Wife of The Demon Prince
Chapter 228: Looking for justice

Chapter 228: Looking for justice

After all the guests settled down at their tables. The servants began to walk in with trays containing various delicacies. Ara stood up from the head table holding a wine glass, "Thank you all for accepting my sudden invitation. I am honored to have you all here tonight. The food has been specially prepared, and I hope you all enjoy yourselves." She lifted her glass in a toast, and everyone did the same.

Ara smiled after she drank from her glass, and the guests also drank from their glasses after her, "Please continue." She said and sat back down.

Everyone replied in unison, "Thank you, your highness."

The hall soon fell into a lively atmosphere as all the guests engaged one another in conversations as all the servants continued to serve the guests. However, not long, Ara heard the conversation of a few people near her,

"Oh, did you also notice the soldiers outside earlier?"

"Yes, I did notice them. They’re the queen’s soldiers, I wonder what they were doing there. At first I thought a war was about to start."

"Why would her majesty send her soldiers to the crown Prince’s residence?"

"I have no idea."

The women continued to discuss among themselves wondering why the queen sent soldiers to the crown Prince’s residence. And Ara couldn’t help but smile, that was exactly what she wanted for people to raise questions.

"Hmm, the food tastes wonderful, your highness. Is it true that the chef of Galas restaurant was the one to cook all the delicacies?" Mary asked curiously.

Ara gave a nod, "Yes, it is true."

Mary’s brown eyes widened in delight, "Wow, from what I’ve heard, it is very hard to hire that chef."

Ara smiled at Mary’s words. Yes, it was true the chef today was from a well-known restaurant in Findara and it was quite difficult to hire him as the man was proud of his achievements and would usually put on airs, he worked for anyone he wanted and could reject anyone without caring about their status or positions. At first, the chef had refused to come with Oliver claiming they had informed him on such short notice. Until she’d complained to Hamon about his refusal. Hearing her complaints this morning, Hamon left, before she knew it, the chef had quickly scurried over without another protest, She was certain Hamon probably threatened the living soul out of the poor man at the restaurant.

Ara recalled all the effort her husband made for the soiree to be successful.

_’Let me handle everything, my wife.’_ He’d told her before going to meet the chef.

After probably threatening the arrogant chef, the man had arrived at the palace breathlessly without wasting any time and started preparing the meals for the soiree. She recalled Hamon’s mischievous grin as the chef ran into the kitchen, and a smile crossed her lips without her even realizing it. She wondered if Hamon was still outside at this moment...

As soon as the guests began to eat, compliments started to float among the elites during the various course of the meals. The popularity of the food among the guests made Ara’s mood rise.

Emma approached Ara from behind and spoke, "My lady, his highness sent me to you."

Ara nodded, then Emma leaned in closer to her ear and said, "He said all the queen’s troops have been withdrawn by Lord Edwin."

It had gone just as they’d planned and Ara beamed in joy, "Thank you." She thanked then whispered back to Emma, "Please take some of the food to his highness, so he can have his dinner as well."

"Yes, my lady." Emma bowed and left to do as she was told. Now that everything was settled and Hamon was back inside, Ara lifted her spoon and began to eat as well. The food looked delicious, and when she placed it in her mouth, it flowed richly down her throat. Everything was going smoothly, and since she’d sent Emma to give Hamon his dinner, she was able to enjoy hers with ease.

After all the courses were served, including dessert and tea. Ara engaged herself in a light conversation with the guests. However, she noticed Evangeline leaving the hall and going towards the balcony alone. She had been wondering about the woman’s strange behavior towards her throughout the evening.

Ara politely excused herself before going after Evangeline to the balcony. Once Ara was outside, the noises in the hall faded away, and only the soothing night breeze blowing was heard.

"Lady Golding." At Ara’s voice, Evangeline glanced back with a startled look, "Your Highness..." She quickly bowed her head to pay her respect, but the moment she rose up, Ara noticed the rim of her eyes looked red and a bit swollen as if she’d been crying.

"Why are you out here alone? I noticed you haven’t spoken to any one in the hall, are you alright?"

"I...I am not that comfortable around strangers."

"But then why did you accept my invitation instead?"

