The
capital city
buzzed with uneasy murmurs as the news spread like wildfire.
They called it
The Mad Queen’s Curse.
A
day of horror.
A
day of reckoning.
The Queen had
fallen
—and the kingdom trembled in the aftermath.
For the first time in years,
fear
wrapped itself around the
Royal Palace
, tightening its grip.
The
brooding King
sat on his throne, surrounded by his shaken court, but the whispers outside the castle walls were
unrelenting.
And
watching
from the rooftops, hidden beneath the pale glow of the moon, Seraphis
smirked.
"It’s finally time."
Her
white wings unfurled
, catching the moonlight as she took flight.
She had already
set the stage
.
Now, she needed a
new ruler
.
And she had found the
perfect one.
A Forgotten Bloodline
Far from the palace, nestled deep within the
noble district
, sat the grand estate of
Duke Alice von Revenant
.
A woman of
exile and prestige.
Once a
princess
, cast aside for her
"tainted blood."
Her lineage was
cursed
, the whispers said.
Her existence
an embarrassment
to the throne.
But they couldn’t
erase her.
So, instead, they
banished her in plain sight.
Gave her the empty title of
Duke
.
A cruel mockery of
power
—meant to silence her.
But Alice was
not a woman to be silenced.
An Unexpected Visitor
Duke Alice sat at her massive
mahogany desk
, pouring over
financial records
, her sharp emerald eyes flickering in the candlelight.
A woman in her
mid-twenties
, draped in a simple yet refined
black coat
, her silver hair cascading over her shoulders.
A woman who had built
everything she had
with her own hands.
And yet—
She felt
it
before she heard
it
.
That prickle of
unease.
That
presence.
Then—
a gust of wind.
The window
burst open
.
Alice’s head
snapped up
.
And there, standing in the
moonlit frame
, her white wings folding behind her, was
Seraphis.
A figure clad in
dark assassin’s attire
, her stark
white hair
shimmering like a ghostly flame.
Alice's hand shot toward her
sword
, drawing it in one smooth motion.
"Who are you?" she demanded, her voice sharp, her stance
steady.
Seraphis
tilted her head
, amused.
"Hold your horses, now."
She stepped forward, her expression
calm
, her piercing
white eyes
unwavering.
"If I wanted to kill you… you’d already be dead."
Alice's grip
tightened
.
"Then what do you want?"
Seraphis
grinned
.
"Oh, I know who you are, Duke Alice von Revenant."
Alice’s
jaw clenched
.
"And?"
"And I know you despise the
royal family
."
Alice didn’t blink.
But the tension in her shoulders
shifted
.
A calculated pause.
Seraphis
leaned in
, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"You’ve heard the rumors, haven’t you? About the Queen?"
Alice narrowed her eyes.
"What about her?"
Seraphis smirked.
"It was me. I did it all."
Silence.
Alice’s expression didn’t change.
She was a woman who had lived through
betrayal
.
A woman who had been cast aside by her own
family
.
She had learned long ago how to
mask her emotions.
But Seraphis saw
the flicker
in her gaze.
Not
fear.
Not
shock.
But
interest.
A Proposition of Power
Seraphis leaned against the desk, her fingers
trailing
along its edge.
"You hate them, don’t you?" she mused.
"They stole your birthright. Threw you away like
trash
. Kept you on a
leash
with a title that means nothing."
Alice remained silent.
Seraphis chuckled.
"And yet, you stay. You build. You protect those beneath you. You help the families that suffer under
corrupt nobles
."
Seraphis’s voice softened.
"I know what kind of person you are, Alice."
Alice’s eyes flashed.
"And what exactly do you want from me?"
Seraphis smiled.
"Simple. Become the King."
Alice
froze.
The words
lingered
in the air, heavy with meaning.
Seraphis spread her arms.
"This kingdom is in
shambles
."
"The people are
terrified
."
"The nobles are
fracturing
."
"And the throne?" Seraphis grinned,
mocking
.
"The throne is
wide open
."
Alice exhaled, placing her sword back on the desk.
She leaned forward,
studying
Seraphis.
"And why me?"
Seraphis
sighed dramatically
, twirling a metal
playing card
between her fingers.
"You’re a good woman, Alice."
"You keep a tight leash on the nobles that need
cracking—or killing
."
"You protect the
commoners
."
"And unlike the
Royal Family
, you actually
deserve
the throne."
Alice tapped her fingers against the desk.
Her mind
raced.
The kingdom
was
on the brink of collapse.
Lucius was
losing his grip.
The people
needed someone strong.
And if she
didn’t take control
…
Someone worse would.
Slowly, Alice leaned back, crossing her arms.
"And what do you get out of this?"
Seraphis smiled, her white eyes
glowing
.
"Oh, let’s just say I enjoy
watching
a kingdom burn—" she tilted her head,
grinning
"—
and rise from the ashes.
"
Alice studied her for a long moment.
Then, finally—
She
smirked.
"Fine."
"I’ll take the throne."
A Kingdom in the Making
That night, a
new future
was set in motion.
The Mad Queen was
dead
.
The King’s rule was
crumbling.
And in the shadows—
A
new ruler
prepared to
take her place.
Seraphis watched as Alice poured herself a glass of wine, her expression unreadable.
She had given Alice the
opportunity.
Now, all that was left was to
see what she did with it.
And if things didn’t go according to plan?
Seraphis’s
playing cards glinted
in the candlelight.
Well.
She always had a way of
fixing things.
One way or another.