chapter 15

Moments later, Irene arrived at the wing with her maid.

But she suddenly stopped.

She froze completely, her eyes widened, and her breath caught in her chest…

The scene before her… was unbelievable.

Pillows were scattered, curtains torn, papers strewn, feathers covering the floor…

The entire room looked as if a violent storm had torn through it, then vanished.

The maid gasped, then screamed loudly:

– "A robbery! We've been robbed!"

She ran out of the wing, waving her arms frantically:

– "We've been robbed! A theft in Miss Irene's wing!!"

Her voice echoed throughout the palace, and guards rushed in from every direction. Chaos erupted.

At that moment, Irene remained standing in place… silent, unmoving.

But her eyes were fixed on only one thing…

The feathers.

Black feathers scattered across the floor—small, weightless… each one bleeding sorrow.

She whispered with trembling lips:

– "Rad… Rad…"

Then she began searching.

She ran between the cushions, flipped the curtains, crawled under the bed.

– "Rad… where are you?"

**

The guards stormed into the room.

They began overturning things, searching drawers, lifting curtains, checking behind furniture.

One of the chief stewards entered behind them, raising his eyebrows in surprise:

– "Stop… This isn't the work of thieves. Nothing's missing."

He gestured around:

– "Everything is in its place… only deliberately destroyed."

Irene approached one of the guards and weakly grabbed his leg:

– "Rad… Rad…"

– "What's wrong with her?" the guard asked, voice uneasy.

The maid answered quietly:

– "He's the parrot… the one the royal physician gave her for her recovery. He's gone.

And the feathers on the ground… they're his."

A deadly silence followed.

Then one of the guards turned and said:

– "The king must be informed immediately."

**

In the royal hall, King Arxon stood, his face cold as frost.

He was informed of the incident.

But his expression didn't change—only deepened into disdain.

– "A parrot?"

– "Sire, it appears someone entered the wing and deliberately caused chaos…

Perhaps someone who resents the spy's daughter."

The king gave them a cold look:

– "There's always some mess around that girl…

Every time she appears, misfortune follows."

Then he ordered coolly:

– "Place a guard on her wing. Consider this a petty political disturbance.

No need for a full investigation."

**

That evening, the wing was fully cleaned.

But Irene didn't close her eyes that night.

She only slept after being forced to take sleeping pills…

And even then, her sleep was heavy—like sinking into a dark, bottomless lake.

**

The next morning, her piano tutor arrived.

He entered quietly and found her sitting, pale-faced, staring into emptiness.

He sat across from her and gently gestured:

– "Let's begin, Miss Irene… place your hands on the keys."

She extended her hands…

But the moment her fingers touched the white wood, she felt something sticky beneath them.

She looked down slowly… then froze.

Blood.

Red, real blood… seeping from between the piano keys.

She trembled, backed away until she fell off the bench, and began screaming:

– "No! Nooo!!"

The tutor was stunned.

He stood and violently opened the piano lid.

He too screamed:

– "My God!

Inside the piano, tangled between the strings… was the headless corpse of a large parrot."

He immediately ordered the maid to call the guards.

They arrived, while the maid tried desperately to calm Irene.

**

The royal physician arrived moments later.

And when he saw what lay before him… his face froze as if struck by lightning.

– "What… is going on here?!"

The maid told him everything.

But this time, his reaction wasn't calm.

For the first time since anyone had known him… he was furious.

His hand trembled, his gaze changed.

Without waiting for permission, he rushed straight to the king's office:

– "Your Majesty!"

King Arxon raised his eyes slowly:

– "Who allowed you to enter without permission?"

But the physician didn't care:

– "If your sons continue these barbaric acts, Irene will never recover!"

A deadly silence.

Then the king stood abruptly, furious:

– "How dare you speak in that tone?!

Accusing the royal family?!

Disrespecting me in my own presence?!

You clearly don't understand your place… or who you're speaking to."

He motioned to the guards:

– "Take him to the dungeon. Teach him a lesson he'll never forget."

The royal physician was dragged into the deepest part of the prison, where sunlight barely reached.

And there… the punishment began.

The king had given the order without flinching.

And because royal orders were never questioned… they were carried out with full cruelty.

He wasn't merely imprisoned.

He was tortured.

Tortured as if they were punishing him for every word he uttered—spoken from pain, not rebellion.

