Chapter 206: The Father He Never Knew
"You’re delusional if you think I’ll let you take advantage of me or my son," Rebecca said, her voice firmer than before, and it immediately caused Griswold’s eyes to narrow at her.
"You speak with a lot of confidence now," he commented, and although Rebecca glared at him, he merely smiled in return. "Look, Rebecca, you have the opportunity to pull both yourself and your son out of this miserable life, so you would do well to be sensible and accept my proposal. Otherwise, you’ll only end up rotting in here," he said.
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Griswold’s gaze then shifted slowly toward Julian, and he studied the boy for a moment before speaking again. "Why don’t you convince your mother, boy? Don’t you want to eat chicken every day, wear fine clothes, and play as much as you like? Then urge her to agree to it and stop being selfish for both your sakes."
Rebecca glowered at him, and all she could do was pull her son closer against her chest.
"Your uncle is sitting on the throne and enjoying all of that after killing your father," Griswold continued. "Don’t you want revenge? Don’t you want to escape this life?"
"What nonsense are you saying?" Rebecca snapped immediately, her voice sharpening. "How can you be saying such things to a little boy?" she demanded.
Griswold did not bother responding to her outrage. Instead, he rose from his seat as though none of her words mattered and glanced at her one final time. "You should use this opportunity to think things through carefully, and don’t even attempt to escape. My men found you once when you tried to leave your village, and they’ll find you again."
With that, he turned on his heel and headed for the door. Rebecca’s gaze shifted briefly to Warren before the door closed in their faces and both ministers retreated.
Her hands clenched into fists.
She had been right all along.
They did not care about her or her son. They never had.
All they cared about was what they could gain from them. At first they had spoken sweetly, hoping to get into her head and persuade her willingly, but now their true colors were beginning to show. They were prepared to keep her locked away until she had no choice but to submit to their demands.
Later, when the place had fallen completely silent, Rebecca made her way toward the door and immediately began twisting the handle. It refused to budge because it had been locked from the outside after Griswold and the others had left. Letting out a frustrated breath, she crouched down and reached for her hair before pulling out the pins that held it in place. Carefully, she inserted them into the keyhole.
"Mother... what are you doing?" Julian asked curiously.
"I want to see if this will work," she whispered, and he fell silent as he watched her fiddle with the lock.
After a moment, Julian’s gaze narrowed slightly.
"Mother... who is my father?"
Rebecca froze instantly, and her fingers stilled against the lock as though a bucket of ice water had been poured over her.
When she turned toward him, she found him staring back with an unusually serious expression.
"You never tell me anything about my father," he said innocently.
Julian had been asked many times by other children who his father was and where he lived, yet he had never been able to answer them. Whenever he asked his mother, she always found a way to avoid the topic. Some children had even mocked him, claiming he had no father and that his mother simply went around with different men. Although he knew those things were not true, he still wanted answers for himself.
"Julian..." Rebecca began, her expression tightening into a frown before she returned to sit beside him. Taking his hand gently into hers, she looked at him. "Don’t let what that man said get into your head. You shouldn’t listen to him."
"But I really want to know who my father is," Julian replied, his voice growing quieter. "I deserve to know that, don’t I?"
Rebecca drew in a slow breath.
She didn’t even know where to begin.
How could she explain to him that his father had been a selfish and heartless man? A man who had left her alone to raise their child and whose actions had ultimately led to her mother’s death. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find the right words to tell her son.
"Your father was the King of Eryndor," she finally said.
After all, Alaric had gone from being crown prince to ruling the kingdom while she remained forgotten in a small village with his child, never once hearing from him again.
"The king?" Julian’s eyes widened in shock.
Rebecca nodded.
"Does that mean I’m a prince?" he asked.
A faint smile touched Rebecca’s lips despite everything. "You’ll always be my prince," she said as she reached out to brush his hair back.
"But being a prince isn’t as important as being a good person, Julian. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you."
Julian looked at her for a moment before glancing down. "So I’m not really a prince?"
Rebecca hesitated for a brief moment. "You carry royal blood, but titles don’t change who you are. You’re still Julian, and you’re still my son."
Julian seemed to think about that for a moment before another question came to him. "Where is my father now?" he asked quietly. "Can I see him?"
Rebecca shook her head as she answered quietly. "He’s no more."
The news of Alaric’s death had spread throughout the kingdom. People said he had been killed by a beast, and Rebecca had never known how she was supposed to feel about that. Part of her remembered the man she had once loved, while another part remembered the man who had abandoned her and left her to suffer alone.
Julian’s face fell at the news.
Only moments ago he had learned that his father had once been king, and now he was learning that the man was dead. As those thoughts settled inside him, Griswold’s earlier words returned to his mind, and he remembered the claim that his uncle had killed his father.
