《The Revenge Of The Abandoned》 Chapter 1 - Execution {Darkness...} This world is a cruel place. {Pain...} A place where light does not exist. {Sadness...} A place where happiness remains but a fleeting dream. In the kingdom of Wistel, a girl sat on the cold, hard ground, her eyes dull and lifeless as the chains that tied her dangled and clanked against the walls of the prison. Not a single ray of light made it''s way inside the room, darkness completely covered the area. The girl did not move, staring at the ground blankly. She didn''t even look up when the prison door was opened. A man wearing a royal knight uniform made his way inside and nudged at the girl to get up and dragged her out the door after unlocking the chains. The girl followed the man out while she kept her head down. Who knew how long she walked until she came to the center of an open ground. The place was crowded by people who looked contemptuously at her disheveled appearance. Arriving at the center, the guard pushed her to the ground and made her kneel as she looked up at the two people sitting on the jeweled chairs. The man was incomparably handsome and the woman was an unparalleled beauty, truely a match made in heaven. But who knew how many people were deceived for this match to come together? At the wave of the man''s hand, an Eunuch began to loudly recite the imperial decree in his hand. "Side concubine Iris Silcia on the crime of treason and betrayal of one''s country, has incurred the wrath of the Heavens and shall be sentenced to Execution!" Execution? This was their repayment to her? For all the dangers she had faced for them? Iris stared at the couple as her eyes clouded in utter despair and sadness. She opened her mouth to say something, yet no words came out. The man looked at her, his tone carried disdain. "Iris, everyone thought of you as a valiant and honorable general and a virtuous concubine. To think that you would do something as malicious as betraying the country, you deserve a thousand deaths!" "Sister, I...I never could''ve thought that you were this kind of person. Even though you were a little arrogant, to think you would cooperate with the neighboring country....even I can''t save you anymore!" The beautiful woman also spoke up as she dabbed the corner of her eyes with a handkerchief, but Iris could clearly see the scorn in them. "Betray...Hahaha, you said i betrayed the country? You want to execute me? Really? What about all that i had done for you, all the contributions i made to the country, to you ascension to the throne? Huh? Leon!?" Iris spoke up hysterically. Her voice was hoarse and dry, yet the power in it couldn''t be concealed. The man named Leon sitting on the jeweled chair simply looked away, as if looking at her for more than a second would dirty his eyes. "What about all those promises you made to me? That you would always be with me?! They were...they were all lies weren''t they?! Even though I...I had trusted you with my heart and soul.., was I really nothing to you?" "You were never somebody I cared for. I never thought of you as anyone at all. Just because you are delusional doesn''t mean i have to entertain your delusions. Guards, commence with the execution!" Leon ordered coldly. He said she was delusional...delusional. "Wait! Your Majesty, can I have a few last words with my sister? Just..just a little!" The beautiful woman looked pleadingly at Leon. "Sure, If that is what Beloved empress Aria wants." Leon looked fondly at the woman named Aria. Aria quietly got up and elegantly walked towards Iris. She leaned forward and hugged Iris tightly. Looking at the kind-hearted empress hugging the ''criminal'', the people all seemed moved, truely befitting the Mother of the Kingdom. What they didn''t know was that while hugging Iris, Aria was quietly whispering in her ears. "Dear sister, i really pity you. But who told you to get everything that i ever wanted? The throne, the Position as the Empress, even Leon, in the end no matter how great you were, everything was still stolen by me, right? Now just quietly die and pray for a better life next time!" After being released by Aria, Iris limply fell to the ground, once again with dull eyes. The guard with a long, sharp sword was drawing near her. The blade was raised in the air.... Why? Why did you do this to me? No... Not so easily! I will not let you off so easily! Whether it is a hundred years, or a thousand years! I will... Have my revenge!! Kaching!(1) A/N: (1) The sound of a sword slash. Chapter 2 - Her Melancholy Story Of Lies and Deceit Iris felt her whole body shivering. She could see nothing but darkness. Iris felt herself drifting through space. Her whole body trembled and she could only see darkness... Was she dead? She must be. She was feeling an excruciating pain through her head. It continued until she saw a spark of light. After that spark, a rapid flow of images invaded her mind. All these images she was familiar with. They were incidents of her life. As she looked at the incidents, she realized that she truely was very naive and ignorant all this time. It could easily be seen what high class white lotuses her sister and step-mother were. The fake affection of her husband was also clear. Then this darkness, was it for her to reflect on her errors? To see where she was wrong? Where she made the wrong decisions? And where she became blinded by the deceits of these people? This emptiness, must be her Karma for being so stupid. Now, she was left with just endless regret and longing for revenge... ... Iris Silcia was the daughter of the 3rd Prime Minister, Azer Silcia. He was one of the 4 Prime Ministers of the kingdom of Wistel who was in charge of the North. He was heavily respected due to his contributions in rapidly improving the situation of the North, which was nothing but barren land loaded with poor villages. Azer had 3 concubines and 1 main wife. One of the concubines was Iris''s mother, Riya Vinsa. However, this was not how it used to be. The Vinsa family was a prestigious family of generals and they agreed upon the marriage of Riya and Azer on the condition that Riya would be the main wife. However, Riya''s first child was Iris, the 3rd daughter. She did not have any other child after that. Due to not giving birth to a heir for the Prime Minister, Azer demoted Riya to a concubine and made one of his concubines, Libera, the main wife as she had conceived a son. Libera was also the mother of Aria, the first daughter of the Prime Minister. Afraid of a revolt from the Vinsa family, Azer sent Riya and her 4-year-old daughter Iris to the North saying that Riya''s health was not good and she needed to recuperate. He made her stay there for eleven years and called her back when Iris was 15. During the stay there, Riya''s health began to rapidly decline as she suffered depression and had to survive on her own with her daughter without any means to contact her family. When she came back home, she was already very weak. Iris had grown up supporting her mother and herself. Once back from the North, Iris met with all her family members. She had never learnt any etiquette as she had no-one to teach her. Thus she was humiliated over and over by her other sisters and relatives. Very soon, Riya passed away. Now Iris had to face everything alone as she struggled to survive in high society. During those difficult times, only her step-mother Libera and step-sister Aria showed her care and concern. They defended her in front of their grandmother and father and protected her from the scoldings of others. Iris was wholeheartedly grateful. She would always listen to and obey this mother daughter pair as a loyal servant. Who knew, this kind-heartedness was just a facade to hide their true vicious personality! Iris''s mother''s death was caused by them, thinking that she was a threat to their main wife position. They also completely destroyed the image Iris had in front of her father, making him believe that she was an arrogant good-for-nothing who only knew how to stir up trouble. They even stripped her of her inheritance! In a final attempt to get rid of her, they plotted and married her off to the sixth prince, Leon Alphesta. This prince was the most talent-less and worthless of all princes, totally unfavoured by the Emperor and a commonly-known trash. Naturally, Iris had heard of his reputation. But in front of the tears of her sister, she was completely submissive, and married the prince without a second complain. Here, there was another unexpected occurring. The prince labelled as useless by all, was actually a gem in disguise! He was an extremely cunning man whose every move was planned. He spread those rumors about himself so that he would remain protected in the dark while his enemies would be out in the light. Leon''s ultimate plan was to ascend to the throne. After marriage, Leon discovered something about Iris. The girl that was rumored to be ignorant was actually awfully similar to him, absolutely intelligent and strategic. Her only flaw was he naivety. Leon would never let a useful person go. He showered her in love and affection, made her use her tactical and strategic mind to help him ascend the throne. She became a military general, acc.u.mulated alot of fame and glory and gave up everything for him. With such a powerful ally, he one by one removed his rivals from the competition and safely ascended the throne. Iris who was shown such endearing affection, devoted herself to this man, working relentlessly to protect him and shed alot of blood and fought alot of wars, all for him. With his ascendance, she thought she would become the Empress and would finally live in peace and happiness, with no more hardsh.i.p.s. Yet peace was the furthest from what she got. After becoming Emperor, Leon crowned Aria Empress and made Iris a lowly side-concubine! With endless sorrow and confusion, Iris confronted Leon who told her that he had only ever cared for Aria, and that she was only a chess piece to him. She never entered his sights. Fearing her strength and power, Leon and Aria colluded to frame her with the crime of betraying her country and rebelling and pushed her into prison, finally executing her. Only after so much suffering did Iris realize that she was just a meaningless existence to those she loved, and that her whole life was lived as a chess piece. She wanted to extract revenge, wanted to live again, and protect those that had sacrificed themselves for her... Chapter 3 - One More Chance At Life? "Mmm..." Iris slowly opened her heavy eyelids. The excruciating pain she had been feeling for a while has started to subside. Her vision was blurry and her mind was a mess. She was half conscious. Unable to understand her surroundings, she slowly close her eyes again. After a while, Iris woke up again. As she adjusted to the light, she saw that she was lying on a rough bed in a shabby looking room. After looking a little, she realized that this place was awfully familiar to her... "..!?" Wasn''t this the room she lived in back at the North?! She sat up abruptly, bringing a wave of dizziness. She hurriedly looked around, confirming that this really was her home. Confusion filled her blood-red pupils. Suddenly, she felt something with her body. It felt....lighter? She moved to the mirror and looked at herself. "!!" Her body...her body was that of a 15 year old?! Her eyes widened. She couldn''t believe it as she touched her face. The smooth white skin and long black hair that she had lost in the wars....was now back? ''Tap tap tap'' The sound of footsteps woke her from her trance. Iris hurriedly turned around. On the door stood a woman. She had brown hair tied into a bun and red eyes similar to those of Iris. She had white skin but was a little pale and seemed malnourished and weak. Her clothing was rough and haggered. However, this did not dampen her beauty too much. "Iris, my baby is awake? You really scared Mommy, fainting and getting such a high fever. Are you better now?" She softly smiled with care and concern in her eyes. Looking at the person at the door, Iris''s eyes were immediately damp with tears and surprise. No...no way. Mommy....Mommy..... Iris ran to her mother and tightly hugged her, sobbing uncontrollably. Her mother had left her so early....so so early. Just looking at her and listening to her voice was a dream. Now to see her in person, Iris''s hearted ached with happiness. Riya was surprised at her daughter''s sudden outburst. She patted her back comfortingly. "It''s okay, It''s okay, Mommy is here. What happened? I...*Cough* *Cough*" Riya started to cough suddenly. Iris let go of her and supported her to sit on the bed then went out to get her water. As she went out of her room, she realized that she really was alive again. She was back to being a 15-year-old in the Northern country-side. She was reborn! Once more... She got a chance again! The gleeful and relieved feeling that evoked from the depths of her heart made her realize how much she wanted to live and see her loved ones. To protect her family, to make them live a good life and to carry out her blood vendetta, this time she will not waver! ... After sorting out her thoughts, Iris gave her mother the water, inwardly contemplating how to help her mother out of depression. Riya had always been unable to get over Azer, though the latter couldn''t care less. Iris needed to have her mother snap out of this sorrow. Her mother had been neglecting both her and herself. Iris sat down in front of her mother, looking directly into her eyes. She took a deep breath then stated solemnly. "Mother, let''s have a talk. It''s about... Father." " Iris, I told you never to talk about that. Let''s not continue this conversation, okay?" Riya spoke almost instantly. Back then as well, she would stop Iris from talking about this matter just like now. Keeping everything bottled up inside. The result? Iris clenched her fists. "Mother, listen to me. You can''t keep doing this to yourself! You know your health is worsening. You don''t eat anymore and don''t care about anything at all, not even your own life! All the time, you stay depressed. So what if Father betrayed you? So what if he lied to you? So what if he chose that wife over you after all the sweet promises he made? Will you let that kill yourself?!" "Iris!!" Riya yelled in indignation. " Mother! Why do you live for the sake of someone else? You should live your own life, for your own self! Let bygones be bygones. Forget about those people. Move forward!" "But I... I really trusted him... cared for him. He told me that I would always be there with him." Riya hung her head low, tears lacing her eyes. All that time, Riya felt betrayed. The man that once showed her love and care and made her marry him, now threw her away because of somebody else. Looking at her in disdain, she really didn''t know what to feel anymore. "Mother, that man doesn''t care for you. He doesn''t find you worthy to enter his gaze. But so what? If he treats you like grass, you don''t have to treat him like a V. I. P either! Some people don''t deserve your care, they don''t deserve your attention. They only deserve the worst Karma for their doings. These people will suffer, the ones who hurt you. No, I will make them suffer! Mother, I don''t care what you decide to do, but I definitely will not let these people off. I have to say, Mommy, if you don''t want to live for yourself, just live.... for me." After dropping those words, Iris got up and left the room. Her mother needed some time to think. Her decision was entirely up to her. She just hoped he words got through. Her mother has to learn to be strong. Otherwise she won''t survive later in the struggles of the Silcia family. .... After Iris left, Riya thought deeply. In her daughter''s eyes, she saw a chilling gleam of light. Like a blade unsheathed, ready to strike. A very murderous d.e.s.i.r.e. She didn''t know this side of her daughter. But perhaps, she never really knew her daughter at all. Iris''s words were true. She couldn''t go on like this. Even though she knew, she didn''t want to accept reality. Honestly, a tiny part of her heart had hoped that he would call her back. Back to his side. That yearning, she knew she had to end it. Not only for herself, but also for her daughter. That man destroyed her innocent heart. But she won''t let him destroy her and her daughter''s life. It was about time she wake up. About time she stopped neglecting the things around her, especially her daughter. After all, for her daughter to have become like this, so cautious and untrusting, it must be her fault. If only she was stronger and wiser and never married Azer in the first place, perhaps she could''ve achieved happiness as well. Chapter 4 - Business with the Dark Creator While Riya was deep in the thinking of her own matters, Iris had already wandered deep into their village. As expected of her father, truely the lowest standered village he had found for them. At least he still had the heart to give them some money. Keyword: ''some'' It was still a very meager amount. And it was not a monthly supply, but the money he would occasionally drop off. Sometimes it didn''t come at all. Thus, the daughter of a powerful and prestigious family of Generals had to work in the fields to feed herself and her daughter-all because she couldn''t give birth to a son. However apparently, the Vinsa family did not know that their daughter was sent to such a place. They were just told that she was recuperating, but nothing of her whereabouts. They probably thought that she was in some place in the mountains, enjoying the scenery and the fresh air while being served nicely. After roaming around and reminiscing, Iris went to a specific house using her memory. This house was also shabby and worn out, just like the other houses. After thinking a little, Iris knocked on the door lightly. After a few seconds, no-one opened. She knocked again, harder this time. Still, no-one came. But she didn''t knock again, patiently waiting. She knew the personality of this person well, he will surely open the door after some time. True enough, the sound of footsteps were heard. Then, the door was heavily opened. A man wearing ragged clothes appeared into vision. He had black long hair and a long beard. This appearance made him look to be about in his early thirties. His appearance looked like he had been sleeping. He was impatiently looking at Iris, probably wanting to go back to sleep. Iris internally sighed at him, she felt that he really hadn''t changed. "Mr. Rivas Helain?" "Yes. And you are?" "I am Iris Silcia. I presume you already know of the Silcia family?" Iris spoke, her tone soft and polite. After hearing the word ''Silcia'' astonishment flashed through his eyes. He looked at Iris incredulously. "Iris Silcia? The...3rd daughter of Prime Minister Azer?" "Precisely." It was no surprise he knew of her. "Would you care to let me inside?" "Of course" He got out of the path and Iris made her way in and sat down on the chair while Rivas gave her a glass of water and sat opposite to her. "So, why is the Third Miss of the Silcia family here in such a shabby place? And how do you know of me?" After a momentary silence, Rivas spoke up. "My family sent my mother and me here to recuperate." "Recuperate...?" "Mhm. And of course i know you. Who hasn''t heard of the ''Dark Creator'' in this day and age?" Iris smiled meaningfully. "What...what are you talking about, Miss Silcia..?" The man suddenly became panicky. "I am sure you are very clear of what I am talking about, Mr. Dark Creator. No need to pretend." Bang!! Rivas abruptly stood up from the chair, turning over the table in front of him. "How..how did you...How did you know?!" He screamed, any trace of sleepiness was wiped clean and his eyes expressed his astonishment and vigilance. Iris calmly stared at the fl.u.s.tered man in front of her. ''Dark Creator'' was an extremely famous swordsmith. His swords were perfect in design, very sharp and long-lasting. They could directly deliver a fatal blow to a person in one strike and they would never rust. Their unique shape and l.u.s.trous appearance made them extremely sought after. Whenever Dark Creator made a sword, it was auctioned off at an astronomical price. The man himself remained anonymous, never disclosing even the slightest detail concerning his identity. He also always rejected any sort of business dealings with anybody, always working individually. This sword business of his started 6 years ago. However for the past year, Dark Creator abruptly vanished. Not a single sword of his was found. All traces of him were wiped out. No-one knew why the great Swords Master had suddenly stopped making and selling swords. The Dark Creator had never accepted any sort of offer or made a deal with anybody. Once, a renowned group of assassins had approached him for doing business. They offered a high price in exchange for his services. Of course, the Dark Creator naturally refused. Who would have thought that this would trigger the gang into forceful coercion as they started to hurl threats at him. At first, he wasn''t fazed by the threats and continued on his way, but soon the threats came into action as one by one all his subordinates were caught and killed. Though he never told his identity to anyone, he would still personally go to deliver the swords. He would be frequently assaulted whenever he went out. No matter what sort of guards he hired, they couldn''t match up to top class assassins. He would be located and hunted down no matter where he went. Not only that, anyone he had contacted would be killed off. Finally unable to stand the dangers, he quietly left the capital and came to live in a poor village. In order to remain hidden, he never displayed any of his wealth and always stayed the way other villagers did-as a pauper. He worked in the fields like everyone else too. And this ''Dark Creator'' was Rivas Helain himself. "Mr. Rivas Helain, not only do I now that you are the Dark Creator, I also know why you are in this village." Iris spoke in a collected tone while sipping her glass of water. "That group of assassins are still persistently looking for you, you know?" Rivas was shocked once again. His identity...he had never told anyone. Not even his own family. His subordinates also didn''t know his name. Yet this girl of the Prime Minister manor unexpectedly knew of all this, he couldn''t comprehend where she got all the knowledge... Was she an envoy from the group that was after him?! "Miss Silcia, Whatever the reason you are here for, I''m sure we can...we can talk it out." He was afraid she was also an assassin from that group. He had seen assassins far younger than her anyway. Who knew she would suddenly zap out a blade out of nowhere and claim his head?! He didn''t want to die so early! Iris looked at his frantic face. She could easily guess his thoughts. This way of overthinking of his really hasn''t changed ah! As to how she was best friends with a thirty year old man, in reality Rivas was not thirty. Not even close. His actual age-was only 21! It was because of his long haired, beard covered face that he looked thirty something. "Of course we can talk it out, please sit Mr. Rivas." Iris motioned at the chair with her hand. "First of all, I am in no way related to that group of assassins. Actually, I am here to make a deal with you." A deal? A business deal? Rivas frowned. "I''m sorry Miss Silcia, I never accept Business deals. I work individually." He spoke solemnly. "Mr. Rivas. I think you don''t understand your situation yet. At the moment, I hold all sorts of knowledge about you, from your identity and location to your situation. At this moment, I am the Boss, not you. I will make the decision, all the cards are against you. Furthermore, this was not a request, it was a demand." Iris forcefully put down the cup in her hands and smiled, her red eyes glowing dangerously in the color of blood, making her seem incredibly threatening. Rivas''s face turned slightly pale. It was true. If the word about his identity and location got out, not just the assassins, but many other factors could put him in danger. Furthermore, his family... "What does Miss Silcia want?" He gulped down his saliva and asked carefully. "Mr. Rivas, I want to start a sword business with you as you may have guessed. You make the swords and i sell them. We divide the profit by 50-50. Is that fine by you?" As expected, It was a business deal. Rivas sighed. Perhaps he couldn''t escape the fate of being forced into business. He should just give up, he couldn''t run, couldn''t hide and couldn''t protect himself. And this time, the enemy knows all about him as well... "Miss Silcia, I...I would accept, but as you know I am being hunted by a rather strong group of assassins and I really can''t afford to start business again. If they found out, they would surely come after me. Al..Also they may target you as well. S-So..." So please take back this ridiculous deal! "About that group, don''t worry. I intend to deal with them myself. You just have to make me good swords." Iris replied offhandedly. She was trying to assure him of his safety, but this made him even more anxious. "Miss Silcia, please do tell me the details. I really can''t work at peace this way." For the peace of his little heart, he needed to know the details. Else, he may just die of anxiety. Chapter 5 - Making Money "Details? Well, there will be three total steps." Iris replied. "First of all, you will completely discard the identity of the ''Dark Creator''. If the ''Dark Creator'' is dead, the assassin team will have no choice but to give up on their hunt. It will also stop other unwanted troubles from approaching you. Of course, just spreading word of your death won''t do, we will have to stage it to be more realistic. All of that you can leave to me. Besides, it won''t be in the near future anyway." Rivas felt a slight chill hearing her continuously talk about his death. "Second step, you will completely change your previous way of designing swords. Once the identity as the ''Dark Creator'' is discarded, you will not be able to continue making swords the same way as you did before. In fact, you should make a total 180 degree turn from your previous style, lest you raise suspicions. Will you be able to accomplish that?" Rivas frowned a little and thought for some time before ultimately nodding his head. He had great confidence in his skill of swords-making, and Iris knew that. Besides, every design was his own creative idea, and making something new wouldn''t be too hard for him. "Good" Iris nodded in appraisal. "The last step is the marketing. After much analysis on your previous way of doing things, I have detected quite a few flaws. Though your swords were in high demand, the fact that you would not be the one directly selling them has had quite an impact on your profit. You would always sell the swords to the big marketplace, which in turn would sell them at almost twice the price they paid you, inflicting loss of profit." She said, trying to put it as simply as she can. This gave some shock to Rivas. But after thinking a little, he realized that the swords he would sell would indeed be sold off for more money after him. He never paid it much attention... What a waste of good money! "So to solve that problem, we will start our own marketplace. No, we will start our own auction house. Each and every single one of your swords will be auctioned off at an great price, but instead of the marketplace, the entire profit would come to us." If they had their own Auction House, not only could they get a great amount from selling their very own swords, they could also host other products. Of course it won''t be one sword at a time, but a line of them, like 10 or 20, sold off at once. However, there would naturally still be a set price to begin from, and that won''t be too low either. Iris had already planned to extort every last penny they could get from these swords. "The profit distribution will be 50-50. As for the money for the raw materials and auction house, we will use your money, the one you earned from selling swords all these years. I assume you have more than enough wealth for this work." Since she had not a single penny at the moment. Rivas suddenly felt extremely wronged. This money was earned from his blood sweat and tears ah! Wasn''t this blatant extortion?! Iris easily saw through his thoughts. "In return for this investment that you are making, I will completely wipe clean the entire assassination group from the face of this planet. This will also serve as a revenge for all those subordinates of yours that they killed." And the family of yours that they killed in my past life. Rivas sighed heavily at the thought of his subordinates that were killed because of him. In reality, he also wished to extract revenge on these people, just he was too weak to do so. He could only hide away from the world, in hopes of keeping himself and his family safe. But little did he know that albeit many years later, his identity really was eventually discovered. Now receiving support from the imperial family, the organization of assassins had rapidly grown, their sources and network of information had become capable enough to trace Rivas. After tracking him down, they approached his family instead of him and kept them hostage as they demanded him to make swords for the army. Rivas, in deep worry for his family, rapidly rushed over and agreed to their terms and conditions and started his work. He worked for over two years, but never once had the chance to see his family. Ultimately, after accidentally stumbling upon an open prison room, he discovered the dead bodies of his family members. The flesh had rot away and only the bones were left, showing how long ago they had been killed. Then he naturally lost any motivation to live, wallowing in despair for the loss of his family and eventually killing himself. Iris was very sad at his death. She confronted Leon for the first time in her entire life, as the one of the imperial family who gave backing to the assassins group was none other than himself. Leon pretended to be innocent and vehemently denied any sort of involvement in this matter, even going as far as saying that he would teach the assassins group a lesson. Naturally, he