novelConfessing the truth
| ← Ch.212 | Ch.214 → |
Chapter 211 - Confessing the truth
Translator - Yue
Once back in the Palace, Mrs. Cessly burst into tears upon welcoming Rihannan back. She sobbed loudly while hugging her.
"my Queen, I'm so happy you're alright. I'm so happy... I was very worried thinking of what could have happened to you. Oh, God, what happened to your hands?"
The sight of Mrs. Cessly, whose eyes were swollen and red from crying so much, made Rihannan tear up as well. Once more, she realized the importance of having someone like Mrs. Cessly by her side.
Mrs. Cessly immediately went to call for a doctor so he could check Rihannan's wounds. The treatment was simple. The doctor carefully removed the wood shards from Rihannan's hands and then proceeded to clean and disinfect the area. Mrs. Cessly would anxiously look at the doctor from time to time, and only when he assured her that both mother and child were safe did she let out a relieved sigh.
"In any case, my Queen, you must be exhausted after what happened today. You should go to bed early, rest and..."
"Actually, Mrs. Cessly, I have a few things I need to discuss with the King."
Rihannan looked at Igor, who silently nodded. Mrs. Cessly realized they had some important personal issues to talk about, so she didn't complain and simply stood aside.
"Alright. But if you feel any discomfort during your talk, you must rest. Think of the baby, please."
Rihannan had to reassure her many times that she'd be careful with her health. Only then did Mrs. Cessly leave the room.
Rihannan and Igor sat on the receiving room of the Queen's Palace. They sat there, together, without saying anything. When the tea in front of them grew cold, Igor finally parted his lips.
"I'm not so sure where to start. But I suppose I should tell you about Leticia first..."
Rihannan could sense that a misunderstanding had happened, but she still felt scared of what he'd tell her.
"I basically spread rumors about an affair with Leticia." Rihannan looked at him surprised, he so quickly added "Please, don't get me wrong. What I mean to say is, it was only that, rumors. I never had any physical contact with Leticia. The rumors of me sleeping with her were all made up by her. I did encourage these rumors, though..."f𝔯𝚎e𝘸𝘦𝚋𝗻oѵ𝐞Ɩ - 🅽🅽novel
Then, the long story started to unfold. Igor explained to Rihannan why he'd allowed the rumors of his affair with Leticia to spread. He explained that since Rihannan couldn't have children, his mother pressured him to use Leticia as a surrogate womb. But instead of following her orders, Igor tried discouraging the Queen Mother by spreading the rumor of Leticia being his lover.
"Why didn't you tell me that?"
Rihannan reprimanded him with resentment in her voice. Had she known this, she wouldn't have suffered so much thinking that her husband was having an affair with her step-sister.
Igor lowered his head.
"I thought that's what you wanted, too. After you asked me to dance with her, I thought you agreed with my mother's request and therefore there wasn't any need to speak further of the plan."
"The reason why I asked that of you was for the sake of Leticia's status. No one at the ball would have asked her for a dance. Also, there's the old tradition that if someone does not have a partner for the first dance, a member of the Royal Family should offer to dance with that person. Of course, it was my father who suggested that, but I never..."
Rihannan quickly stopped talking. She couldn't really blame him for not telling her the truth. Their relationship back then wasn't optimal, so they never really talked openly. If she had asked him first, he would have answered her honestly. In the end, they were both to blame.
"But... I didn't know the Queen Mother felt that way."
Above all things, this is what surprised Rihannan the most, the fact that it had happened because the Queen Mother was pressuring him. As far as she knew, the Queen Mother never showed any interest in her relationship with Igor. She had believed that everything had happened because of her step-sister and her father, but she was wrong.
Igor silently shook his head.
"Regardless, it's my fault. I can't give you any excuses."
But, there was still something she couldn't understand. If Igor's affair with Leticia wasn't real, then... why did he leave her on her own after she fell down the stairs?
"Why didn't you come see me after I lost my baby? I... I still wanted to see you, even after that incident. I sent the maid many times to ask you to meet with me, but I was refused every single time."
