CHAPTER TWO- THE KING’S DEMAND
2296 Words
The guard’s body hit the floor with a dull thud.
Olivia stared at him.
She couldn’t move.
She couldn’t even breathe.
His final words continued to echo through her mind.
She’s here.
The queen’s daughter.
She’s here.
Olivia slowly looked down at the letter in her hand.
Then at Lucas.
The king hadn’t moved.
His face was completely expressionless.
Too expressionless.
“Your Majesty…” Olivia whispered.
Lucas ignored her.
He crouched beside the dead guard and examined the blood covering his uniform.
Then he noticed something.
A small black mark had been carved into the man’s wrist.
Lucas’s expression changed.
“Who did this?” Olivia asked.
Lucas stood.
“Get inside.”
“What?”
“Now.”
His voice left no room for argument.
Olivia stepped backward.
“That man just said the queen is alive.”
Lucas looked at her.
“I heard him.”
“And he called me her daughter.”
“I heard that too.”
“Then tell me what it means!”
Lucas’s jaw tightened.
“Not here.”
“Why not?”
“Because there may be someone listening.”
Olivia looked around the empty corridor.
“Who?”
Lucas walked toward her.
“I don’t know.”
He took the letter from her hand.
Olivia immediately tried to grab it back.
“Give it to me.”
Lucas held it out of reach.
“Where did you get this?”
“It was outside my room.”
“Who brought it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did anyone see you receive it?”
“No.”
Lucas read the message again.
His expression became darker with every word.
Olivia folded her arms.
“You said whoever sent it has signed their death warrant.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because they know something that should have remained buried.”
“What?”
Lucas looked at her.
“You.”
Olivia’s heart pounded.
“What about me?”
Lucas didn’t answer.
Instead, he turned toward the guards who had arrived.
“Take the body.”
Two guards immediately carried the dead man away.
“Search the entire estate,” Lucas ordered. “Nobody enters or leaves.”
Olivia stared at him.
“You can’t lock my family inside our own home.”
Lucas turned.
“Until I know who sent that letter, nobody is leaving.”
“You’re not my king.”
The words slipped out before Olivia could stop herself.
Lucas’s eyes narrowed.
“Perhaps not.”
He stepped closer.
“But I’m the only person standing between you and whoever is hunting you.”
Olivia wanted to argue.
But she couldn’t.
Because somewhere deep inside, she knew he was right.
⸻
The following morning, the palace was in chaos.
Rumors spread through every corridor.
The queen was alive.
The king had a hidden daughter.
A royal guard had been murdered.
Nobody knew which rumor was true.
Olivia sat inside the royal library, staring at the old books surrounding her.
Lucas had ordered her to remain in the palace.
She had spent the entire morning trying to understand why.
She was not a princess.
At least, that was what she had believed her entire life.
Her father had raised her as a nobleman’s daughter.
Her mother had died when Olivia was young.
She had never questioned her identity.
Until now.
The door opened.
Olivia looked up.
Lucas entered.
He had changed into formal royal clothing.
Black trousers.
A dark embroidered coat.
A silver crown rested on his head.
He looked every inch the king.
Olivia hated how intimidating he was.
She hated even more that she couldn’t stop noticing him.
Lucas carried a folder.
He placed it on the table.
“Your father is refusing to speak.”
Olivia’s heart sank.
“Is he all right?”
“He’s alive.”
“Can I see him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because he tried to escape.”
“My father wouldn’t do that.”
Lucas raised an eyebrow.
“He did.”
“He must have had a reason.”
“Everyone has a reason.”
Lucas opened the folder.
“Your father has been hiding something from the crown for twenty-four years.”
Olivia stared at the documents.
“What?”
Lucas pulled out an old royal record.
“This was recovered from the royal archives.”
Olivia looked at it.
Most of the writing was faded.
But one sentence remained clear.
On the seventh day of spring, the royal heir shall be born beneath the blood moon.
Olivia frowned.
“What does that have to do with me?”
