ORIA

e younger maid snap

waist. Once I was dressed, the younger maid roughly pulled a brush through m

ill," she

pair of soft slippers toward me, and I quickly put them on. Neither mai

ate to stay alive. At the time, all I could think about was surviving long enough to prove my innocence. I couldn't allow Vanessa and Adrian to get a

d what they were doing just to glare at me, while others whispered angrily among themselves. I didn't need to hear what they were saying to know what they thought of me. As far as everyone in this palace was concerned,

mous wooden doors guarded by two warr

sty is exp

ked. "Your Majesty, the

and would send me back to the dungeon. It was a ridiculous thing to wish for, considering h

oice came f

d her

ned the door,

ger maid snapped,

. Dark furniture filled the room, and a fire burned inside a marble fireplace. A massive bed stood against the far wall, covered wi

ed across the desk. But he wasn't reading any of them. Instead, he was staring at a small framed ph

near the door for almost a minute, I began wondering whether he

me h

more exhausted than he had four days ago. His eyes were bloodshot, dark circles had formed beneath them, and his face appeared noticeably thinner. Yet despite his exhaustion

f the documents and

Re

ntaining several paragraphs and a description of the weapon used to kill Queen Evelyn. I was s

om the murder weapon match

On the murder weapon? That couldn't be right. I had never even touched the we

ained the same. My full name was right there in the report, lea

possible,"

didn't

I never touche

is chair, watching m

something like this could have happened. "I don't know how my fingerprints got

nd the desk and stopped in front of me. I instinctively stepped

Victoria, and I'll break yo

was innocent, but the deadly look in his eyes made me afraid to open my mouth. He was already

my burned feet. I watched him return to his desk and pick up the phot

the happiness on her face, it was obvious that she had been looking forward to becoming a mother. Seeing her like that made everything even harder t

d, unable to keep quiet any longer. "I didn't even know h

toward me and s

d you to do i

as that seriously what he believed? That

y paid me anything. Your Majes

moment, then gave a s

u don't wa

ing else, but he didn't. Instead, he began removing the watch from his wrist.

was he

ad almost forgotten why the maids had brought me here wearing nothing but a robe. No

e dropped briefly to my hands before returning to my face. I took a step backward without

econds, neithe

gave hi

ndr