The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 466: An Urgent Meeting In The Mansion

Chapter 466: An Urgent Meeting In The Mansion

"Just what the h*ll are you saying?" Clara jumped to her feet, her voice ringing out in outrage. "How dare you accuse the Princess of Ardel of infidelity!"

The knightess ignored the pain in her leg from the sudden movement. Her fists clenched as she prepared to lunge forward at Eric, angered by the severe allegation.

"I didn’t make the accusation!" the second-in-command knight yelled back, firm in his defence.

"Then who did?" she shot back, her fury undeterred.

"Come to think of it, it was Lady Sarah James who accused Lady Raychard and His Highness Prince Kiev..." Eli muttered quietly but loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, sending another wave of shock through them.

"What? How dare she!" Clara exclaimed, her eyes blazing with fury. "That’s it! I’m going to the palace right now to straighten this out once and for all! Someone is going to pay for this!"

"Don’t you dare!" Eric shouted, surprising the knightess and the others. "Your actions would only make things worse!"

"What? You want to stop me?" Clara darted a glare at the second-in-command, her fury rising even higher. "You’re pathetic! You claim to respect Lady Raychard, yet you let her be slandered like this?"

"You think I did nothing?" Eric yelled back in anger, his raspy voice filling the meeting room. "Before the accusation arose, it was His Majesty who first questioned the pregnancy! His Highness the Grand Duke arrived exactly at that moment! He, too, insinuated that Lady Raychard was carrying someone else’s child, and all the knights were accused of it!"

"This is outrageous! Why would His Majesty and His Highness do that?" Emily said, her face contorted in disbelief at the thought of Anna facing such severe accusations.

Eric looked down, his expression grim. Knowing such a serious predicament had occurred under his watch, a huge burden fell heavily on his shoulders.

Seeing this, Meredith stepped forward to support the second-in-command knight.

"It’s because when the pregnancy was revealed, His Majesty told us that the baby could never be the child of His Highness the Grand Duke. Apparently, His Highness has a fertility issue and cannot father an heir. This is why he stepped down from his position as the Crown Prince and refused to become the next King of Cassian."

"No! This can’t be true!" Sylvia exclaimed, her hands flying to her mouth in shock.

The rest of the group mirrored her disbelief, their faces reflecting the same astonishment.

"I’m afraid it is. I couldn’t believe it at first, either. Lady Raychard strongly denied the accusation, as did we. But when His Highness came to the chamber and learned about the situation, he confirmed the same... that he couldn’t have children with her nor any other woman," Meredith explained.

"This... this... this can’t be!" Anryr shook his head, his words jagged between breaths as he remained shocked by the revelation.

Armel, who stood a little farther away from Eric, was speechless. At the same time, Scarlett and Mary exchanged surprised glances. Feeling that she couldn’t hide what she knew anymore, Mary stepped forward.

"Sir Navin... Lady Jar... I have something to tell!" the royal maid declared, her voice trembling slightly.

All eyes immediately turned to her.

"If it’s something that’s not urgent, now is not the time..." Eric muttered in frustration.

"Wait! Please listen first!" Mary pleaded. "I already knew that Lady Raychard was pregnant before this!"

Eric raised his head and looked at the royal maid, surprise written across his face. "You knew? How and when?"

"It was right after Scarlett and I started servicing her. At first, it was just my suspicion. I have some knowledge of women’s health, and I noticed the changes in her body. Also, her sickness symptoms were the same as those of a pregnant woman. So, I told Mr Amares and asked him to take a look. But he said it was impossible because His Highness the Grand Duke didn’t wish to have children."

The response didn’t surprise Eric.

"Rafael knew about His Highness’s condition long before we all did. That might be why he told you that. I believe he was covering up for His Highness’s situation. Anyway, he conducted further tests to confirm it, but it came back contradictory because Jessy had tampered with the examination and the samples taken with her magic," he explained.

"Madam Collins did that?" Scarlett exclaimed, her eyes wide. "But why?"

"That’s exactly our question. So, when this matter was brought up, Lady James, who happened to be present, concluded that Jessy’s actions meant the child belonged to His Highness Prince Kiev," Eric added.

"That chief lady-in-waiting is a scheming woman! She’s making allegations without proof!" Sylvia interjected angrily.

"It’s hard to deny her allegations. She knew about the possession incident and that Lady Raychard and His Highness Prince Kiev had spent the night together in the forest. Obviously, she had planted a spy to monitor us, and I believe it could be one of the royal knights assigned to this mansion," Eric concluded.

