Married To The Enemy Kingdom's Illegitimate Prince-Chapter 127 — Annual Royal Banquet (3)

"Your Highness! What happened here?! I stepped outside for a moment, and the king..." Duke Ramsel rushed toward Lucian, gasping as he saw the king’s body lying on the ground, blood gushing from his chest.

Lucian glanced up at the middle-aged man standing before him.

Just a few minutes earlier, Duke Ramsel had approached Lucian for a conversation. Unaware of the topic, Lucian had followed him.

"He is Cynthia’s uncle," Lucian reminded himself, unwilling to be disrespectful toward her family members.

After they walked away from the terrace, Duke Ramsel cleared his throat with a feigned cough.

"Did you know that King Alistair and Prince Vincent are not entirely Cynthia’s brothers? They have different mothers."

Lucian didn’t react to the Duke’s revelation and simply nodded, despite not having known this before.

"Aren’t they too close for half-siblings?" Duke Ramsel whispered, his lips twisting into a repulsed sneer. "What can I say? Those brothers have turned my niece against me," he sighed, as if aggrieved.

"Is that all?"

"P-Pardon?" Duke Ramsel stammered, not expecting such a calm reaction from the grand duke.

"I’m asking if that’s all. There are strange noises outside. I will go and see what’s wrong if you have nothing else to say," Lucian said coldly, his gaze sharp as he turned on his heel and walked out of the hall.

"We need to take His Majesty somewhere to lay him down!" The butler’s loud cry brought Lucian back to his senses.

"Alright. I will see who is on the terrace. If it’s someone suspicious, we need to arrest them," he ordered, glancing at the guards who drew their swords from their sheaths.

Inhaling deeply, Lucian slowly creaked open the terrace door. His eyes widened at the sight of Cynthia, her back facing him. He lowered his sword and waved off the guards.

The guards nodded and returned to the banquet room.

"What are you doing here? Have you not heard all the commotion in the banquet?"

"I have not," Cynthia replied immediately as if she had been preparing for this very question.

"The king was attacked by a poisoned arrow. Can you... heal him?" Lucian hesitantly asked, stepping beside Cynthia and looking at her.

Keeping her gaze on the scenery before her, Cynthia scoffed. freewebnøvel.coɱ

He wanted her to heal the man she had planned on killing. No way!

Confused, Lucian wondered what made her laugh but couldn’t bring himself to ask. It would only make things awkward between them during such a tense situation.

"Come inside, or else you will catch a cold," Lucian sighed, taking her silence as a sign of her refusal.

Without a word, Cynthia stepped back into the banquet room, her eyes carefully scanning the scene.

A few arrows had landed near the tables laden with food and drinks, and some plates and glasses shattered on the ground. Her gaze shifted to the crowd huddled in a corner, trembling in fear.

They can’t even fight for themselves.

She snorted inwardly, disgusted. It baffled her that knights fought to protect cowards like these. Yet, she reminded herself, she had once been among them in her past life. This time, though, she fought for those truly in danger.

Her attention was suddenly drawn to Duke Ramsel, chatting animatedly with a nobleman, a bright grin plastered on his face. Her blood began to boil.

How could he smile so casually, knowing he had assisted the king in his crimes, disregarding his own bond with the queen—his blood sister?

Clenching her fists, she strode toward him.

"Why are you here?" she demanded, her voice trembling with barely restrained fury.

"The king invited me," Duke Ramsel replied smoothly. "Though it seems he’s injured now," he added with an awkward laugh. "How have you been, my dear niece? It has been a while since we last met."

Cynthia didn’t answer, her sharp gaze studying him intently. She knew he wouldn’t have come without a reason.

What could it be?

"Uncle," she suddenly said with a sweet grin, catching him off guard.

It had been years since Cynthia had last addressed him so affectionately.

"Y-Yes?" he stammered, clearly unsettled.

"Could you step outside for a moment? I’m afraid it’s not safe here," she said, raising her eyebrows slightly as she gently clasped his hands in hers.

Suspicious, Duke Ramsel pulled his hand back. "You’ve finally remembered you have an uncle, huh?" he sneered.

"Yes. I just want you safe," she whispered, her voice soft.

