A soldier riding his horse reached outside a large castle, and one of them dismounted and whispered something into the ear of a guard standing outside the castle. Startled by what he heard, the guard rushed inside to the head general of their army. The atmosphere inside the castle was chilly, with leaders and generals visibly tense. The main hall of the castle, made of black stones, was grand and could accommodate around 8000 people. In the center, a man in chains knelt, guarded by two soldiers. At the end of the hall, on an elevated platform, sat a young man with a charming personality, around 23 years old, wearing black clothes. The man in chains pleaded for mercy, mentioning that he was a member of the former king's elite group. The mention of the former king's name created tension in the room. The king rose from his throne, lifted a large sword, and approached the man with chains. The sound of his sword echoed with each step.
The king faced the man, the sword resting on his shoulder, and declared that betrayal in Agustus Kingston's Empire led to death as the only punishment. He accused the man of ending his own life after mentioning the former king. Swiftly, with a powerful scream, the king beheaded the man and then turned to the general seated nearby, throwing a menacing glance. Agustus's gaze suggested the next target. He tossed his sword toward Justin, his trusted companion, who caught it with shadow-like reflexes, and commanded, "Clean this up."
Justin stepped forward, raised his sword, and then stepped back.
At that moment, the army's general, who had come to convey something important to Agustus, froze upon seeing the man. The soldiers cleared the body from the front.
Agustus returned to his throne and the army general approached, bowing before Agustus and said, "King, an unknown girl from outside your dynasty has infiltrated here. Our soldiers are suspicious of her."
Upon hearing the general's words, Agustus glanced at Justin. Agustus looked back and said, "What do you mean from outside? What's the significance of a girl coming here without your approval, especially when she's just an ordinary girl?"
Startled by Justin's question, the general stammered, "M... My lord, I believe the old woman who's protecting the girl might have brought her here. Otherwise, not even an ant can enter here."
Justin - "It's also possible that the girl has been here for a while, and you're noticing her today. After all, she's just ordinary."
General - "No, that girl can't escape anyone's notice. She's as strange as she is beautiful. Her way of walking, her way of looking, nothing is like that of ordinary girls."
Justin - "Have you seen her with your own eyes?"
General - "No, the soldiers informed me about all this."
Before Justin could say anything further, Agustus stood up from his seat, and while giving orders, he said, "If that girl has come here without our permission, punish her with death." Agustus said and then left.
Justin - "Did you hear what the king said? Now go."
With a bowed head, the general left the scene.
On the other side, Arya, who had lost consciousness, regained her senses in the evening.
She looked around and found herself in an old-looking room. She began to gently slap her cheeks and said, "Arya, wake up! You're still in a dream. Wake up, you need to go home. Wake up, this dream just isn't ending, going straight from 2022 to 1519. I must be having a vivid dream." Suddenly, a voice came, "Finally, you've regained consciousness."
Arya turned around and saw the same old woman who had made soup for her.
The old woman sat down beside Arya and said, "Why did you faint? Do you have some serious illness?"
Arya was surprised to hear the woman's words. Poor Arya always stumbled while reading and now she had fainted. And now she was being told that fainting made her seriously ill. Arya couldn't understand what was happening.
The old woman said, "Why are you silent? Say something."
Arya said, "No... there's no... there's no illness. I'm perfectly fine."
The old woman said, "Hmmm, but dear, you're very beautiful. I haven't seen anyone more beautiful than you in my entire 70 years of life. It's just that your clothes are a bit strange. What's your name?"
Arya said, "My name is Arya."
The old woman replied, "Oh, that's... well, your name is as unusual as your clothes."
Arya muttered to herself after hearing the old woman's words, "What kind of place is this? And what's wrong with my name? It's such a cute name, Arya. Grandmaa doesn't know anything."
Arya said, "Grandmaa, am I really in the year 1519 now?"
With a joyful expression, the old woman asked, "What did you say to me?"
Arya repeated, "Am I really in the year 1519 now?"
The old woman said, "Oh no, that's not it. First, what did you say to me?"
Arya lowered her head and said, "Sorry, I called you grandmaa. You're about the same age as my grandma, so that's why."
The old woman placed her hand on Arya's head and said, "I don't mind. In fact, I liked it very much. I don't have a granddaughter, but having a sweet granddaughter like you is a good thing. Call me grandmaa. You know, ever since you came here, so many women have asked me about you. Some even inquired about you for their sons' weddings."
Arya's eyes widened in astonishment. "W... w... weddings? Mine? No, no, I won't... I won't do it."
Grandmaa laughed and said, "Well, I won't either. I just met you today. I'm just telling you how much has changed since you fainted."
Suddenly, there was a loud noise from outside. Grandmaa got anxious, stood up from beside Arya, and said, "Don't leave this place no matter what happens."
Arya nodded and grandmaa went outside.
The noise from outside kept getting louder. Arya's forehead was covered in cold sweat. Suddenly, she heard a loud scream from the old woman outside.
Arya stood up from her place.
Arya said sternly, "Arya, what are you doing? You can't go outside, but all this is happening because of you. You'll have to go."
Arya was still talking when a strong slap sound came from outside.
Without thinking too much, Arya ran towards the door. Arya reached outside and saw that the old woman was lying on the ground, and some soldiers were making a commotion.
Then a soldier said, "Listen, old woman, if you want to save your life, give us the girl. This is the king's order. And everyone here knows the consequence of not obeying the king's order. If you value your life, don't get in the way. If you care for the girl's life, don't interfere."
Grandmaa - "She's my granddaughter, and I won't let anyone take her anywhere, absolutely not."
Angrily, one of the soldiers shouted, "You old woman...!" While saying this, he lifted his leg to kick the old woman in anger. Just then, Arya stepped in front of the old woman and shielded her.
Seeing Arya, the soldier halted and after carefully observing Arya from head to toe, he grabbed Arya's hand and started pulling her away.
Arya cried out, "Let go of me... Let go... Where are you taking me? Let me go." All the people standing there watched Arya being taken away but didn't say a word.
They took Arya towards a deserted forest.
A soldier from behind came forward and said, "How far should I take her to finish her off?"
Hearing the soldier, a disdainful smile appeared on Arya's face, "Oh, oh! So you want to kill me, right? Well, then go ahead and do it. But this will lead to destruction."
The soldiers behind were baffled by the soldier's words. They couldn't understand what the soldier was trying to say.
Arya exclaimed, "What do you mean? Let go of me! Let me go now!"
The soldier firmly held Arya's hand and started pulling her away.
Arya pleaded, "Don't you think she's the most beautiful girl you've ever seen? I haven't seen anyone so beautiful. If we kill her without even tasting her, it would be such a waste."
The other soldiers couldn't understand what the soldier was trying to convey.
Arya became even more frightened after hearing the soldier's words.
Arya shouted, "Let go of me! Let me go, otherwise, I'll attack all of you. Let me go!"
The soldier pushed Arya towards a nearby tree and advanced towards her with hungry eyes.
Arya clenched her eyes shut in fear. Just as she felt the soldier's hand on her shoulder, she screamed loudly and her scream echoed throughout the forest.