The appearance of the Crown Princess of the Ruwens Empire came as a great surprise to everyone present. But people became even more agitated when they noticed that she hadn't come empty-handed.
"Ah! It's blood!"
The heir's clothes, shoes, and even her face were stained with blood. The marks from her boots left horrific bloody footprints on the immaculate parquet floor of the banquet hall.
Such a gruesome sight obviously caused panic among the people. Someone screamed, and someone fainted. But most froze in place, afraid to make a sound.
The Empress was the first to find her voice.
"Kaena Hessen de Ronan!" the woman shouted, clenching her teeth.
Hearing her name, the uninvited guest smiled slightly.
"Long time no see, Stepmother."
Reaching the stairs, the Crown Princess threw the bag she was carrying directly at the Emperor's throne. It was from this bag that the most blood was seeping.
"Ahhhhh!"
The Empress screamed shrilly at the horrific scene unfolding before her. For all to see, something bloody rolled out of the bag. That "something" turned out to be a human head.
The Emperor's face was pale; he couldn't utter a word, as if on the verge of fainting at any moment.
For a long time, no one dared to do anything.
Jerica de Ronan, after hesitating, was the only one able to approach and look at her sister's "gift."
The Second Princess shuddered when she managed to identify an ornament on the deceased's head — a white gold chain. A sign of ruling power and a state treasure. Such was usually worn by all monarchs of the Tersian imperial dynasty.
Unable to believe her eyes, the princess swallowed. She slowly rose from her knees. Answering the Emperor and Empress, who stared at her with expectant looks, the girl uttered:
"It's... The Emperor of Tersia."
"Wh-what?"
"This head belongs to the Emperor of Tersia."
Silence reigned in the Imperial Throne Hall.
The Empress clutched her heart as if it had begun to ache.
Regardless of the horror that had just occurred here, the Crown Princess had broken the law by returning to the capital without an official summons from the Emperor. She should have been held responsible for this.
"D-darling!"
The Empress called out to her husband, but he continued to just tremble helplessly on the spot.
In the end, she had to take matters into her own hands.
The Empress trembled with rage all over when their and the Emperor's plan to eliminate the Crown Princess failed, but she tried to control her emotions.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Amid all this commotion, only Kaena de Ronan's lips held a sinister smile.
The woman, a little over twenty, had a beautiful face. Her dark brown hair and golden eyes, which instilled fear in most of the Empire's inhabitants, were beautiful. And the cruel expression frozen on that very face strangely harmonized with her appearance, making the Crown Princess even more attractive.
Involuntarily, admiration might stir in some people's hearts, but they almost immediately suppressed this feeling. What good is a beautiful shell? After all, this person's character was worse than the devil himself from the depths of hell.
"I have prepared a gift for you in honor of the empire's founding anniversary," she said innocently, "It's the most valuable thing I managed to obtain during my campaign. I thought Your Majesty would like it..."
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The Empress's face continued to contort.
"Remove this filth from here immediately!"
But in response to the Empress's shout, the guards didn't move, as if their feet were nailed to the floor. To be honest, even if they were later accused of disobeying the imperial command, each of these people reasoned that approaching the place where the Crown Princess currently stood was far more dangerous.
The Empress continued to call out to the guards until her voice became hoarse.
Finally, when she realized she was in a hopeless position, the woman turned to her stepdaughter and threw a piercing glance at her.
"You... You... How am I supposed to understand this?!" the Empress pointed a furiously trembling finger.
Kaena answered her enraged stepmother quite casually.
"Following His Majesty's will, I completed the mission entrusted to me and achieved victory on the border. As a gift and out of filial respect, I decided to present you, Father, with the empire of Tersia."
"..."
Many people were stunned by this and shut their mouths.
Based on the Crown Princess's words, one might get the impression that she was just passing by and accidentally captured a neighboring empire. Is that a joke? Even those who had never been to the palace before had heard many terrible stories about this woman.
"A cold-blooded, merciless psychopath."
