System's POV

Princess Xynalia’s breath was caught in her throat.

Impossible…

Her pupils constricted ever so slightly as her gaze locked with the young lady walking behind her sister. This was the first time that she was seeing her in this form, but there was no way that she couldn’t identify who she was.

A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, but all of them crashed into the same wall of disbelief.

‘That’s Zion?’ Princess Xynalia thought. ‘But, how?’

The realization sent a ripple of emotion through her, too complex to name.

There were five stages of grief. Shocked and dreadful aside, she was on the first stage—denial.

For reasons she refused to acknowledge.

Seeing her older sister’s reaction, Princess Laventia couldn’t help but smirk. She had the same exact reaction when she saw Zia for the first time.

Little did she know that her sister already knew that the beautiful succubus accompanying her was none other than Zion Leventis.

Princess Xynalia reined in her curiosity and greeted her sister with a smile. There were things that shouldn’t be shown in public, so she decided to invite everyone inside the residence, so they would be away from the prying eyes of the public.

As soon as they entered the residence, Princess Xynalia grabbed hold of Zia’s hand, and dragged her toward the third floor of the residence, where her main quarters were located.

Princess Laventia, who didn’t expect that her sister would just grab Zion without a word, hurriedly followed them, not knowing what prompted her sister to do that.

As soon as they entered Princess Xynalia’s room, and the door was firmly closed behind them, the Succubus Princess waved her hand, unleashing a layer of magic inside the room.

This was to prevent anyone from hearing or seeing whatever was happening inside the room. Although she didn’t know the specifics, she deemed this to be of the utmost importance.

Before Thirteen and Princess Laventia could ask what Princess Xynalia was doing, the Succubus Princess asked a question first.

“Zion, what is the meaning of this?” Princess Xynalia asked, almost making Princess Laventia choke on her saliva, not expecting the secret to be revealed without any suspense.

“You knew?!” Princess Laventia exclaimed, pointing a shaky finger at her older sister. “How?!”

Princess Xynalia didn’t even bother to look at her sister. Her piercing gaze was solely focused on the beautiful succubus, who stood quietly, not denying anything.

“How did you know?” Zia asked calmly, not hiding her true identity.

(A/N: Again, I’ll keep on referring to Zion as her until this mini arc ends.)

“I asked first,” Princess Xynalia tried to dodge the topic, by asserting her stance. “Is this some kind of prank? Because if it is, it’s not funny.”

Zia shook her head. “It’s not a prank. I came here for a reason, and my previous identity is not appropriate for my mission.”

“Mission?” Princess Xynalia frowned. “What mission?”

Knowing that getting her assistance would make things easier, Zia explained everything without holding anything back.

After hearing everything the young lady had to say, Princess Xynalia narrowed her eyes.

She and her subjects were being pressured by Prince Aurelion to become part of his so-called “Grand Jinn Alliance,” with him as its head.

After being given a reality slap by Zion, the Prince had kept a low profile for the time being. However, his ministers were quite active in visiting all the Jinn Factions, giving all of them an ultimatum.

It was either they were with him or against him.

And frankly, the Jinns were more tempted to just side with the Wanderers than to become the Dragonkin Prince’s lap dogs.

Princess Xynalia was of the same mind, especially after witnessing Prince Aurelion’s defeat, forcing the Prince to cancel his attempt to hamper the evacuation of the Wanderers.

“I get the gist of the situation.” Princess Xynalia sighed. “But it’s a great risk. Also, you should have taken a more plain form when you transformed into a succubus. Just what were you thinking when you made yourself look this good?”

Zia blinked once, then twice, before shaking her head helplessly.

She didn’t have any control over what she looked like since it happened automatically after taking the Chrysalis Pearl.

“I’m sorry,” Zia said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know I’m meant to look this beautiful.”

Princess Xynalia and Princess Laventia almost coughed out blood. Although Zia said it normally, her choice of words was something a narcissist would say.

“Anyway, what happened has already happened,” Princess Xynalia pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m sure that news about you is spreading among my people. All of them had crossed over to Pangea with us, so they would certainly become suspicious because they never saw you before.”

Princess Laventia had been thinking about this matter as well, and already had an answer ready for the occasion.

“Sis, you know the rumor spreading among our people back in Gomorra, right? That we have an illegitimate little sister hidden from the public’s eyes,” Princess Laventia said. “So let’s just say she’s our little sister, and we brought her with us secretly.”

Princess Xynalia’s face brightened when she remembered that there was indeed a rumor like that in the past.

“Good.” Princess Xynalia nodded. “From now on, you will be our little sister, Princess…”

“Zia,” Thirteen replied. “My name is Zia.”

“Your name is Zia Velmoria,” Princess Xynalia corrected. “The third princess of the Velmoria Royal Family.’

