All happy families are happy for similar reasons, but all unhappy families are unhappy for different reasons.
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The paladin opened the doors to the large hall, which was made entirely of white marble and decorated with gold, and walked in slowly, holding Zion's hand.
"You may sit here, Prince."
"Thank you." Zion felt something he could sit on right next to him, let go of the man's hand, and sat down.
Aaron slowly backed away and began walking toward the door, but just before leaving, he turned and looked at the child with an incomprehensible look.
"Now that I have completed my task, I must go, Prince. A horse-drawn vehicle and a servant will be waiting for you at the exit."
Zion shook his head and continued to think, ignoring his surroundings.
He knew that under normal circumstances, he would not be summoned. He was the youngest prince in the Agnes family, the representatives of the goddesses on Earth, who was born without being blessed by any goddess. Moreover, his mother was not an empress but an ordinary concubine.
The only reason he was able to stay at Enkidu Castle with his mother was because he had the blonde hair unique to the Agnes family.
The reason he was summoned here was definitely not normal. Moreover, he was even more anxious because he was the only one summoned.
While Zion was lost in thought, the door to the hall opened. A beautiful woman with blonde hair entered. She was much taller than the average woman. She had bright yellow eyes and a beautiful body that couldn't be hidden by the red dress she was wearing.
Tap tap tap tap
The sound of her high heels echoed in the room with every step she took, each step graceful and authoritative.
Zion, who instinctively sensed who had arrived, set aside his thoughts and stood up.
When the empress sat down on her throne, she opened her mouth and a soft voice was heard.
"Sit."
After Zion sat down, he said nothing and waited for the empress to continue speaking.
The empress turned to the person waiting at the door, known as the executioner of sin.
"You may bring her in. This must be over quickly."
The executioner bowed to the empress and gestured toward the door. Soon after, a woman with black hair and black eyes was dragged into the hall, her hands and feet chained. There were fresh marks of torture on many parts of her body. As she was dragged along the ground, she left bloodstains on the white marble floor of the hall.
When Zion heard the sound of chains dragging across the floor, he began to fear even more. He wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn't because the empress would punish him.
The empress looked down at the woman on the floor with contempt.
"I warned you before, but this is where we ended up."
Zion was in a bad state; his face was drenched in sweat, and his fear was growing. Why had the queen summoned Zion, who had never even killed a bug in his life, to this place? Why was someone like him here?
"Open the sinner's mouth."
The executioner of sin held the woman's head and forcefully removed the iron mouthpiece. Even though her mouth was open, not a single sound came from the woman. All she did was cry silently while looking at Zion.
Seeing this, the queen's smile grew wider. She looked at the servants in the hall.
"Close the doors and leave. Only the executioner of sin should remain."
All the servants in the hall bowed to the queen and closed the doors as they left.
Zion tried to stop his trembling legs, but he was so afraid that he couldn't stop shaking. Something bad was definitely going to happen. Why was he still there? Was the queen going to punish him again? Why was he being treated so badly? Had he committed another crime? He couldn't understand anything.
"You can open your eyes."
"B-but!"
"I won't punish you, so you can open your eyes."
Upon hearing these words, Zion let go of his trembling legs and cautiously removed the blindfold.
"Ahh." After opening his eyes, the room was so white that his eyes began to burn, so he immediately covered his face with his hands and he knelt down on his knees.
"I told you to open your eyes, Prince. Since you didn't obey my words, I must punish you."
The empress stood up angrily and went to Zion's side. She grabbed Zion by the arm and dragged him across the floor to the sinful woman. When she reached the woman, she threw Zion aside and she grabbed the woman's hair and lifted her head.
"Open your eyes and look here, Zion."
When he heard the empress's authoritative voice, Zion opened his eyes in pain and looked at the empress.
"Ahh-"
The empress was looking at him with a happy face, holding the hair of the woman lying on the ground and showing her face to Zion.
"Ahh-"
When Zion saw the woman on the ground, he felt something break inside him.
"Ahh-"
Tears began to flow from his eyes, he raised his trembling hand, and tried desperately to reach the woman.
"No... no... NOOOO!"
"Executioner, hold him and don't let him move."
The executioner disappeared from his place upon receiving the order and suddenly appeared behind Zion, holding him.
"No... no... no..." Zion stopped before he could reach the woman, held by the executioner.
"You can't do this!, NO!"
While trying to escape from the executioner, Zion continued to talk to himself.
The empress ignored Zion and looked at the woman on the ground.
"We are finally here, eve."
The woman on the ground said nothing and continued to stare at Zion standing right in front of her.
"Tch," the empress clicked her tongue and slapped the eve. But the woman on the ground still didn't react.
"No, no, MOTHER!"
Zion screamed again as he tried to escape the executioner, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't escape him. The man didn't even move.
His mother, however, stood silently in front of him, covered in blood, having long since given up trying.
"Why, why are you making us go through this?"
"Why?" The Empress let out a soft laugh.
"Your mother attempted to assassinate the First Prince; the only punishment for that is death." The Empress spoke with a straight face, not moving a single muscle.
"How?..."
Zion stopped moving and looked at his mother, who was watching him silently.
When their eyes met, she smiled at him. "Don't worry, baby, everything will be okay tomorrow, everything will be better."
Will everything be okay? Will tomorrow be better? Zion continued to cry as he looked at Eve.
"Mother... How many tomorrows have we said will be better?"
Eve's smile broke, and a few tears fell from her eyes. Zion spoke in a low voice, but everyone in the room heard him.
"Stop saying such nonsense. I never believed you anyway."
"N-no, baby, trust your mom..."
"Enough talking. I need to take care of business and leave as soon as possible." Empress raised she hand, and a sword began to form in the air.
Upon Empress's words, all the strength left Zion's legs, and he collapsed to the ground, watching what was about to happen.
"Don't worry about me, baby. Try to live your best life and be a happy man."
She smiled at Zion one last time.
Zion continued to cry silently, staring at Eve without blinking.