Daniella was safely escorted to her chambers by the empress's lady-in-waiting, Countess Lysander. After ten minutes, an herbal tea for her nerves came together with an armoured knight to her chambers. She did not care about the taste or smell of the drink as she chugged it down like a drunkard in a tavern and wiped her mouth with the back of her palm.
The maid was bewildered seeing her gracious princess acting like that. Noticing her maid's frozen body, Daniella glared at her.
"I-I was thirsty," She said quickly.
"Please calm down, princess. We won't let anything harm you," She rest assured. Daniella smiled. "Thank you, Zella,"
"I am Beth, princess"
"Oh! Thank you, Beth. I would like to be alone,"
"Yes, princess. I will be at the door," Ella stared at the leaving maid and the closing door. As soon as it clacked, she ran to the bathroom and puked all the breakfast she had. She felt revealed to some extent after that. Coughing, she washed her face several times.
Unbelievable!
Pathetic!
She thought she had moved on. But she was not. As she did not want anyone to see her this side, she changed her clothes by herself into a simple dress. She was sweating profusely in the middle of a storm.
The squads of knights and guards marched here and there in the imperial palace. Servants and maids were running, losing their minds and ways. She had her mother's dagger under her pillow. After glancing at it, she walked to the window and glanced down.
"Zella," She called the maid. "Is there any news about Ezra? He cannot be dead all of a sudden. right?" Her eyes were on the busy yard when she talked.
"I heard that he has lost the battle, and his location was a secret. That means he is still alive, princess,"
"Or trying to be alive?" Daniella suggested as her eyes peeled the knights in red, searching for someone she was familiar with. Apparently, Carmillions has recruited a lot of new knights this year. She thought.
"Princess knows how Prince Ezra won all the battles before,"
"But this has never happened," She swallowed. "Well, it happened once for me. Anyway..." She pondered. "The young Carmillion... hasn't he come to see his sister?"
"No, princess. He was assigned to protect the palace while the second son is in their mansion." The maid did not even question which Carmillion she was talking about. Ella did not notice herself because of the rambling in her heart.
"What will happen to Azalea?" She asked, shooting her eyes at the maid. But she had nothing to say. If the young Carmillion had a dragon, he would drive that creature to crush Azalea without a second thought.
And kill himself with the same dragon... much later.
"... Such an idiot," Daniella mumbled, turning back to the red colour knights. "People do not love others when they are capable of it other than anything," She said to the maid. Or to herself. "When they are not around, people would be devasted. Isn't that funny, Zella?"
Maid raised her glance. "... I am Beth, princess,"
Daniella did not listen to her. In her head, screws spun, and some fell off. "Alright, Zella," She walked to the bed and put her hands under the pillow. "Take your clothes off,"
The maid who served Princess Daniella went for a fake refill of herbal tea, and the imperial knights glared at her thoroughly. She did not raise her head and stood there trembling like a rabbit. Tommy who was still standing in front of the conference room, interfered, and she fled even without thanking him.
He was disappointed.
Everything was disappointing him.
Not that anyone cared about his disappointment.
When the medicine for the prince arrived for the second time, he took the tray and entered that darkest place. He heard the prince's raspy voice. "Are you sure about this?"
"No, my prince," Leonard answered.
Oh! Dear!
Seeing Tommy, Daemon gestured him to make haste as he eagerly swallowed whatever the dark liquor Tommy brought. Is he fine? Tommy thought.
"Are you panicked?" Leonard asked, and Tommy made haste to get away from there. Daemon ignored him. He had to deal with another battle with his head. It was either a dream or an oracle that was giving him this one hell of a pain, all of a sudden.
When the sun peeked from the horizon, he could close his eyes, and he was sitting on a throne decorated with rubies, wearing a crown of rubies. Every imperial item was made of gold and adorned with yellow or gold colour jewels since they avoided red as much as possible.
Somehow, he was at the peak of his happiness. People shouted his name. The imperial family was beside him with a familiar woman, yet he could not recognize her properly. "Commence the execution," He ordered, raising her hand.
Then, his eyes went to the wooden stage in the middle of the sea of heads. Blood was dripping from the corners. Flies buzzed, and crows screamed, flapping and smelling their food. The executioner wiped his pet blade with a fist.
Even though his face was covered in black, Daemon felt his bloodlust. He was eager to see the red. The buzzing of the humble people got louder and louder. He could not understand the words, but they were shouting what he wanted to hear.
The executioner raised his sword as the sun rays glinted it and the blood on it. The summer preferred blood. He lowered it at once, chopping the golden-haired head beneath him.
"AAAHHH!"
But the pain belonged only to him all along. He coughed several times when the butler acted quickly to calm him down. He was breathing faster than ever. His sweaty fingers ran to his neck as if he was checking if it was still attached.
He panicked. Although, the reason was unclear.
He pushed his hair back, standing up and wearing his black gloves back. "...Bring my sword and armour."
Right under Daemon's feet, the person who was neither maid Zella nor maid Beth turned a key in a keyhole of a cellar, trembling like an old, diseased woman. She looked back and forth, panting.
"W-What?!"