"Possession incident? What is that?" Mary asked in confusion.

Scarlett instinctively pulled on her friend’s arm, worried that Mary’s boldness in asking would provoke the knight. The royal maid felt a surge of nerves as she realised her position and that she shouldn’t be throwing a question to someone of high nobility.

However, instead of scolding her, Eric decided it was time for them to know the truth. The incident had been revealed to the king and Kyren, and Sarah also knew about it; soon, everyone would be in the know, rendering it pointless to keep it hidden any longer.

"Before you two arrived, an incident occurred in the mansion. Our lady was bewitched by dark magic cast by the Bargesians who pursued her. They and the previous king of Ardel conspired to kill her since she was the legitimate heir to the throne," he stated.

"A legitimate heir? So, Lady Raychard is not an illegitimate daughter like the rumours say?" Scarlett encouraged herself to ask for affirmation.

"No. Apparently, she claimed to be so to prevent a war. We knew about her status when Sir Brooks reported his investigation to His Highness the very next day after the banquet to celebrate her proclamation as a royal concubine," Eric revealed.

"The pregnancy... was it why His Majesty summoned His Highness, you, Miss Canton, and the knights to the palace today?" Anryr asked, trying to connect the dots but still confused. "But none of us knew Lady Raychard was pregnant, not until the incident in the chamber, it seemed."

"No. We were called for another reason."

Eric then recounted the case of the Knights of Abinair, the count’s allegations against Kiev, Elis, and the knights, and how it all concluded.

"Though the current situation is not appealing, please address Miss Canton as Her Highness Princess Elisabeth from now on, since His Highness Prince Kiev has married her and officially made her his princess consort," he added.

The revelation sent a wave of silence through the meeting room. It wasn’t that they weren’t happy with the union; the bizarre happenings they were facing were too overwhelming to allow for any celebration of the marriage at that moment.

"Sir Navin, what do we do now? This is a serious allegation, and it could lead to severe punishment! Lady Raychard is innocent! She can’t be having an affair with His Highness Prince Kiev that night! She was possessed and in a seriously ill condition when she was brought back! Based on their relationship, it makes it even harder to believe that they might be intimate!" Meredith exclaimed, defending Anna fervently.

"Honestly... I don’t know." Eric responded somberly. "Even His Highness the Grand Duke is not on our lady’s side. What more of His Majesty, the King?"

"So what is the status of our lady and His Highness Prince Kiev?" asked Emily, her voice tinged with concern.

"As of now, Lady Raychard is being detained in her chamber at the palace while His Highness has been arrested and most probably sent to the dungeon. His Majesty declared that he would try to extract a confession from His Highness before imposing any punishment," Eric explained.

"What about His Highness the Grand Duke? I saw him brought out unconsciously by the knights before His Highness Prince Kiev was arrested," Anryr inquired.

"He was assaulted by His Majesty, the King, when he went berserk and attempted to harm His Highness Prince Kiev himself. We took him to his chamber as ordered by His Majesty. Thankfully, the knights have not yet been apprehended for this incident," Eli stated.

"I understand that we can hardly believe this. But even the knights and I had no answer when His Majesty and His Highness the Grand Duke questioned us about how Lady Raychard could become pregnant. She was a maiden before her marriage, and the only man she has ever been with is her husband," Eric replied.

"That is true. Everyone can attest to that! Even during her time at the camp with us, she was well-guarded. No one, not even Mr Amares or Mr Norman, was allowed to be alone with her during her treatment. What more of us knights!" Eli added.

"I can assure you that none of the knights were involved. You all have seen how we escorted her all this time, and accusing the mansion’s servants doesn’t make sense either, since none of them were allowed to come close to her. Sadly to say, His Highness Prince Kiev was the only person with her at that time, without anyone else observing. Thus, he is seen as the most probable reason for Lady Raychard’s pregnancy," Eric said sombrely. "We suspect something might have happened that night."

"This can’t be true! I don’t believe it! His Highness Prince Kiev wouldn’t do such a thing to Lady Raychard! She is his betrothed!" Armel suddenly voiced his protest. "If he truly wanted to force her to be his woman, he would’ve done so long ago instead of engaging in a duel with His Highness the Grand Duke!"

"I understand your feelings. I don’t want to believe it either, but one thing we haven’t been able to clarify is why the Mederians were hiding the fact that our lady is pregnant," Eric continued. "Even Mrs Amares knew about it and kept it from all of us, including Rafael."

