جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 520

Though Isolde glared at Nathaniel, her eyes cold and firm, he stayed silent. Finally, she stepped forward and pulled off his mask.That face.Handsome beyond reason. Striking, flawless, without the faintest scar. The most handsome man in the capital. Aside from her own son, who else could deserve such a title?Isolde stared at his completely unblemished face and slowly stepped back. For a brief moment, her expression was blank.Then, she let out a cold laugh. "You've been lying to me all this time… How foolish of me. I planned for you for years. The entire Whitmore family exhausted themselves for your sake. We had nearly claimed a third of Aurensia for ourselves."She stared hard at her son's face, fury slowly bleeding into her eyes. "I poured every ounce of my strength into raising armies and gathering men. For years, I bore humiliation and hardship, all so that you could stand above everyone and be at the very peak of the world!"And then, one day, I was told you'd been disfigu

Knowing how Nathaniel was, he would have personally come to tell Selena the news once he had secured the marriage edict. It wouldn't have mattered how late it was. He would never wait, nor allow such good news to reach her through someone else.And yet, he had not appeared last night.Selena hadn't realized it at the time, but now it was clear. Her sleepless night hadn't been because of restlessness or insomnia; she had been waiting for Nathaniel. But why hadn't he come? Had something gone wrong during his meeting with Wilfred? He said he already had a plan, so why would there be a problem?"Go to Obsidian Estate and see what news you can gather," Selena said, turning to Sally.The maid no longer teased. She had come early this morning, expecting to hear good news from her mistress. Just like Selena, she thought that Nathaniel would surely deliver it himself without needing anyone else.Yet it seemed he had not come last night. Could something have gone wrong?"Alright, I'll go t

"His Majesty's intentions are hard to fathom. You must be cautious, Mr. Yarrow. Mira's ties with Prince Frederick run deep. When I apprehended her, Prince Frederick himself tried to stop me," Selena said quietly.Mira's background was certainly more complicated than most realized.Selena looked at Harvey and added, "There's more to her than it seems. She could be a rebel, or she could be tied to Prince Frederick's household. If you truly plan to go to the palace and ask about this, you need to think it through first. Decide whether you're prepared to stand against Prince Frederick, and consider whether His Majesty himself may already be involved."The matter was serious. One misstep, and Harvey could offend many powerful people. The deputy chief justice wielded considerable authority, but the position itself carried little rank. Facing the forces behind Mira would not be easy."Are you trying to provoke me, or do you genuinely worry?" Harvey asked, though his tone was far from hars

When Aurora entered, she was covered in dust and looked worn from travel.Everyone had been busy lately. Ever since Wilfred entrusted the Campbell Regiment's command emblem to Selena, her people had been running everywhere, preparing and planning for every eventuality.No one knew exactly why Selena was so urgent in her preparations. Perhaps they could guess, but she never spoke of it, and they never asked. Everyone simply attended to their own tasks.After taking a sip of tea, Aurora said, "Lady Isolde has handed the command emblem of the troops in Lakeshire City to General Kyle Cooper.""General Cooper is His Majesty's man. So, Lady Isolde intends to return military authority to the royal family?" Sebastian mused, his eyes darkening.But that authority had been left to Isolde by the Whitmore family! Did that mean she never intended to challenge Wilfred? She really had no plan to place her son on the throne?"When I met Lady Isolde in the palace previously, she mentioned matters

As Selena sized up Augustus, he stared intently at her too, scrutinizing her closely. He had heard from Isolde and Jonathan about Selena and Nathaniel's relationship, as well as about her previous engagement to Frederick.Her past romance didn't matter to him. The important thing was that she was of marriageable age and remained unmarried. Her talent, which even Isolde and Jonathan praised, was what Augustus valued most."Was it your plan to wipe out Henry Talmar's clan?" he asked.This was the first time Augustus had properly seen Selena. Perhaps he had seen her a few times before, but she had been little more than a girl to him. A few brief encounters left no impression. To him, it was as if he had never seen her at all.Selena hesitated a moment, then inclined her head. "Yes, it was my plan, executed by my brother and his troops."Augustus arched an eyebrow. "You mean it was the work of you and your brother alone, and Prince Frederick had nothing to do with it?"Jonathan blink