The Diabolical

Tricks

Third Person PoV

Rose kept a downward gaze as she watched how her daughter tried to justify her act of leaving the palace without any proper guardian or protection.

“Kiera, I am disappointed in you. You know how important you are, yet you decided to disobey us. Even I am angry at your action. Perhaps I’ve been too lenient on you.” Kian continues to lecture his daughter while Rose sits there without saying anything.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?” Kian turned his attention to his wife. Rose shook her head no.

“I’m afraid if I decided to say what I truly feel, our daughter will hate me even more. I should let you handle this. Besides, Kiera doesn’t even listen to any of my words. What happened recently is the result of that.” Kiera kept her head low while her parents continued to bombard her with questions and sought an answer to why she left the palace ground.

“Well, aren’t you going to say anything?” Kiera shakes her head no.

“Do you want to know what will happen if Gisele doesn’t find you in time? You would have been kidnapped by someone who has been keeping an eye out for the kids in the alleyway. Do you know how lucky you are?” Kiera finally looks up to her father.

“What happened to my friends?“ Kiera turned to her parents and waited for their answer.

“What if I told you they were all kidnapped? What will you do?” Rose asked her daughter.

“We have to save them! They’re my friends!” Rose scoffed.

“We? Why would we bother to save your friends? Are they nobles who should I pay attention to?” Kiera couldn’t believe her ears.

“Just because they’re not nobles, that doesn’t mean my friends are worthless! They’re humans, and they made better friends than those stupid nobles who think they know everything about life! The only reason they decided to be friends is that I am a princess! The kids I met at the alley are different, and they are kind to me! We need to save them! Please! Mother! You’re the empress! Do something for my friends!” Kiera begged her mother, which made Kian smile.

“Kiera- you finally asked for something from your mother. It wasn’t that hard, was it?” Kiera kept her head low once again. Rose hummed.

“Well, at least you set aside your ego and finally asked something from me. Just to let you know, Gisele manages to save them before anything bad happens to them. Instead of hating the commander, why don’t you try to say thank you instead.” Rose raised her hand when the butler came into their office.

The butler nodded.

“You may leave now. But remember to never leave the palace without telling us. You should ask if you would like to go to the capital. Why would you even try to do something dangerous?” Kiera smiles a little before nodding her head at her father.

Rose sighed at her husband when their child left.

“You should spoil her rotten like that.” Kian waved his hands off before telling the butler to come inside.

“Greetings, your majesty, your highness.” The butler greeted before placing several files on the table.

“These were provided by the auction house owned by lady Calypso. Your majesty, I think you should see this.” Rose reached out for the files before reading the content. Her rage continues to grow as she continues to read

“What is the meaning of this? Human slavery?! Puppetmaster? What is all this? Find lady Calypso for me and tell her to explain the meaning of all of this.” The butler nodded before he went to find Calypso.

Kian took one of the files and read what the auction house managed to find for them. Kian sighed as he placed the file down.

“I thought we ended the warlock’s life at the last war. And the only person who I know that has the knowledge and power to create human puppets were that warlock. How could a dead person be able to be alive again? Don’t tell me he manages to find a disciple before his passing.” Rose pinched the bridge of her nose.

“This is not the news I was hoping for. Why can’t everything go as a plan as it should? If the puppet master is back, we have more problems to worry about. It was hard for us to deal with the puppet soldiers before. What if they start a rebellion against us? What will happen to us?” Kian sighed as she heard what his wife had just said.

Kian reached out for another file and read the content before showing his wife.

“Illegal fighting club? What? Do you want to participate and see if you’re still as strong as you were?” Kian smiled.

“I have never doubted my power even after we had Kiera. It's different when it comes to Gisele because that woman who knows kill me if she’s serious. I hate to admit it, but Gisele has this strength that no one could ever take advantage of.” Rose hummed.

“Why don’t you ask Gisele to accompany you to this place. Who knows, she might even participate together with you. Perhaps you two could take this opportunity to spar while investigating this place.” Kian smirk.

“Do you think I can focus on the investigation if I have to face Gisele in a spar? Even without her sword, Gisele is a walking weapon. Her fist could easily kill someone. I saw it happen before. I’m not even joking.” Rose chuckled.

“I’m sure he’s not that stupid to kill you-“ Kian gave his wife a look.

“Well, now that you mentioned it, I think she will kill you in a heartbeat. That woman doesn’t care about anyone’s background. If Gisele were given a chance to kill, she would do it with a smile.” Rose smiled.

“Calypso will join you guys so she can help keep an eye on you. Gisele seems to be attracted to Calypso. I’m sure she will listen to the courtesan.” Kian sighed.

“I’ll do my best.”

A FEW DAYS LATER

“What are you doing?” Gisele asked the princess who came into the knight's training ground.

