Year 1796 – Kislaveyn Palace
Time was passing quickly within the dark walls of the Kislaveyn House. When Ricardo opened his eyes to his new life, his mother Seliarnevre was on guard day and night for his safety. He had started walking when he was only six months old, and by the time he was one year old, he was running around the wide stone corridors of the palace with childish joy. Those around him said that he had an extraordinary intelligence, and admired the fact that he could use many more words than his peers. However, intelligence and talent did not guarantee a child's survival in the Kislaveyn Palace. On the contrary, they made him the most dangerous prey.
In this palace, children only lived thanks to their mothers' intelligence and cunning. Depending on their mothers' genius, the males of the dynasty were either killed or continued their existence in the race for lordship. Because in the House of Kislaveyn, wives and concubines were in a relentless struggle to eliminate each other's children. This tradition had been going on for centuries; only the strongest and the most intelligent survived, while the weak were lost in bloody intrigues.
Ricardo's birth changed the balance in the palace. Born as the son of IV. Orsman, Ricardo managed to escape the clutches of death as a baby thanks to the sharp intelligence of his mother Seliarnevre. However, this would never mean a peaceful childhood for him.
Deadly Rival: Zelfhaya
Zelfhaya was the third wife of IV. Orsman and was known for her devilish intelligence in the House of Kislaveyn. She had killed the seven sons of IV. Orsman, but her assassinations were flawless and no one could find out who killed the children. She was a master of poison. If she set her mind on killing someone, instead of using an assassin, she would create elaborate plans like a spider's web for the assassination she would carry out, building her assassinations layer by layer. In order to kill Ricardo, the assassin would first give the poison to an assassin, after taking the poison, the butler would give the poison to the foreman, the foreman to the maid, the maid to another servant. No one would see anyone's face, they would not know who was who, they would only take the poison from the designated location. Zelfhaya had established this system after a long struggle. She would kidnap the maids who served the wives in the lord's harem and subject them to a long and painful series of torture and mind-washing tactics. she would brainwash them, so that the other wives wouldn't notice their servants missing, she would use bribed apprentices, apprentices were responsible for the servants, and if you could control them, you could easily cover up situations like servants disappearing, because why would a noble family care about a worthless, worthless, low-class person? The servants who went through Zelfhaya's long and painful brainwashing would obey Zelfhaya's every command without question. Zelfhaya had made many servants her servants and slaves since the day she first came to the Harem, and thus she got away with all the murders she committed. However, the mothers who wanted revenge could never find the real murderer and started living on edge .
But this time, Zelfhaya was not an ordinary woman in front of her. Seliarnevre had learned the game of life and death from the first day she entered the palace. She did not want her son to become a lord one day, but she had to ensure that he would survive at least until he was 14. Because according to the rules of Kislaveyn, when a boy turns 14, he could choose one of three options:
1. Stay in the house and enter the lordship struggle.
2. Leave the house and carve out his own destiny.
3. Stay in the house, renounce the inheritance and serve in a position.
Seliarnevre wanted to keep her son away from this bloody dynasty war. That's why she planned to send him away from the palace when he turned 14. However, Ricardo was still a baby and Zelfhaya was determined to kill him.
Poison and Revenge
Seliarnevre was not surprised when she realized that there was poison in Ricardo's milk. However, determining who did this was no ordinary task. The poison had passed through Zelfhaya's complex network and its traces had been erased. But Seliarnevre would find a solution thanks to her sharp intelligence and patience that had kept her alive for years .
Seliarnevre decided to pursue this matter together with his guard Richard Kislavein. After a long and patient process, they interrogated a servant they suspected, but during the interrogation, the servant showed no pain or fear. Seliarnevre, who was suspicious of the situation, shared his suspicions with Richard.
"Richard, I think this maid has been brainwashed"
Richard also suspected this situation and when he learned that Seliarnevre thought the same thing, he nodded in approval.
"I think so too, my lady. So what do we do? Only a High-level wizard can solve such a situation, but all the high-level wizards in the palace cannot help us even if we ask for a wizard directly in the lord's personal guard Legion. "
Seliarnevre began to smile when Richard's words were over. Richard couldn't make sense of them, but his curiosity wouldn't last long.
"Richard, believe it or not, there is a high-level wizard in front of you right now, even though it is not official"
Richard's mouth was open, he didn't know what to say, "Lady Seliarnevre is a high-level wizard" he thought
Seliarnevre used a spell that was a High-Grade spell and could cause permanent damage to the target's brain if used for a long time, but the target had already turned into an unthinking zombie, so Seliarnevre used the spell until she had all the information she needed and saw everything. She saw the tortures Zelfhaya and her subordinates did to the servants they kidnapped, the brainwashing methods, everything. Then Seliarnevre returned to Richard to end the suffering of the servant.
"Kill him but painlessly so that he feels nothing"
Richard carried out the order and killed the servant in one move, then turned to his master
"My lady, what should we do with this body"
Seliarnevre thought for a while then looked at Richard
""Take the body to his family if there is one and pay compensation to his family if there is no family, organize a funeral for him and then bury him in the cemetery"
Richard was surprised, he was waiting for an order from his master to destroy the body. Richard realized at that moment that Seliarnevre was not like the others and began to respect Seliarnevre. Seliarnevre shared the information he had obtained from the servant's memories with Richard. Richard went to where the servant took the poison and hid himself with his aura. After a long wait, late at night, when a servant was about to put the poison in his hand in a secret compartment, Richard took action and caught him.
"So my lord was telling the truth, if it had lasted a little longer I wouldn't have been able to use my aura any longer, well young lady you are coming with me"
This continued for a long time, Seliarnevre was casting a mind spell on the servants and sharing the information she obtained with Richard, Richard was catching other servants with the information he obtained, this continued for a long time until he found the real culprit, Zelfhaya
DAY OF JUDGMENT
Zelfhaya, as usual that night, was enjoying the feeling of victory as she drank her wine. She was certain that Ricardo would not live long. But what she did not know was that Seliarnevre had turned her own poison game against her .
The person who appeared to be Zelfhaya's butler was actually Seliarnevre's most loyal man. Seliarnevre had kidnapped the butler, cut off his facial skin, put it on his own butler, and filled the gaps with magic. When the butler offered Zelfhaya his wine, the wine was already filled with deadly poison. When Zelfhaya took her first sip, she first felt slightly dizzy. Then a sharp pain stabbed into her chest. She dug her nails into the table, her breath began to falter. A low, hoarse scream rose from her throat. She panicked and tried to call for help, but her vocal cords were no longer obeying her.
As his eyes stared blankly at the candlelit walls of the palace, he saw Seliarnevre in front of him. Seliarnevre leaned forward slightly, looked into his eyes and whispered:
"You killed seven children, Zelfhaya. Now it's your turn."
Zelfhaya's lifeless body fell next to the large fireplace. With her death, her three sons became the targets of vengeful mothers. All were killed in horrific ways.
The Road to the Future
Zelfhaya's death had removed the greatest danger in Ricardo's life. Now Seliarnevre could raise her son in peace for at least a few more years. But the danger would never end in this palace. Because in the House of Kislaveyn, there was only one truth:
The strong lived, the weak died.