Chapter 389: An Ambition That Darkened The Heart
Dakota had long since departed, his footsteps fading into silence, yet Helga remained rooted in the corridor, her figure still as stone. The flicker in her eyes betrayed the storm beneath her composed exterior—an emotion she rarely allowed herself to feel. Was it fear? Doubt? Or perhaps guilt.
Had she made a mistake?
Helga, the Barsons’ eldest daughter, was bred for royalty. She was trained from a very young age on the ways of the nobles, trained to be a queen. From the moment she could walk, she was immersed in the arts of diplomacy, war, and rule. She was her family’s greatest pride — the hope of the Barsons to rise into power.
But who would have thought that Heimdal would fall in love with her half sister, Astrid — a daughter of a lowly mistress of her father? She even gave birth to Alaric, Heimdal’s first born son.
And Helga, with her pride and great expectations could not accept it. She had cried hard before her grandparents and parents that she wanted to be the queen that she was supposed to be.
Fortune, at last, had turned in Helga’s favor. Astrid’s luck ran out and her dreams took shape. Astrid died while she rose into power and became the queen of Northem. Though the truth behind her death remained cloaked in whispers and shadows—she knew her family had a role in the assassination attempt on Alaric that claimed Astrid’s life. It was to pave a way for her.
And she did not disappoint because she had played her role with dignity. She ruled as the queen they had always envisioned.
Still, unease clawed at her now.
A memory surfaced and her face turned gloomy.
Her father had urged her—it was time for Heimdal to step down. Reuben, her son, was ready to ascend the throne. For the future of the Barsons, for Northem, she had agreed to act. She only meant to weaken Heimdal, to ensure his retreat from power was swift and bloodless. He was still her husband after all, the man she loved from young. The man she wanted to grow old with, even if in his heart, there was only Astrid.
But the poison had done far more than she intended. It left Heimdal broken, diminished. And though he still lived, his reign had effectively ended. Or so, she thought.
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