[Lavinia’s Pov—Imperial Palace—Grand banquet hall—Balcony]
The world tilted.
Air rushed past in a violent roar, tearing at my hair, clawing at my lungs. My hands flailed, reaching for a railing that was already behind , slipping further and further away. My heart slamd against my ribs so hard I thought it might burst out of .
Soone pushed .
I couldn’t see the face, but who would dare commit such treason in the open?
The thought struck like a blade, sharp and rciless. Panic twisted around my chest until it was hard to breathe.
I wasn’t going to die. I knew that. The balcony wasn’t that high. But my bones... my body... it would shatter, crack, and bruise. I imagined the crunch of bone against stone, the white-hot pain tearing through .
Rage boiled.
If I survived—if I crawled from the ground with fractured limbs—I would make that person regret ever laying a hand on .
But right now... oh gods, I was going to snap my legs like twigs.
I screwed my eyes shut, bracing for the glorious symphony of pain. The courtyard stones blurred into a rushing sar of doom, closer, closer—
And then—nothing. I wasn’t falling anymore.
My stomach lurched, my body caught in an unnatural halt, like the air itself had clutched in invisible hands. My eyes squeezed shut, but the silence—no wind, no rushing air—forced them open.
A hand gripped . Not Osric’s. Not papa’s. Not anyone I knew.
When my gaze finally lifted, my breath stuttered.
A tall man stood there, as if he had always been waiting at the edge of the world. Brown hair fell across his forehead, his eyes as dark as obsidian. Nothing about him scread extraordinary—his clothes were plain, and his expression was calm. Ordinary. Forgettable.
And yet... nothing about him felt ordinary at all.
His grip was steady, unyielding, his presence heavier than gravity itself. My heart recoiled, not with relief, but with sothing colder—like ice trailing down my spine.
"I didn’t know you’d be landing straight into my arms like so fairy... princess," he drawled with a smirk.
I froze. My blood turned to ice. I knew that voice.
"...Rey."
His eyes widened, just for a flicker, before curving into amusent. "Ohhh... so my little fairy finally recognized ?"
I let out a long, suffering sigh. "Yes, congratulations. You fooled for a whole five seconds. Now, kindly put down."
He grinned wider. "But why would I? It feels good, holding you like this. Almost like you were made to be carried around by ."
My jaw twitched. My fists clenched. And then—
WHAM.
My knuckles cracked against his face, and his arms imdiately loosened, dropping back onto my feet.
Rey winced, rubbing his jaw. "Gods above, can you not choose violence for a single day, princess?"
I glared, voice sharp as glass. "If you’d like to avoid it, then stop—behaving. Like. A. PERVERT."
He gasped, clutching his chest like I’d run him through with a sword. "Ouch! You wound . Right in the heart. Do you enjoy watching suffer?"
I snorted. "Imnsely."
My eyes flicked upward, toward the balcony, catching the faintest shadow where the figure had stood. My lips curved into sothing between suspicion and annoyance.
"Who exactly was that?" I muttered under my breath.
Rey followed my gaze, expression turning flat. "Might’ve been soone who hates you, princess."
I gave him the driest look imaginable. "Oh really? What an observation. I never would’ve guessed. Truly, Rey, your insight astounds ."
He chuckled. "Glad you think so."
"I’m being sarcastic, you buffoon. Do you have any idea how long the list of people who hate is? Honestly, it’s practically its own census. But to commit treason so openly..." My eyes narrowed. "That requires either stupidity, desperation, or both."
Rey tilted his head, lips quirking. "So... what are you going to do, princess? Leave it? You haven’t even seen who committed such a heinous act."
I scoffed, the sound sharp as glass. "Leave it? Do I look like the kind of delicate little princess who clutches her pearls and faints at the thought of betrayal?"
My fist curled tight, crimson eyes gleaming with heat. "Forgive and forget? That’s for saints and fools. And I," my lips stretched into a dangerous smile, "am neither."
I tilted my chin, letting my voice drop into a venomous hiss. "Looks like it’s ti I remind them that I am the daughter of the Tyrant Emperor. And if they’ve forgotten what that ans..."
My smile curved sharper, like a blade drawn from its sheath. "I’ll carve it into their mory myself."
Rey’s eyes practically sparkled, his grin wickedly delighted. "Saints above... every ti you talk like that, I fall a little harder for you."
I shot him a flat look. "Do you want another punch to the ribs?"
His grin faltered instantly, hands rising in mock surrender. "Perish the thought, Your Ferocity. I’d very much like to keep breathing."
"Good," I said coolly, tilting my chin. "Then stop spouting nonsense."
Rey let out a dramatic sigh, clutching his chest like a star-crossed lover. "Tragic. My heartfelt confession, crushed under the rciless weight of your fists. Truly, the life of a guildmaster is cruel."
I rolled my eyes and turned on my heel toward the banquet hall. "Follow , or get lost. I don’t care which."