didn''t do anything and naturally, Dumb Iris had believed him wholeheartedly. The worst part was that the services of Rivas had increased the strength of the military under the control of Leon by leaps and bounds. Their weapons were high class and way better than those in possession of their enemy army. Thus, Rivas''s life had been a sacrifice for Leon''s rise to power... "Rivas, right now you may be thinking that I am just extorting your skills, but in the future you will realize how beneficial working for me really is. Your family and identity, even without me telling, will not be able to remain hidden forever. At that time, you will not be able to protect them. I understand your motivation to work independently, but in this world, those with power will rule and those without it will perish. I suggest you trust me with this work. I will make sure you don''t lose out on anything." Iris spoke softly. In that life, she could not save him or repay him for saving her when she was dead and injured on the battlefield. In this life, she will make sure to protect him. Because they... are the best of friends. Rivas understood what Iris was telling him. He was weak, very weak. He did need someone to help him. He loved to work independently, but that could be given up for the safety of his family anytime. This deal indeed brought him profit. Finding a golden t.h.i.g.h to hug was a good idea. Just that...how was he supposed to hug the t.h.i.g.h of a 16-year-old girl younger than him?! True she seemed incredibly smart for her age, but she didn''t look all that powerful to him at all! If the Prime Minister Manor was supporting her, then it would still be fine, but he had only ever heard of the name of the 3rd Miss of the Silcia manor-nothing more, nothing less! Also, who the hell does recuperating at a worn down village such as this? This was clearly abandonment ah! If she didn''t know everything about him, he would have never taken her seriously. "Miss Silcia, do you speak as a representative of the Silcia family?" He asked, thinking that maybe there was something he didn''t know-maybe Iris was sent here as a spy under the guise of recuperating. However, he noticed that at the mention of the Silcia Manor, Iris''s originally mild eyes abruptly turned cold! Chapter 6 - The Darkness That Was Born Inside Her "Rivas" Iris spoke coldly. "Nothing of mine has anything to do with the Silcia manor. They are my enemy. It is in your best interest to consider them your enemies as well." At the name of the Silcia Manor, Iris would always turn unbearably threatening and dangerous, unconsciously at that. This place for her was a pit of vipers. The thought of being associated with them... was repulsive. Rivas felt a strong hatred emitting from Iris. He kept his mouth shut. It seemed that there were many things he did not know. He didn''t dare to ask either. Don''t know why, as a man older than her by 5 years, he felt a great sense of oppression coming from this girl. As if one wrong move would provoke this red beast, and he would be ripped to shreds. If Iris knew his thoughts, don''t know if she would be shocked speechless or not. She was trying her best to treat this friend of hers nicely. Just, the oppressive aura as a Military General was something embedded in her bones, how was she supposed to suppress it? After some more talk and planning, Iris left the house. It seemed that things would work out well. At the moment, she was absolutely penniless. Without financial support of her own, she would have to bear with living off the money that evil step-mother of hers would give. And it was not a large amount either. Iris needed to be strong in all aspects to take on the Prime Minister Manor. Furthermore, her mother would be able to live luxuriously in this life if she had the money. When Iris returned to her house, she saw her mother anxiously waiting by the door. When she saw her, she ran up to hug her. "Iris, Where did you go? You made Mommy so worried." "I''m fine Mommy. I just went to take a walk." She soothingly patted her mother''s back. They both sat down to eat the meager amount of food they had. Nobody spoke throughout the dinner, but Iris found the silence very calming. "Honey, I...thought about what you said. A-And I concluded that you were right. I really should''ve gotten over this person a long time ago. I have neglected myself, and you as well. I-I am...sorry. I''m sorry, I''m sorry. I''m sorry for being such a bad Mom, for being such a weak woman....for being so stupid...Iris dear, won''t you forgive Mommy? Just this once? Please? I-I will never let you suffer again, never again, I promise! So please...I''m sorry. So please..forgive me?" Riya broke down into tears, yet made no sound of crying. She seemed desperate in asking for forgiveness. Seeing her mother like so, Iris felt her eyes moistening as well. She couldn''t bear to see her like this anymore. She quickly got up and hugged her mom, crying silently as well. Her Mommy didn''t make it past 2 months in the Silcia Manor. Her Mommy left her so early... Her Mommy that had taken care of her so long... Her Mommy that was there to hear her speak for the first time... Her Mommy that watched her take her first steps... Her Mommy that would no matter what, tell her ''It''s alright'' and smile at her... Her Mommy... My Mommy... "Mommy, of course I forgive you. No I was never angry at you at all! I was just...just trying to tell you to take care of yourself! I promise... I promise to let you live a good life Mommy. You deserve the best and I''ll give you the best! Just wait, just wait a little, Mommy. I''ll make you live peacefully, I promise! I promise so...don''t cry anymore." Riya hugged her daughter tight, not taking her words to heart. But she still said. "Okay, Okay. Iris dear can do anything! You can make Mommy be happy." Just like coaxing a child. After some more talk, they both went to bed. In her bed, Iris silently imagined herself crushing Leon underfoot. She even imagined Aria as a pig being slaughtered, making herself chuckle. The death of these sc.u.ms will be the source of her life. The source of her happiness... Even if it had only been a day after her reincarnation, she had begun to feel a dark emotion inside her. This dark emotion grew every time she thought of revenge. It seemed to be taking over her slowly. But she didn''t resist nor did she want to. This dark, bloody emotion was something she wanted to release on her enemies. She felt herself becoming a cold-hearted person. But so what? That was exactly what she wanted to be. When she will see them bathing in a pool of blood, wanting to die but being unable to, the undisguised fear and agony in their eyes, only then will she feel herself relax. This murderous d.e.s.i.r.e was something the previous Iris could not even imagine to have. She chuckled. Leon...Aria... all of you. I am coming for you~ In the dark room, the girl''s blood-red eyes glowed hauntingly and ominously, making whoever sees them feel a shiver up their spine... Chapter 7 - Return To The Silcia Manor A few days later~ In the shabby and worn-down village, the sound of hooves was resonating wildly. A beautiful jeweled carriage made it''s way into view. The carriage was laden with silver lining and gold ornaments. Even the white horses were majestically decorated. In the desolate village, this was really a sight to behold. From a house not so far away, Iris was gazing at the horse carriage, sighing softly. She knew that the time to return was near, but who knew it would be this early? She watched as the driver made her way to her mother and talked to her, most likely relaying the orders of her father. She made one last trip to the house of Rivas to inform him of her departure and his next move. She also forced some money out of him in passing. He was in tears seeing her leave with his money. It would be most likely some time before they could meet again. As for the matter of the Assassin''s group, she didn''t have to worry for some time. Because according to her memory, a huge internal conflict was about to start in the organization due to some sort of treasure. The fighting that broke out spilled alot of blood and the organization was disunited. Since they would be too busy bustling about their own matters, they wouldn''t care for Rivas. And that would be the perfect time for him to return and grow roots and build a solid foundation in the capital. After some packing, Iris and Riya bade farewell to the village chief and set towards the carriage. Riya was confused and anxious upon the sudden invite but Iris reassured her that nothing would happen, at least to her. The driver was standing beside the carriage looking extremely impatient, and as they entered, he scowled at Riya and hurried her in an extremely disrespectful tone. "This humble one is a very busy person, asking Miss Vinsa to hurry up!" He didn''t even address her as ''Mistress'' of the Silcia family, but rather as a Miss of the Vinsa family, showing the height of disregard he had for them. Riya didn''t say anything, but Iris''s eyes turned cold. How dare this man mistreat her mother this way! As both of them got in, the driver went up to the front to drive the horses. But just as he sat, he felt an invisible force compel him, as he fell headfirst on the ground! Feeling the wave of pain and dizziness strike him as blood dripped from his head, he slowly got up and angrily looked around to see who was the culprit, so he could pound them to death for pushing him! But after looking far and wide, no-one entered his sight. As he confusedly looked here and there, his line of sight went towards the two women in the carriage. But those two looked so frail and malnourished, how could they have the strength to push a grown man such as him off the carriage? It seemed impossible. After much thinking, he decided to just get going, feeling very wronged. As the carriage traveled on, Iris looked down and smirked. It was already her being lenient on him by just pushing him off. Had her body been in better condition, she would have already beaten him up to the point where he couldn''t even recognize himself! How dare he disrespect her Mommy?! In this life, everyone who would even think of harming her loved ones would meet a horrible end. Not one would be spared! ... The carriage smoothly went on. Iris seemed calm and indifferent while her mother''s fingers were twitching with anxiety. She couldn''t find words to calm her either. When they came back in her past life, she was in an even worse condition than her mother. It would indeed be nerve-wrecking to be suddenly called back to high-society after living in isolation for almost 10 years. Ah, she really couldn''t wait to go back to ruin Aria! Right now, she had a very low status and no backing whatsoever. If she head out went to confront her now, it would be her who would get the short end of the stick. Right now, it is better to be defensive. She would start by preventing her mother''s poisoning... Iris turned away so her mother couldn''t see the malicious glint in her deep red eyes... Chapter 8 - The Vicious Nature Hidden Behind A Smile After long hours of travelling, they arrived at a huge mansion-the Silcia mansion. A flood of memories invaded her brain as Iris got down from the carriage. Yes, this place was the place where they were horribly wronged. The place where her mother mother dies, the place where they were stripped off their property and inheritance. The place where all of her enemies lived. The mansion gate was huge. It was guarded by 6 guards who slowly opened the door after noticing their presence. As they stepped inside, they were greeted by the head maid. Iris sneered coldly in her heart looking at the arrogant maid. It was easy to see their status in the family, not to mention a family member, they didn''t even send the housekeeper to receive them. Even this head maid, it must''ve been her grandmother who had sent her, otherwise if her father made the plans, they would have to invite themselves in! "2nd Mistress, Young Miss Iris, Master and Madam are waiting for you in the main hall. Please allow me to escort you." The head maid said. "Mother is very tired from the long journey. Escort her to a rest room. I will go to the main hall." Iris replied to her. Riya had already been weak, now after such an arduous journey, she was visibly staggering. The head maid could see that, but she seemed hesitant. "Young Miss, this..." "If my mother collapses due to exhaustion, will you bear the responsibility?" Iris glowered coldly at her. The maid became panicky after looking at Iris''s blood red eyes. It would''ve been fine if she was a favored maid, but recently, the Old Madam had already been pissed at her. Who knew if she would take the chance to kick her out for disobeying the words of the Young Miss? Though she knew these two were not in favor, with her own position on shaking grounds, she didn''t dare to take any risks. "I-I understand. 2nd Mistress, please follow me." Riya looked worriedly at her but Iris gave her a reassuring smile and told her to rest. After seeing her mother off, she made her way to the main hall. After walking a little, Riya realized without the maid''s direction, how would Iris go to the main hall? She hurriedly turned around, but saw Iris had already gone. She didn''t know about Iris''s past life, how could she know that Iris knew the manor like the back of her hand? While Iris was passing through the hallways, she received various looks from the servants. She could easily hear them gossip: "My, who is she? Is she the daughter of the 2nd Mistress?" "No way! It''s her?!" "What a filthy appearance!" "Shh! Quiet! She''ll hear you!" "So what! Not like she can do anything to me!" Those words that in her past life had stung her like a needle, now couldn''t faze her at all. To her, these people were just pests, better off ignored. They could be squashed anytime. Finally, Iris reached the main hall. With an expressionless face, she went inside.The hall was a wide room with chairs and tables. It was the place where guests were received. On the chair in the center of the room, there sat a middle-aged man with luxurious clothes. He had a stern face and his eyes showed indifference. This man- who had an aura similar to that of Leon, that detestable man, was Azer Silcia, her father. The deep indifference he harbored, was directed at his flesh and blood-related daughter. On his left sat an old lady in elegant clothes. This women was Sira, her grandmother. In her previous life, she was cold and indifferent to all of her granddaughters so she had almost zero contact with her. But this time, it would be different. On Azer''s right sat the most disgusting, pretentious woman Iris had ever seen. The main wife of Azer- Libera Silcia. The her who was beautiful despite her age, was the one who spoke kindly to her when all others detested her. Or so it seemed. She was the main mastermind behind Aria''s every scheme. She was the one who originated the idea of using her and throwing her away to make her daughter the Queen. She was also the one who set Iris''s marriage with Leon in place. Just looking at the amicable smile on her face at the moment, which practically screamed ''Two-faced'', Iris could feel her intestines churning in disgust. However, none of these feelings were projected on her fair face. "Daughter gives greetings to Father, Madam and grandmother. I hope you are in good health." After giving her greeting, Iris straightened herself to look at their undisguised surprise. They were probably expecting a country girl with no manners who would make a fool of herself, exactly what she did in her past life. "Hm. Where is Riya?" Azer waved dismissively at her and asked. "Mother was incredibly tired after the long journey, so she is resting." She replied "Humph. That impudent woman." He snorted. ...What a jerk. "Dear child, you must be tired from the journey a well. Come, let Mother guide you to your room. Oh! What light clothing you are wearing! Here, put this on!" Libera got up and looked smilingly at Iris and handed her a fur coat. The coat looked incredibly soft and warm from the outside, but upon a little inspection, it was rough and coarse from the inside. Clearly it was something Libera had to rummage through her oldest clothes to find. Of course, she didn''t want to miss any opportunity to shamelessly display her golden heart that was purer than that of a heavenly angel. But Iris thought this was perfect... "Thank you Madam, I am truely grateful." She continuously called her ''Madam'' instead of mother, which made Libera feel a little humiliated. Nevertheless, she still happily replied: "No problem, dear." "Liare, guide her to her room to rest." Her grandmother instructed her personal maid. Iris smiled a little. It was time to give a welcome gift to Libera. She naturally had to repay her courtesy of choosing to giver her a fur coat, else people may call her disrespectful! Chapter 9 - Her Gift Iris followed Liare out of the main hall. Liare would often talk to her along the way and Iris would always smile innocently and respond to her. She did this to build a good impression on this useful maid. Liare was her grandmother''s most trusted attendant. In other words, the perfect link to get close to her grandmother. While walking towards Iris''s courtyard which was very far away, Iris suddenly flinched painfully. This little movement of hers was not missed by Liare. She asked with concern. "What is it, Young Miss?" "It''s¡­It''s nothing." She smiled, but there were subtle tears in her eyes. Liare instantly became worried as she scanned Iris. Suddenly, she noticed a small stream of blood in her clothes running down her shoulder. It was clearly due to the fur coat she was wearing. Liare looked complicatedly at the coat. There was most certainly something wrong with the coat. She knew Iris could feel that, but she didn''t take it off, most likely because she respected Libera''s intentions. Liare immediately scolded Libera a hundred times in her heart. How cruel of her to give something so uncomfortable to a child who just arrived back from the country side! The seemingly innocent Iris was biting her lower lip, trying hard to contain her tears. Liare felt great pity for her innocent self, as she said: "Young Miss, the coat does not look to be your size, why don''t you hand it over to this servant for fixing it?" "Oh¡­okay." Iris ''hesitatingly'' took off the coat and handed it over to Liare. The blood on her shoulder became even more apparent. Liare took the coat from her hand and turned it over to inspect it. As soon as she did that, she gasped in horror. After a few seconds of staring, she corrected her expression and smiled at Iris, before leading her to her courtyard. After settling Iris in her courtyard, Liare made her way to Sira''s courtyard with the fur coat. Sira was sitting in her room, having tea. She saw Liare running up to her and kneeling before her as greeting and getting up again. Liare handed the coat to her and said. "Old Madam, Please look at the coat Madam gave to Young Miss Iris!" "What about it?" Sira took the coat from Liare and turned it over. As she did that, her eyes widened in shock. The coat that looked fluffy and warm from the outside, actually had nails embedded on the inside! Thick and extremely pointy nails were sticking out of the coat, making one imagine how painful being stung by them would feel. They were even dyed red in blood. Iris''s blood. "That woman, to do something like this to a child who just entered the house, she is really getting carried away because of Azer''s favor! Presumptuous!" She spoke angrily. Then she turned to look at Liare. "Liare, go and take two boxes of jewelry, and immediately deliver it to that girl. And don''t take it from the treasury, but take it from Libera''s jewelry! Humph! How dare she make a move to disrupt the peace of my manor! After you are done delivering, call Azer over. I must tell him how great the wife he selected really is!" In reality, Sira had always been an extremely peace loving person. She hated any sort of violence of fights in the manor. She saw Libera''s deed as a way to stir up trouble, thus became angry. She also gave up the jewelry to Iris as a way to compensate her. This could also be considered her hush money, in case she made a fuss over the matter. All of this was in Iris''s expectations. So she wasn''t surprised one bit as she gazed at the servants holding the jewelry boxes. Of course, the one who placed the nails in the coat was none other than herself. But of course, not even the astute Libera would suspect a 15-year-old to do something so vicious. She did this to slander Libera and lower her image in the eyes of her grandmother. Something as venomous as slander, she had done. But was she evil? Iris coldly laughed. When you all framed me and slandered me mercilessly, did you consider yourself as evil? So why should I, an avenger, be called evil?! Then, you''ll understand my pain, the agony I felt when you smeared my bad reputation all over the capital city! And I will not stop there! This is just the meager beginning! Libera, just you watch. Chapter 10 - Riyas Resolve After the servants left, Iris left to visit her mother in her courtyard. The courtyard she got herself was already a very shabby place to live in, she could only imagine what her mother was given. Riya''s courtyard was very far from Iris''s own. It took a long time for her to get there. When she was close to the gates, Iris suddenly saw Azer storm out of her mother''s courtyard, looking extremely angry. On his forehead was a garish wound with constant blood flowing from it. The servants by his side all seemed terrified as they followed him out in a hurry. Iris was shocked. She hurriedly went inside the courtyard. Since there was a distance between the two, Azer didn''t notice her. As she stormed inside, she saw a broken vase on the ground. Immediately, a great surge of worry overcome her as she rushed past the servant cleaning up towards her mother''s bedroom. Once she went inside, she saw her mother dazedly sitting on the bed. After quickly scanning her mother for injuries and finding there were none, Iris felt relieved and went towards her mother. "Mommy..." Her voice woke Riya from her trance. She looked up at her daughter for a few seconds then got up to hug her. "Iris, did you finish paying respects to your father and grandmother? How was it, did they say anything to you?" Iris shook her head in her embrace. Then she carefully asked. "Mommy, I saw father go outside just now. He had a huge wound on his forehead. Did you..." "I did. I threw a vase at him." Riya cut Iris short and told her while smiling slightly. Iris was stunned. This didn''t happen in her previous life. Since when did mother had the courage to hit that man??? And look so nonchalant about it as well? Riya saw her daughter''s stunned look, and sighed a little. "Iris, Ever since I married him, I had lived in the palm of Azer''s hand, complying to his every order and tolerating his every antic. Even when he demoted me to a concubine and threw me away, I never complained or said a word about it to my family or to him. Whether it was out of despair or not, I never once questioned him or told him that I disliked his way of treating me or that I had had enough. I just quietly bore everything, thinking that he was a man I once loved. But you know, recently I realized that maybe, I never really loved him at all. Maybe, he never loved me either. I was just young and naive, and he was just a man hungry for the power behind me. There was no love at all. This marriage was bound to fail, and it did. That is why, Iris, I have decided to let go of everything. I will for you, and only for you, stay strong and protect you from anybody that will dare to harm you. You are my daughter, and I love you alot. From now on, Mommy promises that Mommy will never let you suffer. Just wait for Mommy to become healthier, I will make sure no-one will bully my daughter or belittle her in the slightest. Even if I have the status of a concubine, so what? I am still Riya Vinsa, the 2nd daughter of the Master of the Vinsa family-a family of generals, and I will, by all means protect myself and my daughter from any sort of suffering!" Riya said with unwavering determination. Her eyes were glowing. Then she smiled at her daughter and patted her head. "I hit your father just now because, not only did he insult me to be impudent, he said that the daughter I raised was a humiliation to the family. He even said that I didn''t deserve to bear his child! I was furious! Then, well, impulsively I threw the vase on his head. He left angrily, swearing at me. But even though I was impulsive, I don''t regret my actions. You see, Mommy actually didn''t have the weak personality I have now. I used to be very hot-headed and tomboyish back when I was young. I did grow up in a family of generals after all! That''s why, I hate being weak. I will become stronger, so I can protect us!" Riya''s determined and heated words caused Iris''s eyes to moisten. She hastily rubbed them clean before looking up and smiling brightly at her mother. "Mommy, I also want to become stronger! So that I can protect you! Mommy, I...I love you alot as well. I will also make sure Mommy isn''t bullied!" She exclaimed, her tone spoiled. Seeing her act like this, Riya also broke out into a laugh and both mother-daughter had a warm talk afterwards. Iris truely felt happy, seeing her mother recover her spirits. The rumors of her hot-headed youth, she had heard as well. That was why when she saw her so soft and feeble, she worried even more. Now she just hoped that her mother would fully recover back to her energetic self... At night: Iris stood in front of a mirror, gazing down on her reflection. She had long hair that even after being tied in a ponytail, hung loosely down to her waist. Her complexion was fair and her skin was soft. It had been along time since she saw her pretty self. She continued to stare at herself, especially her eyes. She had blood-red eyes. She had always loved these eyes that she got from her mother. Her pure, innocent red eyes. Now, they only contained darkness and blood l.u.s.t. Iris sighed. She promised herself. Her loved ones would remain bathing in the dazzling light, while she...would remain hidden in the shadows, silently protecting their happiness. That was her second goal. Chapter 11 - The Princess On The Pedestal It had been three days since Iris had arrived back home. Those days went by smoothly, no troublesome schemes, no meaningless bullying and no random third-rate villain showing up, ready to be killed. This peace was a rare occurrence. But it was only because all 4 of Iris''s sisters were out on hunting expedition, though only as bystanders. With none of them home, the days were going rather peacefully. Whereas with the matter with Libera, she was personally called and berated by Iris''s grandmother. No matter how many tears she shed and wronged she felt, The Matriarch didn''t listen. She had always thought of her as a snake-hearted woman, after all. The Matriarch even nagged endlessly at her son Azer, complaining on his choice of a wife. Azer who was already extremely angry at Riya, bottled all the anger inside while facing his mother, and finally exploded at Libera. For the first time in her life, Libera was scolded by him so harshly. She cried of grievance, but Azer didn''t buy any of it. The entire manor gossiped about this rare tale. Iris naturally laughed at this matter, this result was satisfactory. Libera would never,ever suspect her 16-year-old self to frame her, especially when she was so supposedly kind to her. She just settled it off as a maid trying to go against her. She pushed a random servant as a scapegoat, and had her thrown out of the manor after a hundred flogs for trying to harm the young miss. This issue was successfully covered by her. After this, the days carried the peace. However, it was short-lived. Iris''s four sisters arrived back home after four days of absence. Iris didn''t get to meet them at daytime, but she was called to dinner at night. Of course this was her grandmother''s order. At the dinner table, delicious and exquisite dishes were laid out, Their aroma was extremely appetizing. On the head seat sat Azer, next to him was The Matriarch and on his other side was Libera. On the other area, Azer''s two concubines were sitting minus Riya, who wasn''t invited. On the right side of the table sat 4 young beautiful ladies. First was the youngest Tia, the fifth young miss born of the 2nd Concubine. She was 14, two years younger than Iris. Next to her sat the fourth young Miss Lucia also born of the 2nd concubine. She was 15. There was an empty seat, that was presumably hers, the third young Miss. Next to that was the second young Miss Athia, born of the first concubine. She was also 16, just months older than Iris. As Iris saw her smiling face again, a myriad of negative emotions rushed to her eyes. She closed them, concealing her hate. When she opened them again, they were clear and indifferent. When Iris approached the dinner table, all eyes were directed at her. She nodded her head and said: "Greeting Grandmother, Father, Madam and Elder sisters." After that, she elegantly sat down on her seat quietly. She got dismissive glances from the people around her but said nothing. Aria kindly gazed at Iris. "You are Iris, aren''t you? Wah, my sister is so pretty! I''m your eldest sister Aria. I''ll always be there if you need anything, okay?" "Mhm." Iris faintly replied. Her hypocrisy was making her cringe. Aria laughed a little and began eating. Her other sisters didn''t even bother to look at her, much less greet her as an elder. The dinner began in a warm mood. All the sisters were happily telling about the hunting competition. There was laughter and mirth. Only Iris sat silently and no-one bothered about her. Tia was excitedly telling Azer about Aria''s hunt. "Daddy, did you know, First sister even went to hunt with all the Young Masters! Not only that, she even manage to hunt a rare bird! All the young Masters were in awe of her talent and everyone was praising her endlessly!" She said excitedly. "Tia, stop!" Aria shyly lowered her head, looking very lovely. Azer''s