MasukQUEEN DOWAGERAfter Julian left, I called for my guard. He appeared in front of me. “Tell me, is the orphan taken care of?” he dropped to his knees and I frowned. “Your majesty, she was not there when our people got there, the house was empty.” It was clearly Julian didn’t know where she was and thought I had her. Good, she was smart, she knew her place and left on her own.“Find her.” The guard lowered his head. “Alive, your majesty?” I looked at him as if had asked a foolish question. “No.” understanding flashed across his face. “This servant obeys.” I didn’t want her coming back to cause trouble in the future. The princess walked in soon after. her face dark and I could tell she was not happy. I sighed feeling a headache coming. “The prince came to see me.” she started talking and taking a seat before greeting me. The audacity. “I see my grandson made the princess so angry that she forgot the rule.” Her mouth twitched but stood and gave a proper bow.“Greetings, your majesty. My
JULIAN My chest tightened as I got further and further away from the one I longed for. At that moment, I cursed fate for letting me be born into the royal family. If I were an ordinary man, I would have married her easily. But because I am of royal blood and my marriage meant power and influence.Because of that, I have to go into battle with my family just to marry the woman I desire. It was going to be a hard battle, and I knew if I wanted to win. I had to be smarter and beat both my grandmother and father. two of the most powerful people in the kingdom. My thoughts drifted back to the past five days I had spent with her.There, with her. I was not prince Julian, I was just her lover and somehow, it was the most peaceful and the happiest time of my life. how could living like that be wrong, how is following my heart wrong? My father and grandmother didn’t need more power. They needed to trust their subjects to be loyal without having to force them with political marriages.Noble la
HELENA That day, I had nothing to say to Julian other than agree to stay. It was clear he was not going to let me leave and I couldn’t disobey him. after talking for a while, I made breakfast for us. After eating, he left his guard and went to the next village where he used to live. He was gone for two hours before coming back with his things and insisted on staying with me for a couple of days.I tried to protest telling him about how inappropriate it was, and he only told me that I was his anyway, who cared what those villagers thought. That was how we spent five days together. I moved to grandma’s room and he took mine. Living with him was not bad at all. He helped around the house.Chopping wood, which was shocking for a prince. Going to the market to buy us food and helping with the cooking. I enjoyed being with him and the fear I had held on to felt like a joke compared to reality. Those days I could breathe easy and sleep well. Which was a first after grandma passed.But of co
QUEEN DOWAGER “My queen, I have news.” The spy I had sent after the prince came back. “Tell me.” that boy must think I had time to play childish games with him. must he make this difficult for reason? “The prince has moved into the woman’s house.” I slammed the table. The teacups rattled and the tea my maid had poured spilled forming a dark stain on the tablecloth.Much like the stain the crown prince was leaving in my heart. “Take palace fifty palace guards and bring him back.” the king walked in right at that moment. “If the crown prince refuses to return on his own, bring him back in chains. I want him in the palace at down!” Who did that boy think he was. Openly defying me like that, for an orphan nobody!Defying me, his grandmother was one thing, but putting the future of Dasha at risk was another. I glanced at my son, the one I had placed upon the throne with my own hands. He stood there looking at me as if I were a monster. I never thought my son would be this weak. He certai
HELENA I stood there, staring at him in stunned silence. My mind had gone completely blank. He wanted me, a maid, to become his legal wife. Not a concubine. Not a consort. His wife. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or convince myself I had misheard him. my heart pounded wildly as I searched his face for any sign that this was a joke. Finding none, I finally found my voice.“Your Highness, if you are doing this to repay the debt of me saving you from the fire, there is no need. It was this subject’s duty to protect Your Highness.” Shock spread across his face. By the gods, he didn’t know. I must have offended a god in my past life to have such terrible luck. I had survived the palace, survived the village, survived the forest.Only to go and confess everything to the prince myself. “What did you just say?” his brows drew together in confusion. There was no escaping this now. I couldn’t pretend I hadn’t spoken or ignore what had just confessed. I turned away and tossed the words ov
JULIAN I watched her walk away. I watched her disappear into her room. I watched the light inside go out. yet, I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I remained beneath the old tree, staring at the closed door as though it might suddenly open again. My entire body felt drained. What went wrong? My mind replayed every word I had spoken.Every pause, every look, every mistake. I searched desperately for the moment everything fell apart. I wanted to find it. because If I knew what I had done wrong. I could fix it. more than anything, I wanted Helena to know I had meant every word. Not one of them had been a lie. She might have been worried about the difference in our status.But that meant nothing to me. I rubbed my forehead in frustration. “You are an idiot, Julian.” A groan escaped me. “How could you forget something so important?” I had confessed my feelings, but I had never told her what those feelings meant. To me, there was never another choice.I wasn’t asking her to become my concub
JULIANTwo weeks passed in a blur; I was busy helping with the disaster relief and hardly slept. During the day I kept myself busy with work but at night my mind drifted off to her. I couldn’t see her before I left. I looked for her in all the places she usually hung out with Zane at, but I didn’t
HELENA I stayed at Zane’s home for a week with the excuse of being afraid of being home along since the roof collapsed. Zane’s father helped me look for a person to repair the roof and fence for me. while the roof and fence were being repaired. I stayed at his place helping his mother with chores
HELENAI stared at him in silence while my mind raced in every direction. His eyes remained tightly shut, his confession hanging between us like a blade. Who was he acting for? I had always known the royals were cruel. I had seen enough to know mercy rarely existed within the palace walls. But I ha
HELENAI stayed like that for a while, until silence was the only thing I could hear. My heart beat calmed as I stood with determination. I had one thought in mind, get home, pack a bag, take the silver and run. I could wait till morning, that was a risk I was not willing to take. I walked to the g







