All Chapters of The Secret Of My Royal Prince: Chapter 31 - Chapter 33

Forty-four years earlier, winter had arrived early in the northern highlands.Snow clung to the ancient pines that blanketed the mountain slopes, their branches bowed under the weight of white. A narrow path wound its way through the forest, almost hidden in fresh powder, leading towards a solitary monastery that had stood upon the cliffs for centuries.Saint Aldren's Monastery.Its weathered stone walls rose from the mountainside as though carved from the rock itself. Thin streams of smoke curled lazily from its chimneys, while the sound of a distant bell drifted gently through the crisp morning air.Thomas Mercer stopped at the crest of the hill.For several moments, he simply looked. Time had weathered the monastery, but it had not changed it. The bell tower still leaned ever so slightly to one side. The old cedar tree still stretched over the courtyard, its broad branches dusted with snow. The stone well remained where generations of monks had drawn water long before Thomas had le