The King has no Heir?

The Tyrant is cursed

"Hey, hey, did you hear?"

A couple of drunks huddled in a pub gathered around another drunkard. He was known to be one of the best in gathering information may it be cheating husbands from the streets to whose noble daughter is pregnant with a child from out of wedlock.

"What is new?"

A sly look grew on his face, making the others feel anticipation. It must be something juicy, this lad has, that he has that teasing look on his sly face.

"Guess what, the tyrant's curse acted out again. Remember last month? The Queen gave birth to a child, but it was revealed to have been once again a lovely baby girl. This would make her his seventh daughter! Not a son, still a daughter!"

"Goodness me, what would happen to the kingdom now? If this goes on, the prophecy would surely come true!"

The prophecy, of which was said to have been given by God himself. It is said that, if the true heir that carries the lifeblood of the king shall not ascend the throne, the Kingdom shall end.

"But the Oracle did not say anything about gender right?"

Another drunk shook his head.

"Perhaps you remember the four Queens who led us all to near- ruins right? After that, the heir is always carefully selected, and a method was made. It is a secret method and apparently only males could pass it without dying or becoming psychotic. The dazzling Princess Oceania for example. She was third brigade commander at sixteen, first battalion commander at twenty, and because she went through the method of ascension, she broke her soul core and now she is said to still be locked up in a far off tower since she had a violent reaction."

"I heard she killed off her whole household?"

The Princess stood Infront of her household members, laughing madly. It was said that even her children's heads were cut off. It was a sorrowful year for the Royal family.

"Isn't that why his highness now sits on the throne?"

"Hush! Walls have ears!"

Be careful of the dark, where people with bad intentions hid. Their conversation went on, and a man in a black cape left the establishment. He carefully walked out and moved through the shadows, weaving through people as if some kind of phantom.

"Woah, what a cold breeze! Maria let us close shop!"

The stall owner told his daughter, as they hurriedly packed up for the night.

For centuries since the Kingdom was established, people revered kings and queens all the same. The throne was unbiased, and heirs could only ascend through efforts, merits and a lot of bloodshed.

Now, the heir must be someone the Gods would not deny of inheritance. One, because if the wrong person sits on the throne everyone is doomed and second, only the true heir can withstand the 'method' of crowning. No one knows the specifics, but it killed and destroyed talented heirs through generations.

The tyrant today, has one problem. Since the method can only be endured mostly by males, he could not find a suitable person. His cousins also would not dare to endanger their children, and none of his children were sons. Every single one of them lacks sufficient soul power to even counter an attack from a demon crystal, much less of the method.

This was a problem. However, as one may say; the misfortune of others is other's blessings, the mother of the First princess who is backed by the church and the prime minister, proposed to have the first princess ascend the throne.

They say she is very skilled and intelligent, which is true in a sense. However, the tyrant puts off this idea.

The man under the cloak went to report to his master, and the man sat there to contemplate.

"They are making their move huh? I expected them to be fast, but they made more effort to spread the rumours faster this time."

Yes, this man who was over six foot nine tall, neatly cut blonde hair, prominent and deep azure blue eyes, slightly tanned skin, and sword like eyebrows is the tyrant himself. The man reporting is his trusted right hand man.

" What should be done your highness?"

"Let them be for now. We have more important things to do."

Right, he was so unlucky to not have any sons that now he was planning to adopt one from outside- maybe from a small branch family and train them as his successor. He needs one that has no ties and is very desperate.

Desperate ones will bite on anything. He was willing to let a potential wolf in rather than give the throne to a puppet.

"It was a waste that the First princess is their puppet..."

At the mention of his daughter, he also feels a bit of regret and self reproach. He was so busy unifying everyone and conquering lands, fighting tides of demonic creatures and demon Lords that he failed to raise his children with guidance. Now she has become a church fanatic and the other children are either too spoilt or to timid to ever do anything. At the soul testing a week ago, only the first princess who was age fifteen passed the test with her thunder bolt soul core and a tier two soul power. That's a lot already for a child like her.

The others failed miserably.

