Episode 3

The buzz grew even louder after I spoke. I wanted to laugh at the spectacle. Everyone was talking about me without the slightest concern that they were in my presence.

"Did they send a mad princess?" someone in the crowd said.

"What madness! Does she have no clue? How can she demand such a thing of the emperor?" Another was saying.

"Dear God, another soul will be received by you," a man said, clasping his hands and looking up to the sky. At least someone is already praying for my soul.

"She won't even last until the ceremony." They were all quite thrilled with the prospect of my death.

"Look what she's doing with her own bouquet of flowers. She definitely has a screw loose." Someone pointed at me. I wanted to laugh even more. I wasn't playing with the bouquet; I was counting the petals, petal by petal, to determine if my head would fall to the right or left when it was chopped off. Sorry, heart, mouth, and brain are in collapse. They're just doing what they want. Could it be a family inheritance? The only thing my mother left me? Some kind of curse? Unlucky in love?

"Whatever. I don't want this inheritance. Instead of living waiting for death, I will scream with all my strength and die. At least I'll give him a good headache. Yes. That's the plan. Let's leave the emperor deaf," I decided when the petal count informed me that my head would fall to the left. Good. My right side is my better one.

While I was examining in the mirror how my head would fall after being cut, my message with the demands was being relayed to the Emperor.

"What did you just say?" Heitor, the emperor's adviser, said in disbelief after hearing my request, which, let's admit, wasn't that outrageous. It's the bare minimum!

"I had the same reaction when I heard, but it is exactly as I said. Princess Alicia stated that she will only leave the carriage if carried in the emperor's arms and..." The man broke out in a cold sweat, wondering if his soul would be harvested along with mine that day.

"And..." the emperor was solemn. Everyone had already given up on my soul. Not that they really cared about it at any point.

"Wait a second. I've written everything down. The princess demanded to be carried in the emperor's arms to the cathedral. All the flowers must be replaced with sunflowers. Any servants that cross her path must clap and shout. And the emperor must wear a pink item in his attire. These are all customs from my hometown and..." The man reading from the paper trembled, lacking the courage to look at the emperor.

"Is this princess completely insane? Is she begging for death? Can we do her this favor, if that's what she wishes? Does she have any idea to whom she's making these demands?" One of the advisers said, annoyed.

"No matter the customs of the north, she's in the south now; she should follow local customs. Why on earth should we adopt her customs?" another adviser shouted.

"Regarding that... The princess added, 'I've traveled a long way to get here, and I believe that if even this small thing cannot be granted, it's because the emperor's heart is too small for me.' That's what the princess said," the man barely managed to stop trembling as he read the paper with the notes of the message. The emperor cracked a sinister smile, bringing the whole room into complete silence, some already pondering how they would send my body parts back to my family.

"So that's it... Does the north really have these customs?" the emperor said, rising to his feet.

"Emperor! This isn't important. Who cares about the customs of that place? They had the audacity to send a madwoman to you. Are they clamoring for war? Let's erase that place off the map," the adviser spoke, even though he was in shock.

"I recall you telling me we could only have three wars a year; this would be the fourth," the emperor joked.

"Taking everything into consideration, it's fine to have a fourth war this year, an exception," the adviser agreed.

"Yes, in that case, let's wipe the northern duchy off the map next month, get ready," the emperor said as he headed for the door.

"Your Majesty, where are you going?" His adviser shouted.

"Where, you ask? I, the husband with a huge heart, will fulfill the insane wishes of my mad wife," the emperor smiled ominously, giving everyone the chills.

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