CHAPTER 110: THE MISTRESS?!

Emma instinctively tried to wrench free, but Cedric’s grip clamped down on her arm like iron. Her scream tore through the hall.

Aldric’s voice thundered from the top of the stairs. "Cedric!" His tone was sharp, like a father scolding a child. "Let her go!"

"No!" Cedric’s eyes were wild as he dragged Emma closer, his words spilling like madness. "Zara is poisoned—she confessed it! I bet it’s that woman. It has to be her. That’s why Zara isn’t healing. I knew it, I knew something was wrong! I was right! Zara is a strong woman. It’s the poison."

He yanked Emma up the stairs, gritting his teeth like a man possessed.

Aldric moved with sudden fury, seizing Cedric by the collar. "Enough! Let. Her. Go."

But Cedric was beyond hearing, lost in his frenzy. In the struggle, Emma was torn from his grasp. She fell down, and her body rolled down the stairs. Her scream echoed as she rolled down.

Before she struck the marble below, Elias was there. Swift and silent, he caught her mid-fall. Emma clung to him, shaking, tears streaming down her face.

Elias’s expression did not change; his face was a mask of stone, but his eyes burned like a blade drawn for blood. He fixed his gaze on Cedric with such cold intent it was a promise: if Aldric hadn’t silenced him, Elias would have.

Aldric’s fist cracked against Cedric’s jaw, sending him reeling. The hall fell into a terrible hush, broken only by Emma’s sobs as Elias held her tightly against his chest.

"What’s going on here?"

Leroy’s voice cut through the hall. Everyone froze, turning toward him.

Cedric, still reeling from Aldric’s punch, straightened at once, eyes burning with renewed purpose. The sight of his prince was like pouring wine on fire. He stumbled forward, words tumbling out before reason could stop them.

"Zara is poisoned. Your wife is poisoning her! That’s why she won’t heal." Cedric hurried down the stairs, nearly tripping in his frenzy. "You should have protected her, Your Highness! Instead, you brought her into that woman’s hands. Now we have proof. What are you going to do?"

Aldric’s sharp gaze flicked to Leroy. The prince looked as if he had trudged through a battlefield with dust on his clothes, hair disheveled, and shadows under his eyes. And he had returned early.

"Was there trouble?" Aldric asked quietly. His pulse quickened. He had been expecting something, but not this terrible. But another thought gave him comfort. So, the princess succeeded. Again.

"Almost died," Leroy said with a careless shrug, as if brushing death off his shoulder.

But Cedric didn’t care. His master’s survival meant nothing to him compared to Zara’s "unbearable" suffering. He kept raving, his voice raw with desperation.

Leroy regarded him with cold eyes, then glanced at Aldric. "Where is she?"

"The Princess is resting. She doesn’t want to be disturbed," Aldric replied, the faintest emphasis sharpening his words.

Leroy’s brow arched. Aldric dipped his head slightly in understanding. Leroy knew at once—Lorraine wasn’t even in the mansion. But she had left earlier than he had. With her access to the tunnels, she should have been back long ago. Why wasn’t she? Had she panicked? Run away?

Or... did she run into any trouble?

"Resting?" Cedric scoffed. "She knows she is caught and is trying to avoid any responsibility. She knows she could get away with anything! She’s a... terrible terrible person!"

Leroy wanted to go look for Lorraine, but his irritation grew as Cedric’s accusations clawed at his patience. He wanted to kill Cedric to silence him, but he had promised Cedric he’d be kind to him for the rest of his life for the times he had helped him.

He needed to get to the bottom of it and finish it first.

"You’re blaming the Princess?" Leroy asked flatly, his tone carrying an edge sharp enough to silence most men.

Why on all heavens would she have a reason to poison Zara of all people? Even if she did, why would she drag it for weeks when she could do it under a minute?

But Cedric was not silenced. "Yes! We have proof. Emma—"

He spun toward Emma, frantic, his movements erratic as he reached out. Elias stepped between them without a word, a wall of iron.

Cedric’s hand flew to his sword, fingers curling on the hilt, but Elias didn’t move. His stillness was a challenge more dangerous than any blade.

"Enough!" Leroy’s voice cracked like a whip. "Get to my study." He paused, then amended with a flash of annoyance. "No. To the drawing room."

The hall emptied. Doors closed.

Now only Leroy, Aldric, Cedric, Emma, and Elias remained. Elias was not supposed to be there, but his arm never left Emma’s trembling shoulders. He stayed.

Emma shivered, certain this room would decide her death. And yet... she wasn’t entirely afraid anymore. She turned her head, catching the sharp profile of Elias beside her. His presence steadied her.

He felt her gaze. Without softening his expression, he looked down at her. His eyes held a quiet gentleness that spoke clearer than words: Don’t worry. I’m here.

Her lips curved into a fragile smile.

"Speak." Leroy’s voice was calm, almost too calm.

"As I said, Zara’s illness is caused by poisoning. It is that woman who’s—"

The crack of oak echoed like a thunderclap when Leroy slammed his armrest. The chair leg split under the weight of his fury. His brow twitched, but his voice remained low and lethal.

"It’s my wife you are speaking of," he said. "Address her with respect or place your head on the chopping block. Choose."

The menace in his tone was enough. Cedric dropped to his knees, the blood draining from his face. He had forgotten. Forgotten the man who once waded through battlefields drenched in gore, who could rip through armored men with bare strength. Seeing him lately, stooped in the dirt of gardens, sinking his head in stacks of reports, and playing the dutiful husband, he had thought his prince softened.

But here, now, the shadow of that warlord reawakened, and Cedric’s body trembled.

"I—I apologize." He bowed, forehead nearly touching the floor.

Leroy leaned forward, eyes sharp as a blade. "Tell me why my wife would poison Zara."

Cedric froze. That question... he hadn’t expected it. His lips parted, disbelief written on his face.

"Because..." Cedric swallowed. His voice cracked as he looked up, wild-eyed. "Because she is your mistress, is she not? The woman you keep under your roof, the one your wife cannot endure. What other reason is there for jealousy?"

Silence fell. Heavy, suffocating silence.

Leroy’s brows furrowed, the confusion as sharp as the anger burning in his veins. Mistress?

His pulse thrummed. In that heartbeat of misunderstanding, the whole room seemed to tilt toward an unseen precipice.

Emma shivered. Elias’s hand tightened on his sword. Aldric’s throat worked as he tried to read his prince’s shifting expression.

And beneath it all, dread coiled because whatever Leroy chose to believe next would decide whose blood would spill before the night was done.