"Check every background of orphaned relatives. We must have an heir within this month."

It's the twelfth of the month of Fauna (Hunting season between April and May in our time scale), so they have only a few more weeks to spare.

"Yes Your highness."

The right-hand man knew well that his highness was at his wit's end. His highness is an excellent person, but this matter really seems to have kept him up all night.

"You are dismissed. Report to me if anything comes up."

"Rest well too, sire. Do pay attention to your health."

The tyrant just hummed a reply and continued to sign papers well deep into the night.

A few moments later, he stood up and went to look out of his balcony. The night breeze swept like a wave, and he looked down at the dimly lit city below. For generations all the Imperial family strived for was to protect their people and keep the kingdom safe. However, it had not been easy. Wars and Wars and Wars are still being waged until now. There was no end.

"Why would you even make me king if you give me such a headache when it comes to heirs? I spilt blood and sweat for the country, is this your answer to me? Huh? Oh Great Goddess Lucia?"

The wind swept by, as if to whisper. However, there was nothing, just cold and dark and another day of watching family stab each other.

It is indeed a Tyrant's household.

'If only sister was here.' he thought. His sister had gone mad and killed off her own family. She was heir to the throne, but the method destroyed her.

He was thankful she went insane the whole way, it might be a cruel thing to say but if she didn't and woke up to a world where she killed off her family herself, she would become crazy from the guilt and pain as time pass and would have chosen to kill herself. It is better like this, that she knew nothing.

He was really unfortunate. On the day he was born, the Queen died. Although this is the case, his father never proclaimed his anger towards him. However between him and his sister, he favoured her more. He can only be content on being acknowledged every now and then.

But on the year he turned eighteen his father died and his sister, who was twenty two at the time and married with a happy family of five, decided to ascend the throne. However, as we all know, that did not end well.

He was fourteen, sitting on a throne where he had to be manipulated for several years by damn adults. Good thing hope was not gone.

With he support of his Aunt, who was his late Uncle's wife, he broke out of the five year puppet strings and finally became a real tyrant.

First thing he did was kill off all the people that made him suffer. Then found the people who had problems with him and payed his debt, and lastly, he placed the traitors in their places. Even the Queen they chose for him was on his side which was a given. But the first child he had was from the royal concubine they insisted he had. That is the First Princess and she was raised to be loyal to the church and it's ideals.

He did try to bond, but she has been brainwashed. His other children and their mothers also have other ideas.

The Pregnancy of the queen had been a trainwreck. Poisons, near- death experiences, nearly having a miscarriage, and even being framed by people. The Queen managed to survive through it all and she gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

'She must be raised as someone who isn't blinded by anything at all. What must be, must be. She must learn that to find true victory is to make effort yourself and not because of others who are pulling her strings.'

The tyrant did not want any of his children to be puppets of others however, even if he had shaken the power of those people off, the issue of who becomes the heir is still creating opportunities for hungry pigs on the sidelines.

"Just this once, Just this once give me something good. Other than bloodbath and war."

If the heir problem is resolved, then other problems could also be resolved. He can slowly put everyone in their place and the chances of the country having a puppet ruler would become non existence.

He would raise the heir to become impenetrable, someone who could not be swayed by anything. He'll make sure that ruler would be able to achieve as much as he did. No matter if it's a boy or a girl, he doesn't care anymore. As long as they pass the test, he can take care of their education.

"I should probably get some sleep."

Gods above, just this once, send relief.

Next morning, Xenon and his right hand man proceeded with the early court meeting by four thirty a.m. The trip to the throne room would take at least a few minutes, just in time for everyone to arrive before the tyrant. The humidity and coldness of the early hours accompanied by the silence of the whole palace has always pleased the king.

Maybe because the bustling people going to and fro sometimes makes him feel dizzy and irritable, so he always makes sure to take these early walks as he head towards the throne room.

"Hey, did you hear that?"

The two men stopped. Mainly, it was Xenon who heard something and stopped his right-hand man in his tracks.

"Should I check it out, sire?"

