The King's Lover
Chapter 246: The Ring Had Been Found

Chapter 246: The Ring Had Been Found

"Is something wrong?" Prince Rylen couldn’t help but ask as he and Caius made their way to the dining room.

The steward had come to fetch him; he seemed very worried. Though he didn’t exactly say what was wrong, Rylen understood immediately and agreed to get Caius out of the room.

Rylen had expected a fight, but surprisingly Caius had left the room without so much as a word to him. Rylen had chalked the whole interaction with the steward up to fear for his life after the incident from last night, but it didn’t take long for Rylen to discover that something else was definitely wrong—though he couldn’t place his finger on it.

"What nonsense are you asking now?" Caius said with an annoyed tone.

Rylen frowned as the crown prince rested dark eyes on his face. He had barely spoken, and this was the first question he would ask. There was no doubt about it—Caius was in an extremely foul mood.

"Nothing, Your Grace," Rylen said curtly and returned his attention to the path. It hadn’t been this bad last night, which meant something must have happened.

There wasn’t really any sign or indication that something had gone awry other than the crown prince’s broody state. He kept a straight face and a somewhat calm demeanor, but it just felt like the calm before the storm. It was painfully eerie.

Rylen glanced at the steward walking behind them. Henry kept his gaze down and maintained some distance between them. Rylen returned his attention to Caius, but the latter didn’t seem to notice.

Caius addressed his mother indifferently as she stepped into the dining room. He didn’t look at her and didn’t further the conversation. Queen Violeta was left looking at Rylen with a puzzled expression, while Rylen could only shrug and shake his head. <a href="https://.com">.com

Caius picked up his cutlery and brought it to his lips, exposing his ring to his mother. Queen Violeta nearly flew out of her chair, and even Rylen had a hard time hiding his shock, as he had not noticed the ring before and Caius hadn’t mentioned it.

"Caius," Queen Violeta called.

Caius immediately stopped what he was doing and lifted his gaze to his mother. It was rare for her to call him by his name—she often referred to him as "son."

"Yes," he said coldly, hoping it wasn’t a conversation—he truly wasn’t in the mood.

"Your ring," she whispered. "You found it."

Caius glanced at his finger, and his gaze darkened as the details of last night poured into his mind.

"Hmm," he said absentmindedly.

"Where did you find it?" Queen Violeta pressed, refusing to give up.

"Does it matter?" he asked, still absent-minded. "I found it."

"Yes, it could have been stolen."

Caius glanced at his mother again and then looked down, not saying another word.

Queen Violeta glanced at Rylen, but she had seen how surprised he was. Her brows furrowed as she tried to figure out how he could have gotten the ring back so fast.

Did the stupid maid mess up? Did the crown prince secretly conduct a search to find it but was still protecting the whore?

She tried to get the information from him, but no matter what she said or did, Caius didn’t respond to her more than with his occasional tired grunts.

Queen Violeta, unfortunately, had to give up, and after the meal was over, Caius left with Rylen not saying a word more.

Queen Violeta was fuming. "Get the incompetent maid!" she yelled as she headed for her room.

One of her ladies-in-waiting was quick to bow and separate from the bunch. She quickly ordered a servant to get Welma and returned to the Queen.

When Welma got to the Queen’s bedchambers, Queen Violeta was seated, waiting for her. She was not surprised to be summoned, however, Welma couldn’t hide her shock when she was taken right to the Queen.

She fell on her face without saying a word, her chest tightening as she was placed in front of the Queen. Welma no longer attended to the Queen, and it was her ladies-in-waiting who usually received her, at least recently. <a href="https://.com">.com

She had immediately figured out the Queen was limiting her interactions with Welma for several reasons, and Welma would not be surprised if one of them was so she could easily cut her off when the time came.

"The crown prince has found the ring, you worthless maid," Queen Violeta said.

Welma closed her eyes as she kept her forehead locked to the floor. This was different—very much so. The Queen had such an overbearing presence, completely different from the ladies. Her words were also final, and Welma knew one wrong move and she would be punished on the spot.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me," Welma whispered. "I didn’t find out until after breakfast."

"What do you mean?" Queen Violeta asked.

Welma felt sweat drip down her back, and the part of her head on the floor was already sticky. The Queen sounded really angry. She doubted the news about Rose leaving the castle with the crown prince would be enough to pacify her.

"Just before you called me, Rose was talking about how she found the ring. It was my mistake, Your Majesty, but I never thought there would be any reason for her to look under the bed. She saw it when an unlit candle fell and rolled under the bed. She told me she gave it to the crown prince last night. I am so sorry, Your Majesty."

"You should have known that was a silly place to keep such an important item. What if it had gone missing?!" one of the ladies yelled.

"It doesn’t matter what went wrong or not. This is the last time you will fail the Queen," another said.

"Yes," the rest agreed.

"Your Majesty, please have mercy," Welma cried.

"Has Her Majesty not shown you enough mercies? You’re nothing but useless, and for this crime, it is only fitting that the Queen be rid of you."

"Please, no! I have something that I am—"

"Seal your lips!" one of the ladies yelled.