Chapter 1
Tiffany Frost, the prime minister's daughter, knelt before the Golden Hall, sobbing as she accused me of sneaking into her private chambers last night and sexually harassing her.
She put on such a heartfelt performance that I almost believed her myself, if I weren't a woman.
My father, Nigel Nelson, was about to be forced to beg for mercy. He was so desperate that he blurted out the truth that I was actually his daughter.
The entire hall fell silent. The King, Jim Soto's face turned stormy.
The Crown Prince, Andrew Soto, who had been quiet all along, suddenly chuckled. "Father, I can vouch for it. General Nelson really is guilty. After all, she has harassed me last night."
*****
Tiffany Frost, the prime minister's daughter, fell to the ground before the Golden Hall.
She cried her heart out, her grief so real it almost fooled everyone.
Every sob and accusation was aimed straight at me, Hayden Nelson..
She claimed I had snuck into her chambers last night and sexually harassed her.
Her act was so convincing, even I, the supposed culprit, almost fell for it.
However, I was a woman.
My father, Nigel, was shaking with fury.
Tom Frost, the prime minister, stood nearby, his face twisted in grief and outrage, but there was a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Your Majesty. Please, give justice to my daughter!" Tom pleaded.
He let out a heart-wrenching cry and dropped to his knees.
Everyone in the court stared at me like their eyes were daggers, stabbing right through me.
I stood there in my silver armor, tall and expressionless, like nothing could shake me.
This was treason to the King.
The whole Nelson family would be buried with me.
My father's lips quivered as he stared at the King, Jim Soto, whose expression grew more and more grim.
He was frantic now, completely at his wit's end.
My father dropped to his knees and knocked his head hard against the floor, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Your Majesty, my daughter would never do such a thing!"
"Is General Nelson a man? We've all seen it for ourselves!" Tom sneered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Yeah, General Nelson made his mark young and has a mountain of battle honors. No way he'd stoop to something so low," someone else chimed in.
"But this is about Tiffany's reputation," another courtier pointed out.
The room buzzed with whispers and speculation.
Jim's fingers tapped the armrest of his throne again and again.
Each tap felt like a hammer blow landing right on my father's heart.
Driven by desperation, my father finally revealed the secret he'd kept hidden for eighteen years. "Your Majesty, Hayden is a woman!"
The hall went dead silent all at once.
Everyone was stunned in place.
Tiffany's crying stopped cold, and she stared at me wide-eyed.
Tom's smug expression turned stiff.
After my father blurted out those words, all the strength seemed to leave him and he slumped to the floor.
He knew exactly what he'd just done.
One lie always needed an even bigger one to cover it up.
But now, he didn't even have a shot at patching things up.
I'd disguised myself as a man and served as a general in the court.
This was ironclad proof of deceiving the King.
On the throne, Jim's face darkened, then turned absolutely furious.
I could feel Jim's murderous rage.
I knew that this was the end for the Nelson family.
I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the end.
Just as the silence was suffocating, a nonchalant, slightly amused voice suddenly cut through the tension.
It was the Crown Prince, Andrew Soto.
He'd been silent the whole time, watching everything unfold as if he were enjoying a play.
He slowly rose to his feet and made his way to the center of the hall.
Every eye in the place was glued to him.
Andrew flashed a smile.
It was devilishly handsome, with a hint of mischief lurking beneath.
"Father," he said, giving Jim a casual bow.
His voice was lazy and unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world.
Andrew added, "I can testify to that.
"General Nelson is really guilty."
The whole hall erupted in an uproar.
I shot my eyes open, staring at him in utter disbelief.
I wondered if he was going to kick me when I was down.
Andrew glanced my way, his grin widening, full of mischief.
Then, right in front of the whole court, Andrew calmly tossed out a revelation that was even more explosive than before.
"After all, she has harassed me last night," Andrew said, his voice lazy and dripping with mischief.
His voice wasn't loud.
But it hit like a bolt of lightning, cracking over everyone's heads in the Golden Hall.
If my father had just thrown a boulder into the pond, Andrew's words were a thunderstorm.
The whole court froze in stunned silence, then the room exploded with shocked gasps and cries.
Tiffany's face went ghostly pale.
Tom looked sick, his face twisted with shock.
Jim's face went from ashen to purple, then finally turned black with rage.
Jim stared at Andrew so hard that it was like he wanted to cut Andrew to pieces with just his eyes.
I stood frozen, unable to move an inch.
My heart was reeling. I was completely blindsided.
I wondered what the hell Andrew was up to.
His words sounded like he was backing me up, but really, he was making everyone believe I was a man.
But by dragging himself into this mess, he blew it up from a dirty little court scandal into a royal disaster that rocked the whole palace.
I wondered why he did this.
I stared at him, and he stared right back at me.
His eyes, those sly, fox-like eyes, were filled with endless mischief and scheming, so deep I could drown in them.
I thought that he was a total lunatic.
"Ridiculous!" Jim finally growled, barely containing his fury.
Jim forced the words out through gritted teeth, thunderous rage in his voice.
"Andrew, stand down!" Jim barked.
"Father, please, calm down," Andrew replied, still completely unfazed.
Andrew remained utterly nonchalant, as if nothing could ruffle him.
"I'm just telling the truth, Father," Andrew said, his tone casual but full of mischief.
He even fussed with his collar, acting all serious like he was making some big announcement.
"General Nelson was absolutely fierce last night. Honestly, my back's still sore," Andrew added, grinning as he teased.
Someone in the court couldn't hold back and snorted out loud.
Jim's expression was so sour that it looked like he could explode any second.
Tom and Tiffany were left utterly speechless.
Their carefully planned scheme had turned into a complete joke.
They went from accusers to awkward bystanders, watching helplessly.
"Your Majesty!" Tom snapped out of his shock and dropped to his knees.
He said, "Your Majesty, it's my fault for failing to raise my daughter right. She lost her head and accused the wrong person. Please, punish me!"
All he wanted now was to escape this mess as quickly as possible.
If this chaos kept up, he didn't know what kind of shocking thing Andrew would say next. After all, Andrew was known for having a special way of handling things.
Jim's chest was heaving with fury as he pointed at Andrew, but for a long moment, he was so angry he couldn't even speak.
In the end, looking utterly spent, he just waved his hand weakly.
He snapped, "Get out.
"All of you, get out of here!"
Just like that, the whole fiasco came to an end.
I barely remembered leaving the Golden Hall.
The stares burning into my back were more intense and layered than anything I'd ever felt.
Curiosity, contempt, jealousy, and plenty of mockery, all mixed together.
My father trailed behind me without saying a word.
Once we got into the carriage on the way back home, the tension inside was so heavy you could cut it with a knife.
It took him a long time to speak, and when he did, his voice was hoarse. "I'm sorry, Hayden. "
I shook my head.
"It's not your fault," I said quietly.
What had been done couldn't be reversed. Blaming anyone now was pointless.
The real question was how we were going to survive this.
I wondered why Andrew helped me. I felt that maybe he wasn't really on my side at all.
He might have stepped in just because he found it amusing.
He dragged me out of the fire, only to toss me right into an even deeper, ice-cold abyss.
When we got back to the Nelson estate, the air was thick with dread.
The servants didn't even dare to breathe.
My father shut himself away in his study.
I sat alone in the chilly courtyard, watching as the sky slowly faded into darkness.
The future was shrouded in uncertainty.
Just then, the butler came rushing over, his face pale as a ghost.
He was holding an imperial yellow scroll in his hands, looking terrified.
"General, someone from the palace is here," he said, his voice trembling.