She was immediately reminded of the baby, so he frantically ran back. When she reached the baby's location, her fear surged as she saw his helper covered in blood, struck by two arrows in the chest and already dead. So she ran, not to fight the mysterious man, but to save Maximus.

The man's real goal was to kill the baby.

He drew a piece of bowstring from h quiver to shoot at the smiling baby who was staring at him. He stared at the baby before his fingers pulled the tail of the arrow. And he let go, saying "goodbye" in a slow tone.

But a shout erupted, "Nooo!" It was Maviel who was hit in the chest. She was still brave and managed to stand up, step closer to the baby, and shield her own body for her son's life.

The man was about to draw a second arrow but stopped and stepped back because the soldiers had arrived to capture and pursue the audacious enemy.

"Get him!" a soldier screamed. The man ran quickly when he saw the soldiers approaching. Xerxez suddenly cried out when he saw the people in chaos. He immediately worried about his wife and child, especially since he had been feeling anxious for a while.

At that moment, he was having many bad thoughts, and he had a hunch that something bad had happened to his wife and child. So he ran as fast as he could to find the place where he had left his wife. Because of his speed, he collided with a man who was also in a hurry. He didn't know him, but he recognized him as an enemy because he was being chased by his soldiers.

"Kill him! Don't let him escape!" the soldier shouted. Xerxez grabbed the man's hand and looked ahead, where he saw his wife lying on the ground.

He was stunned by what he saw but only came to his senses when he felt his right hand being shaken as the man tried to break free from his grasp. He also felt his left hand gripping his sword.

Xerxez now knew this was his enemy, so he summoned his strength to kill him, but the man escaped from his hand, so only his clothes were hit and torn into small pieces, so he was not hurt.

On the second swing, the man drew a sword and defended against Xerxez's anger. Xerxez moved a bit sluggishly, so he couldn't land a decisive blow on his opponent.

Xerxez tried to recognize the man, but he was elusive and moved too quickly when attacking. The man suddenly kicked Xerxez, causing him to fall to the ground. Because of that, the opponent had a chance to escape.

He threw a smoke bomb, and thick smoke filled the air until he completely escaped without them ever recognizing who he was. Xerxez could do nothing but sob in anger.

"You'll pay!" he sat on the ground for a moment. And then he quickly stood up when he remembered his wife. "My wife!" He ran as fast as he could. Her breathing was ragged, and she was struggling to speak, but she was still fighting. The arrow had poison, so it was unlikely that Maviel would survive.

"No!" he cried.

"My dear Xerxez, the children, please, don't... don't... neglect them... Promise me..."

"Don't talk like that... you'll live... just fight!" Xerxez said, resting her body on his lap, his arm holding her head tightly. His palm was on Maviel's cheek. Both of them were in tears.

"I am happy, Xe-Xerxez," she said, touching his lips. "I will not forget your love." Those were the last words she said, but she tried to make them clear in Xerxez's mind and ears. After that, she was dead. Maviel was gone. His wife had disappeared but left behind a smile that even though it was painful, she still learned to smile. She only wanted to convey to Xerxez that even though she was gone, she hoped he would learn to smile despite the trials.

Xerxez screamed in sadness and grief. "Maviel!" The tears flowed even more profusely, and he desperately shook Maviel's body. "Wake up, Maviel! You can't die!" Xerxez cried and wept bitterly over her passing. Tears flooded his eyes because he could not accept what had happened. Because of the intense pain in his heart, he was almost going crazy at that moment.

He was helpless, restless, and didn't know where to get the strength. He almost pulled his own hair in anger. He just embraced his wife, while feeling the desire to get revenge on the man who had killed his wife.

In that moment, he found the torn piece of cloth again. He only remembered now that he had picked it up when their enemy escaped. He only now saw that there was an image on the torn cloth. It looked like an eagle if it were complete, but he only had half of the drawing. So a question came to his mind.

"Who is behind this? Who was that mysterious man? And why did he kill my wife?"

Because of his anger, he clenched the torn cloth tightly in his hand. And then, his attention returned to his wife. And there, his sadness began to pour out.

His wife was truly dead, but he still tried to convince himself that his wife would still live, even though whatever he did, Maviel would never come back to life.

Now, some kings arrived, but when King Driother saw his daughter in Xerxez's arms, lifeless, he wept deeply and could not accept the sight of Maviel's dead body. He crawled towards where Xerxez was. While Maviel's siblings were next to Xerxez, and everyone was crying over Maviel's fate.

"My daughter, Maviel," he called out. He could hardly breathe from the overwhelming sadness. "Who killed her, Xerxez?" he screamed in terror. "Why did you let the enemies kill her?" Because of what happened, he seemed to blame Xerxez for his daughter's death. But everyone knew it was not his fault.

A big question enveloped the entire kingdom: Who was that man? King Driother was angry at Xerxez because of his negligence, saying that if he had done his duty as a king, his daughter Maviel would not have died.

If Xerxez had thought of safety first, this sad tragedy would not have happened. These were the things Xerxez heard from the criticism of his fellow kings and from Driother, who blamed him.

