Bride To His Darkness
Chapter 52: Accusations & Faults

Chapter 52: Accusations & Faults

[Music recommendation; Wrecking Ball by Midnite String Quartet]

The morning weather had taken a severe turn overnight, portraying an eerie gloominess that matched the atmosphere within the Palace walls. The wind howled mournfully that morning, rattling the windows and sending a shudder down the spines of everyone, whilst the servants who were always bustling with energy, moved in silence. The sun, a mere ghostly orb, struggled to break free from the oppressive woe that hung in the air.

It was as if nature itself mourned the impending doom that loomed over the Kingdom of EmptyHollow.

The melancholy of the Palace eventually turned out to be a weight that none could bear to carry themselves. The death of the Queen Mother came as a terrible shock to everyone, and the cries in the Palace didn’t go unheard. Although the Chevalier family had personal strifes to settle amongst themselves, none could deny the fact that they had never loved their Grandmother wholeheartedly.

Lying on her bed with her face pale, and her blue eyes devoid of the spark that once held her spirit, Claire reached for her Grandmother’s bedside, clasping their hands together as more tears spilled from her eyes.

"Grandmother!" She said through tears, "what_ what happened to you Grandmother? You promised you’d be here to see the kingdom grow, you promised you’d be here to share in our joy and watch me get married. You....you had so many plans made for me so.... So how can you leave me just like that? Grandmother, I’m talking to you!"

No matter how much Claire cried or shouted, the lifeless look on her Grandmother’s face was a reality she was forced to fathom with. Agathe, who covered her mouth with her palm to suppress her cries, moved forward to comfort Claire who remained in the arms of her Grandmother.

Tobias and Alistair stood back, their gazes hard as stone as they stared at the dead body of their beloved Grandmother, unable to do a thing about it. They had checked her body for any sign of physical injury, but there was none - not even a single scratch except for the red marks on her neck, which came as a result from the hanging.

"This is bullshit." Alistair cursed through his teeth as he turned away from the sight, he refused to accept the image that presented itself before him when he stepped into the room. "Father." He glanced at his Father whose expression remained solemn as he closed the blue eyes of his deceased Mother.

"Rest well, Mother."

"Father, I think we need to look into this matter strategically. I’ll send someone to bring in the physician and have an autopsy made." Alistair quickly suggested, "We can’t blindly believe she took her own life, Grandmother had no reason to do something like that!"

Agathe, who was busy patting Claire nodded in agreement with her son. "You are right, the Queen Mother detests those who practice this vile act, it is unlike her to take such unspeakable measures when the rules of the Palace find it abominable. I cannot accept it as the truth."

"Hey, has anybody seen Ivan?" Tobias, who noticed Ivan’s absence in the room, asked.

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At the main hall of the Palace, all the servants who were in charge of looking after the Central Palace, stood in a line as Ivan’s deadpan gaze scanned their trembling faces, and he asked audibly.

"Who reported the news of the Queen Mother’s death to the Palace?" His tone was frighteningly calm as he stopped pacing in front of them. The air around him had changed from the usual coldness to a sudden gloomy stillness, and one of the dark-haired female servants who stood in the middle raised her hand up.

"It was me, My Lord." She answered dryly before slowly dropping her hand.

"When did you find out? And what was your mission in the Queen Mother’s chamber at that time?"

"The Queen Mother never misses her early morning tea, My Lord. I visited her Chambers to give it to her when I saw....." the servant reluctantly paused, holding back her own tears as she couldn’t bring herself to complete it, and she lowered her head deeply. "Forgive me My Lord."

"I need everyone to tell me the condition of the Queen Mother before she retired to bed last night. I need to know what happened during my absence... starting with you."

He looked at Lucy whose eyes still held tears, and she bowed her head. "My Lord, she insisted I make her bed, and she had been cheerful at that time. She spoke much about you with content, and she was getting better, I’m also shocked by this incident." Lucy immediately clarified her innocence.

"And you?" Ivan went on to the next person, and everyone genuinely stated where they had been before the incident occurred. Although his reaction to their response was grim, his anger silently grew as he got nothing. He was like a brooding storm that refused to rain down its anger, but it brought along with it a treacherous wind that sent the servants quivering under his leer.

