The young knight remained frozen on the spot, completely shocked at the words the princess had just spoken. He continued to stare at her with wide eyes and slightly parted lips.

she incited.

Lucas remained silent as the girl walked slowly towards him before stopping right in front of his chest while raising her head to stare at him defiantly. Their size difference was blatant since she barely reached his neck.

she asked in a mocking tone.

he hesitated.

she retorted in a very dry tone.

The young captain felt an excruciating pain pierce his heart as if the latter had been broken into thousands of small pieces.

he whispered.

she exclaimed angrily.

he muttered dejectedly, looking at the ground.

she asked coldly.

he exclaimed in complete shock.

she scolded.

he stated.

The girl's eyes widened in surprise as she froze in place. She felt her little heart stop beating for a short moment.

she asked in a choked voice.

The young captain sighed heavily before speaking again.

he whispered.

The you g girl moved closer to him with an even more defiant gaze.

she stated in a hateful tone.

With these words, Luana put her hand in her pocket and took out the necklace that the young captain had given her before his departure. She took his hand and placed it on it, looking him straight in the eye.

she declared dryly.

he begged.

she ordered, looking at him coldly.

The young man took a moment before nodding slowly with a dejected expression on his face. He turned around and walked slowly towards the door before turning to look at the girl one last time before walking out if the room.

Once the door closed behind him, the princess collapsed to her knees on the floor in tears, while Lucas stood outside with his back to the door, a look of pure sadness and agony on his face. He no longer felt his legs which were struggling to carry his weight from how much he was shaking.

A few seconds later, he gathered his strength and slowly walked down the long hallway towards his bedroom.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

At midnight, the girl awoke from her sleep with excruciating pain in her neck and horrible headaches. The black mark appeared once again on her neck with a stronger brilliance than the previous times.

she begged, clutching her head with her hands tightly.

She got up with difficulty from her bed before walking in the room to drink some fresh water.

a voice whispered in her ear.

she exclaimed in fear, turning around in all the directions.

With these words, the irises of the girl's eyes turned purple in color. Without realizing it, she walked slowly towards the door of her bedroom to leave.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

The young girl walked slowly towards the the palace's gates. She was dressed in her usual nightgown and slippers. The guards there were surprised to see her.

one of them asked, completely confused.

She didn't answer them and continued to walk towards the exit which worried the two guards. One of them decided to stop her from going further.

With these words, the young princess grabbed him tightly by the neck and propelled him very far, making him fall to the ground, completely unconscious. The second guard remained frozen on the spot, very shocked by what he had just see.

he asked, shaking with fear.

She stared at him with a' emotionless look on her face without saying a single word before leaving the palace and taking the way to the forest that was a few kilometers away.

he muttered to himself as he ran inside the palace.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

Arthur was in his office, writing some confidential documents while yawning with fatigue. Suddenly he heard a soft knock on the door.

he ordered.

It was the young captain who entered the room which surprised the emperor. He was dressed in a casual outfit consisting of a simple black shirt, pants and boots of the same color.

he asked worriedly.

The young man stood there, a look of sadness and agony on his face.

The office doors swung open letting in the palace gate's guard who was completely out of breath, surprising the two men.

he declared.

exclaimed the emperor in shock.

Listening to these words, Lucas left the room in a hurry without looking behind him, followed by Arthur who ran fast to get to the exit of the palace.

Arriving at the courtyard, Lucas called his wolf who came in a few seconds running towards him before the young man climbed on his back and led him in the direction of the forest.

As for Arthur, he was held back by Angus and Edgar and the other knights who had just woken up when they heard the ruckus. They tried by all means to calm him down, but to no avail.

he shouted.

begged Angus, holding him back with difficulty.

reassured Edgar.

he screamed, sobbing painfully.

══════ ∘◦❁◦∘ ══════

The young girl continued to walk in the woods without knowing where to go exactly. Her feet guided her where they wanted.

After a few minutes, she found herself in front of a gigantic tree. A woman with purple hair and eyes of the same color sat there waiting for her. She was dressed in a purple outfit.

she greeted with a smirk.

The young princess did not answer her and continued to stare into space while the young woman advanced slowly towards her before taking her face between her fingers and approaching her even more, looking at her insistently.

she whispered, displaying a sadistic smile.

She raised her left hand which carried a dagger and prepared herself to finish off the young princess.

Suddenly, a huge wolf attacked her and propelled her far away from where Luana was. Roxy quickly stood up and turned to look at him with contempt and disgust.

she growled angrily.

retorted a cold, masculine voice.

The young captain appeared from between the trees, advancing slowly towards the purple-haired woman with a dark aura around him.

she said with a smirk.

he replied with a glare.

she explained with a sadistic smile.

The woman raised her hand to the sky and whispered a magical incantation that emitted a black light that was absorbed by the mark on Luana's neck. Her eyes had never been so blank or cold as they were right now.

she said mockingly.

With these words, the young princess got into position before rushing at Lucas at full speed while Leo tried to stop her from attacking him.

Lucas ordered angrily.

Roxy pouted, pretending to be sad.

Leo changed direction and ran into the purple-haired woman to attack her but she kicked him with her leg and slammed him into the tree trunk. The animal hit its head on it and fell to the ground, unconscious.

shouted the captain, dodging a blow from the princess.

Roxy said as she jumped up and sat down on one of the branches of the gigantic tree.

Luana ran towards Lucas with a dagger in her hand that Roxy had thrown to her. She spun it around while trying to hurt him with it, to no avail.

he called out, dodging her blows with agility.

The young princess took him by surprise and sent him a punch which he blocked with his hand by taking hers. But, he didn't see that she was preparing another blow. She made a quick movement with her dagger and seriously injured him in the abdomen.

he growled in pain.

The young captain pulled back a little bit and put his hand on his wound to put pressure on it to prevent the blood from flowing out any further.

Roxy ordered with a maniacal smile.

Lucas begged.

Roxy explained.

The young princess continued to attack Lucas without giving him time to take a breath. He was starting to get tired with each passing second.

she added, giggling madly.

Reluctantly, he swung his forearm at her, pushing her away from him and knocking her to the ground. She stood up quickly and stared at him with her blank stare.

he thought.

He stood up straight and looked at her coldly before taking a deep breath.

he said with disgust.

Those words took the girl by surprise for a moment. She froze in place looking at him without showing any emotion.

he insulted her.

she whispered, shaking slightly.

he asked in a mocking tone.

she cried out, rushing at him.