“…Why are you crying? It hurts to see you cry.” Kayden smiled with a face that was grimacing from pain. He barely lifted his hand to wipe away Diana’s tears.
For the first time, Diana’s face, usually as emotionless as a porcelain doll, crumpled in despair.
Kayden wanted to tell her not to make that face, but he lost consciousness instead. His hand fell limply onto her lap. At the same moment, Diana forgot to breathe.
“Your Highness…”
“Quick, get the imperial doctor…”
The murmurs of the crowd grew louder. In the midst of this, Rebecca raised her voice coldly. She felt immense displeasure that Patrasche had succeeded in capturing Ludwig. “Everyone, calm down. The imperial doctor will arrive soon, and such injuries are common during mock battles…”
It was right then.
“…!”
Rebecca abruptly stopped talking, feeling a chilling, murderous intent tightening around her.
Diana, sitting in the pool of blood and cradling the equally bloody Kayden, glared at her with a fierce expression.
She held Kayden tighter as if to protect him from Rebecca. Any lingering feelings of attachment she had towards Rebecca were completely severed.
We’re not beings you can control as you please. You can’t just kill, spare, and harm us whenever you wish.
In fact, Diana had still harbored some lingering feelings for Rebecca until a moment ago. To be precise, she couldn’t fully believe that Rebecca had betrayed and killed her. Perhaps she wanted to deny it.
“Dian. Call me Dian.”
The time spent with Rebecca was undoubtedly the most brilliant period of her life. After regressing, the Rebecca she faced was the same ‘Rebecca’ she had loved so dearly. But…
“Dia…na…”
At that moment, when she saw Kayden, covered in blood, smiling through his pain to reassure her, she realized. She’s my enemy.
The ‘Rebecca’ Diana Sudsfield had loved no longer existed. What remained now was the raw, unfiltered ‘Rebecca Dune Bluebell.’ Diana could finally let go of all her lingering feelings and face the true Rebecca Dune Bluebell.
Good and evil do not divide like flipping a coin. Diana herself could not claim to be purely ‘good.’ But even amid all uncertainties, one thing was clear. She’s wrong.
Rebecca’s method of achieving her goals by ruthlessly taking away what others held dear was definitely wrong. And Diana did not want Rebecca to take anything else from her. Especially if it was Kayden.
What is this…? Meanwhile, Rebecca was taken aback by Diana, who had always been quiet and gentle, now glaring at her with fierce eyes. Diana’s gaze was not just that of someone angry over a loved one’s injury. It was something much deeper and more intense. Rebecca even felt a dreadful sensation as if her heart had dropped to her feet when their eyes met.
While Rebecca was too stunned to speak, Diana moved her lips. “Sir Bezet attacked me.” Her voice was not loud but clear.
People gasped in shock.
“Sir Bezet…?”
“The flag…?”
The people looked bewildered. After all, capturing someone by touching any part of their body, like Patrasche had done with Ludwig, was considered sufficient for seizing the flag. Why then had he attacked the flag itself? And to think that the culprit was the vice-captain of the first order, who was known to be Rebecca’s close aide.
But Diana spoke with unwavering conviction. “I don’t know the reason, but I saw it clearly. When the explosion occurred, Sir Bezet used an opera diamond to leap over Sir Antar’s wall and attacked me beyond it. His Highness Kayden saw this and…” Diana trailed off, biting her lip. Her voice trembled with anger towards the end.
To the people, it sounded like she was shaking with suppressed tears. They began to look at Rebecca and Bezet with curious expressions.
“Is this true?”
A voice cut through the tense atmosphere.
The people quickly bowed as the emperor, having come down from the audience, approached.
“Make way.”
As the crowd moved aside, the imperial doctor and the first prince with his wife hurried over.
“Third Princess Consort.” The imperial doctor knelt beside Kayden, gently calling Diana.
Diana bit her lip and carefully laid Kayden flat. Fleur, her eyes brimming with tears, hugged Diana from behind.
While the imperial doctor treated Kayden’s back, the emperor, having approached the trembling vice-captain, looked down at him with cold eyes and spoke. “Answer me.”
“N-No, I…”
“Did you dare to harm an imperial family member, who is not even a knight?” The emperor might have been indifferent and indulgent in recent years, but in his youth, he had been a formidable ruler who instilled fear across the continent.
Unable to withstand the pressure, the vice-captain trembled and bit his tongue. He had never expected Diana to notice the attack, leaving him in a state of panic.
First princess… Seeking help, he looked at Rebecca, who discreetly signaled him. Seeing this, the vice-captain regained some color in his face. The signal meant Rebecca would somehow get him out of this.
There is no clear evidence except for the third princess consort’s words. Feeling more composed, he straightened his back and stood tall.
“It was a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
“Yes. I intended to attack the one who raised the sand wall to bring it down, not to harm the Third Princess Consort. It was an accident caused by losing balance in midair.” He concluded his statement confidently.
The people instinctively glanced at Diana. But she, without looking at him, stubbornly kept her gaze fixed on Kayden. Her pale, almost fainting face stood out starkly. Those who saw her pitiful state had mixed expressions.
There’s no clear evidence, but…
Rebecca’s close aide, the vice-captain. And Diana, the wife of Kayden, who was practically Rebecca’s enemy. Could all this really be a coincidence? Could it be that Rebecca targeted Diana to provoke Kayden? As much as she wanted the throne, would she go as far as to harm a powerless civilian…? Surely, the third princess consort must have felt something to be so certain. Such suspicions silently spread among the people.
The emperor, watching Diana’s profile, waved his hand dismissively. “Even if it was a mistake, it nearly harmed an imperial family member. You must be punished. Take him away.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Knights led the vice-captain away. Confident that Rebecca would find a way to free him, he walked with his head held high.
Clicking his tongue, the emperor declared the end of the defense battle. “Though there was an incident at the end, we must conclude. The fourth order is the winner of this defense battle. That is all.” The emperor left indifferently, heading back to the main palace.
The moment the long-standing champion position was overturned.
“…!”
It was no surprise that a muffled gasp erupted among the people.
Hi, now you can purchase 5 advance chapters in here.
Thank you for the update ❤️
Is there anyone who wants to purchase the advanced chapters for me😭
Thank u so much