Of course, this might seem like an exaggeration, but since these words referred to the Crown Princess of this country, they sounded more than plausible. It was no wonder that people called the eldest daughter of the Ruwens ruling family a demon inhabiting a human body.
"She kills people without hesitation."
When Kaena mentioned him, the Emperor fearfully hunched his shoulders. He couldn't admit that he was terrified of his own daughter.
Meanwhile, the same sardonic grin remained on Kaena's face. She seemed amused by the whole situation.
Finally, the ruler of the Ruwens Empire gathered his courage and spoke.
"How... How did you manage to capture the Tersian Empire?.." his voice trembled.
The Crown Princess's army, sent with her, numbered less than a thousand people. This number was insufficient even for guarding the borders, let alone participating in a fullscale war. Capturing an entire kingdom with such a tiny army — that was certainly not within the capabilities of an ordinary person.
"It happened by accident."
"Wh-what?"
"After carrying out your orders, Father, I was thinking about what to do next. There's not much to do on the southern border, and I got bored. And then an idea came to me," she continued nonchalantly, "If we simply subjugate this country, the threat of another uprising from them will be eliminated once and for all."
The Emperor was petrified.
"B-but... how..."
"While on the border, I had a small problem with armament," Kaena confirmed the above, "Most of my soldiers died in the first battle, so I had to summon dark spirits. After they occupied the bodies of the fallen soldiers, the power of my army increased significantly."
"..."
The Emperor felt his head spin and he staggered, barely managing to stay on his feet.
"D-dark spirits?.."
"Yes. They served me well as loyal pets. But don't worry, Father. Before returning, of course, I dispelled all the magic," she added with a smile.
"..."
The banquet hall was full of frightened people. No one could believe what they had heard. Only the heir's lips held a caustic smirk.
Anyone can summon spirits of the four other main elements if they have the abilities and can deeply sense the elements.
However, dark spirits were extremely rare. They love extreme pain, despair, and the malice of their summoners, as well as those whose hands are stained with blood and who can naturally dissolve into darkness.
Summoning a dark spirit belonging to the highest demonic race is very difficult. Not to mention taming it and making it act according to one's will.
But now, the Crown Princess had directly stated that she had captured a neighboring empire with the help of an army of the living dead...
At that moment, the Emperor grabbed the arm of the throne to keep from falling.
Trembling, the Emperor realized a terrible feeling overwhelming him. It was as if he had met a beast while being unarmed.
"Don't tell me I brought this monster into the world!.."
Perhaps his daughter really was a demon? Otherwise, how did she manage to deal with those damned creatures?..
The Emperor stood frozen in fear, unable to utter a word. So it was Kaena who broke the silence first.
"Your Majesty, are you satisfied with my gift?"
The Crown Princess smiled mockingly.
The Emperor cleared his throat. Overcome with fear, he clenched his fists tightly.
"You... You did well!" he exclaimed, stammering: "This is truly worthy of the title of heroine of the empire. As a reward, you... You may ask me for anything you want."
The Empress turned to him with an angry look. But the Emperor ignored her indignation.
Could he really refuse the Crown Princess at such a moment? That would be tantamount to voluntary suicide.
Kaena de Ronan chuckled.
"Thank you for your generosity, Father. I will definitely think about what reward I want to receive."
A drop of sweat ran down the Emperor's face. He nodded weakly.
"And now, I shall probably go. The journey took a lot of time and tired me. I want to rest a little."
"O-of course, go ahead..."
The Crown Princess turned and left the banquet hall as swiftly as she had entered. Leaving all present in the company of shock and horror.
When the girl disappeared from sight, leaving behind puddles of blood, sighs were heard from people who had been holding their breath all this time.
The Empress was beside herself. Her blood boiled with rage.
She watched the departing Crown Princess, clenching her fist so hard that veins bulged. Jerica looked at her mother worriedly. She tried to touch her shoulder, but the Empress didn't pay her any attention, continuing to shake with fury.
"That vile creature... I must deal with her today!"