Chapter 89

Far away from the city, at the Leo family mansion, Ray was taking Selvia on a tour around his humble house as she would spend a month there.

"Wait, Ray, I can't do this any longer. When the hell will we reach the end of this house?" She said after her legs started burning

"There is not much more, only empty rooms. We can stop now, I will ask the maids to lead you to your room, and feel free to ask for whatever you want", Ray said, and without any further delay, two maids came and took Selvia to her room, leaving Ray alone again.

The mansion was so cold without anyone else staying with him. Whenever he looked around, he saw his mother laughing and running around the place lively, he saw his father walking around with his hands on his pockets, he saw his sister scolding the maids for tiny meaningless things, and he saw his uncle, doing whatever it took to keep everyone safe and happy while drowning.

Ray knew from the start that a plan like this would take a lot of sacrifices to be achieved, and he was already prepared for this loneliness, so he put his hands in his pockets and walked to the office where he spent most of his time.

"I can't believe that you are still awake", she said after getting out to the lake side and finding him setting alone and reading peacefully

"I don't need sleep, I use the 24 hours I get everyday", he said calmly, looking at her after putting the book aside

"Well that means you would age faster than us", she said while setting down

"Why are you awake?" he asked

"I slept, then I woke up and couldn't sleep again", she replied

"Selvia… the plan is going to reach the final stage soon, so I have to make sure that you wouldn't regret your decision. You might lose the loyalty you built within the army and you would most likely lose your lover so..", he said, yet she stopped him saying "wait wait wait. Lover?"

"The crown prince", he said

"Ray… I've told you that I'm an illegitimate child of the king, so the crown prince is my half brother. How can you suppose that he is my lover?" She said angrily

"So you were playing around all this time! Please excuse my rudeness, your highness, but I know exactly what your relationship with his highness is like. You made him fall in love with you for a reason, and as I know the story now, I became sure that you intended to take the throne even without my help. You were using poisons all this time, weren't you?" he said coldly

"... Ray… The crown prince and I are just friends. He had no one to lean on so I gave him one, and he always saw me as a friend and a sister. I don't know where you got this information but it's completely wrong, and even if I intended to take the throne, I would never do a thing like poisoning the royal family because this is called betrayal and it's my number one forbidden thing, and it's also a weak act I would never do. I joined you while obviously choosing your side rather than the royal family's, and everyone knows now that I'm with you. I know that it would be hard to ask but… I want you to trust me a little more", she said with disappointed eyes, then she stood up and left, leaving him to think about her words and his beliefs. Is she really that pure? Is it even possible to be like that? He thought, yet as a person who trusts no one, her words sounded like a drama scene rather than being real.

In the next morning, the news about the Leo family having the military minister on their side was an obvious sign of a military coup, however, Ray hadn't made any announcements yet. Everyone in the mansion was a mess with hundreds of journalists trying to get in and have the answer to the most trending question: will the Leo family take the throne?

The country split into two halves, or to be exact, three thirds. two thirds supported the Leo family, labeling them as the heroes that would save them, while one third was against the historical change in the country's rule, however, that was way better than Ray thought.

"When are you planning on making the announcement?" Selvia asked

"Soon. I want to announce your existence first, if that's ok with you", he said, calmly sipping his coffee as if nothing was going on

"Do you mean.."

"Yes, your highness, I want everyone to know that you are a princess", he said

"... Ok, but how are you going to prove it? I tried all these years and I couldn't", she asked

"Well, I have a crazy doctor by my side, and thankfully, he is already the royal doctor, so it's not hard at all for him to take some blood from the king for the DNA test", he said with a soft smile

"Are you talking about me? What the hell will you do with all those surrounding the house? they are so annoying" he said, with the same energetic voice he always had

"DAZAAAAIIIIIIII", she said, running towards him with sparkling eyes

"Hello, sweetie. I missed you a lot, the castle isn't the same without you around", he said, patting her head softly as if she was a mare child and not a princess who is about to take over the throne

