Chapter 47: Snakes in the bushes
Anastasia had just finished tying the other two ends of her handkerchief together when she heard Prince Dante’s question. Even though most people weren’t aware of her relationship with her sister, the first prince was the only royal who knew of it, and she turned to meet his gaze on her.
"After serving Princess Emily, I went to her room to tidy it..." Anastasia answered him, because that was where she had gone.
"And," Dante pressed the maid.
Knowing the maid was in a delicate state right now made it easier to confirm a few things. They had both lost one of their family members, and he wasn’t planning to rest until he found out who was behind the deaths.
Anastasia felt like she could barely breathe because the stress in her was piling up to the point that it was going to crumble down soon. She explained to him, "I didn’t kill King William. I swear on my sister’s ashes; I never thought about it, and neither did she." As Marianne wasn’t alive, she defended her sister by saying, "She was a gentle woman, and she would panic over the slightest things. She wasn’t coura—"
"I asked you where you were, Anastasia. Not if you killed the king or not," Dante’s eyes pierced through hers, which only made her nervous.
Bracing herself, Anastasia answered, "I—I was out of the palace. At the Bazaar."
"I don’t remember my sister mentioning anything about sending you to the Bazaar. Nor did Norrix send any maids to the Bazaar. What were you doing there?" Dante continued interrogating her, his gaze on her getting heavier, and she tried to breathe through her lips.
Anastasia looked away as guilt filled her chest. She replied, "It was my own decision. Mary was supposed to come to the Bazaar too."
Dante’s eyes narrowed at Anastasia, and she stepped backwards in fear. Marianne was his brother Maxwell’s concubine. He would have disciplined her, but she and her sister had punished themselves all on their own.
He said, "Maybe if she stayed put, she wouldn’t have been killed or questioned about her intentions. No one saw her for more than an hour before her death."