Chapter 2

He could feel his madness rise in him. It was a madness that only settled in once he had choked someone, stabbed them, grabbed them, and split their heart apart. Or when he had done something equally cruel to ruin someone’s life.

He ripped off the cape’s knot. The wet cloth hit the floor with a loud thump.

Despite their best efforts to keep quiet, the knights couldn’t help but stir at the sudden commotion. They wondered if they should intervene. But Regnart didn’t care. He just kept going and pushed Mora onto the sofa.

“Wait!” she cried out. “What are you doing all of a sudden?”

“Why not?” he smirked at her. “Shouldn’t we have to do at least this much to rile him up?” He moved up to nibble at her earlobe. “You came here to be with me,” he whispered. “That can mean anything we want it to.”

“That’s not it. I don’t want this.”

“Really?” He grabbed her breast through her robes. The stiff cloth got in his way, but he could still feel the plushness beneath and it filled him with joy. “Mora.”

“You thought wrong,” he said. “You should’ve known who I hate the most.” Her black eyes widened in confusion and that only spurred him on. “From now on, I will have you. I will have you over and over again until your stomach grows with my seed. You’ll earn that damned title of a Bastite in the best way possible.” She struggled and he continued. “Isn’t this the best revenge against your former lover?”

As he held her down, Mora struggled against him, and ripped her robe open, they heard the sound of the door closing. The knights had finally decided what the best course of action was and left the room. Mora’s face fell in fear at the sound of the door slamming shut.

Her pale shoulders started to tremble. She pushed him away until she no longer had the strength to. She didn’t know that the knights would be this cold-hearted. So hard in their distaste for her that they would leave their master’s former lover to be raped by the dethroned king.

She also wouldn’t have guessed that he, once the noble emperor, would push a woman down on the sofa with such force, not even his bed.

The world she lived in had taught her that, no matter how powerful a person is, they shouldn’t kill or hurt others on purpose.

She had always flinched at the slightest sign of violence and he had treated her as best as he could, sweetly like his very own queen. The day she stabbed him in the back, he reminded her how gently he treated her.

She had to pay the price. The price for claiming a person’s virtues. The justice of a world run by power. The price of betraying the person who took her in.

***

Past

When Mora tried to cross the road to catch a bus and was instead hit by a truck, she thought she was dead for sure. She was probably correct. When she opened her eyes, she was in a completely different world. For Mora, who read web novels more than she would like to admit, this kind of storyline was cliché.

Recurrence? Possession? Rebirth? Another dimension entirely?

She looked up at the sky, trying to avoid reality.

But she couldn’t. There were two moons in the sky. One of them was even red.

It really was a weird world.

Like the main characters in all those novels she loved, she thought something this ridiculous wouldn’t happen to her.

Her body was her own at least. Everything from the clothes she was wearing, the bag she was holding, and the cell phone in her hand from when she was hit by the truck. The only difference was the light that she was emitting. As if someone engraved it in her head, Mora knew that this was divine power.

“What is this?” she wondered aloud. She was floating.

The reason why she was floating in the air was probably the man in front of him. The man who was holding some fancy, spinning golden. What was this? Magical powers?

“Where did you fall from?” The man examining her flicked his finger. The power that was holding Mora up disappeared and her body started to fall.

Splash!

She fell into a lake, screaming.

The man that had dropped her dragged her up from the water as she struggled. He had white blond hair, golden eyes, and a face that didn’t seem human at all. He smiled at her.

“I don’t know what you are, but you’re quite pretty,” he said, then he lifted her up on his shoulders.

People were running towards him and calling after him, saying, “Your Majesty!”

The sound of the armor crashing was loud.