The Duke's Unwanted Second Wife

”Why do you wish to see your mother?” King Nyxen asked, setting his teacup down onto the porcelain saucer with a soft clink. With a brief wave of his hand, he dismissed the tea server and the remaining attendants from the room.

”Father, Damian received a threatening message a few days ago regarding the truth of Liliana’s identity. I suspect Mother leaked it to someone,” Sylvian said, keeping his voice strictly hushed. ”That is why I must speak with her.”

Nyxen’s brow furrowed at the revelation. ”I have placed your mother under the strictest guard in the entire palace. It is impossible for her to convey such secrets to anyone outside.”

Yet even as the words left his lips, a sudden realization struck the King. Only days prior, he had granted Garrett permission to visit his aunt.

”Father? What is it?” Sylvian asked, catching the sudden tension tightening his father’s features.

”Garrett visited your mother a few days ago. Could she have spoken of it to him?” Nyxen murmured, a heavy frown creasing his brow.

”Yes, that must be it,” Sylvian stated, his expression darkening. ”Father, dispatch someone immediately to verify whether Garrett remains within the capital,” he requested at once. ”Meanwhile, I shall go and confront Mother myself.”

”No. I shall speak with your mother,” Nyxen pronounced. ”I must ascertain why she continues to target Damian.”

”Then I am coming with you, Father,” Sylvian insisted, rising swiftly as the King stood up.

”Very well,” Nyxen agreed, and the two turned to leave the chamber together.

Travis stepped forward as they crossed the threshold. With a subtle, unspoken command from the King, the valet understood his task at once—he was to proceed directly to Xavier’s estate and ascertain whether his son, Garrett, was present.

”Right away, Your Majesty,” Travis murmured, bowing before hurrying off down the adjoining corridor.

While Travis departed in the opposite direction, Nyxen and Sylvian made their way toward the high tower where Victoria was confined. Upon their arrival, the posted guards bowed low to the King and the prince, one of them stepping forward to unlock the heavy oak door.

Before crossing the threshold with Sylvian, the King signaled the guards to fall back and maintain a distance of at least twenty meters.

Inside the dimly lit room, Victoria rose hurriedly from a worn-out mattress, the iron links binding her wrists rattling harshly in the quiet space.

”Your Majesty! Sylvian!” A fleeting spark of hope lit her features at the sight of them.

Sylvian stared at his mother, his chest tightening with a sharp, involuntary ache. She looked frail and hollowed, her strength visibly eroded by isolation. It pained him deeply to see her spent in such cold conditions, a bitter end to a life that should have known comfort in her declining years.

”Please, free me, Your Majesty. I swear I will not—” Victoria began, but Nyxen cut her off before she could finish her plea.

”It is impossible, Victoria. Your crimes are far too grave to ever be forgiven,” he answered coldly. Crossing the room, he sat down in the single wooden chair positioned near the tall window, its frame heavily reinforced with iron bars.

Tears welled in Victoria’s hollow eyes. ”I—I cannot survive in this place. Sylvian, speak to your father. Please, I beg of you.” She pressed her trembling palms together in desperate entreaty.

”Do not plead with me, Mother,” Sylvian said, turning his face away. The sight of her broken state pierced his chest with a grief, briefly threatening to make him forget the purpose of their visit.

”Garrett visited you a few days ago,” Nyxen interjected, bypassing pleasantries to demand an answer directly. ”What did you reveal to him?”

The color drained from Victoria’s face instantly, a reaction that neither Nyxen nor Sylvian missed.

”I—I merely spoke with him as any aunt would. I apologized for everything that transpired with his father,” Victoria stammered, lowering her eyes to avoid their gazes.

”Mother, you are lying, are you not?” Sylvian challenged, his voice firming with conviction. ”You revealed something to Garrett regarding Liliana’s true identity.”

”No!” Victoria denied frantically, shaking her head. ”Why would I ever speak of such things to him?”

