The Cursed Tyrant and His Reluctant Queen

«It's because Aestas was born earlier than planned. Isn't that right, Princess?» I say.

Juliet winces, her eyes wide and her hopes diminishing. Being charged of an attack on me is one thing. Being involved in the coup that changed Alba forever is a whole other matter. It will involve not just her but also her family, her only family: the person she went as far as to kill her husband to protect. She killed the late Crown Prince because she was worried the kid wouldn't resemble him much; which is the case, naturally. She didn't want to risk him seeing the child and getting rid of it because of that. It was the fruit of her love, after all. Something she would do anything to protect.

As for killing the late King, I guess the reason is pretty much the same for her. For the rest of the nobles, not that much.

The late King was a first-tier jerk. He was a real tyrant, and the nobles didn't like him one bit. They took the chance to rebel, and Juliet used it to her advantage to involve the Crown Prince altogether.

As for targeting Ignis... I guess it was an attempt to get on the throne. If Ignis and Gratia both died, her daughter would be Queen. There's no one else close enough to the main bloodline, and the rest of the family wouldn't have put up a fight as much as they would have tried to exploit the situation in their favour.

I'll ask the Queen Dowager how she survived. She will answer once she knows that Gratia will soon be free from the engagement we set with the brother of Count Grif.

Such a nice coincidence once again, right? Samuel Grif was having quite the nice life: either his daughter would have become Queen or his brother the Consort to the next in line. The only problem in between was Ignis. And me, of course, with the child I love just as they love theirs.

«Why?» Ignis repeats.

«When you become a father, you will understand,» Samuel Grif sighs. «I didn't want her to fall prey to power games. I didn't want her to die because of that bastard's crazy days. She's the most precious thing in my life, and I can't even meet her whenever I want. I need to make it a secret every time, and... Oh, she will never know who I am.»

Well, she won't remember him anymore. He won't be there at all, now.

«You could tell me. I would have found a way,» Ignis says, his hand gripping my waist with more strength than usual. He's hurt, betrayed, and it hurts me as well.

Already, he didn't have so many friends. If one of them tried killing him, or killing me for that matter, how is he going to trust the rest of his people from now on?

«And... Your father. Your brother. They were innocent,» he continues. «They weren't involved in the coup.»

«Collateral damage,» Samuel points out. «I needed to explain the evidence pointing at me, somehow. They were conveniently there, having my same name and house.»

«This ends here,» I say out loud. «The last remains of the coup and everything related to the attempts on my life. Everything ends here and now!»

How dare they make my husband suffer like this? How dare they betray his trust?

How many times has the Princess brought Aestas to Ignis, making him play with her as if she was his real niece? How often has Samuel Grif patted on his shoulder and smiled as a friend?

How dare they?

«I have lost enough,» the Princess replies after a while.

It's the first time she talks, and she takes a couple of steps to reach her lover. They hold hands, together in good and bad times.

«I was sentenced to spend my life by the side of a wicked Prince. I had given up on my life already, but I couldn't give up on my daughter's. As long as she lives safely, I don't mind dying.»

«There were better ways to do it,» I say. «You could escape. You could ask for help in a foreign nation or... Ah, anything would have been better than killing everyone! And then, when your attempt at the second Prince's life failed, you decided to change strategy, didn't you?»

«Might be,» she sighs. «But it didn't work.»

It didn't work? Because I'm alive, or there's even more?

«King Aurelius was new to power, yet he didn't fall into any trap. He kept his secrets with him and one day appeared with a new wife. What else could I do at that point?»

Wait... Hmm... This sounds even worse.

«You tried to get married to him?» I wonder.

«Not really. I tried to have Aestas adopted in any way possible.»

«And you, Samuel Grif,» I continue. «You would have left your woman getting married to a man she doesn't love? Again?»

These two have no boundaries.

«Bring this guard away for interrogation,» Ignis orders.

The kneeling man is now even paler, and he's not sweating anymore. He's in shock, his fingers trembling and his lips sealed because of dread. He's been discovered, and he is not sure how.

«Keep the Princess locked in her lodgings for the moment being and Samuel Grif in one of the upper cells. Until we find proof, there's no reason to treat them too harshly. Also... Bring Aestas away from the Princess's quarters.»

«No!» the Princess shouts, throwing herself on the ground a few steps from Ignis.

She doesn't dare come closer because she knows she'd die before telling everything she has to say.

«Don't bring my daughter away! Please, I beg you! Don't take her away from me...»

For the first time, her princessly image shatters. She sobs, cries, pulls her hair in despair.

«No, your Majesty! She's your niece! You can't hurt her! Your Majesty!»

As she's despairing in front of us, I realise once again that they don't know their King well enough. How can she think Ignis will hurt an innocent child? Moreover, we're her godparents. Even if the Princess had a hidden agenda and many wicked plans, we gave our word in our sound mind. A promise is a promise, and it's not relevant to whom we promised.

«I can ensure you she won't lack anything,» Ignis says to Samuel Grif.

At these words, the Princess stops shouting and falls on her knees. She listens in silence, sobbing a little and waiting for her fate. She lets the two men talk without a word as if she wasn't here anymore.

«Aestas will live without the need to pay for her parents' mistakes. I will tell her the truth one day.»

«Can you leave aside the worst details?»

«I will tell her what I know, Samuel. She deserves the truth just like anybody else. She will become an adult by then, and she will understand.»

While the guards lock his wrists behind his back, Samuel Grif nods at his King's words.

«Don't forget that her father loved her more than his life. Don't make her think she wasn't wanted.»

«I won't.»

Their exchange is brief. They don't have much to say, either way. They have talked a lot till now, haven't they?

Still, the calm with which they talk and their solemn expressions make everyone else quiet and still. Even Flavius doesn't move a muscle.

This feels like the end. Or a new beginning... There are still so many things I have to do, but one less for sure.

«Let's go,» Ignis murmurs. «You need to rest.»

He accompanies me inside, ambling not to stress me. Yet, he doesn't weaken his grip on me. We leave the others in the garden, some still in shock and others sighing, dejected.

«There will be a trial,» Tobin explains to Flavius. «You might need to witness.»

Oh, Tobin appeared again! Where is Lola? Is it a good sign?

«My maid?» I wonder, turning my head enough to look at him.

«She won't be able to serve you for a couple of weeks, your Majesty.»

«Two... Two weeks?»

Oh, it would be bad if even Aida's magic couldn't heal her completely. But she will leave!

«Oh, good,» I sigh, letting my weight press on Ignis a little more.

At this moment, we're comforting each other. Alone, neither of us would be able to stand, let alone walk. But together, we somehow manage.

«No one got hurt, in the end,» Ignis comments. «It's not that bad.»

«No one?»

«Even the guards were found far from here, tied and sleeping.»

We're almost out of here when, suddenly, the Princess's voice reaches us.

«I have a question, your Majesty,» she says out loud. She looks at me, desperation in her eyes and a last glimpse of hope.

She wants to end me because I was in her way. She doesn't want to be the last one to fall. I pity her, honestly. What can she do in her state? Nothing she says will have any value, nor will it hurt my heart.

«Your Majesties... Why are all the assassins in the hallways asleep? How is that possible? No traces of a fight and them just falling on the ground? What can cause over twenty trained fighters to close their eyes in the middle of a battle?»

Oh, it's not like I wasn't expecting it. Anyone could have asked the same question.

Still, now that I am cornered, I can't escape but answer. What could explain a single woman, not even a fighter herself, dealing with twenty assassins? What could explain Lola's wound disappearing?