Silence fell over the group as they exchanged worried glances. Their faces reflected uncertainty.

Eric continued with a sigh, "The knights and I will investigate this further and find the real culprit. One thing we know for sure is that Lady Raychard is not a promiscuous woman who would intentionally lay eyes on any man other than her husband."

"You mentioned that Jessy was involved in tampering with Mr Amares’s examination and test results to hide the pregnancy. She is right here in the mansion with Her Highness Princess Elisabeth! Let’s interrogate her and get her confession!" Clara suggested, slamming her hand on the table.

If Kiev had truly taken advantage of Anna, as Eric and the knights claimed, she would never forgive him, betrothed or not!

"Leave her alone! She is merely following His Highness Prince Kiev’s orders, and given her loyalty, even if you forced her, she wouldn’t divulge the truth. Furthermore, I require her to accompany Her Highness Princess Elisabeth at this critical moment. Her Highness might do something perilous if we allow her to be alone. Rest assured, I have already asked Rafael to speak to his wife regarding this, and we shall soon find out," said the second-in-command knight.

"Sir Navin... there’s one more thing you should know," Meredith suddenly said. "Mr Norman mentioned he’s going to retrieve evidence for this case. I couldn’t ask more about it since he urged me to take Her Highness Princess Elisabeth back to the mansion. At that time, His Majesty was so angry with us that I had no choice but to take her away."

"Wait... Ayden is not in the palace with Mr Amares and the other knights?" Clara asked, surprised.

Meredith shook her head.

"Why didn’t he say anything back then if he had any evidence to support us?" Eric inquired.

"He couldn’t because the evidence was not with him. So he went to retrieve it," replied Meredith.

"Do you know what it is?" asked Eli impatiently.

"I don’t. Mr Norman left in haste, and I had to handle Her Highness Princess Elisabeth at that time," the lady-in-waiting explained. "So, I couldn’t ask more about it."

"Oh, God! I wish he would come back soon and resolve all of this!" Emily prayed, clasping her hands together.

"Should we track Mr Norman, Sir Navin?" asked the young knight eagerly.

Eric paused for a moment before responding, "No. Given what transpired today, Lady James is seizing this opportunity to turn against Lady Raychard. We are aware that she harbours a grudge against all of us. Once the nobles learn of this situation, they will undoubtedly side with her. Thus, we must be cautious not to reveal this to prevent sabotage. Ayden will certainly return once he secures it. Let us hope it suffices to prove the innocence of Lady Raychard and His Highness Prince Kiev."

"Then, what do we do now?" asked Sylvia, her tone anxious.

"Remain calm and await the outcome. I shall return to the palace to evaluate the situation. The two guests brought back by His Highness the Grand Duke are unaware of our present circumstances, so let’s keep it that way," advised Eric.

"What about us, Sir Navin?" asked Mary, referring to herself and Scarlett.

Eric looked at them and replied, "It’s best that you both return to the palace."

"But Lady Raychard is not yet proven guilty!" Scarlett protested.

"I know. But even if you are here, there’s nothing you can do. Rumours will soon spread in the palace, and having ears on alert is good. If you can help me by keeping an eye on the situation there, that would be invaluable," said Eric.

"We’ll do it! If you need anything else, do let us know!" Mary replied eagerly.

Although they were royal maids, she and Scarlett remained fiercely loyal to Anna, who had always treated them with kindness.

Scarlett added, "We’ll keep our eyes and ears open and report anything unusual. We can’t let Lady Raychard suffer from false accusations."

The two royal maids were prepared to do whatever they could to assist in the case, sharing the same displeasure towards Sarah and her fellow ladies-in-waiting as the other mansion’s occupants did.

"Thank you. You may disperse now and await news from me. This is a grave matter, so please refrain from taking any action on your own. I trust you all to keep this matter confidential, especially around our guests," said the second-in-command knight.

"We will not, Sir Navin! I assure you of that!" Anryr replied.

Eric nodded, thankful for their understanding and commitment.

"You may convey whatever we have discussed here to Mrs Foster. She has been involved in this with us and deserves to know in order to assist you in managing the situation," he said.

"I will. Rosalie and I certainly know what to do. You can count on us!" Anryr affirmed.

With that, the meeting concluded, and Eric prepared himself to return to the palace.

The sun sank lower, casting a gloomy pall over his surroundings as the light of the day dwindled with his departure, mirroring the heaviness in his heart...

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