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Fated Eclipse: The Illegitimate Princess And Her Alpha Suitors

Chapter 267: The Laughter and The Fear · Oct 17, 2026

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Chapter List (452)

Page number / 10

251 Chapter 251: The Unseen Web 2026-10-17
252 Chapter 252: Waking 2026-10-17
253 Chapter 253: The First Official Elimination Ball 2026-10-17
254 Chapter 254: The Popularity Poll 2026-10-17
255 Chapter 255: The Tears That Seemed Endless 2026-10-17
256 Chapter 256: The Duke Who Was An Anchor 2026-10-17
257 Chapter 257: The Second Competition 2026-10-17
258 Chapter 258: The Morning Visitors 2026-10-17
259 Chapter 259: The Problem of Marquess Corvin Hale 2026-10-17
260 Chapter 260: A Meal and a Question 2026-10-17
261 Chapter 261: The Evening Competition 2026-10-17
262 Chapter 262: The Music Competition 2026-10-17
263 Chapter 263: The Unconventional Performances 2026-10-17
264 Chapter 264: The Pirate’s Composition 2026-10-17
265 Chapter 265: The Honest Earl 2026-10-17
266 Chapter 266: The Results 2026-10-17
267 Chapter 267: The Laughter and The Fear 2026-10-17
268 Chapter 268: Secrets Carried Back 2026-10-17
269 Chapter 269: Letters and Loose Tongues 2026-10-17
270 Chapter 270: The Forgotten Corner 2026-10-17
271 Chapter 271: Conversations With The Baron 2026-10-17
272 Chapter 272: The Lesson 2026-10-17
273 Chapter 273: Summons From Jacinta 2026-10-17
274 Chapter 274: The Spawn’s Summons 2026-10-17
275 Chapter 275: The King’s Gaze 2026-10-17
276 Chapter 276: The Truth They Carry 2026-10-17
277 Chapter 277: What They Carry 2026-10-17
278 Chapter 278: The Revenge They Sought 2026-10-17
279 Chapter 279: For Those With Power 2026-10-17
280 Chapter 280: The Gathering 2026-10-17
281 Chapter 281: The Question of Strength 2026-10-17
282 Chapter 282: The Rose and the Wolf 2026-10-17
283 Chapter 283: The Boat Date With Duke Frostmere 2026-10-17
284 Chapter 284: The Library Window And The Shirtless Baron 2026-10-17
285 Chapter 285: A Rather Poor Musician 2026-10-17
286 Chapter 286: The Goblin Sister 2026-10-17
287 Chapter 287: A Most Improper Arrangement 2026-10-17
288 Chapter 288: The Comfort of Silence 2026-10-17
289 Chapter 289: The Scholar’s Explanation 2026-10-17
290 Chapter 290: The Wall Between Us 2026-10-17
291 Chapter 291: The Shadows and the Secrets 2026-10-17
292 Chapter 292: More Than Friends, Best Of Friends? 2026-10-17
293 Chapter 293: The Question That Would Not Be Answered 2026-10-17
294 Chapter 294: The Note and The News 2026-10-17
295 Chapter 295: The Search for Glenda 2026-10-17
296 Chapter 296: The Dance by the Lake 2026-10-17
297 Chapter 297: The Price of Colour Pencils 2026-10-17
298 Chapter 298: The Price He Actually Wanted 2026-10-17
299 Chapter 299: Good Food Is To Be Shared 2026-10-17
300 Chapter 300: Do You Like Me? 2026-10-17

Chapter 266: The Laughter and The Fear

The competition was over, but the commoners still filled the streets.

There were conversations everywhere, even though it was nighttime. Mercers’ Row especially was filled with raucous energy.

Numerous people walked through the streets laughing and discussing the evening’s events. The topic of discussion had been the competition that had taken place earlier.

The evening air was thick with the scent of ale and roasted meat, and the sound of voices rose and fell like waves against the shore.

The Tallow and Tide was overflowing. Every table was occupied. Patrons leaned against the bar, crowded the corners, and even spilled out onto the street, mugs in hand and grins on their faces.

Helen moved through the chaos with practised efficiency, her tray balanced on one hand, the other reaching out to steady a patron who had laughed so hard he nearly toppled from his stool.

Olly was at the centre of it all, his voice carrying above the din.

”How is it,” he bellowed, slapping his hand against the worn wooden table, ”that the nobles cannae even play a simple tune?”

A chorus of laughter answered him.