Lucas looked at her.
“You were born on the seventh day of spring.”
Olivia’s blood ran cold.
“And there was a blood moon that night.”
She slowly looked up.
“How do you know when I was born?”
Lucas didn’t answer.
“How?”
“I’ve investigated your family.”
“For how long?”
“Twenty years.”
Olivia stood.
“You’ve been investigating me for twenty years?”
Lucas remained silent.
“Why?”
“Because your existence was connected to my family’s downfall.”
Olivia stared at him.
“That’s impossible.”
“Is it?”
Lucas pulled another document from the folder.
This one was a birth record.
Olivia’s name appeared on it.
But beneath her name was something that made her stomach twist.
Royal Bloodline: Confirmed.
She shook her head.
“No.”
Lucas watched her carefully.
“That record was sealed by the royal family.”
“This could be fake.”
“It isn’t.”
“My father could have been framed.”
“Perhaps.”
Olivia looked at him.
“You don’t believe he’s guilty?”
Lucas’s expression changed slightly.
“I believe your father knows the truth.”
“Then why haven’t you forced him to tell you?”
Lucas looked away.
“Because he would rather die than reveal it.”
Olivia’s chest tightened.
“What is he protecting?”
Lucas didn’t answer.
Instead, he asked:
“Do you remember anything from when you were five?”
Olivia froze.
A strange image appeared in her mind.
A garden.
A boy.
A crown.
A hand holding hers.
She shook her head.
“Nothing.”
Lucas watched her.
“You hesitated.”
“I don’t remember.”
“You’re lying.”
Olivia’s frustration exploded.
“Why do you keep doing that?”
“Doing what?”
“Looking at me like I’m some puzzle you already know how to solve.”
Lucas stepped closer.
“Because you are.”
“I am not a puzzle.”
“To me, you are.”
His voice softened.
“Twenty years ago, you disappeared.”
Olivia’s heart stopped.
“What?”
Lucas looked into her eyes.
“You disappeared from the palace the same night my family was attacked.”
Olivia stepped backward.
“I’ve never been here.”
“You were.”
“I don’t remember.”
“I know.”
Lucas’s expression was unreadable.
“That’s the problem.”
⸻
That afternoon, Olivia finally got the chance to see her father.
Two guards escorted her into the underground prison.
Lord Adrian sat inside a dark cell.
His clothes were torn.
His face was exhausted.
But when he saw Olivia, his expression immediately changed.
“Olivia.”
She rushed toward the bars.
“Father.”
He stood.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Did they treat you badly?”
“No.”
He looked over her shoulder.
“Is Lucas here?”
“No.”
Her father sighed with relief.
Olivia stared at him.
“Father, I need the truth.”
He looked away.
“About what?”
“About me.”
His silence answered her.
“Am I a princess?”
Her father’s eyes closed.
Olivia felt tears burning behind her eyes.
“Please.”
He opened his eyes.
“Who told you?”
“The king.”
Her father’s face tightened.
“And the queen.”
He stared at her.
“She’s alive?”
Olivia nodded.
“We heard her voice.”
Her father’s hands began trembling.
“No.”
“What?”
“You shouldn’t have heard her.”
“Why?”
“Because if Elena is alive…”
He stopped.
Olivia gripped the bars.
“What?”
Her father looked directly at her.
“They will come for you.”
“Who?”
“Everyone.”
Olivia’s voice broke.
“I don’t understand.”
Her father stepped closer.
“When you were born, your mother wasn’t the woman you were told she was.”
Olivia stared.
“My mother?”
“Your mother was Queen Elena.”
Olivia felt as though the ground had disappeared beneath her.
“No.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“My mother was a noblewoman.”
“That was the story we created.”
“Why?”
“To keep you alive.”
Olivia’s eyes filled with tears.
“Why did you take me from the palace?”
Her father looked down.
“Because the king was going to be murdered.”
“King Alaric?”
He nodded.
“The night you disappeared, the palace was attacked.”
“By whom?”
