In front of the annex where the Crown Prince stays, we arrived in one run.
There, Cullen was having a serious conversation with another knight who was following the Crown Prince.
'Yes. Let's ask Cullen.'
If so, he would know the identity of the woman in the warehouse.
It was at this moment that Valletta, who had decided to ask Cullen without having to go to the Crown Prince herself, was about to take a step forward.
The knight beside him said.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess. No, it seems like she’s not feeling well. Really, do you think I shouldn’t call the doctor?”
At the knight's words, Valletta's body stopped.
Crown Princess.
He clearly called her the Crown Princess.
'Then the woman in the warehouse is really...'
She was the Crown Princess.
Why on earth did they... take the Crown Princess?
The love story of the Crown Prince and his wife was so famous that everyone in the empire knew about it.
Even if it was a loveless marriage, contrary to rumors, such treatment would not make sense.
At that moment, Valetta's eyes were shaking aimlessly as if she was confused.
As Cullen continued to speak, all of her thoughts went blank as if they were a blank sheet of paper.
“Watch your words from now on, Derek. Especially not in front of His Highness the Crown Prince. That woman is nothing but a traitor.”
“...Yes, Sir.”
The two continued their conversation and soon left the place.
But Valletta's feet seemed glued to the ground and she didn't move.
"...Traitor."
Those short words echoed endlessly in Valletta's head.
“That woman... is a traitor.”
They pushed countless people and Valetta into the pit of hell and ultimately caused her sister's death...
The traitor was right before her eyes.
I stared into space with empty eyes, devoid of any emotion.
My gaze landed on the place where Valletta had been standing a moment ago.
Although it was my first time seeing her face, I could recognize her.
That woman was the one who had been kind to me.
So, even though the blindfold was removed, I did not use my powers.
To be precise, the expression 'unable to use' would have been more correct.
My keen instincts were speaking.
'If I use even the slightest power just once more...'
I will definitely die.
My body was at its limit.
That's why I tried to grab hold of Ernest's trouser leg.
Even that didn't go my way.
It was when I was leaning against the wall, seemingly exhausted.
The missing Valletta has returned to the warehouse.
If there's anything different from before, it's that I'm not alone.
Behind Valletta, strangers entered the warehouse one by one.
Although they were all people I was seeing for the first time, they all had the same expression on their faces.
And I knew what that face meant.
Faces swaying with betrayal and anger.
They knew I was a traitor.
“I’m late in greeting you, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
Valletta approached me with light steps.
“I heard that you are a traitor.”
Valletta, who had come within a stone's throw of me, grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled it, bending ny neck back.
“I felt sorry for you without even knowing that.”
It was wrapped in the ridiculous words of a righteous death, but Valletta knew.
That her younger brother had been tortured to death in the cold basement of the palace.
Valletta smiled fiercely as she imagined Melanie's end.
“I’m glad I know now.”
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
She will give this woman the same pain that her brother went through.
“I’m so happy that I got the chance to make you feel the same pain that Melanie felt.”
At that moment, Emily had a gut feeling.
Compared to what's going to happen next, things up until then have been very peaceful.
Squeak.
The warehouse door slammed shut with an eerie sound.
"Your Highness."
Cullen looked at Ernest, who was sitting at the table, sipping his drink.
The Crown Prince has changed recently.
He was a man who maintained his composure and remained steadfast despite the hardships he endured during the rebellion.
These days, he's been drinking alcohol, something he never used to drink, and he doesn't even think about going out.
'It must be because of Elizabeth...'
After he found out that the Crown Princess, who he thought was dead, was a traitor, he began to change little by little.
And a few days ago, after he suddenly went to the warehouse and came back, he didn't even think about coming out of the room.
‘What should I do with this...’
Cullen licked his lips as if he was hesitating about something.
This morning, he happened to pass by the warehouse and heard a strange sound. He went inside without thinking and ended up seeing things he should never have seen.
A woman hanging from the ceiling with her arms tied, and villagers surrounding her.
That fragmentary situation gave him an idea of what had been going on.
'How on earth did you find out that she was a traitor...?'
All the people in this fortress were people who had lost their homes to the rebels.
So, once the news spread that the woman locked in the warehouse was a traitor, it was only natural that she would become a target of people.
Ernest put down his glass and asked Cullen.
“What's going on?”
“I, that’s...”
As Ernest urged him again, Cullen finally opened his lips.
“The townspeople found out that the woman in the warehouse... was a traitor. So... They took out their anger on her.”
At the word “venting anger,” Ernest’s hand, which was pouring another glass of wine, stopped.
Cullen clenched his fists, thinking that the Crown Prince was angry at the sight.
Since he had already reported it, he couldn't stop.