Igor slowly raised his hand and pointed at his head.
"Rihannan, back then I got severely injured right here. It even scarred me. Of course, that mark is no longer here."
"You were injured?"
"You weren't the only person who fell down the stairs. I held you in my arms... and we both fell down."
"But I can't remember that..."
"When I grabbed you, you'd already lost consciousness."
Rihannan looked back in her memories of that day. As Igor said, she did lose consciousness after feeling dizzy on top of the stairs. Of course, she wouldn't be able to remember anything of what happened soon after.
"At that moment, I rolled down the stairs and suffered a blow to the head. I didn't wake up until ten days later. And when I woke up..." he let out a sigh. Then, he slowly talked of that terrible memory that was deeply rooted in his brain."You had been incarcerated. Leticia told me she gave you poison, so I immediately went after you, but... it was already too late. You were dead, and there was nothing I could do."
"...why was I put in prison?" Rihannan's eyes teared up."If it wasn't you who framed me for working with the enemy, who did?"
Igor stared into Rihannan's blue eyes. There was rage within them. He couldn't bare it for long, so he lowered his head.
Rihannan could tell that Igor felt guilty, so she couldn't understand what he meant when he said it wasn't him who put her in prison.
"Just tell me who gave the order..."
Then, Rihannan realized something. Back then, there was only one person who had the same authority as the king. Only one person... who could shape the kingdom at her will while the King and Queen were in such predicament.
"There is no way..."
Rihannan shook her head. She had reached an answer she did not want to accept. There was no reason for that person to do what she did to her.
That person had always protected her. Even when many others insisted that the King should get rid of her as Queen to find another wife who could actually give birth to an heir, that person stood up for her and protected her. Then... why would that person frame her for a crime she did not commit and have her thrown in jail?
"It is not... who I think it is, right? I'm mistaken, right?"
She desperately wished for Igor to tell her she was wrong, but he remained silently looking at her. His eyes were shaking.
Rihannan then remembered the letters used to incriminate her. Her mailbox was filled with letters she'd never seen before. Within, there were many letters from some nobles from Chrichton, but there was one letter in particular that had been sent from Arundell. That was the letter used to prove that Rihannan had sold off secret information to the enemy.
That letter had been written on high quality paper, which was only produced in a certain area in Arundell. Since the color and aroma of the paper both exquisite, it was widely used among the female nobility.
That letter was filled with numerous national secrets. Rihannan did not know anything of what was written in the letter, but people quickly assumed it had been her. The letter was printed, so she couldn't even argue that it wasn't her handwriting.
There was only one person among the Royal Family besides herself who also used that same type of paper. The Queen Mother. Even the letters she'd send to her in this life also used that very same paper.
Rihannan's jaw started trembling. What if those letters were the Queen Mother's? Maybe someone else had stolen the Queen Mother's letters without her knowing and placed them on Rihannan's mailbox...
At that time, there was only one person could open Rihannan's mailbox besides herself.
Count Egail's wife.
The person who had been her lady in waiting in her past life, appointed by the Queen Mother herself once Rihannan was crowned Queen.
Back then, she suspected the Countess, thinking that perhaps she did It under someone's coercion, or because someone else had bribed her... but that wasn't the case.
The Countess was simply following the orders from her superior.
"Ngh...!"
Rihannan quickly covered her mouth, but she couldn't help her scream of anguish from coming out.
"Rihannan!" Igor rose from his seat immediately. He quickly walked around the coffee table dividing them and grabbed Rihannan's shoulders.
"No. I must know. Now." She shook off his hands and yelled, tears pouring down her eyes."Tell me, right now. Who was that person, the person that pushed me to my death!"
Igor's face contorted horribly, but he remained silent. Just when Rihannan was about to yell again, enraged that he wouldn't tell her the truth as he'd promised, Igor's voice finally came out.
"The Queen Mother."
Rihannan's face paled. She looked as if she would faint. Igor couldn't stand looking at her expression anymore and closed his eyes.
"The person who framed you and put you in prison was my mother, the Queen Dowager."
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