Card Apprentice Daily Log

Chapter 2612: Authoritarian Southern Heir

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Southern Capital, Guild Association Mall, Warehouse No. 234

"I should be the one asking you that," I shot back, taking slow, deliberate steps toward Anna. Normally, she would have been all over me, heedless of personal space or consent, but this time she kept her distance. The restraint felt alien, almost cold. I shook my head, thinking she had already made enough of a spectacle of herself by openly flirting with me. I guess now it was my turn.

"And who are you to question me? Also, I asked you first," Anna replied, clearly flustered as her teenage groom approached her so boldly. The glint in his eyes warned her that he was up to no good, yet she neither retreated nor so much as twitched. Instead, she met his gaze head-on, her expression stern, refusing to let him undermine her authority.

Actually, she felt nothing for him. What stirred within her instead was a curiosity, prompted after closely observing his reaction toward Anne. It was entirely different from what she had assumed. When she had first introduced Ann to her mother, the latter had been so taken with Ann that she all but forgot her own blood daughter. Anna had expected her teenage groom to react the same way. Yet, to her astonishment, after distinguishing Anne from her, he had been prepared to kill Anne for deceiving him by impersonating her.

This outcome was beyond anything she had imagined. She could not help but wonder if perhaps he truly loved her. Otherwise, what could compel him to choose an Anna who felt nothing for him over an Anna who would do anything for him? His choice stood in stark contrast to her mother’s. Her mother had never been satisfied with the daughter she had, instead yearning for an obedient and clever child who would carry out every command without question, never daring to talk back or say no, doing exactly as she was told.

Anna began to see her teenage groom in a new light, despite the childish antics he used to draw her attention. She praised her former self for giving her whole heart to the right man, yet at the same time reproached herself for failing to temper and guide him properly.

"Who am I? Why don’t you ask the ring you gave me? And since when did it ever matter who comes first or second between us?" I asked, stopping a finger’s breadth away from her. We could both feel the warmth of each other’s breath. "It’s been a while. Let me taste those plump lips and supple tongue of yours."

Without waiting for Anna’s consent, I pulled her into my embrace, pressed my lips against hers, and forced my tongue past her defenses, trying to rouse a partner that refused to cooperate. She resisted and struggled, yet in that moment she was just as helpless as I had once been.

However, a sudden surge of strength coursed through her body. It met my force head-on, parried it, and sent me flying like a rag doll. I only came to a stop after crashing into the wall. As I struggled back to my feet, her furious voice rang out.

"How dare you? You should count yourself lucky. If not for the foolish contract I signed back then, I would have your head for this."

Anna was enraged, and rightfully so. Yet she had no choice but to rein in that fury, bound by the grave mistake her former self had made when she signed that cursed contract.

One had to understand that every time Anna carried her obsessions to their extreme and forged them into her sisters, she emerged as the same person, but with altered priorities. After shaping her filial devotion into Ann and her love into Anne, her focus now lay wholly on her duty and responsibility toward her realm and its people as the Southern Heir.

And as the Southern Heir, no one was permitted to undermine her or challenge her authority, not even her teenage groom, the future Prince Consort of the Southern Region.

That was to say, the Southern Princess had succeeded. She had molded her daughter into an heir worthy of her father, an heir deserving of the Southern Region. In truth, however, it was her son-in-law who deserved the credit for that success. It was his influence and encouragement that pushed Anna to take her responsibilities seriously. She abandoned frivolity altogether, devoting her time and energy to her beloved and to her duty toward the Southern Region.

Now that her beloved had been removed from the equation, all that remained was her sense of duty to the Southern Region. The Anna who stood before them now was the product of that single shift. Had it not occurred, there was no telling what her Extreme Path might have driven her toward next. She could have become a sadistic serial killer seeking pleasure in the dying screams of the innocent souls, or a despairing savant bent on ending everything, destroying the card world and the myriad realms along with it. Either outcome was possible.

That was why one had to be exceedingly cautious when going down extreme path.

"How dare you? It’s fine when you do it, but it becomes a crime when I do the same. Is it because you’re royalty and I’m just an orphaned commoner?" I said, feigning indignation. I realized then that my skin hadn’t grown thick enough to shamelessly chase after a woman’s skirt, even if that woman was Anna. With that in mind, I adopted a different approach. It was a little sadistic, perhaps, but it felt like the right tool to confront Anna’s newly hardened, authoritative side.

"Royalty or commoner, no one has the right to force themselves on another," Anna replied. Then, with a slight bow, she added in a subdued voice, "I apologize for my past actions. I am no longer the same person. Please find it in your heart to forgive me."

Her apology caught me completely off guard. Her new bearing reminded me of the royal snobs back in the capital, JJ for example. But right now, it was clear she was not merely flaunting her title like those snobs. She was shouldering the duty and responsibility that came with it. Well, that was my Anna. I expected nothing less from her. Every version of her was just as captivating as the one I had once fallen for.