The Debt Of Fate
Chapter 203: Authenticity of the seal.

Chapter 203: Authenticity of the seal.

"Your Majesty, I am truly loyal to the royal family. The prescription this time was ordered by the late king," Nathan answered honestly.

Anastasia raised her brows. "Do you take me for a fool? The late king is dead how am I supposed to investigate your claim? Moreover, why would he give such an order? I think only in the torture room will you tell the truth," she said coldly.

"Your Majesty, I swear on my life that this is the truth. Heaven bears me witness. When the late king thought his death was near, he asked me to ensure that you didn’t get pregnant for a few years. I have a letter written by the king. If Her Majesty doubts me, I can show it to her," Physician Nathan explained. He knew that, given the circumstances of the king’s death, no one would easily believe him. This was why he had no choice but to frame Dorothy.

"Why would the king give such an order?" Anastasia still had doubts, although Nathan appeared sincere.

"I don’t know. But the letter was meant for the king and his mother. Perhaps he explained his reason there," Nathan said, he had been loyal to the royal family. He hurt Anastasia at the late king’s command. He did not feel he had done anything wrong.

Anastasia looked at him. "Where is the letter?" she asked.

"I hid it. If the queen allows, I can retrieve it," Nathan replied. Things had already gotten to this point, he could only be honest with Anastasia.

Anastasia did not trust the man enough to let him leave. What if he ran to the king and confessed that she had forced him to frame Dorothy?

"Grater, give Physician Nathan a sheet of paper," she instructed. Grater moved quickly and prepared paper, ink, and a pen for him.

"Write down everything you just told me and press your fingerprint on it. My nanny will accompany you to retrieve the letter under the guise of collecting medicine," Anastasia said.

Hearing that the queen was willing to give him a chance, Nathan immediately began writing. Once he finished and signed with his fingerprint, he left the room with Grater.

Anastasia looked over what he had written and fell into deep thought. She could not fully remember the details of her dream—only that the king had also died suddenly. She had supported King Edward in every way possible. Later, she had been unable to bear children and was forced to adopt the son of her husband’s mistress. In the end, she was poisoned to death.

All this time, she had believed that her inability to conceive in her dream was caused by Duchess Anita, but now she began to question that assumption. In her dream, her behavior had differed from the present, so perhaps the duchess had not harmed her after all.

"Could the problem have started with the late king?" she wondered. But no matter how she tried, without recalling her dream clearly, it was hard to be certain. The current situation really made her worried.

Anastasia was still lost in thought when Grater returned, the letter in hand. Anastasia looked at it and saw that the seal was still intact, indicating it had not been opened. She had seen the king’s seal before, and this one looked identical.

Anastasia hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose to break the seal and open the letter.

There were not many words written. The handwriting was clear, but Anastasia guessed the writer had been weak when writing it. Her mother had taught her how to judge a person’s condition by their penmanship, and she could glean a few details just by looking at the letter. The only problem was that she didn’t know what the king’s handwriting actually looked like, and she worried that Nathan might have forged it. To someone unfamiliar with the king’s writing, it could appear genuine.

After some thought, she read the letter. It was brief. The king had written that he ordered Physician Nathan to prevent her from conceiving, as he feared the kingdom might fall into chaos if he died suddenly. He hinted that he was guarding against General Robert and other ambitious royals.

After all her readings about kingdom affairs, Anastasia immediately understood the king’s concern.

Although she didn’t know much about General Robert, the fact that he had allowed his daughter to marry her father, Duke Thompson, and how his family had embraced her after her engagement to the crown prince, led her to believe that he was someone who sought political gain. She could understand the king’s decision.

But what puzzled her was why Physician Nathan would still frame Dorothy despite having this letter. Was the incident yesterday staged just for her to see?

Anastasia quickly dismissed that thought. If it had truly been a performance, the king would have arranged a scapegoat—he wouldn’t have allowed Dorothy to take the fall. Whether it was because of her dream or the king’s actions the previous day, Anastasia was now convinced that the king loved Dorothy deeply and would not let anything happen to her if he knew she was innocent.

Moreover, this letter still had its seal. The more she thought about the situation, the less it made sense.

If the letter was genuine, why hadn’t Physician Nathan presented it earlier? If it was forged, why go to the trouble of preparing it only to hide it away? It couldn’t have been prepared for her, since Grater had gone with him to retrieve it.

Anastasia examined the paper. It appeared to have been written a few months ago, when the king was likely still alive. After careful consideration, she decided to hide the letter for now. She would search for other documents written by the king to compare the handwriting. Then she would confirm the authenticity of the seal.

Anastasia was convinced that, no matter how close Physician Nathan had been to the king, he could not have easily obtained the royal seal. So even if the handwriting was forged, the seal would be much harder to counterfeit.

If she confirmed that the seal was genuine, then she would confront Physician Nathan and ask why he had never presented the letter to the king and his mother.