"Of course I will follow you," Rey said, following .
***
[Imperial Palace—Back to the Banquet Hall]
The massive doors of the banquet hall creaked open, their echo bouncing across the vaulted ceiling. I stepped inside, golden silk swaying with my every stride.
The music faltered. Laughter died mid-breath. The air itself seed to tighten as every head turned toward .
A ripple of whispers followed, weaving through the crowd like a restless tide:
"The princess...? Why is she entering from the main doors?"
"She looks furious...""
Sothing must have happened."
"And who is that man walking behind her?"
Rey’s voice cut through, laced with amusent. "People truly do enjoy gnawing on gossip, don’t they? They’ll choke on it one day."
I said nothing. Not yet. Because soone in this room had crossed a line—and I wasn’t about to let it slide.
Then—Osric.
He broke away from the crowd, his tall fra carrying urgency in every step. The sight of him, steady and unshaken, was enough to loosen the coil of anger burning in my chest.
"Princess," he said, relief evident in his tone. "I’ve been searching everywhere for you. Where did you—"
I stopped him, pressing my palm lightly against his chest. His breath caught.
"Osric," I murmured, my eyes locking with his. "You calm too much... and right now, I cannot afford calm."
His brow furrowed, confusion flickering across his handso face. "What do you an, Princess?"
I sighed, withdrawing my hand and brushing past him, my skirts whispering across the marble floor. "You’ll understand soon enough."
And then I lifted my gaze to the one man who had given life—my father, the Emperor.
"Papa," I called sweetly, my voice honey, but my eyes glead like glass shards beneath candlelight. He stood with Theon and Grand Duke Regis, towering above the crowd, a calm storm waiting to break.
Papa’s smile was warm and indulgent, as always. "Where were you?" he asked.
I slipped my arm through his. "Oh, I simply went to the balcony for so fresh air—you know how stifling these banquets can be."
A pause. A delicate sigh.
"But..." My lips curved into sothing sharper, a smile lined with venom. Slowly, deliberately, I let my gaze sweep over the nobles—each jeweled collar, each powdered face, each suddenly rigid posture.
"...can you believe," I murmured, voice soft, lilting like a lody, "that while I was enjoying that little breath of freedom... soone here thought it would be amusing to put on a performance?"
A beat of silence. My eyes narrowed, though my smile never faltered.
"Performance?" Papa asked.
"Yes, an outstanding performance, really. Quite daring."
The room froze. Chairs creaked under stiffened backs, and the clink of a goblet being set down sounded like thunder.
Papa’s brows furrowed, his sharp gaze slicing toward the nobles. "What do you an?" His tone was low and dangerous.
I tilted my head, clasping my hands together. My voice, however, dripped with mocking sweetness.
"Oh, it’s ever so simple, Papa." I let the silence stretch before I struck, savoring their dread. "While I was out there, basking in the moonlight, your precious daughter—your only child, the apple of your eye—was nearly killed."
Gasps rippled across the hall.
My lashes fluttered as I looked up at him, crimson eyes burning. "Isn’t it fascinating, Papa? That soone, right here in this room, had the courage—or perhaps the stupidity—to think my life is a ga they can play with."
I laughed then, soft and cruel. "And all while sipping your wine, smiling at your table. Daring, indeed."
The silence thickened into sothing suffocating. Nobles shifted, so pale, so trembling, but none daring to et my gaze.
Papa’s eyes burned with horror, then rage. He snapped his head toward the gathered nobles, and the entire hall jolted as if the air itself cracked.
"WHO," he roared, voice like a blade, "WHO DARES COMMIT TREASON UNDER MY VERY EYES?" His sword hissed free of its sheath. "CO OUT—BEFORE I SEVER EVERY HEAD IN THIS ROOM!"
The nobles collapsed to their knees, shaking like leaves in a storm.
I caught Papa’s arm, my lips curving. "Oh, Papa... do you really believe such a coward would surrender on their own?"
Osric stepped forward, fury in his tone. "But, Princess—we cannot leave this matter unpunished!"
"Punished?" I echoed sweetly, tilting my head. "Oh... of course. I already have their punishnt in mind."
Papa turned to , his sword still raised, his voice rough. "What is it? Tell , and I shall make it law at once."
I stepped forward, every inch of sharp and smiling, letting my gaze sweep across the nobles like a knife caressing their throats.
"I knew the one who tried to kill would never crawl out and confess. So..." My smile widened into sothing wicked. "As a rciful princess, I’ll allow them to keep their lives."
A pause. Then my voice rang like thunder—"BUT I WILL RAISE EVERYONE TAXES TO NINETY-FIVE PERCENT!"
Gasps rippled. Faces blanched. Rings and silks suddenly felt heavier on trembling hands.
I leaned forward, crimson eyes glinting. "Consider it... a reminder. Next ti, the cost will not be coin, but your heads."
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