Chapter 5

The truth was like a venom-tipped blade, plunging deep into my heart. It twisted my insides, leaving me shaken to the core.

It turned out what stood between us was never simple deception or payback.

It was hatred born from war and family tragedy. It was a chasm, stained with his mother's blood, forever separating us.

Now I finally understood the tangled emotions in his eyes when he looked at me.

There was hatred, resentment, and a stubborn defiance.

And beneath it all, a hint of inner turmoil. It was so deeply suppressed that even he refused to acknowledge it.

Alex hated me because I was the daughter of his sworn enemy.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't erase the memory of me being the only one who gave him a bit of comfort when he was at his lowest.

Those two feelings—hate and gratitude—were tearing him apart, leaving him broken and lost.

And now, they'd dragged me right into this never-ending misery.

"Do you still think I brought you to Swisey to punish you for your deception?" Alex's voice carried a bitter edge of self-mockery.

I stared at him through the cell door, taking in his handsome but cold face.

My throat felt stuffed, like cotton blocking every word. I couldn't say a thing.

What was I supposed to say? Should I say I was sorry? What gave me the right to apologize on behalf of Father?

Should I say I didn't know? But that excuse felt so empty, so powerless, when the brutal truth was right there in front of me.

My silence made the tension in the cell grow even more suffocating.

Bit by bit, Alex's eyes turned icy. He said, "Violette, I gave you a chance.

"All you had to do was ask for mercy, say something nice. I could've pretended none of this ever happened. But you insisted on defying me."

He turned his back on me, not sparing me another glance. "You're like your father, hypocritical and cruel to the core."

His words felt like a jab straight to my heart.

Sure, I know Father is cold and ruthless. But I hated being lumped in with him.

"I... I'm not..." I managed to choke out.

My voice was still rough, but at least it was clearer than before.

Alex stopped in his tracks. He kept his back to me, refusing to look.

"You're not?" He laughed, cold and mocking. "Then tell me, what are you?

"So, are you someone who could talk all along, but chose to play mute for five years, a liar through and through?

"Or are you a princess who saved me, all while enjoying the luxury and privilege handed to you by my enemy?"

Every word hit me right where it hurt. I had no strength to argue back, because everything he said was the truth.

"Bring her out," Alex ordered the guards standing behind him.

The cell door swung open again. Two guards entered and dragged me out. I had no clue where he was taking me.

At the far end of the dungeon, there was a place darker and more terrifying than anything I'd ever seen.

That was where the most dangerous prisoners were locked away.

I was dragged into a torture chamber. The air reeked of blood, so strong it made my stomach turn.

The walls were covered with all kinds of twisted instruments, I couldn't even guess what they were for.

In the center of the room, someone was strapped to the torture rack, their body so mangled and bloody it was almost impossible to tell they were even human.

Their face and features were completely gone.

Alex was standing right in front of the rack, cold and unmoving. He gripped a glowing red-hot branding iron in his hand.

"Do you know who he is?" Alex asked, turning to look at me. His eyes were cold and predator.

I shook my head.

Alex continued, "He's the spy Rivergate sent, the one standing before you.

"He's also the one who gave Anna the idea to use deadly poison to kill you all those years ago."

My heart dropped like a stone. So it was one of Anna's people?

Alex sneered. "Your beloved Anna was terrified you'd expose Rivergate's secrets if you ever made it to Swisey.

"So she figured it was safer to have you killed on the road.

"That way, her spotless reputation would stay intact, and she'd wipe out any future threats for good."

Alex pressed the red-hot branding iron hard against the man's chest.

There was a sharp sizzle. The stench of burning flesh filled the air in an instant.

The man let out a blood-curdling scream, then went completely silent.

My stomach churned violently, and I doubled over, retching uncontrollably.

"Scared?" Alex tossed the branding iron aside and walked over to me.

With his blood-stained hand, he lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him. He said coldly, "This is the fate of traitors.

"Violette, I'm giving you one last chance. You're going to make a deal with me."

A deal? I looked at him, trembling, not sure what he meant by that.

"Give me Rivergate's troop deployment plans," Alex said, his voice cold and deliberate. "Hand them over, and when I take Rivergate's capital, I'll let your royal bloodline live."

My blood ran cold in an instant. Troop deployment plans. That was the top military secret of any nation.

Alex wanted me to turn my back on Rivergate. He wanted me to become a sellout, the kind of person who'd trade Rivergate for survival.

"No..." I refused without even thinking.

"No?" Alex snorted, as if I'd cracked the funniest joke in the world. "Do you really think you have the right to say no?

"How did Rivergate and Edwin Lennox ever treat you?

"They saw you as nothing but a sacrificial pawn, cast you aside, and handed you over to me without a second thought."

"Even Anna wanted you dead. So after everything, you're still holding on to that ridiculous loyalty for them?"

His words crashed into me like a sledgehammer, leaving my heart shattered.

Yeah... that was the truth.

That country I was supposed to protect, that so-called home, did they ever show me even a hint of warmth?'

Father's indifference, Anna's plotting, the palace staff's cruelty... I was treated worse than a dog in that place.

But... even after everything, that place was still where my roots were.

It was the land that brought me into this world and shaped me into who I am.

I couldn't do it. I couldn't stand by and let my homeland be torn apart by war.

I couldn't bear to watch countless innocent people forced to flee, lost and helpless.

"I... I can't do it..." I choked out, and tears broke free, streaming down my face.

Alex let out a bitter, mocking laugh. He released me and stepped back.

The last spark in his eyes died out completely. All that remained was endless disappointment, and a cold, deadly intent.

"If you won't take the easy way, you'll get the hard way," Alex said coldly. "Since you're so determined to go down with Rivergate, I'll make sure you do."

He motioned to the guards behind him. "Take her away.

"From today on, she's no longer the alliance princess. She's just the lowest-ranked courtesan in Swisey.

"Let every soldier in the army come and 'use' the enemy princess as they please.

"I want her to suffer so much she'll beg for death."