lips curved up and her laughed heartily as he praised her. Libera was smiling as well. The family was harmonious. Iris sat alone, looking lonely and desolate. Her face was however, forever indifferent. She snickered coldly inside. As if hunting a rare bird was a very big achievement. In her previous life, she had hunted a tiger in two moves! But as usual, the genius princess had always been the apple of everyone''s eyes. A rare genius in the fields of literature, poetry, zither and whatnot, Aria had great fame in the capital. No-one knew how many people wanted to marry her in their family. Along with her talent and great looks, she had a very lovable personality. That was why she was the princess everyone put on their pedestal. And then there was the past Iris. In her youth, she was famous as a good-for-nothing ignorant country girl. Everyone viewed her in scorn and disgust. High society had thoroughly ruined her. No-one befriended her and she was always alone. Of course, Libera was the one responsible for the rumors of her. She only overturned them after years and years of strive as a Military General, only to be branded as a traitor in the end... Iris brought another mouthful of tasteless food to her mouth. Her time for revenge was here. She was hell bent on their defeat this time around. Ah, and the next hunting expedition was near too. An idea surged in Iris''s mind. She smiled slightly. This hunting expedition, she absolutely has to attend. For the sake of Aria''s genius title, she absolutely has to attend! Chapter 12 - The Royal Hunting Competition Heather Forest was a forest located close to the capital city. It was a very dense forest packed with numerous kinds of animals, plants, medicinal herbs and so on. It was a popular hunting ground for hunters. It was a property under the Royal Family so only authorized people were allowed to enter and hunt. However, annually there would be a hunting expedition where anyone could come to hunt along with the royal family members. This was sort of a competition where the Emperor would reward the one with the most hunts. The common populace would rarely participate, but the nobles came in full force, either to spectate or to participate to build an impression in front of the Imperial Family. There was no gender limit- anyone could participate. And the day of this competition was very close. Iris did not participate in this competition back then, so other than knowing that Aria made a great hunt, she didn''t know anything. This time, she had decided to participate along with the members of her family. Iris went to her mother and told her about her decision. Riya felt slightly skeptical and worried about Iris but the latter just shrugged off her concerns. She lied and said she was just going to spectate, to make her mother less anxious. Riya lamented on how she would participate almost every year back in her youth. Iris told her to get better so she could also attend next year. Next, Iris went to ask permission from her grandmother, which she easily received as the latter didn''t care much. This was a better move than asking permission from Azer of Libera. Although Azer was a little surprised when he heard about her will to join, he didn''t say anything assuming it was out of curiosity. He didn''t care if she wanted to participate and go to hunt as many noble girls did that-not that they manage to hunt as well as the noble boys who were especially trained for this. His own 2 daughters were participating other than Iris. The night before the competition: Iris finished reading the letter that came from Rivas about his current progress and swiftly burned it. Nobody was supposed to know about this, not even her mother. After that, she quietly got up and pulled a out a big box from under her bed. It was opened to reveal some things. One long sword, two small daggers, two arrows and five small bottles. Ignoring the other things, she took out one arrow and one bottle that contained a blueish-purple liquid. Using a cloth, she coated the arrow with the liquid and put it on the table. Then she placed the bottle back and pushed the box back under the bed. After hiding the arrow under a cloth, she went to bed. The sword, dagger and arrows was taken from Rivas when she was leaving. As for the bottles of liquid and where she got them from... That mystery wont be revealed yet. Next Day~ Iris went up to the Silcia Family carriage where everyone else was standing. She wore a knee-length dress with tights and wore long shoes, an attire ideal for hunting. Her hair were lifted up in a ponytail as they loosely flowed down to her waist. On her back hung a bow with some arrows she got early in the morning for the hunt. The carriages were decorated heavily, just like the one that came to take them back-but only better. In front of them, Aria, Athia and Azer were standing. They were preparing to get on. Their clothes were much better in both quality and color than those Iris was wearing. The ones she was wearing were the ones The Matriarch gave her as compensation for the nail incident. Aria and Athia''s clothes were the clothes a true young miss would wear, unlike the mediocre ones she wore. Even their weapons were high-class. However, in terms of beauty Iris didn''t loose one bit against them, despite their beautiful garments. As Iris arrived, she greeted them. Azer didn''t even respond. Aria smilingly welcomed her, living up to her hypocritical image and Athia just stared at her. Soon, they got on the carriages, however the arrangements perfectly showed everyone''s disregard for her. Two carriages were prepared, one for the family members and one for all the following servants. Azer and his two daughters got on the first carriage, while Iris was sent to ride on the second carriage with the servants. A noble daughter sitting with mere servants, how absurd of a matter this was. Iris snickered coldly to herself. Throughout the way, she had to bear with the stupid gossips of the servants, disturbing her rest. Finally unable to bear it, she shot an extremely cold look to the servants, who instantly shut up in some fear of the bloody eyes. Only then was she able to rest a little. Azer was a man who valued reputation. To avoid unnecessary rumors, he instructed the carriage to be halted some distance away from the actual location for Iris to get off. She had to walk the distance herself after that, so no-one would be able to tell that she came in a carriage for the servants. This was within what she expected, but Iris still felt angry at this treatment. Just where did he put his conscience, that sc.u.m of a father. He must''ve fed it to the dogs! Walking all the way to the location, Iris felt unhappy with every step she took. Not like she had expected anything, but no-one wants to be treated this way. The forest had a wide area of land before it. This was where the spectating people stayed. When she finally arrived, she saw that the hunting ground was packed with nobles and servants conversing with each other. There were tables laid with food and chairs laid out for sitting. The servants were rushing to fulfill their master''s needs and the ground as bustling. At one area, many horses were being tended to and being prepared for the grand hunt. The event had yet to begin. Iris looked around a little. No member of the Royal Family had arrived yet. Noticing Iris''s presence, the always smiling Aria that was surrounded by noble ladies and masters, quickly motioned at her to come to her. She unhurriedly made her way over as Aria enthusiastically introduced her to the nobles. "Everyone, this is my third sister Iris. She just came back from recuperating at the country-side, so she isn''t aware of many things. Please pardon her if she makes any mistake!" She said. Though her words seemed to express her concern, it was clear that she was trying to label Iris as an ignorant person from the country-side. This was made apparent as she emphasized the word ''country-side''. As expected, the noble''s face changed as they expressed disdain for her. Iris said nothing and simply bowed a little with a smile to greet the nobles. Her every move was laced with elegance and proper manners, leaving the spectators a little stunned as they didn''t expect such mannerisms from someone who came from the country-side. Chapter 13 - The Prince Of Darkness After giving her a nod of greeting, everyone started their own conversations, ignoring her. Iris didn''t linger either, she left to take a small walk in a less crowded part of the ground. She didn''t really know what happened in this Royal hunt, who participated in it and all. Since she basically knew every other event from the past life, the thrill of the unknown make her feel excited. She walked around a little, before she heard the sounds of an arriving carriage. As she turned her gaze towards the source of the sound, an extremely big carriage entered her vision. The carriage was even more pretty than the carriage of her house. It had the crest of a dragon, showing that it was of royalty. Iris moved back to the crowded area seeing the arriving party. As soon as she came back, A palace Eunuch came up and announced the arrival. "His Majesty The Emperor is here! Her Majesty the Empress is here! His Highness the Second prince is here! His Highness the Seventh prince is here! Her Highness the Fourth princess is here!" He yelled out. Simultaneously, a group of people alighted from the carriage. First came The Emperor, a man in his forties wearing the Grand Crown Of Authority. Following behind him, a two beautiful women came into view. One was the Empress and the other was the Fourth Princess. After them came the Second Prince. After everyone gave their greetings that were "Long Live The Emperor! Long Live The Empress! Long Live The Princes And The Princess!" Iris directed her gaze to their carriage. She didn''t know why, but she felt a strange feeling of relief when she saw that Leon didn''t come over. It was probably because his status greatly exceeded hers and that he could easily suppress her... While she was dazedly lost in her thoughts staring at the royal carriage, she realized that the seventh prince had not come down. Furthermore, no-one seemed to care about this either. While she was lost in confusion, she suddenly remembered something. The 7th prince, Azura Wistel. His name, who didn''t know in this country. This man was someone who not even the Emperor could control. He was an absolutely unparalleled genius. Whether it was in the military or in the politics, he had achievements that were never surpassed even in her past life! At the age of 4, he shot 3 arrows together, each hitting the bull''s eye. At the age of 6, he had defeated the most skilled swordsman. At the age of 12, he solved a problem that had stumped the country for a long time, prompting the Emperor to put him in court. At the age of 13, he highhandedly defeated 20 armed imperial soldiers who had started a rebellion. Not only all this, his looks, God his looks, he was the most handsome man in the entire country! It was a wonder whose genes he inherited, but his looks, like himself, were unparalleled. Overall, he was the most revered man in the entire capital. Many were in awe of his talents. It was unknown for what reason, but at the age of 14, this prince abruptly vanished from the court. He never attended a single meeting, never participated in any fight, never took part in any of the country''s affairs. He became a man that lived in the shadows, rarely appearing unless absolutely necessary. Even the calls of the Emperor were sometimes ignored by him. However, this didn''t make him an existence to be slighted. If anybody, be it a minister or noble, made even the slightest peep in front of him that upset him, they would meet the most horrible end they could imagine. Families would be ruined, property would be confiscated, some were even castrated and killed in the most brutal way! He became an existence not many could approach. Furthermore, just like the male lead in any other novel Iris had read, he absolutely abhorred women and had a severe to the point of death case of OCD. He was mysophobic to the point that he wouldn''t tolerate even an ant on himself. But alas, he was nothing like the male leads other than this. Those caring and affectionate male leads, how was he anything like that? Iris drooped her eyes a little. Everything she knew about him was from the rumors. This man... was the one prince she didn''t know anything about, despite being a princess for so long. This was because he died extremely early, in his first military expedition. He didn''t live long enough to be a hurdle to Leon''s ascension to the throne. He died before Iris married Leon. Had he been alive, Leon would have never ascended. Iris didn''t think any longer about him. As soon as the Emperor was seated, The Eunuch announced that the event had started. Seeing the spectators settling down and the hunters swarming at the horses, she also got up from her chair. But just as she was about to get down, she saw the carriage door being opened. A man stepped out of the carriage. This man, one look made her hold her breath. He, had a face so handsome and well-made, it seemed that it had been sculpted by God himself! He had long black hair tied up in a ponytail as they flowed down, and deep red eyes, deeper than Iris''s. His robes were exquisite and he had an oppressive aura naturally coming off him. His charm would make people gasp in total amazement. His entire face was indifferent, as if nothing could ever faze him, yet he seemed dangerous. This handsome beyond comparison man was Azura. Iris was in awe of his handsomeness. This was the first time she had seen the seventh prince in both her lives. Truly, seeing is believing. He lived up to his rumors. However, the reason why he came out this late...was because of the crowd...? She was speechless. His mysophobia really had reached a whole new level. Chapter 14 - Risky Gamble Not dallying any further, Iris swiftly approached the horses. Taking on a white one, she sat on it and took hold of the reins. The people had started to move towards the forest gates. She quickly followed suit and stopped her horse beside the other ones, waiting for the signal flare. The palace Eunuch announced the mandatory rules and the battle ending time which was within 10 hours. Among the rules, something caught Iris''s attention. "No individual is allowed to enter Field 2 Sect 5!" The vast forest was divided into 7 fields. Each field had 5 sects. Field 2 Sect 5 was in the west of the forest. She frowned deeply. This field was the one with the most animals as well as the rare ones. This was the place she was planning on heading to from the start. But unexpectedly, it was restricted? Why? Iris didn''t have much time to think as the signal flare was shot up to the sky and the hunt was officially started. The horses gushed straight to the forest wildly, each trying to outrun the other. They were probably adhering to the rule of ''first come, first serve''. Iris didn''t dash straight inside. Instead she waited a little until most of the horses were out of view. This was to clear up the path and avoid aggressive attacks from others. Just as she was about to march inside with her horse too... Whoosh! A black horse sententiously made it''s way up to her and madly gushed past her horse at lightning speed, abruptly disappearing into the western area of the woods! Iris was a little stunned as she paused in her actions. Though the rider was extremely fast, she managed to catch a glimpse at his deep red eyes from the corner of her eye. The seventh prince was also participating? This was a rare occurrence! And he went in late again, was it because of his mysophobia? Snapping out of her thoughts, she lunged the reins and took off on her horse in the opposite direction of Azura, towards the east. Entering a place that was restricted on the royal family''s name was a risky gamble. But she was willing to take it. Competing without being sure of the result was not her style. Aria had participated numerous times in the Royal Hunting Expedition, so this area was her known territory. She was more familiar with the area while Iris knew very little. Blindly stepping forward to look for animals would not yield good results, much less a victory over Aria. So she had to get in to the restricted field. She was aware that it would be guarded, but speeding past an unsuspecting party was something within the realm of her capabilities. As to why they were unsuspecting, most probably there would be no-one who would dare to go against the king''s commands and enter a forbidden area just to hunt. Well, not many were as meticulous in planning like Iris anyway. She sped up a little more and after confirming that there was no-one in the vicinity, made a sharp turn in the opposite direction and lunged towards the west. Her eyes never stopped moving around and her ears were perked up to detect any sort of movement or sound. Moving forward for a long time, she entered the outskirts of Field 5. Confirming that her location was correct, Iris got down from the horse and took off the little bag she was wearing to take out some water for drinking. After doing that, she reached towards a big pebble on the ground and picked it up. Alighting again, she started the ride albeit this time, she was much slower. Slowing pacing forward, she stopped when the figure of a man entered her field of vision. This was one of the guards guarding the area. He was lazily sprawled on the ground, not paying much attention to his surroundings. As expected, he didn''t expect any interference. Too bad for him, an existence called Iris had entered the world 16 years ago. This existence was fated to move past his guard in this lifetime. Iris quietly aimed the pebble in her hand towards a tree away from the man and threw it hard. The pebble struck the tree and made a noise, prompting the man to divert his attention to the source of the noise. Not wasting a second, Iris immediately pulled out an arrow and shot it close to where the man was lying down. She positioned it at an angle where her actual location would not be revealed. It was angled slightly towards the left, giving one an illusion that it was shot from the left while Iris was at the right. Mission Successful. Chapter 15 - Caught (1) After delving deep into the field, Iris stopped her horse to get a little rest. The area was as quiet as a grave, not a single sound heard. This was confirming the fact that nobody was present anywhere near. She moved around with her horse in search for animals to prey on. Moving across the forest, she was trying to detect any signs of life. She searched for an hour, to no avail. Not even a tiny rabbit was found. Just as she was about to turn around, her sharp ears caught a very faint howl coming from behind her. Excited, she turned her horse and galloped in the direction of the sound. Moving further and further, the howl was becoming more and more prominent. Soon, she saw the silhouette of a figure. Looking closer, she saw it was...a wolf! A big a.d.u.l.t wolf! Iris abruptly stopped her horse. The wolf, as she recognized, was the Hound Blood Wolf, a rare breed. These wolves were not that fast, but they had extremely long fangs and sharp claws capable of tearing out a big piece of flesh from a person in a flash! They were identifiable by their unique tail shape. And Iris was looking at such a wolf. She cautiously and silently withdrew her bow from her back and took out an arrow. Putting the arrow on the bow, she stretched it out and aimed at the wolf''s leg. The wolf was busy gobbling the flesh of some animal he could not recognize. The animal was torn into pieces by it''s fangs and it''s flesh was dug out. While the wolf was busy eating, Iris was trying to aim accurately. Feeling satisfied, she nimbly released the bow, making he arrow rush towards the wolf! Whoosh! The arrow accurately landed on the wolf''s leg, making it let out a piercing cry. "Awoo...!" The wolf turned it''s head in Iris''s direction, who had already begun to come closer. With an injured leg, the wolf could no longer move, it could only b.a.r.e it''s fangs at her and howl loudly. "Awooo! A...Awooo! Grrr!!" "Sorry for this, I''ll make it quick." Iris pulled out another arrow and aimed it at the wolf''s neck. Before shooting, she closed her eyes briefly in prayer to the wolf. The, she released the bow with accurately pierced through the wolf''s neck, making blood gush out strongly as the wolf died on spot. Sighing slightly at how humans would sacrifice anything at their disposal to complete their goal, she cleaned up the corpse and put it in one of the little baskets hung over her horse to collect the hunt. This was a good catch. Now, it was time for more. Elsewhere, under a big majestic tree, a slender man was sitting. His black hair like the night flowed down over his being. His majestic face seemed sculpted by God himself, leaving anyone who looked at it unable to take their eyes away. Though he had not spoken a word, he exurberated an air of nobility and class. What he was wearing had a complicated embroidery and showed exquisite workmanship. His long sleeves dr.a.p.ed and lightly touched the floor, dancing with the flowing air. His entire being was emitting a dangerous aura, making the people incapable of ignoring his presence, even though he was just lazily lying down, eyes closed. Suddenly, a black shadow appeared before him and respectfully knelt down in front of him. "Master! Someone has entered the forbidden area!" He spoke in a rushed voice, his tone carried urgency. He was quickly waiting for the man''s response. "Hm." The man casually hummed, not opening his eyes. His voice was like a void that was entrenched in coldness, yet a little low that was pleasant to the ears, as if it was a finely tuned instrument, but it still could not mask his menacing aura. The shadow became panicked. Did his Master not hear him? Otherwise, how could he ignore this big issue?! That was not the case! "Master, the person has entered the forbidden area and has not been dealt with yet. They are moving deeper and deeper into the territory!" He spoke even more urgently. At this statement, the man finally opened his eyes. Those deep red eyes could easily freeze one''s soul and suck them in, rendering them forever lost in the infinite universe. The man''s face carried a slight frown, making the shadow shake with fright. "How?" He asked in a dangerous, menacing tone. The aura exuding from his body made the shadow''s heart palpitate in terror. "Subordinate...subordinate was incompetent and did not notice. Asking...Asking Master to subject punishment..." His tone was visible shaking. The man elegantly stood up from the ground. He stood under the shade of the tree, with his head held high, his dark eyes proud and aloof. He didn''t even look at the kneeling man and proceeded towards his horse. After elegantly amounting the horse, he spoke to the shadow. "3 days at the Blood Camp. I''ll deal with the matter myself." After that, he sped up towards a certain direction and left without giving the man a chance to reply. The shadow kneeling down swiftly collapsed to the ground. Blood Camp was the place that offered the most horrendous punishments to his Master''s subordinates. He hated that place, but it was better than being killed off by his Master. That was even more torturous. That''s right. Such a handsome and cold man, other than Azura, who else could it be in the capital? Ruthless to no end, his enemy was the most unlucky person in the whole world. And the little rabbit Iris, who had no idea a wolf was coming to prey on her, was rapidly increasing her hunts. She had killed a total of 12 animals, most of them rare to find. This was a time as good as any to stop. The sun had began to set. Iris had decided to head back. She was riding her way out of the field, when something caught her eye. From a distance across the trees, she could see a little wooden house of some sort. A house in the middle of a forest plagued by beasts? This was not normal at all! Curious, she set off in the direction of the house. When she came slightly closer, she realized that the house was very old and shabby. From her analysis, it must''ve been here for at least 10 years or so. Furthermore, it was surrounded by a wooden fence. There was no light or anything coming from the house, it was most likely to be empty. Iris began to come closer to the house. Just as she was approaching closer... Chapter 16 - Caught (2) Iris began to come closer to the house. Just as she was approaching closer... "..!!?" All of a sudden, Iris''s keen senses felt something approaching her, coming closer and closer at lightning speed! Her danger senses rapidly tingled as she put her entire weight to turn the horse to one side as quickly as possible. Whoosh! A glistening dagger came cutting through the air and heavily landed on the ground just inches away from Iris! Iris''s eyes widened a little. She hurriedly looked around to see the person who shot at her with such accuracy. She could feel a dangerous presence close by. She immediately dismounted the horse. Cautiously taking every step, she looked around all over. Her brows were tightly furrowed. In one quick move, she picked the dagger embedded in the ground . Clutching it downwards, she spoke up. "I suggest you reveal yourself. A meaningless hide and seek is a waste of time." Her voice was as calm as ever. Inwardly, she was thinking how many she could handle in her current body. Suddenly, she heard a low chuckle. This voice was like a flower that bloomed in the North Pole, bone-chilling cold. Iris''s ears felt slightly numb from it. When Iris saw the handsome man, her pupils abruptly constricted. The Seventh Prince! Why was he here?! And with such perfect timing too... Azura slowly took steps towards Iris, his each step synchronizing with the beats of her heart. Iris quickly calmed herself down and erased any sort of surprise from her face. She expressionlessly gazed at him, inwardly contemplating how to escape. "What a bold lady, trespassing the restricted territory. Truly broadened my horizons." Azura said in his cello-like voice. He smiled a little but his eyes held no mirth. He seemed to be laughing at her stupidity. Iris narrowed her eyes slightly. Then, imitating his own, she smiled just as devilishly and spoke, "What a bold prince, trespassing the restricted territory. Truly broadened my horizons." She was reminding him that he himself had also moved into the forbidden territory and had no right to criticize her. Of course, she didn''t truly think that way. This prince, were the rules ever effective on him? Azura seemed a little surprised as he raised his eyebrows. He seemed to know of Iris''s identity, that was why he felt a little surprised at the aura coming from her similar to his own. But that didn''t mean that she wouldn''t die today! "So, 3rd Lady of the Prime Minister''s manor, This prince suggests you quietly die without resistance. Otherwise, it could get...gruesome." Azura spoke very very slowly in his cold to the core voice. By the end of the sentence, he brought his hand to his waist and drew out his sword, all the while smiling cruelly. Iris frowned really hard. She subconsciously clutched her dagger harder. Azura''s achievements, such as his martial arts and swords skills, they were all top notch. She really didn''t know which one was better, her or him. Receiving a death sentence from him so suddenly, she felt apprehensive. Not to mention how she didn''t even have a sword. But first, why the hell does he want to kill her!? Trespassing wouldn''t give you a death sentence! Furthermore, why did he even bother to punish her when it wasn''t even his business? He wasn''t such a filial prince, was he? Iris turned her head to look at the house. Did she see something related to him she shouldn''t have seen? So now he''s silencing her? Feeling it was most likely it, she decided to test him before escaping. "Your Highness, killing me off so quickly? I haven''t even questioned you about what was inside the house yet?" She spoke very meaningfully. As expected, his expression changed a little. It wasn''t apparent but Iris caught it. After remembering the saying, ''curiosity killed the cat'' and sighing at her luck, Iris quickly mounted her white horse and galloped in the opposite direction at full speed! She didn''t dare to have a moment of negligence. Narrowing his eyes, Azura also mounted his own horse, and sped up in hot pursuit. Both of them tore through the forest, one the prey, the other the predator. Iris was turned her head back only to see Azura closing in on her. Damn, even in this dire moment, she couldn''t help but notice how elegantly he sat on his horse. Clearing her head, she made a sharp turn to the right that Azura wasn''t able to follow immediately, creating distance between them. All Iris could focus on now, was to enter a public area. In such an area, he wouldn''t be able to attempt anything on her. But, Azura wouldn''t let her do that so easily. With a flick of his hand, a dagger appeared out of nowhere. He threw it forward without aiming at all. Yet unexpectedly, it accurately hit where he wanted it to, at the horse''s leg! As soon as his attack was made, the horse swayed and toppled forwards, throwing off Iris from itself! Startled, Iris tried her hardest to position herself midair. She successfully landed on her feet while the horse fell on the ground. Looking at the horse''s leg, she furiously cursed at Azura in her heart. That damned piece of...! Azura''s horse approached and stopped in front of Iris. The man himself couldn''t help but marvel at her nimble movements mid air as she steadied herself. He had to admit, her level of martial arts seemed high. Was this something someone who lived deep into the mountains would know? Not that he hadn''t seen prettier people, he just felt that her scrawled clothes and angry appearance looked oddly enticing. Too bad for her, she had seen something she shouldn''t have! Dismounting the horse, Azura pointed the tip of his sword towards Iris, preparing to strike. Yet in that split second, a dagger came flying at his face! Frowning, he withdrew his sword to deflect the dagger aimed at his face. But when he