Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]

Chapter 389: Only One

Third-person POV

Jella stared at Electra for several seconds after hearing her words.

The statement had been delivered so casually that it almost didn’t register at first, but once the meaning settled in, her eyes narrowed slightly. The fear that had filled her earlier was still there, sitting heavily in her chest, yet something else slowly began to mix with it—anger. Pride had always been one of the strongest parts of Jella’s personality, and being forced to hide behind curtains like a frightened child had already wounded that pride deeply.

Now Electra stood in front of her, calm and unmoved, as if the situation meant nothing at all.

"What are you going to do now?" Jella asked finally, her voice tight with frustration. She crossed her arms defensively, trying to gather whatever dignity she had left after the humiliating way Electra had found her hiding. "If you came here to kill me, then just do it already. There’s no need to waste both our time."

Electra did not answer right away. She simply looked at Jella, her expression quiet and thoughtful in a way that almost made Jella more uncomfortable than anger would have. Slowly, Electra shook her head, the small movement calm and deliberate.

In that moment, something finally clicked in her mind.

Standing there, watching Jella panic and lash out with threats, Electra suddenly understood why her grandfather had taken her memories away in the first place. The hatred between them was obvious even without the past to explain it. She could feel it like a faint echo in her chest, something sharp and restless that had guided her all the way here without her even realizing why.

If the anger she felt now existed without memories, she could only imagine how strong it must have been when she still remembered everything, and if she had remembered all the pain Jella had caused her over the years, Electra knew exactly how this night would have ended.

Jella would already be dead.

That realization settled heavily in her thoughts, but strangely, it did not upset her. If anything, it confirmed what her grandfather had said fully. He had erased her memories because he knew what she might become if those emotions were left unchecked.

Electra tilted her head slightly, studying the woman in front of her. Death suddenly felt far too simple for someone like Jella.

From the way she spoke, from the way she held herself even now, it was obvious that Jella cared deeply about power and status. She was proud, perhaps even obsessed with the idea of control, and losing that control would hurt her far more than dying quickly.

So killing her would only be giving her an escape. Electra slowly lowered herself until her feet touched the floor again. The faint glow around her faded as she stopped floating in the air, and the movement seemed to catch Jella’s attention immediately.

"I’m not going to kill you," Electra said calmly.

Jella blinked in surprise, and for a moment she thought she had misheard.

Electra shrugged slightly, as if the decision were nothing important. "You probably don’t know this," she continued, "but right now I have no memories of you."

The words landed heavily in the quiet room. Jella’s eyes widened instantly, the shock so clear on her face that she looked almost frozen.

"I don’t remember the things you did to me," Electra added, her tone still calm. "I don’t remember the anger, the pain, or whatever else happened between us. From what I can tell, you did some terrible things, but I don’t actually remember them."

She paused for a moment before finishing her thought. "So why would I want to kill you?"

Jella stared at her as if she had just spoken nonsense. "You... don’t remember anything?" she asked slowly, her voice trembling slightly with disbelief.

Electra shook her head. "Nothing."

Jella’s mind raced as she tried to understand what that meant. The Electra she had seen at the execution had looked terrifying, filled with rage and power that seemed impossible to control. The girl standing in front of her now looked different, still dangerous, but strangely detached.

"If that’s true," Jella said carefully, "then what are you doing here tonight?"

Her voice was quieter now, almost uncertain. "If you didn’t come here to kill me, then why come at all?"

Electra thought about the question for a moment before answering. "At first, I didn’t understand it either," she admitted. "Something just kept pulling me here. I didn’t know why, and I didn’t know what I was looking for."

She glanced around the room briefly before looking back at Jella. "But now that I’m here, I understand."

Jella’s confusion slowly turned into anger again. "What kind of sick game are you playing?" she snapped, her voice rising sharply. "If you think I’m going to stand here while you toy with me, you’re terribly mistaken."

Electra remained completely calm as Jella’s temper flared. "You’d better kill me now," Jella continued bitterly. "Because if you walk away tonight, you will regret it."

Electra let out a quiet, dry laugh. The sound echoed softly through the bedroom, and it only seemed to irritate Jella even more, but the laughter faded quickly when Electra’s expression suddenly changed.

Her face grew serious, and without warning, she stepped forward, closing the distance between them in only two quick strides. The sudden movement made Jella flinch slightly, instinctively stepping backward as Electra stopped just a few feet away from her.

"You shouldn’t be so impatient," Electra said quietly.

Jella’s heart beat faster, but she forced herself not to look away.

"You will die eventually," she continued calmly. "Everyone does."

Her eyes darkened slightly. "But it won’t be by my hands."

The certainty in her voice made the air between them feel heavier, and Jella stared at her, unsure whether to feel relieved or more frightened.

Electra straightened slightly and took a step back, giving Jella space again. "From now on," she continued, "you can forget about living like a queen."

The words were spoken slowly, almost thoughtfully. "Because everything is going to go back to the way it was supposed to be."

For a moment, Jella simply looked at her in disbelief, then she laughed. The sound was sharp and mocking, filled with disbelief.

"Is that what you think?" Jella asked, shaking her head slightly. "What exactly are you planning to do? Reinstate your father as king?"

Electra did not answer, and Jella continued speaking, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Because if that’s your plan, you should know something," she said. "The entire kingdom hates him now. Everyone knows the truth about what he did."

Electra’s expression remained unchanged.

"They know he fathered a child with a phoenix," Jella continued. "They know what you are. Do you really think the people would ever accept him as king again?"

She folded her arms. "Your father is lucky he’s still alive," she added coldly. "Getting him out of confinement would already be difficult, but putting him back on the throne?"

Jella scoffed loudly. "That would be impossible."

Electra listened quietly until she finished speaking. Then she rolled her eyes. "You’re thinking too small," she said.

Jella frowned slightly.

Electra’s gaze grew darker as she spoke again. "There’s only room for one queen on that throne."

The statement made Jella’s expression change instantly. "What?" she asked sharply.

Electra’s lips curved into a faint, cold smile. "And it won’t be you."