After Aria agreed to come with her to the Kingdom of Beastman, Queen Anastasia didn’t have anything else to say. Truthfully, if Aria was still the same daughter she knew, Anastasia wouldn’t mind having a tea time with her.
However, the Aria in front of her was so menacing. Her eyes were filled with bloodlust after sacrificing thirty-eight children. It was better to get away as soon as possible before Aria considered her as another sacrifice as well.
"I won’t disturb you anymore. You should go and learn more about dark magic from that book, so you can use it to defeat Swan," Anastasia suggested. "Also, do you need anything before I go? Snack maybe?"
Anastasia remembered that Aria loved to eat snacks whenever she had free time. She had heard from the maids that Aria hadn’t asked for any snack for more than a month.
Or rather, she hadn’t asked for any food for more than a month.
They were too scared to come to Princess Aria’s room without her order, and Anastasia was also too scared to ask about it directly.
"No need, I’ve already gotten my fill," Aria replied.
"R-really? I don’t see any food in here."
Aria went quiet for a second, then pointed at the corpse in the corner of her dim room, "I ate his organs from time to time. I’d boil it if I’m in the mood."
Queen Anastasia gasped as she stared at the corpse whose eyes, tongue, and ears had been removed. There was also a gaping hole on his chest, implying that Aria had already eaten his heart.
She almost fainted, thinking that her beloved daughter had turned into a cannibal who’d eat humans. But before she could say anything, Aria suddenly laughed out loud, "Don’t make that face, Mom. It’s not that big of a deal."
"H-How is that not that big of a deal? You’re eating humans!" Anastasia couldn’t hide her distress anymore. "Is this part of the ritual? Aria, you are THE Royal Princess of Holy Achate! You cannot act like a barbarian!"
"It’s what I’m craving these days, Mom. When you are studying to be a great witch, you will naturally lose your appetite for regular food. You will crave raw food instead, especially human flesh," Aria replied calmly. "It’s all written in Necronomicon."
"But—"
"Do you want me to be a great witch or not?"
...
Queen Anastasia bit her lip.
Of course, she wanted Aria to be a great witch to defeat Swan. It would be even better if she could seduce the Beast King.
That man was absurdly powerful. With him by their side, Anastasia could become the Queen of the world!
Battling with the idea of saving her daughter from eating human flesh, or being the Queen of the world, Anastasia decided to allow Aria to eat as much human flesh as she wanted. As long as Anastasia could stay as a Queen, anything else can wait.
She closed the door with telekinesis and continued reading Necronomicon while floating in the air.
However, she stumbled upon a page in Necronomicon not long ago, and it was said that she would eventually need to sacrifice someone who was closest to her to become a true Great Witch.
Aria always got everything she wanted in life, and she had never found herself in a difficult situation before.
Thus, she never developed any sort of connection with anyone.
Not that it mattered much though.
She was just worried that she wouldn’t be able to become a true Great Witch even if she sacrificed her mother because she didn’t love her mother enough.
"Should I treat her better from now on? I want to make sure that I can feel more motherly love from her, and love her more, so I can sacrifice her later," Aria murmured before she clicked her tongue. "This is frustrating. I should’ve married one of those princes before. I could have a baby with them, and who knows? I could’ve developed some love for my husband and our baby. Then, I can sacrifice them both. It would be easier that way."
Unfortunately, she was stuck with only her mother. She had to love her mother, even though she didn’t know how.
"And what is love anyway? How to love someone? Is sex even considered love?"
For the first time in her life, Aria felt like an idiot who knew nothing.
No matter how many books she read, she still couldn’t understand love.
"I’ll just ask the Great Witch tonight. She should come after I’ve sacrificed fifty people, right?"
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