The Vampire Prince's Toxic Consort (bxb)

Chapter 55 It Was All True

How was it possible?

Volke said Silvan was hibernating, and Lucius even saw his comatose body with his own eyes when they shipped him back to Emberton. He and Dorian watched as the guards laid Silvan down in the same chamber where the ex-King Cosmo rested.

How was he awake and talking?! Was someone lying to him? Did Volke betray him? But why? Or was Volke also fooled? Who was working against him?!

But right now, it was all meaningless. Silvan was here, and Lucius knew the wily prince would destroy him.

"Guards! Arrest the traitor!" Lucius commanded exigently.

"I am not the only one who committed treason here." Silvan thundered as he raised his head and looked directly at Dorian, "Brother, you and our country are in grave danger. Please allow me to speak!"

"Everything coming from your mouth is a lie!" Lucius bellowed. He then turned to Dorian and whispered, "Don't fall for his trap. You know how manipulative he is."

However, Dorian seemed hesitant. It was a shock to him as well. He thought he would never see Silvan again in the foreseeable future, and though didn't want to admit it, he grieved for it. When they were younger, up to the point when he was exiled with his mother, Silvan and him were inseparable. Silvan used to look up to him, following him everywhere when they were still children, sneaking into his room when the wind wuthered and thunder blustered.

And then, it all changed when Silvan's mother framed Dorian's mother for murdering her daughter. Now they were enemies, each trying to tear the other apart. However, beneath all the scorching hatred and smoldering feud, Dorian still had some soft feelings for his half-brother.

Dorian's voice was cold and distant, "You've tried to kill me twice. Why should I believe anything you say?"

"I never wanted to kill you, brother," Silvan said earnestly, "I admit I plotted to usurp your crown, but I only wanted to imprison you. You distanced yourself from me because the throne stood between us, and I know if you take the throne, you will kill mother to avenge Queen Mitra. So I thought, if I am the king, mother, Archie and my sisters will be safe, and somehow I may find a way to fix our relationship. If you remember, the dagger I gave your consort was merely to demobilize you."

"How do you explain the assassination at Crowsnest Ridge?"Lucius retorted.

Silvan frowned in bewilderment, "that was not my doing."

Lucius scoffed, "of course you won't admit it."

"I have no illusion that I will be absolved from the death penalty. But the assassination was not me. " Silvan insisted. His countenance and tone were firm and sincere, without his usual disarming smiles or beguiling words.

Dorian was quiet, but his gaze was sharp like razors, scrutinizing every tiny change on Silvan's mien. He contemplated for a while, glancing around the Assembly Hall. Eventually, he said, "Why did you fake your hibernation?"

"Because someone wants me dead so that I won't tell you who is the real traitor. That same one also made sure I lost my voice and ability to communicate in the Labyrinth, so I had no chance to speak to you."Silvan pointed the finger at Lucius and proclaimed, "Royal Consort, whose real name is Lucius Rosenfield rather than Julian Rosenfield, is a spy sent by Anthor."

At first, the grand hall sank into a dead silence, but an unsettled din exploded among the crowds shortly after. All eyes focused on Lucius, and Lucius felt like a deer being forced into a corner and had no way out.

Silvan continued his accusation loudly, "As many of you know, the real Julian Rosenfield is a special person for human's Luminion belief. He claimed that he had heard God's voice since he was ten years old and performed miracles on several occasions, and since age fifteen, he periodically entered into a trance state, during which he made many prophecies that were proved to be correct shortly after. He had no memories of what he said in those so-called "Epiphany" moments, but his words were carefully recorded by other priests and kept as a state secret, and not even Julian Rosenfield himself was allowed to read it.