“Okay.” Thirteen smiled faintly. “Then am I supposed to call you Sister or Sister Xynalia from now on?”

Princess Xynalia placed her hand over her chest because being called Sister by Zia made her heart skip a beat.

“J-Just call me Sister, and I’ll call you Zia,” Princess Xynalia replied. “Call Laventia Sister as well. And she will refer to you as Zia as well.”

The two succubus princesses then brainstormed to give Zia a better understanding of the Velmoria Royal Family.

She didn’t need to know everything since they could just tell everyone that she was hidden away from the world, so she wasn’t informed about anything about the politics of the kingdom.

While Princess Xynalia and Princess Laventia took turns briefing her about the internal structure of the Velmoria Royal Family, Zia quietly took mental notes of what she needed to remember, storing key names and relationships for later reference.

It didn’t take long before the basics were laid out.

Zia paid close attention to the major royal houses under the Velmoria bloodline, the names of prominent allies and rivals, and most importantly, the few individuals who would immediately question her identity if she wasn’t careful.

“…and avoid talking too much around Aunt Ristella,” Laventia warned. “She’s a manipulative old hag with a sharp tongue and an even sharper nose for lies.”

The two Princesses were the real decision makers in their faction that crossed over to Pangea.

However, their Mother ordered their Aunt to follow them and make sure that both of them didn’t make any decision that would jeopardize the sovereignty of the succubus race.

While Ristella Velmoria never actively opposed the decisions that both sisters made, she was starting to feel anxious as of late due to Prince Aurelion’s domineering attitude.

She also understood that no matter how much they tried to declare their neutrality, all of this were empty words behind the face of power.

Zia nodded. “Got it. I’ll try to act shy and reserved around her. Maybe I’ll even fake a stutter.”

Princess Laventia chuckled. “That might actually work. She’d probably lose interest the moment she thinks you’re too dull to bother with.”

“No, she won’t.” Princess Xynalia shook her head. “Just look at Zia. Our Aunt will certainly be curious, and suspicious of her.”

“Then what should we do?” Princess Laventia asked, feeling slightly anxious.

“I’m thinking…” Princess Xynalia crossed her arms over her chest.

However, someone suddenly knocked on the door before it swung open without permission from its owner.

“Princess Xynalia, there is no use hiding from me,” Prince Aurelion said. “A third of the Jinns have already agreed to fight under my banner, so it’s no use to try to resist the inevitab…”

Princess Aurelion wasn’t able to finish his words because she saw the young lady right behind Princess Xynalia.

He didn’t see her right away because the princess was blocking his view, but the moment he walked inside the room, he saw her, and she took his breath away.

‘I must have her.’

That was the one thought that suddenly appeared in the Dragonkin’s mind when she saw Zia.

Just like the succubus race, the Dragonkin looked very much like normal humans since they were half human and half dragon.

Aside from their draconic horns and wings, they could be mistaken for a member of the demonic race, who shared the same features.

“Well, it seems that I came at the right time,” Prince Aurelion smiled faintly, as he moved towards the succubus who had an angelic face, prompting Princess Xynalia and Princess Laventia to block his path.

“Prince Aurelion, do not forget that you are inside our territory,” Princess Xynalia said coldly. “If you want to discuss something, talk to me and stop scaring my little sister.”

As if on cue, Thirteen really hid behind Princess Xynalia and glanced at Princes Aurelion with a fearful gaze.

Her body shivered slightly, showing how scared she was of the Dragonkin Prince, who suddenly barged inside her sister’s room.

Seeing her weak and pitiful state, Prince Aurelion coughed lightly and retracted his arrogance a bit.

While he could take her with him by force, he didn’t want the beautiful lady to hate him.

“I apologize for my rudeness,” Princes Aurelion said. “Then shall we talk about business? Since this is an important matter, your sisters must also be there to listen to the discussion.”

Princess Xynalia frowned, but Zia lightly patted her back from behind, as if assuring her that she didn’t mind this sudden turn of events.

“Fine,” Princess Xynalia replied. “Laventia, take Prince Aurelion to the study room. Zia and I will come shortly after I calm her down for a bit.”

Princess Laventia nodded and asked Prince Aurelion to follow her.

The Dragonkin Prince gave Zia one last glance before following behind the succubus princess, and closed the door behind him.

‘So her name is Zia…,’ Princes Aurelion thought. ‘It suits her very much.’

He had come here to force the Velmoria Royal Family to submit to him, but after seeing Zia, he decided to take a more polite approach.

While he had seen many beautiful women in the past, this was the first time that his heart had beaten so fast after his gaze landed on the young lady… whom he believed had many things in common with him.

———

A/N: Still not feeling well. Only one chapter for today.

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