Chapter 171

Third Person POV

Henry stepped into the kitchen, his eyes scanning the area. The chefs were hard at work, preparing a family meal per the King’s orders. It smelled delicious, and Henry’s stomach immediately started to rumble.

He glanced at his watch; he only had a few minutes before he needed to arrive at the dining hall. There were a ton of plates set up on the counter and he knew the chefs were about to pile food on them for each of the royals.

One of the chefs noticed Henry standing in the center of the kitchen, assessing them, and he bowed to him.

“Your Majesty,” the chef said, bowing his head. “Is there something we can do for you?”

Henry remained quiet for a moment, assessing him and assessing the others who had also quickly bowed before returning to their duties. They had so much work to do and so little time. The dinner was supposed to start any moment and the royals were already gathered in the dining hall. At least most of the royals were gathered in the dining hall. Henry was running fashionably late per usual.

This would be the first dinner he’d attended without Isabelle. It was strange showing up alone, but he was still a royal and he needed to do what he had to do to keep himself on top.

“My brother and Maeve will be attending this dinner,” Henry finally spoke after a long while of silence. “Maeve should get the first serving of this meal. Is it almost ready?”

The chef he spoke to turned his back and glanced at the others. One woman nodded her head before grabbing some food from the oven.

“We can have it out there in the next minute or so. I just have to plate it.”

Henry nodded.

“I’ll wait. I want to make sure it’s satisfactory.”

The chef looked a bit unsettled, but he knew better than to argue with the oldest prince, so he nodded as he turned back to the others and resumed his duties. Henry watched as one of the chefs placed some meat on a plate. Another chef added veggies while the other added potatoes. Other types of foods were added to the plate, stuffing it until it looked as though it weighed a ton.

The chef that Henry initially spoke to assessed it and then nodded pleased, turning to Henry.

“Would this be satisfactory for Maeve? She’s eating for two, so we added extra food to her plate.”

Henry looked at it for a long while; his eyes scanning each ingredient.

“It’s perfect,” he said simply. “Can you grab her a bottle of water as well? She prefers them bottled.”

The chef nodded and turned to grab the water in the fridge. The other chefs were busy adding food to the other plates and placing the leftovers on platters. With everyone distracted, this was Henry’s chance. He reached into the breast pocket of his suit and pulled out a small vile of clear dust. At first glance, it looked like salt, but it was actually poison. It wasn’t the type of poison that would kill a person though; it was the type of poison that could only kill a fetus.

He uncorked the small vile and glanced over his shoulder at the others who were still preoccupied with the other dishes. One of the kitchen maids stopped the chef who was getting the water and started to ask him pointless questions.

Henry sprinkled some of the poisoned dust over the plate that he knew was going to be Maeves, a smile on his face. As he heard footsteps approaching behind him, he quickly replaced the cork in the vile and put it back into his pocket. He turned to see the chef walking towards him with a bottle of water.

“Perfect,” Henry said quickly. “I’ll be heading to the dining hall now.”

With that, he turned and left the kitchen without a single glance back.

Meanwhile, Eric had finished packing his bag. He packed lights, though he had no idea how long he would be gone. He glanced at the time; it was just after 7 pm. The family dinner would be starting soon as it often did and per usual, Eric wasn’t invited. It’s not like he ever really made an effort anyway, but since finding out the truth… the truth that’s been kept from him his entire life… spending any time with his “family” felt pointless. He now understood why he always felt like he didn’t fit in…

Disgust boiled in his gut, and he swallowed the bile that rose in his throat.

He shouldered his bag, giving his room one last look before leaving through the door. He made his way downstairs but froze when he heard distinct voices coming from nearby. When he inched closer, he recognized Henry’s voice.

“Then, I will see you soon…” Henry said, his tone darkening.

He heard Henry’s retreating steps, and then the door to the dining hall opened and shut. As Eric rounded the corner, he froze when he saw Maeve standing frozen outside the dining hall door. She was staring at the door, confused about what had happened.

