---
Luca strode down into the dungeon, cloak brushing the stone. Two knights guarding the cells straightened and bowed as he passed.
"Master Luca!" they said in unison, bowing their heads. "What brings you here?"
Luca's lips curved faintly, though his eyes held no warmth. "I came to have a little talk with the man inside."
"Open the door."
The knights exchanged uneasy glances.
Luca tilted his head slightly, the smile still ghosting his lips. "Didn't you hear me? I said open the door."
"Forgive us, Master Luca," one said nervously. "But His Majesty has ordered that no one may meet him."
"If His Majesty finds out—"
"I'll handle Eyan," Luca interrupted softly. "You won't have to worry about him."
The knights looked terrified but obeyed. The heavy iron gate groaned as it swung inward. "Here, Master Luca."
"Good," Luca said, stepping inside. "Now leave. I want to speak to him alone."
The knights bowed quickly and retreated down the hall, their footsteps fading. Silence returned — thick and suffocating.
Marek sat shackled against the wall, his clothes torn, his face pale beneath the flickering light. When he saw Luca enter, his eyes widened.
"So—it's you who tried to harm the queen." Luca's voice was calm."
Marek stammered, scrambling for words. "What are you doing here? Where is His Majesty? I was told His Majesty would come to see me—why are you here?"
Luca's smile hardened. "I came here to kill you."
Marek's face drained of color. He tried to scream. "Some—one hel—"
Before he could scream, Luca's hand shot out and grabbed him by the throat, slamming him back against the cold stone wall. The chain rattled violently as Marek struggled, gasping for breath.
"Don't scream," Luca said softly, his grip tightening. "It'll be over soon."
Marek's voice cracked between shallow breaths. "W-Why are you doing this?"
"You don't need to know." Luca's eyes darkened, his usual playfulness gone.
Marek's face was turning pale, his voice barely a whisper. "Please… wait—"
"Wait?" Luca hissed. "You dared to harm the queen, and you think you deserve to breathe another second?"
He lifted Marek higher, his fingers digging in. The sound of choking filled the small chamber.
Then—
"Luca."
The single word froze him in place.
Luca turned. Eyan stood at the doorway, his tall frame half-silhouetted by torchlight. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes — those calm, deadly eyes — were fixed on Luca's hand around Marek's throat.
"What are you doing here?" Eyan demanded.
Luca didn't move. "You already know what I'm doing."
Eyan's tone sharpened. "Are you trying to kill him?"
"Yes."
"Let him go." Eyan stepped forward, voice steady but taut.
"No, Eyan. I heard what he did to sister-in-law." Luca's voice rose, hard as flint. "He deserves to die."
I can't let him talk to Eyan, Luca thought, every muscle coiled.
Marek's eyes were already glazing; he was close to passing out.
Then Eyan's hand shot forward, grabbing Luca's wrist in a crushing grip. "Luca, I said let him go." The pressure made Luca hiss in pain, and his hold on Marek finally loosened. Marek collapsed to the floor, coughing and gasping for air.
"Eyan," Luca said through clenched teeth, "why did you stop me? You're not angry about what he did to her?"
"I am angry." Eyan's voice was low, controlled.
"Then kill him." Luca's demand was blunt, unforgiving.
"Not now. I want to talk to him first." Eyan's gaze never left Marek.
Luca's jaw tightened. "Why have—talk with someone like him? Just kill hi—"
"Luca, you can go now." Eyan's tone brooked no argument.
"Why? Let me stay here too."
"I want to talk to him alone." Eyan's words were final.
"But—" Luca began.
"Luca. Go. Now."
Luca clenched his fist, something like pain and surrender passing over his features. He turned without another word and walked out, the echo of his boots lingering in the cold corridor as Eyan stood over the broken man and the cell closed behind him.
Eyan stepped closer to Marek, his eyes cold and unyielding.
"Get up," Eyan's voice was low, dangerously composed.
