[Third Person].
A broken sound escaped Reginald after regaining himself for a bit.
It started low, almost disbelieving, before rising into sothing raw and unrestrained. He staggered forward, his hands trembling as he looked into the coffin once again.
"My daughter..." his voice cracked. "Who did this... who did this to my daughter?!" The words tore out of him.
For the first ti, the man who had always stood firm and unyielding shattered completely. He fell to his knees beside the coffin, his grief spilling out without restraint.
"I gave you everything..." he choked. "Who dared—who dared do this to you?!"
Behind him, Levi remained frozen. His gaze remained fixed on Wanda’s body, but his expression had shifted. The shock was still there, but sothing else had begun to surface beneath it.
His hand clenched slowly at his side, then his voice ca out tight. "Who brought this here?"
The guards hesitated, and his eyes snapped toward them. "Answer !"
One of them stepped forward, bowing his head. "Sir... it was delivered from the palace."
Levi’s brows drew together. "The palace?"
The guard swallowed. "They said... Her Majesty ordered it."
Silence fell as Reginald’s crying stopped abruptly.
"Are you sure of what you just said?" Levi’s eyes widened slightly. "Are you aware of the consequences of accusing the crown?"
The guard dropped to one knee. "I swear it by the Moon Goddess. That is what we were told."
For a mont, nothing happened as everyone took in the shocking revelation. Then Reginald let out a harsh, broken laugh that twisted quickly into rage.
"The King rewards my daughter..." he said hoarsely, pushing himself to his feet. "And in the sa night, the Queen has her butchered?"
His voice rose, shaking with fury. "What sort of abomination is this?!" His eyes burned as he pointed toward the coffin.
"What did my daughter do to deserve this?!" he roared. "Not only kill her, but leave her like this? Not even a whole body—!"
His voice broke again as grief overtook him, but this ti it was drowned in anger. "That woman..." he spat. "That witch—!"
"Father," Levi cut in sharply. "Be careful."
Reginald turned on him, eyes blazing. "You dare caution now?!" he snapped. "After what she has done?!"
Levi’s jaw tightened. "Speaking against the Queen like this is treason."
"I don’t care!" Reginald roared. The words echoed across the courtyard. "I want justice!" he shouted. "She will answer to for this! Let all of Stormveil bear witness!"
Levi took a step forward. "Father—"
But Reginald had already turned to the guards. "Quick. Spread the word," he commanded, his voice filled with cold fury. "Tell them all—after the King rewarded my daughter at the banquet, the Queen killed her out of jealousy."
His eyes darkened further. "And she didn’t even leave her a whole corpse."
The guards hesitated.
"Go!" Reginald bellowed.
They moved.
"Father, stop this—" Levi reached for him, but Reginald shoved his hand away.
"Do not stand in my way," he warned. "If you will not fight for your sister, then stay out of this."
Levi’s expression hardened, but he said nothing. Then, Reginald turned back toward the coffin, his chest rising and falling heavily.
"I will not bury her," he declared. "Not until the King gives justice." His voice dropped, but the hatred in it only deepened.
"The witch on that throne will be dragged down... and she will pay for this."
---
anwhile, the silence in the royal dining hall was still heavy. And Draven was still staring at redith.
"You killed... Wanda?" he repeated slowly, as if trying to make sense of the words. "And sent her body back to her family?"
redith released a quiet sigh. "I had a valid reason," she said. "And I didn’t tell you last night because I wanted you to have a good night’s rest."
Her gaze remained steady.
"If you had known... you would have overturned the entire palace."
That caught his attention. Then, his expression sharpened. "Then explain it to ," he said. "Why did you kill Wanda Fellowes without informing ?"
redith didn’t hesitate. "After we left that room," she began, "Xamira inford that Wanda entered it and remained there for so ti."
Draven’s brows drew together.
"I went back to check," redith continued. "And I discovered what she had done."
A faint chill crept into the air as Draven’s body stilled.
"She tampered with what was left behind of you," redith said, her voice turning colder. "She tried to take sothing that belonged to you."
For a brief mont, silence fell. Then understanding hit. Draven’s expression darkened instantly, sothing dangerous rising behind his eyes.
"She tried to steal..." his voice dropped.
redith nodded once. "Yes."
The temperature in the room seed to drop. A low, simring anger began to build within him.
But redith wasn’t done. "And that wasn’t all," she added.
Draven looked at her. "There’s more?"
redith’s gaze hardened slightly. "I found her afterwards, after leaving the banquet hall. And I heard her with Levi."
Draven stilled again. For a split second, he said nothing. Then—
"What do you an?"
redith didn’t soften it. "Both of them are involved," she said plainly. "Not as siblings should be."
The words landed heavily. Disgust flickered across Draven’s face, followed imdiately by sothing far darker.
"No..." he muttered under his breath.
redith continued, her tone unwavering as she gave him the details—what she heard, what was said, and how certain it was.
By the end of it, Draven’s expression had completely changed into shock and rage mixed with disgust.
"That family..." he breathed, his voice low and dangerous.
redith watched him quietly. "What she did to us was enough for to make my decision. So, I lured her out, and I killed her," she said.
His gaze snapped back to her.
"I made sure she understood why," redith added. "I cut off her arm, then I split her body in half vertically." There was no hesitation in her voice. "And I sent her remains back to her family," she finished, "so Reginald could feel what it ans to raise a monster."
That was the final push.
Draven stood abruptly. The chair scraped sharply against the floor as his aura surged.
"They dared—" his voice broke into anger as he began pacing. "They dared to sche against like that?"
His fists clenched. "To steal my bloodline... to try and force their way into the throne—" His voice hardened further. "They have no sha."
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