CHAPTER 149: BETRAYAL UNVEILED

"Tell them, Emberg, how you are still alive by this time."

The Queen Mother spoke, her expression commanding. Ariana could feel the intensity of her words—she did not shout, yet her words were more powerful than any raised voice.

The room fell into a heavy silence. Even the seer seemed dumbfounded. This was not what she had expected at all. In fact, today’s surprises kept coming, one after another, leaving her completely bewildered. She had no idea what was happening.

What had Lady Emberg done?

Ariana remembered Zavren telling her back in the carriage, when they had gone to visit Lady Emberg, that she was the oldest woman alive in the werewolves’ world—something Ariana had found admirable. But now, the look in Zavren’s mother’s eyes said it all, and the shocked expression on Lady Emberg’s face confirmed it.

Stephanie’s eyebrows moved as everything unfolded so quickly. She didn’t even know what was happening, but her great-grandmother’s reaction spoke volumes. It was like she was trapped in a dream. Stephanie was still trying to make sense of everything, but at this point, it felt impossible to understand anything at all.

They looked momentarily taken aback by the sudden, unexpected outburst, while Raven, who had been planning to leave, just stood there, unmoving. He had no intention of leaving again.

It was as if news after news kept hitting them, one by one. Was it Lady Emberg who had poisoned Zavren’s mother? And now... she was still alive?

The queen mother’s face grew angrier by the second as she stared at Lady Emberg, whose face was extremely pale.

"Go on and speak, or I will speak for you," she said, her voice calm, though the room remained eerily silent, everyone waiting to understand what was happening.

Those words pierced the lady deeply, her lips trembling on her wrinkled face, her eyes darting around in panic.

"I... I apologize. I... am s... sorry," Lady Emberg stammered her eyes flickering to Stephanie then the floor, her voice trembling as her body shook uncontrollably. She pressed herself against the wall, unable to support herself, and slowly sank to the floor. Stephanie’s eyes remained wide; she didn’t know what to say. Her body grew rigid, as if she could no longer control it she did not know what was happening everything had happened to fast.

"I c... could not kill y... you," Lady Emberg whispered as her gaze moved to the queen mother before it quickly fell in embarrassment, her head bowed, her hands clutching at her hair.

"T... That was why I gave you an endless sleeping poison," she continued. Ariana’s eyes widened at her words, though the queen mother remained calm.

The truth was clear now: Lady Emberg’s shock, and the fact that she was still alive—was beginning to make a little sense.

The cure for the poison had long been extinct, and "endless sleep" meant one was not dead; one would simply sleep for an extended time. Upon waking, the person would be completely normal, their bodily functions resumed, and they would continue aging naturally but that was almost impossible and extremely rare that was why lady Emberg had been more than shocked in seeing her.

"S... Stephanie, I am sorry," Lady Emberg said again. Stephanie’s eyebrows knit together as she tried to understand. Why was Lady Emberg apologizing? Shouldn’t she be apologizing to the old woman at the dining table instead? Something didn’t add up. Stephanie’s mind felt like it had temporarily shut down, unable to piece anything together.

"Your mother found out about my ways to keep myself young," Lady Emberg confessed. She knew if the queen mother spoke first, she might reveal even more shocking things. It was better to come clean herself.

The seer was already present and could verify everything. And if Stephanie witnessed her past and what she had done...well, it would be worse than death. But she no longer minded. She had already been caught, and it was better to speak the truth with her own mouth for a lesser punishment.

Stephanie’s heart stuttered at the mention of her parents. What did her parents have to do with this?

"I was t... the reason for their d..death." The more Lady Emberg confessed, the weaker her bones became. She pressed her back against the wall and sank to the ground where she sat.

Stephanie’s body grew light as her vision blurred at the words. Her mind refused to accept them, and everything seemed to spin around her. The phrase that caught her most, that kept echoing in her head, was Lady Emberg’s repeated confession:

"I planned t..their deaths because she found out and told her husband. T..That was why I had to kill them—to prevent the news from spreading." Lady Emberg’s eyes fell to the floor, shame keeping her from raising them again.

