"Looks like you got at least one thing right about fate, oh dear old hag~"
Cheshire muttered to himself, a satisfied grin playing on his lips as he recalled his previous master's words.
"Trust only White and Red huh… Truly the nature of Pink is unpredictable~"
As he gazed down at Riley, at the way the young man smiled so tenderly while watching over his three girls, Cheshire felt that he finally understood.
The emotion radiating from Riley was overwhelming—intoxicating, even. It wasn't just affection or attraction. It was love—deep, unwavering, and pure.
The kind that seeped into one's very existence, burning bright like an eternal fla.
Cheshire tilted his head, his erald eyes gleaming with curiosity. How was that human heart of his even beating properly at this rate?
But in the end, it didn't matter.
Riley had already proven himself.
His happiness, the warmth in his gaze, the way his fingers brushed gently against Alice's without hesitation—all of it was undeniable proof that he wouldn't falter.
No matter how many won surrounded him, no matter how vast his love had to be stretched, Alice would never be left behind.
Not now. Not ever.
That was sothing Cheshire could now be certain of.
With one final nod, the mischievous cat stretched his limbs and let his body float lazily into the air, hovering above the clear night sky.
His gaze lingered on his master one last ti, fondness flickering in his eyes.
But his job wasn't over just yet.
Tonight was an important night for Alice—for all of them. And unfortunately, not everyone in this world knew how to mind their own business.
A low hum vibrated in his throat as he snapped his paw-like fingers.
Imdiately, a thin, red energy spread out in a near-invisible wave, expanding across a half-kiloter radius around the young lovers.
The magic was subtle—so delicate that even Alice, with all her talent and sharp senses, wouldn't notice unless she was actively searching for it.
But for Cheshire, that was more than enough.
"Alright then~" He grinned, sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight. "Ti to clean up so strays."
With the barrier in place, Alice shouldn't get too distracted—even if a random dinsional rift were to open up sowhere in the academy.
Cheshire knew how sensitive she was about the White Queen's army becoming more active lately, and today of all days, he refused to let those pests interrupt her.
"Ti to get to work~" he purred, stretching his limbs before gathering his energy.
Just as he was about to conjure up his own rift—
FOOOSHHH!
A pulse of energy, dense and overwhelmingly strong, rippled through the air.
Cheshire's fur bristled.
The energy itself wasn't particularly large or explosive. In fact, it felt more like an echo—a residual wave from sothing much greater.
But the purity of it, the sheer essence of what it was, sent alarm bells screaming inside his mind.
A chill ran down his spine.
Phantasmal energy.
Not just any kind, either—true Phantasmal energy, refined to a level so dangerous that even he, a being accustod to the chaotic nature of the world, couldn't ignore it.
His breath hitched.
There was only one thought that ca to mind.
War.
The Grand War he had been preparing for was beginning.
Cheshire clenched his paws, his sharp claws digging into the air itself. His usual grin twitched, faltering for just a mont before he forced it back into place.
"What grandly impetuous timing, oh White Queen…" he muttered under his breath, voice laced with irritation.
He turned his gaze toward Alice, watching her from the corner of his eye.
She hadn't noticed.
Not yet.
Perhaps it was the barrier shielding her senses, or maybe—just maybe—she was simply too caught up in her conversation with the other girls to pay attention to the shift in the air.
Cheshire let out a slow breath. That was good.
Because once she did notice, there would be no stopping her.
And right now… she deserved to enjoy this mont for just a little longer.
Cheshire knew he had to act quickly.
This was his best chance to take care of things before they spiraled out of control.
Yes, the declaration of war had begun, but even so, it would take ti for the White Queen's forces to break past the restrictions imposed upon them.
Conjuring dinsional rifts strong enough to bypass the rules of causality wasn't sothing they could do so easily…
Or at least, that's what he thought.
Then—
His fur stood on end.
A surge of white energy flashed before his eyes, faster than even his instincts could react.
VOOOSHHH!
Space twisted.
Before he could even blink, the world around him collapsed inward—and then, in the very next mont, expanded outward, swallowing him whole.
Blinding white consud his vision.
By the ti his senses returned, Cheshire's pupils narrowed, his body going completely still.
He recognized this place imdiately.
It was her domain.
The realm of the White Queen.
And surrounding him on all sides…
Her most prized subordinates.
The Order of Primaris.
Knights, Bishops, Rooks—each one a blessed artifact of their Queen, given form and purpose beyond re mortals.
Their presence was suffocating, an overwhelming aura pressing down on him from every direction.
Yet, despite the sheer power he could feel weighing upon him, Cheshire's signature grin stretched across his face as he tilted his head.
"Well, well, well~" he humd, tail flicking lazily. "All this effort just for little old ? Don't you think you're all being a bit pathetic right now~?"
His voice was laced with amusent, but his erald eyes glead sharply, analyzing every movent around him.
None of them reacted to his taunt.
They didn't need to.