Marek coughed, his throat still raw from Luca's earlier assault. He stumbled to his feet, keeping his head lowered. "Y–Your Majesty…"
Eyan stepped closer, the sound of his boots deliberate, echoing off the stone. "When my wolves attacked you," he began, eyes narrowing, "did you know who stopped them from killing you?"
Marek blinked rapidly. "I… I don't know, Your Majesty."
"You don't know?" Eyan repeated, letting the words hang like a blade.
Marek shook his head quickly. "No, Your Majesty."
Eyan's gaze hardened. "Did you kidnap the boy?"
Marek swallowed hard. "Yes, I did."
The calmness in Eyan's expression wavered. "Why?"
Marek lifted his eyes, voice trembling. "Because I wanted to show you the real face of the Queen."
Eyan's gaze sharpened. "What do you mean by that?"
Marek hesitated, then took a breath as if preparing himself to step into danger. "Your Majesty… I am the Queen's past lover."
The air seemed to still.
In one swift motion, Eyan grabbed Marek by the collar and slammed him against the wall. "Stop lying," he hissed, voice deep and edged with rage.
Marek gasped, trembling, "I'm not lying, Your Majesty! Please—hear me out."
For a long moment, only the ragged sound of Marek's breathing filled the air. Finally, Eyan released his collar with a rough exhale, stepping back.
"Speak."
Marek rubbed his neck, eyes downcast. "We were together for eight months," he said softly. "But I ended it when I learned the truth."
Eyan's voice dropped. "What truth?"
"She… she was having an affair with other men behind my back. When I found out, I left her."
Eyan's eyes darkened, but his silence pressed Marek to continue.
"When I heard you were to marry her, I couldn't believe it. I thought—you deserve to know the truth. But i knew you never would listen to me, so I gathered evidence."
"Evidence?" Eyan's voice came out like a low growl.
Marek nodded. "And do you know what I found, Your Majesty?" His tone shifted, trembling yet venomous. "She slept with more than one man."
Eyan's fury snapped. He lunged forward, gripping Marek's throat, eyes blazing. "She could never do that," he growled.
Marek choked, struggling. "Don't fall for her act, Your Majesty! I did! I know how she deceives—how she—"
"Enough." Eyan threw him back. Marek fell to his knees, gasping for air.
But Marek wasn't finished. His voice shook, but his words grew sharper, more deliberate. "After your wedding, I started following her in secret. One day, I saw her running through the streets—searching for someone. That boy."
Eyan froze. "Leo?"
"Yes, that's his name." Marek's lips curled into a small, pitiful smile. "That boy seemed suspicious to me, so I searched for him. And I found him in an orphanage. When I asked him about their relationship, he refused to answer. So I took him—."
"After that i sent a letter to the Queen."
He reached shakily into his pocket, pulling out a folded letter. "This," he said, "is what I sent to her."
Eyan snatched it from his hand and unfolded it.
"If you want to see 'him', come to this address today. Come alone."
His fingers trembled. "This… this is the same letter she received this morning."
"You sent it to her?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"But she told me it was from a friend."
"She lied, Your Majesty," Marek said quickly. "She didn't want you to know the truth."
Eyan's breath hitched, but he said nothing.
I sent the letter and waited for her. At first, I thought she wouldn't come… but she did. She came running for that boy… and that's when I found out about their relationship."
Eyan's chest tightened.
"Your Majesty do you want to know the relationship they share?"
Marek leaned in, voice lowering. "They are Mother and Son."
Eyan's heart dropped.
Marek met his gaze, voice low. "That boy called her Mother. With my own ears, I heard it."
Silence.
Eyan's heart seemed to stutter.
"And do you want to know who the father is, Your Majesty?" Marek's tone darkened, cruel satisfaction seeping through. "Duke Malric Vane."
Eyan's eyes widened. "Malric Vane—"
"That's… nonsense. She doesn't know him. How—"
"They know each other, Your Majesty. Her father, Lord Alric Elvaris, and Duke Malric Vane are close friends. They met after her seventeenth birthday. She seduced the duke… and slept with him. Everyone in her family knows that. She was even punished for seducing him."
