Meredith did not sleep that night.
The palace remained silent around her, drowned in the suffocating stillness that came before dawn, but her mind refused to quiet.
Isaac's face lingered behind her eyes every time she closed them. Those cold unbearable eyes she had tried to forget for 20 years appearing in her dreams again.
She sat curled against the headboard of her bed, still dressed in her night robe, fingers locked tightly around the untouched cup of tea that had long since gone cold.
The words she had hurled at him earlier replayed endlessly in her head. It had been liberating. The bitterness she had buried beneath decades of silence had finally spilled out of her like poisoned floodwater. She had looked him directly in the eye and made him hear exactly what she felt.
But now that the rage had faded…
The truth remained.
She had not told him everything.
Not even close.
Her trembling fingers tightened around the teacup.
Because the cruelest part of Isaac's life had never truly been the king.
It had been her.
A shaky breath escaped her lips.
Back then, in the early years of her marriage, she had been desperate. Desperate to secure the king's affection, desperate to survive inside a palace where women were discarded the moment they became inconvenient, she had been desperate to remain queen.
And that desperation had driven her toward monsters.
They had promised her perfection, children unlike any other.
Children blessed with terrifying intelligence, physical superiority, and instincts beyond ordinary men.
Children who would guarantee her place beside the throne forever.
And Meredith had agreed.
The memory made nausea twist violently in her stomach.
Isaac had never been born naturally extraordinary.
He had been kidnapped from the streets and made to become extraordinary.
But something had gone horribly wrong, they had tried to give him more than a child's body could hold and he became a monster.
She had hated him for years, blamed him for everything.
But deep down, she had always known the truth.
Isaac had never asked to become this way.
She had done this to him, handed him to the king herself, watched them lock him away, watched them strip him of childhood, freedom, sanity and humanity.
And she had done nothing.
Tears gathered silently in her eyes.
She had no right to hate him even for killing her daughter.
The first pale rays of morning finally slipped through the curtains.
And a knock sounded at the door.
Meredith frowned immediately.
Someone?
At this hour?
That alone was strange enough to snap her fully from her thoughts.
Barely anyone came to at this hour.
Not after the king lost interest in her.
The palace had quietly erased her years ago. She still carried the title of queen, but only ceremonially. She was little more than a ghost occupying luxurious rooms.
"Who is it?" she asked coldly.
A servant answered from outside, voice hesitant.
"Good morning, Your Majesty… you have a visitor."
Meredith's brows furrowed deeper.
"A visitor?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." A pause. "Prince Isaac's fiancée wishes to see you."
Meredith paused.
Oh.
So the king had finally chosen a leash.
She had heard whispers already. Rumors of young women being evaluated in secret. Girls tested not for obedience, loyalty and manipulation.
The perfect bride to keep Isaac controlled.
"Let her in."
Silence followed.
The servant clearly thought they had misheard.
"Y-Your Majesty… should I truly allow her inside?"
Meredith's irritation sharpened instantly.
"Yes, you fool," she snapped. "Must I repeat myself twice?"
"Y-Yes, Your Majesty!"
Hurried footsteps retreated down the hall.
Meredith exhaled slowly and rose from the bed.
She crossed the room toward the nightstand, lifted a bottle of water, and drank deeply.
Then she walked toward the sofa.
The same sofa Isaac had sat on the previous night and lowered herself into it slowly then waited.
Several minutes later, a soft knock echoed through the room.
"Come in."
The door opened carefully.
And a young woman stepped inside.
She was petite, cute and looked innocent.
Everything about her appearance seemed intentionally crafted to awaken protective instincts in others.
She had short black hair that framed her face delicately. Large doe-like eyes that shimmered with softness. Fair skin dusted with natural pink at the cheeks. Her oversized hoodie swallowed her tiny frame completely, while the short flared skirt beneath exposed slim legs that only emphasized how small and vulnerable she appeared.
An innocent little thing.
Too innocent that Meredith knew it was fake.
Girls like this survived by weaponizing helplessness.
"Good morning, Your Majesty," the girl said softly.
Even her voice was carefully made.
Gentle, sweet and harmless.
"My name is Nia. I am Prince Isaac's fiancée."
She bowed politely, hands clasped before her.
Perfect manners.
Meredith almost laughed.
"I will begin staying with Prince Isaac today," Nia continued carefully, "so we may become acquainted before the wedding."
Her lashes lowered modestly.
"I thought… perhaps you could tell me about him. I have never met him before, and I wished to understand what kind of man he is."
Meredith stared at her silently.
Then finally said,
"You are either stupid… or you came here specifically to disgust me."
Nia's expression immediately crumbled.
It was impressive, honestly.
Her lips trembled.
Her eyes glossed instantly with tears.
"I-I'm so sorry, Your Majesty," she whispered shakily. "I never intended offense. His Majesty simply asked me to honor tradition and seek your blessing before moving into the prince's residence…"
Her voice became smaller.
"I would never dare disrespect you…"
Meredith felt nothing except irritation watching the performance.
"Isaac," she said coldly, "is the devil's worst creation."
"He is a monster capable of killing you before you draw your next breath."
The room turned colder.
"He does not love. He does not trust. He does not care about human beings. And if you marry him, you will live the most miserable life imaginable."
No sugarcoating.
Nia trembled harder.
But Meredith saw through every second of it.
The girl was acting very well.
"Thank you for your honesty, Your Majesty," Nia whispered tearfully.
Then she bowed once more and hurried from the room.
The moment the door shut behind her everything changed.
The trembling vanished instantly.
The tears disappeared.
And a mocking smile slowly spread across Nia's lips.
Her entire aura transformed.
Gone was the frightened little girl.
In her place stood a woman overflowing with confidence.
Amusement glittered in her eyes as she walked calmly through the palace corridor.
So this was the terrifying Prince Isaac?
Interesting.
Everyone spoke of him like some uncontrollable beast.
But Nia had spent her entire life taming dangerous men including the king himself.
Men always believed they were immune to her at first.
Then eventually they melted.
Every single one.
She had been born beautiful in the most dangerous way possible.
She looked soft and fragile.
The kind of woman men instinctively wanted to protect.
And she had learned very young how to weaponize it.
A tremble here, a tear there and a vulnerable expression.
And powerful men handed her their loyalty willingly.
No man had ever resisted her and Isaac would not be special.
He might struggle longer than the others.
But eventually…
He would fall too.
And when he did.
Nia smiled wider.
She would wrap herself around the future king of Subrind completely.