The person was—HELENA?!HOLY MOLY JOLY!
"So the black shadow was Helena?"Dannyal asks with eyes widened in disbelief,"B-but...why?"
I stood there frozen,the truth crashed into me like a sudden storm.I was the only one who knew about Mir Zayn and her.So to her,that made me the perfect culprit–the one who could have staged the scandal to gain the King's trust later on.
She knew how the King and Adrian trusted me.She believed I was trying to influence them,to bend their judgment in my favor.That's why she always kept me close–close enough to watch,to control so that I could never act against her family.
Or perhaps...it was jealousy.Tactful and silent jealousy.
Those weren't guesses.They were her own words–extracted from what she wrote to her sister,Maria.Letters filled with suspicion,resentment and fear.
Those griefs and jealousy dulled her logic and reasoning, otherwise why would she directly come herself rather than sending some maid?
She also poisoned the soldiers,guarding my door, the night before.But nobody really cared for two soldiers when a queen lay dead.
After all,system chooses whose death to rememberor forget.
That night,beneath the quiet glow of the moon,Adrian summoned Amara to his chamber.He was regretful of what he had done to Mir Zayn for his own happiness.In his eyes,Mir Zayn was an innocent man.
But that's where everything went wrong.
While Amara was going for condoling Adrian,a sudden thud echoed through the courtyard.Helena collapsed right infront of her eyes.
The place was surrounded by night guards.Drawn by the noise,they rushed forward, lanterns flickering wildly in the darkness.And there Amara was, frightened and shivering by what she witnessed.Horror etched her eyes as her face got drained of all colors.
Without any delay or questioning, hand cuffs seized her hands.She resisted saying she had done nothing while tears fell from her eyes.Her voice broke just like her life.
A crowd gathered–many unknown faces whispering.They didn't want explanation or truth just rumors to spread.
Adrian pushed through them.And there was standing before him,Amara,shackled.
Once the only reason for him to live now turned into an accusation for the death of his mother.
His eyes widened.
Not with hatred,never hatred
But with the desperate hunger for answers.
He said nothing.
Because a single word would have been enough to destroy everything.
If the nobles learnt that the prince had loved a harem girl–one already promised to another–now branded a "murderer", it wouldn't just be a scandal but execution of perhaps... the prince as well.
But Adrian never needed words.His stare alone cut deeper than any blade.
As they dragged her away,chains biting into her wrists,Amara turned back,with a broken voice she asked,"You believe me....don't you, Adrian?"
He didn't look back.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't turn.
Just said with a cold final voice,"I USED to."
Those words shattered her,destroyed her only hope.
She stopped struggling.
Stopped screaming.
Stopped hoping.
And just like that,the blame neatly settled onto her shoulders–the queen's death pinned into an innocent soul.
And I?I stood there.Silent.
What could I say without condemning myself as well?Absolutely nothing.
She will be hanged after torturing tomorrow morning.An innocent soul destroyed.
When the crowd finally dispersed,Adrian's restraint collapsed.His tears he had held back fell freely–shameful,helpless.
On the ground lay the anklet.The anklet he had given her by bowing to her.He had said,"How powerful may I be,I must bow before you,my love."
And the cruelest part was that it belonged to Helena.
Helena gifted them to Adrian so he could give it to someone he truly loved. She wanted his son to be able to love OPENLY ,the way she never could to Mir Zayn.
But the system didn't permit love.
Only obedience.
Only sacrifice.
Yet two questions still lingered in my mind,if neither Adrian nor Mir Zayn had done it...then who slaughtered the other ten Persian women?
And why–
Why did Adrian accept the idea that Amara could murder her own mother without asking a single question?
That silence...was louder than any scream.