"Shouldn't you kill me too?" Mila asked the king beside her.

Only now did Mila really realize that some information was very important, where it could change someone's perspective on something.

​​

Just like what was happening now.

After learning what really happened and the undeniable facts from Anna's memory, Mila began to see Liam in a different light.

One might say, she was starting to see Liam as he was a few decades ago, before all the drama and events that had occurred over the past fifty- five years.

Before Anna's death, when the three of them still had a good relationship and there was no prophecy, murder, conspiracy or war involved in it.

Those were the beautiful times that Mila missed.

"Wouldn't the family of a traitor have to bear the punishment for the betrayal along with the traitor?" Mila leaned her head against the glass container behind her and turned to look at Liam, who was sitting right beside her.

"Yes," Liam answered quietly. "But, I made a deal with the elders."

"A deal?" Mila raised her eyebrows questioningly. "I am not sure those old people are into discussing things calmly, they seem very difficult to work with." Mila scowled. "Are they still the same?"

Liam laughed softly, Mila always had something to say. She was always honest with what she felt or thought. "No. Perhaps it would be more appropriate for me to say that I forced this decision on them." Liam turned to Mila and smiled. "With a bit of a threat here and there," he added.

Mila smiled with him, then snorted. "So, what exactly happened?"

Liam was silent for a moment, he couldn't believe that Mila had responded so well to the disclosure of this fact, maybe he was the only one who thought too much about this?

"Me and the elders came to a conclusion that the prophecy only applies to Anna, because at the time the prophecy happened, Anna was the future queen of our people, and it didn't apply to the women after that." The woman who would be the next queen candidate, which was none other than Mila.

Mila understood what Liam meant without further explanation. "That doesn't answer why I am still alive today."

Liam snorted. "You seem very determined to find out why you weren't sentenced to death, instead of thanking me for the life you have now," Liam criticized Mila's response to the matter.

How come Liam just realized this? It has been a long time since they knew each other. Mila always has this unusual way of responding to things, as if her mind ran in a different circuit and was difficult to predict.

Mila rolled her eyes and sighed in disgust at the comment. "I just wanted to be on guard, knowing how much you've sacrificed to keep me alive." Mila shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Who knows, right? It's possible that someday you will claim this kindness of yours and ask me for something unreasonable."

Liam couldn't help but shake his head at Mila's logic.

There were times when she seemed to fit all the criteria of a queen that their people should have, but there were also times when this girl simply didn't deserve that status.

Liam didn't know what would happen next between the two of them, but at least he was a little relieved that they were able to talk quite well without involving fangs and claws, and possibly injuring each other.

"Of course there are consequences." Liam was silent for a moment. "But, when you think about it, this isn't a consequence, it's an advantage."

Mila turned her head quickly, showing her disapproving expression. She didn't feel like she was getting any benefit from this situation. "What do you mean?"

"You can be the queen," Liam replied curtly. "Isn't that an advantage? Your status changed, from the sister of a traitor to the queen of the people that she betrayed." There was a tinge of irony and sarcasm in Liam's way of saying this.

Mila glared back at Liam. "Don't make me regret thinking about being nice to you like when we were together."

Liam exhaled heavily. "Looks like we will never go back to the time when we didn't know anything about our surroundings like we used to."

What Liam said was true. They would never go back to that time.

After that, silence fell over them for a while before Liam decided to take Mila's question more seriously.

"Yes, I silenced them by choosing you as my queen, because that was the only way to save your life." He still clearly remembered how he tried to defend Mila and made the elders give up with their crazy idea of ​​wanting Mila to be killed because of Anna's actions.

At that time, Liam's influence was still not as great as it was now and he was still trying to adjust himself as a king. It was not an easy time.

"And what exactly did you do?" Mila knew very well how the elders worked. They could be very stubborn in deciding something without any leeway.

"I threatened them with myself." Liam frowned as he said this. He didn't really want to talk about it. "After Anna, of course your status is the highest among the other noble families and I said; I wouldn't choose any other woman but you."

"You can do that?" Mila frowned.

"That's my prerogative as a king," Liam said in a simple manner, even though the process of it all made him seem like he was walking through hell. "After all I am the person to coexist with this woman, not them."

But, in exchange, Liam must obey their orders, weakening his status as the king. One of their demands was not leaving the palace, because they were afraid that he would be killed.

Liam was the last descendant of the previous king and that was understandable, just it was hard to live with.

"I have to thank you for that," Mila said.

"I don't need your gratitude, I just need you to act like a queen," Liam voiced out what he was thinking.

"I can't," Mila refused. "I don't intend to be a queen and I don't love you anyway." That was honesty. As her memories returned, something else came back to her… her feelings toward Aaric.

"That's a painful statement," Liam said, but he didn't feel that way. He knew that the feelings between them weren't like that.

"I had to tell you first so you wouldn't be surprised," Mila replied.

"Aaric," Liam said as he turned his head to Mila. "The soul- possessor, isn't it?"

Mila nodded. "Yes, he is."

Now that she remembered everything, her feelings for Aaric also returned. He was the man Mila loved. That was also the reason why the two of them didn't return, even after Aaric managed to find her.

Because the two of them didn't belong here and ironically, they couldn't live among humans either.

Strange indeed, but Mila could understand a little what Anna felt at that time. Only if her older sister did have genuine feelings for the man and not just to test Liam.

"Where is his real body?" Mila asked, her tone sounded more serious now. She knew that Liam had separated Aaric's body and soul so that the soul possessor would bring Mila back to this palace, but unfortunately the plan didn't go well.

"You didn't think I would tell you, did you?" Liam knew that this was going to happen, the calm he had felt earlier, had only lasted for a very short time.

Mila narrowed her eyes at the king. "I was thinking of finding out myself if you didn't tell me about it."

"No Mila, he can't return to this palace. He has kidnapped you," Liam confirmed this point.

"He didn't kidnap me Liam. I decided to go with him." Mila emphasized her own point of view.

"And you fell into human hands," Liam growled. "Spending fifty years of your time being their guinea pig."

Liam managed to make Mila speechless, because he touched right where the wound was. It was an embarrassing topic to Mila and Liam shouldn't have brought it up.

Now, furious, Mila stood up and patted the dust off her long dress, then threw Liam a dagger- like glare.

"I think my sister was right about one thing." Mila waited for Liam's response, but since the king didn't give a significant reaction, she would continue her words. "You don't deserve to be loved, because all you think about is yourself."

Liam clenched his jaw firmly upon hearing that statement.

In the end, they didn't seem to reach any agreement when they returned to the same corridor they had come from. Because nothing seemed to have changed or improved about their relationship.

Mila walked in front of Liam while the king followed behind, but they were both so busy with their own thoughts that neither of them spoke.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Mila struggled to push the stone door open, so she stood aside and gave Liam room to do so.

There was a frown on Mila's forehead as she watched how easily Liam opened the door.

"This door will only respond to me and a few people I designate," Liam explained, although Mila didn't ask.

However, they didn't have time to talk further when the two of them saw two guards wearing dark blue uniforms, which indicated they were messengers from the elders, standing at the exit.

"Princess Mila, please come with us," said one of them politely, after bowing to both of them.

"What if I don't want to?" Mila had a bad feeling about this.