Emperor's Reckoning

The light illuminated the world more than what the moon could cause. The huge flash was almost blinding to one's eyes but one. Lyon looked at the smile of the auburn beauty, the woman that stood at the top of the pinnacle of a woman. She was the lone star for the future generations, graced them by her swords, her skills, her beauty, she was the perfect independent woman to look up to. Almost not a single flaw did they see from her, not even her barring attitude. However, what reflected in Lyon's eyes was something different.

"She is the person that incited the war!" 

Lyon's eyebrows slightly twitched before his mind was sent to a puzzle-like distant past.

Someone unknown to Lyon was shaking his head with tightened crossed arms. He was a middle-aged man from his features but was brimming with the energy of youth. The clothes he wore exuded that of royalty. There was no doubt from his clean look and the neatness of his bearing that he was a ruler.

"I heard she worked as a maid to pay her living costs, your majesty?" humbly asked one of his elite political figures. He could tell from the heavy breathing of the king that he was irritated.

"Someone from the inside might use her as a tool, or maybe it could come from the neighboring kingdoms," someone else uttered the opinion.

"I don't need speculations! They all have the right reason to war against us now!" 

His shout immediately brought a notch of silence as they all immediately looked down in submission. He looked at his elites bowing down but he could only close his eyes as what already happened had happened. 

"At the meeting of the four kings on the land, I was there with the other three rulers before she came in bringing four chalices of wine to us. She was wearing the insignia of our kingdom so I know she was one of my people though I have never seen her before. Celebrating our long-running alliances since fathers before us, we each held the chalices up with smiles on our faces before we gulped them down. She must have been thoroughly checked before by my commander, thus nobody suspected her, however,"

"They didn't even laugh before they were struggling to catch air from their mouths. The commanders beside them immediately reacted by approaching them, but I still remember those glaring eyes from my once used to be friends,"

"I was the only one who was not poisoned by the drink.... wait a minute, she handed us the chalice drinks so that I would have not had the one that was poisoned. The commanders immediately drew their swords against.... me rather than the girl."

He immediately felt cold shivers from the base of his spine. The sensation of crawling frost made his eyes opened wide before he concluded. He let out a sigh before muttering, "It was all three of their commanders."

"I can't believe it took me this long to understand this, however, we cannot afford a war against all three of them at once," he tightened his upper lips as he took his glance away from them. He took a sharp breath before one of his elite advisors uttered an opinion.

"Perhaps, we can get rid of their reason, publicly."

The king instantly twitched his ears before he took a glance at him. He made a harsh swallow of his gulping but to show his obvious discontent, but he still asked.

"What do you mean publicly?"

"We will execute her in front of the three kingdoms as the witness. With your charismatic speech, we might be able to delay their advances. Of course, we will show up with our army too. There would be nothing but disadvantages if we pretend that they would come at us in peace."

The king let out a sigh at the possible way to halt the impending war that would involve that woman. He knew that the woman was absurdly innocent but the kingdom needed an excuse. He looked down before tapping his fingers. He was waiting for another way, another idea that one of his advisors might have. 

Minutes passed by but not a single word was uttered out as they seemed unanimously agreed that it was the best way to handle the emergence of the situation.

"I have mistreated her already by confining her in the prison, the guards had beat her up under my command, I was fueled with rage from the death of my fellow kings, I beat the innocent, didn't even give her proper nutrition nor let her cultivate, and now I'm going to kill her in public? Do you still think that I'm still a man after that?" asked the king to his elite advisors.

"A man maybe not, but you are still our king, please do excuse my rude opinion."

The king showed his palm down before shaking his head. He already knew the answer, but not one of their advisors denied the plan. The people already knew her as the perpetrator of the impending war that could blow up at any moment. However, with the resources that they currently had, it was impossible to tell himself that he could come out on top against the three combined forces. 

"Alright, sent a letter that they should come at the ravine where all four of our kingdoms crossed roads. In two weeks. I think that would be enough, for now, dismissed."

The advisors could only bow down to their king before excusing themselves. He raised his hand before signaling the guards in the room to leave him alone. There was nothing but his breath and his throne in the throne room. He couldn't help but stood up as he was against the very idea that he would use the blood of the innocent to stall the war.

"They would surely start the war one thing or another, but within those times I should be able to pucker up something to prevent them from destroying what my ancestors had built."

"However," he looked at his trembling palms before slowly clenching them as he closed his eyes. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." his voice turned hoarse as he lamented the fact that the woman would die for no reason at all. He suddenly remembered the surprised face she made when she looked at his dead friends. She repeatedly said that she was innocent, but blinded by rage, he was not having any of it. Thankfully he managed to get out of there safely, but the news spread far and wide and the public knew of her existence, of her 'wrongdoing'.

"I will let you hate me further, showing pity on you now would only amplify your suffering. Oh, the woman of auburn hair, I know you can't forgive me, but I will pray that you will have a wonderful life next time,"

"You have no family, I don't know how to repay you in this life. The people are hating you for the crime you didn't commit. You're just a pawn dancing under someone's board. The people condemned you, refer you as a bad omen, they didn't even want to look at you nor spout your name."

"You will be remembered as a criminal, but they wouldn't know that your death will keep them alive, and even this truth I will not tell you, I'm sorry. This the first time in my life that I regret being a king."

His ears suddenly twitched as a rushing clank of armor was approaching. His mellowed face immediately turned serious before he saw a panting guard on the door in front. The latter bowed his head before he walked closer and reporting.

"Your Majesty, the perverted thief..."

The king furrowed his eyebrows before he remembered trivial trouble in his castle. Recently there was a thief that managed to get away from all the guards in the palace and sneaked into the queen's room to steal... her undergarments. The report was unbelievable the first time he heard of it, he thought it would be one of the ploys from the other three kingdoms, it would have been if the thief went to their treasury vault instead.

"What of him?"

"He is currently residing in the cell."

"Is this what you want to tell me?"

"N-No, I mean he is in the cell but not his," said the guard frantically.

"What do you mean?"

"He is currently inside the cell with the auburn woman."

"WHAT?! What the hell are you thinking? Get him out of there!" shouted the king as his glare could kill his seven ancestors that were already dead.

"B-B-But, we can't!"

"What do you mean you can't?"

"He refused to leave but the weird thing is, the auburn woman also refused to let him leave."

"He... What did you say?"

"T-the auburn woman refused to let him leave, also, lately nothing perverted actually going on and they converse. I've never seen her conversing with anyone before but she did it against him."

The king was slightly gaping his mouth open before he darted his glance slightly from the guard to the carpet down. He closed his eyes before answering, "Let him be and don't tell anyone about this, those who knew, tell them to shut up or have their heads chopped off."

"Y-Yes!" The guard spares no time before leaving the throne room.

"Perhaps, this is the gift from the gods to you.. I will not intervene, at the very least, you will have a friend in this world before you part," muttered the king as he closed his eyes against the roof.