Chapter 194 "A man who simultaneously possesses money..."
"You're getting off-topic; the child is still a long way off."
I've been taking birth control pills for a long time; I don't want to have a child with a man so easily again. I can't bear the responsibility. The responsibility of raising a child is immense.
"You didn't switch my contraceptive pills like the Elf King did, did you?" I asked.
Bernard shook his head. "I'm not that despicable."
The next evening, I was trying to put Asmin to sleep, telling her story after story. But Asmin refused to sleep, keeping her eyes wide open and playing with her fingers.
Just as I was frowning as I told her the fifth story, Hero quietly entered and whispered, "Something terrible has happened. Queen Nere's palace is in complete chaos."
"What happened?"
Asmin looked at us with curious eyes, and I placed a rag doll in her hand.
"The Queen's personal maid buried a box in the back garden, which was discovered by the King's guards."
"Box? What does that mean?"
"You'll see when you go and take a look."
Inside the box—was a stillborn infant! When I arrived at Queen Nere's palace, I was horrified to see the box lying on the ground, with a pale-faced, lifeless still baby inside. Judging by its size, it was at most a few days old.
I rushed over, intending to give the baby CPR, but was immediately stopped by Hero and the other maids. "Madam, he has been dead for some time," Hero said.
The palace was in complete chaos. Queen Nere was crying and shouting, "I told you it wasn't mine, why won't you believe me?"
King Amur sneered, reclining in his chair and flicking the ash from his cigar.
A maid knelt on the ground, her makeup ruined by sobs. "It's mine, it's mine, Your Majesty! This is my child with my lover! I'm just so scared..." She must have been the Queen's personal maid, but no one paid her any attention. She knelt there alone, crying uncontrollably.
Benoît and several unfamiliar princes stood silently to the side. Several nobles and ministers stood behind King Amur, occasionally whispering among themselves.
Several noblewomen stood behind Queen Nere, offering her words of comfort from time to time.
Prince Desen rushed over and knelt before King Amur. "Father, this must be a misunderstanding. There is no way Mother would do such a thing."
King Amur's sneer grew even harsher, and Prince Desen slapped the kneeling maid across the face, "You wretch, who ordered you to frame the Queen?"
The maid collapsed to the ground, weeping, unable to utter a word.
Hero whispered in my ear, and I understood what had happened. A maid was burying the box containing the stillborn infant in the back garden when she was caught red-handed by King Amur's guards. The stillborn infant bore a resemblance to the queen, and with its newly grown silver hair, King Amur concluded that the infant was the queen's.
The maid had fainted from crying, but the queen was still sobbing and saying that someone had framed her.
Such royal scandals, whether true or false, are actually easy to suppress. But just as King Amur's guards discovered the affair, several high-ranking officials happened to be passing by, forcing King Amur to conduct a "semi-public" trial.
Several princes and ministers stepped forward and calmly asked the queen a few questions, such as how she usually treated the maid and whether the maid was greedy.
The Amur dynasty ladies and I exchanged a glance, and the head maidservant respectfully ushered us out. At this point, it involved the Queen's privacy, and it was inappropriate for us to remain.
As dawn approached, Bernard returned to my room while I was sleeping. He climbed onto my bed, embraced me, and his even breath fell on my face. I woke up shortly afterward.
"How is the Queen?" I asked in a low voice.
"Her? What else can she be? If the king deems her guilty, then she is guilty."
Is she really guilty?
His forehead pressed against mine. "She has always been guilty."
I paused for a moment, then said nothing more.
I thought this matter would be suppressed, like many scandals that weren't written into history books, and would be buried by those in power and influence. But it just got worse and worse.
The queen's lover was exposed, confirming the stillbirth of the infant. The queen and her lover secretly met outside the palace. King Amur received a secret tip and rushed to the scene, catching them red-handed. In fact, they hadn't done anything, just secretly exchanging information about recent events and discussing how to deal with them, when King Amur appeared. He was extremely shocked and furious because his lover turned out to be Yoli, the adopted son of Abdul, who had already fallen from power in the Yod family.
Yori was thrown into the dungeon, and the queen was placed under house arrest. The Durand family appeared and began negotiations with King Amur.
This matter can be viewed as a big deal or a small one. On the one hand, the queen's infidelity—giving birth to an illegitimate child, killing him, and burying the stillborn—violates natural law and morality, making her unfit to be queen. On the other hand, which nobleman isn't promiscuous, and which queen doesn't have lovers? The difference lies only in whether it's been discovered. Now that it's been discovered, the only option is to suppress it as much as possible, minimizing the impact and preserving the royal family's reputation.
But King Amur was not about to swallow this insult. First, he was losing face, and second, he had a long-standing grudge against the Queen. He wanted to take this opportunity to kill her.
But it's not that easy; the Duran family behind her isn't so easy to deal with.
However, since this matter has already been reported, the Queen's crown is likely to be lost. The condition agreed upon by the Duran family and King Amur is that another girl from the Duran family be made Queen, and the position of Queen must belong to the Duran family no matter what.
Considering the influence of the Duran family, King Amur agreed.
And so, King Amur began his second, or rather, third, spring.
He held a grand wedding with a young, beautiful, and well-proportioned girl, and was overjoyed! The girl was timid, and he laughed heartily, extremely happy.
It is said that on their wedding night, he tormented the girl to the point of near death, and she begged for mercy repeatedly but could not escape.
As dawn broke, the maids cautiously entered the room, only to find the girl foaming at the mouth and lying on the floor, while the king slept soundly in bed, fast asleep and deep in a sweet dream.
I was chilled to the bone upon hearing this, but the maids, including Hero, seemed unfazed, as if it were commonplace. Hero said, "The king has slept with several mistresses to death before; this is the queen, so he was relatively lenient."
