Chapter 3

I said, "Because I was too unruly, my father sent me to a manor on the outskirts of Sliverbrook to teach me some discipline.

"Today, we were running low on medicinal herbs, so I went up the mountain to gather some. I never thought I'd end up in this kind of trouble."

The man in fancy clothes kept insisting on coming over to thank me in person, so I feigned reluctance as I replied, "It's really nothing.

"My father will be bringing me back to the estate in a few days. If you want to thank me, just go visit the Royal Tutor's Estate in Sliverbrook."

It was a pretty reasonable excuse.

Even though I was the second daughter, I shouldn't have been the one sent out to gather herbs in the mountains.

But the people in the Royal Tutor's Estate never cared about me, and the maids at the manor were always finding ways to make things hard for me, treating me like a servant.

Anyone who cared to look would see the truth, so I wasn't worried about him digging around.

I had already sized him up, but I didn't want to draw too much attention to it. After giving my explanation, I left some herbs to stop the bleeding and used the excuse of gathering more to make my exit.

It wasn't until I was far away that I finally let out a long breath.

With this move, I had gambled correctly.

I knew the trouble Prince Edmund ran into last time was way more complicated than it looked.

Prince Edmund was born to Lady Angelina, the late King's beloved. Lady Angelina had been the center of attention for years but never had a child of her own.

To keep her favor, she ended up raising Julius Nichols, the current King, after his birth mother died young.

Maybe Julius was blessed, because three years after she took him in, Lady Angelina finally got pregnant herself.

Of course, her own son was always going to be her favorite. Worried that Julius might overshadow her own child, Lady Angelina sent him back to the princes' quarters.

The Dowager Queen felt sorry for Julius, seeing how alone he was, so she took him in and raised him herself.

Lady Angelina thought her unborn child would make her untouchable, but fate had other plans.

The late King caught a sickness while touring Thornwick and never got better. He died before her baby ever saw the light of day.

A Kingdom couldn't go a day without a King, and Julius was the eldest son, raised right under the Dowager Queen's nose. With her bacKing, he took the throne.

Three months later, Lady Angelina finally gave birth to a son, Prince Edmund.

Lady Angelina was furious, convinced Julius had snatched the crown from her own child.

She refused to leave the palace, always bringing up those three years she had spent raising Julius, and wouldn't move to the royal villa to live out her days in peace.

In my previous life, when Prince Edmund ran into danger, I thought it was nothing more than a freak accident.

But then, on the very same day Prince Edmund was in trouble, Caitlin went up the mountain to gather herbs.

She was mauled to death by a wild animal, and when her body was brought back, she was still clutching a piece of bright yellow cloth in her hand.

Afterwards, Caitlin's family was suddenly gifted a large sum of money by a distant relative, and they quietly moved out to the frontier.

I didn't pay much attention to it at first. But when I returned to the Royal Tutor's Estate, I learned that the pattern on that scrap of cloth was reserved exclusively for the King. No one else would ever dare to use it.

That was when I realized Prince Edmund's so-called "accident" was just a smokescreen and the real goal was seizing the throne.

Lady Angelina had never let go of her ambitions. She must have hatched a reckless plan and ordered Prince Edmund to assassinate the King secretly.

But fate twisted things around. Prince Edmund ended up dying during the assassination attempt, and Caitlin must've accidentally saved the King.

That was probably why her family got an unexpected fortune after she died.

This was a royal scandal, and to keep it under wraps, the King claimed Prince Edmund had simply fallen victim to bandits.

There was no way to avoid returning to the Royal Tutor's Estate now, so I had to find someone strong to rely on.

Having lived out here for years, I knew every nook and cranny, and I had already set things up. I was almost certain I could pull off saving the King.

That way, when I got back to Sliverbrook, I wouldn't have to put up with all the looks and attitude from the Royal Tutor's Estate.

Turns out, my gamble paid off. Judging by how the captain of the royal guards acted around that guy in fancy clothes, there was no doubt. He was the King, Julius.

As I made my way down the mountain with the herbs, I spotted the maid who had been keeping tabs on me, standing at the mountain trail. The moment she saw me, she looked visibly annoyed.

"What took you so long? Someone from the estate is here to take you back," she snapped.

Only then did I realize that in my focus on saving the King these past few days, I had forgotten today was the day I was to be taken back.

In a rush, I packed up my belongings and left all the savings I had built up over the years to Caitlin.