The Princess Draws Blood
House Varyn's ledger was spread out on the table.
The ink was still wet.
Lyra ran her fingers down a cold column of numbers.
The room smelled like old paper and fresh ink.
Suddenly, hurried and restrained footsteps came from outside the door.
A servant's voice trembled from behind the curtain.
He reported Kael Varyn's victorious return—and that he brought back a mistress, now staying in the southern villa.
Lyra's hand froze mid-air with the quill still in her grip.
The sharp tip pierced through the thick papyrus, leaving behind a dark ink blot that slowly spread.
This marriage was never about love.
It was a deal.
Between Thorne—the oldest royal house on the Eastern Continent—and House Varyn, a rising military family with no noble blood, only glory from war.
The honor of the royal bloodline could not be insulted.
She could stay silent.
Or she could strike back.
Thoughts stormed through her mind.
Each one more violent than the last.
At last, she pushed back her chair with a sharp motion.
She walked to the back of the room.
There was a locked weapon chest, long untouched.
It held the only thing her late mother had left behind.
A sword.
It once belonged to House Elowen,
once the strongest military family in the kingdom.
Her mother's bloodline.
Her bloodline.
She drew the blade.
It let out a deep, heavy sound.
The steel gleamed coldly, lighting up her pale face.
This was the pride of her family.
And now, it was hers.
She grabbed the sword and walked quickly through the corridor.
She didn't change her gown.
Her personal maid, Maria, ran after her in panic.
"Your Highness! Where are you going?"
Lyra didn't answer.
A horse galloped away from the Varyn estate, breaking the quiet afternoon.
She rode alone.
Straight south.
At the southern villa, two servants sent from the main house stood outside.
Their arrogant faces froze the moment they saw her.
They saw Lyra.
And they saw the sword in her hand—the symbol of Elowen's unmatched power.
They tried to stop her at first.
But when Lyra looked at them, they froze.
Their legs shook.
They stepped aside in silence.
Lyra entered without resistance.
She didn't see Kael.
She didn't see any mistress either.
She stopped walking.
The sword tip touched the floor.
"Where are they?"
Her voice was quiet.
But no one dared to disobey.
The two servants didn't answer.
They just looked, terrified, toward a bedroom upstairs.
That was enough.
Lyra lifted her skirt and climbed the stairs.
She didn't even reach the door before the sounds started.
Disgusting sounds.
A woman's moans.
A man's rough breathing.
The creak of a bed under weight.
Lyra's lips curved into a cold smile.
She raised her foot and kicked the door.
Bang!
The lock broke.
The door flew inward and slammed into the wall.
The scream from the bed was sharp and piercing.
Kael Varyn turned his head.
His face showed shock for a second.
Then it twisted in anger.
"You dare?!"
"Guards!"
Lyra ignored him.
She stepped inside.
Her skirt brushed past the scattered clothes on the floor.
Her steps were calm. Too calm.
She stopped in front of the bed.
Kael didn't even have time to cover himself.
The sword that had tasted the blood of countless enemies cut through the air like silver lightning.
It struck.
Fast.
Precise.
Clean.
A dull sound followed.
His manhood was severed.
It flew through the air
and landed on the carpet.
Time froze.
Then came a scream.
Not human.
It tore through the walls.
Blood poured out from under Kael.
It soaked the sheets.
It sprayed across the mistress's terrified face.
The room fell into chaos.
Screams.
Crying.
Groans of pain.
The blood smell drowned out all perfume.
Lyra stood in the middle of the mess.
Drops of blood fell from her sword
onto the expensive carpet.
Her face showed nothing.
She looked at the two shaking servants.
Their fear looked pathetic next to the blood.
Then Lyra spoke.
Her voice was cold.
Flat.
"Get him a doctor."
She turned and left.
Her gown dragged a long red trail through the bloodstained carpet.
She didn't look back.
She didn't look at Kael.
She didn't look at the mistress.
She walked out of that filthy villa
and mounted her horse.
The horse neighed and ran.
She didn't head to the palace.
She headed to the Varyn family estate.
She was going to take back what belonged to her.
Then she would return to her princess manor.
Back in the villa, the servants finally snapped out of their shock.
They ran to get a doctor.
They dragged the best surgeon in the city to the villa.
He carried his medical bag and rushed inside.
The smell of blood hit him instantly.
He almost threw up.
Still, he held it in.
He walked to the bed.
Kael was unconscious.
His face was as pale as paper.
The doctor checked the wound.
His brow furrowed.
"The cut is fresh," he said in a steady voice.
"Thankfully, the weapon was very sharp.
The cut is clean."
"We can try to sew it back."
He paused, then added—
"But I can't promise it will ever work again."
The words had just left his mouth
when an angry female voice exploded at the door.
"What did you say?!"
Kael's mother, Jessica Varyn, rushed in.
Her fine clothes were messy.
Her face was full of rage.
She had only heard the last part.
Her eyes turned sharp as knives.
"You're saying I should thank that bitch
for using a sharp sword?!"
"Shut up and fix him!"
Jessica screamed.
She pointed at her unconscious son.
"Fix him now!"
The doctor flinched.
He said nothing more.
He opened his bag and began surgery.
Jessica was shaking with fury.
She turned her rage toward the girl
curled up in the corner—Selena.
"You!"
Selena froze.
She looked up, terrified.
"What were you doing?!"
Jessica stepped closer, face twisted.
"When the sword came down, you were right there!
Why didn't you block it?!"
"You useless thing!
We fed you so you could wiggle on a bed?!"
Selena's lips turned white.
She couldn't speak.
She kept shaking her head, crying.
Jessica was even more furious.
She slapped Selena hard across the face.
"Get out!"
She turned away from her
and spoke through clenched teeth.
"Lyra…"
"I will make her pay."
Jessica clenched her fists.
Her nails dug into her palms.
"Get the carriage."
"I'm going to the palace. I will see the King."
Her maid tried to reason with her.
"My lady, it's already past visiting hours.
Perhaps we should go in the morning—"
Slap!
Jessica struck her favorite maid across the face.
"Shut up!"
"Where is that bitch? I'll make her pay!"
A servant stepped forward, trembling.
"Her Highness left a while ago.
We heard… she went back to Varyn's house.
She's packing her things…
She said she's moving back to the Princess's Manor."
"What? She dares?!"
Jessica exploded with fury.
"Back to the estate. Now!"