All Chapters of The Heir's Secret Child: A Royal Scandal: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

**ELDORIA**Seren had carefully picked his spot an hour before Isla walked into it.He leaned against a stone pillar near the junction, a small stack of papers in his hands.When Isla appeared, he didn’t look up at once.He let her draw closer, and when she reached the junction, he stepped a little to the side as if he were about to accidentally bump into her.“Sorry,” he said, glancing up with an apologetic half-smile. “Didn’t mean to be in the way.”“It’s fine,” Isla said, shifting slightly to make room. Her eyes flicked over him. “I’ve seen you before, haven’t I? Near the kitchens. And in the si

**DRAKONHELM**Preparation for Prince George and Princess Katarina’s one-week engagement visit was underway in the palace.The great hall’s stone was polished to a soft sheen; the light from high, narrow windows fell in measured strips across the floor, catching on metal and glass.A long table had been dragged into the center of the hall, maps and papers spread across it.Around the table stood King Edward, his closest advisors, and Lord Varos Dane.“Security will be doubled along the harbor road,” one advisor said, tapping the route on the map. “We’ll line the path with our banners and Eldoria’s. The image of the two flags together will go to every paper that matters.”“And the guns?” Edward asked without looking up.“Salutes at arrival and departure,” another man said. “Twelve shots each. It will be… impressive.”“Loud,” Varos murmured.“Loud is the point,” Arthur said. “We want their prince to feel the weight of what we control.”“And to forget, for a week, what he thinks he does,

**MYRKON**The street below the tavern window dressed itself for its local observance called the Tides of Latern.A small celebration the innkeeper had explained as where Mrykon marks the turning of the season and the “year ahead on the water.”From Catherine’s vantage point upstairs, the lane looked narrower, funneled between hanging garlands and strings of paper charms that fluttered whenever the sea breeze pushed this far inland.Someone had chalked a pattern on the cobbles and children skipped along its lines, shrieking when they slipped.A line of townspeople moved slowly past, carrying small lanterns made of colored glass.The light inside each was pale in the late afternoon, but she knew that later, when dusk finally sank its full weight over Myrkon, the line would look like a ribbon of fire winding through the streets.Someone laughed loudly; someone else shushed them, invoking whatever half-religious sentiment the day demanded.It should have felt festive. Safe. But Catherine

**ELDORIA**Seren had learned long ago to always trust his instinct. And he definitely got an odd feeling that Isla wasn't telling him the full truth.He needed someone to corroborate or better still, fill in the nine minutes gap."Tom," someone called. "Are you done with those boots yet?""Almost," Seren answered automatically.His disguise since yesterday had been Tom, a slightly stooped, unremarkable junior hall boy whose tasks included polishing shoes, carrying coal, and being so forgettable that no one minded if he was present while other people talked.Someone dropped onto the bench beside him."Tom," the boy said, nudging him with an elbow. "You're the only one slower than me at this."Seren hid a smile in his mug. "Good morning to you too, Rowan."Rowan worked as a hall boy, running errands between the senior servants and doing whatever unpleasant jobs no one else wanted."Heard anything yet?" Rowan asked, lowering his voice. "Maybe they need more staff on the upper floors? I'

**MYRKON**Catherine stood by her working table in Lena’s shop, folding a stack of mended shirts into neat rectangles.“Catherine, dear, you can put those on the second shelf,” Lena called from the back room. “The one that wobbles. If you stack them too high, it behaves itself.”“Yes, Lena,” Catherine answered.No one had noticed anything in the shop yet. Customers came and went, bringing their torn sleeves and frayed hems, their coins and their gossip.Catherine smiled when she was meant to, kept her head down when talk turned toward Eldoria, or the prince, or that ridiculous column.The bell over the door chimed.She glanced up, and a man stepped in. Middle-aged, with wind-reddened cheeks and a coat that had seen better days.He paused just inside, eyes adjusting to the dimmer light, then gave the shop a quick once-over.“Good morning, sir,” Catherine greeted. “Can I help you?”His gaze landed on her face and stayed there a heartbeat too long.Catherine’s fingers tightened around th