Chapter 2
"Juliette, take care of yourself. I'll come visit you again soon," Sabrina said sweetly.
She straightened up, slipped her arm through Wilfred's once more, flashing him a playful, graceful smile.
Kiera Ryan, who had been waiting anxiously outside, couldn't take it anymore. She burst in and dropped to her knees.
"Your Highness! Juliette has just given birth and she's still so weak. Please, let the Little Princess stay with her!" Kiera begged desperately.
Wilfred didn't even look at her. He kicked her aside like she was just a stone in his path.
"Get out!" Wilfred snapped.
Kiera's frail body crashed against the doorframe, the sound echoing dully in the room.
I watched Kiera writhing in pain on the floor, then fixed my gaze on Wilfred and Sabrina as they walked away arm in arm. That was the moment the hatred in my heart finally erupted, spreading like wildfire.
The humiliation I endured today was something I would make them pay for a hundred times over.
I was banished to Thalindor Hall, tucked away in the farthest, most forgotten corner of Eldorath Palace.
They claimed it was for my recovery, but everyone knew it was just exile, a place meant to be out of sight and out of mind.
The walls loomed high, wild weeds choked the courtyard, the rooms were bare and shabby, and even the charcoal for warmth was barely enough to chase away the chill.
Weak and exhausted after giving birth, I soon caught a raging fever, trapped in nightmares that tormented me day and night.
Every dream was haunted by my daughter's desperate, piercing cries and the cruel, sneering faces of Wilfred and Sabrina.
I jolted awake again and again, soaked in cold sweat, only to find Kiera by my side, quietly tending to me with tireless care.
"Juliette, please, have some more hot water," Kiera said softly.
Her eyes were red and swollen, her voice hoarse from exhaustion.
These past few days, she stayed by my side without rest, to the point where she herself began to look worn out.
The servants at Eldorath Palace were all sycophants, always flattering those above and stepping on those below.
When they saw my fall from grace, they couldn't even get the imperial doctor to attend to me, let alone bring me any nourishing food.
Only Kiera, quietly and selflessly, used her own savings to bribe the kitchen servants, just so I could have a bowl of thin, flavorless rice porridge.
"Kiera, how is the Little Princess?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper as I gripped her hand with all the strength I had left.
Kiera's tears fell instantly, her face crumpling with sorrow.
She said, "Your Grace, I asked around. The Little Princess has been sent to the side residence, and she's really struggling.
"The servants there only pretend to obey, but behind closed doors, they ignore her. When she cries at night, they get annoyed and just leave her alone in the room, not caring at all."
It felt like an invisible hand was crushing my heart, the pain so intense I could barely breathe.
She was my daughter, my own flesh and blood.
And yet, I was powerless to protect her.
Tears streamed down my face, unstoppable.
But after crying, then what?
It just made me weaker, and let those bastards feel even more smug about it.
I forced myself to stop, struggling to sit up despite my illness.
"Your Grace, what are you trying to do?" Kiera gasped.
"Help me up," I said.
My voice was soft, but there was a determination in it I'd never had before.
I couldn't let myself break down.
If I fell, who would protect my daughter?
Forcing myself to stay calm, I assessed my predicament.
Wilfred was colder than ice, and Sabrina was as vicious as they come. Expecting mercy from them was as pointless as begging a wolf to spare its prey.
Crying and pleading would only give them more reason to crush me underfoot.
The only people I could rely on were myself and my father, stationed far away at the frontier.
Suddenly, I remembered that on the night before he left for the frontier, my father had handed me a silk pouch.
He'd told me, "Only open this if your life is truly on the line."
Wasn't this the moment he meant?
"Kiera, go get the silk pouch from the hidden compartment at the very bottom of my dressing table," I said.
Kiera did as I asked and brought it to me.
I opened the pouch and found a small slip of paper inside. There was a strange symbol drawn on it, and beside it, a line of tiny writing: [East of the city, Herb Haven, under the willow tree. Three long, two short.]
This was the hidden marker my father had left for me.
A flicker of hope ignited in my heart.
"Kiera, see if you can get me some writing supplies," I said.
"Are you trying to write a letter? But this place is heavily guarded. There's no way we could get it out," Kiera said.
"I'll figure something out," I replied.
My gaze landed on the withered tree outside my window.
Late at night, while the guards switched shifts, I slipped the coded note into the tree hollow.
This was the old method my father and I had agreed on for secret contact. I could only hope it wasn't too late.
After everything was done, I was nearly out of strength, my body barely able to hold on.
The next day, Sabrina had someone deliver so-called "nourishing supplements."
The herbal tonic was black, wafting a weird, almost sinister odor through the room.
Kiera cautiously tested it with a silver pin, and when it didn’t change color, she confirmed there was no poison.
But deep down, I was certain that there was something off about this so-called tonic.
Some poisons were slow-acting, and a silver pin couldn't always catch them.
"Your Grace, don't drink it!" Kiera pleaded.
But I picked up the bowl, met the eyes of the maid who'd brought it, and gave her a faint smile.
"Please thank the princess on my behalf, Miss," I said.
With that, I downed the whole bowl of medicine right in front of her.