

"When do they plan to execute Aerith once the trial is over, Princess Tifa?"

"Only the King really knows," Tifa shrugged, "It could be a day after the trial, a week, a month, a hundred years. I could ask the King to delay it as much as possible."

"Are you aware of what I teach, Princess Tifa?"

"I won't disrupt you, Professor…

…You're the one who knows best."

***

"May we enter, Your Highness? We… are here to escort you to the throne hall."

"Don't be shy and just enter, you guys are just doing your jobs."

Back in the castle's underground where Riley was at a few hours ago; the two guards that he spoke to were now facing the door they were tasked to guard. Their faces, a little hesitant as they nodded to each other before opening the door.

And there, a shower of white light quickly seeped into the dim hallways of the underground. But contrary to what one would expect from the white light coming from the room, the inside… was an endless horizon.

The view of the alps, with the sun just painting everything with its orange brilliance. And there, overlooking the almost unending view similar to Earth's mountains, was Aerith.

"We are entering the room, Your Highness."

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And as soon as the two guards stepped inside the room, the view of the alps instantly disappeared; replaced by four walls and a roof, completely silver and lit up by strips of white light that surrounded the edges of the large room. Unlike most of Theran's infrastructures and interiors, Aerith's room truly showcased an advanced civilization as what a normal human would expect it to be.

"You don't need to ask for my permission, I told you—just do your job," Aerith's breaths whispered throughout the entire room as she turned around. She did not immediately look at the two guards, however, and instead turned to look at the other presence in the room—surrounded by floating orbs, seemingly completely occupied in checking all of them.

"Thank you, Paige," Aerith then said, "It's probably the last time I'm ever seeing a view of Earth."

"No!" Paige, who was watching all sorts of recordings from the orbs around her, quickly shook her head before looking at Aerith, "I… I will find something that could help you, Megawoman!"

"You've done enough already," Aerith sighed, "You've shown them the things I did and they didn't care."

"I… I will find something," Paige, however, did not seem to care as she just continued to scour Theran's history—not really knowing what she was looking for.

"..."

"We… We need to attach this collar to you, Your Highness."

"How many times do I have to tell you to just do whatever you have to do?" Aerith then lightly clicked her tongue as she gestured to the two guards to approach her. And without any more delay, the guards quickly but very carefully attached the collar on Aerith's neck, bringing her outside the room.

"No matter how many times I see it, this looks bleak," Aerith quickly whispered as she looked at the walls made of bricks and marble. The two guards didn't really know whether they should say something or not, so in the end, they continued to walk beside Aerith; following her pace.

"Megawoman?"

And as they were making their way across the long hallway, a whisper suddenly seeped from one of the other doors decorating the walls.

"I thought I told you to just call me mom?" Aerith's steps quickly halted; sighing as she turned to look at the door,

"How are they treating you? Alright?"

The two guards once again looked at each other, before nodding at each other and walking ahead, giving Aerith some privacy as she approached the door.

"Why… why are you asking me if I'm alright?" The voice from the other side was familiar, but even more so, it was trembling, "I should be the one asking you that, Megawoman. Will they really execute you!?"

"I'm sorry, Silvie," Aerith sighed as she placed her hand on the door, "I'm the one who dragged you here fully knowing they might just lock you up."

"This… this is nothing. My existence itself—"

"Your existence is beautiful, that's all you should know," a small smile crawled on Aerith's face, "You don't have to worry, okay? I made sure that after all of this is done, you will be able to live a normal life anywhere you want to."

"I don't care about me! You're the one on trial! Will… will they really kill you? All… all you did was save people, om and—You… you should go and escape, mom. Please…"

"That may be true," Aerith let out another sigh as she removed her hand from the door and started stepping back, "But I initially left to find Diana."

"I…I'll try to find a way to get out of here. It's… it's our turn to save you."

"Relax, just… don't do anything rash," Aerith let out a small chuckle as she made her way toward the guards.

"Mom… please."

Before she could reach the guards, however, the whisper seeping from the closed door seemed to become louder; almost piercing Aerith's ears.

"I… I don't want to lose anyone anymore."

"..." Aerith closed her eyes, before glancing at the door one final time and leaving the dungeon with the guards. And as soon as the light of the outside touched her face, Aerith could not help but somewhat be lost in thought.

Theran was completely unchanged. From the day she gained consciousness, and even after hundreds of years that she was gone, Theran is unchanged. Even as she walked across the grounds of the castle, every inch of it—every pebble was in the same place.

She didn't agree with Diana when she said that the universe has become stagnant, it has clearly changed. But now, seeing her home planet… perhaps there was some truth in her words.

"Your Highness, please."

"...Hm," Aerith shook her head off of the intrusive thoughts she was having as she followed the guards. There were a lot of servants there, most faces she recognized. All of them, however, was avoiding her eyes.

Every single one of them refused to look her in the eyes. They knew her as the rebellious princess, but that was clearly not her anymore—she has changed.

The outside world changed her.

But here, even as the door of the throne hall opened, everyone quickly looked away as she entered. They were all here to watch her slowly die, and yet not even one of them could look her in the eye.

Well, all except one.

"...Riley?"

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