The way they stood—their weapons raised, their gazes locked onto him—told him everything he needed to know.
They weren't here to talk.
One of the knights, clad in silver and white, stepped forward, spear in hand. The weapon glowed with a divine radiance, its tip razor-focused on Cheshire.
"This is the greatest honor Her Majesty has bestowed upon you, phantasmagorical cat."
His voice was solemn, almost reverent.
"Take it to heart—even after your death."
Cheshire's grin only widened as he felt their intense killing intent surrounding him from all sides.
Trapped. Outnumbered. Completely encircled.
He had walked right into their hands—or so they thought.
And yet—
"KUKU—KUAHAHAHAHAHA!"
His laughter rang through the realm, a twisted, almost delighted sound that echoed against the pristine white expanse around them.
Hah… so this is what they ca up with?
A mont later, Cheshire let out a long, exaggerated sigh, shaking his head.
"Hah~ I know just how much you guys hate ," he mused, his tail flicking behind him lazily. "But to think… you actually believed that a little trap like this would be enough~?"
VOOOOOOM!!!!
A pulse of energy erupted outward.
The sheer force of it cracked the space beneath his paws, sending powerful shockwaves rippling through the air.
His greyish fur shifted, pulsing red, the color bleeding through his form like ink spreading through water.
And his erald eyes?
They burned—turning a deep, glowing crimson.
Imdiately, every single Primaris present froze.
A mont of hesitation. A flicker of doubt.
Because what they felt—the weight of that power, that unnatural density of energy pressing against their very existence—
It was too familiar.
It was sothing they should only be able to feel from her.
From their Queen.
The space around them trembled, the very fabric of reality shifting, bending to the whims of the cat standing before them.
The overwhelming domain that had once belonged solely to the White Queen now pulsed through Cheshire himself.
For a brief, terrifying mont—
He felt just like her.
"Without your Queen~" Cheshire purred, his voice smooth, dripping with amusent.
His tail lazily curled through the air, as if he wasn't standing before so of the most powerful warriors of the White Queen's court.
"Are you sure you guys can take on~?"
It was a simple question.
And deep down, every single one of them knew the answer.
Yes, they had the advantage.
Yes, they had numbers.
Yes, they had been given a direct order from their Queen herself.
But—
As they stared at the phantasmagorical being before them…
A being whose very presence now defied reason…
They all had the sa thought.
They would die today.
And they would die fulfilling their duty.
…..
"Since we're all Riley's lovers now… maybe we should stop using honorifics with one another, right?" Snow suggested, her blue eyes glancing between the other two girls.
"But we already do that though?" Rose responded, tilting her head slightly.
It was true.
Snow and Rose had always used honorifics with each other before.
But after they beca Riley's official lovers, sothing between them had naturally shifted.
Their positions—titles, status—hardly even mattered anymore.
They were his future wives, after all. Dropping honorifics had simply felt natural.
Snow then turned her gaze toward Alice.
And in that mont, Rose imdiately understood why Snow had brought this up.
Unlike the two of them, Alice's situation was… complicated.
She was their senior.
Soone they once looked up to a degree...
Even now, despite everything, the natural respect they held for her hadn't completely faded.
"How about it, Senior Alice?" Snow asked again, her tone gentle. "Would it be alright?"
"..."
Silence.
Alice didn't respond.
She sat there, staring blankly into the air, her golden eyes unfocused—almost as if she wasn't even present in the mont.
"…Senior?"
"..."
Still, no reaction.
It was only when Riley, seated beside her, gently touched her, that she finally ca back to her senses.
Her body tensed slightly at the warmth of his touch. Her eyes blinked rapidly as if clearing a haze.
"R-Riley…?" she murmured, her voice softer than usual.
"Is sothing wrong, Senior?" Riley asked, concern evident in his tone.
"Ah—N-no, it's nothing! Hehe~" Alice let out a small, forced chuckle, waving her hand dismissively. "I was just… a bit lost in thought. I-I'm not really used to this sort of situation, is all~"
"…Is that so?"
"Yes, yes! Nothing to worry about, Junior~" She smiled—perhaps a little too quickly—before turning to Snow. "Anyways, what were you asking ?"
Snow hesitated for a brief second, wanting to press the issue.
Alice's reaction hadn't been normal.
But ultimately, she decided to let it go. For now.
"We were asking if you'd like to stop using honorifics from now on," she repeated.
Alice blinked. Then—
"Ah, s-sure! I have no problems with that~ Hehe~"
Her lighthearted chuckle returned as she seamlessly rejoined the conversation, her usual energy slipping back into her voice.
Yet—
As Riley watched her closely, his sharp eyes caught the subtle tremor in her fingertips.
The way her golden eyes, despite their warmth, held a lingering trace of sothing else.
A quiet worry. A hesitation she hadn't voiced.
And— The way her free hand kept clutching at her chest, as if trying to calm sothing down.
'Did sothing happen?'
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