Chapter 172: Uneducated Crown Princess.
Aunt Eve recounted everything Helene had revealed or other spies collected for her, she kept her tone slow and steady so as not to scare Ren. When she finished, she added grimly, "I believe Araben wants the throne of Alvonia. She plans to kill you, make it look like a suicide, and then move in on Dankin."
Ren felt her mouth go dry. That bitch! She was even planning her own twin brother?
"She’s mad!"
Aunt Eve nodded. "Mad, and ambitious. And the Crown Prince of Al-Delone is even worse. Greedy, this word isn’t enough to describe him. I’ve heard whispers that he’s been the shadow behind the rebellions of the last five years, claiming he fights for the self-governance of each kingdom. But it’s a lie. He wants your father dethroned. I heard that he is making a weapon to break through Sunkiath’s scale."
Ren’s mind flashed back to Sunkiath’s tunnels, to the King’s warning, to the cold, watching eyes in the dining hall. Predators. They were waiting. Like hyenas watching the lion falter, ready to tear him down the moment he fell to his knees.
"Aunt Eve," Ren called her name, her voice serious with steel resolve, "we’ll go to the King the moment she wakes. But about Araben’s plan, are you sure you heard it right?"
"I am," her aunt replied without hesitation. "Lora is loyal to you. I already sent her a message, telling her you’re willing to take her with you."
Ren exhaled sharply, fury tightening her chest. That little snake was trying to trap Kai. Sending that poor Josa to the brothel was another wicked act. How could she do that to a pure maiden? Lora must be so scared to have the same destiny.
"Send another message," she said darkly. "Tell her..."