Chapter 46. Bloody Dawn in the Imperial Palace
The sunlight finally heralded the arrival of a new day.
The endless screams and screams stopped, and the wafting smell of blood also disappeared.
The main hall of the Imperial Palace looked completely different from usual.
All the affairs of Ruvens, big and small, were solved here. Meetings were also held here every morning. Priests, members of the Imperial Family and nobles always stood on the beautifully laid red carpet, bowing their heads in front of the Emperor.
However, today it was different.
There was a disgusting smell of blood in the air, and the corpses were piled up like garbage bags. Most of these people were lying on the floor, cold as corpses.
The Crown Princess's thin lips curled into a smirk, as if she was pleased with the work she had done.
— Let's go.
— Yes, Your Highness.
Kaena, who smiled a chilling smile, stood up from her seat. After that, as she was leaving the main hall, she stepped on several corpses.
As soon as the footsteps of the Crown Princess and her people gradually faded away, the few survivors began to leave their shelters. Someone pretended to be dead, someone hid behind the corpses, and some managed to hide under the rubble of destroyed structures. And all this in order to survive.
«Is it finally over…?»
The few surviving maids and servants were startled to see the bodies of the people they served. After that, they began to call the guards at the top of their voices.
Previously, the soldiers of the Imperial Army could not interfere in the battle, as the main hall was completely occupied by the soldiers of the Crown Princess. This place was like an isolated island. However, now hordes of guards have poured in. First of all, of course, they were concerned about the welfare of the imperial family.
— Your Majesty!
As soon as the «cleansing» began in the palace, the Empress used the people around her as human shields. This allowed her to save her life. However, despite the fact that she was not physically seriously injured, her mental state was deeply disturbed. The woman was trembling and shaking, as if she was on the verge of going crazy.
The emperor, in turn, managed to hide behind his throne. His left leg was severely damaged by a column fragment that hit him. Because of this, the emperor could not move on his own. Both spouses looked terribly pale.
— Your Majesty, lean on me!
The commander of one of the army units hurried to the emperor's aid and helped him up.
— Your Majesty, to us… We should send a chase after… The knight stopped when he couldn't even pronounce her name.
The emperor, white as snow, stared at him with distraught eyes.
— Are you crazy?! «Stop it!» he barked.
— Excuse me?
— Right now, just help me walk!
The emperor was shouting at his subordinate, being on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The commander swallowed and lowered his head.
— Yes, Your Majesty…
The Emperor and Empress were helped to leave the scene, and they immediately went for a medical examination. After that, help came to the second princess. It so happened that at that moment she turned out to be the only capable person capable of providing at least some resistance to Kaena.
Based on this, Jerica was now severely injured. The knights took the girl by the arms and helped her to walk forward.
Despite the fact that the girl needed help herself, she was still trying to stay conscious. The princess opened her eyes with difficulty and looked around the entire main hall. Everything was covered in blood.
— Someone… Did anyone survive? The princess's weak voice seemed to crack.
The knight who was leading her by the arm hesitated before answering.
— Few, but… There are survivors.
Jerica de Ronan exhaled heavily.
— Where… Where is she now? — there was a counter question.
«.....»
— We don't know… The knight stammered, «Her Highness has just left the palace…
The second princess didn't say anything else and only gritted her teeth. What her older sister had done today was truly monstrous. The coronation ceremony, which was supposed to be the happiest day, turned into a bloody nightmare.
Most likely, even decades later, descendants will remember this day as one of the worst in the history of the empire.
So many nobles and ordinary people died today. Kaena Hessen de Ronan has crossed every acceptable line.
Jerica couldn't leave things as they were. The Crown Princess had to stand trial and be punished as she deserved. But the girl did not have time to finish the thought, as her sober mind was rapidly leaving her. Due to overexertion and blood loss, Jerica lost consciousness.
The knights immediately placed her on a stretcher and carried her to the imperial infirmary, where other members of the royal family were being treated. The remaining soldiers were removing the bodies and wiping away the bloodstains. They gathered the corpses of the nobility and servants in one place.
As soon as the few wounded were helped to leave the place, an ominous silence reigned in the bloodstained main hall. At that moment, there was a rustle and creak of chairs in the empty hall. Two people, who preferred to wait for the end of all the commotion to leave their shelter, got out from under the countertop.
— Oh, Father… Are you okay?
Yufil bumped his head while getting out from under their shelter. He clutched his bruised head and let out a low moan.
The guy's face was pale, which made him seem agitated. This is understandable. It would be a miracle if a person could still keep his mind intact in such a situation.
There was a lot of blood on his clothes, face and blue hair. But not his own.
«I'm… fine.» Yufil, you weren't hurt either, were you?
The heir of the family nodded, and then spoke again in a cracked voice:
— Father, what will happen now?..
— …
— I saw it… I saw it. The woman who set it all up. She is, after all…
Suddenly, there was an agonizing ringing in the Duke's ears. He clutched his head.
— Uh-huh…
Corpses lying on the floor everywhere, like sandbags. All these people were killed by a woman who was brought to their house not so long ago by his youngest daughter. A commoner… no. The crown princess of this Empire.
The Duc de Valt squeezed his eyes shut. He couldn't believe that all this was really happening.
The day the Duke was looking forward to turned into a nightmare. Last night, together with their eldest son, they came to the coronation ceremony with the intention of having a good time. But instead they almost died. And all this is the fault of one woman.
The Duke could hear the incoherent mumbling of his son, who was trembling and shaking.
— That's it… What's going to happen to us?
Even though they had managed to escape death today, the Duke also had no idea what was going to happen. The fact that they were still alive now was truly a miracle.
At one point, the Duke really thought that they were finished.
In the midst of the massacre, with blood gushing everywhere, Victor lifted the tablecloth of the table they were hiding under by just a few centimeters to assess the situation. And it was then that he met the gaze of the mad Crown Princess. The golden irises, like the pupils of a wild beast, were undoubtedly looking directly at him.
«This is the end!» The duke's soul sank when he thought that he and his son were going to die right now. He was praying like a madman inside.
However… To his surprise, everything did not happen as he expected. It might have been just a moment, but it seemed like an eternity to the Duke. Kayena de Ronan was the first to look away. She never did anything.
Even when the Crown Princess was leaving the main hall, she walked past their table without turning around. This puzzled Victor even more. He couldn't figure out why this crazy woman had spared their lives.
And at the same time…
The Duke looked at his hand, which had been cut by a piece of glass, with a blank expression on his face. At that moment, the thought came to him by itself.
— Camille… The head of the family muttered in a hoarse voice.
His daughter was still at home, unaware of what had happened. For some reason, Victor's body trembled and became hot. He vividly recalled the horror he had experienced that night. Ringing screams, the clang of metal and the disgusting smell of blood. On top of that, most of the bodies were not just mutilated, but hacked up.
The limbs of the nobles were shredded and scattered on the floor. The Crown Princess did all this just for fun. She was laughing, as if enjoying the bloodshed.
«No, this crazy stuff!..»
The Duke de Walt clenched his fists very tightly. Before he realized it, the man had risen resolutely to his feet. Yufil looked at his father with a confused face.
— We're going back.
— what? The heir of the family stuttered in mid—sentence.
«I need to notify Sir Gilton urgently that an attack is being prepared on our estate.»