The King's Rejected Lady

Returning The Favor Tenfold

"Long live the Crown Princess Sabina! Long live the Crown Prince Lauren!"

The common folks cheered and clapped for the couple. Behind them was the serious-looking Zeno McMillian Larat, together with the noble-looking ladies Shena and Mia.

"With the countless suffering that the Crown Princess endured from her evil half-sister and the recently attempted treason against a member of the royal family, the Crown Princess, we are nowhere to witness justice unfold on behalf of the Goddess Gaia! To sentence the criminal, Victoria Rozenreff, the Crown Prince Lauren wished to do it himself as a show of devotion for our beloved Crown Princess Sabina." Zeno McMillian Larat started the execution process. All those times, Rowan dragged the weakened Victoria in front of the deck where he held her neck to be locked under the restraints.

A lone tear slipped from Tori as she witnessed the original Victoria glancing towards the setting sun as if she was so tired of her life.

Everyone clapped their hands when the executioner handed his sharpened ax to the crown prince. As the crown prince raised his ax, Tori saw the sick anticipation of everyone as if they were opening their presents from Santa.

The original Victoria resigned her fate when she just closed her eyes as she waited for the sharp kiss of the blade.

"I, Crown Prince Lauren Eckrett, sentenced you to die!"

A sudden drop of the ax and a sudden stop of the heart. The original Victoria's head rolled on the plaza's floor. It kept on rolling and stopped a foot away from Tori.

"Now, we have gotten rid of an evil being! May the Goddess Gaia rain as blessings eternally!" The crown prince declared, which resulted in everyone's cheers and shouts of victory. They were celebrating as if they didn't kill an innocent person. The Duke, the father of the said criminal, didn't even flinch at the sight of his daughter's death. Instead, he hugged Sabina to protect her eyes from the gory scene. Rowan and Zeno also used their bodies to shield the scene from Sabina.

No one, no one cared for the broken soul whom they killed.

No one asked if she was truly guilty of her crimes.

No one weeps for the death of Victoria Rozenreff.

Tori couldn't explain the deep hate she was feeling. She didn't even know anymore if it was because her heart belonged to the original Victoria or if she just genuinely hated everyone she was seeing right now. She hated the situation; she hated everyone around her; she hated the original plot, and she hated the author of this pathetic series.

"You all got your happy ever after, huh."

The scene in front of Tori was etched in her mind, a constant reminder of why she chose to trash the plot of the story.

THE MOMENT Tori opened her eyes, the waves of the Willow Tree's leaves welcomed her. Disoriented as she sat from sleeping on the ground, Tori's eyes were blazing with hate.

"Lady Tori, they already posted the results."

Rowan stood before her. His features were not as old as she witnessed in that memory. Tori knew that the Rowan she saw and the Rowan she knew was different, but she couldn't help but feel the deep-rooted anger.

Tori was boiling inside. She wanted to lash out, but she wouldn't do that. She would use this anger to destroy the plot one piece at a time.

Tori smiled sweetly at Rowan. "Lead the way, kind sir."

Tori caught the blush that Rowan showed, but she just kept smiling. "This way, Lady Tori."

As soon as Rowan showed his back to her, Tori's sweet smile vanished like it was never there. Instead, the blazing ruby eyes could freeze anything it seized.

The same way when she exited the exam hall, Tori strode towards the displayed results plastered on the grand wall where the faculty and the headmaster were also looking at.

The examinees surrounded the displayed results. Even students from Trifecta Academy were also crowding the results. Tori didn't care as she walked without even caring if she would step on someone. Luckily, commoners or nobles made way for her.

When she stood before the results, the headmaster also looked at her as if he knew her personally, which she never paid attention to. She was feeling rather devoid of any emotion after that nightmare.

"Is she the one?"

"She's the one who passed the exam paper first, right?"

Tori didn't bother to look for her name from the bottom list. She immediately looked for her name from the very top of the list.

Top 1: Victoria Rozenref - 99/100

Top 2: Corean Shuia Eckrett - 87/100

Top 3: Zeno McMillian Larat - 85/100

Huh, so I nailed the situational questions. Tori expected to be one of the best, but she didn't expect to be the best.

The headmaster together with the faculty surrounded her like she was a specimen from a laboratory. "We never thought we'd be welcoming another genius for today!"

Tori showed them her infamous sweet smile, "I still have a lot to learn, Headmaster. I am looking forward to learning everything from everyone here at Trifecta Academy. I'll be in your care."

Just wait and see, dearest Sabina and darling Lauren. I'll return the favor to you tenfold.