Wolf could not comprehend what the maid just told him. It felt like his ears were burning and his mind swirled with dangerous thoughts.
"Say it again, who is missing?"
Wolf could not hold back the anger in his voice as he now pointed his sword at the kneeling maid.
The maid shivered while on her knees afraid to even speak. Yet, she uttered the name Wolf did not want to hear.
"Q-Queen A-Anastasia."
Red was the only thing in Wolf's vision as he sliced the maid's throat.
His knights straightened their posture and a cold sweat trickled down their backs.
Every knight in his army acknowledges his power on and off the battlefield. They know of his accomplishments, they both praise, respect, and fear him.
More than anyone else, the knights of Navarros know their master is a monster in human skin.
They have seen in slaughter a thousand men.
So, when their second Master, Anastasia arrived and married said monster, they considered her a goddess who lifted their King's curse on love.
They, and everyone else in the Navarros empire could see the clear change that Anastasia had on Wolf.
The palace before her arrival was dull and uneventful. Many people walked on eggshells afraid to cause Wolf's wraith.
Now when visiting the palace it is said to have a completely new atmosphere to the point it looks reconstructed.
Everyone could tell it was all because of the new Queen, who the King doted on the most.
After seeing Wolf cut down the maid in a fit of rage, the knights thought that if this happened back then they would not have been surprised.
They quickly remember the ways of their master and realize the severity of the situation.
The blood of the knights also began to boil in anger at the thought of their goddess-like Queen being taken advantage of and mistreated.
Not wiping the blood off his blade he stepped over the maid's body and proceeded to the one place he knew he'd get answers.
He walked through the palace in bloody clothes and his sword in hand.
Knights of the Holy Kingdom tried to stop them from proceeding further into the palace, only to be cut down.
Maids screamed and ran away from the bloodshed.
Bursting into King James's throne room covered in blood. Wolf glared at the man he wanted answers from.
Fortunately, most of the royal family was present, meaning Wolf did not have to search for them. He's aware that the Crown Prince is recovering in bed.
He will be dragged here soon enough.
Seeing Wolf and his knights surrounding them King James stood from his throne.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
His voice was loud but one look in his eyes and you could see fear taking over.
"Where is my wife," Wolf stepped forward causing the Holy Knights to circle the royal family.
"We don't know either, I have sent out a search party for her. Now explain yourself, King Spade! How dare you attack my people!"
King James was upset in his own right he was unaware of his wife and daughter's foolish trick.
"I believe you do," Wolf said gesturing to a knight.
A few moments later, the Crown Prince is thrown in front of the rest of the family. His arm is bandaged from being broken and he cried in pain as he landed on the floor.
"Crown Prince!" Queen Alice ran to her only son and helped him stand.
"Where is my wife," Wolf's voice was darkening more and more as he was becoming impatient.
By now his knights have taken over the palace, and he sent a man on horseback to request more knights.
The entire palace is on lockdown according to Wolf's command.
He walked toward the throne making Queen Alice pull her two children away. Only King James stood in front of the devil himself.
"I won't ask again, where is my wife," Wolf pointed his sword at King James' shoulder.
He pushed and pushed the sword into his flesh slowly.
"I-I don't know!" King James yelled out in pain and confusion as to why this was happening.
"STOP!" Princess Analeigh could not handle seeing her father being tortured.
Wolf stabbed him deeply causing the blade to pierce through his shoulder and cut clean to the other side.
He slung King James off his sword making him roll down the steps landing in front of his family.
Wolf calmly took a seat on the throne that was not his. He placed the sword in front of him and looked down at the pitiful people called royalty.
Alive, but in major pain, King James lay on the floor holding his shoulder.
Princess Analeigh and Crown Prince Armin stood frozen like statues.
Queen Alice stood tall even in a situation like this. Her eyes shook along with the rest of her body.
She wanted to appear confident but underneath it all she was scared to death.
"What you are doing here today, will cause war! We had nothing to do with the disappearance of that girl! Call off your knights now, and we can discuss this properly."
"Why is he going so far that brat?!" Queen Alice thought as she tried to stall time.
"Is that so? War sounds good. I haven't been in a while,"
Wolf's sudden comeback left Alice unable to speak.
"I heard he was insane, but isn't this too much?!" Alice could not wrap her brain around why he was going this far for Anastasia.
"Y-You!" Alice's words were caught in her throat unable to be released.
"The next lie that comes from anyone's mouth will receive a cut," Wolf spoke in a deadpan voice.
"Mother!" Princess Analeigh cried out in fear.
"Silence!" Queen Alice was not ready to back down.
"What have you done?" King James had enough energy to speak and be aware of his surroundings.
"Father," Princess Analeigh laid eyes on her bleeding father and beat up her older brother. Her hatred for Anastasia has caused trouble for her them.
"Queen Anastasia must have run away! She told us all about how scared she was of you!" Queen Alice lied through her teeth.
Wolf nearly fell from his seat when he heard what she said.
"Could it be?" He thought.
"It can't be." He reassured himself the next second.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report," a Navarro's knight approached with a maid.
"Report." Wolf permitted him to speak further.
Looking at the maid's uniform and the luxurious accessories placed in her hair, Wolf could tell she was no ordinary maid.
"Your Majesty, after conducting interrogations with the staff we have received the news."
"Who is this person?" Wolf asked.
"Your Majesty, this person is a maid who has worked in the palace the longest. She has confessed to helping Queen Alice and Princess Analeigh plan the Queen's kidnapping."
Silence fell upon the room as the truth slowly emerged.
"Slander! All slander!" Princess Analeigh hurried to her mother's side who nearly fainted from losing feeling in her legs.
"It's the truth! The royal family has always mistreated Her Majesty! When she was young they starved, beat, and isolated her in the palace. Everyone disrespected her because she wasn't treated like royalty by the King or Queen. She has never left the palace before until the day she went to Navarros to become a sacrifice!"
The maid spilled all the truth without leaving anything out.
"T-that's!" King James could not refute the words of the maid in good conscience. He knows how bad of a father he is.
"You worthless servant!" Queen Alice was furious that the maid she paid off several times over the years had turned on her so quickly.
"How dare you!" The Crown Prince also feared for his life now that the truth was out. He also played a part in Anastasia's misery.
"My wife has suffered at the hands of scum like you?!"
"N-No! Of course, you can't listen to the words of a lowly maid!" King James said.
"I will decide who to believe and who not to. Drag them to the dungeon," Wolf ordered his knights to tie up the royal family and throw them in prison.
They protested for their freedom but it was futile their fates are already sealed.
Wolf wanted to kill them immediately but he had more pressing matters to address.
"You seem to know a lot, where did the Queen go?" Wolf asked his final question to the maid.
"The Queen and Princess hired slave traders to take her Majesty. I overheard them saying that by sundown they will leave by carriage in the nearest village." She confessed Anastasia's whereabouts.
The maid spoke with a loose tongue as she disclosed all the information she knew. In her mind, the more she told the better chances she had of surviving.
"I told him everything! I should be able to live right?" The maid thought as she bowed her head hiding her sneaky smile.
She was able to tell all these things to Wolf because as the report stated, she's been working in the palace the longest. Also, she played a major role in the bullying of Anastasia.
"My wife suffered so much that a mere maid lived more luxurious than she did."
Wolf glanced over at the maid with her expensive hair pieces only a Princess or noblewoman would wear.
The maid's neck shot up and seeing the look in Wolf's eyes she knew that her life would not be spared.
In one swoop the maid's head fell to the ground with a roll.
"Wife, wait for me."
Wolf was determined to bring Anastasia home without fail.