The Useless Duchess' Second Chance

The Truth Untold

The wind blew as Raoul finished speaking. Not only Ariana, even James immediately understood what the prince's words meant. Either directly or indirectly, Queen Melisa is proven to know something about Ariana's accident. Calling it an accident might be wrong from now on. Raoul's words were tantamount to telling them that someone had indeed targeted Ariana because the girl was close to Raoul.

“Your Highness, you mean that ….”

Raoul felt he had nothing to hide from Ariana anymore. After what happened to the girl, Raoul himself felt that Ariana should at least remember what happened.

“Don't you remember? At that time, you secretly came to me to play as usual. However … That time, Her Majesty the Queen was visiting me and saying things you shouldn't have heard. You immediately ran away before I could stop you. Later, I heard the news that you fell into the pool accidentally. I'm truly sorry, Aria. I didn't know things would turn out like this ….”

Along with Raoul's explanation, the young prince started to tear up as his eyes looked sadly at Ariana. Ariana herself didn't think she would find the answer to her accident this easy. She was still curious, so the girl subconsciously paid less attention to Raoul's emotions.

“Something I shouldn't have heard. What does that mean, Your Highness?”

Raoul choked on his sobs when he heard Ariana's question. To the prince, Ariana was like a light in his dark life. Raoul didn't want Ariana to hate him, or give him the same look she gave him after she'd heard everything. But that didn't mean Raoul would lie to the girl, just so Ariana wouldn't be mad at him. He had promised to always be honest with Ariana. Even if the truth was bitter, Raoul would continue to be honest with the girl until Ariana was satisfied with his answer.

Before speaking, Raoul could only pray that at least Ariana didn't hate him after she heard what he had to say after this.

“I ….”

Ariana waited patiently as Raoul stuttered slightly in his words. Raoul is only a fourteen-year-old little prince at the moment. To say something so important, the prince must have needed some time to muster up his courage.

“A, at that time … You heard Her Majesty the Queen say that your family continues to have trouble getting offspring because … Because the royal family deliberately limited the power of the Alison family. The Alison family is the main protector of the Sigmund Kingdom, as well as one of the founders of this kingdom. But to a great family like that … The royal family was afraid that their influence would be defeated by the Alison family, so they started to suppress the Alison family's power in various ways.”

If Ariana hadn't heard the same truth before the day of her death, the girl probably wouldn't have believed that the royal family they had been protecting, was the cause of the collapse of the Alison family. But Ariana knew the truth this time. He was not surprised at all, in contrast to James, whose face immediately turned pale.

“I see now ….”

Ariana didn't know that in her previous life, she had also gotten to know this kind of terrifying truth. Unlike her current life, Ariana has completely forgotten plenty of things after her accident. It must have been nice for Queen Melisa, to see Ariana continue to be obedient and supportive of the person who killed her entire family without remembering anything.

“I'm sorry, Aria. I … I didn't know the royal family could do such a cruel thing to your family.”

Ariana's attention returned to Raoul as the young prince spoke in a trembling voice. For a child like him, it must be very hard to know that his family has conspired to destroy his friend's family from time to time. But, that didn't mean Raoul had made the same mistake. In fact, Ariana hopes that Raoul can be the first person to no longer see the Alison family as a threat to the royal family's power.

“Then, is Your Highness going to do the same to me?”

Raoul's eyes widened when he heard Ariana's question. “Of course not! Without the help of the Alison family, the Sigmund Kingdom would not be as strong as it is today. The Alison family is the separator between right and wrong. Without them … the Kingdom would not continue on the right path.”

Ariana smiled because Raoul thought highly of their family. One of the roles of the Alison family is to reprimand the royal family if they act arbitrarily. But that doesn't mean there hasn't been a generation from the Alison family, which has been corrupted like the royalties.

There is no noble family that is spotless in every generation. But that doesn't mean Ariana will let her family corrupt as long as she's alive.

“Then … Will Your Highness become king to protect our family from destruction? I promise to support you until you become a king. I will carry out my duty as a member of the Alison family, to return the royal family to the right path.”

Raoul froze when Ariana promised something big with her small body. From the knowledge he had so far, being king meant being above everyone else in the Sigmund Kingdom. If he had become king, he could have prevented the Alison family's destruction. To Raoul, who only had Ariana in his life, the girl's request sounded more like an order the prince had to grant.

Dreaming of becoming a king, is not an easy path. Even if Raoul knew that Ariana could be his strongest supporter as someone from the Alison family, currently, their kingdom already had his little brother as the crown prince. If he intends to become king, he will undoubtedly end up having to fight with his little brother for the position of king in the end. Fighting for the throne was probably much more difficult for him and required extra hard work.

“Can … Can I do it?”

Ariana nodded confidently. “Of course, Your Highness. Together, let's return this kingdom to the right path.”

But even if he was doubtful and afraid, how could he back down when Ariana had no intention of backing down from her decision? Raoul wiped his tears violently. He's still a prince. If he wanted, he could also become a king like his younger brother, who was a crown prince.

Raoul would, if it meant he could protect Ariana.

“I will fight!”

Ariana smiled with satisfaction as Prince Raoul was easier to talk to than she thought. As long as the prince agrees to cooperate with her and succeeds in ascending as a king, Ariana is confident she can avoid the tragedy that should befall her family in the future. She would definitely make Raoul the next king. Even if she had to be the bad person, she would certainly do her job to the end this time.

She could help Crown Prince Emilio ascend the throne once. Supposedly, she could also help Prince Raoul ascend the throne in the same way.