She blinked a few times, her mind trying to process the current events, and then with a deep breath, she turned and started to walk away but froze when he saw Eric standing nearby.

“Oh,” she gasped. “I didn’t see you there,” she said, peeking up at him through her lashes. “Are you okay?”

“I was going to ask you the same question,” Eric said, clutching his bag tightly as he walked closer to her. “Why do you look as though you’ve seen a ghost?”

Her cheeks turned pink, and she nibbled on her lower lip, staring at the ground. She was looking anywhere but at Eric, and that only piqued his interest even more. He inched closer to her, wanting to hear her better.

“I’m feeling a little off today, that’s all,” she said, staring up at him with a faint smile. “No need to worry about me.”

Eric wasn’t convinced; he didn’t want to pretend that he knew her well enough to know that she was lying, but he could tell she was withholding at least some of the truth. Her eyes found the bag draped around Eric’s shoulders and she frowned, her brows pinching together.

“Were you going somewhere?” She asked.

He glanced at his bag and then met her eyes, nodding.

“Yeah. I have to be somewhere,” he told her.

“Are you coming back?”

He thought about it for a moment, not entirely sure what his plans were. But he knew he was going to see her again, so he nodded.

“Yes,” he replied. “I’ll be back.”

She relaxed at his words, but her eyes still showed signs of wariness.

“Okay,” she said after a beat of silence. “Well, I’ll see you then.”

He nodded and started towards the door but before he completely disappeared, he paused and turned back to her.

“Maeve,” he said, getting her attention. She blinked at him and her lips lifted into a small smile. “Be careful. You never know who you can trust.”

Her eyes grew wide at his warning and before she could ask him any further questions, he turned and left. Eric had an older car which was nothing compared to the luxury vehicles the other’s drive. He threw the bag into the backseat and quickly got in the driver’s seat. He stared at the mansion for a long while; this was a place that was never truly a home to him. He never felt like this was his home after all; it took him until recently to discover why.

The drive to the countryside took several long hours, but once he reached the familiar terrace and the small home came into view, Eric eased into his seat. He parked out front of the house and got out, grabbing his bag before closing the door. He stared at the house for a long while; he hadn’t told her he was coming, but Iris always seemed to know when he was coming for a visit.

He reached the front steps and just as he raised his fist to knock, the door opened.

Iris stood on the other side of the glass door, her aged features shining under the illuminating lighting of the porch. Her warm brown eyes shined with something that Eric couldn’t quite figure out. She had a warm smile that spread across her face as she pushed the door open for Eric to enter. Being around her again, put his mind and heart at ease. Iris was the only one who truly cared about him when he was growing up.

The day she left was the worst day of his life. He lost that connection… that warmth and love, but most importantly, he lost a friend.

“Eric,” Iris breathed, reaching her arms out to hug him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a tight embrace. She chuckled as she patted his back. “What brings you here?”

“I’m sorry it’s taken so long for me to visit,” he breathed. “But I needed to talk to you about something.”

A frown marred her lips as she glanced at the bag around his shoulders. Her eyes found his again and then she nodded. She walked around him, shutting the door and locking it before turning back to him.

“Come sit,” she offered, motioning for him to follow her.

Taking a deep breath, he followed her through the house until they reached her living room. It was exactly how he remembered it; Iris didn’t really like change, so she usually always kept things the same. It was comforting to know she had never changed.

Iris sat in one of the love seats, waiting for him to take a seat as well. He placed the bag on the floor before taking a seat.

“So, what have you come all this way to talk to me about?” She asked, her kind smile never wavering.

He was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out how to bring this up. Then he figured he might as well just say it before he changed his mind.

“I know that Leonora isn’t my real mother,” he blurted, lifting his gaze to meet hers. Her face had gone pale, which was all the confirmation he needed. “And I know that you know who my real mother is.”