"No one will die..." Alicia hated these words. Even though she had taken countless lives since she had come to this world but this did not mean she liked doing it. She only did it because she either had no choice or she had to, out of duty. Even the prisoners that had attacked her during her final test from King Augustus, she would not have killed but rather incapacitated them if they were not as bad as they were. If they were just thieves, then just knocking them out and turning them over to be arrested was fine. But those men were worse than sc.u.m. They did things that no one should ever do. The bandits that she killed were also the same. They took lives themselves so they should have been ready for someone to come and take their life in return. In the Illusion World, Alicia killed many soldiers on the battlefield. But this too was out of survival and to stop an invasion on one"s homeland. Soldiers on Earth took lives every day defending their countries. So she did not need to justify her actions then. But when she ordered the killing of the entire Brisks family she did it out of the duty of her country. A duty that she had no choice but to uphold as the princess of that kingdom. These were things she would need to get used to overtime. At least… this time she made the right choice and saved the two girls from execution since they were so young. She did not want to take the lives of innocents. That would make her no different than a tyrant. Even if they grew up and turned against her, at least then she would have a reason to retaliate.
Her idealism for becoming a knight was to follow the virtues, the knight"s creed, but also follow what her heart says as well. In this last test she showed no mercy when dealing with the family and brought them to justice for their crimes. But at the same time, she gave hope to the two girls by giving them a new lease on life. Each of her tests incorporated each of the virtues a knight should have. If she had failed to save those children she figured she would have failed her test. But her own consciousness would not allow her to let such young children suffer for their parents" sins.
Blake looked over at Alicia and gave a warm smile. "Your right, you will not die so they will not die. I will make sure to protect you with my life no matter what I have to do."
Blake"s words made the heat in Alicia"s face return. It spread from her cheeks all the way to her ears causing her to once again look at the ground. She had no idea why Blake was being so forward with his feelings lately. Though she was happy that he liked her, it was still very embarra.s.sing!
King Agustus looked at the two flirting away and let out a sigh. "Well since that is the case that these three girls will never betray Alicia that puts me a bit more at ease. Your Nora right?"
Hearing her name being called caused Nora to almost jump out of her seat as she looked at King Augustus. She did not say a word but nodded her head up and down as if she was a woodp.e.c.k.e.r. Getting an answer from Nora, King Augustus turned and looked at the two younger girls. "And your names?"
The two girls only stared at King Augustus, clearly scared out of their minds. But when asked their names the girl"s faces went even paler for some reason. Seeing this Blake turned to Alicia and asked: "Alicia did you ever hear what their names were when you were in the Illusion World?"
"Huh? Ah! No… I had no idea that they existed until the end of the test. So I never did get to hear their names." Alicia answered.
"Then they probably do not know their names either. Alicia you should give them both names." Blake figured if they did not have names in the Illusion World then they did not have names, to begin with.
"Names... " Alicia looked at the two girls who were almost s.h.i.+vering. She frowned and waved her hand at them. "You two, come here."
When they heard Alicia call them, the two quickly got out of their seats and ran to her side. Only then did they seem to calm down a little bit. Alicia reached out with a smile on her face and combed the two girls" hair with her fingers. She looked them up and down before saying: "Hmmm.. Both have brown hair and green and purple eyes. Jasmine and Jade… What do you two think?"
The two girls looked back at Alicia and finally a smile formed on their faces as they nodded their heads and in low voices said: "We like them… Thank you, Princes..."
"Good then you two will be Jasmine and Jade. " Alicia smiled and ruffled their heads causing them to let out a giggle. Alicia then turned to Nora and called her over. "Nora… I know this is a huge change for you, but I hope you will still be my little sister..."
"Big Sister… I have always been a slave… I was bought by the royal family and then a.s.signed to you. At first you treated me unkindly, yelled at me, threw things at me…. But I guess that was actually not you. The you, I know, that made me her sister was the one who called out to me that day, protected me, and gave me a new life that I have never expected. Whether it is Princess Venessa or Princess Alicia I do not care. You will always be my Big Sister, no matter who you are.
"My life is yours to do as you see fit. The loyalty I pledged that day will not change just because you are a different person. What scares me though is that if you did not bring me to this new place, from what I have been hearing as you all have been talking, then my life would have been nothing more than fake existence. So now more than ever I owe you my entire being since you are more akin to a mother for bringing me to life." Nora"s words were full of respect and sincerity as she spoke from her heart. Her eyes as she looked at Alicia was that of a child who looked at their mother.
In a sense what Nora had just said was true. They were in fact fake existences that were created by the Illusion World. Since Alicia gave them life that would make her their mother in the real world. Not a single person who sat at the table denied Nora"s claim either. Not even Alicia. Because it made so much sense. But this did not stop Alicia from tearing up at Nora"s heartfelt words.
Alicia reached out and pulled Nora into a hug. She felt a strong connection with Nora, a sisterly bond that had been nurtured in the Illusion World. That will now grow even more in the real world. "Nora, no matter what, you will always be my little sister. This now goes the same for the both of you, Jade, Jasmine!"
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