Married to the Enemy King,

The King's Final Command

The queen's scream echoed through the shattered palace.

"Mother!"

Seraphina struggled against her father's grip, panic flooding every part of her body.

King Aldric held her wrist tightly.

His face remained calm, but his eyes were filled with a sorrow she had never seen before.

"Father, let me go!"

"Please!"

"My mother needs me!"

Another scream echoed from somewhere deep inside the palace.

Then...

Silence.

The sudden quiet was even more terrifying than the screams.

Seraphina's breathing became uneven.

"No..."

"No..."

King Aldric slowly closed his eyes.

His grip loosened for only a second before tightening again.

He already understood what had happened.

Captain Roland lowered his head.

Several Royal Guards silently clenched their fists.

Nobody dared speak.

---

Across the throne room, King Lucien Draven remained standing where he was.

His expression never changed.

He looked neither pleased nor triumphant.

Instead, he watched the royal family with unreadable eyes.

His generals stood behind him, waiting for a single command.

Yet none came.

The silence stretched.

Finally, Lucien spoke.

"Withdraw from the queen's chambers."

One of his commanders looked confused.

"Your Majesty?"

"I gave no order to harm the queen."

The commander immediately knelt.

"As you command."

Seraphina heard every word.

Her anger only grew stronger.

"Liar!"

She glared at Lucien through tears.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"You invaded my kingdom!"

"You destroyed our home!"

"And now you pretend you wanted to spare us?"

Lucien didn't answer.

His silence only made her hate him more.

---

King Aldric gently released Seraphina's wrist.

"My daughter..."

She immediately turned toward him.

"We can still fight."

"We still have soldiers."

"We'll escape together."

The king smiled sadly.

"I've fought enough battles to know when one has ended."

"No!"

"It hasn't ended!"

"It can't!"

Her voice broke.

"I won't lose both of you."

King Aldric raised one hand and gently wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"When you were little..."

"...you always cried whenever you scraped your knee."

"You would run to your mother."

"And she would tell you..."

Seraphina finished the sentence through trembling lips.

"'A queen may cry...'"

"'...but she must never surrender.'"

The king nodded proudly.

"You remembered."

---

Captain Roland stepped forward.

"Your Majesty."

"The escape tunnel is still open."

"We can escort the princess."

King Aldric looked toward the ancient portrait hanging behind the throne.

Every ruler of Valoria had sworn to protect the kingdom.

Today...

He would become the last.

"I entrust my daughter to you."

Roland immediately knelt.

"I swear upon my life."

"I will protect Her Highness."

"Even if it costs me my own."

---

Before anyone could move—

A wounded messenger staggered into the throne room.

His armor was soaked in blood.

He collapsed before the king.

"Your Majesty..."

"The northern palace has fallen."

"The treasury..."

"...the archives..."

"...everything has been captured."

The young knight coughed violently.

Then whispered one final sentence.

"There was another traitor..."

His body fell still.

The throne room became deathly quiet.

Another traitor.

Someone else inside Valoria had betrayed the crown.

King Aldric slowly looked toward Lucien.

"Did you know?"

Lucien answered honestly.

"No."

For the first time...

A faint frown crossed his face.

"This war has become more complicated than I intended."

Seraphina stared at him in disbelief.

More complicated?

Thousands were dead.

Her kingdom was burning.

And he called it...

Complicated.

Hatred settled deep inside her heart.

She silently made a promise.

No matter how many years it took...

No matter what she had to sacrifice...

One day...

She would make King Lucien Draven pay.

Married to the Enemy King

A heavy silence settled over the throne room.

The young messenger's lifeless body lay on the cracked marble floor, his blood slowly spreading across the white stone.

No one moved.

No one spoke.

The truth weighed upon everyone present.

Valoria had not fallen because its soldiers lacked courage.

It had fallen because betrayal had opened the gates from within.

Seraphina clenched her fists until her nails dug into her palms.

She had always believed her kingdom was protected by the loyalty of its people.

