n

n

n

nCary looked around the spinning room and held onto her mother very tightly.

nThe room seemed to be moving on its own, as well as those beside her too.

nShe closed her eyes once more and blinked in attempts to try to make everything slow down to something her mind could cope with.

n

"Darling are you alright?

"

nListening to get mother, she tried to respond.... but her throat hurt so bad that every time she cried, it was as if somebody was constantly stabbing her with a knife there.

n

"Water! Water!

nBring water now fools!

"

nWith that, some of the maids ran out as fast as they could.

nAnd after a while, they were back and Cary had already drunk her fill.

nWith the little energy she now had, Cary lifted her blanket up slightly and tried to look at her lower body.

n

"Dear... don't worry yourself about this now okay?

nPlease listen to me... it's not the end of the world okay?

"

nHer mother tried to stop her from looking at her lower half..... but when she finally saw it, she almost fainted again from the despair.

n

"Leave us!

" Her mother commanded.

nAnd soon enough, all the maids stepped out of the room in a flash.

n

"Tell me everything that happened!

"

n

"Yes, mother.

"

n.

nBoth mother and daughter spoke for a while, and Cary soon realized that when they found her.... the cut-off ends of her limbs were already burnt off and treated to prevent excess blood loss.

nIn short, just like the masked man had said, she had survived the whole ordeal.

nBut now, what was she supposed to do with her life from here on out?

nShe had a lot of enemies..... and she knew that in this condition, she was as useless as a dead dog.

nIn fact at this point, even her maidservants could drown her in the bath if they wanted to.

nFor heaven's sake!

nShe had no legs and only had her left hand, as her only means of protection.

nSo how was she to cope?

nMore importantly, would Anthony still want her?

nWould he find her as a burden and not want her anymore?

nHow was she even supposed to wear her wedding dress?

nCary's despair soon turned to hate, which later turned to extreme anger.

nIf he dared to dump her, she would kill him.

nIf she couldn't have him, then no one else could.

nThat was how much she loved him.

nTill death do them part!!!

n.

n

"Dear... you said that the masked man promised to come again?

nHow dare he?!!!!

n

"Mother... I've been thinking about this hard.

nThe main culprit had always been attacking me..... and had never attacked brother or even you.

nSo it's not someone who wants the throne.

nBut.... the person also never harmed Anthony at all and seemed to have their hatred only focused on me.

nSo it can't be any of you or brother's enemies.

nRather, I think that it might be somebody that I might've pissed off recently.

nBut someone who has enough power to topple the scale as well.

"

n

"So who do you have in kind?

"

n

"Mother.... when we were in Baymard, I personally threw an egg on someone's head.

nAnd the look she gave me was that of somebody who wanted to strangle me to death.

"

n

"Why did you do that?

"

n

"Mother... I told you of how they treated us right?

nIn fact, the people there in Baymard didn't even care that I was a princess.

nBut when they saw that sl**y noble..... They all looked at her with awe and reference and didn't even bother to place me in their eyes.

nI... I got a little jealous and threw a drink at her.

nHowever, she managed to dodge it in time and gave me a look that somewhat gave off the vibe that she will deal with me later on.

"

n

"Even so.... that isn't enough for her to do this to you, is it?

"

n

"Yes... But I also had my men try to kill her out in secret as well.

nBut they were all beaten up and caught by her own men instead.

"

n

"Fine!

nIt's already passed now... So tell me, is the lady powerful?

"

n

"Mother, she wasn't an ordinary woman.

nShe is undoubtedly powerful.

nWhile in Baymard, I expected her to report the matter to that bastard brother of mine.

nBut she never did.

nAt first, I thought that maybe she was too chicken to do anything to me.

nBut now, it's obvious that she was just waiting for the moment when I would step out of Baymard.

nI just never expected her to strike in this manner.

"

n.

nListening to Cary, her mother fell into deep silence for a while.

n

"Dear... Are you sure that you aren't letting your jealousy guide you?

nHow can you be sure that it was this particular noble lady?

"

n

"Mother... Think about it.

nIf it were our regular enemies, they would never dare to attack us in the Capital.

nRather, they would've tried to kill me on my way to and from Baymard... or even within Baymard itself.

nIn addition to that, before leaving the Capital... I didn't offend anyone since I went to visit brother Eli for close 2 months prior to that.

nAnd even before then, I usually stayed in my estate all-day long... So who was I offending?

"

nInstead, all my troubles began after coming back from Baymard.

nSo I think that the noble lady in question had her men follow me all the way back so as to deal with me accordingly.

nThey probably first observed me when they arrived at the Capital, before making their move.

nMother, I'm telling you..... it's definitely her!!

"

n

"^

"

nIndeed, Cary's explanation seemed to make sense in her mother's ears because everything she said was true.

nPrior to the trip, she spent 2 months at Eli's city... And even before that, she would bury herself in her estate all day long while making plans.

nSo it was unlikely that she offended someone in the Capital.

nAnd even if she did... It was true that no one living in the Capital would dare touch her.

nWell, they wouldn't dare touch her if they were still based in the Capital, because if they did... They wouldn't be able to run away if they were caught.

nIt would make sense if their enemy was even some noble living outside the Capital.... who might have a head start in fleeing the empire if he or she got caught.

nCould it be someone within Eli's territory?

nThat was impossible since she was sure that everyone in Eli would've already killed anyone who dared to go against her in his territory.

nSo that left the noble lady that Cary had pissed off in Baymard.

nWell, since the last dared to harm get daughter this much, then she shouldn't blame her for retaliating as well.

n

"Insolent!

nDear, I'll definitely capture her for you.

nSo tell mother who the noble lady in question is.

"

n

"Mother.... it was Queen Penelope.

"

n

"_

"

n.

nAnd so just like that, Penelope had been blamed for a crime that she never even committed.

nIn fact, she didn't even remember Cary at all.

nBut while mother and daughter duo were currently planning on how to deal with the matter at hand..... Landon had his own matters to attend to as well.

nFinally!

nThey were here!

n

n