Another maid said, "The king likes to play with whips, whipping women until they are half dead, and then dripping wax from a burning candle onto their chests."
Another maid laughed and said, "Sometimes it drips there."
Where? Right there. The most private place a woman can be.
It was absolutely terrifying. The maids, however, chatted and laughed as usual.
When Hero saw that I looked unwell, he quickly coaxed me away.
“This is common among nobles; women are merely tools for amusement.” In the sunlight, in the garden, I squatted on the ground pruning the flowers, and Iani spoke beside me.
I specifically brought Iani along, not because we're particularly close, but because I don't know anyone else familiar with aristocratic circles besides her. Even if I did, they might not be honest with me; Iani is known for being straightforward and not very calculating.
"I heard you caught Prince Benott red-handed in bed?" Iani chuckled. "There's no need for that. To noblemen, it's actually quite normal. Prince Benott must be completely baffled by you."
"Are you familiar with these kinds of gatherings?" I asked while trimming the rose stems.
“Of course,” Iani smiled. “How could I not be familiar with it? I’m often invited to participate.”
Seeing that I glanced at her, she smiled and said, "I'm not bad looking, I'm also of noble birth, I once escaped death from a wealthy family, I have a legendary background, and I'm also very open-minded. There aren't many people like me."
"take me."
I came here against my will, but there was also a certain expectation in my heart, because of my feelings for Bernard. But now, those feelings are making me doubt myself. Is there any point in me staying in the East? Is he worth me staying here as his mistress?
The title of the chief mistress is something many women envy, even fighting tooth and nail for, but it makes me feel awkward. Yes, I like Bernard, I love him, I'm infatuated with him, just like any other woman. But... I can't quite put my finger on why, I just feel like something's wrong, but I can't quite put my finger on the discomfort or unease I feel inside.
I feel like I might have done something wrong, thought something wrong, something's just not right. I have to find the answer myself, maybe by looking at Bernard from a different perspective.
From an old aristocratic house with mottled exterior walls and covered with green vines, through the living room with only a gray-black carpet, to a maze-like corridor, push open a thick door, and you are greeted by melodious music, gorgeous fabric chairs, dim chandeliers, and countless naked beauties.
The women were all naked, their long hair and shapely buttocks billowing as they swayed and walked around the room, their slender waists and peach-shaped buttocks particularly eye-catching.
The men, wearing only bathrobes, embraced beautiful women, drank fine wine, boasted, and laughed heartily.
Some men and women were kissing, touching, and flirting without restraint.
I dressed as a man, one of those rare men who wore full-length bathrobes, with a headscarf covering their long hair. Iani, of course, played my female companion, walking naked beside me, occasionally bursting into laughter, so that we wouldn't look so "strange." "Strange" here means not so gentlemanly.
“Prince Bernard is supposed to be coming tonight,” Ianie whispered to me with a smile. “He’s meeting his wife here.”
"Meet here?" I asked, puzzled. "Why?" This place certainly didn't seem like the kind of place a husband would meet his wife.
“His wife chose this place,” Ianie laughed. “It’s all about romance, handsome men and beautiful women, and overflowing desires; it’s easy to stir up passion in an old married couple.”
I see.
“Ordinary rooms are too boring. What can excite a man like this?” Iani grinned from ear to ear. “His wife is a smart woman. She must have consulted a master.”
I looked around. "Where are they?"
“You want to catch him cheating on his wife? Don’t be ridiculous.” Ianie laughed and picked up a shimmering blue cocktail from the table.
In a corner not far away, a muscular man with a broad chest and narrow waist, wearing a half-length bathrobe, was winking at Iani; he was clearly an acquaintance of hers. Iani raised her drink to him with a smile and said to me, "I'll be right back."
As soon as Ianie approached the man, he grabbed her and started kissing her. I turned away, got up, and left.
"We've found a lead; it should be related to Prince Bernard." A very low voice suddenly caught my attention, coming from above my head, and I froze in place.
I am currently at the bottom of a flight of stairs, with the second floor above me. There are probably two men talking in hushed tones.
"Prince Bernard secretly left a clue for Crown Prince Ivanhoe, and the Queen's maid sneaked into the back garden with a box..."
The voice trailed off so low I couldn't hear it at all, so I quickly walked away from the other side. In the blink of an eye, I saw Bernard and his wife. Bernard was wearing only a waist-length bathrobe, and Princess Nora was wearing a semi-transparent shawl over a bikini underneath, looking extremely sexy.
Princess Nora sat on Bernard's lap, her index finger tracing his face as she smiled. He looked at her with an ambiguous, half-smiling expression, lifting her delicate chin with one hand and wrapping his other arm around her waist.
Just as I was about to go over, a hand grabbed me from behind. "Trust me, don't go."
I was startled, and following the hand, I saw its owner, who turned out to be the noble lady who had once specially come to entertain me at the luxury restaurant.
“A man who possesses wealth, power, good looks, and fidelity is a fraud.” The noblewoman smiled and pulled me into the corridor. “But His Highness Bernard is not a fraud. I’ve heard you like to catch people cheating, but there’s no need.”
I was taken aback for a moment before asking, "What are you doing here?"
“This place is run by my uncle, and I help him manage it,” she winked at me. “I get paid, so I don’t work for free.”
No wonder they dragged me out; they were afraid I'd cause trouble.
“It seems we’re destined to meet. Please have something to drink.” She led me into a side room where candlesticks were lit with fifty candles, the carpet was spotless, and there were snacks and black tea on the table. “Come on in, this is where I usually entertain distinguished guests.”
She was very talkative, and she chatted with me for quite a while, rambling on about this and that.
When I was leaving, Bernard's carriage was waiting for me at the door. I wasn't afraid and got into the carriage without any hesitation.
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