The day, which was once filled with joy and happiness, turned into a mournful birthday. The music also changed to a sad melody. Because of a mysterious man, the lives of the people of Thallerion became complex. On the second day of mourning, Xerxez still stayed by his wife's side all night and day, not wanting to let go of her hand.

He still talked to Maviel even though she was dead, still thinking that his wife was alive and would not leave him. But he cried all night. He couldn't bring himself to eat or just forget everything. He loved his wife, but her time was running out and she was about to disappear. In a few days or nights, she would turn to ashes, and he would never see her again. Because of what he was doing, people thought Xerxez was losing his mind, and his spirit became fragile, very weak.

When the cremation was scheduled, he almost stopped everyone, but he could do nothing but sob and wallow in tears. The body was placed on a raft full of white roses and a soft pillow, accompanied by floating flames. The surroundings became bright that night, so they could all see everything clearly. Everyone was also a witness to Xerxez's feelings for his wife's passing.

After a few hours, they let the water embrace the raft to carry it far away along with the floating objects with fire. The waves also hit sadly, and even the wind was cold and seemed reluctant to be felt. Now, the blazing fire attached to the arrow that had just been lit was aimed, and with a few pulls of the tail of the hand, it would flare up, but with a heavy sigh from the soldier that simply signified a—goodbye.

"What's the point of my life if all of you leave me?" Xerxez said to himself while looking at the pictures of his wives. These were paintings he made during the times he wanted to be alone and comfort himself by painting. He loved to draw things on large canvases. Often, he painted the faces of his loved ones. He comforted himself by visiting that room every day, where he kept all the beautiful paintings he had made.

Sometimes when he went to that room, he held a bottle of wine. He drank repeatedly just to forget the complex past, but it always came back whenever he thought about what happened again. And when the wine was gone, he would be quiet in the room and stay there weeping, and sometimes he would fall asleep there. His strength disappeared, and even his voice became silent, like the voice of mourning. He became weak from the overwhelming noise of anger and emotional turmoil.

All the moments that traveled through Xerxez's life became dull, he lost hope due to despair. He forgot everything, as if he had gone mad and was obsessed with ending his life for the reason that no one would make him happy anymore, his heart was shattered because of the harshness and stinginess of happiness in his life. Even if there was happiness, it would only last for a moment and then disappear, like a rose picked and placed in a vase, which at first is beautiful and fragrant, but it won't last long before it withers, and only the dry scent remains.

This is how Xerxez's happiness is compared, it will also wither like a horrible curse given to him. Unlucky in love, so to speak.

Pyramus was only six years old when the incident at the palace of Thallerion happened. And he witnessed how the mysterious man killed Maximus's mother, and when the people were in chaos, he saved the baby. Maviel was still alive when he took his sibling.

"Pyramus, don't neglect Maximus, please treat him as your brother," Maviel instructed. "You are Xerxez's eldest son, so I know you won't neglect your brother."

"Mama, are you going to leave us too?" Pyramus cried because he felt that Maximus's mother was in her final moments. "Even for the last time, he called her 'mama' because Maviel always told him to call her mama instead of her name.

"Pyramus, I finally heard a child's voice calling me mama." Maviel was sad and happy because what she had always dreamed of and longed for was for Maximus to speak and call her "mama." But unfortunately, she would never hear it again.

However, Pyramus fulfilled her wish. "Thank you." Maviel smiled and forced herself to kiss Pyramus and Maximus on the forehead.

Pyramus also witnessed that the man's real target was not Maviel but the baby, in the words the mysterious man said.

"What a waste, you're so beautiful! Why did you have to shield yourself for this child? You could have had more children! My apologies, I was just following orders. Oh, damn it, they're here!"

So Pyramus knew why Maviel was killed, not the child he saved. Pyramus temporarily took care of his sibling, with the help of their helpers, so he didn't have a hard time taking care of him. Maximus was not a crybaby but was always cheerful and happy. Sometimes, they would visit their father's room, but only silence would greet them. Xerxez was dazed and out of his mind, so they would just sit by his side to make their father feel that they were there, and sometimes, he would talk to their father even though there was no voice answering.

One night, while the surroundings were quiet and somber, Xerxez went to the seashore where his wives' bodies were carried away. His steps were slow and clumsy, he was a bit drunk because he had been drinking alcohol non-stop, he had almost finished all the stored wine from all the drinking. As he went to the seashore, all he could think of was anger, sadness, and grief, and there was no energy or joy that dared to stop him from what he was feeling. His anger was screaming, his mind was talking, and even his heart seemed to have no beat, maybe it was tired of clinging to Xerxez's complex love.

"What is this curse on my life? Why is there no happiness?" he asked the ocean with tear-filled eyes. "Maybe you're angry at me, World? That's why my life is like this!" he shouted angrily.

In his mind, he was saying that he was worthless in this world, so why was he tormenting himself, if everything that came into his life was ugly. So it would be better for him to end his life so there would be no more suffering and emotional pain to endure. He was tired of the misery of his life.