Chapter 0053
Nicholas
I had no idea why I decided to help Piper. She had betrayed me in the past. By all accounts, I should
have been pleased to see her fail.
Yet, when I stood outside the sitting room and heard Lena suggest the traditional punishment for Piper, I
couldn’t stand idly by and do nothing.
The thought of Piper kneeling out in a storm, soaked, chilled, and miserable sent an unfamiliar tremor of
rage through me.
I didn’t feel strong emotions like that anymore, not since I turned off my heart three years ago. But this
hot anger had been enough to melt through my emotional freeze.
I couldn’t be detached, not with this.
Ambassador Zale had taught the royal family the secret Merfolk greeting only a few hours before. The
timing had been peculiar, almost as if he had expected us to utilize this new knowledge to help the girls
with the challenge, if we so wished.
I hadn’t intended to teach the greeting to anyone. But that had been before the Queen threatened Piper
over something as trivial as glove length.
An insult to the royal family, the Queen had said. Unlikely. She had always been fickle with such frivolous
things, but never to such an extent that she would exert so vicious a punishment.
This felt purposeful, like Piper was being targeted.
I’d known she’d garnered unwanted attention simply by being here, but to see my own family participate
in the cruelty made my insides twist.
We were hoping to earn the favor of our kingdom’s people, and yet, the Queen herself was going to
punish one of them for not knowing her obscure, unspoken rules.
Yes, with the future of the kingdom in mind, I could almost pretend that I was helping Piper selflessly, to
continue to gamer goodwill with the populace.
However, my heart knew the truth. I sent Mark to teach Piper the secret greeting solely because I
wanted to
Now watching her dance with Zale while everyone else in the room stared in either shock or jealousy.
allowed myself to feet relief
+15 BONUS
With the ambassador’s favor, Piper was out of immediate danger. This left me time to ponder over other concems. Mainly, why didn’t Piper’s maids war her about her glove length?
The Queen had implied that it had been Piper’s duty alone to know, but we had assigned knowledgeable maids to each of the girls precisely to prevent these kinds of mistakes.
Lena had been the one to suggest the harsh punishment for Piper Perhaps she was involved
I looked for her behind the thrones, but she was gone from her usual position near the Queen.
Mark returned to my side with a satisfied look on his face. I nodded approvingly. He did his job well, as
always.
Like now, how quickly he could tell something was off
“Are you looking for someone?” he asked
“Lena,” I said.
He motioned toward a discreet servant’s door in a comer of the ballroom. 1 saw her sneak out there,
sir.”
“Thank you.” I began walking in that direction. Mark, without needing the command, fell in step behind
- me.
I pushed through the side door and found a staging area, where the servants were plating the hors
d’oeuvres and straightening their uniforms.
Seeing me walk in, they looked mortified. That hadn’t been my intention,
raised my hands, hopefully in a placating gesture. T’m only here for Lena.”
At once, they waved me through, not toward the kitchen, but to another door that led to a hallway.
In the middle of that hallway, Lena stood talking to one of Piper’s maids. The sight rankled my nerves,
This was beyond suspicious
I’d hoped to eavesdrop what they were saying, but my presence drew attention in every corner, even
here. They both immediately looked at me.
Lena dismissed the maid as I approached. The maid bowed to me, then disappeared before I could
object
Fine Let her go. The maid was likely only obeying Lena’s orders anyway.
What a surprise, Your Royal Highness. You must know how improper it is for you to be in the servants
“I’m here now.” I tired of her empty platitudes. She was obligated to obey my commands, but the whole
of the palace knew the Luna was the one who held her loyalty.
