IBQC 03

~Chapter 03~

3. Ruin.

“Listen, the one who ordered me to do this is His Majesty himself. Now, don’t bother resisting and let’s start the interrogation. So, tell me—did you sleep with that bastard Tetris? How was it? Did you enjoy it?”

Ellis gasped and braced herself on the ground.

“I said, speak! They say barbarians are excellent in bed. Did you get so bewitched by it that you leaked state secrets?”

Ellis clenched her fist. Her nails scraped the ground, making a grating sound she hated.

“I never did.”

“Never did? Ha! Then how come we found letters from Prince Tetris in your room? Passionate, love-sick letters.”

Gabriel threw a bundle of letters in front of Ellis. She swallowed hard and unfolded one.

It was a handwriting she had never seen before, but judging by the content, their suspicion seemed justified.

Yet Ellis had never received such letters.

She did, however, know who always favored this pink stationery.

‘Iris… was this Iris’s doing?’

Ellis bit her lip hard. Her cracked lips split open and bled.

“Let’s not waste each other’s time. Here’s the deal—assassinating the late King, conspiring with Prince Tetris. Just nod your head. I’ll take care of the written confession.”

Gabriel nudged her foot with his boot.

“Let me see His Majesty. I’ll explain everything to him directly.”

“You really don’t understand, do you? Fine then. I’ll just have to make a hole in your ear so you can listen properly.”

Gabriel rolled up his sleeves. Then came the beating.

Gabriel trampled Ellis mercilessly before leaving. He forced her limp hand to stamp the confession he had drafted at will.

Ellis only regained consciousness half a day later, after Gabriel was gone.

Pain throbbed everywhere. Her ankle wouldn’t move properly—likely broken.

She curled up her uncooperative body with great effort.

“Hhhhk…”

Tears streamed endlessly. Ellis leaned her head against the wall and wept.

It was unjust. Infuriating.

The charges of regicide and conspiracy with Tetris were fabrications.

Her only exchanges with Prince Tetris had been a few words during the campaign against the evil dragon, Ragnaros.

But who would believe her?

Her sentence was obvious.

If she was lucky, exile. If not—execution by beheading.

“There’s been a mistake. If I can just explain, it’ll be fine, it’ll be fine.”

She tried to force optimism.

“It’s just pre-wedding chaos. His Majesty is angry now, that’s why I’m locked up. But soon he’ll come back.”

Ellis repeated the words like a prayer.

Chase would come. The misunderstanding would be cleared. In a week, she’d walk side by side with him, veiled in white, at their wedding.

And just as she wished, late that night, Chase came. Only, he wasn’t alone.

“How foul.”

The moment Chase stepped into the dungeon, he wrinkled his nose.

“Do I really need to waste time here? She’s as good as dead.”

Ellis was a piece he had to discard. She was a flaw that could tarnish the throne he had seized with such effort.

“Your Majesty, merciful as always.”

A delicate hand slid onto his arm. Pale, graceful fingers stroked his forearm.

“Isn’t she a pitiful child? At least grant her a word of farewell.”

Iris. Her gentle smile melted Chase’s heart.

Her very name was a flower—called the kingdom’s treasure, the Tower’s prodigy, the Rose of Bedroka.

And she was the only woman in Bedroka who ever truly unsettled Chase.

In the past, he had tried to secure her by sending a marriage proposal to Baron Wharton’s family. But instead of Iris, he was given Ellis.

For a time, Chase had been content with Ellis. Though her flaws bothered him, there had been no alternative.

‘That is, until Iris made her decision.’

But Iris had acted boldly and claimed her place at his side.

Chase could not even imagine a future without her—it made him scowl whenever he tried.

“Does even the thought of Ellis disgust you so much? She has a way of dragging down everyone’s mood, doesn’t she? I always admired your patience with her.”

Iris’s words slid into his feelings, validating them. Though she was wrong, Chase still nodded.

This was the woman who had even killed her husband, David, to come to him. What was a little misunderstanding compared to that?

‘Unlike Ellis, who swore she could never kill.’

For him, Iris had let one drop of black ink fall into her pure white life.

So Chase must clear away anything that might stain her future.

“I’m the one moved, by your kindness. To think you could care for me—your sister’s husband, whom she dragged down.”

Chase’s chest swelled with emotion. Iris pressed herself close against his arm.

“Do I love you? It’s always been you. If only Father hadn’t opposed it. I was so afraid I’d been too late.”

Chase’s lips softened into a foolish smile. At last, he had everything: the title of greatest swordsman, the throne, the most beautiful woman in Bedroka.