”Consider your position, Victoria,” Sylvian warned, his tone heavy with quiet authority. ”If Garrett is apprehended and implicates you, the retribution you face will be far more severe than this captivity.”

Victoria’s stance was trembling but she still didn’t speak.

Victoria’s posture faltered, her frame trembling under their stares, yet her lips remained tightly sealed.

”Mother, why have you become like this?” Sylvian asked, a bitter mixture of grief and disappointment lacing his tone. ”You know how brutally Damian suffered after losing Liliana. You always claimed to view him as your own son. I can comprehend your hatred for August, but Damian? He is my brother in every way that matters. Did you not even consider Roman before doing this?”

At the mention of her grandson, Victoria finally unclenched her white-knuckled fists and met his gaze, a sharp spark of defiance flaring in her eyes. ”If my sins are to be exposed to the world, then why should Damian’s first wife be granted mercy? He is the sole reason I am locked in this wretched cell! Damian was fully aware of Liliana’s illicit dealings, yet he chose silence and continued to demand more funds from the King. Why are both of you so blind to his deceit?”

Sylvian’s eyes widened in disbelief as the confession slipped from her lips. ”So you truly told Garrett everything!” He let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh that echoed off the cold stone walls. ”Mother... were you always this malicious?”

”Why can’t any of you—”

”Shut your mouth, Mother!” Sylvian bellowed, his sudden outburst cutting through the cold air with such force that even the King started in surprise.

”Liliana hid her deceit from Damian!” Sylvian continued, his chest heaving as his frustration spilled over. ”He was preparing to reveal the truth to the entire kingdom the moment his duties in the North were concluded! You and your brother were fully aware of her illicit operations, yet you chose to keep it hidden from Father and the rest of us. Had you spoken up back then, Damian would not have spent five years tormented in agony, and Roman would never have been forced to suffer along with him!”

”Calm down, son,” Nyxen said.

”How can I calm down, Father?” Sylvian demanded, turning his trembling gaze toward the King. ”I have lived in Varos longer than I have here. I saw Damian drown himself in alcohol night after night, weeping until he had no tears left! He was utterly consumed by his love for Liliana. And you, Mother—you claim you wish to repent, yet every action you take speaks otherwise. You ordered the slaughter of an entire family, yet you treat your atrocities as nothing, believing the one who exposed you is the one who deserves punishment!”

Sylvian’s lips quivered, but he did not stop.

”Every single time August and I cross paths, he looks at me with pure venom. Do you have any idea what you broke inside him? He channels all that ruin into his hatred for me now. And I have to swallow it, Mother. I have to stand there and bear it, because I know that in his eyes, and in truth, we are guilty because of you.”

Without another word, he turned on his heel and stormed out, the wooden door slamming behind him.

”Sylvian...” Victoria gasped, her legs buckling as she collapsed onto the stone floor.

Nyxen remained motionless for a few long seconds before slowly rising from his chair. ”Do not do this, Victoria,” he said, his voice quiet yet heavy with warning. ”Do not make matters even harder for your sons.”

”Forgive me,” Victoria sobbed, tears spilling down her pale cheeks and pooling on the cold floor. ”Just sign my execution decree, Your Majesty! I have no desire to go on living like this. These four walls feel as though they are devouring me alive. I cannot bear a life without you and my sons... yet now, all of you despise me.”

”You brought this upon yourself, Victoria,” Nyxen replied, staring down at her without a trace of softness. ”You should never have betrayed my trust. I held more faith in you than in anyone else. You know how deeply I honored you as the mother of my sons, regardless of the nature of our union. Yet you chose a path of wickedness that destroyed everything in its wake. If you wish to repent for your crimes, stop this madness once and for all. That is the only grace left to you.”

With that, Nyxen turned and walked away, never looking back. Though a thin veil of moisture glistened in his eyes, he kept his chin high and his posture rigid—for before he was a husband or a father, he was the King.

The guards hurriedly walked back and locked the door, leaving Victoria cry alone.