Alaric was the type of person who held grudges.
If I didn’t make him happy, he would make sure I didn’t feel joy either.
The flowerbed I had painstakingly cultivated was torn down, replaced with the peonies Vivienne adored.
The pavilion Alaric had built for me on the high hill was enclosed, and only Vivienne was allowed to visit.
All the places I once loved were now gone.
This palace had become my prison.
But it didn’t matter. I was dying anyway, and death would bring me release.
One day, a servant came to my quarters with orders to dismantle the swing Alaric had made for me.
After a moment of thought, I poured a bucket of oil onto it and set it on fire.
“No need to bother. Just burn it all,” I said, sitting on the doorstep and watching the scene unfold.
A group of servants scrambled to pour water on the flames, but by the time the fire was out, all that remained of the swing were the scorched, red iron rods.
That servant sighed heavily, unsure how to report back.
As he left, he bent his waist and sighed, “Your Majesty, please don’t be angry with me. His Majesty has been causing a great deal of trouble, but it’s only because he cares for you. That’s why he’s acting out.”
I grinned, unconvinced. Alaric cared for me?
Well, this would make it all the more painful for him in the end.
I stood up, brushing off the dust. “His things, his rules. I don’t care. Let him take whatever he wants.”
As I turned to leave, Alaric’s mocking voice came from behind.
“Such spine, my lady. Then you won’t mind if Vivienne chooses one more… souvenir.”
My heart skipped a beat.
Vivienne’s expression soured–she didn’t like being used as a pawn in a petty quarrel.
But still, she turned toward me, coyly agreeing.
Her finger swirled in the air before finally pointing to the sickly kitten Elara was holding.
I nearly screamed, “No! It’s mine!”
Alaric’s gaze was cold, his voice devoid of warmth.
“Did you forget? Everything in this palace belongs to me. Only what I give you is truly yours.”
He knew how much I cherished the kitten.
Vivienne knew it too, and that was precisely why she was taking it from me.
She wanted to rob me of everything that brought me even the smallest bit of joy. Because I was merely her substitute.
A substitute who had no right to laugh, no right to be happy.
She was out for revenge, and she wouldn’t stop until I was completely broken.
The kitten was locked in a cage, its tiny claws scraping helplessly against the bars as it cried out in fear..
‘The sound broke my heart.
I dropped to my knees, tears streaming down my face as I begged, “I was wrong. Please… don’t take it away. I can’t live without it.”
f collapsed to the floor, sobbing like a child.
Alaric stood there, stunned. He couldn’t understand why I was so upset over a mere kitten.
Crepier 7
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But I saw it in his eyes–he was about to give in.
He wasn’t going to take my kitten from me after all.
I wiped away my tears, forcing a bitter smile. “Please, don’t take it. I beg you.”
Vivienne, however, was unbothered. She crouched in front of the cage, smiling sweetly.
“Alaric, do you remember? When you lost my cat as a child, it looked just like this one. Perhaps it’s come back to me to repay me.”
Her voice was soft, but there was a cruel glint in her eyes as she shot me a look of triumph.
Her mocking tone shattered my last hope.
I watched as Alaric’s expression went cold.
In the end, he took my kitten away.
Even after I had begged, I had nothing left.
Chapter 8
The kitten stayed in Alaric’s chambers. The steward brought reports–it thrived, playing with silver bells and velvet mice.
I visited it secretly and saw that it was true.
I decided to give up trying to take it back.
After all, if I died, where would it go?
Come spring, the lords clamored for a queen..
Vivienne was determined to take the title.
Before it came true, she came to gloat.
“All those years as mistress, never wife. How it must sting! But Alaric promised you may serve at our wedding night—”
I was too tired to argue with her.
For some time, I had been suffering from recurring fevers, leaving me weak and exhausted.
Alaric visited me twice, but each time I was asleep.
He must have noticed something was wrong.
The royal physician said it was due to stress, so in an act of mercy, Alaric allowed the kitten to be brought to me.
When the kitten arrived, I felt alive again, full of energy.
I fed it, scratched its ears, and we napped together.
It snuggled in my arms, and for that moment, I felt complete.
The kitten clung to me, not wanting to leave.
I held onto it tightly and even bit Alaric’s arm when he tried to take it away.
He cursed me, “You little rogue.”
And stormed off, leaving the kitten with me.
Vivienne found out and was furious with Alaric.
For the first time, he punished her.
Perhaps even the most cherished of women would grow tiresome with time.
Then one morning, Elara woke me with the news.
“Your Majesty, there’s fantastic news! Vivienne’s father has been arrested–charged with embezzling funds and kidnapping young women! He’s in prison now She’ll never become the queen.”
I sleepily muttered, “Who arrested him?”
“Who else? Of course, it was the one who loves you most and is the most loyal to the crown–your father!”
A small smile curled on my lips, as I pulled the blanket around me.
In my childhood, my father always said that no matter how far someone was, if they wronged me, he would get revenge.
If it weren’t for Alaric being the king, I’m sure my father would have already taken care of him himself.
And if not for his royal status, I might have done it myself.
Ah.
Today, I felt unusually lighthearted. I sipped from my bowl of goat’s milk.
Suddenly, a terrible cry echoed from the courtyard.
It sounded like… a cat?
Elara rushed outside, and when I followed, she shielded my eyes, her face pale. Chapter
“Your Majesty… don’t look.”
But it was too late.
I saw it–my kitten.
It crawled toward me, dragging its broken hind leg, but it couldn’t move further.
It collapsed, spasming, foam bubbling from its mouth.
Within moments, it lay still, lifeless.
I held it close, gently shaking it, but it didn’t respond.
I hadn’t even named it, afraid to get too attached.
