I stared from the stairs as Sara was dragged out to the stage. She stood there, a scowl settled on her face, while I made my entrance.

"What’s happening?"

"I thought only the Headmistress could gather the assembly."

"Looks like Sara bit off more than she could chew!"

"Isn’t Raven acting out of line?"

I sighed. All you guys ever do is murmur, I said inwardly as I made my way to the stage.

Just then, I noticed the Headmistress, Lysandra Noctveil, walking towards me, anger written all over her face. "What the hell is happening here, Raven? How dare yo—"

"Listen here. I can call an assembly like this anytime I so desire," I spoke up, my eyes flashing faint purple. I had used my manipulation skill on her, and her face went blank.

"Yes. You. Shall," she muttered like a puppet and turned away, walking off to stand by the side.

I made my way through the crowd with a dark, cold expression.

Finally, I climbed onto the stage. I gently adjusted the strap of my dress and composed myself.

"Some of you may be wondering why you’re here! I don’t care. What I do care about is showing you all what happens when you cross me..." I paused and turned to stare at Sara. She looked like a mess, her hair was a mess, her dress was torn in ways too embarrassing to be mentioned. She looked disheveled and miserable. Perfect for the occasion.

I signaled at Ryker with my hands, and he pushed her forward. Her knees buckled, and she fell to them.

"Spill," I said.

But she laughed and spat right on my dress. Staring at it, my eyes went dark, and I chuckled. "Okay, the hard way then."

My eyes flashed faint purple, and her eyes widened. I made sure everyone in the hall saw what I did.

"What was that magic?"

"How did she?"

"No way that’s an F-rank skill."

"Yeah, it has to be A-rank, maybe even S."

"Isn’t she an F-ranker?"

"What’s going on?"

In that instant, Sara faced the crowd.

"I was the one who attempted to assassinate Raven, because I wanted to gain Elowen’s favor. I also hated Raven and everything about her. So I pushed her off the highest building and used my water magic to force water into her lungs through her nostrils to kill her."

The crowd went into an uproar.

"What?"

"She tried to harm a royal!"

"That’s treason!"

I clapped my hands slowly. It was a soft, rhythmic echo that cut through the crowd’s murmurs, silencing them. Something about that clap filled them with fear, like something horrific was approaching, and they could feel it. I let out a loud laugh, my eyes growing.....

Now they were all staring at me.

"Elowen, you’re here, right? You must have told her a lot of stories... She told me that I stole the title of Duke from you. Telling lies, are we?" I said and watched as everyone turned their gaze to Elowen.

She froze, caught off guard by the sudden attention, and swallowed hard.

"I didn’t really—"

But Darian stepped up for her.

"Stop with the lies, Raven. We all know you stole what was rightfully hers."

Those words made my eyes shift. "Do you not know your place, beast-man? You dare call me by my name?"

I laughed, and with that, a strong wind pulled Darian close, and I landed a slap across his face.

Elowen’s eyes widened as she moved toward him, but a glare from me froze her in her tracks.

I shoved him to the ground, satisfied.

I turned to Sara. "You know what to do!" I said, and immediately, she waved her hands, and a knife appeared in her palms.

The whole crowd went silent. Fear and disgust were visible in their eyes.

Sara raised the knife and pressed it to her neck.

"Sinners have to be punished. I must pay for my actions," she murmured like a controlled puppet, while my purple eyes glared at her.

She pressed it into her neck, and the crowd gasped. That second, she dragged it across her skin, sharp and deep...

Her pale red blood flowed out, while she smiled.

"Let this be a warning. This is what happens when you cross me, Raven! Daughter of Elisa the Duke and heir to the dukedom."

I watched the crowd’s mixed reactions with satisfaction. Some burst into tears, while others looked away in disgust. A few had that look of recognition, knowing she deserved it.

Sara went limp and collapsed onto the stage, into a pool of her own blood, splattering it all over the floor and onto my dress, staining it with her filthy blood.

I nonchalantly turned to Darian and watched as his eyes faltered. But he quickly regained his composure, his pride and delusional thought that I was still his fueling his arrogance, making him believe I would never hurt him.

A knife appeared in my hands, and I gave Elowen a smirk.

"I hear a master suffers ten times more than what her beast-man feels when they die. I would like to test that, Elowen," I said and raised the knife in the air, but stopped mid-air.

I turned to Elowen, watching as her chest rose and fell with fear and shock.

A chuckle escaped my lips, and I shook my head in clear pity at Darian, whose arrogant smile had completely faded. "See? Even your master can’t save you from me, not like she’d even try. Such a waste," I spat, then turned my back to him, signaling to Ryker that I was done.

Ryker moved forward and kicked him hard off the stage. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Everyone’s gaze fell on Elowen, filled with pure dissatisfaction.

"All this happened because of her."

"Sara didn’t have to die if only you hadn’t filled her head with lies."

"And now you’re telling me she won’t even move to save her own beast-man."

"This is what you get when you overstep your lane," I mumbled and walked down the stage, stepping over Sara’s dead body.

I felt everyone’s gaze on me as I walked away. "Veyra, clean up this mess."

Veyra’s eyes beamed red, and red mist swirled out, enveloping Sara’s body, turning it into ashes while drying her blood instantly.

ROOM.

I collapsed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, and yawned softly.

I felt drained. Watching Sara kill herself will haunt me till I die. I’d never seen a dead body, let alone had someone die by my own hands. I’m a murderer now... does that make me like my ex?

But then my tummy growled, snapping me from my thoughts, and I sat up.

"Gosh, I’m hungry," I mumbled and reached out for the pie on the desk, shoving a silver spoon into it and taking a bite...

But I froze as I felt everyone’s disbelieving gaze.

"What?" I asked.

Veyra’s lips parted first.

"You killed someone just now and still have an appetite?" he asked, staring down at me.

I even felt Liora nod in agreement, and I chuckled.

"Well, didn’t I kill a lot of people before? It’s nothing new to me," I replied and gently took another bite.

I hummed softly. Wow, it tasted really good. I gently washed it down with the strawberry tea, and it was a perfect combo.

"Wow, it tastes heavenly," I said, then stopped as their gazes burned into mine, as if they wanted an explanation or something to justify what I just did.

"Don’t worry, I won’t go around killing everyone that upsets me, and I’m not going back to being the cruel Raven."

Those little words I said made everyone ease a bit, and Liora chuckled.

"What’s wrong?" I asked.

She giggled softly. "You have something there," she gestured at my lips, and I reached to wipe it off, but then Veyra stepped closer, his thumb gently wiping it away.

I froze.

What caught me off guard was the way he gently sucked his thumb, tasting the crumb. My mind exploded.

"Don’t worry, it’s all gone now," Veyra said and laughed softly, shortly joined by the rest of the people in the room.

Their eyes shimmered. It made me feel happy.....truly happy and I realized that if I wanted this to last, I had to be the cruel villainess. I had to protect them. I couldn’t let anyone take away my happiness. But Azrael, his eyes were still sharp and cold as ever. He walked straight into his room and locked the door.

I’ll have to meet him and speak to him about today, I thought inwardly.

Liora walked towards me and gently placed her hands on mine. "Young Miss, I noticed this earlier, but why is your skin so dry?"

"Huh?" I asked, turning to stare straight into the mirror.

"My skin?"

Her words confused me. My skin was perfectly okay, but then Liora’s cheeks pressed against mine... they were so soft...

She gazed into the mirror too, and a smug smile gradually curved on her lips.

"You need a beauty bath!"