A woman wearing a cloak sat at the back of an open wagon that moved along the path. With one hand on her sword, her mind stuck in thought. The man driving the carriage was nervous, with his hands trembling; he did not even dare to look back at the woman. They passed green fields with people farming and children pying by the streets. The woman watched silently with a smile, but after a few hours, the carriage stopped.

  “Have we reached the gate?”

  “No, no, it seems there is a delegation in front of us. There are royal carriages from the empire.”

  The woman suddenly stood up and jumped off the carriage. The man followed her nervously. She passed the several carriages until she reached the main gate.

  “YOU COMMONER, DON’T YOU KNOW WE ARE FROM THE EMPIRE, YET YOU’RE TRYING TO CUT US OFF!!”

  The coachman screamed as the busy guards who were authenticating the documents turned towards them. The guard came closer to assess the situation.

  “What is going on here?”

  “This commoner is trying to cut the line; they should know better.”

  The guard with a sigh turned to the woman and the man behind her.

  “Madame, please wait while we clear this, then we will sort you out.”

  The woman silently shook her head as the coachman became infuriated once again. This time, the noble inside came out of the carriage; it was a middle-aged aristocrat with finely groomed hair wearing expensive clothing. He scanned the woman in front of him, then the guard.

  “Will the Duke take responsibility for this? A mere commoner causing all this commotion. Why are we even still here?”

  The man started to aggressively push the soldier, with his eyes darting towards the woman and man. The man behind her started to shake uncontrolbly as he looked around as if looking for an exit.

  “Royal guards, deal with this wench.”

  The empire soldiers dismounted and surrounded the woman. In a panic, the guard yelled something incoherent, then stood between the woman and the soldiers.

  “We will take care of it; just return to your carriage so we could let you in.”

  “Move; we will teach your commoners how to act in front of royalty.”

  A sharp sound could be heard as one of the royal soldiers fell to their knees, holding their decapitated arm. Before the rest of the soldiers could react, the woman swung her sword as one of the soldier’s legs was cut clean off. Screams filled the area as one of the soldier’s tried to reach for his sword, but the woman caught his arm then crushed it. The guard who was trying to shield her was unable to react, he slowly turned and took a good look at her then suddenly fell to his knees.

  The giant gates swung open as a knight of Credoa wearing their signature grey armor and the emblem of a roaring dragon appeared. His presence was enough to stop the chaos. He saw the guard kneeling in front of an unidentified woman with imperial soldiers on the ground with missing limbs.

  “Arrest that woman this instant! She has severely hurt imperial soldiers. Under the w of Segara, the punishment should be a public hanging!”

  “Calm down, Marquis Orson; let me assess the situation.”

  “NO, I WANT IMMEDIATE ACTION! DO YOU WANT TO BE THE PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BREAKING THE ALLIANCE?”

  Orson screamed at the knight, who quietly accepted being berated.

  “Is this how you dogs act?”

  The woman spoke as she slowly made her way to the noble; his anger was now directed to the woman.

  “YOU COMMONER!”

  “Lower your voice when you’re in front of me.”

  “Madame, please don’t make this worse.”

  The knight pleaded, It was then she removed her cloak, revealing her identity. Orson instantly froze in his pce with his eyes open, while the knight instantly fell to his knees, paying his respects.

  “Who knew the empire would be so kind in sending their delegation on my return.”

  “I greet the knight commander and daughter of the Grand Duke, Melora Stormville.”

  “Go back to the empire, think about your actions, then come back with an appropriate apology, then we can start talking about this ‘alliance.’”

  Melora left the noble at the gate as she entered with her entourage. The rge gate closed behind them. Everyone in the city started to bow in front of her, with children cheering and cpping. The commotion drew a lot of attention as more commoners came out and started to cheer. Melora smiled as she walked among her people once again. A royal carriage arrived as she boarded it and set off. The trip to the main pace would take around three days, but Melora ordered the carriage not to stop and was able to arrive in a day and a half.

  Stefan was the first to greet her, but she had no time for pleasantries as she walked straight for the Duke’s office. Once she reached it, she instantly opened the door without knocking as her gaze nded on her father. The clerks around him instantly left the room without word. She slowly walked towards the table, with her father still not paying her mind.

  “I need you to give me one good reason why you shouldn’t be hanged by dawn.”

  “By now, you should understand it’s for the greater good.”

  “Sending your only daughter to death was for the greater good?”

  “You refused to marry the emperor; there was no other way.”

  Melora felt a deep sense of disgust as she stared at the man who was supposed to be her father.

  “Did you ever love me and mom, or were we just cards to py?”

  “You are being emotional once more; it’s clouding your mind.”

  “Emotion is a necessity for one to be a good leader; not everything is to be calcuted to the st point. If you were a great leader, you would know that.”

  Lucius finally raised his head and stared at his daughter for once; her eyes shone with determination.

  “Emotions make you weak and careless; you will never be fit to be the Grand Duchess of Credoa. I had already arranged for a new wife from the Empire to strengthen our Alliance and bring an actual heir. You should have reminded dead.”

  The cold words pierced her heart; she already knew her father did not love her, but hearing such a thing from him stung her heart. Deep sorrow quickly turned to anger. She was ready to cut his head off, but she remembered Adeline’s advice and calmed down.

  “Father, there is something more to this, isn’t it?”

  Melora hit the wooden table, then split it in half, throwing it across the room. Her purple mana rose as she stared down her father. His gaze did not waver. Her mana started to slowly turn hot, then finally burst into a purple fire. The intense heat made Lucius unconsciously move backwards.

  “Tell me what are you hiding.”

  Her purple fmes grew hotter as her footsteps burned the carpet, and the broken table started to slowly burn. Lucius turned away, unable to take it any further.

  “You are not my daughter.”

  Melora’s fmes wavered as she took several steps backward until she fell to the ground.