Long-term wear was believed to soothe pain and extend one’s lifespan.
I’d always been frail since childhood, and when he gave it to me, he’d wished for my lifelong peace
and health.
“If Her Majesty desires it, how could this slave refuse?”
I removed it from my wrist and placed it into Lena’s outstretched hand.
As I withdrew my gaze, I faintly heard the sound of a spilled goblet from the high platform.
Lena toyed with the wolf fang bracelet, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.
“Oh, right, I recall you were once famed as ‘Aethelgard’s Enchantress, weren’t you? Why don’t you grace us with a performance?”
I numbly endured the malicious, spectating gazes from across the banquet hall.
There were commanders from the Wolfen Clans.
And also the traitors who, from within, had opened Aethelgard’s city gates.
But I had no right to refuse.
A bowl of steaming broth, just served, splashed over me. It scalded my skin instantly, peeling it
back.
“What are you standing there for, dumbstruck? A fallen royal, still daring to act like a spoiled princess? You’re lucky to be breathing, don’t push your luck!”
As if I felt no pain, I rose on my tiptoes.
I transformed myself into a dancer, a plaything for their amusement.
The Wolfen Clans had an open, wild culture, and those barbarians still weren’t satisfied. They cheered, urging me to strip.
Kael’s gaze, cold and dark, lingered on me from afar. It was his silent permission.
I bit my lip, then began to unfasten my
belt.
My clothes, clinging to my scalded skin, ripped as I tore them off, leaving raw, bleeding patches. Piece by piece, I undressed in this very Throne Room, a place filled with countless beautiful memories of my past.
Tears finally fell.
Only when the banquet ended was I permitted to stop.
Kael walked towards me, reeking of wine. His icy fingertips brushed against the damp streaks on my
face, wiping away a single tear.
But his voice was utterly devoid of feeling: “Lyra, are you deliberately trying to play for pity in front
of me?”
“This slave… wouldn’t dare.”
But as the words left my lips, my old ailment flared up again.
I coughed up blood right in front of him, feeling as though my entire insides were being torn out.
Kael recoiled in disgust, his sneer deepening.
“I’ve seen this sickly, pathetic state of yours for ten years. Haven’t you had enough of pretending?”
I once believed he despised the women of the Central Kingdoms, hated my delicate nature and my
weakness.
Yet, for Lena, he was endlessly devoted.
Lena would just lightly frown, and the royal healers would already be waiting at her door, ready to drop everything.
The parasites gnawed at me. My body trembled, cold sweat pouring from my forehead.
Before I lost consciousness, I thought I saw a flicker of panic in Kael’s eyes.
He gritted his teeth, his voice a low growl: “Lyra, I won’t let you die easily. You will live, and you will
atone!”
But I couldn’t atone anymore…
In two more days, I would surely die.
The next morning, I woke up to find my burns had been treated.