“I’m the princess. You should show some respect to me!” Gisele raised an eyebrow before telling the princess to find somewhere far from the training field and take a seat.

“If you want to keep your head attached, please stay away from the field.” Kiera, we’re surprised by how rude Gisele is to her.

“Aren’t you afraid that my parents will hurt you?” Gisele laughed.

“Oh, I wish they would fire me from this job, but not everyone can have anything they wish, right? What are you even doing here? Do you want to train? I thought you wanted to learn ballet.” Kiera blushed.

“I’m here to observe how good you are using the sword. Everyone seems to be afraid of you, and I want to know why.” Gisele sighed.

“Why would anyone be afraid of me? I’m not the one waving war here and there like certain someone.” Kiera was surprised yet again.

“How dare you speak I’ll of my mother! Don’t you know it’s a crime to say such things about the empress? You could be beheaded!” Gisele laughed once again.

“I would like to see that woman try to kill me. If she can, that is.” Gisele waved it off before turning her attention to the knights currently doing their routine practice.

“Grip your damn sword properly. One simple mistake could cost your life. Don’t you want to live?” Gisele said before smacking the back of the knight as hard as she could.

Kiera was taken aback by how hard the hit sounded.

“Is she allowed to treat the imperial knights like that?” Kiera asked her maid.

“Your highness, Damn, Gisele is the new commander of the imperial knights. I’m guessing she allows to do anything she wants to the knights. After all, a war is coming, and she needs to prepare the knights for the worse.” Kiera sighed. The princess decided to take a seat and watched as Gisele continued to train the knights.

“I’ve never seen the knights being so docile. Normally they would laze around and only greet the nobles when they had to. Will that rough woman be able to change them to a proper knight?” The maid shrugged.

“Damn, Gisele had achieved many things before becoming the commander of the imperial knights. I’m not sure if you know this, but Damn, Gisele is the first human who slew a dragon. Even the prince couldn’t win against her.” Kiera gasped.

“Someone managed to defeat my father in a spat?! How is that possible? My father is the strongest man in Goterra! How could a woman like her best my father?” The maid chuckled at how shocked the princess was.

“Who knows, your highness. The only person who does is your father. I was lucky enough to witness the spar. They didn’t use any weapon, just their bare hands. Believe it or not, Damn Gisele manages to catch the prince’s fury punch with ease. To this day, no one could match.” Kiera’s attention we’re drawn towards the field once again when she heard an agonizing scream coming from one of the knights.

“You have no right to treat us like slaves! We will never recognize you as our commander! You killed our commander with your cold hands! You should be in jail for the crime you’ve committed!” Kiera stood up from her seat when Gisele raised the back of her hand and slapped the knight who talked back to her.

“You were saying? Why would you care for someone dead? Yes, I did kill your former commander. So what are you going to do about it? Don’t tell me that you hate me because I force you to do your job! What’s the point of being a knight if you continue to dishonor our great reputation?” Gisele sighed before she looked around.

“I have never seen a group of useless soldiers in my life. How am I supposed to fix this?” Gisele sighed.

“Your highness, it’s time for us to leave. It’s almost time for your lesson.” Kiera sighed.

“Do you think that woman is normal?” The maid smiled.

“Dame Gisele can be quite a handful, but her strength is no joke. That’s why I’m relying on her to be safe. There seems to be some reassurance when the Dame is around.” Kiera hummed.

“Did my mother take her in after being degraded?” The maid nodded.

“Why would the empress decide to help her after the crime she did? Just because of her strength? If she killed the former commander, she should be in jail!” The maid placed a hand on the princess’s shoulder.

“I understand your concern, your highness, but it’s best to keep your curiosity to a minimum.” Kiera’s attention once again was interrupted by the sound of someone screaming.

“This is not torture but a way to educate you guys,” Gisele said before she continued to hit the knights who showed any resentment towards her.

“Don’t touch me! Don’t you know who my father is?!” Gisele scoffed.

“Do I look like someone who cares? No.” Kiera was astounded.

“Kiera? What are you doing here? Please don’t say you’re playing a trick on Gisele again. Didn’t I warn you to stop?” Kiera stood up from her seat before greeting her father.

“I’m here to see for myself of that evil woman who could make anyone cry. Is she all that or just a rumor?” Kian laughed before messing up with his princess's hair.

“You shouldn’t be that daring in the first place. Is it right for me to sit here with you? Kiera nodded.

“Are you still angry with your mother?” Kiera nodded.

“You shouldn’t be, Kiera. Your mother loves you like I am. And your mother was the one who carried you for nine months. I promise your mother is trying her hardest, but it will take time.” Kiera sighed.

“I know, dad.” Kian smiled.

“You’re nice, kid, do you know that?”

“I do.“