A FEW HOURS EARLIER fĐłee𝑤ebÉłoveÉ.cøm
Cherry turned and looked at the girl, who had just run off.
She gritted her teeth.
She might be old, but she knew who she was.
She could smell her blood.
She belonged to their bloodline.
"Where is the royal family bedroom?" She demanded a buxom woman.
The woman was Madame Belinda, the main castlekeeper.
She bowed down at her.
"Some guards will take you to your designated room." Belinda said, bowing down to her.
Cherry made a sound of disgust.
"Do that quickly!" She spat.
Belinda bowed again and ushered Cherry to where her room was to be.
A door opened as she entered the hallway, and she saw Coral, her niece.
"Aunt Cherry!" Coral was excited.
She ran to her aunt and hugged her.
Cherry finally released her and smiled down at her.
"My darling niece." Cherry said. "It’s been such a while."
"I was worried you would not be able to make it." Coral said.
"And miss a halo festival?" Cherry asked. "Of course, I would not. I would not miss a chance to see you."
Together, they went into the room.
"Where is that mother of yours?" Cherry asked if the tone of her dislike for her sister, the Queen, was pronounced.
"She is in her bed." Corral said. "Resting. Being extremely annoying."
"And your father?" Cherry asked.
Corral shrugged.
"I saw him barely a while ago." Corral said. "He came to report that my daughter, your grand-niece, was in a scuffle with a mere she-wolf over Xaden. How embarrassing!"
"Xaden, this Alpha." Cherry said.
"Yes," Corral said. "It has always been the plan to join him with our bloodline, but Belle does stupid things."
Cherry smiled. "Ah, my little Red Belle (Belle’s original name is Red Belle). All female royal bloodlines bear a name indicating red, which is quite shameful. But you can’t blame her, though. A man like that laying me to bed would be the dream of the century."
"Humiliating!" Coral spat. "Everyone is making fun of it now. And it was in public! In front of servants and dirty peasants."
It had been almost five years since she had last seen her niece, her granddaughter, or even been around any royal family member.
At least ever since, her sister and her useless brother-in-law had thrown her out of the kingdom.
Her only home.
She had been kicked out, like an outcast in a home she had been raised in all her life, and made an outsider.
She was in exile and thus could not return to the royal home.
But she could come here for the Halo festival.
"Coral." Cherry said. "I have been gone so long, and it is like you are letting loose ends be."
Coral blinked at her. "I do not understand."
"I am disappointed in you." Cherry said. "If you had delved into the black arts like I had recommended, you would never have sniffed her."
Coral swallowed.
Cherry was furious.
The plan they had hatched secretly years ago was begging to reveal its fruits.
Coral began to pace.
"This could ruin everything!" Coral said. "You said a slave? Here? What did she look like?"
Cherry crossed her legs as she sipped a glass of red wine and sipped.
"She was looking very ragged." Cherry said. "She had red hair too."
Coral paused. "An enslaved person? Did she have
Cora stopped herself mid-sentence. "Never mind, it can’t be her."
"It can’t be who?" Cherry asked.
"There was a slave. Mother saw her when we first came. She looked so much like Scarlet. But she has a scar. It’s the reason Mother fell ill again, because of her sickness. But I asked the girl and others too. She is the daughter of Alpha Bale. Remember him? She is only here as a prisoner of war. I thought she was suspicious, but I confirmed she isn’t related to us."
"How can you be so sure when you don’t use dark magic?" Cherry asked.
She pressed her lips together.
She retook a sip of her wine.
"If your mother wasn’t sick, she could have perceived her blood." Cherry said. "You never ascended the throne, so your powers never materialized."
Cherry massaged her forehead and clicked her tongue as she thought of what to do.
She couldn’t get to the bottom of this matter because there were limits to her powers.
She rose to her feet. "Let’s go."
"Go to where?" Coral asked.
"Go to someone who will give us an answer to our questions." Cherry said.
She walked out of the room and didn’t wait for her niece to follow her out.
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