The Bleeding Heart
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Chapter 30
“The spy is…Richelle Chalot.”
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The queen gasped, “Richelle Chalot!”
“Good day, Your Highness,” Richelle bowed in greeting.
“You…how…why…how could you do this?!” Riza exclaimed. “Why would betray your own kingdom?!”
“Orion was never my kingdom,” Richelle said, her voice flat.
“What are you saying?!” Riza asked. “You grew up in Orion! And this is how you treat it after all these years?! Think about your parents – at least think about your parents!”
“I love my parents,” Richelle sighed. “And I would be forever indebted to them. But Orion is not my home. It never was.”
“Don’t you feel guilty?” Trisha asked. “You’ve been to all their funerals, right? Don’t you feel at least an ounce of guilt for causing their deaths?”
“Why would I feel guilty?” Richelle arched an eyebrow. “Once someone becomes a knight, he or she should have already accepted the fact that death could only be a doorstep away.”
“Then that scholar who died?” Riza glared at the blond. “How could you say that she already accepted her death?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Richelle gritted her teeth, clenching both her fists on the side and then turned to Eric. “Eric, I’d take my leave now, if that’s okay with you.”
“Of course,” Eric smiled. “You may rest in your quarters.”
“Thank you,” Richelle bowed and Riza and Trisha were shocked at the exchange.
“How could you…” Riza shook her head. “How could you!”
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“Richelle Chalot?” Arden gasped. “Look, I know that these limbs aren’t real but…Richelle Chalot? Isn’t that a bit far-fetched?”
“She’s the one who told the Arians exactly who Princess Erielle was during her masquerade ball and put the blackthorn in the honey rose tea,” Eugenie stated. “She was there in Lady Fuller’s house when the packaging was done.”
“But…she was attacked…no, she saved the queen from being attacked,” Keith argued.
“That’s easily orchestrated,” Eugenie shrugged. “She probably had an antidote for tantibus too. And when no one was looking, she escaped out of the infirmary. And then put the limbs she had made beforehand in the bush, with her bracelet and medallion with them.”
“Alright, that’s a possibility,” Adrian nodded. “But…she could’ve been kidnapped too like Queen Riza and Lady Klaus.”
“Maybe so,” Eugenie said. “But she originally came from Aria and was only adopted by the Chalots when she was six.”
“The Chalots hate the whole concept of adoption,” Arden arched an eyebrow. “They said it ‘dirties the family’ or something along the lines of that crap.”
“While that’s true,” Eugenie agreed. “It seems that Lady Felicia Chalot is pretty sensitive and Adviser Chalot isn’t very strict with that rule.”
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The Bleeding Heart
FantasyFive years ago, war had suffocated the citizens of Orion, leaving them scarred for a very long time. And when they all thought that it was over, they were wrong. When Queen Rosaria of the kingdom of Aria was murdered, all eyes turned to accuse Ori...
