Afterward, King Arxon fixed his gaze upon his illegitimate daughter Irene who sat at the end of the table. He asked her in a deep voice that carried no trace of fatherhood: "You… how old are you now?"
Irene was startled for a moment but she answered in a tone that did not tremble: "Nineteen years old, Your Majesty."
A brief silence followed as he examined her closely, as if truly seeing her for the first time after ignoring her for years.
He loathed looking at her because she reminded him of her mother, the only person who had ever made him feel helpless.
He weighed his words then made his decision internally and finally spoke:
"It seems to me that you have fully recovered from your illness, and this means you clearly understand your position. I have allowed you to stay in my palace all this time, and I have allowed you to sit with me at a single table so you may learn what you ought to learn. And now… there is no longer a reason for you to remain in the shadows. Therefore, I have decided...
a formal debut ceremony will be held for you as soon as possible, just like the other princesses. A coming of age ceremony so the people may know you. Once the rites are over, I will decide your next move… Is that understood?"
Irene bowed in her place with composure: "Yes, as you command, Your Majesty."
The news fell like a thunderbolt that split the silence of the hall, freezing the blood in everyone's veins. The queens and their daughters exchanged looks charged with shock and denial as if what they heard was nothing but an illusion. Their faces which were accustomed to pretense broke to reveal raw astonishment they could not hide.
Even Queen Elvira, the most favored and closest to the King's heart, turned pale and her hands stiffened over the silk. Despite the volcano of objection brewing in her chest, the prestige of King Arxon was a fortress wall she could not touch.
But Queen Melanie, the second queen, had another opinion. She was the one who usually handled such matters and supervised the parties, but this was the first time the King himself announced his desire to show one of his daughters… but which daughter? It was the daughter of her former maid,
Irene's mother, whom she hated even the air she breathed and had bullied the entire time.
Despite her extreme fear of her husband the King, her arrogance possessed her completely. Her lips trembled and she said attempting to object: "Your Majesty… forgive my intrusion, but would it not be wise to focus first on your legitimate daughters instead of that—"
She stopped suddenly.
A single silent look from the King was enough to freeze the words in her throat. He did not need to raise his voice; his presence alone was enough to make her retreat and lower her head in humiliation.
Arxon said as he stood up: "Again, I do not allow anyone to interfere in my decision. Dinner is over. Melanie… go to your room and learn how to distinguish between the tongue of a queen and the tongue of the commoners before you speak my name again.
If you do that once more, you know very well what will happen to you, to you and everyone here..."
Queen Melanie bowed and did not utter a single word. The King left and Crown Prince Leonard followed him with military steps, leaving behind the time bomb his father had set. The steady beat of their footsteps on the marble floor echoed like the rhythm of war drums before the storm.
As soon as King Arxon's cloak disappeared behind the massive doors, the thin thread holding the hall's calm snapped. The royal silence turned into a din of muffled breaths and hatred that exploded all at once. Queen Elvira was the first to move. She rose and her chair scraped against the marble causing a sharp screech. She walked with fast, heavy, and steady steps toward the end of the table where Irene sat
The glow of her anger preceded her, and her face which was always an example of iron coldness was now erupting with resentment.
She stopped directly in front of Irene, her shadow looming over the seated girl, and said in a tone as sharp as a sword: "Stand up!"
Irene did not move immediately, which made the veins in Elvira's neck bulge. She screamed again: "I said stand up when I address you!"
When Irene stood with the calm of the surrendered, Elvira raised her hand adorned with diamond rings and struck Irene's face with a powerful slap that echoed throughout the quiet hall.
Irene's head snapped aside and finger marks began to appear immediately on her pale skin.
Elvira said while panting from anger: "How dare you? Your tainted presence ruined the joy of my son the Crown Prince and spoiled my night that I waited months for! This dinner was not for you, but for our pure lineage that will rule Eskard, but you always appear as an obstacle to draw attention to yourself.
Because of you, the King dared to reprimand a queen in front of everyone! You should not have attended in the first place.. I wish you had a shred of dignity to disappear forever. You are not welcome here from the start.
I do not know why the King wants to display a filthy piece like you to the public, but what I know is that there is no place for you in this palace even if that happens!"
She stopped for sec then continue
"So listen to me well.. Next time, even if the King himself orders you to attend and you come, I will strike you with a cane until your skin is torn and you know your true size. Do not test my patience again."
Elvira struck Irene's shoulder hard and left the hall with haughty steps, and the door opened for the rest to pour out their rage. Knives began to fall from every side.
Irene remained standing in her place looking into the void while receiving a torrent of insults in total silence. Everyone emptied their poison into her face, blaming her for everything that happened even though she did not utter a word. Then they withdrew one by one leaving her alone under the cold lights of the hall.
Irene entered her room and closed the door behind her then leaned against it feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. She whispered to herself bitterly: "I should have feigned illness.. I should not have gone." She threw her exhausted body onto the bed and placed her hand over her eyes as if trying to block the reel of the night's events from her memory.
She stood up and sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes fixed on an imaginary point, thinking about how to deal with this new variable. She went toward the bookshelf and pulled out a certain book and took from its folds a paper hidden with great care.
The paper included a list of names of aristocrats from Eskard known for their bad reputations; information she gathered in total secrecy so that one of them would be a mere screen to grant her freedom to move in the shadows.
She closed her eyes for a moment trying to gather her scattered self then exhaled with distress and returned the paper to its place, realizing that the rules of the game had completely changed.
That night, Irene fell asleep from exhaustion but the silence did not last long. She suddenly found herself in an endless white void. She saw from afar a thin woman with pale skin and yellow hair falling like sunbeams. Irene recognized her immediately… it was her mother.
She called her with a trembling voice: "Mother!", and her voice echoed like a lost plea. The mother finally turned and smiled with tenderness, but in a fleeting moment, everything changed. The white dress began to absorb deep red stains that started small then expanded insanely.
Blood began to flow profusely, crawling until it reached Irene's feet.
The blood froze in her veins and she began to scream in panic: "Mother! Mother!", but the image faded in a vortex of red.
Irene woke up jolting and her muffled scream was still stuck in her throat. She whispered in a broken voice: "Mother…", then she burst into bitter and silent crying while the sound of thunder rolled outside and raindrops hit her window violently.
To be continued...