𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐠*𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬; 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘴

Soleia; End

Until a few years later after Astea's beheading, a new captain of the royal guard was being proclaimed. And to top it off, the crown prince has now successfully ascended to the throne.

The kingdom rejoiced.

"Long Live the Sun of Soleia"

A month-long banquet was thrown to celebrate the ascension of a new king.

The captain greeted the new king of course, and for courtesy, they greeted each other.

All's well until in the corner of the king's eye, a certain hair color flew about. He was baffled. shocked. He almost cowered and ran, if not for the powerful guests in the hall he would've done so. Instead, he evidently paled in his spot.

"Your majesty, are you alright?"

Everyone was now looking at him, he had to make an excuse or else they would say he's crazy for believing a mad woman's words.

"Oh? Yes! Yes, I'm alright, perhaps a little bit drunk from all the wine I've been drinking."

"I guess perhaps you should rest, your majesty. It has been a long night." The captain suggested.

The king nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps I should, well then, I hope you'll enjoy the banquet even without my presence. enjoy the night, everyone!" The king then exited the banquet hall.

On his way to his chamber, he ordered all the guards to search for a bright red hair colored girl all over the hall and make it discreet. Not to alarm anyone of his delusions and paranoia.

In his chamber, he clutched his head, and screamed over and over again, "It's not my fault it's not my fault it's not my fault it's not my fault it's not my fault it's not my fault it's not my fault it's not my fault it's not my fault" and then faint laughter echoed across the four walls of his bedroom chamber.

"w-who who are you?!"

"ghosts from your past can't speak, your majesty"

The word "majesty" smoothly rolled off the tongue of the other person in the room, too smoothly, as if mocking him.

The king thrashed and slashed across the room, hitting everything and aiming at nothing. This went on for a couple of nights until the king went mad and brought the kingdom into ruins.

The kingdom went to many wars until the people had enough and incited a revolution. This was headed by the captain of the royal guards, who successfully chopped the king's head.

"For Astea." The captain, Theo, now the king, whispered. It turns out Theo knew Astea.

When she was imprisoned, he was an apprentice. He wanted to let her escape from her cell. Instead of accepting it, she remained and said, "I have done nothing wrong, why should I hide?"

Oh, how he wished he had convinced her to escape and instead live with him somewhere in the countryside, but he can't, he can't force her to do something she doesn't like.

Everyday he mourned for her death, and everyday he trained to avenge. Then one day he was heard.

He was promoted, as someone who's one step closer to the king, as the captain of the royal guard. He tormented him every night and now he has become the king.

Following the king's death, all of his outrageous crimes were revealed to the public, including the wrongful death of Lady Astea Estrelle Von Heildiesch.

She was in fact not anywhere near the palace during that night and instead was holed up in her room reading romance novels she liked. There was no perpetrator and that the previous king poisoned and stabbed himself, even going as far as paying a maid to accuse her. He curated the entire sequence all the way to her death.

The truth has been revealed. What now?

The king married a woman from a powerful family and had one son, but Astea can never be replaced in his heart. He died while clutching the only memory he has of her.

An amulet.

"Thank you, Theo."

He heard as he closed his eyes.

"Thank you for revealing the truth."

When he opened his eyes again, he saw a bright white room and only a girl stood at the center of it.

"Astea?"

The girl turned to him and smiled, "Hello, Theo."