”Did ye see it?” one man called out, his face red from drink and mirth. ”Earl Hawthorne—he raised the bow and hit the instrument like it was a drum!”

Another patron burst out laughing, tears streaming down his cheeks.

”Like a drum!” he repeated, gasping for breath.

”Aye, a drum!” someone else echoed.

The laughter rolled through the tavern.

Then a man climbed onto a table. He was young, with a wild look in his eyes and a mug clutched in his hand. He swayed slightly, and Helen pointed at him.

”Get down from there, ye!” she called.

He did not.

”Row, row, row your boat,” he began, his voice entirely off-key, ”gently down the stream.”

He sang with complete conviction, his notes wobbling and cracking, his rhythm as uneven as a cart on a cobbled road. The tavern erupted in laughter once more.

”Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,” he continued, swaying dangerously, ”life is but a dream.”

He bowed, nearly toppling off the table.

The patrons cheered.

Helen shook her head, but she could not stay angry. A laugh escaped her, and she pressed a hand to her stomach as the laughter overtook her.

”Get down before ye break yer neck,” she managed between gasps.

The man did not listen.

”Ye heard me playin’!” he called out to the crowd. ”That’s exactly why I’m votin’ for the Duke!”

Another patron slammed his mug on the table.

”Duke Thorncrest has my vote! A man who can play ’Twinkle, Twinkle’ with one finger and not laugh—that’s a man I can respect!”

A woman near the bar laughed.

”Earl Hawthorne’s got mine. Anyone who can turn a violin into a drum knows how to think differently!”

The debate continued, jovial and rowdy, as the patrons argued good-naturedly over who had earned their vote.

”And what about the Baron?” a woman asked. ”The one who played the pretty piece?”

There was a pause.

”Aye, he was good,” someone admitted. ”But he didn’t make me laugh.”

More laughter followed.

”Sometimes laughin’ is better than pretty,” Olly said, raising his mug. ”And tonight, we’ve had plenty of that!”

The patrons cheered and raised their mugs in response.

Soon they started singing ”Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” this time.

---

Meanwhile, back at the palace, a very different scene was unfolding.

Baron Frederick slipped through the corridor like a shadow, his footsteps quick and uneven. His eyes darted from side to side, scanning the darkness, searching for something.

He sniffed the air, willing his wolf senses to pick up anything unusual, but there was nothing.

He reached his chambers and pushed the door open. He stepped inside and immediately closed it behind him.

But even as he did so, the nervous energy around him remained.

He had just turned when he suddenly noticed a figure in the room and jumped in shock, perhaps even fear.

Then he let out a breath of relief when he realised it was his guard.

The man was tall and broad-shouldered, with the sort of face that had seen too many things to be easily surprised.

And he looked mildly concerned.

”Your Lordship,” the guard said, ”is everything all right?”

Baron Frederick did not answer.

He kept looking around—at the walls, at the corners, at the ceiling. His eyes moved constantly, never resting, never still.

”My lord?” the guard repeated.

”We need to leave,” Baron Frederick said finally.

His voice was low, urgent, barely more than a whisper.

”Leave?”

”Now,” Baron Frederick said. ”We are not safe here. We need to leave immediately.”

The guard’s brow furrowed.

”What is wrong, my lord?”

Baron Frederick did not answer.

He crossed to the window and pulled the curtain back just enough to peer outside.

The grounds were quiet.

The gardens were empty.

But he did not look relieved.

He looked more afraid than before.

He pulled the curtain shut. Then he crossed to the desk and began writing, his hand moving across the page in quick, jerky strokes.

The door opened then and his valet entered.

He had gone to procure herbs for his lord, but now he took in the scene before him and a frown formed on his face.

He turned to the guard.

”What is going on?”

The guard shook his head.

”I do not know,” he said.

Baron Frederick approached the valet then, a letter in his hand.

”Send this,” he said, thrusting the letter toward him. ”Send it to the territory. Immediately.”

The valet accepted the letter.

”My lord—”

”All is not as it seems,” Baron Frederick said. ”There are things happening. Things we did not know. Things are different from what we thought.”

He looked up, his eyes wide.

”We must leave. We truly must leave.”

---

Outside the chamber, just beyond the door, a shadow listened.

And within the chamber itself, another shadow stood motionless near the far wall, hidden in darkness.

And outside the window, where the Baron had looked but not seen, a third shadow crouched in the night.

And in the corridor beyond, more shadows listened as well.

But the Baron had no idea who those shadows were.

Nor did he know that they had been listening to him all along.

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