THE MOTHER'S CONFESSION

Chapter 41

The Mother's Confession

A cold wind swept through the ruined palace.

The Wolf God's final words lingered in the air like a curse.

"The one who destroyed our family... was never your enemy."

No one spoke.

Even the wounded soldiers forgot their pain as they tried to understand what they had just witnessed.

Aria looked at Ethan.

"What if everything we've been taught is a lie?"

Ethan stared at the cracked silver pendant hanging around his neck.

"I need answers."

---

Before anyone could respond, Luna suddenly sprang to her feet.

Her ears stood erect, and she let out a low growl.

She wasn't warning them of danger.

She was welcoming someone.

A lone figure stepped through the smoke drifting across the battlefield.

She wore a long white cloak, its hood hiding her face.

Every guard instinctively raised a weapon.

"Stop!" General Kael shouted.

"No one attacks until we know who she is."

The woman continued walking, her pace calm and steady.

When she reached the center of the courtyard, she slowly lowered her hood.

A gasp swept through the crowd.

Long silver hair cascaded over her shoulders.

Her eyes were the same brilliant gold as Ethan's.

And her face...

It was identical to the portrait of Queen Selene, the mother of the two princes.

The elders dropped to their knees.

"It... it can't be."

"The Moon Queen..."

"She's alive."

---

Ethan's heart pounded.

His lips trembled.

"Mother?"

The woman smiled sadly.

"I've waited twenty-three years to hear you call me that again."

Before anyone else could react, Ethan rushed forward.

He embraced her tightly.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Only tears flowed.

Aria quietly turned away, giving them the moment they had lost for so many years.

---

When they finally separated, Ethan asked the question that had haunted him since his memories returned.

"Why did you leave us?"

Queen Selene closed her eyes.

"I didn't leave you."

"I was forced to."

She looked toward the horizon where the First Prince had disappeared.

"The night the palace burned, your brother wasn't the one who betrayed us."

Everyone in the courtyard fell silent.

"It was the Royal Council."

General Kael's face went pale.

"The council?"

Selene nodded.

"They feared the union of the Moon and Blood line."

"They believed your father would become too powerful to control."

"So they poisoned the kingdom with lies."

She turned to Kael.

"They convinced everyone that the First Prince had murdered the royal family."

Kael lowered his head in shame.

"I... I believed them."

"So did the entire kingdom."

---

Aria struggled to understand.

"If the council betrayed the throne..."

"Then why did the First Prince become our enemy?"

A shadow crossed Selene's face.

"Because I made the greatest mistake of my life."

She took a deep breath.

"I chose to save one son..."

"...and leave the other behind."

Ethan's eyes widened.

"You escaped with me."

She nodded, tears falling freely.

"Your brother stayed behind to buy us time."

"He fought the council alone."

"He was only sixteen."

The courtyard fell into stunned silence.

"By the time I returned..."

"He was gone."

"I searched for him for years."

"But someone found him first."

"The darkness beneath the kingdom."

---

Far away, inside the ruins of the Dark Valley, the First Prince stood alone before the shattered Black Gate.

He remembered that terrible night.

He remembered waiting for his mother to return.

She never did.

Instead...

The voice beneath the earth whispered to him.

"They abandoned you."

"Take my power..."

"And never be alone again."

A single tear rolled down his face.

"So..."

"It was all a lie."

His hand tightened around his crimson sword.

For the first time in centuries, doubt entered his heart.

---

Back at the palace, Queen Selene reached into her cloak and withdrew a small crystal orb.

Inside it swirled silver light.

"I've protected this with my life."

"It contains the truth."

"The memories of the night our family fell."

She held it out toward Ethan and Aria.

"Once you see them..."

"There will be no turning back."

Before Ethan could touch the orb—

An arrow whistled through the air.

THUD!

It pierced the crystal orb, shattering it into countless shards of light.

Everyone spun toward the palace wall.

Standing atop the broken battlements was a man dressed in the robes of the Royal Council.

He lowered his bow with a cold smile.

"I can't allow the truth to be revealed."

As the shards of memory faded into the wind, Queen Selene's face turned pale.

"The High Chancellor..."

"You're still alive."

The man laughed.

"I've been alive all along."

"And now..."

"No one will remember what really happened."

His body dissolved into black smoke before anyone could stop him.

Ethan clenched his fists so tightly that blood dripped onto the stone.

The only proof of the past...

Had just been destroyed.

Or so everyone believed.

Hidden among the glittering fragments at Ethan's feet, one tiny shard still glowed faintly.

Inside it...

A pair of frightened children's voices could still be heard.