Episode 19

"**The Scandal**" is the nineteenth released episode of *Your Throne* by SAM. With the unexpected return of Medea, posing as Psyche, Eros is suddenly thrown into a battle of wits as he attempts to cast off any suspicion that he is involved in the assassination attempt of the future crown princess.

## Synopsis

The wine glass slips from Eros's frozen fingers and falls to the ground, shattering upon impact. He cannot believe his eyes. Despite his meticulously calculated scheme, "Psyche" is still alive. He stares at Medea's heavily-wounded body and wonders if his plan failed at the last minute. Suddenly, he feels the pressuring gazes from his esteemed noble guests. Regardless of what happened, Eros has no choice to but to act out his part as the concerned fiancé. Taking advantage of this, Medea feigns ignorance, inquiring why Eros did not meet her as planned in the imperial gardens. As Eros struggles to find an appropriate response, Medea buries her face in her hands, masking her smile with forced tears. In high society, it is common to use words as weapons to verbally attack others while concealing one's true intentions. Psyche, however, is known for her naïveté and sheltered upbringing. Her ignorance towards the proclivities of nobilities allows Medea, who is masquerading in Psyche's body, to speak freely and catch Eros off-guard. Medea continues to explain the night's incident, intentionally phrasing her words so that it is easily misconstrued by the public.

Eros, however, quickly realizes that Medea's words are casting suspicion on him. He grabs "Psyche" by the shoulders and demands to know who called her to the gardens. With a look of convincing concern, he expresses his shock that a person would dare to impersonate the crown prince and lure his fiancée out to harm her. Eros presses Medea for details on what the assailant looked like. Medea begins to describe the physical features of the head knight, slightly taken aback by how easily Eros steered the conversation. She realizes that he is confident his knights will not be caught, as they belonged to a secret elite unit of the knights order and did not bear the official emblem of the imperial family. If he uses a nonexistent imposter as a scapegoat for the assassination attempt, there will be no leads tying the incident to the crown prince. Refusing to back down, Medea innocently states that it is strange the imposter knew of the secret rendezvous spot where Eros often meets Psyche. Since people do not often pass by the area, she could have easily died.

Medea's words rang through the banquet hall. Whispers begin to sweep through the observing crowds of nobles as they realize the inconsistencies in Eros's statement. Feeling the rise of suspicion in the room, Eros quickly orders the guards to seal the entrances to the banquet hall shut, preventing anyone from leaving. The highly-anticipated royal celebration that was to last seven days has ended early because of the assassination attempt on the future crown princess. In a chilling voice, Eros declares that a culprit capable of spying on the comings and goings of the crown prince is likely a high-ranking noble. Their actions will not only be deemed as high treason, but also a possible threat to start a rebellion. The guests begin to protest, offended that the crown prince is placing highly-esteemed nobles under suspicion of rebelling against the imperial family. Eros silences them with a warning, declaring that those with objections to such measures will be the first to be regarded as potential suspects. He then puts an arm around Medea's shoulders and leads her away from the displeased crowds.

Eros and Medea leave the banquet hall in a carriage escorted by imperial knights. The carriage pulls up in the imperial gardens. Eros affectionately touches Medea's face, apologizing for leaving her alone to investigate the scene of the crime. He assures her that the culprit is most likely in the palace and will not attack a carriage guarded by highly-trained knights. Knowing that he is actually intent on searching for clues on who foiled his plans, Medea coldly watches his retreating figure, reminded of the fact that she always found him a difficult adversary to deal with. Eros orders his knights to diligently guard the carriage and leaves to join the search party. As the group disperses, Eros and two of his knights head directly to the location where the assassination attempt occurred.

He pushes his way through the thicket of leaves and comes upon a bloody scene. Corpses of his once-elite knights are strewn across the grass, surrounded by pools of dark blood. One knight gasps in horror and clamps one hand over his mouth in revulsion. Though the fallen knights were members of a secret unit and trained separately, they should have been as strong as any member of the official knight order. After the momentary shock subsides, Eros kneels down next to the body of his head knight. He instructs his knights to inspect the wounds of the fallen, explaining that the attacker would have left clues regardless of how strong their swordsmanship skills are.

In a flashback, Medea instructed Helio to carve into the knights' injuries to alter the wounds. It was necessary to destroy any evidence that the knights were attacked by a small dagger. By using one of the knights' longswords and striking them from a higher position, it would also create confusion on how tall the opponent was. Medea worried over the limited time frame they had left to finish the necessary preparations, as it would be troublesome if they were absent from the imperial banquet for too long. Psyche suggested to use a hole to hide the longsword, as she was familiar with the area. Medea approved of the plan and instructed Helio to bring the longsword with him after leaving.

In present time, Eros and his knights inspect the misleading clues Helio intentionally left. One of the knights deduces that the culprit was unarmed before managing to steal one of the knights' longswords. Judging by the fact the fallen knights were slain with one blow, the culprit is a very skilled fighter. The knight concludes that they must be a well-built woman or a short man. Eros stares at the body of his head knight, unable to comprehend the situation. This was supposed to be the long-awaited day when he could finally obtain Psyche's divine power, yet his knights lie here, dead and unmoving. He recalls the day he recruited the head knight from a poor village many years ago. The young girl expressed uncertainty in joining the elite order, worried about her humble origins. Eros assured her that he had a good eye for those who could help him achieve his dreams of surpassing the mundane life of royalty. The imperial family, his position as the crown prince, and his future as the next emperor of the Vasilios Empire always seemed so trivial. If he could obtain Psyche's divine power, he would be able to become a higher being. Eros unsheathes his sword and, without warning, plunges the blade into the corpse. The knights watch in horror as the crown prince repeatedly stabs his dead soldiers, splattering blood across his face. His anger rising, Eros coldly remarks that the knights must be dead.

In front of the imperial palace, Helio and Psyche stop in their tracks as they realize the doors to the palace are being closed off one by one. Worried that they will be under suspicion, Psyche frantically asks Helio how they will return to the banquet. It will be difficult to explain their long absence and disheveled appearances. Helio glances up at a balcony. Unwillingly, he explains that they have one method left to use. As he hesitates over whether or not it is a good idea, Psyche insists that he should not be worried about trivial matters when their lives are on the line.

Inside the palace, a servant informs a noblewoman that the doors to the balconies have been sealed under imperial orders. The woman excuses herself and hastily hurries away. The servant heaves a sigh and approaches the last balcony. He opens the doors and finds Helio and Psyche in a close embrace, their cloaks tossed onto the floor of the balcony. With her hair disheveled and lipstick smudged, Psyche pulls away from Helio's neck and demands to know who the impudent intruder is.

## Characters

*Characters are listed in order of appearance. Character first appearances are **bolded**.*

* Eros Orna Vasilios
* Medea Solon
* Eros' knight (flashback)
* Helio Niccolo
* Psyche Callista

## Gallery

The eyes of the noble guests at the imperial banquet are on Eros.Eros feigns concern over "Psyche's" well-being.The nobles react to being under suspicion of hurting the Crown Princess.Imperial knights escort the carriage holding Eros and Medea.Eros comes upon the corpses of his knights.Medea inspects the dagger wounds on the head knight.Eros recruited a young commoner into the elite knight order.Psyche and Helio stage an intimate moment to explain their absence from the banquet.