After the meeting, Rufus was walking through the hallways of the royal palace with Amala. They stopped in front of a door that was locked.

"You sure about this?" Amala asked.

"Am I sure about what?"

"Sure about keeping this a secret. If the other nobles hear that you have been hiding this, they might get furious."

"It doesn't matter. She has nothing to do with the atrocities the previous king did. She is innocent. The others might not see it that way so it is better to keep her hidden."

Amala felt uneasy.

"I know you mean well but the humans of this new kingdom loathe the Jacob family. Now that the prince has also gone insane and vowed himself to be all our enemy it will be hard to convince them that she is different," she asked.

"I do not plan on convincing anyone. I just plan on keeping her safe," Rufus said and opened the door.

Inside the room, a small girl with blonde hair slept. It was Liana. The youngest child of the previous king and the sister of Markus.

Rufus walked next to the bed and looked at the girl.

"She looks like the same age as Gwon. Just like he, she was too just a child who was thrown into the adult world too quickly. It is not their fault for what they have done and certainly not their fault if they have been born into a cursed family."

Amala felt at ease knowing Rufus was such a warm person, but she still feared for the future.

"What are your plans for her?"

"I don't know. I just know I don't want her to believe she should be better off dead. No child should think like that so for now keep her away from all the others and keep her hidden."

~ ~

Word was sent to Lehasa to open the mines immediately. The gravity stones were incredibly precious and important. With it, you could build gravity ships that were important to the universal trade. One kilogram of gravity stone was five times its worth in gold.

It would take many months until the mines were operational again in Lehasa. Until then the Fairfax kingdom would have to survive with what they had.

~ ~

Liana was sitting in the room awkwardly with Rufus sitting next to her. It was just the two of them in her room.

"So, how are you doing?" Rufus asked.

Liana didn't answer. She was too scared and was playing with her fingers.

"So, do you mind telling me about yourself?" Rufus asked.

Liana still didn't answer.

"It's okay. Don't worry. No one is mad at you or anything," Rufus said and gave a bright smile.

"My name is Liana," she said quietly.

"Well hello, Liana. So tell me something else if you want. Heard you are a princess,"

Liana nodded.

"Do you remember much from the time before you were taken to the Targavis citadel?"

Liana didn't seem like she wanted to answer.

"If you don't want to tell, you don't have to," Rufus said and smiled.

"I don't mind saying, but there is not much to say. My dad didn't see me often and I only saw my brother once. I have always been scared of people. Once I even was taken by bad men," Liana mumbled.

"Bad men?"

"Yes. I was told they wanted something from my father. They treated me badly, hit me and kicked me. I was eventually rescued by the knights of the black sun. My dad thought of me as a liability because of my timid nature and didn't want to lose me ever again. It was decided that I wouldn't leave the palace so I have spent all my time here."

Rufus realized she had been inside the palace her whole life. She had nothing to do with the horrors the king and the nobles had done.

"I think it would be wise if you stayed inside the palace for now. Some people might not like you and have a wrong idea about you," Rufus suggested to her.

Liana looked down. Rufus didn't want to make her stay a day more inside four walls, but the anger of the people was unpredictable. People of the country were burning the flags and everything else with the royal crest on it. To them, Liana would be an easy target for their anger and frustration.

"What do you like to do?" Rufus asked.

"I like to read picture books," Liana said quietly.

"How about I bring you all the books I find," Rufus said and winked at Liana.

Liana smiled and nodded at Rufus.