Chapter 248

Chapter 248

CASSANDRA

I was certain that I would never forget the look on Ms. Benn’s face when I’d threatened her and alluded that her daughter’s condition could easily worsen if I stopped offering help.

The head housekeeper’s already fair complexion blanched so white she looked like a ghost. Her lower l*p trembled and her icy blue eyes widened so large that they appeared like they could fall out of her skull.

Though her terrible expression haunted my thoughts, I didn’t regret that I’d done something awful like this. Given the chance, I would have done it over and over again, but still, I some part of me did feel sorry for Ms. Benn. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if someone had threatened me with Finnick’s life.

But, I did what had to be done. I was powerless in this castle, in this entire country, even. Without nasty ploys and fierce cunning. I wouldn’t get any closer to getting out of here and returning to my homeland with Erika and my son.

After our discussion, Ms. Benn left the room at once, her cheeks flushed and her movements swift. As she walked away, I felt a strange sense of empowerment. I was stronger than I thought, and I needed to carry this strength with me as much as possible.

I could survive Yurene. I just needed to be brave.

***

Luckily for me, Ms. Benn accomplished her mission excellently despite her unwillingness. She worked like a skillful spy. getting close to Ronald’s tower residence with plausible excuses. She caused no fuss at all and did everything with her usual calmness.

When she arrived at my chamber one night to report her findings, she seemed surprisingly disoriented. Her expression was a mixture of horrified, confused, and strained. I’d asked her to take a seat, and when I realized she was shaking, I carefully guided her to the table.

Finnick and Erika were fast asleep, so I led her to the far side of the room to give us some privacy, and once we were certain our conversation could be conducted without interruption, Ms. Benn began to speak.

“I grew close with a few maids who didn’t serve Helene or Ronald directly,” she began, her heavily accented voice timid. “Ones who worked in the residence, but didn’t report to them. Though I don’t want to belittle them or make light of their efforts, their jobs are relatively unimportant and boring. They were more than eager to converse with me since they don’t often get the chance to talk to others.”

I nodded thoughtfully.

“They were eager to speak with someone who works for the king directly,” she continued, and she ran a hand over her slicked-back hair and smoothed it down nervously.

I could sense that it was a habit of hers, one that only appeared when she was under duress.

“After some light conversation about the goings-on in the palace, I began to pry,” Ms. Benn said quietly. “It didn’t take much for them to speak. They told me that Helene hadn’t left her chamber in days. One of the maids told me that no one is allowed to enter Helene’s room exept for Lord Ronald himself. They were instructed to leave her food trays on the floor outads the door and then collect it at a fixed tune Yet, when they arrive to collect the tray the food is hardly touched.”

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. This situation was far more date than I’d suspected. Helene, locked in a room? Unable to

C2 perhaps being prevented to do so?

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Chapter 248

Was she truly ill? Or being held captive by the king’s cousin?

“Go on,” I insisted, though I wanted to ask all of these questions aloud.

Ms. Benn let out a small breath and then nodded. “At first, Helene’s maid’s could hear quarrels within the sounds from Helene or roars from Ronald. At night, they would hear the door bumping and the stomps in none of them were allowed to approach. None of them could witness anything for themselves. Then the nois and there was only silence.”

I shook my head slowly.

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“Even after Lord Ronald came back and entered Helene’s room, no complaints or fighting could be heard anymore,” Ms. Benn reported and her eyebrows knitted together. “Two days ago, one of Helene’s maids was summoned to the lady’s room. By whom, they didn’t know, but that didn’t matter.. After an hour or so, the maid returned to the servant’s quarters without saying a word. Despite it being a bit strange, the others didn’t pay much attention to her. It wasn’t until they went back to the maid’s room that night that they found her lying on the bed, with a knife in her stomach. She… took her own life.”

My jaw dropped slightly as I tried to understand what she’d just told me.

“What?” I breathed, and my head swam with dizziness.

Ms. Benn’s l*ps turned white as if she’d witnessed the gruesome display herself. “Yes. She killed herself. Since then… all of the maids have been horrified. Some believe the knife was given by Lady Helene and that she enchanted it with some kind of sorcery. Others think the maid had an affair with her master. They’re all rumors, of course, just speculations and gossip. But the death… the death was real, whether it was a suicide or a murder.”

I stared at her for a moment, my eyes wide and my heart heavy as I considered the situation. A dead maid? This wasn’t good

news.

I wasn’t sure I believed in the idea of an enchanted knife, but I couldn’t discredit it given everything I’d seen in this savage country. Yurenians were capable of so many acts of magic and violence. What if someone had used a spell on the knife after all? What was their intention? And why the maid? Had she seen something she wasn’t meant to in that chamber?

“Did they describe how she looked?” I wondered, and when Ms. Benn frowned in confusion, I clarified my statement. “The maid?”

Ms. Benn hesitated and then nodded. When she described the appearance of the maid, my heart sank even further in my chest.

It wasn’t just any maid. It was Alana, the maid who had accompanied us on our shopping trip in town.

I remembered that Helene had thought the girl might be a spy. But did she take her theory too far? Had she killed the girl out of self-defense? Helene didn’t seem like the type, but then again, nothing was as it seemed.

What was the truth?

What was Helene thinking and what was she doing right now? Was she even alive?

The last thought sent a chill down my spine.

Ms. Benn stood up and offered me a small nod. “I must take my leave, Miss Cassandra. I have things to attend to-”

“You may leave,” I said in agreement. The head housekeeper left with no hesitation, and once she was gone, I pondered this whole situation

Before tears could roll down my checks. I rose from my seat and approached the window. I carefully closed them, and as I started to turn around to head back to the table, I noticed that Finnick was awake. My son’s gray eyes were large with concern, and they stared at me with a weary gaze

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11:50 Fri, Feb 23 ✡

Chapter 248

With how late it was, he should have been fast asleep, and yet, he was wide awake.

“Mommy?” he wondered. “Can I talk to you?”

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