1 BETRAYAL

In a small kingdom nestled among closely neighboring realms, separated only by the depths of the forest, a young girl stood with her grandmother's cold hand resting on her left shoulder, whispering, "Look, both of you." Her older brother, Rahool, remained frozen, his eyes darting left and right in shock, as if his name had been derived from the sheer magnitude of his astonishment. Meanwhile, their father cleared his throat, imitating the bleat of a young goat, but little Yuana paid no mind to her grandmother's icy hand, her brother's fearful eyes, or her father's cries of "Forgive us and have mercy upon us, forgive us and have mercy upon us." She continued to gaze steadfastly with her eyes fixed on one thing: the eyes of the goat.

Everyone screamed, glasses were raised, and the city celebrated the death of the young goat, under the blessing of King Nero, the father of Rahool and Yuana. The announcement marked the beginning of the new year, with the hope that the blood of this poor goat would absolve our sins and appease our deities, so they wouldn't harm us. The shimmering of glasses and the echoes of laughter filled the king's palace, and Triana, the mother of the children, stood to instruct the children to retire to their rooms. Yuana wanted to request to stay longer to hear her drunken grandmother's tales about her grandson's terror in the face of the goat's blood, but her mother insisted they go to bed. Yuana calmly stood and headed to her room with her maid, as the Obedient kid she always be, while Kazuo, the minister's son, insist to stay longer as a little kid goes until his father harsh him to go to sleep as Rahool, who is more quieter than him.

Yuana grew up surrounded by her father's ambitions, and she loved them as much as she despised them. Until one day, it was announced that there would be no heir to the kingdom of Carmina other than Yuana. This astonished Rahool, the eldest, but he did not oppose their father's decision, nor did he resent his sister. On the contrary, he celebrated her more than anyone else did. Afterward, Rahool married Delta, Kazuo's sister and the minister's daughter, further solidifying their bond. Kazuo had been their childhood friend and Yuana's future husband.

Yuana visited the borders with Kazuo often, and they spent many nights together. They were undoubtedly a match made in marriage. However, as their relationship grew more serious and wedding preparations were underway, horrifying news began to pour in day after day. Injured messengers fell in front of the king, crying out, "The Hyan Empire has conquered all the kingdoms in the north."

In the fourth and twenty-fourth spring of Yuana's life, there were only six months left until the Hyan Empire had already made its way through the northern kingdoms, and the kingdoms willingly surrendered with no hope of escape. Despite the kingdom of Carmina denying that their time would come, Yuana believed that sacrifice was knocking at their doors, and blood had already soaked the ground. On a warm spring morning, a new messenger entered, more terrified and panicked than any before. The messenger ran without pause, not for a friend or a sibling, until he collapsed before the king's throne. Tears mixed with blood on his face as he said, "The kingdom of Kovina was wiped out overnight, within a single week."

Silence filled the vast chamber, and the king, ministers, and messenger fell silent; even the birds seemed to stop chirping. Witnessing an entire kingdom crumble within a week was unimaginable, both to the sane and the mad. The king wept, and Yuana remained in awe, staring at her father. Kovina was the most rival kingdom, the stories of her father and the battles of her ancestors were intertwined with it. Kovina was their history—the enemy and the friend—and it coursed through their veins. To see a kingdom as strong and courageous as Kovina collapse within a week was an announcement of our own execution.

The messenger continued his words as my father wiped away his tears, "The Emperor's army has recruited knights from all the fallen kingdoms, led by the heir to the empire himself..." He paused in even greater panic, "His army is growing every second, and I have never seen anything more cunning! The forefront has been given to the Ravina knights after he learned of their enmity with Kovina."

Afterward, the door to the chamber closed, and everyone left except for the king and his ministers. My brother, mother, grandmother, and I sat alone in silence, knowing that our time would come soon, but unsure of our role in it. For the first time, we all slept in the same room. The night did not last long before another messenger from the empire knocked on our door, standing before my father, arrogantly declaring that our choice would be made before the sunset of this day. It wasn't tomorrow or the day after, it was today, before the sun set. That was the extent of our weakness and insignificance. We weren't even a kingdom worthy of the time to choose.

"It was a simple choice indeed, and it didn't require all this time and planning. Either death or surrender. But surrender meant sending one of the king's sons or daughters. It was a harder choice than it seemed because the king had only two children in his life, me and Rahool. Sending Rahul meant certain death for him, as there is no life for a male within the walls of the empire. And my sending would mean losing the kingdom of Carmina and its heir. Carmina's heiress would go to the empire not as a wife or a favored one, but as one among hundreds of concubines. A concubine is visited by the emperor for a day, and the matter ends with her being forgotten. How can the people of Carmina accept such a fate for their future and leadership?

The messenger left, arrogant as ever, and silence filled the room once again. Breaking the silence, the king requested that everyone leave except for his family. As usual, we remained alone with Kazuo, the betrothed, who wanted to know the fate of his fiancée. The silence was shattered by a harsh tone as my father ordered, just as one orders the greatest criminals, to betray, 'Yuana will go as a concubine.' Voices rose, and everyone spoke up, but I did nothing but calmly close my eyes. I don't know why I wanted to close them so tightly, was it a wish to wake up from a dream? Or did I just want everything to end, even if it was a bad ending? Or was I afraid to see faces that had let me down?

