Chapter 177: What if Alexander Knew?
{Third Person}
As Mrs. Woods and Sonia prepared Amara for the evening banquet, the atmosphere inside her chambers was far busier than usual.
Sonia stood behind her chair, carefully arranging the final touches to her hair, while Mrs. Woods supervised everything with the seriousness of a general preparing for battle.
"Hurry, hurry," Mrs. Woods muttered. "We don’t want to keep His Highness waiting."
Amara, who had been patiently allowing Sonia to fasten a necklace around her neck, immediately looked up.
"His Highness?"
Mrs. Woods paused. "Yes."
"What?" Amara blinked. "He is attending tonight?"
There was obvious surprise in her voice. After everything that had happened, she had assumed Alexander would remain in his residence.
Mrs. Woods smiled faintly. "If he doesn’t attend, people will talk."
Amara frowned slightly. ’If he doesn’t attend, people will talk? What is that supposed to mean?’
Mrs. Woods adjusted one of the bracelets on her wrist before continuing. "Guests from every kingdom are still here."
Then she lowered her voice. "After what happened two nights ago, many people are already uneasy."
Amara couldn’t argue with that. She herself had witnessed the fear that spread through the banquet hall, but...
Mrs. Woods continued. "If His Highness remains absent tonight, some guests might begin wondering whether he is truly recovering."
She shook her head. "And if that happens, they won’t dare eat or drink anything placed before them."
Amara understood immediately. The banquet was no longer merely a social gathering. It was a display of reassurance, proof that the royal family remained stable despite everything that had happened.
Mrs. Woods offered her a comforting smile. "Thankfully, His Highness is strong enough to attend."
Amara nodded slowly. Even so, she remained unconvinced. Deep down, she still believed Alexander should be resting.
Strong or not, he had nearly died. And the fact that he was attending tonight at all seemed reckless.
Unfortunately, she knew better than to voice that opinion aloud.
---
As evening descended, the final banquet officially began.
The grand banquet hall once again filled with guests. Human nobles. Werewolf nobles. Court officials. Visiting dignitaries. Mages.
Everyone arrived dressed in their finest attire.
However, despite the elegant surroundings, the atmosphere felt noticeably different from the previous banquet.
The smiles were less natural, the conversations were more cautious, and even the servants moved with greater care than before.
What had happened two nights ago remained fresh in everyone’s minds. Nobody had forgotten, and certainly not the servants.
Groups gathered quietly around their assigned tables. Conversations drifted from one topic to another, though sooner or later they always returned to the same question about the Alpha Prince, but no one spoke too loudly about it.
Still, the tension remained.
Then the royal family’s arrival was announced. Immediately, everyone rose to their feet as the massive doors opened.
First came Prince Rowan and Yara. Then Prince Zarek and Julia.
The familiar sight of the princes helped settle some of the nervousness in the room.
Then Alexander entered alongside Amara.
A ripple immediately spread through the hall. Surprise flashed across countless faces. Many guests had expected him to remain absent, while others had privately wondered whether his condition was far worse than the palace admitted.
Yet there he was, as little pale, perhaps, slightly thinner, but walking under his own strength.
The human delegates exchanged glances. Several Werewolf nobles looked equally surprised. Even some of the court officials appeared relieved.
Amara noticed the reactions. Without meaning to, she found herself glancing toward Alexander whose expression remained unchanged as though he hadn’t noticed the attention at all, or perhaps he simply didn’t care.
After they took their seats, the final arrivals entered. King Sebastian and Queen Lysandra.
Immediately, the hall rose once more. Greetings echoed throughout the chamber. Only after the royal couple had settled into their seats did everyone else sit down.
A few moments later, King Sebastian stood, and the room instantly fell silent. The Alpha King slowly swept his gaze across the gathered guests before speaking.
"I know that many of you were unsettled by the unfortunate events that occurred during the previous banquet."
His voice carried effortlessly throughout the hall.
Several guests shifted slightly in their seats. Everyone knew exactly what he was referring to.
Sebastian continued. "As your host, I offer my sincerest apologies."
The statement surprised some people. Kings rarely apologized, yet nobody interrupted.
The Alpha King went on to explain that Alexander’s condition had been stabilized and that there was no longer any cause for concern.
He spoke calmly, confidently, and reassuringly, carefully avoiding the uglier truths.
