Chapter 197 "So Be It"

The queen became even more nervous now that she learned of the disappearance of the maid. Who was the maid working for? Who was behind all this? Was it Damon?

He hadn't been around during the hunt since he had to stand in for the king in the town and ensure that things went smoothly with the commoners and unimportant people in the kingdom.

He was yet to return since some issues had kept him busy, and even though what was happening in the palace was very important, making sure that the people outside the palace walls were completely safe and not running wild or feasting on the tiny population of humans in the kingdom, was equally as important.

But was there any reason for him to do something like this? No matter how hard she thought about it, there was no one else within the palace that would dare to go against her apart from Harold. And since it was obvious that it wasn't Harold, Damon was the only other person that came to mind.

Thankfully, he was returning tomorrow. She would have to talk about it and also keep an eye on him. Right now, she couldn't afford to trust anyone.

She paused when she recalled something else that had been bothering her.

Harold.

Although since the past two days, Alvin had not let anyone else into Harold's chamber aside from the physician, but from what she knew, neither Alvin nor Harold had left the chamber, and that meant only one thing. Harold had not shifted into his wolf form for two days. What did that mean? Was it that he was too weak to shift, or was it perhaps true that the curse had been lifted truly?

She was going to do her best to get rid of Princess Amber quickly and make sure Ivan took over the throne before either Prince Harold or Princess Tyra regained consciousness. That way even if Princess Amber was innocent, she would be long dead before the truth came out, and then Tyra's confession would help her find the person who was blackmailing her.

She knew without doubt that Tyra must have seen the person's face and could identify the person. She would try to seize this opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. If Harold tried to cause trouble after he regains consciousness, she would make sure they take care of him once and for all with Ivan's power as king. Although, it would be even better for her if Harold never recovers and just dies quietly, saving her the stress.

"Now that Harold's bride is awake, we should try her first thing in the morning and sentence her as soon as Damon returns to the palace," Ivan said, breaking into her thoughts, and the queen sighed.

"Yes. Let's do that," the queen said just as the first warning bell rang, and she headed for the door as Ivan followed her out of the chamber.

Although he knew that his mother was still suspicious of him, he didn't care.. He was going to do his best to ensure that Harold never recovered, and he would make sure that Harold's bride was killed. She had it coming.

Feeling super happy, he left the chamber in a good mood together with his mother who was still nervous for whatever reason he could not understand.

Away from there, Williams paced around Susan's chamber as they both thought about the problem on ground and tried to figure out what they could do about it, "It's strange that she can't remember anything. Even stranger that she had been unconscious for two days," Williams said thoughtfully, and Susan nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. None of it makes any sense. She didn't even sustain any major wounds or injuries. How could she have fought with a beta like Beth and even killed her without sustaining any serious injuries? Why is everyone so quick to believe that she is guilty simply?" Susan asked incredulously.

"You can't blame them. Three unconscious bodies were on the floor and only her was unhurt. She had blood stains all over her and the dagger was in her hand. Not forgetting the witness," Williams said reasonably, and Susan raised a hand to massage her temple.

It didn't help that the maid who had stayed back to attend to Princess Tyra was insisting that she had seen Princess Amber attacking Beth.

According to her, a sick Princess Tyra and herself had rushed out of the chamber when they heard someone's scream, and when they got there and saw Princess Amber attacking Beth with the dagger, Princess Tyra had stepped in to stop Princess Amber since they were friends, and had asked the maid to go find Prince Harold, but by the time she returned with some people who were willing to leave the euphoria of enjoying the full moon to attend to other businesses, Princess Amber had killed Beth and injured Princess Tyra. Tyra had whispered Princess Amber's name before she lost consciousness.

"If only Princess Tyra was conscious. She would have been the best person to say exactly what happened and prove Princess Amber's innocence," Williams said, causing Susan to sigh once again.

Apart from her and Williams, who else could she count on to support Princess Amber and join them to prove her innocence? Harold was down, and she couldn't count on Alvin since he was stuck at Harold's bedside like a dog to its owner.

Paulina was Princess Amber's maid and, as such, her testimony wouldn't be valid, hence she was locked up with her mistress. Tyra was unconscious and they had no idea how long it would take before she woke up, so they couldn't rely on her. It was just going to be her and Williams, and they couldn't do much either, as their parents would be furious if they found out about what they were doing. Her parents had specifically told them to stay out of everything and that they were going to be leaving the palace together as soon as this was settled.

"Why is she taking so long to heal?" Susan complained with a slight frown as she stood up from the bed and walked over to the window.

Williams stopped pacing around when the second bell rang, "Try to get some sleep, and do not leave your chamber. It's dangerous right now," Williams warned as he prepared to leave.

"What if Princess Tyra wakes up and says Princess Amber truly hurt her?" Susan asked before Williams could open the door, and he turned to her.

"You have to stick to what you believe. You can't help her if you are harboring such doubts. If you believe that she didn't do it, then don't concern yourself with what Princess Tyra is going to say.

Focus on proving her innocence," Williams told her before opening the door.

"You know what this means, right?" Susan asked before he could step out.

He turned to look at her.

"We are now taking sides." She whispered to him.

Williams pursed his lips and pondered it before he shrugged. "So be it." And with that, he walked away.

Susan let out a sigh once he left, and she began to pace around the chamber. Where was she going to start from in proving Princess Amber's innocence? Did she really believe that Princess Amber was innocent or did she have doubts? She mused as she thought about Princess Amber.

No, she didn't have any doubts. Princess Amber would never do something like that, and she was going to prove it. With that thought in mind, Susan ignored Williams' warning to her not to leave her chamber and walked out of it.

She needed to check on Princess Tyra one more time before going to bed, and maybe she could just pass the night there. She wanted to be there when Princess Tyra finally regained consciousness so that she could get as much information from her as she could.