Third-person POV

Knowing very well that she had nowhere to turn or hide, Jella started to laugh. It wasn’t a normal laugh, not the kind that came from amusement or relief, but something broken and uneven that echoed through the hall in a way that made everyone around her uneasy. It came out sharp at first, then louder, then louder again, until it sounded almost painful, like something inside her had snapped and there was no way to put it back together.

The guards standing nearby exchanged glances, clearly unsure of what to do, while the reporters who had gathered didn’t dare interrupt, their cameras still pointed directly at her, capturing every second of the moment that was quickly turning into something no one had expected.

Jella didn’t stop. She kept laughing, her head tilting slightly as if she had lost all sense of control, her shoulders shaking as the sound carried on for far longer than it should have. It was the kind of laugh that made it obvious that whatever composure she had been holding onto before was gone, completely shattered in a way that could not be hidden anymore. Even the people who had once feared her authority now looked at her differently, like they were no longer looking at a queen but at someone who had fallen far from the position she once held so tightly.

After a while, the laughter slowed, though it didn’t fully stop. It lingered in her breath as she looked at Electra, her eyes slightly wild, her expression twisted in a way that didn’t quite match the calm she had tried to maintain earlier. When she finally spoke, her voice still carried traces of that broken laughter, like it was barely holding together.

"What else do you want me to say?" she asked, her tone sharp, almost challenging, as if she were daring Electra to push her further. "Is that what you want? Do you want me to admit it?"

She took a step forward, her gaze locked on Electra, and there was no attempt to hide anything anymore. Whatever fear she had felt before had turned into something else entirely, something bitter and unfiltered.

"Fine," she said, her voice rising slightly. "Yes. I killed him."

The words came out clearly, without hesitation, without regret, and the effect they had on the people around her was immediate. A quiet murmur spread through the crowd, shock and disbelief mixing together as the reality of what she had just said began to sink in, but Jella didn’t care. If anything, she looked almost relieved to finally say it out loud.

"I killed my husband," she continued, her tone growing more intense with each word. "The man who cheated on me, the man who brought his bastard child into my life and forced me to raise her as my own for twenty years."

Her lips curled slightly, not into a smile, but into something harsher, something filled with years of resentment that she was no longer trying to hide.

"And I don’t regret it," she added firmly. "Not for a single second."

Her voice didn’t waver. If anything, it grew stronger, more certain, like she was finally speaking her truth after holding it in for far too long.

"I would do it again," she went on, her eyes darkening as she spoke. "I would stab him over and over again and watch him bleed out with a smile on my face, and I would feel nothing but happiness while doing it."

Electra stood right in front of her, listening, watching, but saying nothing. Her expression didn’t change, her posture didn’t shift, and the silence she held made Jella’s words feel even louder, even heavier in the space between them. It was as if Electra were giving her all the room she needed to speak, to expose everything she had tried so hard to hide.

And Jella took that space without hesitation.

"It’s unfortunate," she continued, her voice dropping slightly, though the bitterness in it remained just as strong. "That servant girl... she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

She let out a small, humorless laugh, shaking her head slightly as if the memory of it didn’t bother her at all.

"I needed someone to take the fall," she said bluntly. "Someone to blame so that no one would ever look in my direction."

Her gaze flickered briefly, not with guilt, but with calculation, like she was explaining a plan she had been proud of.

"And she was the first person I saw," Jella added. "The easiest option."

There was no hesitation in her voice, no attempt to soften what she was saying. If anything, she sounded almost indifferent.

"I couldn’t risk her speaking later," she went on. "I couldn’t risk her telling anyone the truth."

Her lips pressed together for a brief moment before she continued, her tone as steady as ever.

"So I killed her too." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

The words fell into the silence like stones, loud and final.

"I made it look like she killed the king," Jella explained, her voice calm now, almost disturbingly so. "And then took her own life out of guilt."

She tilted her head slightly, as if considering something. "It would have been perfect," she said. "A perfect plan."

For a moment, there was a faint flicker of something like frustration in her eyes. "If it wasn’t for you," she added, her gaze snapping back to Electra with clear resentment.

Her expression twisted slightly, her composure cracking again as her emotions surged back up.

"If you didn’t suddenly decide to gain the ability to resurrect the dead," Jella spat, her voice rising again, "none of this would have come out."

The crowd around them had gone completely silent now. The reporters, the guards, and everyone who had been present were frozen in place, listening and watching, unable to look away as the queen continued to unravel in front of them.

Jella didn’t seem to notice, or maybe she didn’t care. She kept talking, her voice carrying all the anger she had held onto for years.

"I should have killed you a long time ago," she said, her eyes narrowing as she stared at Electra. "That was my biggest mistake."

Her jaw tightened as she spoke, the words coming out sharper now, more personal. "If I had just ended your life when I had the chance," she went on, "none of this would have happened."

Her voice grew colder, more bitter. "You ruined everything," Jella added. "My life, my plans... everything."

She let out a small breath, shaking her head again, like she was trying to make sense of it all. "Vale ruined my life the moment he brought you into it," she said. "And the fact that he refused to let me get rid of you... that was the beginning of everything going wrong."

It was almost like she had forgotten where she was, forgotten that she was surrounded by people, by cameras, by an entire kingdom that was watching this unfold in real time. Her words were raw, unfiltered, spilling out without restraint, and there was no one there to stop her.

Electra finally moved, a small shift as she straightened slightly, her gaze still fixed on Jella, but something in her expression had changed.

"I may not have my memories," she said slowly, "but I’m pretty sure you’ve done more than just kill my father."

Her tone was steady, but there was something beneath it, something sharper, something that hinted at the anger she wasn’t fully showing.

"And the servant," she added.

She paused briefly, her eyes not leaving Jella’s face. "And wishing I were dead."

She took a small step forward, closing the distance between them just slightly. "So since you’re already ruined," Electra continued, her voice even, "why don’t you just go ahead and confess to everything else?"

There was no mockery in her tone, no raised voice, just a suggestion that felt more like a challenge than anything else. Jella stared at her for a moment, her expression unreadable, before a dry laugh slipped past her lips. It wasn’t as frantic as before, but it still carried that same broken edge.

"You really want to hear everything?" she asked, her voice low now, almost amused.

Without waiting for an answer, she stepped closer to Electra, closing the space between them until they were standing face to face. The shift was subtle but intentional, and when she spoke again, her voice dropped even lower, quiet enough that only Electra could hear.

"At the very least," Jella said, her tone laced with something dark, something proud, "I made sure to teach you something valuable."

Her eyes locked on Electra’s, her expression steady now, no longer frantic but cold and deliberate.

"All those years," she continued softly, "I made sure you learned your place."

There was no hesitation in her voice, no sign of regret. "And whether you like it or not," she added, her lips curling slightly, "with or without your memories..."

She leaned in just slightly, her words landing heavily. "You will always remember me."

Her gaze didn’t waver. "As the one who painfully took away your innocence."