Chapter 7

***Serafina's POV***

How Cressida looked at me brought an unexplainable fear into my entire system. I was about to step back when she held my arms firmly.

"Stay still, Lady Serafina. I need to clean your wounds,"

I could feel my heart beating hard against my chest, but I remained close to her, just like she wanted. I silently watched her as she took out an oil from her pocket. The bottle seemed familiar, but she was already putting some oil on my wounded cheeks before I could react.

"I wonder what will happen if I put a scar on this pretty face of yours?" she asked, smiling while looking at me directly.

I immediately pushed her away, but it was already too late. My wound started to sting, making me even more scared. I can't be a Queen if I have a scar. If she put acid on my wound, there is a possibility that it might leave a scar, just like what happened to her hand.

"What did you do, Cressida?!"

I started wiping the oil off of my face while tears fell uncontrollably from my eyes. Tears started to blur my vision, but I could tell that she was smiling while watching me suffer. I had no idea she could be this evil.

"What's happening here?"

When I heard his thunderous voice, I immediately turned my head on my door, and there I saw him standing while shifting his gaze on me and Cressida.

After a while, Maximus, with some palace guard, entered my room as well. They are looking at me, filled with confusion.

"Cressida wants to scar my face!" I complained and pointed at Cressida. I can no longer think straight. All I want is to reveal her evil plan. I want her to know her place. She has to pay for what she did to me.

Cressida kneeled on the floor, clasped her hands, and started begging while tears were falling from her eyes. She looks entirely different from how she acted earlier. The proud Cressida earlier was replaced by a weak and pitiful facade.

"What did she do, Serafina?" King Calixto asked, his tone demanding an answer, so I directed my gaze on him.

I wiped the tears that blurred my vision and looked at him bravely. "That woman put acid on my face. She wants to put a scar on my face,"

I saw his jaw tightened. He looks mad now, probably because I am accusing his lover.

"Are you telling the truth?"

He doesn't need to voice it out. Even though he did not say it directly on my face, his eyes say it all. He doesn't trust my words, and when he looked at Cressida, I knew he wouldn't take my side.

"I won't do that to Lady Serafina, King Calixto. I will never hurt your future Queen," Cressida uttered, tears falling from her eyes while looking at King Calixto.

She looks like the victim now, and I have become the villain. The way King Calixto's gaze softened while looking at Cressida made me feel defeated. She already manipulated him, so how can I compete?

When he started walking towards me, I could feel my heart beating abnormally out of fear. I should not be feeling this way. It should be Cressida who feels scared, so why does it look like I am the one who committed the crime?

King Calixto kneeled in front of me, held my chin, and looked at my eyes intently before they shifted to my wounded cheeks.

"Your wounds..." he paused and looked at my eyes once again, "it's healing,"

I held my cheeks, and he was right. It's already healed. I can no longer feel any sting. My cheeks felt soft without any trace of scar, making me a complete liar before his eyes.

Cressida did not put acid on my face. She was just trying to scare me.

"I told you, Lady Serafina. I will never hurt you," Cressida butted in, making me look at her.

She smiled like an evil for a split second before she shifted to her pitiful face again.

"Why did you lie, Serafina? Are you trying to kill an innocent servant?"

The words that he said felt like an acid being poured on me. I am lost for words, and all I can do now is let my tears fall, unable to defend myself.

"It must be out of fear, King Calixto. Lady Serafina might not have recovered yet from what she experienced in the forbidden forest-"

"And that's enough to justify what she did?! She almost killed an innocent servant, Maximus!" he shouted, filled with rage, cutting Maximus' words.

Tears were falling uncontrollably from my eyes, and I could no longer look at him, so I bowed my head, but he held my face firmly, making me look at him.

"You will pay for what you did, Serafina. It would be best if you learned that a Queen should learn how to be careful with her words. You are meant to protect everyone in this kingdom, not kill them using your baseless accusation, do you understand?"

I was crying, so he tightened his hold, and I could feel his claws digging in on my cheeks. "Do you understand Serafina?!"

I nodded, filled with fear, and the moment he let go of my face, I felt blood dripping on my cheeks.

"Bring her to the dungeon. She will stay there for three days without any food or water. Anyone who tries to help her will be killed, do you understand?!"

The whole room fell silent. None of them dared to question his decision, not even Maximus.

"Do you have to do that, King Calixto? I am sure Lady Serafina already learned her lesson," Cressida interjected, filled with hideous sympathy.

"She almost killed you, Cressida," King Calixto responded, irritated while looking at Cressida. He probably hates that Cressida will let me walk away freely without paying for what I did.

In his eyes and ears, Cressida probably sounded like an innocent woman who wouldn't commit any sin, and I wondered if he really knew his mate.

"Can I talk to her first?"

King Calixto looks torn about whether he will give in, but later on, he does, willing to do everything his mate requests.

King Calixto stood up, but how he looked at Cressida, filled with worry, did not escape my eyes. He probably thinks that I will hurt his mate, but even if I want to strangle Cressida, I know I am aware that I should not act recklessly.

When everyone was gone, and only Cressida and I were left in the room, Cressida showed her true color.

I clenched my fist tightly when she stood up and walked towards me. I wanted to scratch her face when she squatted in front of me and held my chin, but I refused to become violent. Everyone sees me as the villain, and I can't make my image more worse.

"I think by now you know your place, Serafina," she held my chin and slightly lifted my face, making me look at her directly in the eyes. "You will be the future Queen of this Kingdom, but King Calixto is on my side, so don't provoke me. Stop looking at my mate with flirty gazes. King Calixto is mine Serafina so don't you even dream of claiming what's mine because you will never win against me,"