There was no mention of poison, no mention of investigations, no mention of dead servants. Only carefully selected facts, the kind meant to restore confidence.
Eventually, Sebastian lifted his cup. "Tonight, I ask everyone to put aside their worries," He said as his gaze moved across the hall. "Eat to your fill. And drink to your fill."
Then his voice deepened slightly. "Everything placed before you has been thoroughly inspected."
The statement was directed at everyone in the hall.
"As your King and host, I take full responsibility for your safety."
The declaration was met with polite applause. Many people visibly relaxed, but there some that remained cautious. Still, nobody openly challenged him.
Across the hall, however, Lila sat quietly at her table. A polite smile rested on her face, but internally, her thoughts were far less respectful.
’I suppose if we all die tonight, we won’t even know whether you took responsibility or not.’
The thought made her almost laugh. Fortunately, she was wise enough to keep it to herself.
She just lifted her cup and joined everyone else in pretending that everything was perfectly normal.
Even though nearly everyone in the hall knew it wasn’t.
As King Sebastian resumed his seat, the atmosphere in the banquet hall gradually loosened, but not completely, because the uneasiness remained.
However, people began speaking again. Servants resumed moving between tables. Wine was poured. Plates were replaced. The carefully orchestrated rhythm of a royal banquet slowly returned.
At one of the tables reserved for the Human Kingdom’s delegation, Anthony sat with several ministers and nobles, chatting randomly. Eventually, as expected, the conversation drifted toward Alexander.
One of the ministers lowered his voice slightly. "I truly thought the Alpha Prince would not attend tonight."
Several others nodded. "So did I."
Anthony glanced toward the royal table. From this distance, Alexander appeared perfectly composed and certainly not like someone who had nearly died two nights ago.
"The recovery is surprisingly quick," another minister observed.
That remark caused a brief silence, then a third minister leaned forward slightly. "Do you think the Werewolves are concealing the severity of his condition?"
The question immediately drew attention.
Anthony did not answer right away. His eyes remained fixed on the Alpha Prince. After a moment, he shook his head.
"It is possible."
The ministers exchanged glances as Anthony continued. "However, whether they are concealing something or not changes nothing."
The others understood what he meant. This was not their kingdom, nor was it their place to pry into the affairs of the Werewolf royal family. Even so, curiosity remained especially because the Alpha Prince’s health had obvious political implications.
If anything happened to Alexander, the balance within the Werewolf Kingdom could change dramatically.
One minister sighed. "I suppose we will never know the full truth."
Anthony quietly agreed. Some truths were buried too deeply.
---
Elsewhere in the banquet hall, Zarek was becoming increasingly irritated despite the food and drink placed before him, and the conversations happening around him.
His attention kept returning to Alexander again and again. It annoyed him, and he could not help it.
He hadn’t expected Alexander to attend tonight’s banquet looking far healthier than he expected.
Every time he glanced toward him, he found himself searching for signs of weakness and signs of lasting damage that the poisoning had accomplished something, but he found very little.
The realization left him uneasy.
Beside him, Julia noticed his repeated glances and said nothing. The distance between them remained obvious.
Eventually, Zarek looked toward Alexander once more except this time, Alexander happened to be looking back.
Neither looked away immediately. The world around them seemed to fade slightly, then something happened, or at least, Zarek thought it did.
For the briefest instant, he could have sworn he saw the corner of Alexander’s mouth lift into a tiny, imperceptible smirk. Then it was gone so quickly that Zarek could not be certain it had happened at all.
His stomach tightened. The uncomfortable feeling returned immediately, this time stronger than before.
Without realizing it, his fingers tightened around his wine glass. ’Why would Alexander smirk?’ The question immediately lodged itself in his mind.
But more importantly... What exactly was Alexander thinking?
Several possibilities surfaced in his mind, but none of them were pleasant.
Suddenly, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. What if Alexander knew?
The possibility made his pulse quicken slightly but he immediately dismissed the idea.
There was no evidence or proof. There was nothing concrete and yet the feeling refused to disappear. The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became.
Alexander, meanwhile, had already turned his attention elsewhere as if nothing had even happened in the first place.
Unfortunately, Zarek could not say the same. For the rest of the evening, the uncertainty remained lodged firmly in the back of his mind.
And no matter how much he tried to ignore it, one question continued haunting him.
What exactly did Alexander know? And how much of it?