"Oh..." For a moment, Evangeline’s proud face showed a slight embarrassed look, and Ara tried to phrase her next words politely as possible, "I did not expect you’d be the one to attend from the Golding household...moreover, I noticed you’ve been staring at me, may I ask why?"

Whatever Evangeline’s intentions were, Ara wanted to know. She wanted to avoid another Claire Tudor in her life.

Evangeline lowered her eyes, "if you’ve noticed, your highness, then I won’t hide it. I was looking for an opportunity to have a word with the crown Prince."

Ara’s expression dramatically changed at the mention of her husband. Not again! She instinctively asked sharply, "For what reason?"

Hearing Ara’s sharp tone as if she’d skin her alive for wanting to talk to her husband, Evangeline quickly waved her hands in denial, "No, Please don’t get me wrong, your highness. It’s not what you’re thinking. I just wanted justice for my cousin."

"Justice for your cousin?" Ara was inwardly surprised and a bit embarrassed by Evangeline’s words, she’d thought the woman was another white lotus after her husband.

"The truth is..." Evangeline hesitated for a moment, but soon took a deep breath and continued, "The second Prince invited my cousin and I to his party a few weeks ago, but I never enjoyed going to events or being around too many people, so I refused his invitation..."

An ominous feeling stirred in Ara’s stomach. She had been to Cassius’ party before and knew what it was like. However, she continued to listen to Evangeline’s story without interrupting her.

"People said his parties were like paradise, and my cousin was too excited to go, she pleaded with me to come with her, but I refused her so many times. Therefore, she stubbornly went alone...if I had known, I would have gone with her, maybe she would have been safe...The regret has been eating up my soul." Her eyes swelled up with tears.

Ara felt numb as she asked her next question, "What happened to your cousin?"

"...She was drugged and raped by the second Prince and his friends."

"...!" Ara’s eyes widened in shock.

Evangeline’s face crumbled at the pain of recalling the memory, "My cousin refused to tell any of our families, and went to the queen to report the second Prince’s crime, but... the queen threatened to destroy the Golding family if she uttered a word out about the incident."

Ara knew Cassius was a scum of the earth, but he was more despicable than she’d thought. Ara herself had only been able to avoid such a fate because of her hidden military skills, or else...

Her hands tightened into a tight fist on her sides.

Evangeline continued with a trembling voice, "Yesterday, I heard my father talking with his friend in his study about the fight between the crown Prince and the queen’s soldiers, so I decided to meet his highness somehow to get justice for my cousin instead, but then you sent an invitation to my household this morning..."

"...I see."

"I can’t change what has already happened to my dear cousin, but I want to give the little support I have to make sure the second Prince never takes the throne. That is why I came here in the hopes of meeting the crown Prince, but now that I’ve met you, it’s enough. If you’d allow me, I want to help bring the second Prince down."

Ara clasped Evangeline’s hands which she’d noticed was trembling as she spoke. Her hands were cold, Ara noted. She didn’t know if it was because of the fear of the queen or distress from recalling those memories, but...the important thing was that it had taken the woman a lot of courage to come here.

Ara looked into Evangeline’s eyes and spoke in a soft voice, "I know that telling me this must have been difficult, so thank you."

Evangeline nodded silently, her eyes filled with emotions. Ara could imagine the guilt she was experiencing, and even she could still recall the burden of Anne’s death in her last life. Ara was able to sympathize with Evangeline’s feelings even more now.

"Please, don’t blame yourself for this, it is not your fault. Don’t worry, I promise to get justice for your cousin no matter what."

Although, Ara was trying to comfort her, Evangeline only became even more overwhelmed and spoke with a trembling voice, "...Thank you very much, your highness."

Ara could feel her hands were a little warmer, "Your Highness, at first I was scared to approach you, because I thought you’d also support the second Prince, that was why I was staring at you..." Her voice was choked with tears.

"I’d never support such injustice, lady Golding. And I’m glad you opened up to me today." Upon hearing this, Evangeline only ended up crying even more. Ara pulled the woman towards her and embraced her weeping form. Tears stream down her cheeks, and she murmured, "Thank you, your highness. Am really grateful."

Ara patted the woman’s back until her tears ceased.