Eyan stared at him, unmoving. The torchlight wavered, casting shadows beneath his eyes.
Marek's voice grew bolder. "After that, she left her family, married some commoner. The name of her first husband… Kyel."
Eyan's expression shifted violently at the name.
"But not long after her marriage," Marek went on, "she divorced him and got married to you."
"Your Majesty, why did you choose her as your wife? She's not faithful. Did she seduce you too? Saying she fell in love with you at first sight?"
Eyan's silence was his only answer.
"You're not answering," Marek hissed. "That means I'm right. She says that to every man. I'm sure she said it to her ex-husband Kyel as well."
He stepped closer, almost whispering. "She said the same to me, too."
The words fell like poison.
Your Majesty… Today when I threatened to tell you everything, do you know what she said to me?"
"She said… 'Do it. Tell him everything. He won't believe it.'"
Eyan's eyes darkened to a deadly calm. "She was right," he murmured finally.
Marek blinked. "What?"
"She said I wouldn't believe it," Eyan said quietly. "And I don't."
"Your Majesty—"
"Even if she had lovers before," Eyan's voice deepened, trembling with barely contained emotion, "it was in the past. What matters is now. And now, she loves me."
Marek's face twisted. "And what about her child? What will happen to him."
Eyan's eyes hardened, the glow of the torchlight glinting off the sharp edge of his expression.
"I'll keep him," he said firmly, his voice low but unyielding.
Marek blinked in disbelief. "You'll… keep him? But he's not even your child, Your Majesty!"
Eyan stepped closer, his shadow falling over Marek. "But he is her child."
Marek's lips parted, but no sound came out. The conviction in Eyan's voice froze him more effectively than any chain.
Eyan's tone softened — with something deeper, rawer. "I'll raise that child as myown," he said, his gaze distant now, as if looking at something only he could see.
Marek frowned. "Why go to such lengths for her?" he asked cautiously."
Eyan looked down at him, and for a moment, all the fury, all the restraint, all the command of an emperor melted into something painfully human.
"Because I love her," he said quietly.
The torches flickered, as though the words themselves carried heat.
Marek stared at him, speechless.
Eyan turned away, his voice barely above a whisper now, thick with something fragile — longing, desperation, or both.
"The only thing I want… is her love."
Marek's lips parted. "You… you talk about love, but what if she cheats again? What if she found another man—"
"Enough!"
Eyan's roar filled the dungeon. He grabbed Marek's jaw and forced him to look into his eyes—eyes that now burned like a storm.
"If you say one more word about my wife," he whispered, voice shaking with suppressed rage, "you will die here."
Marek trembled. "Y–Your Majesty—"
Eyan's grip tightened. "You will speak of this to no one. Not a single word leaves this room. If I hear even a whisper…" He leaned closer, voice dropping to a cold whisper. "I'll find you."
Marek's breath quivered. "U-understood… Your Majesty."
Eyan released him, stepping back with lethal calm. "Leave Velmoria. Disappear. And never show me your face again."
Marek stumbled toward the door, clutching his throat, but before he reached it, Eyan spoke again.
"Wait."
Marek froze.
"One more thing." Eyan's gaze sharpened.
"Yes?"
"My wife had a cut on her neck," Eyan said quietly. "How did she get it?"
Marek hesitated. "I… I placed a knife to her throat."
Eyan's eyes narrowed dangerously. "A knife?"
"Yes."
Eyan's gaze sharpened. "From which hand?"
Marek lifted his left hand slowly. "Th–This one."
Eyan stepped forward—and without hesitation, grabbed his wrist and twisted sharply.
A sickening crack echoed through the dungeon.
Marek screamed, collapsing to the floor, clutching his broken hand.
Eyan stared down at him, his face expressionless, his voice low.
"You can go now."
Marek crawled away, dragging himself toward the door, sobbing. The iron door clanged shut behind him, and silence fell once more.