Jacinta stumbled through the corridors, barely aware of where she was going. Her dress was stained with blood. Her hair had come loose. Tears blurred her vision.
She turned a corner — and slammed straight into someone.
"What the hell?" A furious voice rang through the corridor. "You don’t touch royal blood with those filthy hands of yours!"
Jacinta froze. She slowly looked up.
The Imperial Second Prince stood before her, his dark royal attire immaculate, completely untouched by the chaos surrounding her. His expression was furious. But the moment his eyes met hers, his words stopped.
Jacinta stared at him through tear-filled eyes. Blood stained the side of her dress. Her breathing was uneven. Her lips trembled.
For a strange moment, the prince simply stared.
She looked... beautiful.
The thought came so unexpectedly that even he seemed disturbed by it. His brows furrowed. He cleared his throat. "I—"
Jacinta didn’t wait. She quickly stepped around him.
The Second Prince turned his head, watching her disappear. His hand slowly rose to his chest. His heartbeat was strangely fast.
"What..." He frowned, then shook the thought away.
Jacinta finally reached the carriage and pushed the door open. "Father!"
Daniel was already inside. And he wasn’t alone — a man stood beside him.
Jacinta slowed. Something about the scene immediately made her uneasy.
Daniel looked at her, then smiled. "You’re finally back."
Jacinta stared at him. Her eyes moved to the object sitting on the carriage table, then to the man beside him. Recognition struck.
Her expression changed. "What did you do?"
Daniel’s smile widened. "I drugged the Second Prince with a love potion."
Jacinta stared at him. Understanding slowly settled over her face. "No wonder..." She remembered the way the prince had looked at her. "You made him look at me like that."
"It is all for you."
Jacinta’s eyes filled with tears. "I don’t want this." Daniel’s smile faded. "I didn’t ask for any of this." Her voice cracked. "I don’t want the prince. I don’t want your plans. I don’t want your schemes." Her fists clenched. "Why are you making me do things I don’t want to do?"
Daniel said nothing.
Jacinta’s breathing grew heavier. She had held it in for too long. Every insult. Every order. Every decision that had been made for her. Every part of her life that had never truly belonged to her. It all came rushing out.
Jacinta froze. Then her face twisted. "Bullshit."
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
"That last sentence..." her voice shook. "You’ve been saying that since I was a child. Whenever I wanted something you didn’t approve of. Whenever I tried to make a decision for myself. Whenever I asked why." She laughed bitterly. "You always said the same thing."
This is what your mother would have wanted.
Her voice broke. "Stop using her to control me!"
Daniel’s expression remained cold.
Jacinta shook her head. "Why?" Her voice rose. "Why, why, why?" She pressed a trembling hand against her chest. "I never wanted to be Rosearia’s childhood friend! I never even wanted to be around her!" Her tears came faster. "You knew she liked Richard! And you made me seduce him!" She swallowed hard. "I didn’t even like him at first." Her expression crumpled. "But I fell in love with him." She stared at her father. "I actually fell in love with him." She took in a deep breath and then said, "And now, the one man I actually really loved is dead, all because of that stupid plan of yours."
Daniel started laughing...
Jacinta stared at him, she didn’t know how to react, was all this a joke to her father, does he not even care that Richard is dead.
"Oh, my dear, you don’t have to worry about that, I can make more Richard for you if you wish, he was just an ordinary clone created out of black magic, but I can’t do that now as our main agenda is you getting close to Callistius, the second prince."
"You’re telling me he was nothing more than a clone?" Jacinta’s eyes widened. "A clone you created using dark magic?" She took a shaky breath. "Was anything real?" Her voice became painfully small. "Were his feelings real? Did he ever love me?"
No answer.
Jacinta laughed through her tears. "What kind of father does this?" Her voice broke. "What kind of father plays with his daughter’s feelings like they’re nothing?"
THWACK.
The slap echoed through the carriage. Jacinta’s head snapped to the side.
Silence.
She had expected it. She had known it was coming. She had prepared herself for it. But it still hurt. It always did. Every damn time.
A tear slid down her cheek. Daniel didn’t apologize. He didn’t even look ashamed. He simply turned toward the man beside him. "Take her to the carriage."
Jacinta slowly looked up. "I am already in the carriage."
Daniel ignored her. "She needs to rest." His voice was calm again. "Rest well, Jacinta." He paused. "A lot of things need to be done. You will understand soon enough."
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she smiled — a small, strange smile. "Yes. Yes, I will understand soon enough."
The man beside her led her toward another carriage waiting nearby. Jacinta walked silently, but inside her mind, her father’s words echoed. "You will understand soon enough."
She finally understood one thing. She had never been his daughter first. She had been a piece. A piece on his chessboard. A pawn he could move whenever it suited his plans. You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
And perhaps that was why Rosearia frightened her so much.
Rosearia had escaped the board.
Jacinta sat inside the carriage alone. The wheels began to roll. She leaned her head against the window and stared back at the imperial palace.
Through the distant ballroom windows, she could still see the glow of the banquet. She could make out figures moving behind the glass.
And then she saw her.
Rosearia. Standing beside Adrian. Smiling. Talking as though nothing in the world could touch her. As though she had never been betrayed. As though she had never been dragged to an execution. As though she had never been stripped of her memories.
Jacinta stared at her. Something unfamiliar tightened inside her chest.
For one brief moment — she imagined stepping out of the carriage. Walking into that ballroom. Falling to her knees. Begging. "Rosearia, forgive me."
The thought made her jaw tighten.
"No." She would never do that. To stoop so low? Never. Her pride would not allow it.
But beneath that pride was something else. Fear. Shame. Jealousy. And anger.
She had spent her entire life being controlled. Her father had chosen her friends. Her father had chosen the man she would seduce. Her father had chosen the life she would live. Her father had turned Richard into a weapon.
And now Rosearia. Rosearia had everything Jacinta had been denied. Power. Freedom. Protection. And the attention of the three most dangerous beings in the realms.
Jacinta’s fingers slowly tightened around the fabric of her dress.
"No." She couldn’t change what had happened. She couldn’t bring Richard back. She couldn’t erase the choices she had made.
But she could choose what happened next.
Her eyes hardened. The thought of begging Rosearia for forgiveness disappeared. In its place came something darker.
"She wanted Rosearia’s downfall."
She would find every weakness. Every secret. Every vulnerability. She would gather whatever power she needed. And when the time came — she would bring Rosearia down herself.
Jacinta looked once more toward the palace. A faint smile touched her lips.
"Yes. Let Rosearia enjoy her victory tonight. Let her believe she had escaped the past. Let her believe the people who betrayed her were powerless."
Jacinta’s eyes narrowed.
"Because the game had only just begun."
"And this time... she refused to be the pawn."
"She would become the player."