But now, I realized I couldn’t let go.
I looked down at it, its little body as cold as ice.
Why didn’t you listen? Why didn’t you stay with me?
My tears burned as they fell, mingling with my pain.
Vivienne… It was her.
It had to be.
She would die for this.
I grabbed the horsewhip and rushed to Vivienne’s quarters, hearing her laughter from far away.
“What’s the big deal with my father being caught? He took a little more money, added a couple of concubines—what man hasn’t? That old fool is just trying to get back at me? Well, I won’t let his daughter be happy. I kill her cat today, and will kill her maid tomorrow. She won’t keep anything she cherishes.”
Vivienne seemed to have lost her mind.
And why not? What was once within her grasp had vanished like morning mist–a dream dissolving at dawn. When I first laid eyes on her, I, too, had nearly shattered.
But her madness was hers alone. It didn’t change the fact that I was going to beat her to death.
I don’t know where the strength came from, but I swung the riding crop again and again, each lash biting into her flesh. All I could see was my kitten’s mangled hind legs—so I aimed for Vivienne’s, striking with every ounce of fury I had.
Years of swallowed rage erupted in that moment, violent and unstoppable. The whip fell again and again until Vivienne’s once–perfect skin was a ruin of crimson streaks, her cries fading to whimpers.
“Enough!”
Alaric ripped the lash from my hands–only then did I notice I’d torn through his royal surcoat, leaving two ragged gashes in the embroidered lions. “Have you lost your mind? Over a damned animal? Would you kill her for this?”
“YES!” My scream tore through the hall like shattered glass. “It’s all her fault! And yours! You broke me-
I pressed a hand to my stinging lips. “That kitten wasn’t the beast here. You are. Both of you!”
Alaric’s face drained of color when he saw the blood.
“Sera,” his voice cracked like thin ice, “what’s-”
I looked down.
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Scarlet stained the front of my gown in grotesque blossoms, dripping onto the flagstones. I clamped a hand over my mouth, but the coppery warmth seeped through my fingers.
No.
I won’t be pitied. Not by him. Never by him.
I turned to flee–only to crumple when my legs betrayed me. The cold stone rushed up to meet me.
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And then came the pain.
A tidal wave of it, crushing my ribs, drowning my vision.
Father… Brother…
Through the red haze, I thought I heard Alaric shout for physicians. But all I could whisper was:
“It hurts…”
Chapter 9
Alaric finally realized that my illness was beyond cure.
He remained silent, and the air was heavy with suffocating stillness.
“A terminal illness? No cure? Who dares-”
He suddenly erupted, like a vengeful demon, drawing his sword and charging at the physicians.
“You bunch of charlatans! Charlatans! Who do you say will die, huh?! Who?! My Sera will live for a hundred years! She cannot be dying so soon! I’ll cut out your tongues! I’ll have you all executed!”
He caused a scene at my bedside, his screams deafening.
“Alaric.”
I opened my eyes and grabbed his cloak, his sword clattering to the floor.
He responded with urgency, “I’m here, Sera, I’m here. Is something wrong? Are you in pain?”
He reached out to me, his face filled with concern and sorrow.
“Don’t touch me.” I spoke softly, with no emotion. “After all, you love Vivienne, the one you promised to love. Your kindness is meant for her, not for me.”
Alaric’s pupils trembled violently. He clutched his head and let out a heartbreaking, anguished cry, one after another, filled with remorse and regret.
It seemed like he was reminiscing on all the ways he had wronged me.
Tears as big as raindrops dripped down his face.
And then, he ran.
The coward, he couldn’t even bear to look at me.
Alaric disappeared for three days.
When he returned, his eyes were swollen, and his face unshaven. He kneeled by my bed.
He begged for my forgiveness, swearing that he loved me, truly loved me.
I almost vomited.
“It’s my fault, Sera. I thought we still had time.”
Time for what? More cruelty?
I couldn’t be bothered to argue with him, so I just quietly listened.
“How could I wait until I’m about to lose you to admit that I can’t live without you? I held onto my guilt for other women, and relied on you always accommodating me, hurting you over and over. It’s all my fault. Let me make it up to you. Please, Sera, let me right my wrongs.”
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I turned my back on him and fell asleep.
When I woke up, he was still kneeling.
This dragged on for a few more days, and people came to advise him: “Your Majesty, spare yourself–the realm needs you.” Love? Ha.
He was only moved by his own feelings.
I thought about it and realized I had to make him suffer more. It was too easy to just let him kneel like this.
I wanted to make him laugh and cry, feel pain and exhaustion, give him hope and then snatch it away.
When I die, he will not be allowed to die peacefully.
Isaid to Alaric, “Get up.”
ffis eyes lit up.
“I want to swing on the swing.”
Clepter 9
His expression faltered for a moment, like he was apologizing.
Then, he immediately set to work repairing the swing frame I had burned years ago.
On the third day, a swing covered in wisteria flowers stood in my courtyard.
I sat on it, swaying gently, basking in the sun, feeling strangely at peace.
Alaric chattered on beside me, reminiscing about the past.
He talked about the days when I had first entered the palace, how shy I had been.
Once, after an afternoon nap, I had stumbled out, my hair unkempt, sitting on the swing, letting it sway.
Suddenly, Alaric had appeared, and in my rush to get away, I’d forgotten to put on my shoes and ended up covered in mud as I ran to the palace.
Later, he had personally washed the dirt from my feet.
He said he had never seen a girl so full of life.
I smiled faintly.
“Even the most lively person will be worn down by love. Don’t you think?”
Alaric fell silent.
I stood up and waved my hand at him, speaking flatly, “Take it down. It’s annoying to look at.”
