Pampered by the Villainous Tyrant King

Chapter 26

Still, even those rumors were small compared to the more exciting rumors that the dowager queen's maid had been caught in such a compromising situation on the day of the dowager queen's banquet. It did not speak well for the dowager queen's management.

But the king currently did not care about such rumors flying about in private tea parties and business discussions. He was only focused on the sleeping figure of the queen next to him in bed. Memories of last night flooded his mind.

Both of them had been fatigued. After stroking his hair and murmuring words of comfort, it was the queen who started to fall asleep first and the king who ended up being the one to pat her back like a child.

The night held a hint of light chill, so Percy decided to let the queen stay in Gardenia Palace. It was not the queen's first time to reside here, anyways, and it would be more trouble to wake her up and send her back to Dahlia Palace.

He had been so afraid that she was affected by the poison. There was no telling what others may do to her once she left his sight. So until his heart was calm, he would make sure that she was safe beside him.

The queen was still asleep, her hands curled up by her face. She was firmly excused from swordsmanship training for the next few days until Percy was convinced that she was fine. He gently brushed her hair off her face and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Sir Grover, who had to wake the king up early to report on the prisoners from last night, decided to be selectively blind at the moment.

Entering the secret dungeon, Percy stared down at the bodies of the maid and the male from the birthday banquet. The physicians had been called here as well, but only Solace was able to do anything about the poisonous incense that had permeated the bodies. The male had been in the room for too long and could not be saved. The young maid from Magnolia Palace could only have her life extended temporarily.

"The dowager queen is vicious as ever," Percy said coolly.

Had Amphitrite's plan succeeded, the queen would not have only been disgraced as she would have been seen with a man from Kiran, she would have died. Even if the nobles of Eldoris understood that the queen had been schemed upon, in the hearts of commoners, the queen would have been someone whose loyalties lay with Kiran rather than with Eldoris. He himself as the king of Eldoris would also have his reputation stained. Then, to tie up loose ends, the queen planned to have this simple maid from her own palace killed.

"Brother..." Prince Triton's eyes were unfocused as he cradled the head of the maid in his arms.

Percy observed the scene with a blank expression. Triton was only nineteen years old, just barely a man of age. That young maid was only eighteen but had served Triton for ten of those years. Yet, the dowager queen had disliked the budding romantic relationship between her son and this maid, and cruelly forced the relationship to be cut off like that.

The young maid had only lived for six hours longer than the Kiran male. It was barely long enough to sneak Triton out of Marigold Palace and have a last conversation with his lover. Percy had given them some privacy, but with the hidden ears and eyes in this place, he supposed his brother's conversation would float into his ears regardless.

"She was forced to do so because she was being threatened by the deaths of her family. I will take care of her funeral, as well as protect her family as best as I can." Percy said to Triton.

That was the only thing he could do.

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Triton let out a bark of laughter bitterly. Even before his brother became king, Percy could do so much more than Triton could ever do. Everything Triton could eat, wear, do, or breathe was being controlled by his mother. For a while, Triton had been jealous of his older brother who seemed to have more freedom. But Triton knew in his heart that his own mother was only secretly trying to control his older brother from the shadows.