looked up, Iris had already run quite a distance. "Playing chase again, huh?" He laughed, a very cold heartless laugh. Just as he was about to chase her, she abruptly stopped and turned around. Azura looked at her. She had already took off her bow and drawn an arrow aimed at him. Chapter 17 - Honey, Youre Not Omnipotent With a steady expression, Iris was aiming an arrow at Azura. Seeing this, Azura snickered. At once, he started to move towards her. Whoosh! The first arrow was shot. Azura easily dodged it and continue to close in on her. Iris took out another arrow and shot it at him, only to be dodged again. This continued for all of her arrows. Azura''s nimble movement and amazing agility, Iris couldn''t help but gape at. She narrowed her eyes and drew her very last arrow. More careful then before, she aimed at his neck. Not giving him time to get a gist of her direction, she steadily let go of the arrow and it rushed towards him! Just like before, Azura immediately turned to the right to avoid the arrow. But who knew, he managed to avoid getting shot in the neck, but her arrow grazed past his arm, leaving a small cut on it. Azura looked at the slit on his arm and said nothing, seemingly not fazed by it. He looked up, only to see a subtle smile on Iris''s lips. Frowning, he was about to move again, when he suddenly became shocked. His body...he couldn''t move at all! He stood frozen on the ground, not moving an inch. He even exerted force, but to no avail! Poison? He heard a soft laughter. It was like a spring breeze, moving past the ear like a gentle feather. Iris was looking at the frozen man with a smile. "You used poison?" Azura asked, his face sullen and his eyes radiating a chilly aura. "I didn''t want to use this type of trick anyway" Iris gazed at him calmly. The problem was, hey! she just saw a shabby looking house by accident, and he was going to kill her for that? That was going overboard. Yes, this was the arrow she smeared with her paralyzing poison last night. She didn''t think she''d end up using it on him. The poison completely paralyzes a person, the affects would last for about 4 hours. If she didn''t fire this arrow, her life would surely be done for. She wasn''t a match for Azura in her current body. Though she knew, the consequences for this action would not be ordinary. Strolling over to his side, Iris tilted her head teasingly and smiled at him. The current seventh prince had never been bested before. For the first time in his life, he had been forced to defeat. This was an occasion to celebrate, Iris thought to herself. Though his retaliation would be a problem, It''s good to enjoy this while she can. Thinking this, she said to him, "Honey, you''re not omnipotent." He must''ve been in the delusion that no-one could beat him, ever... Iris felt joy in crushing this delusion of his. In comparison to her dearly cherished life, this was nothing. She''ll deal with him when the time comes. She has her ways to do that anyway. Heh, she, Iris, was not to be underestimated! ... After some time, she went back to her horse and gathered her hunted animals. Then, she secretly moved out of the area without alerting anyone. The sky was growing dark and the hunt was about to end. After Iris got past the forest, she saw that many people had returned back. Giving her hunt to the collecting area, she strolled past the people and moved towards her carriage. The results would be announced a few days later. She wanted to return back now. Just as she was about to alight the carriage, she noticed a figure leaning against her carriage. It was her second sister, Athia. Putting her raised foot down, she turned towards her. After Athia noticed Iris had come, she came forward and stopped in front of her. Her face remained indifferent as she spoke to her, "In the competition, where were you?" Her tone gave off a very meaningful vibe. Iris blinked once and calmly replied to her in the same indifferent way, "Don''t know. I was just roaming around." Muttering an "Oh", Athia started walked past Iris. Just as they were about to cross, Athia stopped beside Iris. Casting a side glance at her, she smiled and said, "I know you went to the forbidden territory." Iris chuckled slowly at her response, but didn''t say anything. The two crossed at Iris climbed into the carriage while Athia went back to Aria. Sitting in the carriage, Iris waited for the others to come back. After waiting a short while, Iris cast a glance at the forest. At that moment, a horse rushing up out of the woods caught Iris''s eye. And the one riding the horse was Azura. Iris was shocked and widened her eyes. The poison was supposed to last for four hours, why was he here now? His strength, Iris squinted her eyes, his strength really couldn''t be underestimated! At that moment, Azura dismounted his horse and looked in Iris''s direction. Their eyes met. Both stared at the other intimidatingly. But that was all. It wasn''t like those stupid novels that Iris had read, where one could see the story of their life in their partner''s eyes. That sort of bullsh*t only happened in those novels, because Iris couldn''t get anything out of his eyes. They were just threatening. Never would''ve thought the seventh prince was this formidable. After Azura averted his eyes, he moved to the royal carriage and left. Yet before leaving, he smiled at Iris. That smile seemed to warn her of her fate, extremely cruel and bloodthirsty. Iris''s heart involuntarily chilled. One problem after another, she has to brace through. Else, how will she survive? Chapter 18 - You want to act? I can act better! The results of the hunting competition would be announced a few days after the competition. The one with the most hunts, or the one with the rarest animals hunted would be declared the winner. The winner would either receive some expensive ornament or a minor title from the Emperor. The local people would participate in the competition for the ornament prize and the nobles would be vying for the title. A title meant establishing a foothold in the court business, so all the nobles wanted that. The same was for the Silcia family. Azer had his daughters participate so that if they received the title, it would be helpful for the decision of their marriage. He chose Aria and Athia because these two were the ones who would participate the most in the hunting and were the most likely to have a chance to win. The presence of Iris was all thanks to her grandmother''s insistence. He naturally didn''t really care about Iris, nor did he expect anything from her. But, the less they expect, the greater the shock, thought Iris. So, she made absolutely no comment on her hunts or her total number of hunts to anyone at home. Not even her own mother. Listening to Aria''s constant shy and coy bragging at the dinner table and her father''s beaming face, she calmly sipped her tea, not saying anything. He he, let her ascend to the sky. The harder she falls, the better! While eating her food, Athia quietly glanced at Iris. Seeing her not say anything about the competition, she didn''t speak either. After talking to her father, Aria smilingly turned to Iris. "Iris, how did it go for you? You must''ve gotten a lot of hunts, right?" She asked, feigning expectation. Iris sneered internally. As if she didn''t know her cheap little tricks. In fact, she was using the same trick as her. The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. Aria was trying to embarrass her in front of her family. Should she reply positively, the result would leave intense disappointment. And should she answer negatively, she would be shamed on spot. Thus, after hearing Aria, Iris sadly lowered her head, not saying anything. "Iris?" Aria asked confusedly. What was she doing? "Sister, i-if I did anything to offend you, p-please forgive me..." Iris stuttered fearfully. Slowly, tears formed in her eyes. "What are you saying? Iris, what''s wrong?" Aria acted even more confused. "Sister, I know I just came here. I understand if you t-think I''m an outsider. I won''t bother you, so p-please don''t..." Halfway through talking, she raised her head and glanced at Aria. As soon as she saw her, her entire being quivered from fear and she bent her head lower, as if she was really scared of Aria. "Please don''t bully me like this!" As she was lowering her face, no one could see the evil smile that blossomed on her face. You want to act? I''ll act better! Who doesn''t know how to act? "???" Aria didn''t know what was happening anymore. She just wanted to raise everyone''s expectations of Iris, so that her failure would further brighten her own success. She didn''t understand, why was she claiming she bullied her? But, as she turned her head to look at her father and grandmother, she could visibly see a frown and questioning look on their faces. Sensing the situation was getting worse, she hurriedly put on a wronged face and turned to Iris. "Iris, is there some misunderstanding? When did I bully you?" Instantly, Iris''s tears streamed down her face. She spoke up stuttering, "Th-then why are you trying to raise everyone''s expectations of m-me? Sister, I-I just came here, how could I have done well in the competition? Why are...are you asking me this? Is it t-to raise everyone''s expectations of me? I''m really s-sorry if I did something wrong, please don''t do things like these! I don''t want father to be disappointed in me!" She spoke between sobs, as if this action of Aria really hurt her. Being exposed on face, Aria''s face turned red. "Ha...ha ha, what are you talking about, Iris? I had no such intention! I was just simply..." she tried to explained herself. However, her desperate attempts to explain just gave birth to more doubt in everyone''s heart. Both Azer and the Matriarch felt there was some truth to Iris''s words. They turned to look at Aria with a frown, as if they didn''t expect her to be like this. Witnessing that, Aria became fl.u.s.tered. That was when Libera spoke up for her, "Aria! Is that anyway of speaking?! You almost made everyone misunderstand your words! Look at your sister, you scared her with your open way of talking! Hurry and apologize for the misunderstanding!" Seeing that her mother was giving her a way out, Aria hurriedly said, "I''m sorry for making you misunderstand, Iris! I didn''t mean it like that!" She even turned her tone apologetic. "A-ah...You don''t n-need to apologize. I-I-I...Please excuse me!" She bowed fl.u.s.teredly to everyone and ran off in a hurry. It seemed that she was still afraid of Aria, as if Aria would hurt her again for apologizing. This just gave off a bad impression of Aria as an older sister who bullied her younger sister. "Continue eating." Azer spoke. They all started eating, but the atmosphere had turned cold and awkward for Aria. Indeed, Iris had succeed in delivering a blow to her image. She clenched her chopsticks tightly. Athia stared at Iris''s retreating figure silently. Her eyes glinted, but she said nothing and started eating again. Meanwhile, after running back to her courtyard, Iris laughed to herself. Remembering the tomato that was Aria''s face, she couldn''t help but giggle. Ah, that felt so good. But, she couldn''t help but want more. More...so much more! Chapter 19 - The Death Of Riya After dinner, Iris went to Riya''s courtyard. She was eating dinner as well. But after a glance at the dishes, Iris immediately frowned in disgust. All the dishes were horrible! Not only was there not a single descent dish, the present ones were all overcooked and greasy. After cursing her father fifty times in her heart, Iris moved to the kitchen to cook her mother a meal. After choosing the ingredients, Iris started to chop the vegetables and turned on the stove. While her cooking skills weren''t the best, she was still decent. After some time, Iris had made three dishes. She made congee, porridge rice, curry and soup for her mother. Looking at the finished dishes, she nodded in satisfaction. She promised herself only to ever cook for her mother in the future. Little did she know, she would be breaking that promise in the near future. Iris started to put the dishes on a serving tray to bring them to her mother. Just as she was about to put the bowl of soup on the tray, her hands paused. She then became absent-minded staring at it. Suddenly, as if possessed, she flung her hand at the bowl hard, and it fell to the ground and shattered in pieces! All the soup splattered across the floor. "Ah!" The maids shrieked at Iris''s sudden movements, but the girl herself started to quiver slightly. Putting her hand down, she reached for a piece of the broken bowl. Doing that, she clenched her hand and the shard dug deep into her palm. A trail of blood flowed down her hand onto the floor, dyeing it red. She looked at the blood. Then, just like the blood, her eyes turned dark red, haunting and terrifying, as if they were dyed in someone''s blood too. She looked like a real demon, so much so that the maids backed away. At that moment, Iris''s thoughts were only focused on a distant memory. She was sitting on the prison ground, shivering from the cold.Her eyes were already dull and lifeless, but as if she hadn''t suffered enough, the beautiful Empress, Aria came to her prison cell. Looking at her disheveled appearance, she smiled brightly, "Iris, how does it feel, losing everything? You must be very surprised, right? But, alas, nobody cares for your feelings, your existence was always so insignificant. Nobody would care if you weren''t alive, right?" She laughed at her. Iris dragged her weak body to stand up and treaded over to Aria. She stuttered weakly,"W-why...?" "Why? Why we did this to you? Because you were a fool! You were easy to manipulate! You were the perfect chess piece for my happiness, the perfect support for my everything! From the start, you were nothing. From the start, you existed to make me happy. For my happiness, you had to give up your everything, your status, your family, you husband, even your mother that you oh so loved!" "What...?" Iris staggered back in shock. "What are you so surprised about? That we killed your mother? Yeah we did kill that bitch, so what? She was just as useless as you, getting so easily poisoned! You know what, it was a bowl of soup that sent her to her death! What''s more, it was a slow, painful poison! Till the end, even in the most pain, she kept calling your name, begging you to live well! Hahaha! What a joke! I kept laughing at her, seeing that. Didn''t she know that her daughter was the same as her, a useless pawn meant to be sacrificed? That''s exactly what happened!" "No...no...this isn''t real. This can''t be real...Mom.." Iris fell to her knees. Staring at the ground, her eyes became wet with tears. Only Aria''s laughter blended in her ears. Thinking back to her past life, Iris clenched the shard harder. In her last life, her mother was poisoned to her death, a few days after coming back. She always thought that it was an assassination, that her mother was stabbed. But it was only later that she found out that her mother was given poisoned soup, by Libera and Aria''s scheme! Looking at the soup, her eyes flashed with an intense hatred and d.e.s.i.r.e to kill. Sensing that her emotions were getting out of control, she quickly breathed in to calm herself. There was still time before the poisoning. She had to make preparations as soon as possible. This time, her mother won''t die She absolutely will not let her die! As the mother daughter pair ate their foods, they chatted warmly with each other. All the problems of the worlds were forgotten as they spent their time in happiness. Iris spoke badly of her father every now and then, so that her mother could grow to hate him more and more. She told her mother about the competition, about the hunts and the nobles and about the seventh prince. Riya asked her, "Do you fancy the seventh prince?" A feeling of emptiness took over Iris as she shook her head. She did once dare to love. She dared to believe in the impulse to love. Yet, where did it take her? How much pain and heartbreak she suffered, how much it hurt, did anyone know? Sometimes, fate doesn''t allow you to be happy. Leon and her, maybe fate abhorred the idea of giving her love. Of having her be loved and love back. Maybe, she was never meant to be happy. Maybe, she would forever be alone, in her darkness. Love? Love is nothing but an illusion. An illusion that shatters when you hit the wall, leaving only pain and regret. "Iris?" Riya called out when she suddenly fell silent. "Yes mom?" She responded. "Why didn''t you make soup today? I see every dish, but soup?" She asked confusedly. Iris lowered her head to hide the darkness in her eyes. "I hate soup." Chapter 20 - The Poisoning (1) At Night: Iris sat on her bed, slowly bandaging her wound. After cleaning it, she got up and headed towards the table. Taking out the letter from the wooden box, she started to read it. It was another letter from Rivas. "Miss Iris, I wanted to inform you that all the preparations are going smoothly. In about a week, I may be able to start with the sword-making. When that happens, please come and take a look personally, see if you want to make any changes. Also, I hope that you don''t go back on your promise to get rid of the organization. Recently, a rumor has spread that the organization is undergoing an internal struggle, so you probably don''t need to act up now. I am looking forward to the day when I can enter the capital freely. I also hope that you take care of my family back at the capital, if it''s not too much to ask for. I will work hard for the task that have have entrusted to me. Sincerely, Rivas" Wow, he''s still so uptight and formal. After going through the contents, Iris swiftly threw the letter into the fireplace. Watching it burn to ashes, she began to revise her plan for her mother''s death. As long as nothing unexpected happens, everything should be fine. The night was dark, but her heart was darker... ~Days Later~ Libera was sitting on a chair, looking at hr reflection in the mirror. Who knew what she though of, but she suddenly began to smile. At that moment, a knocking sound was heard from the window of her room. Libera hurriedly got up and ran to lock the door. After confirming the door was locked, she opened the window. As the window opened, a figure in black came inside. The black-clothed man came in and knelt on one knee before Libera. "So, where is it?" She asked. "Here, Madam." The man took out a porcelain bottle from his clothes and respectfully handed it to Libera. After getting a hold of the bottle, Libera smilingly twirled it, watching the moving liquid inside it. Her eyes flashed with a vicious light. Still staring at the bottle, she waved at the man in black and motioned him to go back. The man got up and bowed to her, before swiftly leaving out the window into the dead of the night. After the man left, Libera''s personal maid came inside and greeted her. "Madam, everything is prepared." "Good. Here, take this. You know what to do." She handed the maid the bottle. "Yes." "Also, go to the maid we assigned to that wench, Iris. Tell her to bring her Miss to the courtyard. I want her to personally witness her mother''s death! I still haven''t forgotten how she maliciously slandered my daughter. Make sure she''s there, so she can learn to stay in her place!" She spoke in a grave tone, showing her dislike. "Heh, the wench''s child is also a wench! Back then when she was the main wife, she always went around throwing her weight everywhere. Even after falling, she still hasn''t learned to stay in her place! Her death, only after I know she''s dead will I be able to sleep in peace!" Laughing maliciously, she went and closed the window. The face revealed from beneath the mask was something that could blind the eyes. He had smooth flawless skin, which was like a sheet of well done cloth. His eyes, which was under his long white hair, glinted under the moonlight. His soft sharp lips were very attractive and captivating. He was truely handsome. After taking off the mask, this man chuckled under the moonlight, "Ah, it''s started. The beginning of the end. It''s here." He used his hand to straighten his hair, all while smiling. His black eyes showed an insane excitement and crazed madness. ... At high noon, Iris was sitting on a chair while a maid was combing her hair. The was one of the 3 maids given to Iris. Two of them were given by Libera, and 1 was from her grandmother. While combing her hair, the maid called Xian looked out of the window again and again. "Are you waiting for someone?" Iris asked her with a smile. "N-No, Young Miss. It''s just that this servant remembered something important, thus hesitant to tell Young Miss." The maid replied with her head lowered. "What is it?" Iris asked nonchalantly. "Uh, when this servant was going to bring breakfast for Young Miss, this servant met the personal maid of 4th Mistress Riya. She informed this servant to call Young Miss over by Mistress Riya''s orders. She told me to invite Young Miss at the evening." "Oh." Iris hummed. "So...will Young Miss go?" "Of course I will. However, there is still sometime till the evening, I want to rest now. Leave, call me when it''s time." She waved tiredly. "Understood, This servant will take her leave." Xian replied and left the room. After leaving the room, she hurriedly went out the courtyard and moved towards Libera''s courtyard. Iris, who was taking all this in from the window, smiled coldly at her. After some time, she called the maid given to her by her grandmother, Zena. "Zena, we''re going to my mother''s courtyard." She told her. "Ah? But Young Miss, didn''t Xian tell you to come in the evening?" "Who is Xian? Is she superior to me? Why should I listen to her?" Iris replied coldly. "..." Zena shut her mouth. She wasn''t in the position to say anything anymore. Might as well follow her master quietly. "Let''s go." Timing is everything. Know your enemy, know yourself, a thousand wins, a thousand battles! Chapter 21 - The Poisoning (2) Iris and her maid arrived at Riya''s courtyard by early noon. As they were about to go inside, Iris saw a maid rushing towards them with a bowl in her hands from the corner of her eye. Narrowing her eyes, she smiled coldly and stopped in her tracks. Upon noticing Iris, the maid was visibly startled. She rushed up to greet her. "Greetings, F-fourth Young Miss." "Why are you here?" Iris spoke to her, though her cold eyes lever left the bowl. "T-this servant was sent here to give 4th Mistress seaweed soup personally made by Madam''s chef." She replied nervously, obviously trying to hide something. "Oh? Let me see." "Young Miss, this..." "What? Why aren''t you giving it to me? Huh?" "Uh...that." The maid started to tremble a little. Not paying any head to her, Iris gestured to Zena and she took the bowl from the maid''s hands. Taking the bowl, she examined it with narrow eyes. Then suddenly, she widened her eyes and exclaimed in shock. "What?! Isn''t this...father''s liver medicine?!" She looked at the maid angrily. "What did you plan to do with this, giving it to my mother?! Insolence!" "What? Li-liver medicine? Young Miss, that''s..." What liver medicine? This was clearly poison! "What? You dare deny this? You''re saying that I''m lying?!" "No! No Young Miss! This servant just..." The maid tried to correct fl.u.s.teredly. Then, as if she suddenly thought of something, she exclaimed, "Young Miss is right! This servant accidentally brought Master''s medicine instead of the soup! This lowly servant deserves to die! Please let me take the medicine back!" "Humph, you do deserve to die. Now, instead of wasting time, go deliver this medicine to Father immediately!" Iris spoke, looking at her in contempt. "I understand, Young Miss." Seeing the chance to escape, she hurriedly nodded her head. Just as she was about to take the bowl, Iris scoffed, "Heh, as if a useless maid can do anything right! How can I trust that you will give this medicine to Father?" "Th-this servant..." "So, I''ll send Zena with you, to keep an eye on you! Zena, follow her and make sure that she delivers the medicine to Father! Don''t let her wander around!" "Yes, Young Miss." What?! The servant started to tremble. She originally planned to give the poison back to Madam, but now that Young Miss''s maid would follow her, what was she supposed to do?! Surely she couldn''t possibly go and give this Master, right?! Just as she was about to protest, Iris hurriedly waved the maid away, as if she couldn''t bear to look at her any further. Thus, the shaking maid went away with Zena following her. As the two disappeared into the distance, Iris chuckled. Underestimating her was a grave mistake. And they even dared to call her to witness her mother''s death? Retards! Though Azer would receive the poison, Iris was sure that he''d identify it in no time. And if he doesn''t, and dies, she doesn''t give a sh*t about that. He''s lucky if he manages to die that peacefully, lucky to have escaped from her claws. Satisfied, Iris moved towards her mother''s room. Not far from there, a shadow hidden among the leaves shook his head upon seeing everything. This girl''s shamelessness never changed at all! The ability to turn black into white was the same as well! Her acting has improved too huh? Liver medicine? Wow, she needs to be given an Oscar award for her acting skills! Seeing her disappearing silhouette, the figure got up and vanished on spot. Elsewhere, the shaking and trebling maid went inside Azer''s study to deliver his ''medicine''. As soon as he picked up the medicine, as Iris expected, he identified it as poison. Furious, he smashed the bowl at the maid and it shattered. He yelled at her, "Insolence! You dare give me poison?! Tell me, who sent you?!" The maid trembled harder and knelt down, "M-master, it w-was, it was Fourth Young Miss!" "What?! How dare she? Call everyone to the main courtyard!" ... A servant delivered Azer''s orders to everyone, including Libera who was about to head out to meet Riya''s corpse. Upon hearing of that, she was extremely shocked. Could the maid have revealed it was her idea to poison Riya? Is that why Azer was calling everyone to the main courtyard? Brimming with worry, she was planning of bringing forward a scapegoat to protect herself. But... "Iris! How dare you have the audacity to poison me?! Kneel this instant!" Azer''s voice resonated through the main courtyard, shocking everyone present. What? Iris had tried to poison Azer? Libera was shocked speechless. Wait...how did her plan to poison Riya turn into Iris poisoning Azer? Huh? "What are you saying, father? When did I try to poison you?" Iris spoke fearfully, deciding to play the tragic heroine card. "Impudence! Aren''t you the one who sent out this maid?" Azer''s voice was still seething with anger. "What?! What maid? I don''t know her! Father, I don''t know any maid, I didn''t tell her to poison you, how could I do that?" Her tone turned softer and more aggrieved, yet her words carried an unfathomable power. "This maid clearly said that you were the one who sent her!" "How is that possible? Does she have any evidence to support that heinous claim? Or did she just rashly come to accuse me without any sort of proof?" Iris replied. She seemed to be talking about the maid, but almost everyone could see that she was talking about how Azer just rashly came and accused her of poisoning with no evidence whatsoever. "This..." Azer momentarily quieted down. "Azer! What nonsense is this? You came to accuse her without any sort of proof? Just because of a servant''s words?" At that moment, The Matriarch that had been quiet for so long spoke up for Iris. Hearing her words, Iris internally smirked. Ah, seems like days of hard work finally paid off. After arriving, Iris would often visit her grandmother. Whether it was to just make her tea, or to talk to her, she would spend alot of time with her, making The Matriarch open up to Iris and treat her amicably. Actually, she was just doing this to get a supporting platform for situations like these. Seems like it all worked out, as she could see. Chapter 22 - The Poisoning (3) "Mother, I just..." Azer tried to explain himself, but found that he couldn''t say anything. He indeed had rashly accused his own daughter without evidence after listening to a servant''s words. Feeling guilty, he didn''t say anything. "Iris, this is all your fault, you caused Father to misunderstand! If you had clearly explained the situation, this wouldn''t have happened." Athia chimed in, looking accusingly at Iris. She seemed to be creating an opening for Azer to back out. But, only Iris realized that she was, in fact helping her out by giving her an opportunity to explain the situation. Turning to face Azer with a ''scared-but-acting-tough'' look, she spoke up resolutely. "Father, While I was on my way to Moth...Concubine Mother''s courtyard, this maid came running to me. She told me that she brought seaweed soup for my Mother. When I asked her if I could take a look at it, she suddenly knelt to the ground, exclaiming that she had accidentally brought Father''s medicine instead of soup. She kept kneeling, even begged me to let her take it back to you! So I told her to go..." Looking around, she pointed to Zena. "I even asked my maid to go with her, so she can make sure the medicine was delivered to you safely! I was only...I was only scared that she wouldn''t give father her medicine. I didn''t think..." She stopped speaking, looking fearfully at the maid. Everyone was surprised, especially Azer. Libera on the other hand, understood the situation. Just as she was about to speak, Athia once again stepped up, "Iris, how can we believe what you are saying is the truth? You could just be lying to cover up your crime! Besides, Zena is your maid, you can order her to say any nonsense you want!" She once again directed the blame towards Iris. "Iris, you..." Azer started to speak. In desperation to clear her name, Iris spoke up before him fl.u.s.teredly, "That''s not true! Second Sister, that''s not true! I swear it wasn''t me! How could I poison Father?! Where would I get the poison anyway!?" "That''s right! How could Iris have poison on her? She''s just a young girl, how could she have something like that?" Her grandmother