The voice of my grandmother, who opposed my father's decision more than anyone else, was interrupted by crying, and my mother's voice, Kazuo's screaming and tension, saying, 'But we have already done it!' My father immediately shouted, 'No one has done anything, and if I hear that again, I will cut the tongue of whoever says it.' And he stood up and left quickly, without even looking at me once. It seemed funny that Kazuo actually seemed to have cut his tongue, as he didn't utter a word afterward.

The messenger had been sent before the sun dipped below the horizon, and I made the decision to seclude myself in my chamber until the time of my departure arrived. My mother, for days on end, was consumed by sorrow, shedding silent tears without uttering a single word. As for my brother, he bore the weight of the guilt, never once leaving the confines of his room. Nevertheless, his wife made it a point to visit me each day, imparting upon me the notion that such was the way of life, that my father's choice was sound, and that I, as a sensible young woman, must accept it. Her words, though seemingly comforting, were tainted with an air of elation, leading me to believe that she repeated them as a nightly prayer.

Following the passing of the initial week, I found myself within a spacious chamber my father adored, a place where he would often indulge in sipping tea. There I sat, facing him, enveloped in a silence that stretched on. The weight of the silence was not peculiarly burdensome; instead, I found solace in gazing at the book resting beside my father amidst this tranquil atmosphere. It was a tome of tales he cherished, stories of our ancestral lineage and the battles they fought against the Kingdom of Kofina. My father held this book dear, and with each reading, he would be overcome with a sense of pride, even to the point of tears.

Sensing his gaze upon me, my father broke the silence, shattering its fragile hold. "You should not have taken my jest to heart, for you were never meant to be the heiress... The position was always reserved for your brother." Once more, silence descended upon us, and my father averted his eyes, no longer meeting my gaze after our initial connection. Then, he spoke again, his voice carrying a hint of finality. "They shall not bring you harm within the empire, unlike your brother, for you are a woman. Women do not pose a threat, and thus, something as serene as yourself could never ascend to the role of the heir to my kingdom." As his words reached their conclusion, I felt that a chasm had formed between us, prompting me to rise from my seat and depart. Upon reaching the threshold of the room, where I would bid my final farewell, I glanced at the book... then looked back at my father, a gentle smile gracing my lips, before departing in serene silence. My father remained, his gaze fixed upon the forsaken space, a reflection of his own frailty... for even if his decision was one of wisdom, dear father, it does not alter the truth that it was born out of your own weakness.

My brother, Rahool, caught up to me. Happiness and pride adorned his face like that of a young boy. He is meant to close the door when I leave, but I urged him, as the weak brother who did nothing to help his sister, not to do so and to keep the scene of the young girl, the citizen who was let down by both her father and the monarch, in my father's eyes. It was the first time he had ever defied our father's orders. He hadn't closed the door when I left because I told him not to do it. A disturbing smile played on his lips, as if he foolishly believed it would suffice to compensate for

Five soldiers from the empire stood outside the palace gate, accompanied by a number of horses and two carriages. Standing in front of them were myself, my brother's wife, Delta, and my personal servant, Tait. They were the only two individuals permitted to accompany me. My brother stood before us, along with our mother and grandmother, bidding us farewell. Overwhelmed by her tears, my brother held onto our mother's shoulder tightly, while she repeatedly expressed her profound regret. After many tears were shed, my brother went to bid farewell to his wife, and our mother went to give her instructions to my servant.

My grandmother, with a newfound sense of shame, took a step forward. Her face bore the weight of regret, for she lamented her inability to protect her beloved granddaughter. In that moment, I sensed that she finally understood my desires. She abruptly halted her sorrowful expression and drew closer to me. With a firm grip on my shoulder, just as she had done in my childhood, she grasped both of them fiercely. "When you arrive," she whispered, "tell him that you have done it with Kazuo." Startled, my eyes widened, and I cast furtive glances to ensure the soldiers remained oblivious to my grandmother's words. Before I could voice my objections to the absurdity she spoke, she vigorously shook my shoulders and continued in a hushed tone, "Yesterday, I dispatched a messenger to the neighboring kingdoms. The crown prince of one of the northern realms was slain in a fit of rage. He is a deranged soul, extinguishing his own progeny! I shall not allow a mad hound to claim the life of my sole granddaughter." Overwhelmed by panic, I responded in a whisper, "What must I do? He will condemn me should I utter such words! Then he will come to annihilate all of you!" Perplexity flickered across her countenance, yet she remained resolute. "Yuana, there exists none wiser than you in the entirety of Carmina's corners. If, you fail to discover a path to salvation, even if God were to deliver us from the clutches of the Hyan Empire, others shall seize us before the sun rises on the morrow." Grandmother fell silent as the soldiers drew near, urging us to hasten. We embarked on the carriages, burdened not only by our tangible worries but also by the weight of our souls.