CHAPTER 232: BOLD GUESS

Anastasia watched as Duke Thompson left and felt the crack in her heart deepen. She was hurt by the king’s behavior, but that was nothing compared to her father coming to ask her to protect the man who had disrespected her.

As a father, he had never protected her. She felt so alone in that moment that tears began to run down her cheeks.

"My lady," Grater said gently as she walked into the receiving hall and saw Anastasia in tears.

"I am his daughter. Why can he not care about my feelings?" Anastasia asked. She could not understand why he treated her with such indifference.

Grater lowered her head when she heard the question.

"My lady, it’s okay if he does not care. You will be fine eventually," she said with a comforting smile.

Anastasia looked at Grater, suspicion creeping into her voice. "You know something..." Her tone was a mixture of question and accusation.

"My lady, what do you mean?" Grater asked, lowering her head again, trying to hide the guilt in her eyes.

"Tell me. What do you know?" Anastasia pressed. She was now certain Grater knew something about her father’s behavior toward her.

Grater took a deep breath.

"Tell me. It might help me understand and feel less hurt," Anastasia added, desperate to know.

"Then, my lady, you must sit and listen," Grater said, finally making up her mind.

Her hands trembled slightly as she poured more tea into Anastasia’s untouched cup. Her eyes remained fixed on the rippling liquid as though it might steady her nerves.

Anastasia sat forward, her gaze locked on Grater. "Go on," she urged, seeing her hesitate for too long.

Grater inhaled slowly, her voice quiet, almost reverent. "It began over forty years ago, back when your grandmother, Lady Elenora, was married to the brother of Duke Thompson. Though their family had no official title, they were respected because of their close relationship with the old Duke. Lady Elenora was rumored to be a great beauty, full of ambition... but she carried a burden no one could ease."

"She could not conceive."

Anastasia blinked, surprised. "My grandmother?" Though she knew her family wasn’t originally in line to inherit the Dukedom, her father had unexpectedly received the honor twenty years ago due to certain... incidents.

Grater nodded. "For nearly a decade, she and her husband had no children. There were whispers... pressure from both noble families. She tried every healer, every charm, every physician. She even spent time at the church, praying fervently to have a child—all to no avail. At one point, your grandfather was rumored to be considering divorce. It was said he wished to remarry because of her inability to bear an heir." Grater paused, unsure of how much of the tale was true. She only knew fragments passed down through whispers.

Anastasia frowned. "But he didn’t," she said, raising her brows. After all, Lady Elenora remained her grandmother on every official record.

"No. Because Lady Elenora devised a plan," Grater said solemnly. "She chose her most loyal handmaid—a quiet girl named Maela who had served her since girlhood—and instructed her to become pregnant by her husband."

Anastasia recoiled slightly. "She... offered her maid?" It was shocking. Most noblewomen would choose a mistress for their husband and adopt the child. Her grandmother’s approach was unexpected—and extreme.

"She demanded it," Grater corrected softly. "The maid had no choice. Lady Elenora promised her protection, wealth, and that the child would be raised as nobility. But there was one condition: no one was ever to know. Lady Elenora pretended to be pregnant. Somehow, she even faked the symptoms convincingly. From what I’ve heard, apart from her husband, no one else knew of the arrangement."

Something flickered in Grater’s eyes—admiration, perhaps, mixed with fear.

Anastasia’s thoughts were racing. "If it was such a secret... how did you find out? You only joined the Thompson family after my mother married in."

Grater took another deep breath. "I didn’t know at first. Your mother told me... on her deathbed," she confessed.

"My mother? What does this have to do with her?" Anastasia asked, dread beginning to settle in her chest.

"My lady, calm down. Since I’ve started, I will tell you everything your mother discovered over the years," Grater replied.

"Like I said, no one was supposed to know—not beyond Lady Elenora, her husband, the maid, and the midwife. But heaven has a way of revealing secrets. To cover it up, your grandmother sent the maid to a monastery. A trusted friend took care of her during the pregnancy. Around the time of the birth, Lady Elenora announced she was going to the church to pray for safe delivery. No one questioned it."

Grater’s tone darkened.

"After the maid gave birth, Lady Elenora’s guards escorted her far from the royal city to the second region. The Duchess feared discovery. She kept her promise and freed Maela, even granting her some wealth."

Grater paused before delivering the most shocking detail.

"But what no one knew—what not even Lady Elenora discovered—was that the maid went into labor again shortly after leaving the monastery. She gave birth to a second son."

Anastasia gasped. "Twins?"

Grater nodded. "Back then, some still believed twins were a bad omen. Fearing the second son would be killed, Maela and the trusted guard conspired to keep his birth a secret from Lady Elenora."

Anastasia’s hands gripped her gown. "So... Father grew up knowing this?"

"One son was raised a noble. The other, the son of a modest merchant. They lived in separate worlds—the noble family and the second district—but fate would not let them remain apart."

Grater’s eyes grew distant, as though seeing the past.

"Twenty years ago, a young woman fell in love with the merchant’s son. She was beautiful. Engaged to him, in fact. But she traveled to the royal city to visit her wealthy relatives. That evening, a grand celebration was held in their honor. There, she saw a man who looked exactly like her fiancé and approached him, thinking he was the same man."

Anastasia’s lips parted in shock. She had a feeling she knew where this was going.

"The noble son was captivated by her. And the young lady didn’t realize the mistake until it was too late. That woman... was your mother, Lady Maureen. And the noble son she mistook for her fiancé... was Duke Thompson."

Anastasia looked at Grater unable to put her thoughts together. She had read a few plays with twist she had never imagined that her background had so much mystery.

"How did mother find out? Who did mother marry?" Anastasia asked seeing that Grater had stopped speaking.

"Your mother not knowing the mistake she had made at that time, gave her family address to the noble son. After spending a few days in the royal city she returned to the second district. This was when she realized the mistake she had made but it was not a big deal since it was just mistake identity.

Although it was strange to meet two people who looked so alike but unrelated she had pushed the thought at the back of her mind and her wedding plan to the Marchant son continue.

That year after the couple got married the late king George also just climbed the throne. A few royal family got greedy. After all, the crown prince and king had died one after another. They seek to ursup the throne.

Duke Thompson residence at that time supported the king’d cousin, there rebel should have been successful, but the current Duke Thompson who was just a relative of the Duke family then found out about their actions. He also wanted a title, so he joined hands with the plan. That gave him an opportunity to go to the second district where he decided to find your mother.

He found out that she had indeed mistook him for someone else but he really likes her. Your mother is not sure of the situation at that time but by chance the Marchant son saved king George.

He was seriously injured and died shortly after that. When the king quail the rebels he decided to reward the man who had saved him.

Once again the noble son was mistaken for the Marchant son. One had gotten injured rebelling against the king and the other was injured for saving the king. King George did not know about this, finding out that the person who saved him was related to Duke Thompson, the king showed mercy and gave him and empty ’Duke’ title.

On the day of the grand celebration, king George asked Duke Thompson for the thumb ring he had given to him when they parted. Knowing that the king had mistook him all the while, he lied to have given it to his beloved. He told the king he would present it to him in seven days.

Getting the king’s permission he made another trip to the second district to look for your mother...Grater was still speaking when Anastasia’ cut him off.

"What are you trying to say?" Anastasia had a bold guess in her heart but she did not dare believe it.