There are times—many, many times—when you feel that uncontrollable urge to kill someone.
And for Kaya, this... this was exactly that moment.
"Repeat what you just said?"
Right beside her stood her unwanted, unnecessarily useless husband.
Not hers anymore, fortunetly and apparently.
Because he turned to Meera—her own sister—and with the dumbest smirk said,
"I can never marry a barbarian like you. The one I..."
’I like is Meera....blah blah, again that nonsense’ Kaya stared, completely speechless and expectant given she knew her sister was trying to scores some points on him.
But who knrw this idiot would really fall for a pig nosed woman.
But leave Kaya.
Kaya—who was a second-in-command military official.
Kaya—who fought day and night at the borders so that the people of her country could live in peace.
Kaya—who carried scars on her body like medals.
And now she get to hear herself being called a barbarian.
By this useless piece of a husband who might dnap if she even were to sneeze.
"You..." Kaya gritted her teeth so hard it sounded like bones cracking. A vein popped at her temple, her eyes practically glowing with rage—she looked ready to kill.
But then—just then—she felt a sharp sting in her head. Her body swayed slightly, her balance slipping.
What the hell?
She blinked fast, trying to hold herself steady.
And that bitch—yes, Meera—opened her fake-sweet mouth.
"Oh, sis! Are you feeling dizzy?" she cooed, her voice oozing fake concern with that familiar pinch of sarcasm.
Then she pretended like something just hit her. A little gasp escaped her mouth .
A little hand-on-mouth drama.
And comes the so called ancient line.
"Oh! Silly me, I forgot to tell you," she said, lips curling into a scheming smile. "The crown you’re wearing today?..."
" It’s laced with poison. Enough to kill a bunch of elephants. So..."
She shrugged.
"Sorry sissy".
Kaya slowly raised her head.
Eyes closed.
Took one long, deep breath.
Seriously, isn’t this the same clichéd plot that happens in those second-rated romance novels? And according to that, I might be the villainess, right?
And they might be the hero and heroine. But wait a minute, so they want me to die and then live a happy life together with my money, my properties, and on my corpse.
Ha!
Then she looked down, lifted the edge of her gray suit overcoat, and from the holster strapped to her waist—yes, she was always ready—she pulled out her gun.
Without missing a beat.
BANG.
Before anyone could react, Meera dropped.
Dead.
A clean bullet hole right in the center of her perfectly powdered forehead. Her eyes were still wide open in shock.
Her so-called husband gasped like a fish out of water.
"Y-you..."
He fell on ground looking at kaya like seeing a monster
"...killed your sister?! ...How could y..o..—"
BANG.
Second bullet.
Same spot.
He dropped like a puppet whose strings got cut.
"Barbarian, huh?" Kaya muttered with a scoff, looking down at their corpses. "Then let me show you just what kind of barbarian I really am."
She turned around, her expression calm now, cold as stone. But just as she took a step, her knees wobbled again. That dizziness was back.
She staggered slightly—and then she remembered.
Her captain’s voice. Echoing from earlier.
"Just eat a few snakes, Kaya. It’ll strengthen you. No poison in the world would be able to touch you after that."
And what did she do?
Ran off.
Gagging. Screaming.
"I’d never eat those slimy bastards!"
And now look at her.
"If I survive this," Kaya muttered through gritted teeth, "the first thing I’m doing is eating every damn snake in this country."
Plop.
She collapsed right there on the floor. Staring up at the ceiling of the house she bought with her own money. A house she had gifted that cheating, useless bastard.
"Damn it... Am I... really gonna die in this cursed place...?"
And with that, everything went black.
Chirp. Chirp.
"Ouch...
"... my head."
Kaya slowly opened her eyes, expecting the ugly ceiling of that cursed house—but instead, she saw sky. Not fully open, though—thick leaves and vines dangled above her, swaying gently.
"What the hell...?"
She sat up, wincing. Around her were towering trees, their trunks old and twisted, roots thick like snakes. The air was damp, earthy, and smelled like something ancient. Birds chirped. Leaves rustled. Everything felt untouched, wild.
"My gun..?"
She patted her waist.
Gun—
Sigh
still there.
Good.
Looking around, all she saw was forest. Deep, dark, and definitely not modern.
Even though Kaya always knew her sister was a greedy, mindless, spineless little bitch, she honestly didn’t think Meera would be dumb enough to hand her fake poison. Yet here she was—alive, very much breathing, with nothing but a mild headache tapping at her skull.
And that idiot said it could knock out a bunch of elephants?
Hah.
Kaya snorted to herself. It couldn’t even knock out one pissed-off woman in heels.
But now that the rage was cooling off, another problem smacked her right in the face.
Where the hell was she?
Kaya had lived her whole life in the city. Sure, it wasn’t some glitzy paradise like the United States or anything, but it was a real city—proper streets, neat farms, tiny patches of forests. A couple of trees here and there, maybe two acres of woods if someone really wanted to brag.
But this?
This wasn’t just a few trees.
This forest was old. Wild. Thick enough to choke out sunlight.
It felt... wrong.
And not the kind of wrong Kaya could punch her way out of.
A slow, cold unease curled up her spine. Kaya had stormed through plenty of forests during her military days—tracking spies, busting enemy camps, dragging traitors out by their collars. She knew the rhythm of normal woods: birds chirping, leaves rustling, the occasional snap of a twig.
Here?
Nothing.
Not a chirp. Not a breeze. Not even a damn mosquito.
It was the kind of silence that screamed trouble—the kind of silence that came right before something ugly broke loose.
Kaya gripped her gun tighter, scanning the endless green around her.
With her eyes wide open, she carefully examined her surroundings.
As Kaya moved through the dense forest, her foot suddenly slipped on a hidden root, making her stumble forward. She caught herself quickly, cursing under her breath.
They could have at least warned her before throwing her into the wild like this. Maybe then she could’ve worn something better suited for the terrain.