Her father hesitated.
“The royal council.”
Olivia’s breath caught.
“The council?”
“They wanted control of the kingdom.”
“And Lucas?”
“Lucas was only a child.”
Her father looked at her.
“They wanted him dead too.”
Olivia suddenly understood.
Twenty years ago, two children had disappeared.
One had become a ruthless king.
The other had grown up believing she was nobody.
Her father reached through the bars.
“Olivia, listen to me.”
She moved closer.
“You must never tell Lucas the whole truth.”
“Why?”
“Because he believes your father betrayed his family.”
“But you didn’t.”
“I did something worse.”
Olivia’s heart raced.
“What?”
Her father looked around nervously.
Then whispered:
“I made a deal with the people who killed his family.”
Olivia stepped back.
“What kind of deal?”
“Your life for his.”
Silence.
“What does that mean?”
Her father’s eyes filled with regret.
“I promised them that if they allowed you to live, you would never return to the palace.”
Olivia stared at him.
“Why would they agree?”
“Because they believed you could never claim the throne.”
Her father gripped the bars.
“Olivia, you cannot become queen.”
“Why?”
“Because if Lucas discovers who your real father is…”
He stopped.
Olivia’s voice trembled.
“Who is my father?”
Her father looked at her.
Then behind her.
Olivia turned.
Lucas stood at the end of the prison corridor.
He had heard everything.
His face was unreadable.
Olivia’s heart stopped.
“Your Majesty…”
Lucas walked slowly toward them.
Her father stepped backward.
Lucas stopped directly in front of the cell.
“Who is her father?”
Lord Adrian said nothing.
Lucas’s voice became colder.
“I asked you a question.”
Still silence.
Lucas looked at Olivia.
Then back at her father.
“Tell me.”
Lord Adrian closed his eyes.
“I can’t.”
Lucas’s hand moved toward his sword.
Olivia stepped between them.
“No.”
Lucas looked at her.
“Move.”
“I won’t.”
His eyes hardened.
“Olivia.”
“I said no.”
For a moment, the king and the woman he intended to marry stared at each other through the prison’s dim light.
Then Lucas slowly lowered his hand.
“Fine.”
He looked at Lord Adrian.
“If you won’t tell me…”
He turned toward the guards.
“Bring the royal physician.”
Olivia frowned.
“Why?”
Lucas looked at her.
“Because there is another way to discover the truth.”
“What way?”
Lucas’s gaze dropped briefly to her stomach.
Then returned to her eyes.
“Blood.”
Olivia’s heart pounded.
“What are you talking about?”
Lucas stepped closer.
“The royal bloodline carries a mark.”
He reached for her wrist.
Olivia pulled away.
“What mark?”
Lucas stared at her.
“The same mark my mother carried.”
Olivia’s breath caught.
“Where?”
“On your shoulder.”
Her face went pale.
Nobody knew about the small crescent-shaped birthmark on her shoulder.
Nobody except her father.
And now Lucas.
He leaned closer.
“Tonight, Olivia…”
His voice was barely a whisper.
“…I will finally discover whether you are the woman I’ve been searching for for twenty years.”
Before Olivia could respond, a guard came running down the corridor.
“Your Majesty!”
Lucas turned.
“What?”
The guard was breathless.
“The queen has been found.”
Lucas froze.
“Where?”
The guard looked at Olivia.
“Inside the palace.”
Olivia’s heart stopped.
“Where?”
The guard swallowed.
“In your mother’s old chambers.”
Lucas immediately turned toward the stairs.
Then the guard added:
“She’s not alone.”
Lucas stopped.
“Who is with her?”
The guard’s face went pale.
“Your Majesty…”
He looked at Olivia.
“She’s holding a newborn baby.”
Olivia’s blood ran cold.
Lucas’s expression changed.
“That’s impossible.”
The guard shook his head.
“She says the child belongs to the throne.”
Then he lowered his voice.
“And she says…”
He looked directly at Olivia.
“…the child is your brother.”
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