[BONUS]

"Father . . ."

At Evie's words, Ren stared at her in shock before he flicked his attention to the man again.

"Mr. Frizkiel. I have honored the laws and rules of this country. It was time you honor yours," Ragnar said in a formal voice.

Frizkiel? Ren rummaged his memory about that familiar name. And when he did, he bit back a gasp because if he was right, it was an old aristocratic family who ruled an entire island, an entire country named Frizkiel in the far north.

Then that meant that . . . Ren whipped his eyes at Evie, and the latter was seriously looking at her father, never meeting his eyes.

Was Evie royalty?

Marcus Frizkiel raised his hand, and all the men lowered their weapons and stood guard at the side.

Without acknowledging Ren's presence like he was invisible, he addressed Evie and said with a commanding tone, "It's time to go home, Evangeline. You have been gone long enough.

Evie's hands fisted beside her. "I won't. I finally have a solution to our problem, father. I promise I can pay the debt. Just give me more time."

Instead of getting angry, Marcus shook his head wryly. "It's too late . . . you have already been found. Unless you want that man to come for you and kill that man beside you, I suggested you come with me now."

Evie trembled from where she stood. Just the thought of Ren getting hurt made her weak on her knees.

Evie looked up at Ren with tears in her eyes, and the latter met her gaze with confusion.

Evie opened her mouth, but no words were spoken except ". . . I'm sorry." Her voice broke, and she buried her face into his chest.

"I love you," she whispered before she pulled away and walked towards her father.

"Evie!" Ren reached for her hand to pull her back, but the guards were quick to point their guns at his head.

"Stop!" Evie commanded with a powerful voice that made the guards heed her orders and put their guns down.

Ren only felt that the voice was foreign to him. The lethargic tone he loved seemed so distant all of a sudden.

"I'm so sorry, Ren . . . ," Evie said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "It's best if you forget about me."

With each whispered word . . . a piece of Ren's heart broke. Then she walked away, his happiness in her pocket.

What did she mean to forget about her? After what had happened with them and after he finally had a goal again in the form of her?

Like hell, he would just let her go!

"Evie!" Ren attempted to stop her from going out through his doors. But against twelve strong men with lethal combat experience, he was bound to lose.

Ren managed to bring down four before the men restricted him on the floor. No longer was he on his feet. Instead, Ren was curled on the floor, his mind devoid of anything as Evie totally disappeared from his sight.

Ren's thoughts then fell into an endlessly repeating loop.

Why? Why leave? Why? Why leave?

Ren couldn't understand what was going on. He was confused, worried, and hurt that Evie chose to leave him rather than stay with him.

His strength left him, and he slumped weakly on the floor.

"Let go of him," Ragnar said. "You've got what you want. Leave. Now."

The guards were quick on their feet and immediately left while Ren was kneeling on the ground, shocked and confused at what happened.

When it was only Ren and Ragnar left, the latter gripped Ren's shoulder.

The force from Ragnar's palm jolted Ren into the present. Anger surged forth, and he wrestled Ragnar onto the ground.

"You! You led them here, didn't you?! There's no way that they could enter here if it wasn't for you!"

A blow connected on Ragnar's right face, and blood busted on his lips.

Ragnar wouldn't just lay there and let Ren punch him. Equipped with the knowledge to protect himself, Ragnar effortlessly kicked Ren away from him, and the latter directly smacked against the wall and broke some frames in the process.

"I had no choice!" Ragnar thundered. "There are laws and rules in our country that I must follow. If I hadn't let them in, then you'll be in trouble. They would charge you with kidnapping. And kidnapping a royalty means death. I don't think either you or Evie have wanted that."

At the mention of Evie, Ren's calm returned to him. He wiped the blood from his nose and glared at Ragnar.

Ragnar only stared down at Ren and explained, "Her real name is Evangeline Rozenheim Frizkiel. The only daughter of Marcus Frizkiel, one of the remaining few blue bloods in this world. Though their country is now a republican, and they lost all power they had before, it didn't change the fact that they are still royalties."

"Then what the hell do they want Evie for?!" Ren roared in frustration. Evie's role as a monarch should have ended the moment the country had become a republican. She was free.

Or if not, so what if she was a princess? It didn't change anything. He still wanted to be with her till the end.

"Listen to me first. Many years ago, when Frizkiel was still ruled by monarchy, Marcus's brother, the previous king, had amassed a very huge debt. He then disappeared one day with this huge amount of money and never to be seen again.

"The people revolted, and the monarchy was tossed to the side as a result. But until this day, that huge debt didn't lessen and only piled up because of the interest. The kingdom of Cole, from where they borrowed money, wanted Frizkiel Kingdom as payment together with Evangeline's hand, or they would take their money back by force.

"Cole being a much larger kingdom and much richer in resources, would surely dominate the war if ever. The people knew that. And between war, death, and famine versus the promise to become another country under the leadership of the Cole, a promise of all debt abolished and a promised of a better life, Frizkiel knew where the advantage lays, and so an agreement was drafted.

"The payment was the kingdom of Frizkiel, and Evangeline married to the firstborn son of the king, Lamir Cole."