made a timely appearance, fully supporting Iris. "So, it was just the maid that tried to poison husband, and framed Iris when she failed?" Libera spoke up confusingly. Everyone nodded their head in approval. This seemed to be the most likely situation. How could a little country-side girl like Iris have poison with her? "No! No! I didn''t frame her! I didn''t frame her! It was..." The maid started screaming in fear. Just as she was about to complete her words, Libera yelled at her angrily, "Impudent! You dare say it was not you?! How dare you have guts to poison Master and frame Iris? Guards, immediately take her out a beat her to death!" She motioned the guards to take the maid away. Iris smiled at her quick response. She effortlessly killed off a maid to protect her name. As expected of Her Imperial Viciousness. "Iris dear, please don''t be upset. Your Father just misunderstood the situation a bit, he didn''t mean to." Libera turned to comfort her. "That''s right sister, the maid was just to impudent, trying to poison Father." Aria also chimed in, trying to act all innocent. "But... If I didn''t stop the maid, wasn''t...wasn''t she going to deliver the bowl of p-poison to mother?!" Iris burst into tears after making the statement. She brought everyone''s attention back to the crux of the matter. "This..." "Thinking about it, it''s true! The maid was originally going to Concubine Riya''s courtyard!" "That''s right! She only went to poison Master because Young Miss Iris told her to deliver the medicine!" "Oh my!" "Why...why did they try to maliciously kill mother? Mother''s so nice! Why do they want to kill her?" Iris sobbed louder, as if she suffered the most heartbreaking pain. Seeing her like this, everyone felt sorry for her. "Okay, Iris. Don''t cry. We''re going to find the one who dared to do something so vicious! Azer, investigate this incident thoroughly for me!" The Matriarch tried to comfort her, giving Iris the result that she wanted from the start. "Yes, Mother!" Libera''s face changed slightly. She tried to cover the expression change, but both Iris and Athia noticed it. Iris knew clearly that Libera would push out a scapegoat to protect herself. But that would still stop he from acting against her mother for sometime. That was what she was aiming for all along. ... As Azer declared the incident over, people started to leave. Iris was planning to go to her mother and tell her a very twisted version of the incident today. Just so that she could hate Azer more. Just as she was about to leave, she saw Athia standing there. The both exchanged gazes and Athia left. Seeing her leaving, Iris''s deep eyes flickered. This second sister of hers... Even just now, her every word was to help her out. Even when she pushed Iris ahead and said that she could have lied, she was only doing that so Iris could present stronger facts to support her argument. So that her innocence would be made clearer. Athia, this girl, she was...someone Iris could never understand in both of her lifetimes. Chapter 23 - The Fifth Prince And Azura Iris was leisurely sitting on a comfortable chair. Recently, the troubled waters had calmed down in her house. No one came to bother her, trying to cause trouble for her...yet. Very soon, the bullying would start, just like before. The hunting competition would give out it''s results in a few days, so there was nothing to do at the moment. Swaying her legs back and forth, Iris was bored. Riya was sleeping, so Iris had nothing to do. Unable to take her boredom on any longer, she decided to go to the capital city for a stroll. She reached into her closet and brought out her old cloak. Donning it on, she left the Silcia Mansion secretly. The capital city was bustling with activity. Everyone was engaged in something. There were stalls, shops, hotels, everything one could expect to find. Voices and laughter resounded through the streets. All sorts of colors highlighted the environment making it brighter and joyful. Iris walked through the enthusiastic streets smiling slightly. She felt a warm feeling, the feeling of life and clarity. Seeing such liveliness made her mood brighten up. All of this harmony, was so, so far from her dull life... Every cackle, every giggle made it''s way into her heart, giving birth to a longing. But Iris just felt that being of noble birth was much harder than any of this. She just wanted to be born a commoner, enjoying this type of life. Hiding her gloomy thoughts, she continued to browse through the city. After some time she noticed that there seemed to be some sort of festival today. People were making and selling lanterns and ribbons of all colors, congratulating each other happily. Wanting to find out what festival was taking place today, Iris stopped and tried to listen to the conversation of two shopkeepers. However, just as she was listening to the voices, she heard a loud yell! "Miss, get out of the way!!" "Hm?...Ah!" Thud! Just as she turned around, a heavy figure crashed straight into her, a full-body slam! Caught off-guard, Iris fell heavily to the ground with a thud. Rubbing her aching t.h.i.g.hs, she looked up to glare furiously at the ill-mannered hooligan who dared to bump into her! His gently-carved face was flushed slightly, his blueish-green eyes were shaking slightly as he waved his arms around, trying to say something to the glaring girl on the ground that he had knocked down. After getting a closer look at the hooligan''s face, Iris blanked out. Hm? Isn''t this man... "M-miss, I''m so sorry! You see, I was running really fast and you were in the way...no! I-I mean I was being chased and so I d-didn''t see you, ah! I''m not saying that you don''t have any presence at all, I-It''s just that, well, today is valentine''s day s-so I was receiving many letters that I a-accepted unknowingly, so n-now I''m being chased by a huge crowd of girls...I-I''m sorry for knocking you down!" The handsome man reached out his hand to help Iris stand up who simply shrugged it off and stood up herself. Just as the man was about to say something to Iris, they both heard the sound of many footsteps approaching them. Getting a sound of them, the man became more fl.u.s.tered. Curious, Iris swept a glance past him, only to see a huge crowd of girls rushing wildly towards them. "Here he is! Everyone, there is the man who accepted our letters!" Someone shouted in the crowd as they got closer. "Ah, I didn''t intentionally take those letters! Miss, please excuse me!" Saying that, the handsome man ran past Iris, dashing wildly as soon as he started to run. Looking at the man''s retreating back, Iris swiftly moved to the side to give way to the crowd to avoid being trampled on. Her brows tightened to a knot. Why was the Fifth Prince in the capital city? The man Iris recognized as the Fifth Prince Zhi Ruo appearing in the capital city''s streets gave Iris quite a surprise. But considering his frivolous personality, it wasn''t that big a deal. But still...Iris had a bad premonition. Slightly worried, she decided to follow him. ... After running for a long time at his fastest speed, Zhi Ruo stopped beside a tree and panted heavily, trying very hard to catch his breath. As he adjusted to his normal form, he raised his head to gaze at the man in the garden. The garden was spacious and completely filled with roses. In the center, there was a pavement that looked like the old castles in the seventeenth century. Underneath all of those layers of roses, were low-key luxury silver carved stone pillars, the pillars were placed strategically at the four directions north, south, east, and west. He seemed laid back from his posture, one of his hand lazily supporting his head, one of his hand just hanging down with his red eyes closed, he looked very detached. When he felt a gaze on him, he opened his eyes, there was a glint in them and it was as if he could see through everything. As this man turned towards him, Zhi Ruo made his way over and slumped heavily on the chair closer to the man. He wore a look of exhaustion and disapproval all over his face, "Seventh Brother, this is not right! On your orders, I went to the dislocated shop in the city, and because of that I was madly chased by those star-struck girls, chased to the point of almost dying, yet you don''t even utter a word of concern for me?! Am I still your older brother? What should I do the next time this happens?" Azura opened his eyes lazily, taking a sip of the tea, "Disfigure your face." "..." Heck, his brother really has a venomous tongue. Even though he is supposed to be older than him by 1 month, he''s still treated as the younger brother by him... Sighing at his life, Zhi Ruo was just about to say something when suddenly, Azura opened his eyes, a sharp glint passed through them and he turned to the bushed nearby Chapter 24 - The Wolf and The Sheep Confused at the sudden pressure from his brother, Zhi Ruo followed Azura''s gaze and looked behind at the bush. ... Damn. Sensing the gazes of the two men on her, Iris cursed internally. After she started tailing Zhi Ruo, she had to pick up an unimaginable speed to match his own. Not only that, she had to use all her intelligence to follow him on every twisted turn he took, trying to loose all the girls behind him. When it was finally just the two of them, Iris even had to hide to prevent being found out for tailing him. After going through all the painful ordeals, she actually stumbled upon the infamous Seventh Prince, which she totally absolutely did not intend to do. Had she known that Zhi Ruo was actually going for a rendezvous with Azura in his secret garden, she would''ve rather died than follow him! Not only did she do that, she even got caught! Great, now she can''t even leave! As the three people remained in silence staring at each other, Zhi Ruo suddenly stood up and pointed at Iris, "You! The Miss I knocked down back in the street! What are you doing here?" "..." After all the trouble I went through to tail you, at least you remember me. Iris pondered on how to respond. Should she say it was a coincidence? But how would that explain how she slipped past all the shadow guards unnoticed? ...that should probably do. She''ll pretend she doesn''t know these two. After swallowing the embarrassment from being so shameless, Iris puffed up her c.h.e.s.t to face him bravely, "You have the guts to ask me that! You still remember how you stupidly barged into me, sending me flying to the ground, breaking my bones? Do you really think I''ll let you off for that?" "Huh? What? B-but Miss, didn''t I already apologize for that?" Zhi Ruo asked confusedly. He didn''t understand why she followed him all the way here. "Oh? So just because you apologized, I have to accept it? I don''t accept your apology! I want compensation!" Iris spoke up, still dying of embarrassment inside. "Hah?" Zhi Ruo looked completely flabbergasted. Uh, what type of crazy person did he bump into, so petty to ask for compensation just for a slam? And she even followed him all the way here! Talk about holding grudges! Zhi Ruo couldn''t understand what to do now. Just as he wanted to say something further, he heard a very light chuckle from beside him. But that little sound, contained an unimaginable coldness, like glaciers of ice, a cruel, blood-thirsty laugh packed with an oppressive aura, demanding total submission. Zhi Ruo turned subconsciously towards Azura, only to see the man smiling sinisterly, eyes squinted and glistening with a dark patch of red as he gazed straight at Iris. He shivered slightly, feeling that his Seventh brother was feeling bothered by the presence of an intruder. After all, his Seventh Brother absolutely abhorred human contact. He was always detached from the world. Thus, he turned to face Iris, "Miss, about the compensation, how about we talk somewhere else? I will be sure to generously compensate you!" Seeing the opportunity to leave, Iris hurriedly snorted, "Humph! Fine, but don''t think I''ll let you run away!" After that, she turned around to leave, before the vengeful Seventh Prince decides to come after her life. Zhi Ruo smiled at got up, ready to leave, when he heard Azura''s bone-chilling voice, "Did I allow you to leave?" Puzzled, he turned to face him. "Seven Brother, are you talking to me?" But after saying that, he noticed Azura''s gaze fixated on Iris, not looking at him at all. "Seven Brother, do you know her?" Azura didn''t reply to him. As his unwavering gaze fell on her, Iris repeatedly cursed inside. She wanted to find a way to escape, as soon as possible! She wasn''t prepared to face off with Azura just yet. If words, she can easily force him to surrender, but if he straight out gets violent, she didn''t know how long she''d last against him in her current body. As she cautiously glanced here and there, Iris planned her escape. She inwardly started to calculate her route back so she could run away before Azura got up from his chair. She looked at Zhi Ruo, "You know what? I''m very generous today, so I won''t demand compensation anymore! Bye!" And without another word, she turned on her heels and dashed out the garden, immediately picking a fast pace. "?" Zhi Ruo looked at Iris running away, confused as ever. Scratching his head, he turned to face Azura. "Seventh Brother, did she-" As he turned around, he saw that Azura had already disappeared. "..." Could anyone explain to him what was happening!? ... Iris tore through the garden, running as fast as she could. Her keen senses told her that someone was hot on her heels, getting closer and closer. She couldn''t help but grit her teeth. Isn''t this Seventh Prince too much like a c.o.c.kroach? It''s not like she tried to kill him! Why must he go out of his way to chase her?! "!?" As Iris got further, she noticed 3 shadow guards blocking her way, standing very close to her. Narrowing her eyes, she swiftly elbowed one of the approaching guards in the face and kicked his stomach, sending him flying. As the guard fell to the ground, the other shadow took out his sword and swung it at Iris full force. Instantly, she ducked and avoided the attack. As the sword swung over her head, Iris quickly reached out and grabbed his hand that was holding the sword, lunging him towards her. In full strength, she thrust her palm in his face and plummeted him to the ground, hard. All of this happened in a flash. Barely given any time to straighten up, the other guard directed his fist at her face! She quickly used both her hands to block the attack as the guard continued to punch. As he threw another punch, Iris grabbed his fist and swung her arm at his face. As he raised his other hand to protect his face, she took the opportunity and kicked the place where the sun doesn''t shine! As the last man fell to the ground groaning in intense pain, Iris straightened her back and prepared to run. But before she could even begin, an arm grabbed her wrist strongly. Before she had the chance to turn around, her legs were strongly hit and she fell to the ground! Shaken by the fall, Iris opened her eyes to see a figure hovering over her body, pinning both her hands to the ground, making her unable to move. Chapter 25 - The Fox that would be tamed by The Wolf As his cold breath hit her face, Iris frowned. She tried struggling, but it was as if he was an octopus, she couldn''t break free at all. Finally giving up, she raised her head to meet his darkened gaze. She calmed herself and her tone was level as always, "Your Highness, what do you mean by this? It''s not like this garden is a forbidden property, so why are you arresting me like this?" "Heh." Azura, upon hearing those words, chuckled. "How brave of you to mention forbidden property. Do you need this prince to remind you of the incident back in the forbidden territory?" "Ahem...what incident is Your Highness talking about? This official''s daughter doesn''t understand Your Highness''s meaning." Iris at once put back the formalities that she had long thrown out the window. "Don''t remember? Haha..." His menacing ghastly laughter buzzed in her ears. "This Prince is very proficient in bringing back lost memories. If someone told this prince that they didn''t remember something, This prince would catch them and put them on their knees, and had them remember by force. From my years of experience I know a few hundred ways to bring back lost memories. So, should this prince use those ways...on you?" A slight chill ran down Iris''s spine. It was fairly obvious that those ways of his were in no way peaceful. Iris could easily imagine the brutality of those ways... "Oh, it''s good that Your Highness doesn''t have a common face, this official''s daughter has remembered the events of the hunting competition. When Your Highness was senselessly chasing after this official''s daughter, and I was trying to run away, lest I got killed. Ah...this official''s daughter also carelessly shot an arrow at His Highness back then. Asking Your Highness to forgive that accidental offence." Once again, black was painted white by Iris''s mouth. "Accidental offence? This prince understands, won''t be petty and will forgive that offence. However...for the other matter, this prince won''t be lenient." "That...Your Highness, would you believe me if I said I saw nothing that day, and just said that ambiguous line to test Your Highness?" Hm? Azura raised his eyebrows. "How could this prince believe you, when this prince can''t ascertain if you are lying or not? This prince insists on you taking responsibility." "How do you want me to take responsibility?" Iris asked warily. "You have two options: Either hand over your head, or hand over your neck." Azura smiled like a devil. What bullsh*t was this? Two options, either die, or die? "I choose...none!" At once Iris raised her leg and strongly attacked where he was the weakest! Frowning, Azura let her go to avoid her attack, and as soon as he did that, like a fox, Iris rapidly slithered out of his grasp and immediately dashed towards the wall! Jumping up, she climbed the wall and jumped down, disappearing into the crowd. ... After witnessing the escaping Iris, Azura didn''t chase after her. He just stood up and brushed off the non-existent dirt off himself. His face had regained it''s indifferent as always look. He just nonchalantly left the garden, as if nothing had happened. In his life, he had made this expression before only once, when he took down the strongest swordsman, an expression on intense interest and d.e.s.i.r.e to dominate and conquer... He had already begun planning how to tame the wild fox he had discovered, the fox that had bested him of all people. It was at this moment, that Iris''s fate had been tied to him completely, to him and him alone. ... After escaping from the wolf''s den, Iris came back home. After today''s encounter, Iris had promised herself not to meddle with Azura. Not to meddle with him until she came back to her strength. He...was much harder to take on than Iris thought. He was absolutely unpredictable, a man born for the darkness, a man born to be the highest. She had to stay away from him for as long as she could. He was, in many aspects, stronger than Leon. Had he not died, Leon wouldn''t have taken over the throne. Even Iris, who had dealt with all the princes competing for the throne and took them out of the league in her past life, would not have been able to get rid of him easily, if at all. Goodness, if only she knew right now, that this was something that could never happen, ever. ... After Riya''s poisoning incident was investigated, Libera had, as always pushed out a scapegoat to prove her innocence. By that, the matter was settled. It was what Iris had expected from the start, nothing surprising. And very soon, the day the results of the hunting competition were to be announced, had come. The Emperor would announce the results himself at the autumn banquet annually held at the Royal Palace. Every noble would attend this banquet, and in the Silcia Manor, the preparations of the banquet had begun in full force. Clothes for all of the Young Miss''s were being made, all very beautiful, decorated with the most exquisite embroidery, adorned with the most precious jewels and worn by the flowers of the capital. Of course, this was with the exception of Iris, who was given the most mediocre dress one could receive. And of course, the one in charge of these dresses was Libera. It was one of the most beautiful dresses she had ever seen. Chapter 26 - The Autumn Banquet (1) The dress was a metallic blue color, adorned with the embroidery of a rose. It had tiny crystals on it''s form, shining nicely under the light. The sleeves extended long and a ribbon was attached to the waist. It was a marvelous dress, and it was custom made. Looking at it, Iris nodded in satisfaction. Now this was a dress of a noble family''s heiress. All she needs to do know is to find the perfect jewelry to wear with it.. ... Elsewhere, two women were siting in a spacious room. Libera spoke to her beautiful to the point of destruction daughter, Aria. "Aria, this banquet is very important. You need to be extremely careful in putting up appearances." "I know, mother." Aria replied softly. "And when you go on stage to claim the prize for the hunting competition, keep up a humble and surprised facade. Don''t show any sort of inappropriate emotion, understand? This will be one of the good opportunities to help you in your future marriage, try to leave a great impression. You know, the Seventh Prince will be attending this time around, you don''t want to let this opportunity go, do you?" Libera smiled meaningfully. Aria blushed very hard, lowering her head to hide her bashfulness and shyness form her mother. "What are you saying, mother..." She spoke softer than before. Libera laughed heartily, "This child, don''t think you can hide it from me, I know you like the seventh prince!" Aria blushed deeper, as a sweet memory flashed in her mind. The wind was blowing gently over the grass, making it sway slowly, as if following a symphony. There, a man was siting. His robes were extremely exquisite, his face cold, aloof and dangerous, yet perfectly handsome. His bloody dark eyes seemed as if they could see everything, adorned in a sharp gaze. One look at that person, and her heart was captured beyond recovery. In the entire world, to her only he could be worthy of herself, only he would she marry. "Aria, in this banquet, you should start making your move on the Seventh Prince. As attractive as you are, there''s no way he wouldn''t notice you. Not only that, you would be the one taking the initiative, so his pride won''t be hurt! Take this chance to get closer to him, and your father will set up an engagement for you two!" "Yes!" .... In the Imperial family hall where the banquet was to be held, the guests were starting to arrive. There was no one from the royal family in sight, they had yet to arrive. In the throne room, the Emperor was looking at the young man sitting in front of him, feeling slightly nervous. Azura leisurely took a sip of his tea, not glancing at him at all. "Old'' Seventh, so...you will attend today''s banquet, right?" He asked slightly anxiously. "If Father Emperor has said so, how could your son decline." He replied aloofly. "Great! Also...there will be many noble families coming. Many noble ladies will come too, and all of them are elegant and beautiful, knowledgeable and virtuous. How about you...pick someone to marry? You have come of age, and still have no consort..." He tried to recall something carefully, "Ah, there''s this girl, Prime Minister Silcia''s daughter, the eldest one. What was her name...Aria! How about her? She''s famous for her beauty, and she''s more talented than any other girl in the capital. How about you meet her today, and tell me if you like her?" "Father Emperor is rushing this son. This son has no intentions of getting married." There was not a change in Azura''s expression. "Look at you, always like this. No intention of getting married? You just want people to gossip, saying you''re incapable, losing face for this Emperor." "Anyone who dares to gossip, see if this prince won''t cut off their tongues." "You really have no one you want to marry?" The Emperor sighed in regret. "I don''t want anyone to marry, but I do want to raise a fox..." Azura seemed to have thought of something and let out a deep, alluring chuckle. "What? You want to raise a fox?" The Emperor was flabbergasted. "Father Emperor, it''s time." He got up and headed towards the venue leaving a stunned Emperor behind. ... Iris arrived in the banquet alongside her family. This time, her father didn''t defame her and let her ride in a normal carriage, all for the sake of reputation. As Aria and Athia entered the banquet hall, everyone let out a gasp. Their beauty was unparalleled, exquisite, alluring, not letting them take their eyes off, a beauty capable of bringing downfall to the cities. The two of them greeted the people and went along to talk to other noble girls. As she entered herself, she aroused another round of amazed looks from the crowds. As she entered in, everyone''s gaze followed her figure, yet she didn''t even flinch, much less panic. Seeing her, people started to gossip, "Who''s she? So beautiful!" "I don''t think I''ve seen her before in the capital?" "She came with the Silcia family, so could she be a member of their family?" "Ah, I think I''ve heard of her before, isn''t she Iris, the girl that was sent to the mountains to recuperate?" "Wow seriously? She''s such a beauty!" Iris was unfazed as always, made her way to a seat and sat down, no intention of socializing at all. she just casually glanced around the hall, her gaze landing to the table full of food. She averted her gaze, but it unconsciously drifted to the table again. She looked away again, but found herself staring at the luxurious delicacies once more. Her eyes were staring intently at the food, ready to pounce on it any second. Her lips curved up into a small but subtle smile. Little did she know that her actions were seen by somebody. Chapter 27 - The Autumn Banquet (2) Just as her hand reached out to grab a piece of cake, a fan smacked it back. Frowning, she looked up to see Athia glaring at her disapprovingly. "It''s not polite to eat before the Emperor arrives. Now that you are part of the Silcia family, mind your manners." Iris glanced at her and looked away, her gaze becoming aloof and distant once again. She got up from there and went to find another seat, away from Athia. Very soon, the Emperor and the princes arrived at the banquet, with the exception of Leon, who was reported to be sick. Iris remembered that around this time, Leon was trying to rope in the Minister of Foreign Affairs to his side. He was too busy to come here. It was better he didn''t come, for now. After the Emperor settled down, the banquet started in full heat. Dancers from all over the country were invited, their every move exquisite and beautiful. The musicians and court entertainers all sang and played the musical instruments they were best at, as the nobles socialized and prattled on. Anyone who came to talk to Iris, looked at her in absolute contempt and disgust, as if she was born from a sloth. She didn''t mind them, it was something she had long gotten used to in her two lifetimes. Just that, these noble girls really were something, how could a single phrase from their mouth contain so many underlying meanings? Just a simple, "how''s you''re life in the manor?" could mean "how''s you''re life as a useless country bumpkin in the manor?" She didn''t like this flimsy way of talking one bit. If one has to speak, why not be straightforward about it? Why cut so many corners just to insult somebody? She swiftly moved towards the table of food once more, feeling that she could only talk to her delicious food now. As she was eating her favorite parfait, she suddenly felt a gaze on her, making her hair stand up. She followed her instinct towards the gaze, but far into the distance, no-one was looking at her. She shrugged and turned around, but just as she did, her head collided with something hard. "!!?" Iris looked, surprised, at the man''s c.h.e.s.t before her eyes, the exquisite robe and the faint smell of roses assaulted her nose. Before she cold stop staring, her chin was grabbed and tilted upwards. Her eyes met a pair of blood-red ones. Those eyes were like a whirlpool, s.u.c.k.i.n.g one''s soul out. When Iris saw Azura, her pupils abruptly constricted. She had not once seen him coming towards her, and in a matter of split seconds, he was in front of her. Furthermore, she kept feeling that those eyes on her back were his as well. Seeing her staring at him in shock, he curved his lips upwards, making her return to her senses. She immediately smacked his hand away from her chin and took two steps backwards. Then, without a word, she bowed to him in greeting, "Greetings to Your Highness the Seventh Prince." Not wanting to give him a chance to talk, she immediately tried to turn away and escape. She could already faintly feel the poisonous gazes of the noble girls in her vicinity. But before she could move, the Eunuch sounded the drum and attracted everyone''s attention. The Emperor had stood up from his seat. As he came forward, the Eunuch loudly announced, "Long Live The Emperor! May the glory of the heavens be unto us, the hunting expedition that was held a few days ago, many successes and many failures. As the heavens wish, may His Majesty announce the winner and successor of the last year''s winner of the hunting competition!" (A/N I''m sorry for the confusion, I''m more confused myself £Ü(^-^)£¯) Immediately, many of the noble''s eyes shined in glee and anticipation towards the winner. There was an element of hope present in everyone''s eyes, it shimmered and shined. Yet one noble girl didn''t have the element of hope. Instead of that, there was absolute clarity present in her eyes, as if she knew she would win for sure. This was none other than Aria. "My, Miss Aria, You''ll surely win this time too!" "Wow, I''m so envious! I wish I were a talented as you." "Nonsense, how could you compare to my sister Aria? I''m sure even the Seventh Prince would acknowledge her talents!" "Oh you all, stop it!" Aria feigned shyness and glared at the girls. Her gaze slightly