Splash
The drops of red liquid flowed down the face of the man standing on the platform. The man's sparkly silver hair had a tint of red on it now.
His violet gem-like eyes closed themselves tightly. He gritted his teeth, and the veins in his jawline became slightly visible.
He was enraged by the fact that a glass of wine was poured on him. His fangs were bearing themselves at the person who was holding the empty glass in her hand.
After all, who would dare to pour wine on the head of a Crown Prince? At his own birthday banquet at that.
The scene unfolding in front of the whole crowd made everyone present there shut their mouths. The heavy silence graced on the suffocating venue.
The Crown Prince and his fiancée. Oops. Ex-fiancé, I suppose. After all, the Crown Prince had broken off his engagement with her. In front of all the guests, no less.
"You will annul the engagement with me?"
The woman's voice resonated in the silent hall. Some people were shocked, while others were in utter disbelief.
"Jokes on you, Lenon."
Lenon Dragonaria. The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Dragonaria. A sword master in his twenties. And the future emperor of Dragonaria.
The woman smirked as she moved the glass of wine aside along her hand and let it fall to the ground by letting it go off.
Tinkle
"I am annulling this damned engagement myself."
Cracckkkk
"APPREHEND THE TRAITOR!"
This voice broke the widespread silence. Everyone was murmuring and talking amongst themselves.
Tap tap tap
The soldiers, armed with spears, had surrounded the woman within a minute. And the person who ordered them to, looked down at her from his private room.
"Do you think you will be safe after displaying such rudeness to a member of the royal family? Lady Rosenstein!"
The one ordering the soldiers was no one else but the current emperor of Dragonaria. The emperor's son getting humiliated at his own birthday banquet was like a slap in the face for this old man.
And by Lady Rosenstein, he referred to the woman who was the prince's fiance. Aliana Rosenstein. Only daughter of the Rosenstein family, a family with a long history and owning the title of Grand Duke.
Her pink eyes that can captivate almost anyone. Her violet hair, which glistened to look like a thin layer made up of amethyst, only helped her to come out as more elegant, beautiful, and mesmerizing.
There was nothing she was lacking. Beauty, wealth, fame, and talent. She had it all.
In fact, her talent was far superior to that of any empress recorded in the Dragonaria kingdom's history of three hundred years.
"One shouldn't get full of himself, 'Emperor'."
Aliana said while touching the tip of one spear pointed towards her neck. Pushing it aside, a smile sparked on her serious face.
Her gaze shifted towards the crowd. Wearing some peculiar clothes, a man stood amidst that crowd.
"Isn't it about the time you uphold your part of the contract? Jaden."
Aliana said this while pulling out a ring from nowhere. The crowd was bewildered now. The gem on ring shined blue.
"That is-! It can't be!"
As some people were talking, the man began walking towards Aliana.
"She must've used some trick."
With a snap of his fingers, a sword appeared in the man's hand.
"Y-yeah. There's no way that someone like her coul-"
As the man uttered these words, his world turned upside down.
Slash
"Indeed, my dearest."
The man wearing weird outfit, Jaden, said this while cutting off the head of the man who tried to say insulting things about Aliana. Everyone was struck with fear. His movements and speed were far greater than those of Lenon.
Wielding a sword in his hand, the man stood amidst the crowd. He was different than others present there. Everything about him stood out.
His clothes were a robe-like shirt. His black hair had a tint of blue at the ends. And his dark blue eyes.
Drip
The blue blade of the sword was covered in red. The symphony between red liquid and the rose petals raining from nowhere was too gorgeous.
Drip
The blood on the sword fell down on the ground. The red rose-like design on the hilt glistened lightly as ever.
"Look at their expressions. It looks like they are scared of you now."
Aliana said this while laughing and tilting her head.
"Isn't that the outcome you expected?"
Jaden scoffed it off, as it was nothing to worry about. At least for them, who had something far greater planned than what others could expect.
"Now then. It seems like everything's ready."
Jaden said while turning towards the crowd. Aliana looked towards him with a smile on her face.
"Anyway. This is indeed amazing."
Jaden put out his hand catching some petals of rose. The crowd were captivated by the beautiful wonder they were witnessing. Captivated and afraid at same time.
