Darkness' Touch

Chapter 33: Warming up

Avy wore a simple yet beautiful white off-shoulder A-line tulle dress with butterfly designs randomly patched on the skirt part and a pair of white heels that complimented her quite well. The maids, without being asked, carefully dressed her up to make her natural beauty stand out. She figured out why, of course.

The former Avy must've wanted to look her best whenever she meets up with the Prince to impress him even in the slightest. On the other hand, she didn't care about it. She has no interest in anyone whatsoever. She was never, not even once, in her lifetime that she became attracted to the opposite sex. That doesn't mean she laid her eyes on the same gender though, she was focused on herself and her little creations most of the time and sometimes gives her attention to the people she thinks are worthy enough of her time. She somewhat thought at one point that she might be asexual, it's not that any of that matters though. She actually made up her mind to just go along with the fate that the novel has for her married life, besides who would be more powerful than the future emperor himself?

The old times forced the ladies to get married when they reach the age where they are already considered adults, and she was not sure what her future would be if she broke the engagement without any backup plan. It's not like she would actually find herself a man to her liking, and most definitely she's sure that people are just going to marry her to be able to enter their house. She might even get married to an unknown man of unknown origins, hence she decided to stay in her lane and just be the Empress. Of course, she can always run away and free herself from those responsibilities, but as of now, she's only a powerless sixteen-year-old girl who still needs the protection of her family.

In the novel, Avy only died because she was too greedy, of the position the prince can bestow her as his partner and the affection she longed for that she wanted to receive from her childhood love. She wanted the throne and at the same time, she wanted Demi gone so that she can have Zach, the male lead, for herself. She even cooperated in a coup with the villain to kick the Prince from his position and put her beloved as a replacement. She was too ambitious. And naive.

That was why she was easily manipulated.

But that's a story for another time.

She thought being married to a man who doesn't love her isn't that bad when she herself doesn't love him in the first place. That's fair, better than marrying someone who demands love that she cannot give or just marrying someone who would treat her as a 'woman', women are treated like objects that are created for men's pleasure, especially in that era dominated by men of high standing. Well, Fuck men.

Those options don't even hold a say in her choices. The best one is to marry the prince, who may not treat her lovingly but would at least treat her accordingly, and she knows fairly well that he wouldn't cheat. That man is against immoral acts. Even in the novel, he didn't say that he held affection for Demi openly, he kept it to himself, he was in fact, well aware of what his fiance would feel. He didn't initiate physical interactions and it was mostly Demi being nice and touchy to others since physical touch is how she shows affection, may it be towards friends or her family. Which can also be quite misleading, those cliche female lead behavior.

And unluckily for him, he won't be chosen at the end even though he was given almost the same attention as the first male lead. Demi will, of course, choose the first lead than the second. He should be thankful that he wouldn't be spending his life alone.

Avy knows and is confident that the prince would be a good husband that would provide her with everything as long as she doesn't sacrifice people and kill citizens for fun. She doesn't need his love and wouldn't be obliged to give him hers, that's a good deal considering she would have access to things that only the emperor can get his hands on. And she would fill her role as long as he doesn't cheat and make her a fool.