drifted towards the said seventh prince. She couldn''t help but smile slightly. All her moves were seen by Iris. Her eyes glistened under the lights, they contained pure mockery and happiness in crushing the hopes and dreams of Aria. She chuckled as she gazed at Aria non-stop, not wanting to miss a single one of her expressions. Her heart beat faster in excitement, as she smiled sadistically. Azura heard her chuckle in front of him, looking between Iris and Aria. He could faintly tell what was going on and why she went into the forbidden zone during the competition. Seeing her show an expression so similar to his own, Azura smiled even more, his eyes becoming darker and darker as a light flashed through them. Ah, he couldn''t wait anymore. The Emperor glanced at the crowd, his gaze stopping over Azura, who was standing very close to Iris, smiling as well. He couldn''t help but double take at Iris, the girl standing so extremely close to his son, who never let anyone come near. Furthermore, his son wasn''t doing anything about her, instead focused all his attention on her, shocking him a bit. Realizing that he had gone off track, he raised his head and spoke loudly, Chapter 28 - The New Genius? "Beloved officials and subjects! As you are aware, this Emperor has decided on a winner on the Annual Hunting Competition! The one with the most hunts, or the one with the rarest hunts, will win the first place prize!" As soon as he finished his words, an Eunuch carrying a small tray entered the stage. As the cloth that covered the tray was removed, everyone gasped in surprise. On the tray, a beautiful emerald hairpin was laid down. It had expensive crystals embedded on the flower pattern and had a huge emerald in the center. Under the sunlight, it glistened brightly and majestically. But what amazed people was not the hairpin itself, but who the hairpin belonged to. This hairpin belonged to the Empress Dowager, given to her by the Late Emperor that had it forged by the most skilled craftsman. Rumor had it that it had been a token of good luck for the Empress Dowager, and it was the reason why her weak son was able to wipe out all competitors to the throne and become the Emperor of today. The fact that His Majesty was willing to give away something so valuable made people wonder what sort of hunts the winner had presented. Aria''s eyes twinkled immediately as she saw the hairpin. She was more than aware of it''s value. If she received this hairpin, her prestige would increase by leaps and bounds! Such a hairpin, wasn''t it befitting the Empress of the Kingdom? If she had it in possession, wouldn''t it mean that her chances of becoming the consort of the future king would be greater then anyone? She had confidence in herself, this time she was sure she got something better than anyone else. This time in particular, she had a complete 100% chance of victory. No one could surpass her now! She tried hard not to smile, thinking of her blessed future. Not just Aria, many people were thinking that Aria had a greater chance of success as compared to everyone else. Back at the stage, the Emperor glanced at the hairpin one last time, before he started the main announcement. "After every participant''s submitted prey were carefully examined, one winner was decided. This person had not only submitted all the rare animals, but one of them was a treasure for this kingdom itself. This Emperor is pleased with the effort and would like to call over a Young Miss from the Prime Minister Azer''s manor..." Truly, Prime Minister Azer''s older daughter was an unprecedented genius. She managed to win the competition one more year. Thinking of their own kids, many officials sighed to themselves, gazing enviously at the proud Azer for his perfect children. Aria couldn''t control her delight anymore, she barely controlled herself from smiling wildly. She could feel the envious gazes of the people on her, making her feel even more complacent and happy. She raised her foot to go forward towards the stage, until she heard the Emperor complete his words. "...Iris Silcia!" "..." Aria''s foot froze mid air. She blanked out at the Emperor''s words, even forgetting to set it back down. She thought that she had heard wrong. Iris? Iris had won? How could that country bumpkin win over her? Did she hear wrong? However, when she saw the dazed and astonished look on the people surrounding her, she knew had she heard right. But how?! How could she have lost to Iris, to Iris of all people?! Impossible! It was simply Impossible! Aria immediately turned to face Iris, who happened to be looking at her as well. Upon meeting her gaze, Iris smiled sardonically. "Iris Silcia? Who''s that?" "Was there such a Miss in Prime Minister Azer''s mansion? How come I never saw her?" "This girl actually won over Miss Aria? The unprecedented genius who won 3 years in a row?" This outcome...it went way beyond unexpected! As no one came up stage, the Eunuch called out again. "Miss Iris Silcia, come and receive your prize!" After his words, a figure moved through the crowd towards the stage, attracting everyone''s gaze. Iris calmly went up towards the Emperor and knelt before him. "Your subject greets His Majesty, Long live the Emperor!" "Ah..." Amongst the crowd, people recognized the girl on stage. "So she''s that Iris, the weak girl who was living in the countryside to recuperate her poor health?" "Yes, I have heard of her! I heard she recently came back, no wonder!" "Yes, but this Iris must be better than Aria Silcia, to beat her the moment she came back!" "Yeah, is the time for a new genius to take the stage here?" "Who knows! But wow, to win the competition against everyone, all noble sons and daughters, she''s got some talent!" Immediately, the people started talking about Iris, mixing in insults to Aria in between. Aria, who was already stunned speechless, felt herself drowning in shame. Her smile became strained and stiff, and her face turned red. She wanted the earth to swallow her up at this moment. As she saw Iris onstage, she started seething in envy, something she had never felt before. Her hands clenched into fists. As the Emperor dismissed Iris''s courtesy, he examined her again. This was the same girl he saw standing with old seventh a moment ago. He didn''t think she was Iris Silcia, and further didn''t think was the winner of the hunting competition. The more he looked at her, her beauty and strange calmness that a girl her age wouldn''t possess, the more he liked her. He took the hairpin from the Eunuch, and placed it in Iris''s hands, praising her. At once, Iris knelt to display her gratitude, followed by Azer who came up to her with a slightly dark face. After the award was given, it was time to display the hunts. Soon, a few servants entered the venue with some glass boxes and set them up for display. The boxes had animal corpses in them, all which the people recognized. After the few boxes, the servants carried in a rather large box, that was prettier than the rest. After that, the Eunuch started calling out the names of the animals one by one. Chapter 29 - Assassination The Eunuch recited out the names of the animals loudly. "Hunt 1, a rare breed of rabbit seen rarely out in the open. This rabbit is infamous for it''s wild nature, hard to subdue, Angora rabbit! Rarity level 2!" "Hunt 2, Right-peck bird, the famous bird who''s flesh is often used in high quality medicine. It''s instinct to attack predators is very strong. Rarity level 2!" The first two hunts had already captured everyone''s interest. Angora rabbit and right-peck bird, who didn''t know of these two animals? They were rare to find, hard to hunt. And to have level 2 rare animals right of the bat, impressive! "Hunt 3, Rigora snake, the 2nd most poisonous snake in the forest. It''s poison can kill within minutes. It is hard to come by, and doesn''t attack unless attacked. Rarity level, 4!" "Finally, national treasure, Hunt 5, born in the toughest of environments, a wolf breed designed to kill instantaneously upon locking it''s target, Canis Rufus, Red wolf! Rarity level 5! Level 5?! Rarity level 4 and 5!! Everyone simultaneously s.u.c.k.e.d in a cold breath, astonishment flickering in their eyes. To have found an animal with rarity level 4 and 5, this...was she really just a 15 year old?! Even Aria''s highest record was rarity level 3! Amazing! Even Azer couldn''t help but gape at Iris. He was originally disgruntled with Aria''s loss, but for Iris, his country bumpkin of a daughter, to have secured level 4 and 5, he was stunned speechless. The importance of this matter, couldn''t be defined in words anymore! She knew, she always knew he was a selfish good-for-nothing of a father. She knew he would sell her off without batting an eye. She knew, yet why did she still feel slightly pained from the deep greed and d.e.s.i.r.e in his eyes? Was she still as soft as before, as kind as before? No, she can''t be that way. All sorts of kindness lead to pain and torture. Kindness is pain, love is hell. She can''t afford to be soft hearted, not this time! Iris''s eyes became slightly darker, more murderous. She could feel a layer of black over her heart. Still standing on the same spot, Azura squinted his eyes slightly, they flashed with an unfathomable light. His smile became slightly meaningful. He was about to step forward to go towards Iris, when his footsteps abruptly paused! "Gah...!" Suddenly, a blazing arrow made it''s way in everyone''s vision, tore through the air and pierced the back of the Eunuch standing close to the Emperor! That Eunuch immediately screamed in pain, falling to the ground in a pool of blood along with the people''s horrified screams. "!!!" Not just one, more arrows flied to the people, piercing and injuring them easily. "Ahhh! A-Assassin! Assassin!" "Protect the Emperor! Protect the Princes!" The people started to shout and panic, running here and there in confusion. Immediately, a bunch of guards surrounded the Emperor, protecting him with their swords drawn. And then, a big group of people in black clothes appeared, clashing with the imperial guards. They all had their faces covered, but their strength was extraordinary. They easily started to take down the imperial guards. Iris stood rooted at her spot, staring at Azer fleeing with Aria and his other daughters, not even glancing at her once. She didn''t have time to look at him and condemn him anymore, her eyes were shocked upon this sudden development, unforeseen in all aspects. The door to the exit was swarmed thoroughly, it was hard to move out, not just because people were leaving, but because more and more imperial guards were trying to enter as well. Iris contemplated her next move, to escape or not to escape. Considering the situation at the door, it was highly likely that she would be caught in the crowd. It would be wisest if she only stood here, not doing anything until the path cleared. Iris quietly picked up a sword on the ground, clutching it for defense if necessary. She looked at the ongoing battle, predicting that the guards would soon fall. In worse case scenario, some of the nobles not able to evacuate would be killed before reinforcements came in. She should just quietly wait for whatever would come. "Idiot! What are you standing there for?! Hurry up and come!" As she was inspecting, Iris heard Athia''s and Azer''s voice simultaneously. She turned to see Athia wriggling out of the crowd towards her and shouting at her to come while Azer was chasing after her. "Iris, hurry! Idiot, hurry up and come here!" Athia continued to shout and started to move towards her. "You''re the idiot! Go back to where you came from!" Iris vigilantly signaled Athia to go back, she had seen 3 black clothed people escaping from the imperial soldiers. She wanted to warn her to stay away, but it was too late. The guards grabbed Athia and pinned her to the ground, holding a blade against her neck. They took her hostage in case of a dire situation. "Damn..." Iris cursed under her breath, staring vigilantly at the 3 shadows. Her second sister Athia was a strange person, she was both cruel and kind. She left Iris alone most of the time, but would occasionally help her, and when she did help, she would go all out for that help. Chapter 30 - Protected, Acknowledgment Thus, she didn''t hesitate when she picked up a heavy glass and smashed it at the guard''s head who was holding Athia down. It hit him hard and his head started bleeding as he fell down. The other guards who saw this, angrily turned to face Iris, and aimed their swords at her. "Hey kid! we don''t have time to play with you! Scram!" "Scram? I''m sorry, but...no." Iris gazed at them with a smile and glowing red eyes. Then, she positioned her sword and charged at them with full speed! Azura, who didn''t want to fight unless absolutely necessary, saw Iris rushing towards the enemy with the sword in hand, his eyes immediately turned dangerous. With his prey charging straight into the face of danger, how could he just sit back and do nothing? As such, he picked up his sword and vanished from his spot, moving past his panicked shadow guard towards Iris. Iris ran towards one of the shadows and clashed swords with him, both of them standing on even grounds. The shadow didn''t expect such strength from a young girl and was taken aback, and Iris used the element of surprise to successfully kick him on the legs. He fell to the ground and didn''t even have the time to make a sound, before he was stabbed through the c.h.e.s.t. Pulling her sword out, Iris ducked and avoided the swing of another shadow''s sword. She aimed her swords and stabbed towards him, which he dodged and struck back. Iris blocked his attack with her sword and sent it back, using her agility and speed to strike the man''s shoulder, slicing it painfully. In his moment of weakness she wanted to end him, before her senses tingled and she narrowly avoided an attack on the back from another shadow. Caught off-guard, Iris hardly managed to take on the attack with her sword, holding it horizontally against the man''s own. Her sword dug into her palm, making a small stream of blood run down her fair arm. She was already busy with one guard, the other one with the shoulder slash got up and picked his own sword. "Damn!" Iris cursed as she saw the man pick his sword and aim it at her back. Not giving her a single moment of peace, he raised his arm and slashed! Iris closed her eyes slightly to endure the pain, but when a few seconds passed and it didn''t come, she turned around. The smell of roses assaulted her nose, and her vision was slightly She looked back and her pupils constricted slightly. Azura was standing behind her, blocking the man''s attack on her back! He stood against her back, leaning on it and making contact with her, while his hand blocked the sword. Iris was surprised at this, she had never, ever been protected before, in both lives. It was new feeling, to be protected by someone. It felt...strangely nice. Iris broke free from her trance of being protected. She threw off the man on her and sliced him back, tearing through his c.h.e.s.t. Although she felt kind of happy to be saved, she wasn''t a weak girl who stood behind others for protection. She could at the very least protect herself. After the last guard had left her, Athia looked at Iris and Azura killing the guards, her emotions turbulent. She got up from the ground. Just then, Azer who had been watching from the sidelines with no intention of helping Iris at all, called out to her. "Athia, come quickly!" Athia looked at Iris, who signaled her to go back. Her eyes looked blank and distant, not fazed by Azer''s lack of care. Seeing that more people were coming over and knowing that she would only be a burden if she stayed, Athia shot one last glance at Iris and ran over to her father. After she left, Iris looked at Azura. He was looking at her with his unfathomable eyes, looking dangerous and demanding. She didn''t know what to say, so she nodded at him and ran to take on the other guards. Azura started to follow suit slowly, noticing her lack of regard for him, and slowly planning to fix that. She would make her tell him everything about her, her every secret, everything that made her such an interesting prey. Just as he was thinking such things, Iris had already slashed down a big bunch of assassins. One after another, she cut them with agility and precision. Her defense was perfect, and her offence was unavoidable. She was like a beast, cutting down anyone and everyone near her with those blank red eyes. Bathed in blood, as if this was just a common occurrence to her, as if she had experienced way worse before. Azura smiled more. He had to acknowledge her strength. Her willpower and everything that made her so similar to him, he admired them. This was his first time ever acknowledging someone, but it just bought a deeper d.e.s.i.r.e to conquer. His feeling, they were ones that wanted absolute submission. He...wanted to conquer her. He picked up the pace and started his own mayhem of killing. In just a moment, every guard was dead, at a speed thrice as much as Iris. Yet unlike the blood drenched Iris, not a single drop of blood made it''s way into his clothes. His every strike had been a brutal, painful one. He let his enemies taste the feeling of wanting to die but can''t, before he killed them. This was Azura, the feared prince of darkness. The ruthless and unbeatable killer. Iris looked at his figure in the heap of corpses, elegant and aloof as always. He turned to glance at her aloofly without much reaction, and left the banquet as the guards approached the dead assassins. She silently made a note in her heart not to bother with him much, until his assassination. He was the most aloof and I-don''t-give-a-damn person she had ever seen. He seemed to have ignored her after saving her, showing that he didn''t have much interest in her. Yet if she truly angered him, there would be hell to pay. She had a feeling he wouldn''t care even if the world ended, he would hold up the falling skies. She had unknowingly started to respect him a little. Chapter 31 - Aftermath, Memory The incident of the assassination created an uproar in the imperial court. The Minister of Defense was charged with the responsibility of looking for the criminal. Considering how they easily barged into an imperial banquet, it could be deduced that the culprit was someone who had power and resources. Furthermore, to blatantly target the Emperor''s life without any fear of death, the assassins were undoubtedly professionals. The nobles were told to guard themselves better for the present, as the assassin''s goal did not seem as simple as taking the Emperor''s life. As for the nobles who suffered causalities during the fight, they were all compensated nicely. Though for some of them, the material wealth still couldn''t compare to the loss of a heir. Therefore, the blazing fire of anger burned in their heart as they demanded the assassin''s mastermind to be found quickly. To avoid creating an uproar, the public was told that the assassins who attacked were apprehended and killed. Although this news was alarming, the people were more interested in gossiping about the newest rising young lady who managed to win the annual hunting competition right after her arrival. Almost everyone in the capital knew about Iris, the girl who broke the records set by some of the most prominent nobles. This was a major change, as Iris didn''t have a good reputation at this point in time in her past life. In her past life she was famous for being trashy and wild. Though this reputation didn''t persist even then. After she valiantly became a general, her fame washed over the entire country with every passing victory. But thinking of it now, what was the point of all of that fame, she was still ruthlessly crushed underfoot. The waves were turbulent at the Silcia manor as well. Azer was extremely conflicted. This daughter of his, he had thoroughly abandoned. Yet unexpectedly, she suddenly gained so much influence. He wasn''t sure how to treat her now. Cooking up all sorts of schemes over how to make the best use of her, the prime minister started to distance himself from the household affairs for a period of time. Unfortunately, this period of time turned out to be the one that required his attention the most. The banquet was a huge blow for Aria. Not just her anticipated award, even her genius title and frame were stripped away in a second. Not to mention the one who took them was Iris, the one she was least wary of! Sitting beside her mother in her room, she twisted the handkerchief in her hands strongly, displaying a vexed look. Libera consoled her daughter, hiding her indignant emotions deep within her heart, "Aria, it''s fine, it''s okay. Just a streak of luck for that trash, do you really think she''s as capable as you? She probably chanced upon some good animals in passing, accidentally hunting them down. Don''t take this little defeat to heart. It''s just some hairpin, not like that would make her the Empress." "But mother, this outcome...I simply can''t accept it!" Aria spoke unhappily. Furthermore, the way her looked at her. That gaze, as if she held a special place in his heart, how could she let this go! The Seventh Prince, the man at the tip of her heart, actually ignoring her and going towards Iris! Impossible! She won''t stand for it! "Mother, please immediately do something about her! Some sort of scheme...yes! Mother I have an idea!" Aria exclaimed. She shifted closer to Libera and whispered something in her ear. Libera smiled slightly at her daughter''s suggestions. When a good for nothing would start to sprout wings, it would be necessary to cut them off to put her in her place! ... Iris was unaware of the storm brewing behind her back, as she lazily sat beside her mother eating gr.a.p.es. Weird. She didn''t ponder over it too much, her attention had already been focused on her mother. Riya was fiddling with her hairpin, looking at it thoughtfully. Noticing her weird expression, Iris asked "What is it, Mommy?" "Iris dear, it''s nothing. I just seem to recognize one of the jade stones here, the big center one. I have seen it before. My father showed it to me when I was young, this jade. Though I didn''t think it would actually get attached to the Empress'' hairpin." Hmm? "Mother, you have seen this jade stone? How was that possible? Wasn''t this a really ancient hairpin?" "Yes, well it is. Hmm...maybe I recognized it wrong? But I feel so sure I saw it before..." Riya seemed unsure, but waved it off. By evening, Iris came back to her courtyard. It seemed as just a trivial conversation, but Iris couldn''t help but think about it. She had a strange feeling after hearing about her mother''s memory of the jade. It was just a feeling, but she felt that this bit of information for some reason was very critical. And her instincts were never wrong. Pondering on this matter, Iris was pacing back and forth in the garden, she didn''t notice the shadow that disappeared from behind her. A shadow that had constantly appeared and disappeared ever since she had reincarnated. Chapter 32 - The Coincidental Encounter One afternoon two days later, Iris go the news that Riya fell sick. This startled her and she rushed over. Riya laid sick and pale on the bed, seemingly sleeping. Her breathing was erratic. Iris felt extreme heartache looking at her pained expression. She seemed to have a fever. She quickly rushed the maid to bring over a doctor, but unexpectedly, the maid shook her head. She told her that she already asked the Prime Minister for a doctor, but he refused her. Even going so far as to claim that everyone was busy and no one had any time to call for a doctor for an insignificant concubine. Iris was furious, what busy, what insignificant! She really wanted to burn him alive! But now was not the time. She had to find medicine for her mother. "Do we have any medicine?" She anxiously asked her maid. "Young Miss, this..." The maid was hesitant. "We do have red ginseng, but that afraid is not enough to cure Mistress''s fever." Her mother''s body was already weak, why did that sc.u.mbag have to show the height of his trashy personality now of all times... Who to ask for help? Without further thinking, Iris picked up the pace and headed towards her Grandmother''s courtyard. Yet as if being condemned by the Heavens, she found that she was out to visit an old friend. Now what? Not like those foxes would help her, what could she do? Sighing, Iris gathered the little money she had left and moved out of the manor towards a pharmacy. She doned a cloak on to hide herself. She could just send a maid, but she figured that a maid would take better care of her mother''s body than she would. After all, she had spent many years on the rough and bloody battlefield, such a gentle and delicate matter, she couldn''t do properly. The only decent pharmacy anywhere nearby was the Shanglin Hall. Iris couldn''t take a carriage, so since she had to walk, she just came here. The shopkeeper was a middle aged man. He looked gentle and amicable. He approached Iris with a smile. "This Young Lady, what are you looking for?" He asked nicely with bright eyes. "Do you have any herbs to cure a common fever?" She didn''t waste anytime and asked anxiously. "A common fever?" The light in the shopkeeper''s eyes dimmed a little. "Of course." Even though Iris was just seeking out a very common herb, he still kept a smile on. He shuffled some herbs and took out a green bushy herb. "This is the Heart-Leaved moonseed. Very effective for fevers and can relieve exhaustion." He explained in detail. "I''ll take it." Iris hurriedly took out the required amount of money and handed it to him. Taking the herb, she dashed out of the shop. While she was rushing home, she came to a particularly crowded area. She inevitably had to slow her movements down. While moving through the crowd, Iris harshly bumped into someone. Startled, she turn to look at the culprit, only to find him dashing away across the street. Iris gritted her teeth hard. There was no time to be chasing him down, her mother''s condition could be worsening! Counting her remaining money, Iris once again headed towards the Shanglin Hall to purchase the same herb. Once she entered again, someone was already there. She saw the shopkeeper all smiles, trying his best to boot lick the man in front of them. She anxiously waited for them to be done with their transaction but the cloaked customer as if noticing her impatience, deliberately slowed down his selection of herbs. One by one, the guard next to him would ask for different herbs and present them to his Master. And the Master would wave his hand, and the guard would ask for another herb. What was incredibly exasperating was that not only did the shopkeeper not get impatient or notice her presence, he was even getting enthusiastic with every passing second! Shanglin Hall''s reputation wasn''t small, just who was this incredible deity, this crystal card holder that could make the shopkeeper behave this way. Was he even picking a herb, or picking a wife! Iris clenched her fists thinking of her mother''s condition. She couldn''t wait any longer. However, at the moment she was about to go back, the cloaked man turned around to face her. Blood-red eyes met. "..!?" An incomparably handsome face entered her vision. The aloofness and indifference in his gaze, as well as the domineering and kingly aura he exuded, easily made him stand out from the masses. Shock flashed through Iris''s eyes as she recognized who the man in front of her was. This was... The Seventh Prince, Azura! Why was he here! Immediately concealing her shock, Iris lowered her head to be hidden under the cloak. Doesn''t matter why he was here. Should he recognize her, this freak, he probably would draw his blade to claim her life instantly! She didn''t have time to deal with him! Lowering her head even more, she nodded at him as a perfunctory greeting between strangers. She pretended not to recognize him as royalty. Isn''t her luck too bad nowadays? Fine, she impulsively provoked this mad dog, was it really necessary for him to bite her every time they meet? And wasn''t her luck at these coincidences too bad? Looking at her turning her head away, Azura''s eyes flashed with a deep light. Coincidence? Was it really a coincidence? From the slight fever of her mother, to that herb thief, he had arranged it all. All for this ''coincidental'' meeting! He calculated her actions, and easily planned this all. In fact, the medicine of the fever had already been delivered to her mother. After all, who was Azura? A hidden genius! An absolute tactful and strategic man with whom even Iris couldn''t compare to! Usually, he would be a complete ice block. Not for any reason, but for the fact that nothing could attract his interest. And if something did attract his interest... He would use every ounce of his intelligence, to satisfy his d.e.s.i.r.es! Chapter 33 - Princess Li Jia (1) After greeting Azura, Iris turned her back and wanted to leave. Unexpectedly, the shopkeeper that was originally ignoring her, suddenly went up to her. "What does Young Lady want?" He asked, his tone even laced with a never before seen respect towards Iris. Not detecting the change in his aura, she answered, "Heart-shaped moon grass." She even deepened her voice so as not to get recognized. "I understand, I understand." said the shopkeeper as he hurriedly went to get the herb. Un? Iris was puzzled. How come, suddenly he changed to treat her nicely? And even left the Seventh prince for her petty little order? Before she had the chance to ponder over this matter, the freak in front of her laughed. It was a mesmerizing laugh, like a nicely tuned cello, void of any temperature yet still able to create ripples in one''s heart. When she met his gaze, a dangerous threatening one, she realized her mistake. Damn! Hearing that enchanting laugh, she accidentally raised her head a little! With his perceptive skills, it would be hard not to be recognized! Sure enough, a threatening voice resonated in her ears. "Oh? If it isn''t the Young Miss from the Silcia family. What a coincidence...to meet you here." He enunciated every word clearly, sending shivers down the girl''s spine. "Heh, this