“Answer me, Mother!” Caelan’s voice grew colder as his gaze locked on mine, his intensity unrelenting. “Shall he live, or shall he die?”
If I said he should die, would it bring him peace?
But Alistair was the Regent, and killing him would plunge the realm into chaos.
If Caelan was to reclaim the throne peacefully, Alistair couldn’t die – not by his hand.
“You cannot kill him!”
I bit down on my anger and spoke through gritted teeth.
I wanted to explain my reasoning, but before I could, Caelan’s sword flashed, and Alistair’s head fell to the ground.
“Mother,” Caelan’s smile turned to a sneer, “you’re nothing but a shameless... disgrace.”
His words struck like a blade to the heart. Was this truly the child I had sacrificed everything for?
My vision darkened, and the next moment, I collapsed to the ground.
Before I lost consciousness, I thought I heard him call out to me, his voice panicked.
I had never once guarded myself against my son.
Even if he was a child I found abandoned in the cold.
That year, when I entered the palace as queen, the king was already bedridden with illness. I understood that my marriage was nothing more than a tool in the hands of those who sought power.
I lived cautiously, never daring to step out of line, fearful that any misstep could bring disaster upon my father, who was stationed at the kingdom’s distant borders.
The only reckless thing I ever did was save him.
At the time, I didn’t know who he was. I simply saw a young boy freezing in the snow, and I couldn’t bear to let him die. So, I ordered my maid to bring him into my chambers.
It was only later that I learned his identity – he was Prince Caelan.
His mother had been Lady Seraphine, a princess sent to marry the king in a fragile peace treaty – my predecessor as queen.
But after a war reignited between the two kingdoms, Seraphine had taken her own life.
A prince with such a history – who wouldn’t have wanted him dead?
“Your Majesty, it’s too dangerous to save Prince Caelan. I should quietly send him back before anyone notices,” Viola, my maid, whispered urgently.
Viola was loyal, brought with me from my father’s estate, and she always had my best interest at heart.
But this child… I looked at his feverish, flushed face, and I simply couldn’t bear to abandon him.
The wars between kingdoms – what could they possibly have to do with a helpless child?