I saw the profound grief etched on Kael’s profile.
If born, he would have been his firstborn son, destined for the honor of a Crown Prince, not just a handful of dust in an unmarked grave.
At this moment, he wasn’t the untamed chieftain of the wildlands, nor the undisputed ruler of a unified empire.
He was simply a common father who had lost his child.
Kael told me: “You name our child.””
I barely hesitated. “Call him Caspian.’
*A time of calm seas and clear rivers, an era of abundant peace.*
Let it be so.
The Shen family was suddenly thrown into the royal dungeons.
Lena knelt at Kael’s feet, knocking her head against the floor until it bled, but it didn’t soften the
King’s heart.
“Why? Your Majesty, what did my father and brother do to offend you?”
“Have you forgotten that they were the ones who opened the city gates, willingly welcoming the Wolfen warriors into Aethelgard…?”
“And I still carry your child in my womb!”
Kael’s expression was cold and ruthless. He forced a bowl of potent abortifacient down Lena’s
throat.
Showing not an ounce of mercy.
“Did you think that because I haven’t sought reckoning with you these past weeks, I was unaware of
<
what you’d been doing behind my back?”
Lena collapsed on the ground, her face contorted in pain.
“You knew? It’s better you knew. It saves me from constant fear every night.”
Kael ordered her to be dragged away, consigned to the military camps, stripped of all dignity.
The rest of the Shen family were all executed.
When he told me this news, I was sitting beneath a peach tree.
Kael’s expression changed. He reached out to brush the vibrant petals from my shoulder.
“Serene, you can’t touch these.”
I looked at his anxious face and said, “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
These past days, I constantly relived old memories.
Years ago, I had seen Kael wielding his sword beneath a peach tree, stirring up a flurry of petals.
He noticed me watching from a distance, and his brow quirked, beckoning me over.
I knew the peach blossoms were dangerous, yet I still drew closer.
One wrong step, leading to a cascade of errors.
My life seemed to flash before my eyes.
I knew my body was utterly spent, like a lamp with no oil left.
I heard that the court was in turmoil recently. Kael had been at my side almost day and night,
neglecting state affairs and not attending court for a long time.
I also heard that discontent was rampant among the common folk, with countless floods and epidemics. A rebel army had even marched on the capital.
Their leader was a young man, barely out of his teens.
It seemed his name was Prince Alaric.
It seemed his name was Prince Alaric.
Kael never came to find me again.
This time, I closed my eyes forever.
(End)
