CHAPTER 172: CHAPTER 172: THE QUEEN’S WORDS

Queen Isadora looked at Serena with a gentle smile, but there was a strange glint in her eyes. Serena looked almost as beautiful as the moon itself.

"Brother Maximus has such a beautiful child," the queen said softly. "Such a gentle appearance... so innocent. How I wish I had a daughter like you. But it seems the Moon Goddess has finally listened to my prayers and sent you to me. Brother Maximus surely wouldn’t mind if I called his daughter mine. I have always wished for a daughter of my own."

Serena looked toward her father. She hoped to see some reaction, but Lord Maximus did not say a single word. He didn’t even look at the queen. He just sat there quietly, as if the queen’s presence meant nothing.

But Queen Isadora did not seem to care. She kept smiling as if everything was perfectly fine.

The atmosphere at the table was strange. Everyone looked calm on the surface, but Serena could feel it...none of them here truly liked each other. They were all just pretending. The smiles were fake, and the politeness was also forced.

Even the queen’s kindness felt cold. Serena could feel no warmth from her words, only a chill that touched her heart.

Then the queen said again, "Serena is really beautiful. I wonder who her mother is... Is it Lady Elara?"

The name struck like lightning.

Serena froze, and at that exact moment, Lord Maximus threw the knife in his hand onto the table with a loud clang. The sound echoed through the hall, making everyone flinch...including the king himself.

The King looked sharply at the Queen, warning her with his eyes, but Queen Isadora did not stop.

After a pause, she said softly, "After all, everyone has heard the famous love story of Brother Maximus, how he almost left everything, even his throne, for Lady Elara. And now that he suddenly has a daughter... she must be Lady Elara’s, right?"

Her tone was calm, and she smiled as if she hadn’t just dropped a storm in the middle of the room. She ignored her husband’s glare and her son’s disgusted look.

"I have always wanted to meet Lady Elara," she continued, pretending not to see the dark expression on Maximus’s face. "She was always so well hidden by her family... and by you, Brother Maximus. No one ever got to see her. But if she gave birth to such a lovely daughter, she must have been a very beautiful and kind woman."

Serena’s face turned pale. She stared at the queen with a confused expression.

Lady Elara? Who is that? she thought.

Her mother’s name was Elarliya, not Elara. And her mother had never told her anything about this woman.

Serena’s thoughts were spinning when suddenly her father stood up. His chair crashed to the floor with a loud bang.

"It seems," Lord Maximus said coldly, "the Queen has too much free time. Maybe she should focus on her own life instead of mine."

His eyes were filled with anger. "You should check how much your husband is interested in other things, not me. That might help your future more than gossiping about mine."

The room went silent.

Without waiting for anyone’s reply, he turned and stormed out, his heavy steps echoing through the hall.

Serena sat frozen in her seat. She didn’t dare move or look up. The tension was thick, and her heart was heavy.

Her mind whispered one question again and again...

Was this why my father and mother were never close? Because my father had already loved someone else... Lady Elara?

The cheerful morning had completely vanished. All that was left was silence and confusion.

Queen Isadora looked at Maximus’s back as he stormed out of the hall. Her gaze then slowly turned toward Serena, who sat frozen in her chair.

The girl looked so pale that she might faint at any second. Her lips were trembling, her fingers tightly clenched together.

A slow smile formed on Queen Isadora’s lips. She raised one eyebrow and thought to herself, So... my guess was right after all.

She is a bastard child. Not even Lady Elara’s.

How amusing. The great and mighty first prince, the man who once claimed to love Lady Ellara so deeply that he would give up everything for her, has cheated on her instead. So, it seems betrayal runs in their blood.

Her eyes flicked toward her husband, who was still sitting there in silence with a cowardly look. Still a mouse in front of his brother.

And this bastard husband of mine is no better, she thought bitterly. Like brother, like brother. Both filled with pride and dirt inside. Once, I thought the elder brother was different... honorable, disciplined, and loyal. Once, I even believed I would have been happier if I had married him instead of this useless man.

But now? Now I see clearly. None of them are pure. Even the elder one, who pretended to be a saint, couldn’t keep himself from falling. Lady Elara gave him everything, and he still fathered a child with another woman. And now he dares to bring that bastard child into the palace, sitting her at the royal table like she belongs here.

Her lips curved slightly, but her eyes were filled with disgust.

How laughable.

She looked at Serena again. The girl sat quietly, staring down at her hands, her shoulders shaking slightly.

Isadora’s eyes filled with disgust. So this is the daughter of a whore, she thought. Now at first she thought the girl had potential and was of good blood, but now she is nothing but just a nameless bastard.

The hall was still, filled with awkward silence. The king’s face had turned dark, the prince was stiff, and the servants didn’t dare move. But Queen Isadora sat calmly, her posture graceful, her expression perfectly composed as if nothing had happened.

She gently lifted her cup of tea and took a sip, still smiling faintly.