"I see," he sighed, before turning and walking toward the exit.

Cynthia followed him with quick steps.

"The grand duke needs every guard inside the ballroom," she instructed the knights stationed at the entrance.

The guards exchanged glances before nodding and stepping into the banquet hall. As soon as they were inside, Cynthia closed the door and cast a locking spell, ensuring no one could leave until she was finished.

She glanced around the now-empty hallway, ensuring no one was watching, then quietly trailed after Duke Ramsel until he came to a halt.

"Where should I go?" he grumbled.

Cynthia rubbed Arlot’s pendant, and he appeared before her.

"We have carried out the plan successfully, and everyone has left without a trace, Your Highness. The king will not make it until dawn."

"Good. I need the next plan executed now. That man," she pointed at the middle-aged man, her eyes glimmering with cruelty, "take him away and ensure he doesn’t escape until further orders."

With a nod, Arlot stepped behind Duke Ramsel.

Cynthia turned her back on him and opened the ballroom door.

A loud groan echoed in the hallway, making her grin as she stepped back into the banquet room.

Two down. One left...

She counted as if her enemies were mere prey she needed to take down for a price— a price she hadn’t even thought of.

"This is where you are!" Lucian exclaimed, grabbing her hand without thinking.

Startled, Cynthia frowned at him, her gaze sharp. She swatted his hand away as though his touch burned.

"What is it?" she demanded, her tone sharp and cautious, her eyes narrowing as if bracing for him to lash out.

Lucian’s heart sank at her coldness. He couldn’t understand what had gone wrong. Lately, she had been so distant, her warmth toward him replaced with a frigid wall. Everything had seemed fine—hadn’t it? He had even entrusted her with his deepest secret, revealing his unique left eye, an anomaly he had concealed from everyone.

Though she hadn’t seemed scared of him then, now her guarded demeanor unsettled him.

A wild, irrational thought struck him, one that made his chest tighten. He struggled to push it aside, but it clawed at him relentlessly.

He gulped, his throat dry, and nervously met her gaze.

"W-Was it you?" he stammered, his voice cracking under the weight of the accusation.

His heart thundered in his chest, each beat reverberating through him like an explosion waiting to go off.

"What do you mean?" Cynthia asked, tilting her head in mock confusion. "What is it about me? What have I done?" Her voice softened, her expression carefully crafted to appear innocent.

She had always wondered if such an act would work on Lucian. After all, he could usually detect her falsehoods with unnerving ease.

Why not test this one too? she mused, biting the inside of her cheek to suppress a smile.

Lucian inhaled deeply, his resolve faltering as he stepped closer. His voice dropped to a whisper against her ear.

"If it was you, you can tell me. I’ll..." He trailed off, his thoughts spinning.

What was he about to promise? That he’d protect her? That he’d shield her from punishment, no matter how damning the evidence?

But why? Why would she do something so reckless?

He couldn’t suppress the doubt gnawing at him. He had long suspected she was orchestrating something grand, but attempting to kill the king? That crossed into treason—an act he couldn’t ignore, no matter how much he cared for her.

"You will?" Cynthia’s voice broke through his haze, her brow raised as she waited for him to finish his sentence. Her tone was casual, yet there was a flicker of amusement in her eyes that made his chest tighten.

He could tell she was savoring this tension, her composed demeanor masking a quiet amusement. It only served to frustrate him further.

He had heard countless rumors about her in the past, and at first, he believed them without question, unaware of who she truly was. But then he caught a glimpse of a different side of her—one that defied the stories he’d been told. That glimpse had compelled him to seek out the real her, peeling back the layers of mystery surrounding her.

In doing so, he uncovered one undeniable truth: she wasn’t a sane woman.

Even if the rumors were exaggerated, even if she sometimes feigned gentleness, there was an undeniable danger in her presence. It lingered just beneath the surface, a sharp edge cloaked in allure.

And yet, he couldn’t resist her.

She was like a magnet, pulling him toward her, and despite knowing the risks, he let himself be drawn in, powerless to fight the force she exerted over him.

"I will..." he sighed. "Answer me first. Did you do this?" He asked, his gaze steady, focused solely on her.

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