Mated To The Barbarian King Who Is My Ex-husband's Father.

Arianna bit the inside of her cheek at his cold logic. She knew how absurd it sounded to rely solely on her personal faith in Maria to exonerate the girl from a heavy conviction.

​"I know my trust in her isn’t good proof," Arianna admitted, lifting her chin to meet his gaze. "But if you grant me time, I will prove to you that my handmaiden did not steal a thing."

​"Are you implying that someone framed her?" Samantha interjected, her voice dripping with mock innocence.

​"Yes, Samantha. Exactly that," Arianna countered, turning a sharp glance toward her sister-in-law. "This entire event is a setup, and I intend to expose it."

​"Your Highness, I demand justice, and I know you are always fair," Aunt Freya said, turning her back on both women to address the king directly. She had no interest in entertaining the foreign princess’s wild claims. "Time and again, you have rendered swift judgment for victims of crime, and my case should be no different."

​Kane let out a low sigh, his dark eyes shifting between his wife and his aunt as they stood on opposite sides of the pavilion. "Do you trust my judgment, Aunt?"

​"Of course, Your Highness," Aunt Freya nodded with calm confidence.

​"Good," Kane replied smoothly. "Then I will grant two days for a thorough investigation into this matter to ensure beyond a shadow of a doubt that the maidservant acted alone and lied to my face."

​Aunt Freya’s composure cracked for a fraction of a second. "Your Highness, do you truly harbor doubt when the stolen ring was recovered directly from her tent?"

​"No, Aunt," Kane explained evenly. "I would ordinarily grant your demand for immediate execution, but this is the first favor my queen has ever asked of me. I cannot refuse her."

​Aunt Freya swallowed her shock, masking her indignation behind a tight, practiced bow. "As you wish, Your Highness."

​"I am deeply grateful, Your Highness," Arianna said, her heart fluttering with a mix of relief and lingering disbelief that he had actually backed her.

​Kane leaned forward on his throne, his voice dropping into a solemn, heavy warning. "However, Arianna... once those two days elapse, if you fail to produce concrete evidence of her innocence, I will yield full authority to my aunt. And she will decide the girl’s fate."

​"I will bring forth the truth and prove that my maidservant is being framed," Arianna said, offering a respectful bow even as her heart hammered violently against her ribs. She forced her expression to remain composure, holding fast to the counsel Ragnar had given her.

​"The search for the missing necklace will continue," the king announced, his voice echoing through the hall. "That will be all for today. I have other pressing matters to attend to."

​The crowd bowed in unison as the king rose from the iron throne and departed the pavilion, with Ragnar and Cassius falling into step behind him. The moment his shadow faded from sight, Aunt Freya glided over to stand directly in front of the queen.

​"Two days, Queen Arianna," the old woman said, her voice dripping with poison. "If you fail to bring forth your evidence, you had best consider that day your very last in this tribe."

​Arianna’s brows furrowed. "I do not follow your meaning."

​"What is there to misunderstand? When the king turns the punishment over to me, it will cost either Maria her head... or the both of you will be banished from the North forever," Freya threatened coldly.

​"W-what?" Arianna gasped, taken aback by the sudden cruelty.

​So that was it. A cold realization washed over her. Aunt Freya and Samantha were operating in unison to drive her out of the pack entirely; poor Maria was merely collateral damage, a convenient pawn in their game.

​"You heard me loud and clear," Freya declared smoothly.

​"I truly wonder how you expect to dig up evidence when none exists," Samantha added, crossing her arms over her chest with a smirk. She relished every second of the panic visible on the young queen’s face.

​Arianna straightened her posture, taking a sharp step toward Samantha. "And how, exactly, are you so certain that none exists?"

​Samantha’s smirk faltered instantly. The words caught in her throat and she shifted uncomfortably, scrambling to construct a believable lie.

​"Because your handmaiden stole my ring, yet you stand there trying to shield her," Aunt Freya interjected smoothly, stepping in to answer on her daughter’s behalf.

Arianna took a slow, deep breath, exhaling steadily as she fought the urge to wipe the arrogant smirks right off their faces. "You need not concern yourself with how I conduct my investigation. I certainly shouldn’t waste another second arguing with either of you. Good day, Aunt Freya."

​Without giving them another glance, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving the mother and daughter standing alone in the pavilion.

​By the time Arianna reached the privacy of her tent, a wave of overwhelm washed over her. She paced the floor, her mind spinning. Where was she even supposed to begin?

How could she possibly unearth proof of Maria’s innocence when the stolen ring had been planted directly among her belongings?

​Sinking onto the edge of her bed, she buried her face in her palms. For ten agonizing minutes, her thoughts remained a tangled, blank mess.

Panic gripped her chest at the terrifying thought of those two days slipping away before she could find a single clue to save Maria and herself.

​"Your Highness," a quiet voice called out.

​Arianna looked up to see Eira stepping into the tent. "Do you want anything?"

​"No, Eira. I am simply at a loss for where to begin," Arianna admitted, sitting up and smoothing back her hair with a weary sigh. "If I fail to find something, I am terrified of what will happen to Maria... and to me."

​"Nothing terrible will happen, Your Highness. The king granted you time to prove her innocence...a courtesy he has never extended to anyone before," Eira said softly, taking a step closer. "Ordinarily, he would have handed down swift judgment without a second thought, especially given that the stolen item was found in her possession and belongs to his high-ranking aunt."

​The realization hit Arianna with sudden weight. In the chaos of the pavilion, she hadn’t fully grasped the magnitude of Kane’s gesture. Gratitude warmed her chest, knowing he had prioritized her wishes over pack tradition.

​"Where do you intend to start?" Eira asked.

​"I don’t know yet," Arianna confessed.

​"First, you must look at your enemies within this tribe," Eira suggested calmly, her eyes narrowing in thought. "Who among them stands to gain the most from seeing you fall?"

Arianna let out a bitter, painful laugh. "I am beginning to think the entire pack despises having me as their queen."

​"That is not entirely true, Your Highness... though it is not far off, either," Eira admitted with an empathetic nod. "However, ask yourself this...who would dare enter the Grand Aunt’s tent without permission?"

​"You make a very fine point, Eira," Arianna said, rising from the bed as clarity began to settle over her. Her maid’s logic was sound.

​"No commoner in this tribe would dare cross that threshold," Eira pressed on. "And even if someone did, they were almost certainly acting on higher orders. Do you want to know what I suspect?"

​"Tell me, Eira. What are you thinking?" Arianna asked, her interest instantly piqued.

​"I believe Samantha stole the ring herself and planted it inside Maria’s box so that the shame would drag you down with her. This was never truly about Maria," Eira declared grimly. "A woman as desperate as Samantha would stoop to any depth if she thought it meant securing the king."

​"The thought crossed my mind as well," Arianna agreed, pacing a short distance. "But how on earth do we prove it?"

​"Through the handmaidens who serve the Grand Aunt."

​"Do you truly think they will help us?"

​"They will," Eira said, a confident glint in her eyes. "All it takes is pressing them hard enough, and one of them will break and confess the truth to you."

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