Chapter 3

After that night, King Edward was totally hooked on me.

He came to my palace every single day, and we spent the whole time tangled up in bed.

He even forgot about those days when he was supposed to spend the night with the Queen.

I hired a bunch of fortune-tellers to spread rumors all over the place.

They claimed they'd read the stars and said that an unremarkable but blessed-with-fertility woman had appeared by the King's side, and she'd soon give birth to the true heir.

Whenever I went to greet the Queen, her glare got nastier by the day. I could tell my moment was coming.

So when Princess Amelia—finally sprung from her house arrest—asked me to ride with her at the royal hunt, I just flashed a smile and said yes.

The second she heard me agree, she shot me a scornful look that it was like she'd already marked me for death.

Even as she led me deeper into the woods, where no one else dared to go, I was still wondering what kind of nasty trick she had up her sleeve for me.

Then I saw about eight armed guards suddenly emerge before me.

And leading them, dressed all in black, was none other than Charles, Princess Amelia's beloved.

I was utterly bored by the whole thing.

So this was the trap the Princess herself set for me?

Kind of disappointing, honestly.

Amelia gave me a contemptuous look. "Scared yet?"

Scared?

I didn't even know the feeling of fear.

I racked my brain, trying to remember, until it hit me. Back when I was ten, some street punk was drooling over Rose and brought a whole gang to try and snatch her away.

I stood my ground in the alley, blocking their path.

I jabbed the blade right into their eyes, gouging them out without a second thought.

Then I severed their tendons, leaving them writhing on the ground.

And just because I felt like it, I yanked out their tongues.

Blood was everywhere, and I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Back then, I thought someone muttered something about being scared.

It'd always been everyone else who was terrified of me.

I'd never tasted fear, not even once.

Obviously, that was something Princess Amelia just couldn't wrap her head around.

She turned to Charles and ordered, "Ruin her."

"As if Father would ever let a woman who's been thoroughly ruined bear his heir."

With that, she spun her horse around and rode off, not even sparing me a second glance.

At Charles' signal, the guards closed in on me, leering like a pack of wolves.

Charles didn't hesitate. He drew his sword and slashed through my horse's legs without mercy.

The poor horse crumpled to its knees, collapsing on the spot.

I collapsed to the ground, shaking all over.

I hadn't felt this thrilled in ages.

Rose always told me to hold back and not to go around killing people just because I wanted to.

But now, she was gone.

No one could hold me back anymore.

I pulled out the knife I'd kept hidden all this time and drove it hard into the bodies of the men closing in on me.

I stabbed again and again.

I didn't stop until they were as torn apart and ruined as Rose had been.

Only then was I finally satisfied.

When Princess Amelia showed up with her entourage, the forest was eerily quiet.

So I could hear her voice brimming with excitement.

She said, "I just saw Lady Gen rushing off this way all alone. What do you think a consort is doing out here by herself? Maybe she's throwing propriety to the wind and sneaking off for a secret rendezvous."

But her smile froze on her face in an instant.

The version of me from her little story—the one supposedly meeting a lover—was nowhere to be found. I was just standing calmly under the tree, perfectly composed.

All around me, the guards, including Charles, were scattered across the ground, battered and broken.

Amelia was so shocked that she tumbled right off her horse, her voice trembling.

"No!"

"Charles, what happened to you?"

"You bitch, what did you do to them?"

Seeing the grief in her eyes, I almost wanted to reach out and comfort her.

Part of me wanted to tell her Charles was still alive.

Death would be way too easy for trash like him.

Since I was little, I knew one thing.

The best way to break someone was to make them beg for death, but never let them have it.

So, I just poked out Charles' eyes.

Then I chopped off his hands.

And I ripped out his tongue.

That so-called brilliant lord was now nothing but a useless husk.

Compared to Rose, he was actually the lucky one.

It didn't take long for Princess Amelia to realize something was terribly wrong with Charles.

His eyes had been gouged out, and his hands were hacked off.

Even his tongue was ripped out.

Seeing her beloved like that, she completely lost it.

She snatched up a sword from one of the fallen guards and lunged at me, slashing wildly.

"You bitch, I'll kill you!"

"Stop!"

King Edward burst onto the scene, grabbing Amelia and stopping her blade mid-swing.

He snapped, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Amelia broke down, sobbing her heart out, completely shattered.

She wailed, "Father, don't stop me! That bitch killed Charles!"

I shrank behind Edward, putting on my most scared act, crying my eyes out.

"Your Majesty, I didn't do anything!"

"I'm just a weak girl. How could I ever stand up to a grown man like him? And I had no clue the guy in black who tried to mess with me was actually Lord Linwood."

"He already has Princess Amelia. Why would he even try anything with me?"

Amelia was furious.

She snapped, "Shut up! Don't you dare trash Charles like that. There's no way he'd ever go for a pathetic bitch like you!"

Edward's expression darkened instantly.

He barked, "Enough! You're a princess. Quit acting like some crazed fishwife. Hear Genevieve out."

Just like I thought. It didn't matter if a guy was a street vendor or the king himself; nothing got under their skin more than being betrayed.

See, Rose?'

Sometimes, a harmless lie would be no big deal.

As long as it could keep us alive and kicking.