The Alpha Prince's Purchased Maid
Chapter 76: Danger All Around

Chapter 76: Danger All Around

“How can you be thankful for such things when it is what we deserve? I am no less his wife than the last queen. I slept with him and gave him a son even before his queen did! I should be thankful that he made me a duchess. Me? Why should I be thankful when he should have made me his queen?!” Isabella yelled loudly.

“Mother. Stop it and please control yourself. We will get in trouble if anyone overhears us,” Darius stated dryly.

“My son who was born first didn’t get the title of the first prince. What kind of bullshit is that?! Thankfully, that arrogant queen is dead and gone now. It is my turn, and I will make sure that you sit on the throne where you belong!” Isabella yelled loudly.

Her eyes glared at her son as she pointed at his face with her index finger. Darius could see that his mother was on the verge of tears. She always got emotional whenever they discussed the issue of succession. The fact that she had given birth to an ultimate alpha pup before the previous queen made her believe that her son had the rightful claim to the throne.

“Enough, mother. Return to the king before he loses whatever interest he still has in you,” Darius advised curtly.

“Leave Prince Leonard and the matter of that maid alone. This is my kind warning to you, Darius...” Isabella said with a hint of threat in her tone.

“And what if I don’t?” Darius asked challengingly.

“It would be wise for you to listen to your mother sometimes, Darius...” the duchess said patiently.

“Is that why you wanted the poor girl murdered?” Darius asked bluntly.

The duchess stared at her with a raised eyebrow at his bold and direct accusation. A moment of silence passed between them before the duchess’s cherry-red lips curved into an alluring smile.

“I am Duchess Isabella, the king’s favorite lover. I don’t make threats and I do not take any actions that would intervene in the politics of this kingdom. Surely, you know that...” Isabella replied before smiling at her only son.

“I do?” Darius asked innocently.

“All I did was let Regina know that I favor a certain flower. That was all. I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. Don’t you dare accuse me of something so low and vile,” the duchess said.

“Mother...” Darius murmured as his mood darkened even further.

“What she decided to do with that information is all up to her and had nothing to do with me, whatsoever,” Isabella said dismissively.

“The king would not be pleased if he found out that you are trying to meddle with the line of succession,” Darius warned.

“I would learn to worry more about yourself than others if I were you...” Isabella replied before heading to the door.

Darius watched his mother leave before he heaved a loud sigh. No matter what, he couldn’t understand why his mother wouldn’t give up on the idea of making him king. Apart from the title of Queen that the King had refused to give to her, the king had given her everything else that she had asked for. Just like always, his mother proved to the be the hardest person to deal with.

...

**A few days later**

After spending the night of the full moon with Prince Leonard in his room, I had expected that some change would happen in my life at the palace. In what shape or form that change was supposed to take, I had no clear idea. Recalling the anger on the prince’s beautiful features when he discovered me on his bed when he woke up brought a stinging sensation to my chest.

Why did he have to be so angry?

Prince Leonard completely misunderstood the reason why I was in that room and accused me of something that had never ever entered my mind. The rough way that he treated me scared me and it was vastly different from the gentle and warm side of him that I saw when he spent time with me during my workdays. It felt like he had turned into a completely different person, and I had a hard time believing the prince and the nameless man that stayed by my side were the same person.

If someone were to tell me that the prince had a twin that looked exactly like him, I would believe that person without a second thought.

It’s been a few days since the night of the full moon, and I have not seen Prince Leonard since. Neither have I seen Prince Darius who was the one fully responsible for dragging me literally into this mess. I wondered if I now owed an apology to Prince Leonard on top of my thanks for how he saved me that night from the wolves in the dark forest.

I did help him already with the condition of his sickness and I didn’t feel like I did anything wrong, so perhaps, I didn’t owe him anything anymore.

From the way that people liked to talk and gossip in this place, I should have known that the news of me spending the night in Prince Leonard’s room on the night of the full moon would spread like wildfire. It didn’t take long for Lady Regina to find out about it and for the entire staff in her palace to find out as well. Ever since that day, it felt like I had lost whatever small place that I had earned for myself in Lady Regina’s palace. Wherever I went, I could feel the eyes of the other maids and staff on me and the looks that they gave me were anything but friendly and warm.

“Umm...is there anything that I can help out with here?” I asked the other maids softly.

The other maids were preparing their cleaning tools and they seemed quite busy. For a few days, I haven’t been tasked with any work at all and ended up spending my time just roaming around Lady Regina’s palace in search of chores to fill up my days just to keep myself busy.

--To be continued...