On the battlements, Jessica Stewart gripped a dagger tightly, her eyes fixed on Jeremy Portman as he advanced step by step. "Jeremy, can't you spare them? They're my family."

Not a flicker of softness crossed Jeremy's face. "They're my enemies."

Jessica let out a bitter laugh. "Oh, Jeremy, how foolish of me to think you'd ever let them go. I always believed you had no emotional ties to them, that I was the one closest to your heart!" Jeremy's expression remained unyielding.

Jessica sighed, a hint of sadness creeping into her voice. "Yes, they've treated me poorly, even trying to marry me off to some old man beyond the borders. But at the end of the day, they're still my blood."

"Are they more important to you than I am?" Jeremy's face shifted slightly, but Jessica, standing atop the wall, couldn't see the change.

She shook her head. "I can't compare you to them, Jeremy. They hold no weight in my heart. But if you kill them, you become my enemies. I was always the princess of Unikon."

"You're not just a princess; you're my Jessica!" Jeremy shot back, his voice firm.

"Jeremy, how much better it would have been if we had never met," Jessica lamented, wishing their paths had never crossed, sparing her this pain.

Jeremy's expression darkened.

"Jessica, I'm giving you one chance. Either you come with me and watch them die, or you and I will have nothing to do with each other for the rest of our lives." His tone left no room for negotiation.

Tears streamed down Jessica's face, each drop a testament to the impossible choice before her.

No matter which path she chose, she would suffer for it.

Her life had been filled with hardship, and Jeremy had been her sole source of sweetness amidst the bitterness.

But now, that sweetness had turned sour.

In a moment of despair, Jessica plunged the dagger into her own flesh, the pain sharp yet somehow distant.

Jeremy watched as her blood dripped from the blade, his heart sinking as he saw her body begin to fall backward. He rushed forward, leaping off the wall to catch her, landing safely with Jessica cradled in his arms.

The first time Jeremy had met Jessica, he was five years old, and she was eight. He had been sent to Unikon as a hostage from Kinston while she was the overlooked princess of Unikon.

When he first arrived, he missed his mother terribly and hid beneath a rock formation, crying. Jessica had happened upon him, offering him candy from her pocket, her gentle voice coaxing him, "Don't cry; I've got some sweets for you."

At that moment, Jessica had been like a little sun, warming his entire world.

Fifteen years passed in Unikon, and Jeremy was no longer just Kinston's hostage; he had become a true slave of the fallen kingdom.

A decade ago, when Unikon conquered Kinston, he became a servant in the royal palace. No one would have guessed that this timid, soft-spoken servant would one day rise up.

When the army stormed the capital, he sat languidly on the throne, his eyes gloomy and cold, and simply uttered one word, "Kill!"

Because of his past, he was determined to eradicate all threats. He wouldn't allow anyone the chance to rise again. For a full day and night, the slaughter raged on, the palace awash in blood. Not a single soul was spared, from the masters to the servants, except for Jessica.

He never intended to harm her. The moment she turned the dagger on herself, he gambled everything on her survival. If she lived, she would belong to him alone, severed from Unikon forever. After all, she had always been merely a pawn of the king of Unikon.

When Jeremy led his army back to Kinston, the palace of Unikon had already become a blood-soaked ghost town.

Jessica was drifting in and out of consciousness, only able to hear the screams of battle and the cries of the wounded. She couldn't open her eyes, unable to see the devastation around her. The pain was the only sensation she could grasp.

By the time she came to, she found herself in the palace of Kinston, a place that seemed even more opulent than Unikon's had ever been.

Having come back from the brink of death, she cherished life with a newfound intensity.

When she saw Jeremy again, he had ascended to the throne as the king of Kinston while she had become a relic of a fallen nation.

Jessica found herself momentarily at a loss for words. Should she express her hatred? Deep down, she felt she didn't have that right. After all, it was her father who had broken the agreement between their kingdoms, annihilating his nation and even ordering him to be castrated. They had committed unspeakable crimes against him first, so what right did she have to claim hatred?

"Jessica, do you love me?" Jeremy asked, his voice steady.

"Can we even talk about love anymore? My father destroyed your entire family, and now you're wiping out mine. How can we still speak of love?" Jessica avoided answering his question directly, her heart heavy.

"If we stripped away all of this, if it were just you and me, would you still love me?" Jeremy pressed on.

Jessica managed a faint smile, but the weight of their shared history hung heavily in the air. How could she pretend that everything that had happened was erased?

Jeremy's heart sank as he waited in vain for the words he longed to hear.

"On the day after tomorrow, we're getting married!" After a long pause, he dropped the bombshell and turned to leave.

It took Jessica a moment to process his words. "Married?"

But the only response she received was the echo of her own voice in the empty room.

Two days later, she donned the wedding gown that Jeremy had sent her. Deep down, she still loved him, even if his hands were stained with her family's blood. In the end, she chose to wear the dress for him.

As she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, she couldn't help but think that perhaps no one in the world was as heartless as she was.

Yet, despite her seemingly unfeeling exterior, she hadn't achieved her dreams. The wedding she had yearned for was not hers; she was merely another concubine he was taking into his palace on the same day he married someone else.

That night, but she found herself sitting alone before a pair of flickering red candles, waiting for dawn to break. That night felt unbearably long, and the dancing flames seemed to weep with blood.

The following day, she changed back into her usual clothes and made her way to the Peace Palace to pay her respects. After all, the king had just married, and she was expected to greet the queen.

However, when she arrived at the Peace Palace and laid eyes on the woman seated high above, Jessica froze. She had never imagined she would encounter a familiar face again.

