Episode 12

"A worthless omega does not deserve to be revered."

"Just because you are the queen does not make you significant; you have not even been able to give the king an heir."

"An heir is not the sole method to bind a man. You ought to know this better than anyone, right Colette?"

The woman bristles with irritation, for regardless of having a child, her ex-husband did not hesitate to leave for another woman—an omega woman at that—perhaps that's why she resents him.

"How dare you? I will break that damned mouth of yours."

Colette stands to confront Livia, but as she raises her hand to strike, Livia dodges, toppling her. Simone, the other sister, rises to assist her.

"You will be cursed; when my father hears of this, a punishment awaits you."

Livia starts to chuckle at the sisters’ words.

"We shall see what the old man does; I will fetch the king."

"The king? Everyone knows the king has lost interest in you."

Livia smirks mockingly; of course, such gossip is known outside the palace, but he will not grant them the pleasure of mocking it.

"Those are mere rumors; he truly loves me deeply."

"How absurd, just give us the check, we should take advantage before you are thrown out of the palace."

"Indeed, hurry up, the check or I'll tug on that hair until it comes out."

"How aggressive, worse than the drunks at the tavern. Leave and do not bother me again; take advantage of my consideration."

Both women are visibly furious; Simone could no longer contain herself. Livia had never treated them this way; their father was supposed to have him well tamed. She lunges at Livia, landing on top of him on the sofa, starting to strike his face and yank at his hair. Livia shields his face with his arms as the girl’s nails scratch the skin of his arms. He could strike back, but he waits until the damage is sufficient; that way, his response would be justified. When enough is enough, he pushes her hands away from his face, grabs Simone's hair, pulling hard, and rolls their bodies, sending her tumbling to the floor. Now positioned above her, he hits her in the face. Colette intervenes to defend her sister, but Livia also pulls her hair. They are lucky his body is still small and frail, or they would have been thrown out of the window by now. After a few minutes, all three are tired and battered. The sisters decide to leave, threatening to tell their father everything.

"Tch! Crazy old hags, you'll get yours."

He wipes the blood from his lips, but his face bears scratches and bruises, his hair disheveled, and his hands riddled with scratches as well. Returning to his chamber, he sees the king approaching, who is shocked to see him in such a state—the last thing Livia wants is to encounter the king looking like this.

"Livia! What has happened to you?"

The king approaches and, without waiting for an explanation, carries him princess-style to his chamber, calling immediately for a doctor. Once in bed, the king himself cleans his face with a damp cloth brought to them.

"Tell me, was it your sisters? I heard they'd come."

"They didn't leave in great shape either; I am weak, and they were two."

He assumes the slimness of the body stemmed from the real Livia's poor diet, seeing how even in the luxuriousness of the palace, the young man had struggled to eat well, his stomach a ruin from subsisting on the leftovers that barely quelled his hunger for a while.

"You should have called the guards to take them away."

"They don’t obey me; you decreed that only certain persons could attend to me, have you forgotten?"

The true Livia once suffered beatings from concubines and guards who did nothing. Even when the Duke struck him for failing to get pregnant, Livia cried for help, but none arrived, though Flora and Lina wanted to assist, the Duke struck them too.

"I'm sorry... I will issue a new order and assign you guards."

Livia pulls away when the king tries to dab his cheek with the cloth again.

"No need, I'm not the Livia who loved you. What happened in the forest was because I got carried away by old feelings, but my soul is different, the Livia who loved you is dead."

The king is stunned by his words, reminding him of the phrase Livia uttered that day in the forest: "- I loved you... but couldn't tell you the truth... everything was ruined before I could..."

It was as if he were speaking of someone else. Livia climbs out of bed and moves away from the king, intending to return to his own room and request support from one of his maids for his injuries, while the king stays silently in the chamber, his lips pursed and his fists clenched.

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