Chapter 164: Threads of Betrayal
Stephanie did not know how to take this news, as she seemed shocked by it all. But the one most surprised was Ariana herself, and even though she did not show it, she knew it was not a coincidence that her ex-husband’s name was Johnson, and for some unknown reason, the man who wanted to marry Lady Stephanie was also Mr. Johnson.
She had just said it, really taking a risk to ask questions, but the look on the lady’s face said it all. It seemed now that this lady really knew a lot. Ariana could confirm that this woman was truly in love with Fredrick, as Fredrick must have told her almost everything about his plan. And now, that was what she was going to use against him.
She wondered if she and Lady Stephanie were the only ones this man had claimed to marry. But her father had married her off because of the debt he owed. Now Ariana was curious—what kind of debt did her father owe this man? She really was curious.
Ariana’s face returned to its cold calm as she stared at the lady. She managed to compose herself, as she did not want to sound weak. She was the Queen and had to act like one.
"Speak. Silence is not an answer, except you want me to assume." Ariana’s eyes turned sharp. She needed to keep her emotions in check, and even though she felt bad for the lady, she needed to understand how many lives had been endangered because of these two people who claimed to be lovers.
Ariana smiled as she turned to Raven with a graceful smile.
"She did not answer completely. Let’s go. No cup of blood for her."
"P...please, I will answer. He had planned to marry her to... kill her."
Stephanie’s body shuddered. She had been in silence all this time, still trying to think about everything. That day the Queen visited, she had unknowingly saved her life. And now, to hear that the man who had wanted to marry her all this while had only wanted that because he was planning to kill her—it broke her.
The maid who sat there knew it would be her loss. She had already answered two questions, and not answering the third meant she would lose. And if the Queen leaves and comes again and she begged for a second chance, she would have to answer five again, which she did not plan to do at all.
Stephanie remained silent. She knew it was better to know the truth, but never in her life would she have believed that the man who wanted to marry her was once married to the Queen—and not just that, but that he was known to be dead in the village.
She pressed her lips together. She had really been living a beautiful life in the castle without knowing what was happening in the outside world—how dirty it was, how wicked people could be. But why did he want to kill her? She never did anything to him.
"Why?" Ariana asked her fourth question.
The woman’s head fell. She knelt on the floor, her forehead pressing against the cold stone. She could not believe she was actually betraying her lover because of a cup of blood.
Was their love not strong enough, like she thought? Or was she scared that if she died here, h..he would move on without her? After all, during the plan to poison the Queen, he had not sent anyone to find her when she failed to meet him on the day arranged.
The lady pressed her head harder to the ground, then spoke softly. Her voice was calm, yet cracks of weakness laced it.
"The royal werewolf blood... it is special. It gives great n..nutrients to the body of vampires. That...that is why we vampires, when fighting wars, when weakness comes in, we try to target the royals to bite them, to regain extra strength." there was short pause as fge lady continued "B..But it is also our weakness—because if we mistakenly bite...bite a non-royal instead, I..instead of strength, it becomes poison. And that p..poison gives the werewolves even more strength for attack."
Her explanation came with great hesitation. Ariana was a patient person so it did not really bother her by the hesitations. Stephanie, on the other hand, grew restless at the woman’s slowness. Her hands moved quickly at her sides, brushing her gown without realizing it, her foot tapping sharply on the floor.
The lady finally continued.
"Selling a werewolf’s royal blood to vampires costs more than a thousand coins. A thousand is the least it could be sold for—nothing less."
Ariana’s eyes widened. That was a fortune—enough to change an entire village. But then why had he planned to marry Lady Stephanie? And Ariana did not have royal blood. What did she have that made him want to marry her? And how did he even know her? She was no royal at all.
"Last question," Ariana spoke up breaking the silence, her expression calm. She needed to ask one more. Lady Stephanie was trying hard to keep her composure, and Ariana respected that.
The Queen could tell Stephanie was strong and handling it well, even though deep down she was broken. The royal school had at least taught her how to keep her expression unreadable when faced with rejection or shocking revelations in public.
"Where is Mr. Frederick?"
Silence fell. Raven stared at the lady, then at the Queen. Something that he thought would take him days to uncover had simply been revealed by the Queen in a matter of minutes. He knew Frederick had a lover, but never in his wildest thoughts would he have imagined that the maid of the royal duplex was that lover—and not just that, but a vampire.
The Queen was more powerful than he thought. Not that he had ever doubted her power, but today she exceeded his expectations.
He knew the King would be proud once he heard of this—though angry as well, since he never wanted his wife involved in such things. But now, she was Queen, and this was her choice. That was what Raven respected.
The lady gnashed her teeth, trying to keep her fangs from breaking free, because the more they pushed out, the stronger her hunger became.
Thanks to the Queen, Raven could finally connect the missing pieces. What once seemed random no longer was.
The lady’s nails grew longer, screeching against the floor, the unbearable hissing sound echoing through the dungeon. She pulled away, but it did not help. This was the last question..and the hardest. The Queen had indeed thought deeply.
She pressed her lips together, then spoke in a cracked, low voice—so low that if anyone had spoken at that moment, they would have missed it.
"He is on his way here."