The darkness within the inner parts of the eastern halls could make anyone have a taste of Bathophobia (Fear of dark hallways or deep and dark pools) and now coupled with a suspicious noise, it was even more frighteningly eerie. He motioned for the right-hand man to check it out, which the latter did and at first he found nothing- then he hears something being dragged away through the floors. He carefully threads through the long and dark halls and suddenly saw a pool of blood and some bloody drag marks going into a particular room with a slightly opened door.

He frowned and went inside to investigate.

The morning was filled with gossips. The servants looked terrified as they all whisper about the thing that had transpired in the early hours of the morning when everyone was just starting their daily responsibilities.

"It was so bloody that a special cleaning team had to be hired. The blood was everywhere, I heard there were fifteen bodies."

The servants shuddered.

"I saw them haul out body bags, with blood still dripping and some was in small bags... I heard from the coroner's team that they were all dismembered!"

They all gasped again and some covered their mouths. It was not uncommon for anyone to be murdered in the castle, but this was the first grotesque killing in the palace. Fifteen were dead, no killer captured, and a blatant disrespect towards the King seem to be implied. Everyone is on the edge, everyone is a suspect, everyone is suspicious of each other.

"The pitiful one is the Sixth Princess. She had to experience such a horrible thing in such a young age..."

The Sixth Princess, whose mother had already passed away after she gave birth to her, was only five this year. She is said to be very small, silent and shy. The servants rarely see her since the Nan (wet nurse) that took care of her since she was a baby, was very strict. She said that the Princess is always sick, and that was why the Princess had to stay indoors all the time.

She also never allowed the Princess to see others and be seen by others. No one knew how the small Princess looked- not until now.

"Yes, she is very pitiful. Her servants were killed and the Nan that took care of her is dead. How is she faring?"

"Well, it is said that she had been unconscious for a week now, maybe due to shock and is being taken care in the Green Emerald Palace. Apparently her Amber palace isn't so safe since the killer was able to kill her servants and drag them to the Court Palace without alarming anyone."

"The Green Emerald Palace? Isn't that the Palace where...You know who...stayed?"

The Emerald Palace, the Palace where one of the worst defective Queens had once lived in. It is said that her soul still roams the halls and the spirit of the people she had kept locked under the Palace's basement still knocks and haunts through the walls. No one dared to go there. As for how the little Princess came to occupy that palace, everyone can only think of one thing.

The wives of the King must have taken this opportunity to make a defenseless bloodline heir disappear slowly. Now that she has no backing, it is easy to suppress her. They knew that in no time this Princess will either die out of shock or hunger.

"Poor child... It's so tough being a princess."

As for the said child, she was still unconscious. The king assigned two maids and one guard for her. The three really didn't feel like taking care of this hot potato called Sixth Princess, especially since they might get killed in the process. Yet his highness has given them this task, they had to obey.

While cleaning the room where the Princess slept, one of the maids stopped Infront of the sleeping figure.

"You know, she kind of look like his Majesty alot. Do you see? Her hair is unlike her other siblings. It's such a rich colour of blonde. Look, even her eyelids are blonde. Look at her skin. It's a lovely shade of slight tan. Most of his Majesty's other daughters have light skin much like their mothers."

The knight assigned to protect the sleeping Princess just stood there on the side, not caring about anything. However, he did cast a glance at the sleeping child and couldn't help but agree.

"But of course. It was said that her mother was tanned too. I also heard she was someone whose background was humble. This is the reason why the other wives disdained her. His Majesty one day brought back a woman from the eastern plains. A woman with captivating red eyes, and was taller than the average woman. She had long locks of black hair that looked like a sheep's woolen coat. It was so shiny and beautiful that the wives were drinking vinegar in jealousy everytime they see her. She was really beautiful, and also were well-spoken. I don't know this but I heard she was also noble in blood but was never acknowledged because her mother wasn't of best background too."

"I see. Now that I think of it, I seem to have heard of that too."

