Episode 3

"Princess, what's wrong? Are you alright?" asked the maid who had approached her earlier.

"Don't come near!" Diana warned, inching slowly down the bed. She looked around. Everything was foreign. There was absolutely nothing she recognized in this place.

Was she kidnapped? Really? Was this the doing of that cheating couple? Did they want revenge on Diana?

Determined to find out what was going on, Diana ran towards the exit. However, upon reaching it, she only found a long corridor on both sides that led to who-knows-where.

"Princess, what's wrong?" The maid was still approaching her. Several other maids also approached, with panicked expressions.

Diana ignored their presence. She went back into the room. The large mirror on the right side of the room was her target. And, upon reaching it, she carefully examined the face in the mirror. Yes, it was still her face. White skin, green eyes, and wavy brown hair were still hers. However, the nightgown she was wearing was clearly not hers. And, a necklace with a translucent bright green Jadeite gemstone pendant was clearly not hers either.

"Who told you to kidnap me, huh? Was it Gerald and Vanya?" Diana asked fiercely to the group of women who had been following her all along.

"What do you mean, Princess?"

"Don't play dumb. How much were you paid to mess with me, huh? You think I'm afraid of you, is that it?"

"Forgive us, Princess. We didn't mean it that way." One of the maids replied timidly, slightly surprised by the reaction of their Princess, who was known to be gloomy and hardly ever spoke. "We wouldn't dare to play around with the Crown Princess of the kingdom like you."

"W-who am I?" Diana asked, confirming what she had just heard.

"You are of course Her Highness Princess Diana, the only daughter of His Majesty Emperor Sean." The maid answered with confusion.

"Huh?"

Diana was stunned. For a moment, she froze, trying to process the situation.

"I'm Princess Diana?" she asked, pointing to herself.

All the maids in uniform nodded their heads in unison.

"The Princess must prepare immediately. Soon, the entourage of His Majesty Emperor Ashlan will arrive. His Majesty Emperor Sean said that you must prepare as well as possible to welcome his arrival."

Princess Diana, Emperor Sean, and Emperor Ashlan. Those three names felt familiar in Diana's memory. And... Boom!! Like being struck by an electric shock, Diana immediately fell to the ground when she realized something. She had entered the world of the novel she had read last night. But how was that possible? What was really happening?

"Princess, are you alright?" The maids quickly approached Diana, trying to help the young woman stand and lead her to the bed.

"Have some water, Princess!" One of them quickly grabbed a drink and helped Diana drink it.

"Am I in the Eastern kingdom?" Diana asked, trying to confirm.

"Yes, Princess. You are still in the Eastern Kingdom. And, today is your wedding day with the leader of the Western Kingdom. His Majesty Emperor Ashlan," answered the maid who gave her a drink.

Diana still didn't fully believe it. It was possible that someone had sneaked into her house last night and kidnapped Diana. Then, maybe that person also read the novel that Diana bought. The only way she could prevent her sanity from being disturbed was to make sure of everything.

Without warning, Diana immediately ran out of the room. The group of maids who had been surrounding her had no choice but to run after Diana, who was suddenly acting like that.

"Princess, you mustn't run like that. It's forbidden!" said one of the maids who was closest to Diana.

Diana still didn't care. She looked left and right and didn't recognize anything. From the long corridor, Diana finally arrived at a very large courtyard. There was a fountain right in front of her. On her right was a large flower garden. And, on her left was a magnificent building that contrasted with the place she had just come from. Yes, it could be said that her place was like a place of exile. It was too far to get out, even making Diana feel breathless just from running from there to here.

"Princess, we have to go back. His Majesty the Emperor will surely be angry if he sees you in an open place like this," said the maid again.

Diana ignored it. Her goal in running right now was the magnificent building on the left. She ignored the warning shouts from the maids.

"You... Why are you here?" A woman in a magnificent maroon dress, holding a fan and wearing a round hat on her head exclaimed as Diana entered the magnificent room.

"Guards! Guards!" the woman shouted angrily.

Two guards who had been trying to hold Diana in front of the entrance ran hastily into the room.

"Why is Princess Diana here? Can't you stop her, huh?"

The two guards were silent. Of course they couldn't answer anything. How could they forbid a Crown Princess from entering her own Father's room?

"Aunt Levrina?" Diana guessed after observing what the arrogant woman was doing.

Duchess Levrina widened her eyes. This was the first time she had heard her niece call her name without any fear in that melodious voice.

"How dare you call my name, Diana!" Duchess snapped angrily.

"What's all this commotion?" Suddenly, Emperor Sean appeared from his office. Instantly, the atmosphere suddenly fell silent. There was a pain along with the increasingly rapid heartbeat when Diana clearly saw the face of Emperor Sean, who even Princess Diana had never seen until death came.

