Chapter 273: A Prayer Answered In Fire
A loud clatter echoed through the empty corridor as the expensive vase shattered into several pieces, scattering across the hall.
She whimpered in pain as she landed on all fours, her hand digging into the sharp shards of broken porcelain. "Oh Goddess!" she cried when she opened her eyes and took in the mess strewn across the corridor.
Before she could push herself up, a pair of polished boots clicked to a halt beside her, coming to stand directly in front of her. Her gaze slowly lifted, and her eyes widened in pure dread at the sight of the prince looming over her.
"Y-Your Highness," she murmured, already trembling at what might come next, her blunder now witnessed by none other than the notorious prince himself.
Ryan savoured the pitiful sight of the maid trembling before him and clicked his tongue in displeasure.
"Look at the mess you have created," he said, his face twisting in disgust as his cold blue eyes lingered on her, finally settling on her bleeding hands. "How insightful."
The maid quickly bowed. "F-forgive m-me, Y-Your Highness. I do not know how I-I tripped. I-I will clean this up right away." She moved to gather the broken pieces, but froze when his voice rang out again.
"Forgive you?" He tilted his head slightly, strands of light brown hair, the same shade as his mother’s, falling across his forehead. "Do you really think someone who makes such mistakes deserves to work in a royal palace?"
The maid swallowed hard and bowed again, her forehead touching the floor. Trembling even more violently, she pleaded, "Pl-please forgive me, Your Highness. I-I-It will n-never happen-"
"Never happen again?" he interrupted calmly. "You see, mistakes must be punished. Only then does a person remember the consequences and learn not to repeat them." A slow, cruel smile curved his lips. "So....how should I punish you for your blunder?"
The maid could no longer bring herself to speak. Tears spilled freely down her cheeks, her throat tight with terror.
But her fear did not deter Ryan. If anything, it delighted him. "Very well," he said lightly. "I will overlook this if you crawl towards me and kiss my boots. Perhaps then I will consider forgiving you."
The maid lifted her head just enough to see his boots standing right in front of her. Desperate to save her job, and her life, she began to crawl towards him, ignoring the pain shooting through her hands and knees as more shards dug into her skin.
She did not let out so much as a whimper, knowing better than to provoke the prince. Slowly, she bent forward to press her lips to his boot.
But before she could, Ryan lifted his foot and cruelly brought it down on her already injured hand, grinding the shards deeper into her flesh.
A broken cry tore from her throat.
His face stretched into a maniacal grin, a grin far too disturbing for a thirteen year old boy as he watched her writhe in pain. Yet he was not truly seeing the maid before him.
In his mind, it was Eve’s face contorted in agony. The more he heard her cry and beg for forgiveness, the harder he pressed his boot down.
While he was absorbed in his sick torment, on the second floor of the palace, the corridor he occupied connected to a deserted courtyard below, the very one where flames suddenly blazed quietly before two hooded figures emerged into view.
As the maid’s scream echoed out into the open courtyard, Eve’s and Ivan’s heads snapped towards the sound at once.
"What was that?" Eve whispered, clutching Ivan as the sound sliced through the stillness.
Ivan’s sharp ears had already caught the sound, a woman begging for forgiveness echoing faintly through the palace halls. His gaze zeroed to the second floor, where he spotted a young man through the floor to ceiling window, standing over a trembling figure. Cold blue eyes, identical to Solan’s, gleamed with cruelty.
His expression darkened, "It seems your half-brother has learned far too well from his mother."
Eve’s breath hitched, "Ryan..." she whispered.
Ivan watched the twisted satisfaction etched across the boy’s face before turning to Eve. "Which mountain?" he asked urgently.
Eve hesitated, her eyes troubled as she pointed towards it.
"Are we....not going to do anything?"
Ivan met her gaze, and something dangerous flickered in his eyes. A slow, lethal smirk curved his lips. "We? No. But I am."
He snapped his fingers.
Instantly, flames erupted on the second floor, roaring to life where Ryan stood.
The cruel smile suddenly vanished from the prince’s face as his blue eyes widened in sheer terror. From the fire, a serpent-like dragon formed, its blazing jaws opening wide before it lunged straight at him.
Ryan staggered back, his heel catching on shattered porcelain and he fell hard.
Shards tore into his hands, legs, and back as he scrambled in blind panic at the sight of the burning apparition surging towards him, its heat roaring through the corridor like the wrath of a god unleashed.
"What the fuck!" Ryan screamed as the dragon launched itself at him, the sound tearing from his throat as he shrieked like a wounded animal.
Panic overtook him and he scrambled clumsily to his feet only to bolt in the opposite direction, away from the maid, his frantic footsteps echoing wildly down the corridor.
Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the flames vanished, disappearing completely before the maid could even lift her head to see what had happened.
Shaking, she slowly looked up, her gaze darting around the corridor, only to find it eerily empty once more.
Forcing herself to her feet despite the pain, she staggered towards the courtyard, searching for any sign of an intruder. But the space beyond lay just as deserted as it always had been.
Utterly bewildered, unable to make sense of what she had witnessed.
She bowed her head and whispered a silent prayer to the Goddess of Light, pleading for her grace and protection, and for whatever unseen force had stopped the prince from continuing his torture.
On the snowy peak, Eve and Ivan stood before a beautiful white pergola. The icy wind was fierce at that height, and Ivan instinctively positioned himself to shield her, keeping her as close to him as possible.
Eve opened her eyes at the biting cold, the wind whipping around them as though they were caught in the heart of a storm. Clutching Ivan’s warmth like a lifeline, she lifted her head to look at him.
Even in such harsh conditions, a soft smile bloomed on her lips as she rasped, "That was very nice of you."
Ivan returned her smile, knowing she was thanking him for saving the maid. He had undeniably taken satisfaction in the terror on Ryan’s face, yet he had restrained himself. For now.
For he did not yet know how deeply Ryan had been involved in Evelyn’s suffering within those palace walls. Eve had spoken only of Solan’s and Elara’s cruelty, never mentioning Ryan. But if the boy had played a part and if he truly intended to follow in his mother’s footsteps, then Ivan would ensure he received exactly what he deserved.
Rubbing Eve’s arms and back, he said honestly, "I enjoyed it," before shifting his gaze back towards the pergola ahead. Beneath it stood a white marble tombstone, crowned by a statue of a beautiful woman with her hands folded serenely and a crown resting upon her head.
"Let us not delay any longer. We will need to head back soon; the weather is not on our side," Ivan said softly.
Eve followed his line of sight, and the moment she saw the statue of her mother standing before the tombstone, her breath hitched. Her chest tightened painfully at the sight of her after so long.
Slowly, she stepped away from Ivan and he did not stop her. Understanding that this was something she needed to do alone, he loosened his hold and watched as she began to walk carefully along the snow-covered path.
Ivan clenched his jaw, aware of how difficult it must be for her to move through the snow in her chosen shoes, but he held himself back, giving her the space to have her moment.
Eve’s deep blue eyes never left the serene statue of her mother. The statue was so exquisitely detailed that it felt as though her mother had come back to life once more. Her eyes began to sting with tears, and she subconsciously clutched the white flowers she had picked for her mother from the island as she continued to move forward in slow step slow, purposeful steps.
When she drew close enough, she noticed a thin, shimmering barrier surrounding the pergola, keeping the snow from collecting within the grave itself. Instantly, she knew who must have placed it there.
King Solan.
The same cold-hearted Solan who had loved his late wife so fiercely that he had come to hate Eve for eternity, blaming her for taking the woman he loved away from him.