"What about you?" He moved on to the last maiden who seemed more shaken than the rest. "Let me guess, you were doing the laundry and didn’t visit her Chambers at that time, Correct?"

"None.... None that I know of, My Lord." She answered whilst shaking her head vigorously, "but.. but during sundown, the Queen Mother had a visitor, and he was... one of the Ministers from the council. I only attended to their needs, that... that is all I know."

"Which of the Ministers?" Ivan questioned her further, and she held back a frightening squeak when his gaze hardened. She was no different from a petrified mouse that got cornered by a large predatory cat, and her crumbling resolve was at the peak of shattering into dust when the Butler suddenly rushed in.

"Lord Ivan, I have a message to report."

"Can’t you see I’m in the middle of--"

"Forgive me, My Lord, but the matter is rather urgent."

"What is it?"

"There was news of a servant escaping the Palace walls at Midnight. Her name is Lucia, and she was among the servants serving the Central Palace. When the Queen Mother stayed up late at night, Lucia always stood outside her door incase of any emergencies, but strangely, she fled from the Palace last night."

"What?" The servants who were dumbfounded by the news, silently murmured to one another, and Lucy, whose gaze instinctively drifted to the female servant Lord Ivan had been questioning, took notice of how the servants body tensed alarmingly at the change of discussion.

"What’s up with her?" Lucy’s eyebrows knitted into a suspicious frown at the girl’s unusual reaction.

"Where is she?" Ivan asked, turning his full attention to the butler.

"A few guards have been sent to retrieve the servant, there’s a possibility she might know something."

"Report to me once the Servant is brought to the Palace, for now, send for the physician." He then turned to the servants and said, "news of what happened in the Palace shall stick to the Palace alone, until tomorrow when it will be publicly announced to the masses. Not a word shall be spread, you’re all dismissed."

Everyone bowed their heads in acknowledgement, but it was Ivan who walked away first. The servants watched him exit the hall, and one of them whispered in a concerned tone. "Will he be alright?"

That was a question none of the servants could give a response to, and Lucy pursed her lips sadly.

Samantha, who had been instructed to wait in the room, could no longer keep her feet in one place. The horrible news of the Queen Mother’s death came as a shock to her, and although she had not met the Queen Mother in person, she had caught a glimpse of the woman during the accolade celebration. From what she saw, even though it was brief, that woman had a fiery spirit that could not be mismatched, so how is she dead??

Hoping to gain more answers, Samantha wandered through the hallway in her normal appearance, looking left and right in the hopes that she might spot Lucy around. As she kept moving, her eyes caught a glimpse of Claire who was making her way past the opened Courtyard, climbing the stone bridge and entering the hallway with quicker steps.

Hating the idea of running into Claire while she was in her moment of crises, Samantha wisely hid behind one of the big pillars. She secretly peeped from the corner, wondering where the princess was heading to in such haste, but Samantha’s eyes widened in alarm when Lord Ivan also stepped out from one of the corners ahead, running into Claire, and she hid herself completely before Lord Ivan could spot her presence.

The look in Ivan’s eyes didn’t hide his dismal as he got stopped by Claire who looked anything but happy. The sorrow in her eyes was mixed with a tinge of anger as she pointed an accusing finger at Ivan.

"You were Grandmother’s favorite, you always have been, but are you so heartless that you can’t mourn her death?!" From the harsh tone of her voice, Ivan could tell she wanted to scream at him, but her voice had gone so weak that every word she said sounded hoarse. "You’re the reason for Grandmother’s demise, you’re the reason she’s no longer with us! The least you can do is ask her soul for forgiveness and hope that she ends up forgiving you!"

Claire continued to let out her rage at Ivan who remained mute, unflinching, but his silence to her accusation only infuriated her. "Cat got your tongue? You’re quite good at giving answers so why are you silent now??" She challenged, then laughed in a way that was hysterical but sadly painful to the ears. "First it was Father, then your Mother, and now Grandmother? For heaven’s sake how many more people will die because of you Ivan? Am I going to be the next person? I mean will I.... Also be the third person to commit suicide, just like your Mother and Grandmother??!!"