I protested. “How could she have been seen near Lady Evelyne’s chambers?”
Chapter 6
*Selene, you mean to say all those witnesses were lying?”
Lyra curled her lips and ordered the guards, “If High Priestess Selene refuses to admit it, then bring this conspirator to the Inquisition. Use every form of Interrogation. She won’t keep silent forever.”
“No, Your Majesty, please spare her!” As the guards tried to drag, Daisy away, I rushed forward–but the King grabbed me firmly.
Overwhelmed, I sank to my knees, repeatedly bowing my head.
“I beg Your Majesty to show mercy. Dalsy is innocent! I’m willing to take the punishment at the Inquisition–please spare Daisy!”
The King frowned, his eyes flickering with some inner conflict.
Lyra sensed it and said, “Your Majesty, this maid is Selene’s weakness. If you let her go lightly, Lady Evelyne’s whereabouts will never be uncovered.”
The King’s expression hardened as he gave the order, “Throw this girl into the Inquisition. Make her endure every form of punishment–but ensure she doesn’t die.”
The Inquisition’s punishments were worse than death itself.
Daisy kept begging for mercy as they dragged her away. I wanted to rush after her but was held back by the guards.
Suddenly, a surge of blood rushed to my th
“Selene!”
throat and I vomited violently.
Everything went black. Through the haze, I heard the King’s panicked voice calling me.
I grabbed onto him, desperate.
“Your Majesty, I did not abduct Lady Evelyne. Please… please spare Daisy. I am willing to die… to prove my innocence…”
“Quick! What are you all standing there for? Summon the royal physician!”
When I woke again, cold sweat drenched me from the nightmare.
In my dream, Daisy had died–unable to bear the torture, unwilling to confess, she died in the Inquisition.
I struggled to sit up and fell off the bed. The attending maid caught me. I cried out, “Daisy! Where is Daisy?
Her voice trembled, “High Priestess, Daisy… she… she’s gone.
Ten days passed, and Lady Evelyne was still nowhere to be found.
The King sent then to tear apart every brick and tile of the Moonlight Tower searching for her, but there was no sign. Still unconvinced, the King, came to the Moonlight Tower nightly, demanding to know where I was hiding Lady Evelyne.
lay on my bed, growing weaker and more listless by the day.
His words didn’t register, all I could hear was Daisy’s desperate pleas for mercy in my mind.
Seeing my state.
state, the King grabbed my art angrily,
Then, without warning, he began stripping me.
I no longer had the strength to resist. After two years of forced medication, my body reacted without my mind’s consent.
He treated
ted this as leverage to humiliate me.
“Selene, stop pretending. Your
ar body won’t be. Look at how tightly you cling to me
“Even with such a frail frame, how many
by men have you captivated? Were they as demanding as I am?”
“Selene, should I kill them all? I hate every man who’s ever touched a woman like you!
His behavior grew increasingly erratic, and whispers began to spread that the King was losing his hold on reality.
Besides searching for Lady Evelyne, he came to me every night.
When Lyra begged outside the door for my execution, the King was still inside with me.
He gripped my jaw tightly. “Selene, listen. Lyra wants me to kill you. Should I listen to her?”
I turned my face away.
He said no more, only tightening his hold.
After he left, Lyra stormed in, staring at me with disgust.
“The once–respected High Priestess has become a plaything in a man’s bed. If Master were alive, he would be horrified by your dis
your disgrace.”
