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Valerius had turned to Elara, sighing with a weary fondness. “You are too kind, my love.” Then he faced me. “Elara is right, Lyra. You are not dead. Why make such a fuss? Give Leah to Elara. And in the future, try not to
be so dramatic over trivial matters.”
I had stared at him in disbelief. I was carrying his child, and had almost been poisoned to death, yet he tho-
ught it was a trivial matter because I had survived. There was no justice in it.
But at that time, I still loved him. I believed he was simply blinded by Elara, and that as his wife, I should be magnanimous.
Then one day, I overheard them talking.
Valerius’s eyes were full of adoration. “You silly girl. Next time you use poison, be more discreet. If you’re
caught again, I won’t be able to help you.”
Elara wrapped her arms around his, cooing. “I know, I know. Thank you for your help this time, my lord.”
Leah stood nearby, smiling.
The three of them, a perfect picture of harmony. And I, standing in the shadows, felt as if I’d been plunged
into a frozen hell.
All along, Valerius had known. He had even encouraged it. I was the only one who had been a fool.
The hatred from that memory boiled within me, and seeing Leah again made my blood run hot. But in her eyes, my agitation was a sign of guilt. Her initial timidity vanished, replaced by a smug confidence.
“Lady Lyra, my lord says he is with my lady Elara now. As for you, as long as you don’t die, it’s fine. If you bot-
her him again, he will send you a writ of divorce! Not ly that, he will make the child in your belly call my
lady ‘Mother‘!”
“My lord also said that he never liked you. He only married you because your family had power and could help his career. Now that he is Captain of the Royal Guard, he keeps you around out of the kindness of his heart. If you continue to cause trouble, you will have only death to look forward to!”
By the time Leah finished, the King’s face was black with rage. He smashed his teacup on the floor, and the
servants in the hall dropped to their knees in a wave of fear.
But Leah, oblivious, strode up to my bedside, sneering. “Lady Lyra, I advise you to save your energy. Your little act won’t work on my lord. And as for this… commoner?” She gestured vaguely at the King. “If you think
you can make my lord jealous, you are sorely mistaken.”
“When I tell my lord how you risked your own child to carry on an affair with this man, do you think he will
have you drawn and quartered, or simply torn limb from limb?”
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have you drawn and quartered, or simply torn limb from limb?”
She was gloating. The King’s royal robes had been ruined, and he was now wearing a simple linen tunic. She
had mistaken the King of the realm for my secret lover.
The King’s expression was unreadable, a mask of cold fury. He gave a sharp, humorless laugh, and with a nod, the guards who had just arrived seized Leah.
She finally realized her mistake and opened her mouth to scream, but a page muffled her cries and dragged her away.
“Take her,” the King’s voice was like ice. “Have her drawn and quartered. And throw her remains before Lord Valerius. I am very curious to see what is so special about this man that Lady Lyra would suffer so much for him.”
noticed the King’s choice of words. Lady Lyra. He had already separated me from Valerius in his mind. My gamble had not been in vain.
