Three Months Before The Delegation From The Kingdom Of Amina Arrived In Lykus Empire's Borders…

Theta's sunken eyes remained fixated on the ground as she stood like a sore thumb among her siblings. Clad with the only black dress that hugged her malnourished body from her neck to her legs, Theta combed her waist-length dry red hair for a simple bun.

Her fingers that lacked nails clasped before her as her small shoulders hunched; Theta did not make a single sound amid the series of mockery that was targeted towards her.

"Oh my! Look at her attitude, First Brother! She is really the bane of our prestigious family!"

Axue Mariyah, the eldest daughter of the Mariyah Household, said. She covered half of her small face with a fan in an elegant manner. Her countenance oozed with a noble elegance that contrasted Theta.

A white-robed man blocked Axue's line of sight with his firm and sturdy back.

"Do not look at her, Axue! Aren't you afraid to be robbed with your luck? That girl is a child of a demon, a vixen who seduced our noble father!"

Anger and disgust laced Lexin Mariyah's voice. He was the eldest son of General Ronin Mariyah and the heir to the thousands of army that the Mariyah Clan held with a tight grasp.

Theta did not refute her siblings. She stood at the farthest side of the four-column hall with her head hanging low. Her nonchalant response irked the newly arrived young men who had witnessed their eldest brother admonishing their only sister, Axue.

A young man donned fine black silk garbs strode towards Theta. His long legs were fast. The next thing that everyone saw, he was now standing before Theta.

"Who gave you the right to stay under the same roof as my siblings?"

Like Lexin, the young man's countenance towards Theta was also filled with hatred and disgust. He was Chehin Mariyah and he was the third son of General Ronin Mariyah – the youngest among the three brothers and the youngest among Madam Rea's children.

For Chehin, he hated it when Theta would try to act as his sister. But seeing that Theta, a lowly being, ignoring him? Chehin hated it more.

On impulse, he pulled the rustic flower clip atop Theta's bun.

Red hair cascaded Theta's face.

"Ha! That is the face that suits you more!" Chehin pulled a thick chunk of Theta's hair.

The scent of blood bombarded the hall followed by the crimson ink trickling from Theta's right side of the head where a chunk of her hair was pulled.

Axue bit the insides of her cheeks to stop herself from laughing out loud. After all, she needed to maintain her elegance amid distractions.

She simply covered her smiling lips.

Lexin grinned but he did not say a word. The presence of the servants stopped him from applauding his youngest brother.

"Chehin, stop it."

A soft voice of a man snapped his oppressive siblings from causing more ruckus. On cue, the attention of his three siblings fixated on him.

On instinct, a warrior like Chehin felt that he was being challenged. With a knot lodged between his thick brows, he let go of Theta's hair as he shoved her small body to the nearest marble column.

"Are you speaking for this wretched girl, Brother Rufiant?"

Lexin merely raised his brow as he looked at the newly arrived sibling. Though he was not speaking at all, his gaze was telling his brother that he was thinking the same thing with Chehin.

The scholar-looking young man with soft and long black hair braided at his back merely cocked his head.

"You will regret it if you keep on making a fuss over small things, little brother."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

There was no scholar among the Mariyah legitimate sibling other than the second son of General Ronin, Rufiant Mariyah. Though he was not a warrior like Lexin and Chehin, he was valued the most by General Ronin because of his talent for making battle strategies.

For a household like the Mariyah Clan, a strategist was a key person. Even when Rufiant Mariyah was not the heir of the Mariyah Household, he was still valued by the Kingdom of Amina's king.

Hence, when Rufiant issued his warning, Chehin immediately took a step away from the slumped form of the bloodied Theta.

Gnashing his teeth, Chehin walked toward his eldest brother. Through gritted teeth, he spoke to his second brother amicably.

"Second brother, what do you mean by those words?"

Rufiant kept his gentle smile. He leisurely walked towards the slumped form of his youngest half-sister. A meter away from Theta, Rufiant stopped in his tracks. "Can you stand up, little sister?"

Theta did not nod nor did she shake her head. She simply stood up as if nothing happened – as if there was no blood dripping from her forehead to her right cheek.

Extending his hand that was holding a clean white silk handkerchief, Rufiant softly spoke. "Wipe the blood. Father and Mother will punish you again if you dirty the floor in their presence."