"I am s... sorry," she whispered, her shoulders trembling as tears began to fall. Ariana’s eyes widened in shock. She had not expected this at all. She was overwhelmed, but her worry was deeper for Stephanie.

The look of betrayal and pain on Stephanie’s face was unmistakable, and Ariana didn’t know what to do. She had been shocked today, yes—but Stephanie’s shock went far beyond that; it was something unbearable.

"You are not sorry at all," Ariana said, her voice cold. "You are just ashamed...ashamed that your pride has finally been caught." Her words carried the sting of her own experience. She knew what it felt like to lose a loved one, and now, compounded with all of Lady Emberg’s pretense, it was more than she had expected.

"How could you do such evil to your own family?" she asked, almost breathless, still struggling to think straight.

The seer was silent, moving carefully across another part of the room, her eyes scanning and checking something with quiet curiosity or more like checking the past.

"P... please don’t kill me."

Ariana could not believe what she was hearing. All of this... and this woman still begged for her life? How shameless.

Ariana’s face fell deeply. The lady she had trusted, the one she had considered almost family, had not only betrayed the king but her own family.

"You poisoned me, Lady Emberg... you think that would hide the truth?" the queen mother spoke, her appetite for the food long gone. She could hardly believe what was happening.

Ariana’s heart squeezed in pain as she looked at Lady Stephanie’s face. The defeated expression, the sadness, the faint shadow of regret—it was unbearable. It was as if her entire life had been lived in a lie.

"Please... don’t kill me. I will confess... just don’t kill me." Ariana could hardly believe the shamelessness of it all. Her cries were not born of regret, but pure fear of death. She wondered how someone could live so long, killing those around them to protect a secret.

"Send for a maid. Lady Stephanie needs to rest." Ariana spoke worriedly.

But Stephanie shook her head, her lips forming a small, forced smile. Ariana knew it was only for show, a way of telling herself she was alright, that she would be fine.

Stephanie slowly walked to the sofa and sat down. Her shocked gaze remained fixed on the thin air. Ariana could tell that look said more than words ever could: her body was numb, incapable of feeling pain, yet forced to endure it.

Finally, Raven moved. After the shock, he wondered how His Majesty would react to this news. Zavren trusted no one but his wife, and yet Lady Emberg had been the only one he had given even slight allowance in the castle.

Raven returned shortly after with two guards. The room remained silent, broken only by Lady Emberg’s cracked cries. Ariana turned, her eyes widening. The queen mother, however, remained calm, eating her food with precise movements, as if nothing mattered more than the meal before her.

Only she knew that speaking would cause even more shock. Today had been enough; she would keep silent, knowing she was the one most annoyed at Lady Emberg.

"Luna Ariana, I am asking your permission to take her to the dungeon."

Ariana nodded. She did not mind at all.

"Go ahead, Mister Raven. I will be the one to give her punishment."

Raven’s eyes widened in surprise but he nodded respectfully. He did not mind the queen’s decision, though her words had shocked him.

Ariana turned her gaze to Lady Emberg, hatred and anger brewing within her. She bit her lip, struggling to contain her fury. How could someone be so wicked to their own family?

Lady Emberg raised her head.

"Why... why still take me there, eh? Why... you mute queen? Huh, do you think you deserve such a title, weak woman?"

Ariana’s eyes widened at Lady Emberg’s words. The elegant, courteous lady she had known was now screaming like a mad village woman, completely unrecognizable.

The seer, her eyes still closed, began to speak.

As seers do, she revealed what she had learned as soon as she reached the right moment. Shock had forced her to act immediately.

"The carriage accident that occurred was planned by Lady Emberg... but it did not go as intended. Queen Ariana’s mother had passed through, and in the process, the accident took place."

Ariana’s eyes widened. The carriage accident... the same one that had claimed her mother’s life... had been orchestrated by Lady Emberg, and it had also killed Lady Stephanie’s parents.