CHAPTER 158: THE LETTER OF THE PAST

Ariana was silent. She waited for Stephanie to continue. In fact, it was shocking, because she knew that man’s behavior had been suspicious—even though the only time they had met, the very first time, was on their wedding day. She remembered how awkward that day had been.

She remembered that they had not done the "kiss the bride and groom" part, as the priest had said it was meant to be a private thing. She was glad it hadn’t happened—if only she had known that her husband, Zavren, was responsible for that.

"The letter he sent to his lover had been on the day of his supposed death," Lady Stephanie finished, as Ariana fell silent. A soft gasp left her lips as something clicked.

He had told her to stay behind, that when he returned, they would be traveling. He had claimed he wanted to get flowers for her. But now the question was—was it really flowers this man planned to get, or had he simply used that as an excuse to send the letter to his lover at the local post office?

Stephanie’s worried lingered as the silence stretched. She noticed Ariana just sitting there, quiet, and began to wonder if she had said more than she should have.

"Your Grace, I...I apologize if this is coming—"

Ariana immediately interrupted, gently shaking her head.

"Oh, Lady Stephanie, you don’t have to bother about apologizing. I am fine. In fact, I am glad you told me this, as I am beginning to connect the dots a bit," she spoke with a soft smile. Then she added,

"Is it okay if I ask you some question, just to confirm?" Ariana asked softly.

Stephanie nodded. Ariana noticed her eyes flicker to the jug and cup on the table close to the sofa. So Ariana moved, gently pouring water from the jug into the cup, and handed it to Stephanie.

She accepted it with a soft smile and gulped it down. Ariana waited patiently, knowing it was midnight, though their discussion didn’t even feel like it.

She looked through the window, and the darkness outside told her it would not be morning anytime soon.

Stephanie finally set the empty cup down atop the table, her body feeling refreshed. She turned to Ariana.

"Luna Ariana, you had been curious about something earlier. You can ask me now," she spoke softly, a smile stretching across her lips.

Ariana nodded. "Yes, if I may ask—how did you know about his death?"

"The date was written on the letter. And before that, my curious self had asked my butler back at home about Mr. Fredrick," she said, though she did not like referring to him as Luna Ariana’s ex-husband.

Ariana nodded, then spoke again, her voice soft, curious.

"Does that mean you have the letter here with you?" she asked gently.

Lady Stephanie nodded.

"Yes, I do. Let me go get it so you would read it yourself, as you deserve to know," she said as she stood. Ariana nodded. She was forever grateful for meeting Stephanie. If she hadn’t, she would have never known many things. And to think that her parents and her mother had died on the same day was even more shocking.

Ariana finally realized something—this meant that Lady Emberg knew her before she met Zavren. But how was that possible? She was no royal then. In fact, she was just a village girl who had the most problems with her annoying neighbor’s chicken.

Stephanie walked to the door, unlocked it, and closed it behind her.

Ariana stood and walked to the window to shut it, noticing that the cold was now entering the room even more. She walked to the baby’s bed, gently adjusting her baby’s head warmer cap and duvet so it would not cover little Vreni’s face.

Meanwhile, Stephanie entered her room. She walked to the drawer where she had dropped the envelope. She opened it—but to her surprise, no envelope was there. She began checking, seconds passing.

"Oh heavens, where could it be?" she whispered, impatience running thin. She knew the Queen must be waiting, and she did not want to keep her waiting. That was the last thing she wanted.

She moved to the lower-class drawer, checking again, but still nothing. Quickly, she went to the bed—again, nothing. She sat on the edge, pushing her hair behind her ears as it kept falling across her face. Her chest squeezed lightly with worry. Maybe she would just have to tell the Queen she could not find it. But what if the Queen did not believe her? She did not want to be misunderstood.

Her hands pushed the pillows aside, and to her surprise, the envelope rested there. Relief washed over her as a smile stretched across her lips. She grabbed it at once, stood immediately, and stepped out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Ariana sat waiting, curious if Lady Stephanie had fallen asleep. She would not be surprised—it was already late. Besides, she would not mind reading the letter tomorrow.

Just as she moved to rise from the sofa, a knock came on the door. It opened, and Stephanie entered, holding an almost rumpled envelope. Her cheeks flushed; she knew she was the reason it looked that way. The time she had wanted to read it and Zekel had refused, she had taken it forcefully. It hadn’t turned out well at all, and the squeezing had left the envelope crumpled.

Ariana giggled softly as she stared at the envelope, as if she already knew what Lady Stephanie was too shy to admit. Stephanie’s face burned even more as she sat on the chair and handed the envelope to Ariana, who accepted it with a soft nod.

"Luna Ariana, thank you so much for allowing me to spend some time with you, despite it being late. Let me go to my room now and sleep, as I feel sleepy." She exhaled with relief. Coming here had eased the weight on her shoulders, and now she felt she could finally breathe and rest well.

"You are always welcome"

Ariana smiled as she stood as well, moving to lock the door after Lady Stephanie stepped out. She gently turned the lock, then walked to the bed and sat. She had already made up her mind—tomorrow, she would go to the castle area to pay a visit to Lady Emberg. There really was something Lady Emberg knew that she didn’t.

She finally opened the envelope.