THE KING'S POSSESSION

Chapter 99

Chapter 99: The Mad Princess

*Flashback*

"Your Highness!" Tristan greeted, bending his knee and bowing his head as Leticia finally stepped out of the mansion where she had been imprisoned for what felt like an eternity. His heart pounded in his chest with both relief and dread surging through him. He had risked everything for her, the princess he had sworn to protect with his life. But as his gaze lifted to meet hers, the sight before him sent a shockwave through his system.

The Leticia he had once known was barely recognizable. Her once flawless face was now marred by scars, deep and jagged, cutting across her features like cruel reminders of the torment she had endured. But it wasn't the physical damage that struck Tristan the hardest—it was the vacant, almost lifeless look in her eyes. The warmth, the kindness she had once shown him, was gone, replaced by something cold, something frightening.

Leticia's eyes narrowed as she looked down at the knight who had risked so much to free her. There was no gratitude in her gaze, only disdain. "Where is the child?" she asked, her voice void of emotion, sharp like the edge of a blade.

Tristan's head snapped up, confusion etched on his face at the unexpected question. "Your Highness?"

"Where is Isabel's child?" Leticia repeated, her tone more insistent this time.

Tristan began to rise, intending to respond properly, but before he could straighten, Leticia's voice cracked like a whip, "Keep bending your knee, knight!"

Tristan froze, his heart sinking as he realized just how deeply the imprisonment had changed her. She was clearly no longer the woman he had once known. Madness seemed to flicker behind her eyes, a dangerous mix of rage and desperation.

"Why have you rescued me now?" Leticia demanded, her voice dripping with venom. "Haven't I made it clear to free me once you have gotten hold of the boy? What took you so long?" Her words were laced with accusation, her once composed demeanor shattered beyond repair.

"Has your loyalty faltered after that wretched Isabel weakened your resolve?" she spat, her voice rising with fury as she leaned closer to the kneeling knight.

Tristan's blood ran cold at her words, each syllable cutting into him like a dagger. This was not the Leticia he had known, not the princess he had sworn to serve. But he could not falter now. Even as doubt gnawed at him, he knew he had to find the strength to face whatever she had become.

But as he knelt there, her eyes bore into him with a gaze so full of loathing, Tristan realized that the path ahead would be darker and more dangerous than he had ever imagined.

Leticia's voice trembled with rage, her hands clenching into fists as she recounted the horrors she had endured. "That fool of a king... he long knew his wife had abducted and imprisoned me, yet he did nothing," she seethed, her voice dripping with venom. "Instead, he came here himself and had the gall to press his blade to my skin, carving another scar into my face as punishment for letting Isabel escape five years ago." Her fingers traced the jagged line that marred her once-beautiful features, her eyes darkening with each word. "He blamed me for everything, forbade me from escaping, and even ordered that I be starved—left to rot in that wretched cell. All of this... because of her! That Isabel!"

Her voice rose, filled with a bitter, consuming hatred that seemed to echo off the walls. "This wouldn't have happened if not for her! Where is her child?!" she demanded, her voice turning cold, sharp as ice. "I will have that boy's life after everything I have been through. It will be Isabel's payment for all the suffering she has caused me!"