Chapter 136: Collapse
The royal palace of Erelith had been steeped in unrest for quite some time.
Not only had it been struck by the shocking and untimely murder of Duke Kalder, but the kingdom was further rattled by the abduction of his young fiancée, Princess Lorelai Erelith, who had been taken by none other than the savage beasts led by King Rhaegar.
This unprecedented series of events sent tremors throughout the kingdom, unsettling everyone from the aristocracy to the common folk.
The growing unease spread like wildfire, fueled by whispers that passed through markets, taverns, and bustling streets. The common people, cut off from any official news, relied on fragments of hearsay, which inevitably morphed into rumors layered with wild assumptions and fanciful speculations.
"The beasts must have killed the duke!" This became the refrain echoing through the streets.
To the masses, it seemed the only plausible explanation.
The lycan king had long been rumored to covet the princess, but she was already promised to another. What other path could a barbarian like him take? In their minds, he had done what beasts were infamous for—succumbing to his cruel, primal instincts. Murder and abduction seemed to be his only tools of negotiation.
Yet, within the palace walls, where the undercurrents of political intrigue ran deeper, not everyone agreed with this simplistic narrative.
"The princess was a whore," Katarina, the newly appointed head lady-in-waiting of the queen’s palace, sneered as she took a generous sip of wine.