Chapter 3
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That day was no different from any other.
As always, when she woke up, Adis was nowhere beside her. Unable to stray far from the area he had designated for her, she ate a late breakfast alone and took a brief walk through the rear garden in the afternoon.
It truly was no different from any other day.
Because it was near the royal palace, access was strictly controlled, and only those whose identities had been vouched for were allowed to come and go.
Adis had never wanted her to attract the attention of others in the first place, so he was especially strict about controlling who entered the area around the palace where she stayed.
That was why nothing should have happened. Just as it never had before.
“Mmph……!”
Someone attacked Ellia from behind as she walked.
Her mouth was covered, and before she had a chance to resist, a cloth was pulled over her head.
In an instant, her vision went completely dark.
“……!”
Startled, she wanted to scream, but a gag had already been forced into her mouth.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
It felt as though her heart might leap out of her throat.
Meanwhile, someone slung Ellia over their shoulder.
Her abdomen was pressed down so uncomfortably that she could barely breathe, and blood rushed to her head.
Several sets of furtive footsteps moved around her, deliberately muffled. Then Ellia realized that she was being abducted somewhere.
It was broad daylight in the royal palace. Worse yet, this was the inner palace, where only members of the royal family resided.
It was already strange for unfamiliar people to be in a place where access was usually so restricted, but to be kidnapped there?
‘Why? Who could possibly be behind this?’
And for what purpose?
Those questions flashed through her terror-frozen mind in an instant.
But she had no time to think about the answers.
Her abductors carried her somewhere for a long while.
She desperately hoped they would encounter one of the royal guards protecting the palace and that he would save her, but nothing of the sort happened.
As if to suggest that everything had been carried out according to a meticulous plan, not a single person appeared to stop her abductors the entire time.
She tensed her body and tried to resist, but the man carrying her over his shoulder didn’t budge.
‘Please, someone……!’
Her body began to tremble with fear.
Harsh breaths escaped around the gag in her mouth.
She was so terrified that tears welled up on their own.
What did they want? Why had they abducted her?
She knew none of it. But Ellia soon realized that their purpose wasn’t simply to kidnap her and demand a ransom.
“That’s enough. Let’s take care of her here.”
At the voice of someone speaking in a deliberate whisper, all the footsteps stopped at once.
The man carrying Ellia also came to a halt. Then he lowered her to the ground.
Her legs touched the cold ground, and she felt dry leaves, dirt, and stones beneath her.
This wasn’t the rear garden. Nor was it the royal palace, where the roads would have been well maintained.
It was somewhere like a forest.
A place where people wouldn’t easily find her after she had been abducted.
In that brief instant, Ellia shuddered as cold air brushed past her.
A chill ran straight down her spine.
Even though their faces were hidden behind masks, she could feel their murderous intent so clearly that it seemed to pierce her skin.
And it was unmistakably directed at Ellia.
Only then did she realize that they hadn’t abducted her simply for money.
Huff, huff.
Her breathing grew even more ragged.
Her entire body began to shake violently.
Her reason was paralyzed by the terror of imminent death.
Had her mouth not been gagged, she would have begged them to spare her.
Had her hands not been bound behind her back, she would have fallen to her knees and pleaded.
‘Please spare me! Please, don’t kill me……’
Unable even to scream, she struggled desperately.
But there was nothing she could do.
“Hurry up and finish her. Before anyone finds us.”
The hushed voice was as cold as ice.
Goose bumps rose across her skin.
‘No……! Please!’
Tears streamed down her face as she twisted her body, but it was useless.
Schk!
“……!”
Pain tore through her body like a bolt of lightning. Her heart.
‘Ah……’
Her consciousness blurred in an instant.
Just before death, the memories said to flash before the eyes of the dying swept through her mind.
The faces of the people she had known appeared one by one.
Her parents, who had died when she was young. Her fallen family.
Crown Prince Adit, who had promised to marry Ellia but died suddenly just as she came of age.
Prince Adis, who became her lover after Adit’s death, almost as though taking the Crown Prince’s place.
Even the Queen, who had once pitied Ellia for losing her parents and being left alone, but later came to hate her.
‘Who……?’
Had one of them ordered her death?
She hadn’t committed any crime grave enough to deserve death.
Why? Why so suddenly?
Her mind was filled with unanswered questions, but the time allowed to her was far too short.
A sharp pain soon dragged her back to reality.
Huff……
She could no longer breathe.
The world turned black and sank into darkness.
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