subject failed to recognize Your Highness. Asking Your Highness to forgive." She performed a low greeting, while actually backing away. "Seeing you backing away like this, are you afraid of this Lord?" With a single step she took backwards, he took one forwards. "How can that be, Your Highness." Iris''s hand reached for the door handle, ready to open it anytime. Her eyes drifted to the shadow guard next to Azura. One look at his gaze, she could tell he was a highly trained professional. Thinking of it logically, he wouldn''t attack her in a public place, right? That being the case, was it possible for them to part ways peacefully? ...nope. Iris looked behind Azura, to the shopkeeper. God knows what he went to look for, but he wasn''t in the shop any longer. It was just them three. As she was pondering, Azura took another step forward, closing the distance between them. "!?" Iris was startled as the scent of roses assaulted her nose. She subconsciously took another step backwards. Thump! Her back hit the shop door, as her eyes looked towards him even more vigilantly. The distance between them was barely a step. Any closer and they would entirely meet! Is he crazy? Azura''s eyes deepened as the arc of his moth subconsciously increased. He gazed straight into the eyes of the wary girl in front of him. She looked like a fox whose tail had been stepped on. He lifted his hand, wanting to touch her face. Yet at that moment, someone suddenly exerted force from outside the shop door wanting to enter, compelling Iris towards Azura! "Ah!" Iris immediately changed her stance to avoid bumping into him. She exerted force towards the door as well, preventing it from opening. She glared at Azura to back away. Yet the man simply blinked, and resumed his playful look as he gazed at her. "Hey!" A sweet female voice came from outside the door, soothingly calm yet with a ting of exasperation at the disturbance. Gritting her teeth, Iris shuffled to the side to let the door open, grazing her shoulder past Azura''s arm. As soon as the door started to open, she moved far away from the still standing man. This was to avoid being hatefully misunderstood. "What is wrong with you!" The pleasant voice came again as a female entered the shop. When she came in, even Iris couldn''t help but raise her eyebrows. The girl had fair and soft skin, her blue eyes slightly watery, charming everyone who looked. Her black hair were bundled up into a bun and her ruby red lips were slightly pursed together. Her appearance was so innocent and cute, even her frown and her annoyance were dazzling. She was wearing very exquisite robes, proving she was from a well off family. Iris was surprised by her incredible beauty that could easily rival her own. As she entered, she spoke out in annoyance at the door problem. Then, her eyes first drifted towards the man right in front of her. When the girl saw Azura, her eyes widened. Without further delay, she hurriedly made a bow to him. "This subject greets Your Highness the Seventh Prince! Asking Your Highness to forgive this subject''s insolence!" As she realized that she had misspoken, she hurriedly apologized. Raising her head, she looked up at Azura with apologetic eyes. Yet Azura simply gazed at her for some time, before finally responding with a "En" without any expression on his face. However, this acknowledgment enough brightened the girl''s eyes considerably. Iris was slightly surprised by their interactions. Looks like not only were they familiar to each other, but she held some significance to him too? For as far as she remembered, Azura wouldn''t even look at any girl, much less respond to her greeting. His gaze seemed to linger on her as well. Hmm, she thought he died without anyone he loved. Seems she was mistaken, everyone has somebody like that after all, he should be no exception. Suddenly, Iris''s eyes glinted. Looking that he was still looking at the girl who just came, shouldn''t this be a great chance to escape? Now that his loved one was here, he wouldn''t pay attention to her anymore, would he? Great! Just as she was about to open it... Azura grabbed her arm, pulling her back instantaneously! Chapter 34 - Princess Li Jia (2) Iris was stunned, turning back to stare at Azura with wide eyes. What did he think he was doing?! Why did he suddenly grab her hand? Were the grievances brought by her that deep to him? The girl before him was stunned with his sudden movement as well, as her startled gaze drifted to the cloaked Iris. In front of the two stunned people, Azura nonchalantly loosened his grip on her arm, still not letting go. He spoke indifferently, "Did I allow you to leave?" ".." Who did he think he was, for her to ask him permission to leave? "You..." "Who are you?" Both the girls spoke at the same time. Iris turned to look at the girl in front of her, who was curiously and innocently looking at Iris. "Oh, uh, I should introduce myself first. I''m Li Jia, the Princess of Milidonia. It is a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to make your acquaintance." She even smiled at Iris, pretending to not notice the contact between her and Azura. Princess of the the country West to Wistel, Milidonia. Iris faintly remembered her. She just heard her name back when she was a princess once. She was known as a devastating beauty, truely it was correct. But why was she here? Did she come here in her past life too? Seeing that her reply was awaited, Iris pulled her hand harder, releasing herself from Azura''s grip. "Uh, Greetings to Princess. I am Iris Silcia, Prime Minister Silcia''s...daughter." "Oh, so you are Miss Iris, the one form the hunting competition? I''ve always wanted to meet you!" Li Jia cheerfully grabbed onto her cloak and beamed at her. ''Uh..." Iris couldn''t say anything anymore. What should she do now? Iris, who was being stared at by the innocent girl, immediately remembered her purpose for coming here. Her mother! "Princess, forgive this humble one, but this humble one has to leave, now!" Not allowing anytime for anything to happen, she hurriedly moved out the door, sending a piercingly cold glare at Azura before she left. It was all because of him, this sc.u.mbag, that she couldn''t get the medicine! She was even belated! And God knows where that useless shopkeeper went. Was he looking for a common fever herb, or was he out to sail across the seven seas, wanting to collect treasures?! Damn! And without a second to waste, Iris went back to the mansion. She completely did not take into account the fact that Azura let her go so easily, despite the fact that he didn''t allow her to leave before. The shadow guard beside Azura looked puzzled at his Master''s weird way of thinking. First he ordered him to do all that stuff, just for this coincidental meeting. Then, he just talked to her a little, before easily letting her go? In the end, what was his purpose for all of this? Furthermore, he noticed that at one point, his Master suddenly turned somewhat dazed??? What was he planning? Then, he remembered the Princess before him. His Master always treated her with some favor, he even thought that his Master could only accept this princess into his mansion. Yet suddenly, His Master recently developed an interest in this Young Lady. While the guard''s thoughts ran wild, Azura elegantly started to walk out of the Shanglin Hall. His face had already regained his usual ice-cold self-disciplined disposition. He indifferently brushed the non existent dust on his clothes off, and walked out of the herb store, ignoring the little princess he was known to ''favor''. "Your Highness!" Li Jia chased after the cold and detached man, her eyes sparkling brightly. Just before she started following him out, her eyes flashed with a crazed infatuation, which she quickly covered with an innocent and cheerful look. The two royalties left the herb hall. ... Iris arrived back at her mother''s courtyard. She rushed inside, only to find her mother sitting on her bed eating her food, healthy as always. Iris was surprised at the quick recovery. She questioned her mother''s only maid Avera, who answered that they had found some common fever herb and she had used it to make medicinal tea for Riya. Iris didn''t doubt her, and came back to sit with her mother. She started to nag at her for not maintaining her health. The mother and daughter chatted warmly a bit, before Riya fell asleep. She had yet to recover completely, after all. Looking at her sleeping mother, Iris heaved a sigh of relief. Her mind drifted to the encounter with the two royals back at the Shanglin Hall. Her mood immediately became worse. She wondered if it was something related to her Master. That''s right, Avera was a new maid assigned to Riya by The Matriarch. When in fact, she came to the mansion on Azura''s orders, to act as his spy. She was the one who gave Riya the medicine while Iris was away. She silently sighed to herself. Her Master, ah! He really is somebody normal people couldn''t comprehend. What was the point of all this drama? Chapter 35 - The Fun Has Just Begun Intuition is a scary thing. Even though everything seemed peaceful on the surface, even though nothing was going on, there was still a foreboding feeling in Iris''s heart. Something was bugging her. Why was it so quiet around here? After the hunting expedition, some should come bully her. Why is there no response at all? It wasn''t like this in her previous life... Iris only had one thought it mind. They were planning something, and it was big. And the worse part, was that she knew absolutely nothing about their schemes. Acting according to her suspicious nature, she wanted to find out immediately . But how? She didn''t have a single person who could help her spy on them. Then, how should she prepare herself for their incoming attack? And she has been slacking off way too much lately, didn''t she have a revenge to extract? As the sun light reflected in her eyes, she gently tapped on the table, an action she would perform when she was in deep thought. Inadvertently, she was off into a daze, completely forgetting everything around her. It wasn''t until the sun began to set did she regain herself. Tidying up slightly, Iris went out and moved towards The Matriarch''s courtyard. It had become a routine to go and make tea for The Matriarch. It was just a way of currying favor, though. Since during her princess training as Leon''s fiance, she had learned the art of making good tea, her grandmother took a liking to it and often told her to brew tea for her. The Matriarch was sitting on the head seat in her room, reading a scroll. Iris entered and gave her greetings. "Granddaughter greets grandmother. I hope Grandmother''s in great health." The Matriarch shifted her gaze to her, and nodded slightly. Although she didn''t seem that gentle to her, her eyes softened quite a bit. "This child, what are you here for?" She spoke coldly. At the mention of tea, The Matriarch looked up slightly, then nodded. After Iris gave her the tea, she sat by her side. "Grandmother, did you know, my Mother just fell sick recently." She said softly. Upon hearing of this, The Matriarch stayed expressionless, but she felt the atmosphere becoming colder. "I went to a herb store to buy her the medicine, so she''s fine now." "You went yourself?" The Matriarch questioned, slightly surprised. "En. We didn''t have any medicine, and I don''t have a maid in my service, so I naturally went by myself." Iris spoke innocently. The Matriarch frowned slightly and didn''t say anything further. However, this action of hers made Iris smile a little. The next day, as Iris expected, 3 maids were kneeling before her and calling her "Young Miss." "Young Miss, this servant is Qiao Liuliu, we were sent by Old Madam for serving Miss." The oldest looking one spoke as she knelt down. She had a cold, expressionless look and her face didn''t show much respect. Iris nodded slightly at their greetings. Then her gaze shifted to the last maid, who had yet to introduce herself. Seeing her gaze, the maid hurriedly knelt, "Young Miss, this servant is Liu Jiao, sent by Madam at Young Miss''s service." She seemed slightly timid and weak. Un? "Madam sent you?" "Y..yes!" A maid sent by Libera? Every ounce of her existence screamed suspicious! Under her scrutinizing gaze, the maid lowered her head further, but at that moment, an arrogant and sly look appeared in her eyes. Iris did not miss this look. Oh? She was wondering what huge game they were planning, so it was just this? Looking at the still kneeling maids, She sighed in her heart. These servants, if not educated properly, could easily become the knives that could stab them in the back. She was not someone who would just sit back and let them horse around arrogantly! She remembered how back then, even little maids would bully her and order her around. Thinking of this, Iris propped up her elbow and held her face with it. Her bloody red eyes flashed and a terrifying and imposing aura started coming from her body. "...!?" All the three maids trembled in unison, not daring to raise their heads any further. All of them felt a sudden fear for the Young lady in front of them, as if a single movement would make her end their life instantly! "Now then. Since you claim to serve me, then give your services wholeheartedly to me and only me. Otherwise...haha." Every word exuded killing intent to the extreme and she lightly laughed, sending shivers down their spine! Sweat trickled continuously as they all stuttered, "Y-Yes, Miss!'' "Good, you may leave." Iris waved her hand to send them off. The moment they all left the room, she revealed a smile, a very beautiful smile that would captivate anyone''s heart instantly. The fun has just begun. At night, a shadow left Iris''s courtyard hurriedly. Exiting the courtyard, the figure instantly headed towards the most beautiful courtyard in the whole of Silcia Manor. At the gates, the guards let her in, and the figure entered the First Young Miss''s room. Libera was sitting on a chair, and two maids were combing her hair and styling them. When she saw the shadow from the mirror, she waved the two maids away. The shadow entered the room and knelt before her, greeting her, "Greetings to Madam." The cloak wrapped around the shadow was taken off. Who else could it be other than the girl Iris was suspicious of, her newly appointed maid Liu Jiao! Chapter 36 - Their Scheme, Her Response (1) With a wave of Libera''s hand, Liu Jiao got up from the floor. Libera sat back leisurely on her dressing table and started to put on her makeup. She glanced at the maid and faintly said, "So?" "Reporting to Madam, The Young Miss indeed lives in very bad conditions. The courtyard is shabby and the food is not very good either, as you commanded." "Good. Did you find a suitable spot for the thing I told you about?" "Yes, Madam." Libera nodded at her. "Here, take these. You know what to do.'' She handed her a bag she retrieved from the drawer. Liu Jiao took the bag and stepped back. "You were too hasty in coming on the first day. What if she suspects you?" "Ah, Madam. This servant...this servant thought that going on the first day would be better when she is suspecting nothing at all, than to go when she may become suspicious..." "En. Now go back. And wait for a few days before you carry out the task. Be sure to serve her properly in the meantime." "Understood Madam." And then, the black cloaked lady went back to Iris''s courtyard, unaware of the red eyes that were following her every movement... Imperial Palace, Seventh Prince Mansion. Deep withing the darkness that prevailed even at daytime, a man laid on the huge bed, eyes closed. His dark hair were lazily sprawled around, yet looked like pure silk woven into thin strands. His loose robes revealed his abs, strong and sturdy. His face was such an exquisite work of art, one couldn''t help but gape at it. Those usually terrifying red eyes were now closed, yet still didn''t fail to instill a terror in the onlooker. In the dark room, a faint breeze blew and within a split second, a shadow had knelt in front of the prince of darkness, respect and reverence in his every move. "Your Highness." The man called out. Only then was it discovered that the man wasn''t asleep, as he gently fluttered his eyes open, revealing those bloody pupils deep and profound as always. This man, always gave off the feeling of having lived for hundreds of years. Azura slowly got up, laziness in his every action. Looking at his Master, the shadow lowered his head further. "Your Highness, the seal has been broken. The elders are calling for you, to solve this matter." "Your Highness..." "Go and monitor that girl, Iris Silcia. If any annoyance were to appear..." His voice trailed off. The shadow although confused, nodded his head in acknowledgment. "Yes, Your Highness." "Your Highness, about the seal..." "This Lord will deal with it." And with those words said, Azura actually, in front of the shadow''s eyes, completely vanished on spot! With a faint gust of wind after his departure, the shadow proceeded to leave the Manor too, not expressing any surprise over the supernatural matter just now. The Seventh Prince''s existence, truely is shrouded deeply in layers of mystery... ... A few days later~ Actually, ever since they started working for this new Master, she had been oppressing them with her pressure everyday. They could only stiffly stand there without even daring to breathe loudly. The constantly felt as if they were being eyed by a beast, any movement could be their death. Today, when she was actually not doing anything, they could feel their tense body relaxing. As she gazed at Iris who had her eyes closed, Liu Jiao resolved to carry out her plan today, when she seemed slightly off-guard. Her constant wariness was why she put her plan off for so long, so today seemed to be a good opportunity. As she was thinking this, Iris''s voice lightly resounded in her ears, "You all seem so relaxed today, huh?" Subsequently, their bodies once again stiffened. "But it''s good to be relaxed..." Everyone: Who was it who didn''t let us relax, huh? Who! Liu Jia shuddered slightly, a bad premonition raising in her heart. But she shrugged it off. At that night, after making sure Iris was asleep, Liu Jia snuck around the courtyard. Coming over to the small tree planted in the courtyard, she dug up some of the soil and buried the bag she got from Libera inside. After covering it up nicely, she looked around and after making sure no one was near, headed out towards Libera''s courtyard. Watching her exit out the courtyard from the bedroom window, Iris smiled slightly. Must be a struggle to be so stupid, even failing to notice the hint she ''generously'' dropped for her, and jumping to her own doom. And this Libera, really lacked originality. She used a similar trick in her past life, though at a later time. Honestly, she won''t fall for it twice you know? It''s absolutely impossible, you know? Iris sighed. This night sure was long for a lot of people... Chapter 37 - Their Scheme, Her Response (2) Early morning next day, a servant came over to Iris''s courtyard to invite her to join the family at dinner. Apparently, Libera had called for her in hopes of spending time with her due to her ''recent'' arrival. Iris did not object and slowly moved towards the family hall. Before she had the chance to enter together with Liu Jiao and Si Liqia, she saw groups of servants carrying extremely delicate and appetizing dishes inside towards the hall. Looking at the amount of the dishes and their lavishness, Iris didn''t blink once. Moving inside to see all the family members sitting on their respective places, Iris performed the perfunctory greeting. Raising her head, to her surprise she saw her mother sitting there as well. Looked like she was invited too. She was smiling warmly at her, yet her uneasiness could easily be seen. Iris didn''t think twice before going and sitting next to her. All the while, Azer hadn''t lifted his head to look at her even once, only her grandmother had nodded at her and gestured her to sit. Aria looked her way and flashed a kind smile at her. While Azer and the Matriarch were chatting with the others, Iris''s gaze drifted towards the seat on the right side of Azer which was empty. Libera hadn''t come yet. Collecting her gaze, Iris turned to her mother. She was wearing a light pink dress today with a small mediocre hairpin on her head. She didn''t have any makeup on, yet her dazzling beauty could not be hidden away from the world. However, looking at her dressing, by no means could it compare to anyone from the family at all, even the other regular concubines wore stuff much better than her. Looking at her so worn down, Iris couldn''t help but heartache endlessly. Mom, just wait for some time, I will surely give you the most beautiful dresses, the most sparkling jewelry and the greatest comfort you deserve. As Iris was lost in her own thoughts, the servants announced Libera''s arrival. She came inside looking very depressed. Her eyes had swelled over and her smile was forced as she gave her greetings. It was obvious that she was crying though she had made an obvious attempt to cover it up with makeup. Immediately after her arrival, Azer had noticed her state and furrowed his brows. He asked, "Libera, what is it? For what reason are you so haggard and worn down?" "Husband, it''s...it''s nothing." "Speak, what is it. Do not conceal it from us of you have suffered a grievance. I''ll deal with the matter." He spoke in a reassuring way. "This...Husband. it is a rather personal matter, afraid it''s a bit selfish of me to speak of in a family gathering. I do not wish to ruin the joyous mood." Libera spoke with a heavy tone. "What selfish, any matter of yours concerns the family." Azer spoke in a slightly gentler voice. Looking at this display of affection, Not to mention right in front of her mother, Iris felt a strong wave of anger towards them. Her hand under the table tightened slightly. She shot a glance at Riya to gauge at her reaction. Yet to her surprise, she was just indifferently looking at their interactions, not bothered too much. This made Iris feel relieved. maybe she was starting to let go after all. "Missing? Have you checked properly?" "Yes, everywhere, but..." Azer felt perplexed at this case of sudden missing jewelry. Just as he was about to question about the servants, Aria stood up from her seat. "Mother, are you talking about your jade set? The one in the small red box with dragons on it?\ "Yes! Aria, perhaps you''ve seen it?" Libera asked in a hopeful tune. "Ah...That is....Well..." Aria hesitantly looked down. It was obvious she was struggling to say something. "Aria, if you know, go ahead and say it." The Matriarch interjected. "Mother, the thing is..." Aria looked at Iris slightly, before lowering her head immediately back. "...I don''t know where it is." The little action of looking at Iris and looking back away, everyone caught it. Coupled with her struggling appearance, some suspicions were created. "Father...Well, the other day I was passing by Mother''s courtyard, and there, I happened to see...Fourth younger sister. A-At that time, well, I think...I think I saw something like the red dragon box in her hands while she was running away, s-so I thought my Mother gave it to her...B-But I didn''t...But I could be wrong! Maybe I didn''t see very clearly, after all why would fourth younger sister do anything like that..." Looking extremely unwilling, Aria gave her thoughts. Though at the end, she started to blame herself, everyone''s expressions had darkened. Immediately after Aria had finished, Azer shot a glare at Iris, "Iris, what is the meaning of this?" Looking at everyone staring at her, Iris was very calm. Faced with such an indirect accusation, she didn''t say anything. "I''m asking you! What is the meaning of this?! Why did you steal Libera''s jewelry?!" Azer''s voice became louder. Iris opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, someone was faster than her in denying all the accusations. "What slander! Why would Iris need to steal jewelry from you people? Please stop such baseless accusations, my daughter would never eye your jewelry!" Speaking in a firm voice was Riya, with a determined look on her face as she stood up for Iris. The girl herself widened her eyes. She never expected her mother to lash out like this, denying all accusation with a firm belief in her... Chapter 38 - Their Scheme, Her Response (3) "You shut up! This is not your place to talk!" Azer bellowed at her, seemingly still remembering how she threw a vase at him. ''How dare you slander my daughter and ask me to shut up?! You..." Riya continued to storm at him, but Iris tugged the hem of her dress and shook her head. Knowing her daughter did not wish to see her involvement in the matter, Riya quietened down and quietly glared at Libera. "Father, there is a limit to accusations without evidence. If you say that I stole it, then I stole it? Then, if I say First Sister stole my jewelry, you would interrogate her as well?" "You..." "Right, why would you? As such, I suggest properly investigating the matter before declaring the culprit. It is common sense, surely you would know of the correct course of actions." Azer couldn''t refute her so easily. Her way of talking left no path to challenge. Looking at his speechless face, Iris calmly turned to face Libera. "Also Madam and First Sister, if you wish to slander someone, please at the very least try to come up with a crime that doesn''t have any loopholes in it." "When did I slander-" "Firstly, if I had to steal, why would I steal the jewelry that you treasure more than anything, the jewelry that the whole manor knows the importance of? Just to be investigated and caught? At the very least, try to make the subject of crime more believable." "That-" Libera widened her eyes slightly, she forgot to respond. "Secondly, Sister, you say you saw me running around after stealing the jewelry. Why do you think I would be dumb enough to run away so blatantly after stealing the jewelry, to the point that I could easily be noticed by anyone? And why are you the only one who saw me, not any other servants? And even if some other servants saw me, why didn''t they report up until now?" Iris looked at her like looking at a fool. "You...you, Fourth Sister, it''s not...that''s not what I-" "Right, that''s not what you intended. Leaving it all aside, Father why do you think that I would feel the need to steal jewelry anyway?" "That''s because, you...you don''t have any for yourself, so..." "Hahaha..." Iris laughed mockingly. "So you admit that I have been maltreated, to the point where I don''t have decent jewelry despite being the daughter of the Prime Minister of the country?" "You...this..." Looking at everyone''s blank expressions, Iris smiled a little. As she turned towards The Matriarch, she put down her cold face, and made a wronged expression. "Grandmother, granddaughter insists that I didn''t commit any thievery! I really didn''t steal any of the jewelry of Madam!" Looking at her aggrieved eyes, The Matriarch regained her wits and scolded Azer, "Azer! How could you so blatantly blame your own daughter for crime without any evidence?" Azer looked at his mother, "Mother...your son did not.." Saying that Azer blamed Iris without evidence, wasn''t it equivalent to slapping Aria''s face? Aria was the one who began the slander, and now she didn''t count as "evidence", leaving her words to be untrustworthy, didn''t that mean that her directions were all nonsense? Aria''s face had turned slightly red from embarrassment. Knowing that Azer couldn''t stand against the Matriarch and further realizing that the situation had turned with just a few words form Iris, Libera shot a glance at Liu Jiao and signaled towards her. Understanding the implication, Liu Jiao moved forwards, and knelt towards The Matriarch. "Old Madam, this servant can testify for Madam. This servant has seen it all!" "What..?" The Matriarch squinted her eyes slightly with everyone''s eyes moving towards the kneeling maid. Iris didn''t even glance at her, looking at her food. "This servant was just recently assigned to Fourth Young Miss. A few days ago, this servant...this servant was carrying Fourth Young Miss''s lunch over, and happened to witness Young Miss burying a bag in her courtyard under...under the small tree. Initially, servant didn''t say anything but servant..." Liu Jiao''s words trailed off into silence. Hearing everything, Azer turned to Iris with anger once again. "Iris, you!" "Forget it, there''s no use explaining. Leaving aside First Sister, you would even believe the words of a maid over my own. So much for blood being thicker than water. Without interrogating me, wouldn''t the matter be resolved if my courtyard was just searched and investigated?" Iris waved her hand, as if saying "They really are hopeless", slapping Azer''s face in the process, and faced her grandmother. "Grandmother, granddaughter asks for justice. If after searching my courtyard, nothing is found, I hope everyone can compensate me for all the mental damage. It''s only natural, right?" Once again, Iris cornered her father using words. He could only nod at her compensation under his mother''s strict glare. "If nothing is found at your courtyard, you will be compensated-" "Compensation is a matter of course, but father, surely you will punish First Sister for slandering me, right?" "You..." "Indeed, if I am proven wrong, I-I will accept any punishment!" Aria interjected timely. She didn''t loose her confidence, ensuring Azer of the credibility of her words. "Then it''s settled, shall we go?" Iris calmly got up along with everyone else and with her mother, moved towards her courtyard. ... Arriving at her courtyard, Azer ordered his servant boy to dig up the area under the small tree. Digging very deep, yet nothing was found. Looking at this, along with everyone''s pale expressions at the failed slander, Iris hummed, "Oh my~ Nothing was found! Why is that, I wonder? Oh, isn''t it because nothing was there from the start?" She looked at Aria with a smile. "Now then, for maliciously slandering me without any evidence, what punishment will First Sister receive, father? "Iris, you...I...this..." Aria, who had been consumed by immense confusion and surprise at finding nothing along with Libera, couldn''t speak properly. "Just because it''s not here, doesn''t mean it''s not somewhere else!" In order to free her daughter of her accusation, Libera stepped in and spoke to Azer. "You''re right! Search the entire courtyard! Leave not a single stone in finding Madam''s jewelry!" And with the order given out, the search continued. Naturally, after an hour of searching, still nothing was found. The dilapidated courtyard was turned inside out without fail. Not to mention jewelry, not a single penny was discovered. Looking at the mess they made, Iris formed a new idea in her heart. "Great. Now, if you think you''ve searched every last pebble, can we carry on with the punishment and compensation, Father?" Time for extortion~ Chapter 39 - Note Hello Readers! Its your irresponsible author here... As you know, it''s been a long time since I last updated my novel. The reason is that I have been really busy lately, and due to upcoming exams, I don''t have the time to write anymore. However, the idea ingrained in my mind for this novel is what I would call very unique, therefore I am very reluctant to quit it. As such, I have instead decided to go on an indefinite HIATUS until I can be free enough to work on a mass release. My exams were already delayed due to pandemic COVID-19''s outbreak, and will be held a month from now. Therefore as soon as I can finish those, I will make this novel my first priority. I am planning on a mass release to make up for my long absence. So, please wait a month or so, if you still wish to read my unworthy novel, and I would be most delighted if you continued to support me, even if I don''t deserve it. Thank you, and I look forward to meeting you all soon! COMMENT 20 comments VOTE Load failed, please RETRY Privileged More Privileged Chapters Background default yellow dark Font Nunito Sans Merriweather Size Paragraph comments Chapter comments Write thought login liked newest Author: ? 