“...It seems that the villagers tortured the woman. They hung her from the ceiling and burned her flesh with a soldering iron, and they whipped and beat her repeatedly... It seems that both the sentries guarding the warehouse and the villagers participated in the cruel acts.”
“...”
Are you speechless with anger?
Cullen was afraid of what the Prince might say.
Although she was a traitor, she was once the crown princess and Ernest's lover.
Knowing that Ernest truly loved Elizabeth, Cullen was sure he wouldn't let it go.
'We must do everything we can to prevent all the townspeople from being punished.'
Since all the townspeople are accomplices, it would be difficult to punish them.
By the time Cullen had decided to plead that only the mastermind behind the incident be punished.
Ernest, whose mouth was tightly shut, said.
“Leave it alone.”
In a voice that said it was no big deal.
"...Yes?"
“But just enough so that she doesn’t die... Do whatever you want as long as she's still breathing.”
Cullen asked back as if he had misheard.
“So... are you saying that you’ll just leave it alone?”
“If you have nothing more to say, leave.”
But the answer that followed was a curse.
"Your Highness..."
Ernest has changed.
The man who was just pouring a glass of wine in front of him was not the Prince Cullen knew.
Cullen was about to speak again, his fists clenched.
The door where the two people were was suddenly opened.
“Your Highness! Something terrible has happened!”
The man, out of breath as if he had run, spoke as if shouting.
“Re, rebels...!”
Carsis.
He's finally here.
“I have word that the rebels have passed through Merta and are now heading here, to Cuenca!”
Merta was a gateway that had to be passed before coming to the fortress.
The fact that the rebels had crossed Merta also meant that the troops already deployed there had been annihilated.
"Shit...!"
Ernest slammed his fist on the desk as if he couldn't control his anger.
It felt like the bitterness that had been lingering in his mouth had completely disappeared.
He let his guard down.
Cuenca was once a strategically important fortress built on a rocky mountain. However, it was easily plundered by wild beasts and was abandoned for a long time.
Moreover, at a time when the civil war was raging and the barbarians were on the rise, staying in Cuenca was a good way to hide from the enemies.
'I should have left this place sooner...'
He couldn't stay here for long anyway because of the barbarians. But maybe it was because he was able to find a brief moment of peace by using the power of authority.
This incident, which occurred because he had become accustomed to peace and had not left this place, was clearly his own mistake.
There, Cullen was having a serious conversation with another knight who was following the Crown Prince.
'Yes. Let's ask Cullen.'
If so, he would know the identity of the woman in the warehouse.
It was at this moment that Valletta, who had decided to ask Cullen without having to go to the Crown Prince herself, was about to take a step forward.
The knight beside him said.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess. No, it seems like she’s not feeling well. Really, do you think I shouldn’t call the doctor?”
At the knight's words, Valletta's body stopped.
Crown Princess.
He clearly called her the Crown Princess.
'Then the woman in the warehouse is really...'
She was the Crown Princess.
Why on earth did they... take the Crown Princess?
The love story of the Crown Prince and his wife was so famous that everyone in the empire knew about it.
Even if it was a loveless marriage, contrary to rumors, such treatment would not make sense.
At that moment, Valetta's eyes were shaking aimlessly as if she was confused.
As Cullen continued to speak, all of her thoughts went blank as if they were a blank sheet of paper.
“Watch your words from now on, Derek. Especially not in front of His Highness the Crown Prince. That woman is nothing but a traitor.”
“...Yes, Sir.”
The two continued their conversation and soon left the place.
But Valletta's feet seemed glued to the ground and she didn't move.
"...Traitor."
Those short words echoed endlessly in Valletta's head.
“That woman... is a traitor.”
They pushed countless people and Valetta into the pit of hell and ultimately caused her sister's death...
The traitor was right before her eyes.
***
I stared into space with empty eyes, devoid of any emotion.
My gaze landed on the place where Valletta had been standing a moment ago.
Although it was my first time seeing her face, I could recognize her.
That woman was the one who had been kind to me.
So, even though the blindfold was removed, I did not use my powers.
To be precise, the expression 'unable to use' would have been more correct.
My keen instincts were speaking.
'If I use even the slightest power just once more...'
I will definitely die.
My body was at its limit.
That's why I tried to grab hold of Ernest's trouser leg.
Even that didn't go my way.
It was when I was leaning against the wall, seemingly exhausted.
The missing Valletta has returned to the warehouse.
If there's anything different from before, it's that I'm not alone.
Behind Valletta, strangers entered the warehouse one by one.
Although they were all people I was seeing for the first time, they all had the same expression on their faces.
And I knew what that face meant.
Faces swaying with betrayal and anger.