The Sixth Queen, Alehazad Belchaliz. She was a beauty who lived in the palace and had a reputation of being good at the six arts. She also smiled a lot despite being bullied by other wives. It is said that when she died the king was so saddened that he didn't come out of his chambers for three months after mourning her death. There were rumours saying she was his love.

However if that's the case, why neglect the sixth Princess? Did he hate her for being the reason her Majesty had died? There were a lot of questions that can never be answered.

"Ngh..."

They all turned to look at the person on the bed who slowly opened their eyes and looked around in a daze. Finally, the sixth Princess was awake.

The king was having tea with his Main wife, the Queen,that was currently holding their small two month old baby wrapped in comfortable cotton and silk of blue lovingly. This was the sign that the child is the child of the Main Queen. The pavilion where they were and a few servants stayed today had quite the view. A vast pool of blooming lotus is infront of them while beautiful golden shower trees were behind them. The tea that was brewed is minty and mild, giving the impression of a cool and sunny feeling.

A servant came to whisper something to the right-hand man and the man walked up to the tyrant to report.

"The Sixth Princess has awoken."

"Oh my, the child is awake? Husband, you should check on her. See if she is alright."

Queen Anna of Lowsche household, known for her small temper and her love for all of his Majesty's children. She never fought or quarrelled with the other wives before and if they tried, she would act like she didn't hear it and punish the wives accordingly.

She was known as the most peace loving person in the court. It is also thanks to her that the children of his Majesty could get their allowances and living needs fairly.

Her family is also powerful, so she had no scruffles.

"Alright, I will be leaving then."

The woman watched the blonde man leave with a smile on her face. However the Tyrant, did not go to visit the child purely out of concern. He was there to interrogate the little Princess about the night of the murders.

"Sire, she's only a little child. Do you think she would remember?"

"We have to gamble. Although I have a sneaking suspicion as to who might have done this."

There was only one person, and the people around her, that could possibly have done this. They will also target the other children if this is the case.

"Then if that is so, isn't the lives of all the other princesses in danger your Majesty?"

Ofcourse. If they want to put their tyrant in his seat, they will have to kill off the rest of the Princesses. However it wouldn't be so easy, so they must have started with the most vulnerable child which is the sixth princess who had neither mother or backer.

Speaking of backer, he, as the father, seem to have failed in this aspect once again. It was not that he hated her, it just reminded him of Alehazad.

"We greet your highness."

The three servants bowed and they were asked to leave. The three tacitly did and Xenon's right hand man guarded the door outside whilst the tyrant went in to have a conversation with the sixth Princess.

The first thing he saw when he came in was the strands of long hair that had already touched the floor despite it's owner sitting above the queen sized bed. The sun had directly shone on those strands from the window pane, highlighting the richness of the color. Then, he noticed the owner had dead and soulless red eyes which seems to have given up in the world.

When it looked at him slow and unhurried, he felt this kind of chill in them. It was unlike the stare of any of his children, it was as if the person Infront of him was not a child.

Neither spoke at first, and it seems like he had to open up the conversation. So he grabbed a nearby chair and placed it at the bottom of the bed where he then sat down.

"Do you know who I am?"

He was met with silence. Those orbs only kept looking at him, as if trying to see something. He frowned, and tried to ask again.

"Sixth Princess, is this your attitude towards your father?"

Again, there was no words coming out of her mouth. Nothing, but her dead eyes seem to have found something.

"Pretty eyes."

Pretty eyes? Was she looking at him intently because of his eyes? Well, looking back, she was never able to meet him or attend any activity because she was always sick so this would be the first time she would actually see her father. The tyrant cleared his throat, he can forgive her for this rudeness. After all, she was just a child.

"I came here to ask, do you remember anything before waking up here?"

The child seem to be thinking, but she shook her head to say no. Xenon calmly accepted the fact that she might not have anything for him. But he still chose to probe a bit more.

"Did you notice anything strange the last time you were awake? or anything suspicious these days? Carefully think about it."

" There's one thing... Nanny said that I will die if I talked with your Majesty."

Xenon scrunched his eyebrows. Die? Is it related to the killings?

"Why? Did she say why?"

