Myrcella’s POV
Gunshots rang out, bullets slamming against the barrier I had conjured. Meanwhile, Johanne clashed swords with the leader, the battle locked in a stalemate since its onset. Neither side seemed willing to yield an inch. These men were no amateurs, and they must have realized that we weren’t either.
Despite my skill deflecting their bullets, the two men continued to fire relentlessly at me. Even as they emptied their guns, they quickly reloaded and resumed shooting. Seizing the opportunity, I closed in on them with my sword in hand—a royal knight’s blade gifted to me by my father on my fifteenth birthday.
As I closed in on them, I swung my sword horizontally, aiming to strike them both simultaneously. However, they managed to evade by pulling back slightly. Before I could launch another attack, they had already reloaded their guns and fired at me once more. Reacting swiftly, I utilized my skill again to block the barrage of bullets.
Meanwhile, Johanne engaged in a fierce duel with the leader, who wielded a large gun with a bayonet that resembled a blade. They exchanged blows, with the leader occasionally firing at Johanne from a distance. Johanne skillfully sliced through them mid-air. Despite the leader’s shock at Johanne’s abilities, a sinister smile never left his face.
“This is the first time I’ve seen a kid swing a sword like that,” he grunted, eyeing Johanne with a mix of respect and bitterness. “My boy never had the knack for it, but I drilled him day and night to get better. Just when he was about to make a breakthrough, the bastards came for him. Royal knights, hunting down some lowlife, barged in like they owned the place. My son? He was just there, wrong time, wrong place. But they didn’t care. They cut him down like he was nothing but a damn pig—stabbed him, chopped off his head. And you know what’s worse? They didn’t even catch the bastard they were after,” he spat, the anger evident in his voice. “If my boy was still breathing, he’d be swinging that sword just as good, if not better than you,” he growled, a fierce glint in his eye.
Johanne looked on, shocked by the revelation, but his gaze held a mixture of pity and contempt as he regarded the man. “So you’re trying to get back at the Princess to make the royals pay for your son’s death? The Princess had nothing to do with what happened!”
“And my son had nothing to do with that damn fugitive either! And yet, they killed him!” the man spat angrily. “I’ve lost all sense of morality. You really think I’m just gonna sit back and let those bastards get away with killing my son without so much as an apology? No fucking way!” he growled, his voice dripping with bitterness. “But you know what really pisses me off? I was planning to take out the man the royal knights were after, Norman, myself. But then I found out the bastard’s already six feet under. Damn it all. I wanted to take my sweet time cutting off his head, make him feel what my boy went through…”
So he was talking about Norman Amarathea, the man known as the Don of the Black Market. Norman was dead? This was news to me. So that’s why there hadn’t been any news of human trafficking lately. That explained a lot. But if Norman was dead, then who killed him? I had no idea he was even dead.
“That’s why I’m gonna get revenge on the royals now that Norman’s gone,” he declared. “And we’ll make sure they know it was the Silver Blades.”
Silver Blades? So that’s who they were. I’d heard whispers about that clandestine organization before. They were insurgents with grand ambitions—to bring monarchies to their knees and reshape nations into democracies.
“How about you sheath that sword and hand over the Princess to us? Do that, and maybe we’ll spare you when the revolution comes,” the man proposed, his voice dripping with malice.
“Don’t make me laugh,” Johanne retorted, his tone steely. “I’d sooner die than betray the Princess to scum like you.”
“Your damn honor is gonna be the death of you,” the man sneered, his eyes glinting with menace.
With that, they squared off, the tension in the air thick as their blades clashed, signaling the start of their deadly dance.
The men who had been shooting at me ceased their gunfire, opting instead for a more personal approach. “Shooting ain’t gonna get us nowhere. Let’s take her down with our blades,” one of them suggested.
“I’m in,” the other agreed.
With that, they drew their blades—kukris, sharp and deadly—and advanced towards me, their laughter filling the air as they closed in.
“You know, I had a daughter once,” one of them began, his voice tinged with bitterness. “But she was snatched away, raped by some noble prick, and sold into slavery. By the time I found her, she was a broken shell of herself, drugged beyond recognition. Couldn’t even recognize her own father. I couldn’t bring myself to end her suffering. She’s my flesh and blood, you know? That’s why I’m gonna make them pay instead,” he declared, his eyes blazing with fury.
“Yeah, you know what, fucking the Princess isn’t even enough to satisfy us,” the other man chimed in. “I wanna see that King on his knees, tears streaming down his face, as we fuck all his wife, concubines and daughters right in front of him. That’s what he did to me, you know? When that fucking King was just a Prince, he forced me to watch as he raped my wife right in front of me,” he growled. “That King ain’t worthy of the throne. He ain’t even worthy of being called a King. He’s nothing but scum.”
This was the first time I’d heard about Father’s wrongdoings. I already knew he wasn’t as noble as some made him out to be, and I’d heard whispers about his reckless youth. But this revelation about just how vile he truly was came as a surprise. Yet, I wasn’t shocked. Given how many people harbored resentment toward the current monarch and were dissatisfied with his rule, hearing stories like these wasn’t all that surprising.
Still, what my father did to these people disgusts me. I can understand now why my mother despised him so much that she stopped speaking to him after they got together.
I decided to speak up. “I get that you’re hurting, and apologies may not be enough to heal that pain. But what you’re doing isn’t right. This isn’t justice,” I said.
“Don’t preach to us about justice, Princess. We know damn well it doesn’t exist, and even if it did, it wouldn’t mean squat. Revenge is all there is. And revenge is a hell of a lot easier to grasp than justice. That’s why we’re doing this.”
I understood that. Justice was way out of reach for regular folks. Even those living righteous lives couldn’t dream of touching it.
I knew all too well that justice was a lofty goal. Professor Gabrielle thought joining the magic knights would bring her closer to it, but when she did, she realized just how corrupt the whole system was. Even in the magic knights, justice felt like a distant dream.
But it was still within reach. I could reach it. If I became the monarch of this kingdom, I could overhaul the system, boot out the corrupt nobles, and put competent people in their place.
I could make justice attainable. I just needed to convince these people that I could.
“If you want justice, then… will you kneel to me? I promise that if I become queen, I’ll give you the justice you’re after.”
At that, they burst out laughing. The leader’s laughter was so hearty he had to clutch his belly.
“Come on, Princess? Seriously, is now the time for jokes?” the leader chortled. “You really think something like that’s achievable? Do you honestly believe we’d even consider trusting you? Dream on, Princess! You’ll never accomplish anything, even if you do become a monarch. All you’ll do is piss people off and cause more problems. And besides, how could we trust a woman? No fucking way you’d do any good. Forget about ruling and just stick to sucking dicks! That’d make people happier than you on the throne. Keep dreaming.”
“She actually thinks she can bring justice? Get real,” chimed in one of the men. “Even if you became queen, chances are slim you’d even have a shot at it.”
“Why don’t you just shut the fuck up, come with us, and let us fuck you already?” said the other one.
It seemed they weren’t about to take me seriously. Understandable. I was a woman, after all. Men were supposed to be more capable than women. That was the belief ingrained in everyone’s minds. That’s why they couldn’t fathom the idea of me becoming queen. All they thought I’d bring was more misery. But I was determined to chase that dream. And to do that, I had to show these people just how determined I was.
With that, I took a deep breath and prepared for another round of blade-to-blade combat. The men looked like they were having a blast mocking me for even trying to fight them.
However, in an instant—so quick that if you blinked, you’d miss it—their heads were sailing through the air.
