Amidst the chaos, Princess Raven tried to escape leaving the man that supported her to frame Oliver. She knew about Oliver's strength and knew no sane person would fight with the spawn of that devil lady.
She still remembered the scenery that was etched into her mind when she was a kid about the woman that came into the throne room all bloody with the head of a noble that tried to make a deal with the enemy kingdoms.
It was a scene straight out of a fairy tale, but she couldn't help but see her as a devil with her bloody face, at the same time Raven admired that woman and wanted to be like her.
Someone who could shake the foundation of the empire with a single lift of her finger despite not being the empress. Someone that everyone looked up to despite being dirty with blood. Someone that no enemy could escape from.
And this remained true even now, as she felt someone tightly grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back.
"Oliver, get away from me, you devil spawn," She shouted and turned her head only to see those blazing red eyes and the red hue that kept embracing Oliver. Seeing his arm coming close to her face, life started to flash before Raven's eyes, as she remembered about everything this man did to her.
She remembered every time she felt an inferiority complex, just from being close to Oliver and how she wanted to enjoy that hot body of Oliver, but he looked at her with disgust when she tried to touch her.
"Don't call her that! Don't call her devil, She's the one who protected all of you, she's not a devil, she's a giant, she's a huge giant," Oliver shouted and the hand was only a few inches away from touching her face, but suddenly something like a golden whip held Oliver's hand without letting it move even a single finger and tightly held him in the place.
The crowd gasped looking at the spectacle unfolding before them. The golden whip that held Oliver in place emanated a powerful aura, and they could feel the intensity of the emotions in the air.
"The Whip of the Scholar!" Many young girls shouted as they knew who this technique belonged to.
Raven, shocked by this sudden intervention, glanced around to see who had come to her rescue. Her eyes fell upon a figure she didn't expect – a tall woman with short white hair and eyes that seemed to hold the wisdom that surpassed everyone in the room.
"Oliver! Don't go any further," The third party said in a calming voice that didn't have any aggression instead it only contained sadness and love toward the black-haired boy, who was being framed and insulted for a crime that he didn't commit.
"Even I won't be able to help you if you touch a princess, please listen to me, Lady Bloodborne wanted the best for you, so don't do this,"
"Lilith! Don't interfere with our business, go back to your books and don't come here," Raven shouted in anger, but the short-haired girl ignored her with simple words and went to see Oliver, who was still not calming down no matter what she said.
"Sister, can you please shut up? Do you want to die? My whip can't hold him anymore, let me talk to him," The short-haired girl, who had the same white hair as the Raven said while slowly grabbing Oliver's hand.
The guards of the palace already surrounded the whole place and waited for Princess Lilith's orders since she told them to stand by until she gave them a signal to attack or grab Oliver.
"Oliver, let her go, Don't do this, Lady Bloodborne wants your protection more than anything else, If you touch a royal princess now, our empress will have to punish you rather harshly," She said those words while her whip, which wasn't used for battle suddenly lost its golden colour and fell on the floor like a normal whip made out of leather.
Oliver listened to her words and looked at the woman who was holding his hand and realised she was right. For a moment, he gave into his emotions and made a mess of this situation but right now he knew he could not turn back what happened.
"Princess, I'm sorry-" He said those words while slowly releasing the neck of Raven and he knew all these were plans of that woman to make him go aggressive in the hall, so she could prove that every word Raven said had some value to it, instead of just accusations.
The crowd started to look at him with fear, even the people who had resonances that were powerful enough to fight with him had the same reaction because everyone knew, the resonance of the Iron Wall of Behemothia Empire was not something they could deal with.
Nobody had any idea about how Oliver had the same power, but they heard rumours that Lady Bloodborne was personally training him while hiding his power. Seeing Oliver's power in public for the first time, a lot of people understood why she was trying to keep his power a secret.
*Cough *Cough
Oliver wanted to tell Lilith that this wasn't what he meant to do, but then he suddenly felt his whole body heating up and started to cough out blood showing how dangerous what he was doing. Lilith immediately grasped the situation, she knew employing resonance without a weapon was akin to a desperate act of self-destruction.