Axue, who was enjoying the show, saw the incoming entourage of her father and mother. Straightening her back, she shifted her countenance from a bratty princess to an ice-cold noble lady.

On the other hand, Theta took the silk cloth without a word. Her red hair now drenched with crimson ink framed her small face, obscuring anyone from seeing what was beneath the straw-like hair.

Rufiant reached out his hand to pat Theta, but the latter took a step back.

With his hand hanging in the air, Rufiant could only smile – a bitter aftertaste clung to him until General Ronin and Madam Rea graced them with their presence.

On cue, the servants took a couple of steps back before they bowed their heads – heads touching the ground as they knelt. At the same time, the Mariyah siblings bowed their heads for a brief moment as they spoke.

"This son is humbled by your presence, Mother, Father."

"This daughter is humbled by your presence, Mother, Father."

Lexin, Rufiant, Axue, and Chein had the same greeting for their parents. But Theta, who spoke with them at the same time, was different.

Standing behind the four legitimate children of the Mariyah Household, with the least presence among them, Theta greeted with her siblings. Her knuckles turned white as she clutched her mourning dress. "This child is humbled by your presence, Madam Rea, General Ronin."

"Raise your heads," commanded General Ronin.

His voice was full of vigor as he stood in front of his wife, children, and his clan's servants.

Clad in his silver armor adorned with the carvings of the continent's deity, Shomashom the White Tiger, General Ronin stood upright. He continued as he scanned his children one by one.

"You must be aware of the Imperial edict that arrived in our humble clan a few days ago. Though your mother received the edict, it is a daughter of the Mariyah Clan that must honor the edict."

General Ronin nodded at his wife.

On cue, Madam Rea Mariyah walked to her husband; she stood side by side with him before she raised her chin.

"The imperial edict stated that a daughter of the Mariyah Clan will honor the friendship between the Kingdom of Amina and the Lykus Empire. It did not state who will be from the Lykus Empire that will marry our household until I received some news this morning."

Axue, who had dreamed to raise her ranks in the social circle, could not hide her curiosity. She fanned her face as she hid the distinct greed reflected in her brown eyes.

"Who is it, Mother?" Chehin asked.

He could not help but show his agitation.

After all, they were talking about someone from the Lykus Empire! What was the Lykus Empire for the nomads of the Amina Kingdom?

They were basically gods! To be associated with someone from the Lykus Empire's nobility was like having a free pass to a god's favor.

The people of the kingdoms without the talent of magic viewed the powerful and magical Lykus Empire as the land of gods. It was a common notion that a single general of the Lykus Empire could make or break a non-magic kingdom with one wave of his hand.

"I don't specifically know who it is exactly, but I do know that it is with high status, possibly a prince of the Lykus Empire!" Madam Rea failed to contain her tone as it swerved when she mentioned a noble prince.

It was no wonder that Madam Rea did not know who exactly it was. The information about Lykus Empire was not easy to take, especially from someone who lived in a non-magic kingdom.

General Ronin cleared his throat which made Madam Rea blush from shame.

"Then who will we send? We have two daughters in the Mariyah Household," said Rufiant. His tone was gentle like a calm stream on a spring morning. His question brought the entire hall to a freezing temperature.

Madam Rea sent her second son a fleeting glare before she conjured up a benevolent smile. "Your sister, Axue, will go and that is final, Rufiant."

There was no more room for negotiation in Madam Rea's tone. Her gaze fixated on the petite sixteen-year-old girl at the back of her children.

"Theta, do you have something to say?"

As usual, whenever Madam Rea asked this question to the mother and daughter pair, she received a meek shake of the head.

"Good." Satisfied with Theta's waste-like appearance and presence, Madam Rea had believed that she already secured the future of her only daughter.

Madam Rea looked at her husband. "I believe Axue is the best candidate for this Imperial edict. She knows the sutra of a noble lady and her skills in embroidery and zhiter are the best in our kingdom. Who is more efficient than her?"

Madam Rea made sure to spare Theta a mocking glance as she compared the two ladies. For Madam Rea and Axue, there was nothing to compare in the first place.

Once a slave would always be a lowly slave, or so they thought.

All of them failed to see the pair of burning amethyst eyes beneath her bloodied hair. They all failed to realize that the countdown for the Mariyah Clan's demise had barely begun.