After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

As the bells of happiness rang, the nuns' sacred songs drifted through the castle.

Crossing mountains and plains, sunshine and rain alternate, from the raging fires beneath the royal city to the blood of the spirits that stains the verdant mountains, from the repeated charges of the northern army to the displaced civilians.

No painting in the world can fill the full spectrum of life's joys and sorrows, nor can any book fully depict the good and evil of human nature. Yet, in this world, every moment of suffering is a silent lament, which eventually converges into the long river of time.

What's scary is that the world isn't that far away.

The starving people were separated from the brightly lit and extravagantly luxurious ducal mansion by only a wall; they were an objective reality that could be subjectively ignored.

And it is quite clear that their duke does not need their blessing.

As long as these refugees don't cause trouble, Dale doesn't really care; his wedding is about to begin.

Although some of the guests on the invitation list could only send their blessings by letter because of Luna, Dale still believed it was a perfect wedding.

As a duke, he was never short of women, and many of the noble ladies who were interested in him were also very outstanding.

But none of them can compare to Barbara.

Liking is an emotion that cannot be analyzed. Just like two actresses, if you only judge their appearance and figure based on posters, you will often get equally good reviews.

But even with the exact same plot, sorry, it's hard to come up with anything new for this type of film...

The difference in liking is precisely this: some actresses, no matter how beautiful, produce films that are utterly bland and uninteresting, making viewers want to fast-forward through them.

The rise of self-media has amplified these situations even further.

As it turns out, good looks and attractiveness are not always synonymous. Some bloggers are watchable as long as they don't pose provocatively, because that's really awful, and they're off-putting in every sense of the word.

Dale was lucky to meet Barbara when he was young. Only through her could Dale understand what it meant to be a woman, as if the opposite sex had to have this damnable attraction.

"There's only one woman in the world, and that's enough," Dale thought.

Lucas, atop the tower, was observing the wedding scene. The job was boring, and he had no idea what the specific tasks were.

So he spent most of his time observing Isolde, who was disguised as a nun and was currently freeloading.

While the priest prayed on the platform, Isolde was secretly eating below. Lucas felt that the great goddess was not very good at choosing messengers; at least he and Isolde had never successfully completed a single mission.

The bride and groom walked up to the altar and began exchanging vows. If one ignored the fact that this was Mrs. Barbara's second wedding, the ceremony was quite ceremonial.

Otherwise, the so-called unwavering commitment is just a joke.

Before the newlyweds exchanged rings, Lucas noticed that many guests were sneaking away, their expressions filled with shock, clearly having just learned the bride's identity.

"What's there to worry about? The king is nothing but an empty shell now."

Lucas pursed his lips. There were too many things to be sad about, so he didn't think there was anything wrong with the Queen's remarriage. After all, it was only temporary.

The two on stage kissed passionately, while Isolde, dressed in a nun's habit, clapped and looked up at the sky, seemingly waiting for something.

A faint light flashed from Isolde's sleeve. Upon receiving the signal, Lucas quickly put down his telescope, hastily repaired the damaged magic circle with powder, and then placed the magic stone.

May the goddess bless you.

The seemingly calm priest broke down a second after turning his back, nervously pulling out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his neck.

After hosting this wedding, his career prospects were bleak. He should just go back to his hometown; the political arena was too chaotic.

He strode off the stage, and a beautiful nun brushed past him.

The priest turned around in confusion and saw the unfamiliar young nun walking straight toward the Duke and his wife, who were cuddling together.

The melodious and sacred music still lingered in the courtyard, and the nobles put aside their recent troubles and began to relax and chat.

On the wedding stage, Isolde pulled a dagger from beneath her wide nun's robe, grabbed Barbara from Dale's arms, and slashed her chest.

Blood splattered across the pure white wedding dress, and screams of alarm rang out one after another.

Spitting out the fruit pit from his mouth, Isolde unfurled several magic circles in his hands. While Barbara was still breathing, drops of holy water flowed into Barbara's ever-expanding chest wound.

Dale's pupils trembled violently. He roared and almost instinctively lunged forward, trying to snatch Barbara from Isolde's grasp, but crashed into a sturdy magical shield.

"Soldiers, soldiers!"

Ignoring the commotion and the gathering elite soldiers, Isolde remained expressionless, continuing to gaze at the sky as she slowly extracted Barbara's dark red heart while using holy water to sustain her life.

So beautiful, the outlined blood patterns resemble a midnight rose.

A woman who has garnered countless loves and envy, a woman so exquisite that she overshadows those around her—her heart must be just as beautiful.

The original plan was that the fruit should not be picked too early, but Isolde would not doubt the orders she received.

Chaos erupted at the wedding. Just as Isolde was pondering how to escape, Lucas, wielding a blood-stained blade, killed the guards and broke down the wall separating the social classes.

The starving refugees had no time to care about nobles; all they could see at that moment was the endless delicious food at the wedding.

Normally they might have hesitated, but when Lucas rushed into the courtyard and beheaded a soldier with a sharp sword, a glint of life appeared in their eyes.

That's the survival instinct crushing the so-called rules, filling your stomach, filling your stomach... People live for food!

The riotous charge created even greater chaos; one footstep could incite hundreds, and hundreds of footsteps could incite thousands!

"They've rebelled! The common people have mutinied! Kill them all!"

The panicked nobles fled while ordering their soldiers to intercept the displaced people who were flooding the courtyard.

But the soldiers had no time to worry about that. They desperately tried to pull Dale away, but their duke was like a madman, punching the magic shield again and again until both his palms were covered in blood.

"Look, what's that!"

Another piercing scream, followed by the sound of something heavy falling to the ground.

Everyone peered into the distance and saw countless bloody corpses spewing from a towering building, seemingly threatening to engulf the entire city.

The soldiers swallowed hard, their pupils trembling violently, and they immediately knelt down, saying, "Duke, we...we have to leave here."

"Get out of here! Get out of here!"

The long-awaited happiness shattered in an instant. Overwhelmed with grief and anger, Dale once again swung his elbow, using brute force to break through the magic shield and pounce on Barbara's side.

Meanwhile, Lucas charged towards Isolde, who quickly removed Barbara's heart and jumped onto Lucas's back, narrowly avoiding the soldiers' thrusting spears.

Seeing that the mission was accomplished, Lucas didn't linger with the soldiers, who in turn needed to stay and protect the Duke.

With strength far exceeding that of ordinary soldiers, Lucas wielded his sword and led Isolde out of the encirclement, escaping unscathed.

"Can't you just open that passage and let us leave?"

Lucas, squeezed among the refugees, sighed. Even at this point, Isolde was still asking him to go to the tower.

"Stop complaining, I don't have that authority."

Finally breaking through the crowd, the volcanic eruption of corpses had flooded their feet. Isolde threw the dark red heart into the flesh and blood, tightly gripped Lucas's neck with her arm, and urged him on.

"Get out of here quickly, or it will be too late!"