"Nanny and the sister maids said that his Majesty is cursed and your death is near."

His death? Seems like people were getting quite the funny idea. While he was thinking , he noticed that the burning stare on him intensified so he met those eyes and the owner did not take them off. She openly stared more, as if she found something interesting.

"Sire, can I gouge out your eyes?"

He stared at her in shock. What did she say?

"They look so pretty I can't help but want to keep them."

"I have only two pairs of eyes, so no."

Dejected, the child sighed. But she doesn't look the least bothered by it at all. Instead she found it interesting to look at her own hands. Seeing as he couldn't get anything from her anymore, the man told her to eat and recover well before leaving with his right-hand man.

On the way back, he kept thinking about those pair of dead and soulless red eyes and the words that came out of her mouth...

"Asrel, what is that child's name?"

"Ah? I heard them call her something along the lines of Meya or Princess Meriyaneda."

"Meya huh?"

Something about her makes him feel off.

"Find a suitable Nanny for her. It is not good to have no one with authority in her castle. Do it silently."

Is his Majesty... taking care of the sixth Princess? The right-hand man smiled and said he would do so.

"Oh, and preferably. The Nanny should be someone good at both fighting and taking care of children."

" Yes Sire."

On another note, he should probably take care of some pests today too. Daring to actually send someone to stalk them as if they were so sure he wouldn't notice is quite pathetic. The two made an abrupt left turn and was covered by a bush. Ofcourse the stalker followed them closely and suddenly he couldn't see his target anymore.

Then, a blow behind his neck ultimately knocked him out.

'Damn it, they were aware!'

The figures before him blurred out, and he was lying there out cold.

"Put him inside the crystal dungeon, we need him for later."

The right hand man pulled out a sky blue pendant hanging on a delicate silver chain on his neck and activated the stone. It let out a smokey aura and sucked in the unconscious person like a vortex. It was as if nothing happened, and the two continued on their way.

A week later, there was another set of deaths. This time, it was a chef and his wife who takes care of the food for the children of the king. Unlike the killings from a week ago, they were intact.

Just, their mouths had been stitched shut together as well as their fingers. It was done with mastery that the sewing wasn't noticed if not for the coroner's investigation.

By now the Palace is getting covered by a dark cloud of suspicion and fear bit by bit. Xenon ordered for a total lock down. No one goes in and out until the Investigations are concluded and culprits are caught.Not even the people from the holy church could come in, nor can they force their way in. After all, the king is still the king. He has the power and sovereignty over everything in the kingdom. They can only grumble and leave each time.

The servants are not allowed to stay out late. Everyone is told to lock doors and windows tight.

"Princess, let's take a bath and rest?"

Joanna was the one tasked to take care of the Sixth Princess. She arrived a week ago and as far as she knows, the little Princess is far by obedient and behaved than other children she used to take care. Even the other Princesses cannot compare. She was not spoiled, she was not unreasonable, and she is very good at reading. The only thing that bothers her, is that the child seems a bit off.

Like, her humor was not the best at all nor was her communicative abilities any better. Sometimes, Joanna felt like the child was assessing her, as if this seemingly little person was silently taking in all her habits and all her traits, in order to decided how she should talk to her.

"Joanna, why do you think the chef and his wife was killed?"

It was too sudden, but Joanna still tried to answer.

"Maybe because someone just wanted to? Personal grudges- there are a lot of reasons your highness."

"What do you think of the killer Joanna? Do you think it is good to kill because of a personal grudge?"

"Well, I do not know the circumstances of people. If they were killed because of a bigger reason or a smaller reason, I really have no right to judge the killer. "

She smiled and the child issued a hum before the Joanna led her to the huge bathroom.

"Princess, you never seem to take off that collar on your neck?"

"It must stay there."

Must be really important. Is it a gift or memento from his late mother? Joanna did not ask further, it was not her place to ask intimate questions.

After that she tucked the child in and made sure everything was locked. Then, she herself went to sleep on her room.

The night was Young, and the moon was bright with stars twinkling in delight. However, soon the silence was broken by a shrill scream.