They knew I was a traitor.
“I’m late in greeting you, Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
Valletta approached me with light steps.
“I heard that you are a traitor.”
Valletta, who had come within a stone's throw of me, grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled it, bending ny neck back.
“I felt sorry for you without even knowing that.”
It was wrapped in the ridiculous words of a righteous death, but Valletta knew.
That her younger brother had been tortured to death in the cold basement of the palace.
Valletta smiled fiercely as she imagined Melanie's end.
“I’m glad I know now.”
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
She will give this woman the same pain that her brother went through.
“I’m so happy that I got the chance to make you feel the same pain that Melanie felt.”
At that moment, Emily had a gut feeling.
Compared to what's going to happen next, things up until then have been very peaceful.
Squeak.
The warehouse door slammed shut with an eerie sound.
***
"Your Highness."
Cullen looked at Ernest, who was sitting at the table, sipping his drink.
The Crown Prince has changed recently.
He was a man who maintained his composure and remained steadfast despite the hardships he endured during the rebellion.
These days, he's been drinking alcohol, something he never used to drink, and he doesn't even think about going out.
'It must be because of Elizabeth...'
After he found out that the Crown Princess, who he thought was dead, was a traitor, he began to change little by little.
And a few days ago, after he suddenly went to the warehouse and came back, he didn't even think about coming out of the room.
‘What should I do with this...’
Cullen licked his lips as if he was hesitating about something.
This morning, he happened to pass by the warehouse and heard a strange sound. He went inside without thinking and ended up seeing things he should never have seen.
A woman hanging from the ceiling with her arms tied, and villagers surrounding her.
That fragmentary situation gave him an idea of what had been going on.
'How on earth did you find out that she was a traitor...?'
All the people in this fortress were people who had lost their homes to the rebels.
So, once the news spread that the woman locked in the warehouse was a traitor, it was only natural that she would become a target of people.
Ernest put down his glass and asked Cullen.
“What's going on?”
“I, that’s...”
As Ernest urged him again, Cullen finally opened his lips.
“The townspeople found out that the woman in the warehouse... was a traitor. So... They took out their anger on her.”
At the word “venting anger,” Ernest’s hand, which was pouring another glass of wine, stopped.
Cullen clenched his fists, thinking that the Crown Prince was angry at the sight.
Since he had already reported it, he couldn't stop.
“...It seems that the villagers tortured the woman. They hung her from the ceiling and burned her flesh with a soldering iron, and they whipped and beat her repeatedly... It seems that both the sentries guarding the warehouse and the villagers participated in the cruel acts.”
“...”
Are you speechless with anger?
Cullen was afraid of what the Prince might say.
Although she was a traitor, she was once the crown princess and Ernest's lover.
Knowing that Ernest truly loved Elizabeth, Cullen was sure he wouldn't let it go.
'We must do everything we can to prevent all the townspeople from being punished.'
Since all the townspeople are accomplices, it would be difficult to punish them.
By the time Cullen had decided to plead that only the mastermind behind the incident be punished.
Ernest, whose mouth was tightly shut, said.
“Leave it alone.”
In a voice that said it was no big deal.
"...Yes?"
“But just enough so that she doesn’t die... Do whatever you want as long as she's still breathing.”
Cullen asked back as if he had misheard.
“So... are you saying that you’ll just leave it alone?”
“If you have nothing more to say, leave.”
But the answer that followed was a curse.
"Your Highness..."
Ernest has changed.
The man who was just pouring a glass of wine in front of him was not the Prince Cullen knew.
Cullen was about to speak again, his fists clenched.
The door where the two people were was suddenly opened.
“Your Highness! Something terrible has happened!”
The man, out of breath as if he had run, spoke as if shouting.
“Re, rebels...!”
Carsis.
He's finally here.
“I have word that the rebels have passed through Merta and are now heading here, to Cuenca!”
Merta was a gateway that had to be passed before coming to the fortress.
The fact that the rebels had crossed Merta also meant that the troops already deployed there had been annihilated.
"Shit...!"
Ernest slammed his fist on the desk as if he couldn't control his anger.
It felt like the bitterness that had been lingering in his mouth had completely disappeared.
He let his guard down.
Cuenca was once a strategically important fortress built on a rocky mountain. However, it was easily plundered by wild beasts and was abandoned for a long time.
Moreover, at a time when the civil war was raging and the barbarians were on the rise, staying in Cuenca was a good way to hide from the enemies.
'I should have left this place sooner...'
He couldn't stay here for long anyway because of the barbarians. But maybe it was because he was able to find a brief moment of peace by using the power of authority.
This incident, which occurred because he had become accustomed to peace and had not left this place, was clearly his own mistake.
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