Noah Altera

Razor-edged blades gleam a palpable portent as they reflect Eli's pale frame.

It's so sudden that she staggered backward in flummox. She immediately thought it's the Realm's master, but then, she's proven wrong when a certain blonde paced towards them from the shadow instead. Hands in his pocket, he carried an enigmatic air while mustering an apathetic expression. She didn't know why he's not with the others, but judging by his demeanour, he's certainly scheming something.

Dressed in a well-embellished dark violet half robe with gold-work threads and silver lacings, along with a pair of black half palm gloves, Noah was already transformed into his other persona – the king's right-hand man and the most honourable Aristian Duke. Eli only gawked at his stupendous appearance, astonished at seeing him as a Champion for the very first time.

Noah then stopped right in front of the spider web before unshackling Cosette from her restraints.

"My, my..." Eli mumbled to no one in particular.

Watching the two, she couldn't help but come up with ideas despite their present predicament. As she spectates, imagining it like a scene where a prince rescues his damsel in distress, she only covers her mouth with a knowing look, slightly blushing at their intimacy all the while. The way Noah stared at Cosette just prompted her fangirling spirit to resurface again. When he carried her to a safe place with a gentle look on his face, she finally let out a squeal or two in her head.

"Umm... Your Majesty, why do I see her all flushed right now?" the knight questioned his master who's in the middle of firing bullets at the enemies.

They're now standing behind each other as the guards encircle them, each armed with their weapons while facing their opponents. The gun-wielder only glanced at what the swordsman was pertaining to before heaving a sigh.

"That's just how she looks like when she's thinking of something weird," he deadpanned.

"Then why is she fidgeting as well?"

"Beats me."

Noah had the same expression as Hal when he found Eli in a trance, clueless as to why she wasn't even a bit appalled by his daggers. She seemed to have finally noticed his gaze when she suddenly looked bashful and embarrassed. With this, the blonde was now starting to find her strangely unpredictable.

"Hey, what were you planning to do earlier?" Noah started, much to her surprise.

"O-Oh, I was just going to save her too," Eli replied, confused as to why he's suddenly glaring at her.

Unlike before when he'd at least greet her ebulliently, he's now going straight to the point. He also seemed a bit pugnacious and belligerent for some reason.

"Save her? Just what can you do?" he retorted, eyes flickering with venom.

"Huh?"

Noah then pretended to ponder something for a second before a wide, sunny smile suddenly graced his features.

"Oh, I know...! Call on your other self, is that it?"

Eli wanted to answer that she already did that, but she's too confounded when he just beamed at her out of nowhere. But then, she noticed that spite was still glazing his half-lidded eyes all the while. She had no idea why he's already this riled up just by seeing her. Not only today, but in every occasion they happened to meet each other, he's always shifting personalities like this and dumbfounding her.

"Thinking why I'm like this? That's simple..." Noah trailed off before sauntering and leaning towards her. She then sensed some kind of déjà vu as he stood right in front of her, face filled with ire.

"I hate you."

Eli only froze in place.

Staring at him, she felt like plummeting into icy cold water. His unclouded malice was inevitably triggering a Barnum effect – though it isn't really her to whom that hatred was directed, she can't help but still feel that she did something which made her earn it.

Then, that's when she felt a stinging pang in her head. A distant memory flashed through her muddled mind all of the sudden.

---

His Grace, Noah Altera – the sole prince of the empire and the late Emperor's lovechild from a lowly maid. Despite his disgraceful roots, he was endued with a childhood of opulence – a luxurious life deemed as unbefitting for a mere bastard. He grew up to be a prodigy in many fields and a powerful wielder of magic. But even then, the child felt nothing but hollow, with the castle shunning his existence, nobles detesting him from the shadows, and everybody else only spectating.

That's until two pairs of hands reached out to him. What he yearned for, they gave – a momentary bliss after years of deep despondency.

The first was when the young Noah caught a fever after being poisoned. His father didn't even bat an eye on his condition that time and just casted him off like he's nothing. His mother was no longer in that world, so he had suffered all alone.

"You've got quite a fever, Your Highness..."

That's until the Emperor's wife, who just came to the castle, met him for the first time that day. She told him that she had only started her training to be the future Empress at that point. For reasons that remained vague to him, this woman, his step mother, had taken care of him. She was the only one who paid him attention when he's about to be engulfed by his fever.

"I hope you'll get better soon, Prince Noah..."

Ever since, this child who always craved for parental love was able to have his thirst quenched at last. She was his light when he's drowning in endless darkness. She gave him warmth when life became too harsh and cold for him. She's an admirable mother figure, always perfect in everything she did.

But then, nobody was ever entirely sure of the future, not even the wisest prophets of the land.

"You musn't involve yourself to rats such as this boy, Your Highness..."

"...Poor little child, always hungry for affection..."

"...Stay with me, Your Highness. I promise I'll never leave..."

"...Choose me instead of him."

Indeed, two pairs of hands were stretched out to him, but only one of them was that of a true friend while the other turned out to be manipulative.

Unfortunately, he was deceived to take the latter. Led astray, he eventually ended up being exploited as a stepping stone for domination. Everything he never wanted to be had come true - a backstabbing friend, a traitor, a murderer, and a puppet of darkness. Since then, his empty soul was seized by the smothering clutches of this devious queen.

"Mother... Just what did you turn me into?"

---

Eli was befuddled about two things in particular.

For one, she didn't know why she suddenly recalled this exact excerpt from the novel at this very moment. Secondly, she was confused as to why it all felt like she didn't know about this until now when in reality, she already read about them in the book and had even gained Venus's memories.

For unknown reasons, it all felt like she's remembering a forgotten past or something.

"What's with the silence? Did I just rub you off?" Noah sneered out of nowhere, flummoxing Eli.

Snapping back to reality, her vision refocused once more. Even after all that, she knew that she doesn't really like confrontations like these. Now that she recalled why Noah was acting like this, she really didn't have it in herself to go against him either. At this point, she's too worn out to reason with him. Enervated, she might just let him rant away like this if this goes on.

That's until a feeling of not being able to put her finger on something suddenly ascended.

"But wait, why was he like this in the first place? I mean, this isn't supposed to be the time to be doing this. There are more pressing matters at hand. I already get that he hates me but this is being way too childish. We could just fight like this when we're outside the Realm. He wasn't helping Hal and the others, either. Is he just slacking off-"

Then, the message finally crossed to her.

Though it's glaringly obvious that Noah is doing this on purpose, the time and place aren't just right. He could just be aiding Hal and the others at this moment instead of picking a fight with her. Also, the fact that he went as far as to say all these might mean he really wanted to bring about a certain reaction from her.

"Is he... trying to make me angry?"

Enlightened, she scrutinized Noah's aloof expression before showing a ghost of a smile. The realization that he wasn't just playing around like he appeared to be finally dawned on her.

"So, he really wants us to fight inside this Realm..."