No one knew what exactly was going on in their minds. Just what they were trying to pull off here. No one had an idea about it.
"Let's get going, I suppose."
Jaden took Aliana's hand in his and started walking towards the exit.
"Hold right there, dear."
Aliana said while pulling Jaden's hand lightly. And her smile turned grim.
"O-oh. What might be the problem here? A-alia."
Jaden couldn't help but sweat at seeing Aliana's smile. It looked scary to him now.
Everyone was afraid of him. And here, Jaden was scared of Aliana a million times more.
"You aren't possibly thinking of going out without doing your job properly? Right?"
Aliana pulled Jaden closer and whispered in his ear.
"N-not at all. I will do it properly, of course."
Jaden walked towards the platform again. All the guests were beyond astonished to open their mouths.
No one, but only Jaden, knew what was going through his mind. The situation was too overwhelming for him.
'Maybe...'
He couldn't help but think of this. The regrets of accepting to Aliana's proposal came in flooding.
'Maybe I should've run away. Why am I getting dragged into something like this-?!!!!'
He was keeping up his act all this time. No one could possibly be able to expect it. The farce that he had put on till then.
He stopped for a while and looked towards Aliana. Jaden had to wave back at her with a smile, mirroring her actions.
'I will die. I will die. I will die. I will die if I don't do this now.'
Jaden was going through a tragedy far greater than any he had in his 20 years of life. He stood on the platform now.
'How did it even come to this-?!'
Jaden wasn't the only person asking this question. Another woman was biting on her nails as she watched Lenon strike with fear, just like others present there.
Thinking of it, how did everything come to this? Just what was going on? And who was Jaden in the first place?
Anyone and everyone would like to know the answers to these questions. To know the answers, we need to go back to where it all began. The starting point of this act.
---------------
-24 hours ago-
"Hnggg."
Stretching his hands in the air, the man sighed. He jumped up from the chair on which he had been sitting a while ago.
"Finally done. With this. It's complete."
He rejoiced. His voice resonated throughout the apartment, where he was alone and staying by himself.
He sat back on the chair and looked at his computer monitor. The words displayed on it.
-Chapter 266: Condemnation: The End
-Views: 20
-Comments: 1
As he watched the screen. Suddenly.
-Comments: 2
-Comments: 3
"Huh?"
-Comments: 4
"What? Is someone spamming again?"
He clicked on the comments option and read the comments.
-Why did Aliana have to die??? Nooooooooooo. Author-nim, I'm going to kill you if I ever meet you.
"Wow, harsh words..."
The man clicked on the next button now.
-F*** you, son of *****. Kill the protag instead of her. I will str*ngle you to dea*h.
The awkward smile made his eyebrows twitch. That wasn't the first tims he was reading such an outrageous comment.
But what could one even expect from that platform? The audience was a bit crazy.
"The next one will be a positive comment, for sure."
-Meet me someday; I will let you have fun of dying. B**cha*s author.
Click
He switched off his computer. And stood up after a while.
"Let's just go to sleep and forget that I ever read that all."
And he jumped onto his bed. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and switched it on.
Tink
Tink
-2 new emails.
He read with disinterest in his eyes. But that look in his eyes changed within a moment.
"Hah-?!"
He exclaimed while sitting up straight on the bed.
"How did they find my business mail too?"
-Author-nim. Can't you possibly save Aliana? Like with some special ability?
He stared at that mail for a while.
'Maybe killing off the villainess at the end was too much? Maybe I should've just have her exiled from the kingdom or something?'
Tsk
He clicked his tongue and rubbed his hair.
"It can't be helped."
-I will try.
He replied.
-Oh. You replied! I hope I get to see Aliana again. Goodluck.
He got the response faster than he expected.
"I should sleep now, I think."
He switched off the lights and left the phone on the table beside his bed.
'... 'Good luck', my a-s...'
He cussed in his mind while falling asleep. The strange comfort embraced his physique.
'It's not like... anything will change.'
Little did he know that it was the turning point of his life.
Brrrrr
The phone made a sound. And the screen turned on. One could now read something on it.
[Goodluck.]