"Dazai, can you please proceed in the DNA test, I want to make an announcement this evening", Ray said after he stood up and put his hands in his pockets

"Yeah, sure. Your highness may I have your hand for a moment?" He said

After seven hours, Ray allowed the journalists to enter, yet he answered no question at all, he stood up in front of them, and he said "I sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting all that time, I will tell you the reason for that delay now. The great military minister, Selvia Norm, is actually the king's illegitimate daughter, and the princess of this country. We already did a DNA test and it has proven that she is blood related to the king, thank you"

After that, when the news about Selvia reached the imperial palace, the king got mad to the point he started hitting the maids around him crazily

"Father, is it true?" the crown prince asked

"Of course not, that filthy woman would never be blood related to our family. I will kill him, I will kill that Leo and everyone close to him", the king said

"Really, how long will you deny it? I am your daughter, and all this time you were trying to kill me but I always came back alive. Even as a child.. even when I was still a child.. you were trying to kill me since then", Selvia said.

After Ray announced her as an official princess, she insisted on going to the imperial castle to face her father, and after so many times, he finally approved under one condition, he will go with her. Entering the palace wasn't hard at all as all the knights were on her side, willing to help her become the queen instead of that crazy man

"YOU, I will kill you", the king said once he witnessed Ray standing behind Selvia as her personal knight

"You can't, if I die, you will die with me your highness. Dazai had been giving you poison all this time, and based on the amount you took up until now, you have three days left as maximum without the antidote, yet if I died now, you would never be able to get it. Your highness, I'm not willing to shed any blood, please hand the throne to the princess, and you can live the rest of your life happily in a palace far away from the capital", Ray said calmly

"Or what?" the king shouted

"Or.. I would have to take the throne from you by force. You already lost, your highness. I have all the ministers and military forces by my side, you are all alone now", he said calmly

"Well, not if I took your princess first", the king said, then he took out a pistol and bang, then everything got quiet

When Selvia opened her eyes, she saw nothing other than Ray covering her with his body

"R.. Ray", she said with a shaky voice

"Your highness…", he said

"Are you ok? Oh my god are you injured?" she asked while she was holding his face with both her hands, however, the blood she saw wasn't his, it was the crown prince's, and once she realized that, he was already on the ground

"Your highness… Please stay awake, the doctor will come soon. Please, please don't close your eyes", she said, pressing on his wounded chest with her shirt that she took off

"Shhhh, don't cry… It would be better for me to die now", he said with his stifled voice, wiping her tears with his shaky hand that was covered with his own blood

"No, no no no you won't die. Don't say that", she said while her tears kept falling down

"Sell, loving you.. hurts more than death. can't you.. can't you call my name once?" he said with a low voice

"... Phillip, please don't die now", she said with her quivering lips, yet he only smiled, then he took his last breath and closed his teary eyes forever

During that time, Ray was able to take the pistol from the king and to knock him out, yet once he turned around again, it was too late for the crown prince. Selvia was unable to breath, and her eyes were wide open, still pressing on the prince's chest. He sat beside her calmly, then he patted her shoulder gently, however, once his hand touched her, she grabbed his arm and flipped him to the ground

"You didn't say that he would die. You didn't say that he would be in danger", she shouted, stretching his arm above his head and pressing on his chest with her knee

"Your highness, his highness death wasn't planned since the start", he said calmly even though he was struggling to breath with her pressing on his lungs

"LIAR, you kept teasing the king until he shot him. You knew from the start that if anything dangerous was to happen he would die to save me. It was all planned wasn't it, that's why you insisted on coming with me. YOU ARE A LIAR, JUST LIKE THEM", she shouted, with her tears falling down on his cheek, however, he pulled his arm back, and he hugged her tightly, letting her cry as much as she wanted

"The prince.. had a serious illness. He was facing death all that time. I never planned his death. it would be a weak act that I never do. I know it's hard to ask but.. can't you trust me a little more", he said calmly, feeling her shaky body over his own, and feeling her chest moving randomly as she wasn't able to breath properly