Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 31: ...To Die

Chapter 31: ...To Die

The moment Aideen walked through the door of the Meeting Room, she sensed him – the scent marked with poison and hate; the dreadful stench that erased the lingering presence of Tillian around her right away, replacing it with the disgusting presence of the rotten royalty.

Everything about King Euris Ruan was making her blood run cold. The way his royal uniform rustled when he moved, the way his breathing was always somehow heavier than everybody else’s, the way he continuously cleared his throat with annoying, startling coughs...

But the most intimidating thing was his voice. Cold, detached, serious, monotonous. These were the qualities of his voice he only showed to those whom he despised.

And now, this voice was filling the Meeting Room once again.

"Long time no see, Princess Aideen. I am glad to see you well. It looks like your stay with His Grace Duke Valentine has not managed to erase the color your face acquired while you have been living with Lord Constantine."

Aideen looked away in an attempt to hide her distressed expression which only brought a wide smile to the King’s face.

"Come, take a seat. I hope you still remember your way around here."

He watched as the princess carefully made her way toward the opposite end of the long table, and once she finally took her seat, Euris placed the official decree right before him, and continued,

"You have no idea how disappointed I was to hear that you wished to break off your marriage with the Count. The man was generous enough to take you in when nobody wanted you, giving you a chance to prove your worth. However, not only have you failed to fulfill the only task laid upon you, but you also betrayed his trust and the trust of the Royal Family. Ungrateful as always."

Aideen clenched her hands into fists under the table and bit her lower lip.

He was doing it again. He was repeating the same words.

’Useless. Worthless. Disappointment. To them, I am not even a mere object because even objects can be useful. But not me. They have no idea what I have gone through in that mansion. They do not care. Ungrateful? What should I be grateful for? Every day I was punished for the crimes I have never committed. For the crime of being born the way I am.’

Her heart began to ring inside her ears while her palms were covered in sweat. Aideen tried to take another deep breath but the room was already filled with the suffocating smell of King’s royal attire.

Anxious and scared, she could not help but feel fidgety. Her hands instinctively reached for her hair, however, the moment her skin made contact with its soft, silky surface, a great sense of relief instantly erased all negative emotions and the woman could relax again.

She remembered it – she was not alone now. Though separated by thick palace walls, he was still there and he was waiting for her.

Duke Tillian Valentine.

The King, who was enjoying Aideen’s inner struggle with a content grin on his face, noticed a sudden drastic change in her appearance. Although still melancholically silent, her body began to relax, and that made Euris unusually wary.

He decided to push her buttons more.

"I guess it was foolish of me to assume that you would be better than your mother. That woman had no idea what kind of opportunity was presented to her once she came to this Kingdom and yet, she still chose to be nothing but a miserable parasite! All she ever did was take and she was proud of that while she had absolutely nothing to give in return!"

The King paused and carefully scrutinized Aideen’s expression. His words were working, all he needed was a final blow to finally shatter that inappropriate, fragile confident facade that she managed to build around herself. He concluded,

"At least Princess Yuliana could bear a child. A defective one, but still a child. You, on the other hand, have proven to be useless even in that regard."

The princess began to feel dizzy as if the world around her was moving in circles while her chair was floating in the air. She was feeling cold and sick. Her entire body was trembling.

Euris watched as Aideen slowly succumbed to such great distress and decided that it was the perfect time to execute his plan.

"So now, Aideen, why don’t you take this opportunity to convince me that you still have something of worth in you? I am sure you already know that Duke Tillian Valentine has formally declared his desire to duel Count Constantine. He is a madman. I have no idea why would you even consider siding with him unless you want to add madness to the list of your already existing flaws as well. Talk the Duke out of the duel. It is time you did something right for the first time in your life."

The princess clutched the skirt of her dress once again and lowered her head.

’How dare he? How dare he say all these horrible things about my mother and me and then ask me to do something for him? Time for me to do something right? But what have I ever done wrong? No... Perhaps I did not do anything wrong, but I guess I could not do anything right either. So yes... You are correct, Your Majesty. I need to do the right thing. I need to make this decision.’

She rose to her feet but her legs were reluctant to move. With the power of sheer will, she forced her body to move, praying that she would not make the mistake of stumbling.

As she finally reached the opposite end of the table, Aideen halted, retrieved a gold-covered seal from the little silk pouch attached to the wide belt of her dress, stamped the seal on top of the royal decree, and finally said,

"Thank you for granting me your permission to get divorced, Your Majesty. Your benevolence knows no limits."

She started marching towards the door but as her hand touched the cold, round door handle, she paused again, and added, without turning back,

"You have always called me useless and ungrateful so what do I have to lose anyway? What other degrading words can you call me that would hurt me even more? Finally, there is someone who thinks I am worth something. Someone who thinks I have done nothing wrong... If Count Constantine cannot defend himself, then he still has another choice... To die."