Chapter 231: The Accusation
Chapter 230: The Accusation
Lyria’s POV
I gave Jacinta a look.
It was not a challenging look, nor a defiant one. I was simply too exhausted to arrange my features into anything more than quiet confusion.
"That is n-not what I meant," I said. "I may not be educated, Your Highness, but you have s-spoken the word numerous times. I know what it m-means. I am simply t-trying to u-understand what Her Majesty m-means by s-saying I seduced the s-suitor c-candidates when I have only had d-dates with two. T-the third is t-tomorrow."
The Queen was quiet for a moment.
She studied me with that cold, assessing gaze, the one that made me feel as though I were a specimen beneath a lens rather than a person standing before her.
Then she nodded.
"At least you know what the word means," she said.
She leaned back in her chair, her fingers tapping lightly against the armrest.
"Do you remember," she continued, "what I told you about the dates? How much time you were expected to spend with each suitor candidate?"
I bowed my head further.
"I r-remember it p-perfectly well, Your M-majesty."
"Then you will understand why I find myself... perplexed."
Her voice remained soft, almost conversational, as though we were discussing the weather rather than my supposed transgressions.
"I have received reports," she said, "that you spent considerably more time with the candidates than you were permitted. That you went so far as to seduce them. That you encouraged them to pressure the maids into bringing refreshments so that you might indulge together."
This had to be an elaborate play I was not given a role for.
I wanted to scream at the Queen, or perhaps unscrew her head if possible and see if she truly had a brain in there.
I really had no time for these games. I did not care about the dates. I did not care about the suitors. I did not care about anything at the moment. I just... I wanted peace. I wanted to be alone and not take part in this ridiculous play I was now an unwilling participant of.
But I said none of that.
"None of that was m-my doing, Your Majesty," I said instead. "The candidates w-were the o-ones who were h-hungry. They searched for s-something to e-eat but found n-nothing, a-and so they asked the m-maids to fetch snacks. I had n-nothing to do with it."
Jacinta scoffed.
The sound was sharp and loud in the quiet chamber.
"That is a lie," she said.
I bowed again.
"I speak n-no lie, Your Highness. T-the maids w-were present. They w-witnessed everything. B-but if e-even they c-cannot convince you, then p-perhaps you should call the c-candidates themselves a-and ask the q-questions directly."
Jacinta’s eyes narrowed at that.
"Do you truly believe," she asked, her voice dripping with disdain, "that we would summon the candidates at this hour? For such a trivial matter? For you?"
I knew they would not.
I had known it before I spoke. The Queen would never risk appearing foolish before the suitors. She would never risk revealing that she had summoned me in the middle of the night to interrogate me about dates with the candidates. It would be beneath her dignity.
"I only w-wish to clear my name, Your Highness," I said. "I f-followed Her Majesty’s instructions. I remained for f-five minutes, and then I m-made an e-excuse to leave. But the c-candidates were i-insistent that I stay. I have very l-little power to resist them, especially g-given my p-position. Resisting them w-would have been an insult."
The Queen said nothing.
But the same could not be said for her daughter.
Jacinta’s lips curled in disgust.
"What about the dancing lessons?" she asked.
I blinked.
"Duke Aurelgrave does not permit people to come close to him," Jacinta continued, her voice rising. "Everyone knows this. It is well known throughout the court. And yet he danced with you. He taught you. He spent time in your company, touching you, holding you, guiding you across the floor."
She stepped forward, her hands clenched into fists at her sides.
"That must be seduction," she said. "There is no other explanation."
I stared at her.
I did not let it show, but inside my thoughts had already spiralled.
Lucian hated people coming close to him?
I had not known that.
I had spent hours in his company. I had stood close enough to feel the warmth of his breath against my cheek. And even before then, he had taken my mask from me. We had eaten together too.
But according to Jacinta, he did not permit anyone else to come close to him.
Why, then, had he permitted me? Or perhaps he simply did not like Jacinta being too close to him.
"The dancing l-lessons," I said carefully, "were entirely D-Duke Aurelgrave’s decision. I did n-not seduce him. He suggested t-teaching me, a-and like I said, I c-cannot r-refuse him g-given my p-position. But e-even then, I d-did at first, and he insisted."
Jacinta’s face twisted with rage.
"That is a lie!" she shouted. "Lucian spent more time with you—with a demon—than he did with me! And I am his cousin! His own blood! You must have done something to him. You must have used some trick, some enchantment, something. It cannot be otherwise. It cannot!"
Her voice echoed through the chamber. She had moved from referring to him by title to his name, and her lack of composure was almost laughable.
The Queen turned to me then, ever the composed observer of her daughter’s fury.
"Explain," she said, "what you did to make Duke Aurelgrave of all people spend more time with you than with his own cousin."
I opened my mouth to reply, but no words came out.
I paused.
Then I spoke again.
"P-pardon me, Your M-majesty," I said, "but I h-have n-no control over Duke A-Aurelgrave. Perhaps it is h-he who should do the e-explaining, and not m-me?"