The dragon hunt was a concern, but Iris had promised her full support. That would be enough.

Troops, money, strategy—all had been prepared by Ellis already.

‘All I have to do is carry them out.’

Once he seized the title of hero, all of Bedroka—and the continent—would kneel at his feet.

Chase’s heart swelled with anticipation.

Together, he and Iris descended deeper into the dungeon.

The nearer they came, the clearer the sound of sobbing became.

A heavy ache throbbed in his chest, but he dismissed it as the foul air.

“Ellis.”

At his call, Ellis slowly lifted herself from where she lay.

“Ah! Chase! Your Majesty!”

Ellis crawled on her knees to clutch the iron bars. Seeing her ruined face, Chase clicked his tongue.

“Your Majesty, you really came…”

Her joy died the instant she noticed Iris at his side. Ellis clenched her teeth, swallowing the urge to demand why Iris was here.

Instead, she spoke the words she had prepared.

“Your Majesty, I have never betrayed you.”

Her trembling voice was pitiful, but it was the truth.

“Shut that mouth. All that comes from it are lies. Did you not debase yourself with a barbarian?”

“Your Majesty, I have never privately conspired with Prince Tetris.”

“Still lying, shamelessly. You truly have a thick face.”

Chase’s gaze was cold.

“Give me time and I’ll prove everything. I’ll…”

“Why? So you can forge evidence again? Isn’t that your specialty—using underlings in the shadows to spread false rumors, produce fake evidence, and steal what belongs to others?”

Ellis’s mouth went dry.

Because Chase was right. Among the things she had done for him—there were such deeds.

But all of it had been for him.

Yet now he called it a crime, despite feasting on the fruits of her labor.

Tears streamed down Ellis’s cheeks.

The dungeon air thinned, or so it felt. She grew dizzy, gasping.

She wiped her tears with her bloodied hands.

Her life was too pitiful to end like this.

“Spare me, Your Majesty. Please, just spare me.”

She pressed her forehead to the cold stone floor, groveling.

It was the only thing left to do, once she realized his heart was gone.

She would not foolishly beg for love, not from a man who no longer cared.

Instead, she appealed to reason.

“Your Majesty, I’ve built many enterprises. Without me, they’ll collapse, and the expedition will be affected. Let me serve until the dragon hunt is over. Afterward, I’ll vanish from your sight and live quietly. Please, show mercy…”

“Ellis, I’ll take care of your enterprises.”

Iris cut in, silencing her.

“Ellis, accept it. There’s nothing more you can do. You have no place anymore.”

Ellis raised her head, meeting Iris’s eyes. Iris smiled radiantly.

“You were never meant to have a place anywhere else.”

Iris gestured at the dungeon. Ellis’s fury shot to her scalp, trembling violently.

Iris leaned down toward her.

“The dungeon suits you well.”

“You… you did this to me.”

“Took you long enough to realize? I’ve been giving you hints all along.”

Ellis squeezed her eyes shut. At last, the rumors she had chosen to ignore resurfaced.

The whispers of Chase and Iris often meeting, Iris managing the palace maids, people claiming they’d secured business licenses through her.

She had asked Chase, but each time he had grown more distant. In fear of losing him, she had bitten her tongue.

Blind, deaf, and mute—that wasted time had turned into blades, stabbing her now.

“Chase, could you give us a moment?”

Iris rubbed her cheek against his chest as she spoke.

“Will you be alright?”

He asked gently, smiling at her with love.

“Of course, Your Majesty. Ellis can’t do anything—she has no magic. Even if she tried, she couldn’t touch a hair on me.”

“But she still has a mouth. I’d hate for her to wound you with words.”

Chase stroked her face. Like a cat, Iris nuzzled his palm.

Their tender display burned Ellis’s eyes.

Chase kissed Iris’s forehead before stepping away. He had no shred of courtesy left for his former lover.

Ellis glared at Iris.

“Since when?”

“Does it matter?”

Iris asked innocently. Ellis lunged, but the bars blocked her. Not even Iris’s hem was within reach.

If only she could use magic. Ellis ground her teeth.

Iris smirked and sat on the ground. She caressed Ellis’s cheek with her white hand.

“Everything is only going back to where it belongs. Don’t resent it. You just got greedy, that’s all.”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

Ellis’s voice cracked.

“Because you’re in the way. No grand reason.”

Iris spoke as though brushing away trash. She then took Ellis’s hand and placed a small vial in her palm.

Odorless, tasteless—poison.

“I made it myself. Works perfectly. I’ve already tested it, so you can trust the effect.”

Ellis’s eyes shook violently. Surely not…