Selma Payne's POV:
Someone had to take responsibility for this incident, and Layla became the target of public criticism.
Some criticized her for being arrogant and complacent and for letting someone kidnap me in her carelessness; others criticized her for wanting to be in the limelight. If the army had arrived, there wouldn't have been so many accidents. Some people secretly did her dirty her, saying she might have colluded with the wanderers long ago. Otherwise, how could the wanderers break through the palace's defenses so easily?
In short, the malicious public opinion was all poured on her. Even if my parents knew that it was not her fault, even if the royal family published a Clarification Statement, and even if she was secretly sent away to hide from the limelight, the intentional abuse still filled her life.
Layla was a powerful warrior, but her heart was also made of flesh. It could not be as cold as steel.