0){ %>Chapter : Author: Machine Translation Translator: Editor: Chapter 40 - Extortion "Iris, you...you were wronged." Just as Azer was about to say something, the sharp gaze of his mother made him change his words. He did not want to admit it, but he was led by the nose by this daughter of his. Accusation, threat, compensation: she played everything like a game, now demanding her reward after winning easily. "You are right, Father. I was indeed wronged. Now, like I was saying, can we get to the part where you compensate me for all the damage you caused to my...amazing home?" "Yes, so...what do you want?" Azer gazed reluctantly at her. "Well..." Iris mused, her finger gently stroking her chin. "Hm...for the damage to my courtyard, I''d ask for a new one. And as you can see my courtyard was in most excellent shape, not a single twisted nail anywhere, so I''d like one just like this, a nice, clean courtyard." Azer was about to agree, feeling relieved that this was all she asked for, when Iris spoke aloud. "Oh I know! Father, how about you give me the Rose Drop Courtyard, the courtyard close to my Mom''s?" Rose Drop courtyard was a very luxurious area. It got its name by the beautiful sight of dew drops on the roses that bloomed in its garden. It was Libera''s courtyard, until recently when it had to be emptied out for maintenance, and she was about to move back in a few days. When she heard Iris demand for it, Libera shot her head up in surprise. Something flickered in her eyes and she eyed Azer carefully. "What? You want that courtyard? Don''t you know its your mother''s?" Azer spoke with some anger in his voice. "Mother''s? Aren''t you mistaken, Father? My Mother lives in an unnamed courtyard to the West. How did this become hers?" Iris spoke up in surprise. "You... Not that Mother, I meant..." "Oh, so you mean Madam. So what if it used to be Madam''s courtyard?" "I never said it used to be..." "Madam lives in a different courtyard anyway, why can''t I live there? Besides, when I think about it, the quality of that courtyard somewhat matches my old courtyard. There''s no way that after destroying this one, you''ll give me a lower quality one? Especially after defaming me like that?" "This..." Azer looked speechlessly towards Libera, who was aggrievedly biting her lower lip, and under his Mother''s intense gaze, heaved a sigh of helplessness. "Fine, you can have that Rose Drop Courtyard. That''s all, right? I''m leaving!" He would give Libera something else later. Iris widened her eyes in surprise exaggeratedly. "Father, what about my compensation? You''re not going to give me my compensation?" "What do you mean, didn''t I agree to give you the courtyard just now?" Azer paused in his steps. "That courtyard was just a matter of course. You destroyed mine, so you naturally had to give me another one, right? Grandmother?" She looked in her Grandmother''s direction. Looking at her sly look, The Matriarch sighed internally, this child really was such a handful, and nodded her head. "Father, we already had this talk before, but you know I don''t have any jewelry, any money or any proper clothes. I don''t even get to eat proper meals. How about you at the very least, fulfill these basic needs of a daughter of the great and esteemed Prime Minister of the Country?" Iris spoke with her eyes on the ground. "Although these things should be given to someone who was born in such a noble position such as me very naturally, but because they weren''t, I can only claim them under the guise of compensation. That should be fine for you right, Father?" She rose her head up to meet her Father''s eyes unwaveringly. Her plain, emotionless tone somewhat painted a lonely image of herself. Azer''s face burned with embarrassment. Such an indirect way of mocking him for being heartless and petty had a greater impact than outright saying it. However, despite feeling all sorts of emotions, not even a pange of remorse crossed his heart, not even once. "I...know. You''ll naturally be provided with the best. For wronging you, I''ll compensate nicely. You don''t have to worry, Iris. I-I won''t be stingy." Having made up his mind, Azer softened his expression and spoke quietly. "Then..." Iris uttered under her breath, thinking about something. "Why doesn''t Father make similar arrangements for my Mother too? She lives in a courtyard far worse than mine, and similarly does not have anything valuable on her. I hope you can count it as my compensation and arrange for better arrangements for my Mother. Its especially because I''m scared that some ignorant, foolish people will run up to my Mother and accuse her of stealing their belongings, just because she doesn''t have much stuff herself, just like what happened to me. You''ll do this, right?" It took Azer a lot of strength calming and stopping himself from running up to smack her. He spoke through clenched teeth, "Of course." And without listening to another word, stormed off in anger. Taking her Grandmother''s arm, she left the dilapidated courtyard too, glancing at all the people gathered around. Alright, the drama''s over, you can be off now. Aria, who had been standing quietly to the side, lowered her head further. Her eyes were thoughtful and she discreetly glanced at the confident girl. Extortion. This was clearly extortion. Yet, no one could say anything. Nothing could be done against her at all. This type of hidden power, the fear of the unknown, this was the type of power that absolutely couldn''t be left alone. It had to be crushed at all costs, for the sake of the growth of her own power. For the first time ever, when no one was looking, an incredibly cold and calm expression spread across Aria''s face. She put down her pretenses, her real cold, calculating and genius self was revealed, as she pondered on the destruction of a similarly sinister strength. She didn''t manage to destroy Iris before for nothing. Yet the sight of this bone-chilling girl was not witnessed by anyone, it was but for a fleeting moment, disappearing like it was never there in the first place... Chapter 41 - Assassin Organization Arrangements for her new living conditions moved along smoothly. Under The Matriarch''s watchful eye, Azer arranged everything very quickly, and alongside everyone''s hostile gazes, Iris moved into Rose Drop pavillion. Riya was given a rather mediocre courtyard, but it was volumes better than her previous ones. Not to mention a big batch of new clothes were given to Iris and Riya, along with more maids and better food arrangements. Of course, none of the stuff given to them was better than the one the rest of the family received. Their treatment hadn''t improved too much. However, this was more than enough for the time being. Even though the fact that Aria hadn''t been punished in the slightest was a disappointment, but it was to be expected. Aria was chided lightly for the ''misunderstanding'' and nothing more was done. One thing did change after this ordeal. Aside from when her Grandmother called her over, Iris was never allowed to come sit with the family at the dining table. No one came across her, no one looked at her, no one talked to her. But this was for the best, she had more pressing matters to attend to. A few days later, a letter from Rivas arrived. He spoke of his new ideas for making weapons, his plans for setting up a production team and how he wanted to divide the profit. Iris didn''t care about his way of handling things, she had confidence in his skills. But something caught her eye. ''I plan to return to the Capital in a few months, that time would be the best for me. What are your plans on dealing with the organization that wanted to hunt me down? I heard their inner dispute was solved, and now they are more actively gaining the support of the Royal Family.'' That''s right, the Assassin Organization. They were gaining power quicker than ever. Perhaps she may not be able to get rid of them in one go, unless she gathered more information on them. In her past life, they were a team dominant to the end, and they were one of the biggest forces behind Leon, that made him unable to be challenged. Their influence was so great that when the Great Female General Iris was sentenced to execution, not a single voice of protest was heard among nobles and commoners alike, despite her popularity due to her achievements, all in fear of them. So, exterminating completely or damaging the organization to a critical point was a tricky problem. Iris did not, however, make an empty promise with Rivas without a plan in mind. Her plan had a high chance of success, just that she had spotted a flaw in it, a flaw that could be fixed with a little more information on the organization. Thus, to back up one plan, another was created. Since her life would be a battlefield against those who had wronged her, after rebirth Iris had decided to live her life with the solid rules of the Art of War. And Sun Tzu had said, "Plan for what is difficult while it is easy, and do what is great while it is small." So, she would tackle the root of the evil, uproot the organization from the core before it could dominate her. To do that, she needed more information. And to get information, she''d use the infiltration card. Infiltrating the organization was the best possible way she could learn more about it. And right now, when she wasn''t well known, it would be easier escape unnoticed. All she needed was a little aid to help her along. Iris swiftly wrote a reply to Rivas, telling him to come to the capital immediately, and to break off all business for the time being. She instructed him to come in a temporary disguise and to take only one or two of his best products, along with some money. They''d infiltrate the organization together and then, she''d destroy it. ... Back in the Seventh Prince Mansion, a shadow guard was reporting to Azura. "Trinity has made its move, Your Highness. That organization contacted The Emperor and most likely made a deal with him. They are probably planning on gaining a foothold and political power in the capital. What do you think should be done now, Your Highness?" Azura quietly moved himself to sit straight on the bed. He snickered slightly, his dark voice echoing across the equally dark room. "The best course of action towards a bunch of rats..." He paused, "...is to exterminate them without leaving a single one alive" His voice was strangely calm while speaking such cruel things, creating a queer affect on the listener. The shadow guard hesitated,"Your Highness, this...Should we deploy our secret force? They''ll clear them in one night." He spoke, with a tinge of pride in his voice. Their secret force was capable of extermination countries, much less an organization. "No need." Azura yawned leisurely. "Recently, my fox hasn''t come around much, and her absence is making me feel really bored. I''ll cure it by tainting the ground with blood. Its been a while since I have killed." In front of his loyal subordinates, he didn''t bother using honoured words to address himself. Nevertheless, despite his nochalence, the shadow guard trembled slightly. He gulped his saliva down and braced himself to be calm while listening to his Master''s plan to kill dozens just for curing his boredom. This matter wouldn''t be handled peacefully after all. Chapter 42 - Before It Breaks Me First Crack. Crack. Crack. Amidst the silent desolate night, the sound of something being cracked resonated. Deep within the streets of the capital, a place where even animals would not stray, a single man stood in silence. The figure bathed in moonlight was serene, a peaceful aura emitting from his every movement. His long hair swayed gently in the weak wind, his eyes quietly shut, as if to enjoy the breeze that moved across his being. Yet, the scene before him was far from being peaceful. A pungent scent of blood drifted from the pile of cold, hard bodies on the ground. The scene was tainted red, with streams of blood flowing endlessly from the mutiliated, deformed bodies scattered like moths on the ground. They occasionally twitched, as if to show the after effects of the cruel death bestowed upon them, to show the agony and shattering pain inflicted upon them before they descended. Yet the culprit, the killer did not so as to flinch, enjoying the serenity of grave silence as if whatever that had happened had nothing to do with him at all. Only after what seemed like forever, did he move from his spot, trudging amongst the bodies towards the darker area of the street. After walking for a while, he stopped and turned around. Instantly, a strong gale struck the streets behind him, howling loudly as everything blurred from the man''s vision. In a few seconds, the strange wind stopped blowing, returning to its previous serenity. However, all the corpses on the ground had disappeared. Not a single mark of blood anywhere, not a trace of evidence of what had happened remaining. Instead, at the place where rotting flesh once lay, stood a young boy. His hair as white as snow and his eyes glistening red contrasting to the dark. The beautiful boy looked silently at the figure looking back at him, his eyes filled with tears that threatened to fall. "Take me back." He whispered in a trembling voice. "Please, take me back." The man didn''t reply, just silently staring at him. "Please, don''t throw me away. You can''t throw me away." He pleaded, tears sliding down his cheeks, representing the deep sorrow clouding his eyes uncontrollably. His small hands clutched his white robe tightly, his eyes appealing to the unresponsive man desperately. He hoped, he desperately hoped once again, just like he had been doing for so long. Yet, his hope was met with cold indifference. The man turned around completely to face the kid, chanting slowly, "Leave." "..." The little boy let go of his robe, lowering his shoulders slowly. After a few seconds, he raised his face and smiled. A single tear drop fell. "Okay." In the dark night, the little boy slowly faded away. ... The man had walked a long distance from the street. His face was blank, his red eyes empty. It was only after a black clothed man came to him, did he react. "Greetings, Master." The black clothed man knelt respectfully. "Ahya..." "Yes, Master?" "Do you think I''m a monster?" "..." "Master, what are you saying? How could you be..." "I know I''m a monster." "Master..." "After all, I rejected that child. I did it again." Again? The black clothed man abruptly stood up. "Again? Master, are you perhaps..." He closed his mouth suddenly. "But Ahya, even if I accepted that child, nothing would change. The result would be the same, everything would happen as it is supposed to happen." The man closed his eyes gently. "But not this time. This time, I will change it. I have something to look forward to now." "That''s right, I have her now, Iris Silcia. Until she gets boring, nothing will go as its supposed to. I won''t let it. This time, I''ll break everything" His eyes swirled in a more profound madness than ever, shining darkly in the moonlight. "Before it breaks me first." ... Today was the day Iris had planned her secret assault. She had been preparing all day. Rivas had arrived in the capital a few days ago, and they had already discussed their plan through a letter. They would meet at a food house, and head out together after that. Posing as black market dealers, they would enter the underground auction being held tonight, and since Iris knew a prominent member of the organization would be attending, they would tail him to their headquarters. That was the plan, on the surface. The plan Rivas had been told. The actual plan was a bit different, more practical and efficient, but the general idea was the same. Knowing the real plan would make Rivas back down, so Iris decided to go with this. At late evening, Iris dressed up in a man''s attire, tying her hair into a ponytail and binding her c.h.e.s.t in tight bandages before putting on loose black clothes. Picking up a palm sized dagger and a slightly longer sword, she hid them in the stash wrapped around her waist. Using a small bit of makeup to disguise her most glaring facial features, she left the manor for the rendezvous destination. Chapter 43 - A Flawless Plan? (1) The hustle and bustle of the Weiying Bar was a common occurrence to the surrounding residents. This bar had the finest quality wine and the most exotic of dishes as compared to anywhere else. For it to be filled to the brim with people was almost a matter of course. In all the shouting, laughing and commotion, no one would have the mind to pay any attention to a specific person, or overhear their conversation, so it was a good place to meet up with one''s comrades and discuss anything necessary. This was exactly why Rivas was told to come here. Entering the lively bar, Rivas quietly lowered his head and went to one of the far, inconspicuous corners of the place and took a seat. Waiting for Iris to come, he couldn''t help but recall what it had been like at their first meeting. That girl much younger than him, came to him to expose his deeply hidden identity and threatened him with a knife out of nowhere. Then, she proceeded to make a deal with him with empty promises while completely extorting every last penny he had from himself. And he, for some reason, was very intimidated and agreed to everything. No matter how much he thought about it, it seemed utterly baffling for him to be so weak in front of someone seemingly weaker. He should have been able to snatch the knife, should have been able to reject all of her conditions and should have been able to scare her into silence. But he didn''t. Rather, at that time, he couldn''t. He still didn''t know why, but when he saw those deep, dark red eyes, he couldn''t help but agree to every single thing the girl demanded, fearfully at that. Those red eyes had something strange and frightening about them, and he couldn''t exactly tell what. Just as Rivas was lost in thought, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. When he turned to look at who it was, he saw a youthful boy smiling slightly at him. ----- When Iris entered the bar, she immediately spotted Rivas at the corner. Coming closer to him, she noticed he seemed to be in deep thought, as if he had encountered a very difficult problem he just couldn''t solve. She remembered seeing this type of expression when he was tending to her wounds, back when she was injured and discovered by him in the battlefield. He didn''t now how to tie bandages correctly, and made a similar face while tending to her injured arm. Such a memory made her smile slightly, and she tapped his shoulder to greet him. He turned around to look at her, and after looking for a few seconds, confusedly mumbled, "Who...?" Seeing that her disguise was a success, Iris cheered a little inwardly, and coughed slightly at him. Apparently after a few seconds of staring, Rivas managed to recognize her as he became startled and quickly stood up from his seat. "My...My Lady, you..." With such a formal address, he pointed at her and spoke in a hushed voice. Iris pushed him down by the shoulders to his seat and sat on the other one opposite to him. "It has been a while. How have you been?" She asked him casually. "I-I''ve been fine, but... your clothes? Uh, I mean, why are you dressed like this?" "Hmm. If I didn''t dress up like this, do you think an unmarried lady is able enter a bar like this to meet alone with a man, without being scorned?" There was a slight laughter in her voice. "Well, I guess so. But its still strange. Then again, everything about you is strange, My Lady." Realizing what he had just said, he became fl.u.s.tered, "That''s not what I meant! I-I just...uh..." Just why did he become such an embarrassing fool in front of this little girl?! "Pfft-" Iris couldn''t help but laugh at him. How long has it been since she laughed like this? "Don''t worry about being too formal, you can be honest with me. More importantly, we have to start working soon, lets review our plan." She shouldn''t embarrass him anymore, he was already as red as a tomato. "Yes." Rivas became serious. "You mentioned we had to follow a member of that organization back to their place of operation, and then infiltrate it. That may sound easy, but I hope you''re aware that such a plan will not be carried out this simply. Its unpractical, and has a very high chance of failure. I could not convey my thoughts in a letter, which is why I''m saying it here." "Hmm. Elaborate on every reason why you think this may fail, and I''ll help you understand it in more depth." Iris propped her face on the back of her hand and slightly narrowed her eyes. "Firstly, I hope you can confirm the exact location of this member. I will not question how and why you know where they would be at what time, but as long as you can guarantee he will be there, that''s one problem less." Rivas stated, inwardly reigning in his curiosity about what he didn''t ask. "Yes, you can rest assured, I already have that sorted out." Because the movements of the person today had lead to a big hustle in the organization in the future, she was aware of where he would be, and where he would go. Otherwise, how could she possibly know anything about the inner workings of such a secret organization? "Okay. Secondly, you say to follow that person and infiltrate the organization. My Lady, I''m saying this because I''ve b.u.t.t heads with them many times before, but I believe they aren''t the type of people who could be so easily followed and fooled. If our plan is to tail him and enter their headquarters, its not going to work." Rivas spoke carefully, afraid his words would somehow offend her. "Mm. Did you bring the exact amount of money I requested in the letter?" Iris asked. "I did, but...what does this have to do anything with?" He was confused. Iris smiled and straightened her posture., "Let''s go then, the answer to your questions isn''t here." She got up to leave. Slightly startled, Rivas hurriedly got up and came to block Iris'' path. "My Lady, I can''t be at ease unless you tell me first." He had always had the problem to not be able to handle suspense, and this lady gave him an infinite amount of suspense every single time. Iris gazed into his anxious eyes for a few seconds. She then came closer to him and spoke slowly with a smile, "Do you believe in the power of makeup?" Chapter 44 - A Flawless Plan? (2) "Ma-Makeup?" Rivas looked at her in confusion. Iris didn''t say anything, and nudged at him to follow her out. They left the bar and started to walk towards a different location, under Iris'' lead. Rivas did not stop questioning her about her plans, but she remained silent. They arrived at a house at the far end of the street. It was a small, shabby house and even the door was tattered and broken. Iris went to the door and knocked twice. After no response for a few seconds, she knocked again, this time thrice. This continued four times, five times, six times, and finally on the seventh knock, the sound of footsteps came. The door was opened and a young woman came out. She had short, curly brown hair and mystical blue eyes. She wore odd, exotic clothes that revealed her arms and her forehead was covered with a golden crown. She would definitely stand out. She stared at Iris and Rivas for a few seconds before asking, "Why did you kill the dragon?" "Because it made the phoenix cry." Iris answered right away. Rivas looked between the two, confused by their odd exchange. Hearing Iris'' answer, the woman smiled and gestured them to come inside. Following her in, Rivas whispered to Iris in a low voice, "What were you two talking about?" "It was a password. She asked us for the password." Password? Rivas didn''t understand. Coming Inside, they were greeted by a peculiar room. The room had a table with 3 chairs in the center, and the rest of it was filled with curiously shaped bottles and boxes everywhere. A strong smell permeated the area. "Sit down." The woman motioned to the chairs as she took a seat on one herself. Iris and Rivas sat down with her. The woman introduced herself as Kana, adding "Though you may already now that." as she narrowed her eyes at Iris and smiled. "So, what do you two gentlemen want from me, given you''re aware of my services?" She asked. "Your specialty, of course." Iris replied, "Facial disguise." "Oh? That''s a good choice." Kana laughed slightly, "Is this young man here the target?" "No, he''s a client too. I''m afraid I''ll have to trouble you to follow us to see the target." "That''s no problem, as long as its not too far." Rivas was quiet as the two conversed. He had been in the dark about a lot of stuff for a while now, and he was getting used to it. After talking for a bit, Kana left the room to get ready to head out. Seeing her gone, Iris turned to Rivas and explained to him. "This woman is a makeup artist. She works with cosmetics and specializes in disguises. Her skills are strong enough to completely change a person''s face. That''s how we''re going to enter that organization." "Oh, I see. So that''s what you were going for, My Lady. Then, the so called targets are...?" "Members of the organization, of course. Kana just needs one look at their face, and she''ll be able to transform us completely. I know of two members with physiques similar to ours. We''ll disguise as them." "And what will happen to the two members themselves?" Iris smiled slightly, "You don''t need to worry about that." ... While Iris and Rivas were chatting in the room, Kana went to a locked room in the house. She opened the lock and went inside. The room was entirely empty, except for a window, a window that opened completely behind the house so no one could see it. Kana went to the window sill and picked up a small whistle. She placed it on her lips and blew on it slightly. No sound was made, only the noise of her blow. However soon, a big eagle came from the sky and landed at the window sill. Kana stroked the eagle''s head, and tied a small paper to its feet. The eagle made a small chirp and flew away, carrying her message with it. ... Soon, now dressed in normal clothes, Kana headed out into the streets with the duo. Iris lead them to a small shop not too far away. The shop was a spices store, and was managed by two shop keepers. The one in the front was a tall man with a small scar on his cheek. The one standing behind him was shorter, with black hair and brown eyes. Iris went to them and bought a small amount of species. She then turned to Kana and said, "We''re done, lets go." They all went back to Kana''s house. "What do you think? Can you do it?" Iris asked Kana. "Of course I can." She spoke while taking out her makeup supplies from their boxes. ... The eagle that Kana tied a paper to flew across the city towards the Imperial Palace. The guards who noticed the bird looked down and pretended they didn''t see anything. The bird belonged to the Seventh prince after all, how could they dare to do anything against it. The bird flew through the palace towards the Seventh Prince''s manor. Inside, Azura was laying on his bed with his eyes closed. Beside him, a black dressed man was kneeling. The bird came into the palace and howled slightly. It then came next to Azura''s bed and settled down on a wooden table. When the black dressed man noticed it coming, he got up and untied the paper on its leg and respectfully handed it to Azura. "Your Highness, a message from number 7 has come." Azura slowly opened his eyes, and slowly sat up. The elegance of a prince that was drilled into him since birth could not be disguised in any of his actions. He took the paper and opened it. "Why is she there?" He mumbled in annoyance. Crumpling the paper and tossing it into the fireplace, he got up from the bed. "Ahya, handle things at your end. The plan has been pushed forward. This prince now has more important matters to attend to." "Yes, your highness." The black dressed man immediately got up and disappeared. "For her to go there, it must be for the matter this prince is thinking about. What a reckless girl." Speaking slowly, Azura picked up a ring from the table and began fiddling with it. He suddenly smiled, "But this matter cannot be left alone. If she were to get hurt..." The ring shattered under his fingers. "No one would be able to keep their lives."