"Ask Physicians to treat him quickly, no matter what he should live, there's no space for mistakes," Lilith shouted scared by Oliver's possible death.
Though she held a personal attachment to him, it wasn't that reason she freaked out upon seeing Oliver breathing heavily.
"He shouldn't die, not a death like this," Lilith muttered while the palace guards lifted him upon their princess's orders and a few other guards went to help Raven and Araon, who was lying on the floor almost beaten half to death.
Upon seeing this Lilith knew, Oliver wouldn't have it easy anymore after this. She knew all the other noble families would be pressured to consume whatever the power Bloodborne family and Lady Bloodborne left taking this chance.
Before she left the scene, Princess Lilith's eyes narrowed as she stared at the woman standing on the balcony with a natural gaze, seemingly unaffected by the chaos below. The woman was none other than Lady Isabella, Oliver's first older sister and a member of their powerful Bloodborne family.
Princess Lilith couldn't fathom why Lady Isabella would want to harm her own brother in such a ruthless manner, seemingly underplaying the power their family held. It was clear to Lilith that Isabella had her own motives, and her actions were driven by a desire for control and dominance over the family's resources and influence.
But she knew this wasn't just about Bloodborne family. Lilith felt that she was planning something sinister under that calming smile and she knew about Isabella more than anyone because of how much she tried to harass Lilith and give the throne to her second sister.
'First, you stole him from me and made him my sister's fiance, and now you're trying to get him killed, what are you trying to pull here?'
Lilith clenched her fists, her heart torn between the love she held for Oliver and the duty she had to protect her kingdom from internal strife. As the rightful heir to the throne, she knew she couldn't let her personal feelings sway her judgment. She had to act decisively to prevent further bloodshed and maintain stability in the realm.
With a heavy heart, Princess Lilith turned away from the balcony, leaving Lady Isabella to her own devices. She knew she had to gather evidence and support before confronting the treacherous woman.
"Tomorrow, I have to prove that all these claims were not true and prove Oliver's innocence, otherwise how can I even face Vivienne when she comes back," Lilith remembered about the second sister of Oliver, who was currently not in the empire because she had to deal with a group of bandit that kept plundering the villages near the borders of a viscount land.
It was extremely unlikely to send a person like her without sending a commander on a mission like that, but now Lilith understood why something like that happened.
Meanwhile in a distant corner of the majestic palace, Raven found herself overwhelmed with humiliation after enduring a distressing encounter in front of a vast assembly of nobles and imperial officials. Her face flushed with embarrassment, she vented her frustration by relentlessly punching the wall, seeking solace in the physical release of her pent-up emotions.
The weight of the unfortunate incident lingered heavily on her heart, and the solitude of the secluded corner provided her with a brief respite from the prying eyes and judgmental gazes of the onlookers.
"He is just a man! He is just a weak man, Why can't I deal with him without getting humiliated? I won't forgive that devil spawn," Raven was on the verge of exploding her heart because of how angry she was, but then she heard some footsteps approaching her.
She quickly turned her head while taking her sword, but as soon as she saw the person that was approaching her, she quickly calmed down.
"Your brother! That devil spawn, he should die, I can't leave him alone, he should die in the most painful way possible," Raven shouted at the red-haired woman, who approached him and quickly tried to threaten her, but Isabella calmly bowed her head and greeted the princess without showing any signs of worry or sadness.
"Princess, get ready, tomorrow will be the real challenge. I will help you, you don't have to worry about anything, just follow my instructions," As night fell, Isabella made sure the princess was comfortably settled in her quarters and asked the guards to let her take a good rest, and left her room while looking at the huge door with eye-catching designs.
As soon as she was out of everyone's eyesight, her respectful look suddenly turned into a deep frown.
The weight of the upcoming big day pressed heavily on her mind, and the facade she had put on for the others vanished into thin air. Wrinkling her brows with worry, she walked out of the room, carrying that same frown with her, but then she uttered something under her breath and vanished in the long and dark hallways without leaving a single sign of her presence.
"Oliver, I hope you enjoy the present I prepared for you, It is a lovely gift from your big sister,"