Chapter 13: Perhaps, I truly killed Alys!

AVA KILLIAN

Ava stood before the mirror in her dimly lit room, staring at her naked body. Her breasts, her nipples—they all hurt. The injury from the thorns Axel had pierced into her flesh stung sharply, and the bruises on her wrists from where she had been bound by stems itched relentlessly.

Tears spilled from Ava’s eyes. She scratched her wrists with growing desperation, blood trickling down her arms to the floor. Still, she didn’t stop.

"Ohhh, princess—you’re hurting yourself!" The maid rushed forward, lightly grasping Ava’s arm, but Ava shoved her away with more strength than she intended.

"Leave me alone! You don’t care about me! I’m being watched by everyone in this palace. And you—you’re just like the rest! Just like the one who stole my hair and framed me. You don’t care!" Ava’s voice rose in a fury, her words tinged with desperation.

The maid looked at the princess—once full of life, gentle as a dove, and kind. Now, Ava was a shell, shattered by the sins of her father, punish