The Hero's Forsaken Princess
Chapter 25: Verdict

Chapter 25: Verdict

"What the hell is your husband trying to do here? Why is he helping Evelina?" Queen Amara asked through gritted teeth. She yanked Princess Aliyah to her side, whispering those words.

Princess Aliyah shook her head, her eyes looking daggers at Eve. She was fuming in rage, seeing her husband’s interference as he tried to save Eve from the punishment.

"I’m also clueless, Mother," she replied apologetically.

Queen Amara hissed at her response. "You should learn how to control your husband!" She reprimanded her daughter. "If he spells trouble for me, I won’t spare him even if he is your husband." The queen warned the second princess.

Princess Aliyah folded her fingers into tight fists. "Don’t worry, Mother. I shall talk to him after this." An icy gleam sparkled in her eyes, thinking of a way to punish her disobedient unfaithful husband.

The conversation between the mother and daughter was interrupted when King Solomon spoke up, addressing a question to the prisoner.

"Tell us the truth. Did you lie about being my daughter’s lover? Who paid you to do that?" King Solomon’s authoritative voice echoed in the royal courtyard.

Lyle Owen dropped to his knees, his body trembling. One wrong move then he could die an ugly death... it was either in the hands of the queen or Alaric’s.

’Damn! I just want to pay my debt and earn easy money. I didn’t expect that this could cost me my life!’

Lyle began to regret his choice. He might be a gambling addict but he wasn’t dumb. He knew that he needed to be careful in choosing his words as he answered the king.

"Speak up!" Caleb urged him. Everyone was waiting for Lyle’s answer.

"I-I..." Lyle stuttered, his heart pounding so hard against his chest. "F-Forgive me... Y-Your Majesty. I lied. Princess Eve is not my lover. I’ve never seen her." He managed to confess. Then he bowed his head, his face almost kissing the ground. ’Damn it! I did it! I defy the queen. General Alaric, you should fulfill your promise! You must protect me at all costs.’

Everyone gasped upon hearing that.

"What? Is he telling the truth?"

"Why would he do that? So stupid! Only death awaits him!"

"Who made him do that?"

"He should have stuck to his prior words. Either way, he is going to be sentenced to death!"

The members of the royal courts broke into whispers, eyeing him with disbelief. Others began to speculate.

Meanwhile, King Solomon narrowed his eyes, displeased by Lyle’s boldness to lie in front of the royal family. He changed his prior statement about implicating Eve in a secret affair. Now, he took back his words, clearing Eve’s name.

"He suddenly changed his statement. Did someone blackmail him?" Thalia chimed in.

She could no longer keep her silence. The sudden turn of events was not in favor of her. The hired actor was no longer following the script they presented to him.

This time, Alaric rose to his feet, and he turned to face Princess Thalia. "Princess, Are you implying that I threatened the prisoner to change his prior statement to acquit my wife from her supposed punishment?"

Thalia was taken aback when directly confronted by Alaric. She didn’t expect him to react like that. ’Damn it! What’s wrong with him? Why is he still protecting his ugly, useless wife? Is he blind?’

Sensing the heavy tension surrounding them, King Solomon cleared his throat.

"General Alaric, Princess Thalia didn’t mean any harm. She is just stating a possibility. And she is not directly accusing you." Queen Amara intervened, helping out Thalia.

She was glad that Thalia spoke up, diverting the topic from Who paid him to lie to Who blackmailed himto change his statement.

On the other hand, Eve just listened to their arguments silently. She had been staring at Alaric for a long moment, trying to figure him out. However, she couldn’t fathom what was running on his mind right now. His expression was also unreadable.

Sensing Gavin’s intense gaze, Eve turned in his direction, locking eyes with him. ’Why did he just show up now? Did he deliberately wait for Alaric to intervene first before revealing Lyle Owen’s identity and exposing his lies?’

Gavin just smirked at her, satisfied with the intriguing attention he got from Eve. ’Do you feel indebted to me now, my princess?’

The exchanges of glances between Eve and Gavin didn’t escape Alaric’s sharp eyes. His expression turned ashen as he clenched his fists.

’I’m not surprised if Gavin tried to protect her. After all, he had an affair with her. He was her true lover, not Lyle Owen.’ Alaric gritted his teeth at that thought.

Before things could escalate further, King Solomon decided to give his verdict. Listening to everyone’s arguments, he finally came up with a decision.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think we should stop arguing about this matter. The bottom line is that one of the prisoner’s statements is either a truth or a lie." King Solomon paused for a moment, darting his gaze between Gavin and Alaric.

"And considering Commander Gavin’s words and General Alaric’s investigation, I believe that this man is a fraud, trying to stir a conflict among the members of the royal family. This is something I can’t tolerate."

Lyle Owen slammed his eyes shut, fully aware of his impending doom.

’Fuck. I miscalculated. I’m truly luckless. My luck has run out. I’m not dying at the hands of either the queen or General Alaric... I’ll definitely be executed by King Solomon.’

"I hereby announce the dismissal of Princess Evelina’s punishment. She is innocent and was falsely accused. I swear to deliver justice in her name. My royal guards will definitely punish Lyle Owen for deceiving the royal family."

King Solomon deliberately didn’t specify what punishment he would bestow on Lyle Owen. He just glanced at Queen Amara meaningfully as if he was aware of her involvement in this scheme.

He had already noticed Queen Amara’s strange behavior when Lyle Owen was brought to the royal courtyard. He chose not to press the matter further regarding who paid Lyle Owen to lie because he feared that Queen Amara’s name would be implicated. He had to protect his queen.

Meanwhile, Eve finally heaved a sigh of relief as she had been acquitted from receiving fifty floggings. She then subconsciously glanced at Alaric, only to meet his smoldering gaze that radiated his raging fury. He was back to being cold and indifferent.

’What’s with his grumpy mood again?’ Eve thought to herself, frowning while pouting her lips.