System's POV

The castle of the Kingdom of Valoria had been razed by the flames, devouring almost its entirety.

Only one place was left somewhat intact—the throne room, where the Queen, the Princess, and the Royal Guards who protected them gathered.

When Thirteen arrived, the mother and daughter pair had bruises and cuts throughout their bodies and faces.

Both were still trying to harm each other when he arrived but had temporarily stopped when they noticed him.

"Only one of you will live today," Thirteen said as soon as he landed on the throne room, looking down on the Queen and the Princess.

He then tossed two daggers from the System Shop, which embedded themselves on the ground beside the feet of the two ladies.

"Kill each other. The one who survives will live," Thirteen declared.

The Queen and the Princess glanced at each other before picking up the daggers given to them.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, please stop!" The Captain of the Guards could no longer hold back and stood between them. "That monster is our true enemy! It's pointless to hurt each other!"

"Guard Captain, what do you think is less plausible?" Princess Clariss asked. "Me killing mother, or all of us killing that person?"

Naturally, that person she referred to was Thirteen.

Currently, eight Valkyries far more powerful than all of them combined encircled the throne room.

Even if only one of them made a move, it would be more than enough to kill the Guard Captain and his men without too much trouble.

It went without saying that before fighting Thirteen, they would have to go through these eight ladies first, which was akin to suicide.

The Guard Captain clenched his fists, understanding the Princess was right.

But how could he possibly remain still when the Queen and the Princess were about to fight each other to the death?

Just as he was thinking of pleading with the young man to forgive the two ladies, Thirteen spoke first.

"Anyone who gets in the way will be killed," Thirteen said coldly. "If you still want to live, scram! If you don't…"

Mist pointed her spear toward the Guard Captain.

"My master ordered you to get lost," Mist stated. "Do not test my patience!"

The silhouette of a manticore appeared behind Mist as she unleashed her bloodlust.

The Guard Captain shuddered as the Valkyrie's deathly glare locked onto his body, making him feel like his legs had been drained of its strength.

Fortunately, some of the guards risked their lives to grab their captain, pulling him back to safety. With him out, the Queen and the Princess once again faced off against each other.

The Queen stared at the dagger in her hand before pointing it in Thirteen's direction.

"I know you have no intention of letting me live!" Queen Amara shouted. "If you want to kill me, then kill me! Don't drag my daughter into this."

"Unlike you, I keep my word," Thirteen said coldly. "Just take a look at that Sorceress. I planned to kill her but since she obeyed me, she's still alive. Compared to you, I am more human."

The Queen glanced at Morwen, who was now standing at the corner of the throne room.

Her hands and clothes were dyed with blood, and her disheveled look proved the horror she had gone through.

"I still don't trust you!" Queen Amara glared hatefully at the young man, who was completely under her mercy just a few hours ago.

If only she knew that sparing him would lead to this tragedy, she would have ordered her servants to stab him to death when she still had the chance.

Thirteen didn't give a damn what the Queen thought. No one could stop him from doing what he wanted, so he gave the Queen an ultimatum.

"Ten minutes," Thirteen said. "In ten minutes, if neither of you is dead, I'll make you wish you'd never been born."

He then used his Mind Domination magic on Princess Clariss, encouraging her to kill her mother for the sake of her own survival.

That simple command had nudged the young lady to lunge at her mother with the dagger raised high.

"For my sake, Mother, please die!" Princess Clariss shouted hysterically, about to stab her mother from behind.

Queen Amara gritted her teeth as she evaded her daughter's attempt to kill her.

Between the two of them, the Queen was stronger, having been taught about wielding a dagger in her childhood.

Princess Clariss had specialized in politics and diplomacy, so she never had such training.

She grew up a sheltered princess, surrounded with the love and care of her parents.

There was no need for her to bloody her hands to become the Queen since her two brothers had died, leaving her the only heir to the throne… and Kate.

If not for the fact that the Nobles wished to make Kate sit on the throne as a puppet ruler, Queen Amara wouldn't have bothered her as well.

But she couldn't take any chances, so she did everything in her power to kill Kate before she became their greatest nightmare.

And she succeeded.

She made her drink poison before she was brought to the guillotine.

That way, even if someone were to rescue her or she attempted to escape on her own, her death was guaranteed.

Unfortunately, the nightmare didn't end when Kate died.

No.

Her nightmare started after Kate died.

A nightmare that might not even end even after she died.

As she gazed at her crazed daughter, who was hell-bent on killing her, Queen Amara considered whether she should just allow her daughter to kill her or she should just kill her daughter instead.

As someone who had schemed her whole life, she was faced with a hard choice.

If she killed her daughter, she might live if Thirteen kept his promise.

But, what then?

She could no longer bear any children, and the Kingdom of Valoria was on the brink of collapse.

Clearly put, she no longer had a future.

Perhaps dying was the better option. At least, she would no longer have to face the young man who had ruined the perfect ending she had envisioned for her daughter and herself.

The princess' dagger drew blood, and with it, the Guards averted their gaze in shame and helplessness.

They were not strong enough to protect their Queen, who had decided that letting her daughter kill her was the only way for her child to survive.