Vow of Revenge

"How was my acting for the last four years? Flawless, right?" Iyana's voice dripped with cruel amusement, her laughter echoing like a sinister melody. "I have always had a knack for playing the part. It's almost criminal how good I am," she sighed with self-satisfaction.

Vyan's eyes narrowed in disbelief. "What do you mean by acting?"

Iyana chuckled, a wicked gleam dancing in her eyes as she wiped away a tear of joy. "Oh, Vyan, you are so naive," she taunted. "Did you really think I kept you close because I liked you? What an idiot. You were nothing more than my puppet."

The words struck Vyan like a physical blow. He couldn't help but think, has she always been this obnoxious?

"Let me spell it out for you, since you seem to be struggling," she continued, her tone dripping with disdain.

"When I saw you for the first time four years ago, I just knew you were the perfect scapegoat for me. No family, no support—just a convenient pawn to manipulate at will. If anything had gone awry, you would have taken the fall, just like you did today."

Huh. So the last four years of his life—the supposed happiest years—had been nothing but a twisted joke for her?

"But I had to keep up the facade, didn't I?" Iyana smirked, relishing in his anguish. "How else would I have enjoyed the sight of your betrayed expression? Those pained looks you are throwing at me right now? They are too good! They are worth every moment of effort I put into you."

How did I never see through her deception? How have I been so blind?

"Do you know what's even funnier, Vyan?" Iyana asked, but he remained silent, refusing to give her the satisfaction of a response.

"It's the fact that you actually believed I loved you." Her merciless laughter reverberated through the hallways. "I mean, seriously, how could you think that I, the daughter of an esteemed marquess, would stoop so low as to fall for a godforsaken, nameless commoner like you? What could you possibly offer me?"

A bitter chuckle escaped Vyan's lips. She was the one who had once claimed he gave her something no one else could, and now she dared to mock him about him? The irony was almost too much to bear.

She cast him a pitying glance before answering her own question. "Just a pretty face, and I have to say, that scar of yours ruins even that much." Her satisfaction was palpable, like a predator reveling in her prey's demise. "Ah, it feels so liberating to finally say it. I have been wanting to for ages."

"Why reveal yourself now?" Vyan demanded, his anger simmering beneath the surface. He needed answers, even if they shattered what remained of his crumbled heart.

Iyana's eyes lit up with a gleam of excitement. "Oh, Vyan, darling, the crown prince proposed to me!" she exclaimed giddily. "I'm on my way to becoming the queen. Can you imagine? A queen! It has always been my dream!"

Tch, of course, another lie.

She had once claimed her dream was to become the greatest swordsperson in Haynes, but this was what she had always wanted all along?

"And do you think Prince Easton would have approved of me having a close relationship with my loyal knight?" she continued, her tone dripping with disdain. 

"There are rumors swirling about us, you know. What if they derailed the wedding? So, I decided it was high time to dispose of you. Besides, all this acting was getting tiresome. Moreover, a little fun along the way of disposing you didn't hurt anyone, right?"

As Iyana's mocking laughter echoed in the air, Vyan's expression morphed into a seething rage.

"You are the worst," he spat, his words laced with venom.

"Thank you," she replied, her smug smile only fueling his anger. "Oh, wait, I will be back in a minute. Someone's calling me. Save your outburst till I'm back." And with that, she vanished, leaving Vyan alone.

Every fiber of his being screamed with rage as her words echoed in his mind, poisoning his thoughts and blackening his soul. 

Amidst the storm of his emotions, a new sensation emerged—a desire for vengeance.

He had resigned to his fate, ready to accept his demise, until she had come along and shattered his world with the revelation of her lies and betrayal. 

Why did she have to play such tricks on him?

If she had uttered it once, he would have gone to hell and back to make sure she sat on the throne of Haynes no matter what. If she had let him catch wind that he was a slight obstacle in the way of her goal, he would have taken a sword and stabbed himself without a second thought.

She knew about his loyalty.

And yet, she had chosen to betray him.

It was a choice of hers to make him suffer—just because she could.

So, now he has made his choice.

He had the option to end this life without any more drama—die as a background character who was the to-be queen's pawn.

But not even the doors of hell would accept his soul if he were to die meaninglessly like this.

As Iyana reappeared before him, Vyan's rage erupted like a volcano, spewing forth in a torrent of fury and hatred.

"A queen? You want to become a fucking queen?" he roared, his voice echoing through the chamber. 

"I will never let that happen! Not on my watch! I will make sure you pay for every single ounce of the pain you have inflicted on me! I will tear you down from your high horse and cast you into the dirt! I will burn the Haynes Empire to the ground if I have to if it means stopping you from wearing that crown you so desire!"

Every word dripped with venom, each syllable punctuated by the burning intensity of his fury. 

"And you are proud to be the daughter of a marquess, aren't you? I will take that away from you too. I will strip that pride from you, piece by piece, until you're nothing but a godforsaken, nameless commoner.

"And when you are left with nothing, I will end you. With my own bare hands, I will deliver the most agonizing and humiliating death imaginable. So wait for it, Iyana Pearl Estelle. I will make sure you pay for every ounce of pain you have caused me."

With his declaration of vengeance hanging in the air like a dark omen, Vyan's eyes burned with an intensity that matched the fire in his soul. 

He would stop at nothing to exact his revenge upon the woman who had shattered his heart and his spirit.

Despite the blurry haze clouding his vision, he was certain that Iyana's face must have worn a mocking smirk, taunting him with her deceitful facade.

Instead of laughter, her response caught him off guard. "Do you… hate me now?" she asked, her tone surprisingly devoid of its previous arrogance.

A bitter laugh escaped Vyan's lips, mingling with the taste of blood in his mouth. 

"Do you even have to ask that?" His gaze bore into her, amber eyes ablaze with fury. "Of course, I hate you. I hate you! I fucking hate you so much!" His voice full of contempt echoed throughout the chamber. 

"Get the hell out of my sight!" he bellowed, his words echoing off the stone walls. 

And to his surprise, she obeyed, fleeing from his presence without another word, just as he wished.

As her footsteps receded, Vyan felt alive once again. This time, at the prospect of seeing Iyana's destruction with his own eyes. So, this was the new motivation of his life.

———

In the dim light of dawn, Vyan found himself formulating escape plans worthy of a blockbuster heist. With only a few hours before the executioners arrived, he needed to pull off a disappearing act that would make his faceless parents proud.

Should he stage a dramatic escape during the guard escort? Perhaps, a distraction involving a cunning dance routine and a smoke bomb? Nah, too flashy. Besides, where would he even get a smoke bomb from? 

Before he could finalize his plan, the earth-shattering kabooms interrupted his brainstorming session.

"Talk about rude awakening," he muttered as guards scurried past his cell, leaving him alone to contemplate his impending demise.

Boom! Boom!

"Great, just what I needed—a front-row seat to the manor's demolition," he grumbled, shielding himself from debris as it rained down.

But amidst the chaos, a glimmer of hope pierced through the dust. Literally. The blasted ceiling above him revealed a tantalizing sliver of freedom.

"Well, looks like Lady Luck's finally throwing me a bone," he smirked, eyeing the gaping hole above. 

Clearly, someone out there had a bone to pick with the marquess—and Vyan wasn't about to let this golden opportunity go to waste.

With determination burning brighter than the rising sun, he clawed his way to the top, each broken stone a stepping stone toward vengeance.

As he emerged into the dawn's embrace, a vow whispered on his lips, "I had promised to become your knight in shining armor, my lady. But today, I am taking it back. Because from now on…"

His amber eyes changed colors, morphing into a lethal shade of red.

"I will be the villain of your life."