Now she wondered how many smiling faces had hidden treachery all along.

King Aldric slowly knelt beside the fallen messenger.

With great care, he closed the young knight's eyes.

"He died protecting his home."

His voice was quiet.

"He shall be remembered as a hero."

Captain Roland lowered his head.

Every surviving Royal Guard struck the floor with the butt of their swords in silent respect.

---

King Aldric rose once more.

Though exhausted and wounded, he still carried himself like the ruler of Valoria.

He looked at Seraphina.

"My daughter..."

"There is something you must know."

She quickly stepped closer.

"What is it?"

"If I fall today..."

"...you must not seek revenge."

Seraphina stared at him.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"No."

She shook her head violently.

"I won't accept that."

"They destroyed our kingdom!"

"They murdered innocent people!"

"How can you ask me not to seek justice?"

The king gently placed both hands on her shoulders.

"There is a difference between justice..."

"...and revenge."

"Justice protects the innocent."

"Revenge consumes the heart."

Tears streamed down Seraphina's face.

"I don't care."

"If they take you from me..."

"...I'll never forgive them."

---

Across the hall, King Lucien listened without interrupting.

His expression remained unreadable.

Yet for the first time, Captain Roland noticed something unusual.

The enemy king looked...

Tired.

Not physically.

Emotionally.

As if he had carried an unbearable burden for years.

---

One of Lucien's generals stepped forward.

"Your Majesty."

"The palace is secured."

"The remaining resistance has been defeated."

He glanced toward Seraphina.

"What are your orders concerning the princess?"

The entire throne room became silent.

Every eye turned toward Lucien.

Seraphina lifted her chin proudly.

"If you're going to kill me..."

"...do it."

"I won't beg."

Lucien looked directly into her eyes.

There was fear.

Grief.

Hatred.

But not surrender.

For several moments, he simply studied her.

Then he spoke.

"Lower your weapons."

His soldiers obeyed immediately.

Even his generals looked surprised.

Lucien took a few slow steps forward until only a short distance separated him and the royal family.

King Aldric instinctively moved in front of his daughter despite his wounds.

Lucien stopped.

"I did not come here to kill your daughter."

Seraphina laughed bitterly.

"Should I thank you?"

"You've already taken everything else."

Lucien accepted her words without anger.

"You have every reason to hate me."

Those words only confused everyone further.

---

Suddenly, another captain rushed into the throne room.

He wore Valorian armor.

But the moment Captain Roland saw him, his face changed.

"Stand back!"

The warning came too late.

The captain drew a hidden dagger.

Not toward Lucien...

Toward King Aldric.

"Traitor!" Roland shouted.

The dagger flashed through the air.

King Aldric turned just as the blade struck beneath his ribs.

Seraphina screamed.

"Father!"

Captain Roland cut the assassin down before he could escape.

The traitor collapsed without another word.

But the damage had already been done.

King Aldric staggered backward.

Blood soaked through his royal robes.

Seraphina caught him before he hit the floor.

"No..."

"No, please..."

Her hands trembled as she tried desperately to stop the bleeding.

"Someone help him!"

The palace physicians rushed forward.

Their faces fell the moment they examined the wound.

The blade had been coated with poison.

A poison made to ensure no king survived.

King Aldric looked at his daughter with fading eyes.

He reached up and gently touched her cheek.

"My brave girl..."

She shook her head through uncontrollable tears.

"Don't talk."

"You're going to be alright."

"We'll find a cure."

The king smiled sadly.

"I wish..."

"...I had more time."

He slowly turned his gaze toward Lucien.

"Protect..."

His voice faltered.

"...her..."

Before anyone could understand why those words were directed at the enemy king...

King Aldric's hand slipped from Seraphina's face.

It fell motionless to the floor.

The King of Valoria was dead.

Seraphina's scream echoed through the ruined palace.

Outside, the bells of the capital rang one final time.

The kingdom had lost its king.

And standing only a few steps away, the Enemy King silently watched as the princess's world shattered completely.