CH 201

Chapter 201 – A strange letter

The next morning, before leaving the Queen’s Palace, Rihannan wanted to check the contents of her mailbox, which she hadn’t done in a long time. The outside exterior of the mailbox was adorned with gold and intricate patterns, quite pleasing to the eye, but upon suddenly remembering that she’d been locked in prison for the mails found within this very box, her expression turned sour.

Igor would answer all her questions if she asked, but he could lie. It would be useless to ask him what had happened after her death. She’d only end up thrusting one more nail into her broken heart.

Rihannan realized the reason why she was trying to keep her distance from Igor. She was doing it in self-defense, so he couldn’t hurt her anymore. She didn’t want to hear the truth Igor wanted to tell her.

With a sound, the mailbox opened. Rihannan made sure all her mails were classified and answered appropriately. When she wasn’t sure of the sender, she didn’t even bother opening the letter and simply burned them in a pile.

While Rihannan was organizing the letters she’d received from the Queen Mother, her gaze shifted to a pile that was neatly arranged next to her mailbox.

Those were the uncatalogued letters, the ones she’d told Mrs. Cessly not to bother checking nor organizing, which were now piling up. Rihannan realized the amount of work Mrs. Cessly had in her hands.

Just then, Mrs. Cessly entered the room.

“My Queen, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Rihannan rose from her seat. Mrs. Cessly covered her with a fur coat.

“Since the first trimester of your pregnancy has already passed, you don’t need to worry, but if you somehow start feeling even a little bit uncomfortable, please inform the assistants immediately.”

“I understand.”

“And since it’s much colder in the Villa, you must be careful with your body temperature. You must always make sure that your hands and feet are warm and… oh, I should really follow you all the way there…”

Looking at Mrs. Cessly fretting so anxiously, Rihannan laughed softly.

“You said the Queen Mother would definitely shoot you an arrow if you ever went near her. I wouldn’t bear losing you that way, so please don’t worry, I’ll go alone. More than that…” Rihannan pointed towards the pile of letters, embarrassed. “While I’m away from the Palace, could you help me sorting out these letters? As I thought, it is a bit too much for me to do it alone…”

Mrs. Cessly chuckled merrily. “Yes, My Queen. Of course, leave it to me”

Igor had already sent a carriage with guards for Rihannan. When she got in, the vehicle immediately began moving.

Sitting inside the carriage alone, Rihannan looked through the curtains as she was about the pass by the Palace. An elegant Palace surrounded by a breathtaking garden came to view, but Rihannan focused her attention on the window situated at the top of the building.

She remembered a moment from her past life. Back then, she was euphoric, so much so that she thought she had all the happiness in the world within her reach. She felt like this because her husband had said to her, before parting:

I’ll visit you regularly. I might not be able to do it every day, but… no, if time allows it, I’ll most definitely visit you every day!

And when he’d hugged her, she felt as though her wounds had disappeared for a moment. She thought the three of them could get over the painful past and move forward as a happy family.

In the end, it was all a lie.

Rihannan backed away from the curtains with a sigh. She placed her head against the carriage cushions and closed her eyes. Now, all she wished for was for everything to end so she could go far away, once and for all.

**

Mrs. Cessly suddenly remembered the black-haired young man who’d once visited the Duke’s residence in the middle of the night so long ago. The boy was fifteen years old at that time, and he’d given her an intense stare with his dark purple eyes.

I want you to come work for me instead of my mother, the Queen.

At that time, the Queen Mother had the most power as a ruler, as she’d displaced her young son as the ruling Queen Dowager. Afterwards, she slowly began winning over the nobility, thus increasing her power.

Even though the young lad who once hid behind his mother’s skirts looked different now, he was still a young boy who knew nothing of the world. Looking at the young King, Mrs. Cessly thought he would still need a few more years to mature. Therefore, she wasn’t going to oppose the Queen Mother for a green boy like this. Her husband and her were quite respected among the nobility. What’s more, they had a peaceful life, something that neither of them wanted to change.

However, the boy that came back to her a few days later looked completely different, even though not much time had passed. The boy’s eyes were stone cold, as though he’d become a completely different person. Looking into his eyes, Mrs. Cessly realized she wanted to help him.

That young man definitely had a goal he wanted to reach. Be it political power or whatever, that boy was definitely ready to throw away his own life if it meant a slight chance of attaining that goal. He began explaining Mrs. Cessly a detailed plan which made her doubt that those words were indeed coming from the mouth of a 15 year old. Afterwards, he tried convincing Mrs. Cessly to work for him.

I swear to you, you’ll never regret coming to work for me!

Those words shook Mrs. Cessly’s heart. She could continue living a peaceful life, but listening to this young man… hearing how she could help shape the future was extremely tempting.

***

The King, who was brave and strong, now spent his days living in fear.

Basil sighed, trying to remember the last time Igor had a good night’s sleep. He wasn’t a fearful man, so, why was he so terrified when in came to things concerning the Queen?

Mrs. Cessly sighed as well and began busying herself organizing the Queen’s pile of letters. There were so many of them it was enough to cover the whole desk.

She was already used to this. All she had to do was open a letter, read through its contents and classify it by topic. While she was doing this, a letter with a family crest that looked oddly familiar caught her attention.

In the middle of the enveloped there were two lions fighting each other. There was also a red wax seal with the shape of a swan.

“…Princess of Chrichton?”

From what she could tell, this letter definitely came from Chrichton’s Royal Family; more specifically speaking, from their Princess. It was suspicious that a letter from a foreign Royal Family was mixed among the other letters, since these were usually delivered directly to the Queen through a royal messenger.

Mrs. Cessly doubted for a moment whether she should open this letter. The Queen’s personal letters, such as the ones she used to change with the Queen Mother were directly delivered to Rihannan. If this was a letter from Chrichton’s Princess, then it must surely be a personal matter.

Mrs. Cessly left the letter aside and continued organizing the remaining letters. However, her mind was filled with suspicion. Why would the Princess of Chrichton ignore all protocol and send the Queen a letter this way? She couldn’t have possibly known that her letter would end up lost among a pile of letters, otherwise she would have delivered it straight to Rihannan.

After fighting with her own mind for a while, Mrs. Cessly gave up and tore open the letter, quickly reading though its contents.

She turned pale and quickly run off.

***

As the carriage was going down a relatively deserted path in the forest, it suddenly came to a halt. Rihannan opened the curtains and looked outside. The commander of the King’s guard responsible of her procession stopped by her window and bowed his head.

“What is happening?”

“Please, don’t worry. We’ll settle this soon.”

“Settle what? What do you mean?”

“Well…”

Rihannan looked at him. He had a strange expression on his face, so she stretch her neck and looked out the window. Soon, she realized what had happened. Some tree trunks were piled in the middle of the road, blocking their path.