As hours passed, the news spread through the palace like smoke.

No one knew the details, but everyone heard his screams.

Everyone knew the physician had faced brutal punishment… and the reason was Irene.

**

When the news reached Dimitri, his expression changed.

He didn't wait, didn't hesitate.

He walked straight to the king's wing—his steps steady, but filled with quiet rage.

He knocked, then entered respectfully:

– "Your Majesty… may I ask something?"

The king didn't look at him, busy writing.

He only said:

– "Speak."

– "I heard the physician… is in prison?"

– "Yes."

– "Why?"

The king paused his writing, then replied coldly:

– "Because he overstepped.

He accused your brothers of rebellion—rudely.

He entered my office without permission and disrespected me."

Dimitri was silent for a moment.

Then calmly said:

– "But… he didn't lie about them."

King Arxon lifted his eyes from the paper and stared at his son:

– "Repeat what you just said."

Dimitri met his gaze firmly:

– "He told the truth.

And I witnessed it all."

**

Silence fell.

Then the king took a deep breath, as if exhaling his anger.

– "Tell me… everything you saw."

Dimitri told him everything—exactly as it happened.

He didn't add or omit anything. Just the truth.

When he finished, the king said nothing for a moment.

Then turned to one of the attendants and said:

– "Bring him."

**

The physician entered, limping from pain.

His face was swollen, his clothes torn, his hand trembling.

But when he saw the king, he tried to stand straight… though his body was collapsing.

The king looked at him for a long time, then said in a cold tone:

– "Your words were true… but your tone was not.

What you said wasn't false…

But you chose the wrong time and place."

The physician stared at the floor in silence.

The king continued:

– "Therefore, you shall never enter this palace again.

And I will revoke your license."

The physician froze… then collapsed completely.

He fell to his knees and wept like a man who had lost everything.

All his years of study, every patient he had healed, every drop of effort in his life… vanished in a moment.

Dimitri watched the scene unfold.

Then slowly stepped forward and bowed slightly before his father:

– "Your Majesty… please."

The king raised an eyebrow:

– "Please what?"

– "I only ask… that you lighten the sentence.

He was a loyal physician, dedicated to his profession…

He acted out of love for Irene. He feared for her."

The king was silent.

Then sighed slowly—and agreed to his son's sincere plea.

He looked at the broken physician and said:

– "Your license will remain.

But your feet shall never cross this place again.

Consider this your last chance."

The physician nodded quickly, still sobbing.

**

That evening… the king summoned his four sons.

They stood before him in a line, while he looked at them with an icy gaze that froze their veins.

– "You are heirs to this throne… yet you act like spoiled children.

I will not allow more chaos because of you."

Then he turned to the chief steward:

– "Carry out the punishment.

This time… without mercy."

For the first time… the four brothers felt they had crossed a line they could never return from.

But Irene… knew nothing of what happened that night.

She was still asleep—under the heavy effect of sedatives.

**

After that day… Irene lost everything all over again.

She lost Rad, the parrot—her only silent, judgment-free listener.

She lost the royal physician, who never came again, as if erased from the palace.

And she lost the piano—her only breath of life—its white keys now stained in blood.

That night… Irene was shattered.

She sat on the edge of her bed, sobbing quietly, painfully—as if each tear bled from a wound that never healed.

The young maid was silently cleaning the room, but when she heard Irene's sob, she stopped.

She looked at her for a few seconds, then set the cleaning tools aside and gently approached.

She sat on the floor in front of her and spoke with a soft, compassionate voice:

– "I'm with you, Miss Irene… Don't be afraid. I'll take you to the garden every day…

Fresh air might help ease your heart."

Irene raised her tear-filled eyes and whispered with a trembling voice:

– "Does the doctor… hate me now?"

The maid quickly shook her head and smiled despite her aching heart:

– "No, not at all…

He just went on a long journey…

But he'll return. Someday."

Then she added gently:

– "And you must be strong until then, so when he returns… he sees you well and happy, right?"

Irene nodded quietly and laid her head on the pillow, as if trying to believe the beautiful lie.

The maid tucked her in under a soft blanket, and whispered to herself as she turned off the lamp:

– "Even if you're the daughter of a traitor… you have no guilt in any of this."

Then she gently closed the door behind her… leaving a small, aching heart to cry alone in the dark.