novelA choice
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Chapter 218 - A choice
Translator - Yue
Leticia's execution took place the following morning.
In spite of being very early, many people gathered around the execution place. People gathered there to insult her for killing her own father, her benefactor and even trying to assassinate her own sister and Queen. She was seen as a true villain, an evil rarely seen before.
Leticia listened to their insults and taunts until her very last moment.
Even though Rihannan had said that she'd no longer show any consideration towards Leticia, she did make sure that the most skilled executioner was selected to carry out her punishment. She'd heard of previous rare cases in which the neck was not cleanly cut off in one single strike, forcing the executioner to hack at the neck, which caused lots of pain and anguish before dying.
After Leticia's death, Rihannan passed her days in a state of continuous astonishment. She rarely went outside and spent most of her time in her room. However, she did make sure of eating and resting well, for the sake of her baby. She wanted the baby to grow strong, so it could take the place of the child that had died without being able to look at this world.
Rihannan also started seeing little of Igor. Once Rihannan healed completely, Igor had to go back to attend the issues he'd overlooked while caring for her. Even though she felt as though she'd grown closer to him, she simultaneously felt as though they were distancing again.
That was probably natural, actually. Igor had cared for her as much as he humanly could after her kidnapping, something she would have never expected before. While she was on her weakest moment, Igor stepped in and made her trust him again with all her heart. However, even after telling each other the truth and untangling the web of misunderstandings, that did not mean that the events from their past life were gone for good. They both had too many emotions and memories that stopped them from overcoming their problems overnight.
Perhaps, for now, she should content herself with simply not hating him anymore.
While thinking of this, Rihannan absentmindedly caressed her belly and looked out the window, seeing the snowflakes falling outside. It was the first snow of the season. Rihannan suddenly realized that she'd never lived long enough to see snow in her past life.
While staring out the window with a knot on her throat, Mrs. Cessly approached her.
"My Queen, the King is here."
She turned her head and saw Igor standing by the opened door. He smiled at her when their eyes met for the first time in a long time. Rihannan smiled back.
"It's been a while, Igor. Welcome."
The two of them sat together, drinking tea and looking at each other while it was snowing outside. The only sound in the room was the cracking of the fireplace inside the room. Neither of them spoke much, but there was a relaxing atmosphere surrounding them. Finally, after a while, Igor spoke first.
"We've received an official letter from Chrichton."
After Leticia's execution, Igor had sent an angered letter to Chrichton, demanding an explanation over the assassination attempt of the Queen of Arundell. The reply had finally arrived.
"What does it say?"
"The Crown Prince has denied any relation to the case. He said the Duke planned everything on his own."
"Just as you expected."
Rihannan let out a long sigh."I knew he'd never admit it. He'd never be able to deal with the storm of consequences if he did, after all."
If the Crown Prince himself admitted he'd attempted to kill the Queen of a neighboring country, the very existence of Chrichton's Royal Family would be in danger. To them, making Arundell forget this incident was the top priority.
"Another report came in, too."
"About what?"
"About Duke Lyurik. We thought he'd stay outside of this since he's turned his back on his own son, Danil, but he's shown a different reaction. He wrote a letter saying his son had only followed the direct instructions of the Crown Prince, and that he was directly against Chrichton's Royal Family for it."
"Are you saying the Duke is rebelling against the Crown Prince? I can't believe that... the Duke's family is very close to Chrichton's Royal Family. Besides, it's not like the Duke has any special feelings for his son Danil."
Rihannan knew that Duke Lyurik was a cold-blooded person. He never showed any mercy to anyone in a lower position than himself, including his own blood relatives. That personality of his made him follow the Crown Prince, who in turn allowed him to commit illegal acts to obtain huge benefits for a long time.
"It seems like Prince Ivan is the one behind this. If he can pull Duke Lyurik to his side, then this time he'll be able to knock down the Crown Prince for good."
"...I see."
Rihannan remembered the letter Dimitri had sent her not long ago. After finding out the incident of Rihannan's kidnapping, her causing sent her a letter hastily. The letter was filled with words in which he blamed himself for what had happened to her. Her cousin begged for her forgiveness for not being by her side at that time, and vowed to never forgive the Crown Prince for what he'd done.
"It looks like the Crown Prince will not remain silent after this, either. His main ally the Duke is turning his back on him, after all. But it's too late. It looks like he'll be dethroned soon."
Before Rihannan left Chrichton, it seemed like no one could take down the Crown Prince. He had the most power and did not doubt on taking drastic measures against whomever stood in his way. In this life he'd not die of poisoning, but he was already in the brink of losing it all. Sometimes, it seemed as though the world would never change and some destinies were set in stone.
Other times, things would change drastically in a short span of time, just like their case.
"I want this to end here. I don't want this issue to get even more complicated, and I want you to do leave it alone as well. Honestly, if you think of how things ended up in the past, you also benefited from this all."
Instead of replying to her, Igor simply pointed at something with the cup of tea in his hand. Rihannan looked over the table.
"What is this?"
It was a document he'd brought with him when he arrived, but Rihannan didn't notice it till he pointed it out.
"Open it and you'll see."
Rihannan ripped the envelop open and looked at the paper inside. When she read over its contents, her eyes widened. She gave Igor an astonished look.
"This is..."
The marriage contract they've both signed on the ship to Arundell. Both their signatures were clearly engraved on this piece of paper.
"Why are you giving me this...?"
"I want to give you the chance."
"Chance?"
She was still surprised, so Igor replied with a bitter smile.
"A chance to end this marriage."
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