A Darkened And Tainted Soul

Clovis clenched his teeth in pain but he didn't dare to struggle or talked again.

However, Princess Yara wasn't satisfied. She tightened her grip on the handle of the knife and twist it! Her action was more than enough to make the man howled in pain!

After hearing the long scream of the traitor which she abhorred, she withdrew her hand from the knife and rubbed her blood-stained hand on his clothes.

"It's pain, right?" Her voice was low yet thrilling. "Then what about those two comrades of ours who were captured and tortured to death for your cowardness and betrayal? Do you think they died a painless death?

"They suffered a hundred folds than you did but they don't sell their kingdom like you."

Her face was devoid of expression all the time and the darkness in her eyes made her resembled a darkened and tainted soul which she was. Was she still that elegant and well-mannered Princess? She had no resemblance at all.

Reaching back to the handle of the knife which was still on Clovis's left upper arm, she pulled it out with no mercy and the man screamed in pain. Along with the knife, blood made its way out, scattering in her face yet she wasn't bothered by it.

Seeing his body shivered due to what he endured throughout the night, Princess Yara handed the blood-stained knife to Andrus and shifted her gaze back to the traitor. "You were named Clovis but you are no fighter. What a waste of name!" She spatted and turned her back at him.

After she remained silent for a while, she turned to Andrus. "You can carry on. Make him regret not dying in the hands of the Welahans. Make him beg for death but kill him in the very end. That's the fate of a traitor who sells his kingdom."

Everyone in the room instantly understood that the Princess's last sentence was a warning to them. As such, they stood still without even daring to move.

Andrus quickly bowed when he heard the Princess's order. "Yes, Your Highness." He approached her and covered her with the cloak. Though he was quite surprised that the Princess didn't finish the traitor personally, he didn't say anything.

"For your information, Clovis..." Yara said, giving the traitor a side glance. "You already know what will happen to your corpse, so I don't have to remind you. But it seems like you forget about your family while trying to shield yourself."

At her words, the eyes of Clovis who had half succumbed to the pain he endured, widened in horror. "Your Highness, p- please have mercy. Please - "

Andrus shut him up by landing a hard punch on his chest which made Clovis violently coughed!

"It's useless to beg. As per the rule, all your family members will be demoted to slaves. It's their bitter fate for having a shame like you in their family." Yara immediately turned to the door and walked out of the Dark Room, unfazed by the screams and pleas of the traitor.

Then she mounted her horse and returned to the palace while Andrus took charge of Clovis.

* * *

A ray of sunlight that entered her room aroused Princess Yara from her deep and long sleep. She slowly opened and rubbed her eyes before she gets up and sat on her bed. Only then she noticed that she was still wearing those black clothes from last night.

"You're awake."

She almost flinched when she suddenly heard a voice. She turned to the right and saw her older brother, King Malon standing near a window. "Brother." She muttered.

King Malon let out a sigh and walked towards his sister's bed. He stood next to the bed and observed her. "Yesterday was your birthday, Yara. You should have take a rest." He calmly said, sitting on her bed.

"When I left the palace, it was already past midnight. That means my birthday was already over." Yara argued but her voice remained calm just like her brother. She might be a cruel being in the form of an angel but she never once raised her voice at her brother as far as she could remember.

King Malon observed his sister's face once again before he turned away. "Do you kill the traitor?" He asked.

"No." Yara promptly said. "I let my men take care of it. I should report to you when I came back. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. You must be tired. You don't even change your dress before you fell asleep." King Malon said and stood up. "Sleep more if you want. I don't think there will be a new problem today."

"I've sleep enough. I will prepare to attend the meeting with the Generals." Yara said and gets off her bed.

King Malon glanced at his younger sister for a while and nodded. "Alright. Then you should hurry. It's almost time."

Yara nodded and King Malon left his sister's room.

*

A meeting with the Generals was often held in secret. Three Generals of the Avaria Army, two trusted officials of the King, Princess Yara and King Malon who was the Commander of the Avaria Army were the only ones who could attend the secret meeting. Apart from these people, the Queen, Rhea the Princess maid, King Malon's personal attendant and only those who work under Yara knew about her double life.

"Your Majesty, I received a report saying that Welahans won the war against Thigon and retrieve all the lands that they lost to them before. It seems like the Thigon Kingdom suffered a huge loss this time." The young General named Zaria Movan reported to King Malon.

"Prince Karium again?" The King asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty. From what I heard, it seems like Prince Karium is aiming to take the capital too." General Zaria respectfully replied.

"He plans to wipe off the Thigon Kingdom," the King added and General Zaria nodded.

"This young Prince is quite a headache. With his presence, it will be hard for us to carry out whatever plan we have." It was the Duke of Zenith, Diego Movan who spoke up this time. He was the father of General Zaria.

"What do you mean, Duke?" Yara Amiel spoke up for the first time and everyone's attention was instantly shifted to her. Her calm yet nonchalant gaze was fixated on the Duke of Zenith who seemed to be intimidated by her 'seemingly' non-offensive question.

"Karium Maselli or not; he is just a human being too." The Princess paused and simply added, "Do you think he is really a god just because people called him the God of War?"