CHAPTER 31: CROWN PRINCESS LUNA EXPOSED

"Forgive me,"

Nolan lifted his gaze, meeting Luna’s stormy eyes directly, the curve of his lips deepening.

"I don’t quite understand what you mean, Your Highness."

Kiara sensed the tension between them and turned to Luna in confusion.

"Mother, what are you talking about?"

Luna stared at Kiara’s eyes—so clear they bordered on naivety—and the suppressed fury within her erupted uncontrollably.

"Shut your mouth, you useless fool."

If Kiara had just managed to win Nolan’s heart earlier, none of this would have happened.

The sudden reprimand stunned Kiara.

With Nolan and Camilla present, humiliation and resentment welled up inside her.

She couldn’t fathom why her mother would speak to her like this.

Nolan pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze once more.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the door.

Harvey burst in, his face alight with excitement, clutching a report in his hand.

"Where is Her Majesty the Queen?"

Lucky immediately lowered his voice to explain what had just happened and inquired about the test results.

Of course, he was the only one in the room still curious.

The others already knew the outcome.

Harvey casts a meaningful glance at Luna, making no attempt to hide his thoughts.

"Mrs. Luther is indeed biologically related to Her Majesty the Queen."

Lucky’s eyes widened, his lips trembling slightly as if searching for words but finding none.

Ignoring the reactions around her, Luna leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

Before long, Queen Elizabeth, her eyes rimmed red, and grandpa Rodriguez, his expression somber, emerged from the study.

All attention shifted toward them once more.

Spotting Harvey, Queen Elizabeth spoke in a hoarse voice.

"The results are in?"

Harvey nodded, handing her the report while repeating his earlier conclusion.

Queen Elizabeth skimmed through the document before setting it aside.

"It’s confirmed.

Camilla is indeed Allen’s daughter—my eldest granddaughter and the First Princess of the E country’s royal family."

Her gaze remained fixed on Harvey as she spoke.

"Have the announcement made immediately."

"Yes," Harvey responded promptly. Kiara found the entire situation utterly surreal, yet she couldn’t deny the truth staring her in the face.

This woman she despised was actually her cousin.

Queen Elizabeth, her face pale and etched with bitterness, turned slowly toward Luna.

"Luna," she said, her voice frail but laced with something unspoken, "do you have anything to say about... what happened back then?

Or the poisoning?"

Kiara had no idea why her grandmother would ask such a thing, but she followed her gaze, fixing her eyes on Luna.

Luna’s hands, resting on her lap, clenched and unclenched, her fingers trembling slightly.

After a long silence, she finally spoke, her voice quiet but firm.

"No."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Queen Elizabeth’s weary eyes.

She had given her daughter countless chances—far too many. What a pity.

Sinclair’s dark eyes swept over Luna with icy indifference, his thin lips curling slightly in a faint smirk.

Just then, the guard hurried in once more. In his hand was a sealed document.

"Your Majesty," the guard announced, "Count Easton has sent this—claiming it contains the truth behind Prince Allen’s tragic accident all those years ago."

What?!

Luna froze, her previously composed expression crumbling into panic.

What on earth was happening?

What was Easton playing at?

Everyone in the room, except for Sinclair, wore expressions of shock.

"Harvey," Queen Elizabeth said slowly, her piercing gaze fixed on the document, "bring it here."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Harvey took the file from the guard with a troubled expression, then presented it to the queen.

Even he hadn’t anticipated this turn of events.

There was no way Easton would ever do such a thing.

Camilla knew this all too well and immediately turned her gaze to Sinclair.

Sinclair gave a slight nod in response.

Queen Elizabeth reached out and opened the file.

Inside were over a dozen pages of data and a small voice recorder.

As she flipped through the documents, her expression grew increasingly grim.

By the time she reached the last page, her hands were trembling.

Her bloodshot eyes flicked toward Luna before she picked up the recorder.

Drawing a deep breath, she pressed play.

"Make sure Allen dies—no matter what."

"The throne belongs to me.

It can only be mine."

"None of this is my fault.

Blame Mother for playing favorites."

"After all these years, she still refuses to give up.

How heartless.

Well, don’t blame me for what happens next."

"Develop an undetectable poison.

I want Mother to see that I don’t need her approval to be a great Crown Prince."

"Spare no expense.

Eliminate Allen’s daughter. Under no circumstances can Mother find her." ... Luna and Easton’s voices rang out with crystal clarity, reaching every ear in the room.

Harvey and Kiara stood frozen, their jaws slack with shock.

Queen Elizabeth’s expression had shifted through a spectrum of emotions—first grief and fury, then bitter disappointment, and finally, a hollow numbness.

As for Luna, her face gradually drained of color, her mind blank as if she had been plunged into the crushing depths of the ocean, suffocating under the weight of despair.

How could Easton have kept so many recordings?

And to present them before her mother—was he out of his mind?

What in the world was going on?!

"Luna," the Queen’s voice cut through the silence, weary but firm.

"Do you have anything left to say?"

"Mother—"

Luna’s eyes darted nervously before she blurted out, "It’s all lies!

Every last bit of it!"

She thrust an accusing finger at Sinclair and Camilla.

"They orchestrated this!

They’re framing me—"

"Even now, all you can do is lie," Queen Elizabeth murmured, her frail face etched with heartbreak.

"You’ve disappointed me beyond words."

She turned to Harvey, her voice barely above a whisper but laced with finality.

"Take her away.

Lock her up until judgment is passed."

Hearing these words, Nolan couldn’t suppress the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Finally, the day had come.

"Yes," Harvey replied, never expecting things to unfold this way.

A sigh of resignation settled in his heart.

"Take the Crown Princess away," he ordered.

"Yes," the two royal guards responded, their expressions conflicted as they approached Luna.

"Don’t touch my mother!"

Kiara suddenly shrieked, shoving one of the guards aside before dropping to her knees at the queen’s feet.

"Grandmother, there must be some misunderstanding!

Mother has always been the most devoted to you—she would never do such a thing.

Please, you must investigate this thoroughly!"

"Kiara, I’ve already investigated everything," Queen Elizabeth said, her gaze heavy with emotion as she looked down at the pleading girl before her.

"Do you think I knew nothing about what happened back then?

I was only deceiving myself."

She pressed her fingers to her temples, her voice thick with bitterness.

"Take her away."

"No, that’s impossible," Kiara shook her head in disbelief, turning to Luna with pleading eyes.

"Mother, please tell Grandmother the truth—none of those things were your doing..."

Luna had been ready to defend herself, but the words died in her throat when she saw Queen Elizabeth’s cold indifference, her gaze deliberately averted.

The light in Luna’s eyes dimmed, her resolve crumbling.

"That’s right. I did it."

The admission froze Kiara in place.

Yet Camilla and Sinclair remained unfazed, their expressions barely shifting—Luna’s confession came as no surprise.

A cornered beast, after all.