A loud slap crisped the air, which caught him off guard ever-so-slightly, and as he looked in the direction, he didn''t expect to find the only woman that was in his mind at the moment.

    Athan only wanted to keep the clothes from sprawling all over the couches and on the center table, wearing back his and keeping hers to the side of the couch when the screen suddenly turned on.

    Soon as it played, what appeared before him was none other than Mystique Violette Blackwell on the screen.

    "Violette!" he roared aloud, but as though she couldn''t hear his voice. No matter how he did it, none of it heard her.

    She propped on all fours on the ground, trembling with such a hatred gaze.

    Although her staring daggers weren''t directed at him as it was at such an angle.

    It was weird to think about why she wasn''t looking his way.

    Even then, he couldn''t help but gulp hard. ''I know that kind of gaze… Full of resentment and envy...''

    Brisking close to it, he was about to claw his hand when the angle shifted to another.

    Like the scene continued to move.

    There were towering hedgerows with a plethora of flowers nearby the stone pavement that she was in. From that alone, he noticed that it was one of a beautiful garden, albeit not the same as it was in the Imperial Palace.

    Although, she was in such a strange scene that turned out hauntingly familiar to him.

    ''Wait... This— How?! Not this!''

    He almost let go of his meal when his jaw almost hit the floor and from there, he was beyond rooted on his stead.

    Like a huge weight befell him and he had no choice but to gawk at the poor villainess on the screen.

    "Violette!"

    More so when the raging voice came that was also the same as his, blurting out of nowhere.

    Out of instinct, he looked around the room, even though he knew it came from the magical screen but the voice was eerily the same as his.

    From his view, a pair of white leather boots emerged on the screen, going up revealed the embroidered suit that screamed regality and the draping cape that paired with it.

    ''Wait… Why am I there?''

    Inside Athan''s head brimmed with chaos and confusion from what he saw thus far: it was akin to a spitting image of him— from the features of his face: hair and eyes; down to his usual attire outdoors.

    ''Something''s not right in here…'' His eyes went to the setting as the background music mused his ears, which he then gave a curt nod of what was in front of him. ''I see what it is now…''

    Although it didn''t take him that long to ponder, what happened before him was no different from the theatrics that he once went to in one of the famous amphitheaters at the Imperial Capital.

    ''Frankly, it''s such a blasphemous act for daring to use such a story as a piece of the act!''

    The kind of setting they were in was different yet it delivered the same thing with the interaction around these actors.

    But then he went silent as he couldn''t help but glue his eyes on what took place.

    "Why must you do that to Lady Veronica?!"

    Even after all that he did, she tried to get back up on her feet and faced him. The deathly stares she had while she cupped her left cheek had a reddish burn mark from his palm.

    "Your Highness… Do I have the reason I mustn''t do it in the first place—?"

    "You''ve gone too far!" He tugged his hand that cupped her cheek, letting go of her hold, and now grappled the underside of her chin. When she had no choice but to look up and faced him with gritted teeth, hissing, he let out a low growl. "I never thought you''d— To hell with it! Too despicable and incorrigible!"

    Mystique nudged her arm, trying to get away from his grasp but he was too strong. "Hnn… You''re… Hurting me..." But he didn''t stop there as she hissed aloud when he tightened further.

    Upon leaning close to her ear, he snarled, "I already warned you not to put Lady Veronica in jeopardy again… How vile and malicious a woman can you be?!"

    "I didn''t do anything—"

    "Not thinking about lying to my face for goodness sake!" He pushed her to the ground, and she moaned in deep agony from the impact, coughing deep from it. "Your life is so wretched that you should die alone!"

    Even then, she anchored onto the ground, shuddering, but still faced him with no remorse while beaming a nasty grin on her face. "What can I say? Misery loves company..."

    "You sadistic whore!"

    To an outburst, Athan grabbed a handful of her hair, which made her scream bloody murder, and she couldn''t help but raise on bended knees.

    "No—! Let—! Go!" Her pleas no longer softened him, with his leers bore deep into her.

    "To think you''d sabotage my relationship with Lady Veronica to my best friend, Matthew… Sure enough, you have lost your mind." He tightened his grip, tugging it, which had her scream

    The tears that overcrowded her envious eyes now cascaded across her flustered cheek while she whimpered in front of his wrath.

    "Your tears don''t matter, Mystique..." Giving her a long face, he then let out a dry chuckle. After which, he muttered through clenched teeth, "That won''t affect me anymore, your shenanigans… Every secret hidden in the dark will come to light, and you will never be safe then. Await my good news."

    He then let go of his hold, tossing her back to the ground like she was a rag on the ground.

    What Athan saw before him was one accurate reflection of what happened then, and goosebumps crept all over his body after looking back at it.

    A myriad of thoughts went through his mind, and he couldn''t help but ball his fist tight out of anger welled up inside him.

    Though, he turned around with a harrumph. But before walking away, he peered sideways and remembered the words that left his mouth— which were supposedly unspeakable things, especially of a noble like him.

    "Justice will be served, I shall see you somewhere you''d wish you''ll die a peaceful death—"

    Out of anger, Athan punched the flat screen in front of him while roaring out loud, crashing it to ruin.