Those green eyes were the same as hers. But, that was the extent of their resemblance. When their eyes met, Diana shed tears involuntarily. The girl didn't even realize that she was now crying just because she was looking at the middle-aged man who looked so dashing in his old age. There was a longing that arose just like that.

"Why is that child here?" asked Emperor Sean in a flat, cold tone.

The maid who had been chasing Diana finally arrived. They immediately prostrated themselves in front of Emperor Sean with fear.

"Forgive us, Your Majesty. The Princess suddenly ran and we couldn't stop her."

"Take her back to her room and make sure you dress her well. One more thing, make sure that girl doesn't cause any more trouble or your heads will be the stakes," said Emperor Sean coldly, turning his back on Diana.

"Father..." Diana called out, restrained. She didn't even realize that she had said that name.

"What are you waiting for? Quickly drag that girl away from the Emperor!" ordered Duchess Levrina arrogantly. She seemed not to want the Child and Father to stare at each other any longer.

The maids nodded. They took Diana back to her place of exile with pity. A Princess who should have enjoyed luxury and power ended up in exile and now was even being subtly expelled from her own country.

*******

"You are very beautiful, Princess!" praised the maid in charge of doing her makeup.

There was no smile on Diana's face. The wedding day that she had been looking forward to with her lover had to happen with a man she didn't know at all. To make matters worse, that man was a cruel and tyrannical leader. Diana's future felt bleak. Moreover, she didn't know where to run and how to get out of this parallel world. In addition, the shadow of death in front of her eyes added to how terrifying her future was.

"The Emperor has arrived. The Princess is expected to go to the wedding hall, now!" said a guard, informing her.

Diana was still silent with a blank stare. There was no way to escape. There were 6 male guards stationed by Duchess Levrina so that she couldn't go anywhere.

Duchess Levrina was the sister of the late Princess Diana's mother. Diana still clearly remembered that the cunning woman was the one who made her Father hate her more and more with the incitements that she launched more and more every day. In fact, that snake woman was the one who made her have to die at the hands of Emperor Ashlan because of her heinous slander.

"Alright, Diana! You're not Diana Emerald. You're Diana Steel. If you can't avoid it, then just face it! Change the story according to your wishes and don't want to be weak like Diana Emerald." Diana tried to convince herself with the determination not to give up, let alone die young. She already had one asset in hand, namely she knew the plot of this story.

Arriving at the wedding hall, a man in a flowing black robe and a mask that he had never taken off seemed to be waiting for Diana. The girl took a deep breath. The first step she would take to avoid death was to eliminate the nervous look and replace it with a brave look.

"Are you two ready?" asked Pontifex, the highest leader of the Eastern kingdom's temple when the two brides arrived in front of him.

"We are ready," they both answered firmly and loudly.

The man next to Diana seemed startled when he heard how firm the woman he knew was so weak was. At least, according to the informant he sent to find out what his future wife's personality was like. However, he didn't show his surprise so much. Moreover, now his mask was still perfectly attached.

There were many rumors as to why the Emperor never took off his mask. However, the most accurate and reasonable rumor was that the Emperor's face was damaged while fighting with another kingdom when he was very young. But, how damaged and severe the wound was, there were still those who didn't know for sure because even the servants in the Western kingdom had never seen it. The only other person besides his parents who had even often seen the Emperor's face was Knight Bennett. The bodyguard and cousin of the man himself. However, unfortunately, what the Emperor looked like would remain a secret because it was impossible for Knight Bennett to reveal it without the permission of his Lord.

After the wedding ceremony was over, Emperor Sean immediately left the place without saying anything to his daughter and new son-in-law. Emperor Ashlan didn't seem to mind that either. He seemed to understand that a King who had just surrendered couldn't possibly reconcile quickly with his enemy even though they had now become family.

"Knight Bennett, take Queen Diana to the carriage. Tonight, we will return to the Western kingdom," ordered Emperor Ashlan to his personal aide.

Diana was startled. Honestly, she wasn't ready yet and hadn't been able to adjust to anything. Suddenly, she was immediately asked to go to the Western kingdom without any preparation.

"Don't prepare anything. All your needs are already available there." As if able to read Diana's mind, Emperor Ashlan had interrupted even before Diana spoke.

"B-but..." Diana still wanted to protest, but Knight Bennett stopped her.

"Just do what His Majesty the Emperor says, Queen! It will be better and safer for you," he said.

Diana nodded in resignation. Knight Bennett was right. She mustn't do anything that could provoke the emotion of the cruel Emperor. Otherwise, her life could be even shorter than Diana Emerald's.

That night, Diana left with her husband to the Western kingdom. And, for some reason, even though she realized that the body she now possessed wasn't her body, the heartache because no one let her go felt so suffocating. Even her tears fell involuntarily.

"Why am I crying? Why am I still looking back and hoping that His Majesty Emperor Sean is standing there to let me go? Isn't his daughter Princess Diana Emerald? Meanwhile, me? I'm Diana Steel," she muttered in her heart.

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