Interstellar Beastworld: Raising A Cub With My Mummy System!-Chapter 17: IT WAS DUKE VARN WHO ORDERED ME

Uriel stood abruptly, his hand leaving her stomach. "You are being moved to my quarters where guards will be posted and no one enters without my approval."

He turned to Magus. "Handle it."

Magus bowed and left.

Uriel looked at Lin Yue, his expression unreadable but his eyes holding something she could not name. "Rest. I will handle this."

He left without waiting for a response.

The move happened quickly.

Guards escorted her through corridors she had not seen before, up a level, through heavy doors, into a wing that felt different from the rest of the castle, quieter and more secure.

Uriel’s quarters.

The room they gave her was large, with a bed big enough for three and windows overlooking the city.

A guard stood at the door and another patrolled the corridor.

Lin Yue sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on her stomach, feeling the baby move beneath her palm in small flutters.

[YOU ARE IN HIS PRIVATE QUARTERS NOW. THAT IS SIGNIFICANT. HE IS TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY.]

She leaned back against the pillows and closed her eyes.

Someone had tried to kill her baby and she would not forget this.

Morning light filtered through the narrow window high on the wall. Kaela sat on the bench where they had left her, her hands still bound, her eyes fixed on the floor.

She had not slept, had not eaten, had not moved for hours.

The door opened.

Magus entered alone.

He carried a data tablet and nothing else.

No guards.

No show of force.

He pulled the chair from the corner and sat across from her, close enough to speak quietly.

"The poison has been traced to a black market dealer who only works with high-ranking clients. The payment came from a shell account. We will have the name by tonight." He set the tablet on his lap. "That gives you a few hours to decide whether you want to tell us first."

Kaela did not respond.

"Your son reported for duty this morning. He does not know what happened to you yet. Your daughter is at home with her husband. Neither of them are in custody and neither of them will be unless you force my hand."

Her hands trembled but that was the only reaction she gave.

Magus waited.

The ventilation system humming in the background.

He disliked interrogating. After all Uriel was going to kill them, he killed someone once just because he stole his salt, Kaela was already good as dead.

"Eighteen years in this palace," he said quietly. "You have served meals to nobles, worked through holidays, festivals and funerals. You have been invisible, reliable and utterly replaceable." He paused.

"Now you sit here protecting someone who will not lift a finger to save you."

Kaela’s jaw tightened.

Still, she did not speak.

"I am not here to threaten you. Threats do not work on peole who have already accepted death." Magus leaned forward. "I am here to offer you something better. A chance for your children to live without looking over their shoulders for the rest of their lives."

She looked up then.

Her eyes were red and swollen, her face streaked with dried tears. "You cannot protect them from him."

"From who?"

She shook her head slowly. "If I tell you, he will find a way. Not today. Not tomorrow. But someday. He is patient. He has resources. He will wait until your guards are elsewhere and then he will take everything from them because I betrayed him."

Magus studied her. "You speak as if you know him well."

"I know what he is capable of." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I have known for years."

"Then you also know that keeping his secret will not save your children. He will silence you and then he will silence them because they are the only loose ends left."

Kaela closed her eyes.

A single tear escaped and ran down her cheek.

Magus stood up, placing the data tablet on the bench beside her.

"On that tablet is a transfer authorization. Enough credits to relocate your children to another planet. New identities. New lives. They will never have to look over their shoulders again." He moved toward the door. "The offer stands until I walk through that door. After that, the investigation continues without you."

He waited.

Kaela stared at the tablet.

Her bound hands twitched towards it, then they stopped.

"Who?" Magus asked again.

Silence.

Shaking his head, Magus sighed and left the room.

Kaela sat alone in the room, should she just take the prince’s men’s suggestion? To allow her children transfer to another planet? If Varn couldn’t reach them then maybe they would be safe.

She stared at the intercom for a brief second and then pressed on it.

She was going to die, that was a matter of fact but at least, she could risk it and protect her children to the very end.

Magus who had stepped out to take a smoke, stared at his watch, with the cigarette hanging in his mouth.

"So she’s made her decision..." He placed the cigarette back in the pack and turned towards the room "Let’s get this over with."

He offered her a smile when he sat down again.

"It seems you’ve made your decision. Let’s hear it."

Kaela took a deep breath, cleared her throat and placed her hand on the table.

"It was his highness, Duke Varn who ordered me to poison the human woman’s food."

Magus smiled, was Varn courting death? Why was he adamant on pushing Uriel to the edge?

Did he do this because of the little spat they had in the garden?

He’s so petty it’s annoying.

"I see. Is that all? Nothing else, you wish to add?"

Kaela stared with clear eyes and bowed her head in shame.

"Please relay my apologies to the madam. It was not my intention to harm her and her child. Still I hope you will keep your end of the offer.."

Uriel smiled and stood up "Well, that depends on the Prince. I hope you understand.."

Kaela’s eyes widened in shock, still she hoped the prince would tamper justice with mercy.