Chapter 469 WHATS!!!
When the rest thought it had all been settled, most of the noblemen were unprepared to receive the shock of their lives as Alvin spoke again, but he didn't start with the serious issue.
"Every nobleman is free to leave the palace with their families as all restrictions have been lifted."
They sighed in relief. Finally, they could return to their residence, where they could breathe freely.
"However, for every nobleman who insisted on shutting the palace doors against Princess Amber and the royal guards, they are all to be stripped of their titles and every incentive they receive from the palace immediately and never to hold any titles other than that of a commoner for the rest of their lives."
WHAT!
They all froze.
The only ones who rejoiced were the peasants who had had enough of them.
"HOWEVER!" Alvin bellowed in a loud voice to get all their attention. "For the sake of their Lady wives, who stood guard by the doors, their sons would be pardoned and allowed to hold titles. And if they do not have sons but daughters... their daughters... will be welcomed as noblewomen in the court."
WHAT!
WHAT!!
WHAT!!!
So many WHATS!
This announcement was the biggest shock of everything.
Their daughters would be allowed to hold titles in the court?
HOW?
WHY?
However, no one could challenge the decree.
Even the young daughters of such families could not wrap their heads around it.
It was just too... unbelievable.
********
It was difficult to be a ruler. Because you didn't have the time to dwell in your own sorrow when there were so many other things to take charge of.
Alvin watched Harold hunched over his desk in the royal study, the dim candlelight casting shadows on his fatigued face. Harold was mentally and physically drained. It was as clear as day. And he had been working nonstop without rest, trying to put the palace in order.
Alvin knew this was just him trying not to dwell in the anguish over his bride, who was constantly being treated. He didn't want to interrupt. He had told the royal physician to do his best, so he didn't want to pressure him until good news was brought to him.
As Harold perused through the stack of letters and notes, a knock sounded on the door.
Even before the knock came, they had both already sensed it, but Harold had sensed it even longer and knew it was Luciana.
Alvin opened the door, and Luciana entered with her maid in tow. Her once radiant beauty was now overshadowed by a ghostly pallor, evidence of the incident that had almost claimed her life. Or maybe it did.
Harold stood up, his eyes filling with pity as he looked at her. Tears welled up in her maid's eyes as she conveyed her mistress's wish.
"My... mistress wishes to cut ties... with her parents and be allowed to leave the palace."
Harold looked at Luciana with concern and compassion, understanding the torment she must be enduring.
"Do you... have any place in mind you wish to go to?" He asked Luciana quietly.
Luciana slowly shook her head, looking like a lost little girl who needed help, and once again, Alvin looked away.
Harold wished he could look away.
"If leaving the palace is truly what your heart desires, I shall provide you with enough gold to ensure your comfort," Harold said gently, his voice carrying both sorrow and understanding.
"Thank you... My Prince." Leana said, sobbing quietly as she reached to hold Luciana's hand, who looked at Harold with eyes wet with gratitude.
"Let us be alone," Harold said to Alvin, who nodded and looked at Leana, to follow him out. She bowed once more to Harold before she left, leaving her mistress and Harold inside the room.
Harold then hesitantly reached for a letter among the pile on his table and turned to face her again while handing it to her.
"I stumbled upon this. Whatever you decide to do with this information, know that I will stand by your side and support you."
It looked like he was still hesitating to give it to her, but then he released it when her trembling hands reached for it.
Luciana opened the aged parchment slowly. Her eyes scanned the words, and her expression shifted from confusion to shock and then to heartbreak as she read the note.
It was a medical diagnosis of Ivan. Written long before her marriage to him.
He was incapable of fathering a child.
"It is only known to the Royal physician. And... the King." Harold added quietly. "He... had no idea either."
He was referring to Prince Ivan.
The weight of the revelation crushed Luciana's spirit, and she let out a gut-wrenching sob, only to be further pained by the fact that her voice could no longer convey her anguish. Instead, she whimpered incoherently, her tears betraying the depth of her emotional turmoil.
Her entire body shook, and the tears dropped in the note, each liquid on the note making the words even bolder.
Feeling a mix of guilt and empathy, Harold reached out to comfort her, but she stepped back as if needing to compose herself. With a determination born from pain, she moved to the nearby candle and held the note to its flickering flame, her body still shaking as she sobbed. The parchment caught fire, and as it turned to ashes, it felt like a cathartic release of long-held secrets.
That was her choice.
Ivan didn't need to learn about this.
Once the note had been reduced to nothing more than charred remains, Luciana turned back to Harold. Her eyes were red and swollen; her voice was lost, but her gratitude and grief were palpable. She bowed deeply before him, a gesture that spoke volumes of her respect and appreciation for his understanding.
Then she turned, and before she finally left the room, a startled sob escaped her lips, and she clutched her chest tightly.
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