Chapter 92: Chapter 92
Ivy’s Point of View
The royal garden was a sprawling labyrinth of pristine white roses and towering marble arches. I walked slowly along the stone path, holding my gown slightly to ease the pressure in my lower abdomen, while Ama walked right beside me. We were just looking for a peaceful escape from the suffocating chatter of the grand ballroom when the path ahead was abruptly blocked.
Unexpectedly, Ama and I met Bastian and Seraphina coming around the corner of a grand hedges row. My eyes locked onto them... Bastian wasn’t alone, he was actively accompanying by Prince Samly, for a stroll through the greenery.
Mrs. Margot’s grandson, Samly, was the King’s third son, born directly from Margot’s daughter, Princess Aithusa. Bastian was walking slightly behind the prince, trying desperately to look important, while Seraphina trailed behind them like a ghost.
I stopped walking, keeping my expression perfectly calm. I offered a polite nod and greeted Bastian out of basic courtesy.
"Good afternoon, Bastian."
Bastian stiffened, his eyes quickly darting to me before he offered a tight, forced nod in return.
"Ivy. Enjoying the gardens?"
"Very much," I replied smoothly.
I didn’t say a single word to Seraphina, completely ignoring her bitter glare. I gripped Ama’s arm gently, turned on my heel, and then left the path with Ama before the situation could turn into an open shouting match.
As soon as we were a safe distance away, ducking into a deeper section of the hedges, Ama leaned close to my ear, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"Ivy, I don’t understand," Ama said, as she looked back over her shoulder. "Bastian and Seraphina were not born to the main lineage. How on earth could they even get permission to appear at a high palace banquet meant for legitimate royal offspring?"
I let out a low sigh. "It should be the King’s concubine, Princess Aithusa, who brought Seraphina and Bastian in to participate," I explained.
"Aithusa is Mrs. Margot’s daughter. She uses her influence over the King to protect her mother’s faction. Bringing them here is a public statement to show the world that Bastian’s side of the family still has royal teeth."
The two of us decided to continue to take a walk up toward the grand stone rockery to get some fresh air away from the prying eyes of the guests.
But as we rounded a large boulder near the artificial waterfall, a hushed, frantic voice echoed from the other side. I instantly held up a hand, freezing in my tracks, and pulled Ama back into the shadows.
Unexpectedly, I overheard a familiar voice, and I tried to think where I’ve head the voice from. We both peeped fast, and hid our face immediately. It was Sarina, the proud, and arrogant daughter of Alpha Pius, the leader of the Amber Fire Pack.
Through a gap in the stone, I watched Sarina reach into the folds of her cloak and hand the trembling maid a small, crystal bottle filled with a iridescent liquid.
"Listen to me carefully," Sarina said, her voice dripping with a desperation.
"This is a concentrated bottle of ’Forget Worry Grass Juice.’ The moment he takes a sip, it will completely suppress his inner wolf nature. It will make him entirely drunk, lose his composure, and behave like a brainless beast in front of the high council. You must take the opportunity to slip it directly into his glass when he isn’t looking."
The young maid flinched back as if she had been burned, her hands shaking violently as she pushed the vial away. She looked completely afraid, tears streaming down her pale face as she retreated a step.
"My Lady, please! I beg of you, don’t make me do this! If the royal guards catch me tampering with a high nobel drink, they will execute me on the spot! I can’t do it!"
Sarina fingers wrapping tightly around the maid’s fragile wrist. Her eyes burned with a murderous, terrifying glare.
"If you refuse this order, you won’t live long enough to face the guards," Sarina threatened coldly, her voice dropping to a lethal whisper.
"I know exactly where your family sleeps in the lower pack village. If that bottle isn’t empty by the end of the first toast, I will personally ensure your parents and your little brother do not survive the night. Do you understand me?"
The poor maid let out a choked, heartbreaking sob. Trapped in a corner with no way out, the maid had to take the poison with tears, clutching the vial against her apron as she nodded her head in total submission.
After we eavesdropped, Ama and I finally stepped out from our hiding spot. My mind was racing into focus. After hearing the entire conversation, I had a strong guess in my heart that a major trap was being laid for one of the high heirs. But I didn’t hear exactly who Sarina was talking about. Sarina did not mention his name out loud.
"Ivy, what should we do?" Ama asked, her face completely pale with shock. "Should we shout for the guards?"
"No," I replied, shaking my head. "We have no proof, and we don’t know who the target is. If we make a scene now without a name, Alpha Pius will turn it against us."
So we did not make a fuss or reveal what we had witnessed. We composed our features and returned straight to the palace banquet hall, taking our seats.
The moment we sat down, the drums rolled, and the King’s herald stepped forward.
"Silence in the court." The royal herald’s voice boomed across the hall, completely cutting through the chatter.
"By special decree of the Alpha King, let it be known that the Silvermoon lineage stands firm and victorious!"
The herald unrolled a gold-embossed scroll and looked directly down at our table.
"For her incredible contribution to the pack’s vital stability, Lady Ivy is hereby publicly rewarded for being pregnant with twin wolf cubs!"
The entire banquet hall exploded into loud applause.
*
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*
During the main course of the grand banquet, the large hall was filled with music and clinking glasses, but I couldn’t focus on the food at all. My eyes kept scanning the room.
At this exact time, I watched the back of the hall. Sarina’s maid... the same girl who had been weeping behind the rocks... approached the tables with a wine pitcher. Her hands were shaking so violently that as she leaned over the seats, the maid accidentally poured a splash of wine directly onto Bastian’s clothes.
Bastian jumped up from his chair, letting out a loud curse as the stain spread across his front. He looked completely furious, brushing at his chest.
"You clumsy wretch!" he barked at the trembling girl. He turned toward the high table, bowing stiffly. "Your Majesty... my clothes are ruined. I must go down to the back hall chambers to change into a fresh tunic."
Bastian left the banquet hall immediately, walking out through the side doors. While no one was paying attention to the commotion, Sarina suddenly stood up from and also left the hall.
I noticed the problem instantly, my mind connecting the dots. Bastian was the one. Sarina had targeted him to trigger a public disgrace. I looked over at Dominic, who was sitting beside me in his wheelchair, but I did not say much out loud to avoid causing a panic among the elders. I simply squeezed his hand tightly and continued to pretend to eat with Dominic, keeping my eyes locked on the doors.
But the silence didn’t last long. After a short while, the doors of the banquet hall were pushed open with a loud, echoing bang. A royal palace servant stumbled over, his chest heaving, and his face completely drained of color as he ran past the guards.
He didn’t care about court protocol. The servant leaned forward over the royal dais, as he told the shocking news directly to the King and Queen.
The moment the King heard what the guard had whispered in his ears, his expression turned into one of pure, unbridled fury. The alpha Queen’s eyes went wide with a sickening horror, and her gaze instantly fell across the room, locking directly onto me, Dominic, and the pale Seraphina who was sitting alone at Bastian’s empty table.
The music in the grand hall cut off instantly, a suffocating, freezing tension dropping over the hundreds of noble guests as they realized a scandal had just exploded behind closed doors.
Immediately after the King’s hand slammed down onto the armrest, a high royal maid walked quickly down the steps from the dais, her face completely stern as she marched straight toward our table.
She stopped right in front of us, bowing rigidly before her loud voice cut through the silence of the room.
"Lady Ivy, Master Dominic, Lady Seraphina... the King commands your presence immediately. You should go directly to the back hall chambers right now."
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