Her Rebirth.-Chapter 133

No.

Amelia, accept him.

He is the one.

Aldric is going to betray us.

Please, if you can hear me...

Please.

Amelia screamed at the top of her voice, but only she could hear her own voice—in the eyes of her body... She, the observer.

The pain tore deeper, knowing that she had another choice, a man who truly loved her, and yet she had been so hell-bent on Aldric.

Why did she love Aldric again?

Was it because he was handsome? Or was it because she felt like his saviour? Was it just an obsession? Did she even truly love Aldric?

These were questions she tried to answer but couldn’t.

Amelia watched in pain as time passed by swiftly from that day to her wedding. She had noticed Keiser standing in the crowd, watching her with pain in his eyes as her body exchanged vows with Aldric. And now, as a month had passed by, after the war for the throne had become extreme, blood had been spilled, and the remaining contenders were Keiser and Aldric—Aldric had been able to defeat Keiser with the help of her father, and currently, he was locked in a dungeon; the dungeon she would be locked in in the future, and the one she was currently standing before.

Keiser was broken and battered, a shell of his former self. His body was covered with wounds and scars. His black long hair was now matted, and his head hung low. Amelia was dressed in the black cloak. She had managed to bribe the guards and make them drunk with wine and snuck in here, for one sole reason, to help Keiser escape.

For she had suffered sleepless nights at the thought that Keiser... No—Kai... would die, and solely because of her. If she had never fallen for Aldric and pleaded with her father to back him for the throne, Keiser would have never been in this position.

Her fingers moved numbly to unfasten her cloak. It fell, revealing her face.

"Keiser..." she whimpered, her voice cracking as tears welled in her eyes.

The man stirred.

Slowly, painfully, he lifted his head. One eye was swollen shut, and blood stained the corner of his mouth.

His lips twisted in a weak, bitter sneer. "What? Come to watch me die, Empress?"

Amelia choked on a sob, dropping to her knees outside the iron bars. "No—no, please... I came because I’m sorry." Her voice trembled, tears flowing freely now. "I—I am so sorry, Kai..."

He watched her quietly, no longer sneering, just exhausted.

"I never should have begged my father to support Aldric..." Her hand shook as she pulled a small, rusted key from her sleeve. She pushed it through the bars, and it clattered to the ground inside. "The guards are drunk. I made sure of it. You can escape if you’re quick."

Keiser didn’t move.

She wiped her tears, voice tight. "Please, live, Kai. Even if you never forgive me, just live."

She didn’t wait for his reply. She stood shakily, pulled her cloak back over her shoulders, and ran.

...

Amelia collapsed onto her king-sized bed as she looked up at the ceiling that was decorated with pure gold. She now lived in total luxury, and she held the greatest position a woman could ever hold in the Akea Empire. But still, she wasn’t happy.

Not only had she begun to notice Aldric’s subtle neglect towards her, she had also been haunted by the images of Keiser, broken, battered, and bloodied.

She couldn’t sleep. She could hear a voice screaming at her that she made a mistake, and every night she recalled the moment he snuck into her room pleading for her to choose him.

It hurts.

It really hurts.

"Get him!!!" she heard a voice howl, then the clashing of swords.

Amelia quickly jerked up from her bed, swinging the doors to her balcony open.

There he was, Keiser, on his knees in the palace courtyard, surrounded by a ring of guards. Blood streaked down his arms and pooled at his knees. And standing before him was Aldric. On Aldric’s lips was a sneer as he said,

"You’ve always looked down on me, brother, but here I am, standing, while you are on your knees before me."

Keiser lifted his head slowly, blood dripping from his chin, and met Aldric’s gaze with a crooked, battered grin.

"On my knees, yes... but even from down here, I still have to look down to see the likes of you. Even as you bear the crown, you know within yourself that I’ll always be better than you even in death."

Aldric’s smirk fell and his jaw clenched as Keiser’s words sank in. The mocking glint in his brother’s battered eyes, the way he smiled even with blood on his lips, it made something primal snap inside him.

"You insolent—!"

With a snarl, Aldric surged forward and slammed his fist into Keiser’s face. The impact echoed through the courtyard. Keiser’s head snapped to the side, blood splattering across the stone ground, but he just merely let out a "heh."

Aldric stood over him, chest heaving, his fist trembling from the force of the blow. "You always thought you were better than me. Always the golden one. But look at you now—broken, filthy, and forgotten."

Keiser turned back to face him, blood trickling from his split lip. "Still not as pathetic as you."

"You fucking...."

Aldric pulled out his sword from its sheath angrily.

Keiser looked up just once. His gaze met hers.

And he smiled.

A sad, broken smile.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head violently. "No, this isn’t real."

But it was.

Aldric raised his sword.

"NO!" she screamed, voice shrill and desperate. "STOP! ALDRIC, STOP—!"

But it was too late.

Aldric swung the sword, and Keiser’s head fell to the ground with a thud, his gaze seemingly still on her.

Amelia screamed, but she couldn’t hear herself. The world around her was so quiet and bleak and then...

Darkness.

. ...

When she opened her eyes, the world was too bright. Amelia gasped and sat up sharply, blinking as the world around her spun rapidly.

"My lady! The Empress is awake!" her maid cried out, rushing to her side.

The room flooded with noise as the imperial doctor entered, fussing and murmuring things she couldn’t understand as he checked her vitals.

Amelia blinked. "What happened?" she asked groggily, placing her hand on her forehead. "How long have I been asleep?"

There was a sharp pain. It really hurt bad but not as bad as the emptiness she felt inside of her.

She had lost something important. What was it? Why couldn’t she remember?

"A week," the maid said, tearfully. "You fainted on the balcony and hit your head."

"I... fainted?" Amelia repeated, dazed. "That’s strange. It’s not like I was ill or anything... so why would I...?"

The doctor stepped forward. "You fainted due to shock, Your Majesty. Fear, most likely."

"Fear?" Amelia repeated again, blinking in confusion. "Fear because of what?"

She had forgotten. And the observer was gone.