The queen, the mistress of the Peace Palace, was none other than her former maid, Cate Blanchett.

No one could fathom the bitterness swirling within her as she knelt before the queen, forcing a smile. "Your Majesty, I pay my respects and wish you long-lasting happiness."

Now, she had lost everything—her kingdom, her family, her lover, and even her dignity.

Cate, lounging in her royal seat, finally spoke after a long pause, "You may rise." Her demeanor mirrored that of the once-mighty queen of Unikon, and Jessica felt as if her life had spiraled into a cruel cycle of despair.

Jeremy was busy rebuilding the kingdom, leaving only Jessica and Cate in the harem. Cate was the queen, while Jessica remained a mere concubine without a specific title or rank.

Jessica spent the entire morning in the Peace Palace, and it wasn't until Cate dismissed her that she was allowed to leave.

Only when she returned to her own quarters did she dare to stretch her limbs. Sitting for so long had left her aching; ever since her injury, her body couldn't endure much.

After sipping some water, she lay down on her bed, utterly exhausted, planning to rest a bit before hunting for something to eat.

In this palace, she had to do everything herself; there was no one to serve her, and in her little courtyard, she was all alone.

Just as she was about to drift off, she heard footsteps—familiar footsteps. She quickly sprang out of bed.

When Jeremy entered the room, Jessica felt a rush of panic as she hurriedly adjusted her clothes.

Despite her fluster, she composed herself and knelt, performing the proper greeting.

In the palace of Kinston, Jessica felt like nothing more than a humble ant; her perspective drastically shifted. Suddenly, she understood the torment Jeremy, once a mere servant named "Jery" in Unikon's palace, must have endured.

Jeremy approached her, pulling her to her feet. "No need for such formality, Jessica," he said. His tone wasn't exactly warm, but it was a far cry from the coldness she'd grown used to.

This shift in demeanor made Jessica momentarily dazed, and she whispered, "Jery?"

The sound of that name struck Jeremy like a lightning bolt.

His face darkened, and with a sharp push, he sent Jessica stumbling. "Slap her!" he barked, his voice cold and commanding.

Logan Dent, Jeremy's head servant, stepped forward, grabbing Jessica by the collar and unleashing a flurry of slaps across her face.

The first strike made her cry out in pain, but after that, she clenched her teeth and endured, refusing to make another sound.

The only noise in the room was the sharp "smack" of his hand against her skin.

The more she held her silence, the angrier Jeremy became. He was curious to see just how long she could withstand the punishment. But ultimately, it was Jeremy who faltered first.

When he finally ordered Logan to stop, Jessica's face was swollen beyond recognition, blood and saliva mixing at the corners of her mouth, staining her clothes with dark, ugly splotches.

Jeremy looked at her in this pitiful state, wanting to say something, but in the end, he simply turned and left with Logan, the silence between them heavy with unspoken words.

Once she was alone, Jessica slowly crawled to the edge of the bed, too weak to climb up. Instead, she leaned against it, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. All she wanted was to see the sky outside.

Time slipped away as she sat there, her eyes locked on the ceiling, until exhaustion finally took over, and she drifted into a deep sleep.

The next day, when Cate noticed Jessica had not come to pay her respects, Cate sent a young maid to check on her.

Knowing Jessica well after years of service, Cate understood her temperament; if something hadn't happened, she wouldn't simply ignore her duties.

The maid returned quickly, her expression filled with concern. "Your Majesty, she… I don't know what's wrong with her. Her face is swollen, and she's just sitting there, staring at the ceiling. If I hadn't seen her eyelids flutter, I would have thought she was dead."

Cate listened, a long pause hanging in the air before she finally spoke, "Who can make sense of palace matters? Let her be. Just pretend you've never been there, and I haven't heard a word from you. Remember, in the palace, it's often best to keep things to yourself."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand," the maid replied, bowing her head.

After that day, Jeremy didn't step foot in the harem for a full week. When he finally returned to Jessica's room, he found her lifeless body slumped against the bed.

She was still wearing the same clothes from that day, though the bloodstains had long since dried.

"Jessica." His heart skipped a beat as he rushed to her side, carefully checking for a pulse. A wave of despair washed over him until, after what felt like an eternity, he finally detected a faint breath.

Quickly, he lifted her onto the bed and called to Logan, "Get a doctor—now!"

Doctors from the royal hospital were summoned one after another to Jessica's quarters, but they were all at a loss.

She had lost the ability to swallow, and there was nothing they could feed her.

The outcome was clear, and no one needed to say a word.

"Bring me a bowl of sugar water," Jeremy suddenly commanded.

Moments later, a servant entered, carrying a bowl of sugar water. Jeremy took it from her and coldly ordered, "Everyone out."

The room emptied in an instant.

He settled beside Jessica on the bed, taking a sip of the sugar water before setting the bowl aside. Gently, he lifted her up, pouring the sweet liquid into her mouth, using his own strength to coax her to swallow it.

By the time he finished feeding her the entire bowl, he was drenched in sweat.

He laid her back down softly, his fingers tracing the contours of her face, a mixture of tenderness and regret flooding through him.

Jeremy remembered how radiant she looked when she gave him candy, her face alight with joy. He recalled her desperate pleas, pulling palace maids along to beg a eunuch not to subject him to castration.

He remembered her haughty demeanor in public and the tender, gentle smiles she reserved for him in private. He could still see her eyes filled with love as she called him Jeremy and declared her affection, as well as the steely resolve on her face when she drove a knife into her own body.