The King's Rejected Lady

Returning The Favor Tenfold

TORI FOUND herself standing around a handy number of common folks. Where am I? The last thing she remembered was she told Rowan to guard her while she took a nap under the Willow Tree that she found near the exam hall. Tori was sure she fell asleep under the shade of a tree with the chilly breeze that almost sang her to sleep.

"Where am I? Why is everyone gathered in the capital's plaza?" Tori recognized the crowded place. It was the capital's plaza where nobles and common folks usually meet.

The sun was almost setting as the fiery red hue flashed on the horizon; the bells kept ringing, and people were cheering for something. She was still wearing her black outdoor dress with embroidered red flowers of the spider lilies.

Tori looked around her body and she couldn't find any bruises. She was anxious about the lack of memory. She didn't know what happened to the entrance exam. Did she pass?

"Why am I here? Did someone abduct me?" No one answered her like no one cared to hear her.

Tori roamed her eyes to look for any sign of Rowan, but she couldn't see even her coachman. Her eyes were frantic as the cheering of the crowd became loud. They pushed her in front of the crowd when a carriage appeared together with the royal knights.

The royal knights!

Tori tried to push anyone in front of her as she tried to go where the royal knights were stationed. She cried when she got pushed back, but it seems that no one heard the noble lady's voice.

"Rowan!" Tori's voice got muted, which she wondered about. She was looking for the familiar cobalt eyes and sandy hair around her.

That was when she gasped as she covered her mouth with both of her hands when she saw who she was looking for.

"Sir Rowan Castaña!"

Tori immediately flinched and looked at the little commoner who was being cradled by his father as he was pointing at the stage, the stage that was a few meters away from where she was standing.

An older-looking Rowan was adorned with medals and a royal knight uniform. His serious form was one cause of the people's cheerful mood. Beside him was the Duke of Rozenreff Duchy, who was talking to him discreetly. The two of them were facing the crowd, but they were never looking.

"I have a bad feeling about this. This scene, this scene is eerily familiar."

Tori's heart pounded when a thought flashed in her mind. She visibly flinched, but her gaze toward those two never faltered. She was looking at them anxiously.

"Bring the evil witch here!"

"Kill her!"

"Punish her!"

Tori's head made a sharp turn in the direction where everyone was now looking. The crowd made a way when the royal knights dragged a battered woman toward the stage. The happy cheers of the common folks, the satisfied grin of Rowan, and the emotionless gaze of the Duke, their reactions momentarily froze Tori who just standing and unmoving in her spot.

Right in front of Tori, the original Victoria passed by her. Dread, pity, and deep anger resonated within Tori as she witnessed the original Victoria's bloody and dirty body.

They drenched her hair with pissed and blood, her nails got removed from both hands and feet, her tongue no longer existed, and her eyes hardly opened anymore. She couldn't even walk properly if it weren't for the guards that dragged her by the hair.

Even with her pitiful state, everyone around Tori celebrated the original Victoria's state like it was fucking holiday.

The next people who stepped out of the carriage caused a bigger commotion than the original Victoria's display. Tori's resentment skyrocketed when she witnessed a crowned Sabina together with the crowned first prince walk like they were on a fucking red carpet. But instead of the red carpet, it was the bloodied pavement from the original Victoria's body.