Chapter 251: Make it look natural
"Ciaran, your father still harbors love for that wretched mistress. Did you see the brazen way he protected August just now?" Victoria hissed, pacing her bedchamber as the doors closed behind them. "That boy tried to take your life in the past. He traumatized Xavier, yet the King turns a blind eye to all of it."
Hearing his mother’s sharp words, a deep ache settled in Ciaran’s chest. This entire crisis would never have taken root if August had simply remained in exile. He was better off far away from the palace, completely removed from their lives.
Yet, despite everything, Ciaran did not wish his half-brother dead. The agony in August’s voice when he had screamed his accusations at Xavier was something the Crown Prince could not easily strike from his mind.
"Mother, you must compose yourself. I understand your anger and your frustration," Ciaran stated.
Victoria stopped her pacing, turning to lock her tear-filled, furious gaze onto her eldest son. "Then do something, Ciaran. August must not survive this night. Because if he lives, none of us will ever know peace again."
"Mother, you cannot think like this," Ciaran said, stepping back slightly, taken aback by the malice in her voice.
"Then do you intend to let our lives be upended by him indefinitely? August accused your mother of a capital offense, Crown Prince! Are you truly going to follow in your father’s footsteps? The King does not care for me. You witnessed it yourself tonight. Who is to say he will not attempt to alter the succession and pass the crown to his favorite bastard? What will you do then?" The Queen seized Ciaran’s arm as she unleashed a barrage of questions.
Victoria then softened her tone. "I simply want him gone. His mother met her end long ago, and it is only fitting that he shares her fate. Ciaran, send a trusted man to his chambers tonight and finish it. This is the only path left for us to live in peace."
Ciaran furrowed his brows, a cold dread washing over him. He understood the frantic fear driving his mother’s mindset, but he could never commit such a heinous crime.
Gently but firmly, he took her hands from his sleeves and lowered them. "I cannot do this, Mother. And you must banish these thoughts from your mind. However, I give you my word: the moment August is found guilty of drawing blood in the palace, I will demand his permanent exile from the capital. He will never be permitted to set foot on this soil again."
Queen Victoria fell silent for a fraction of a second, her heart hammering against her ribs. She knew that if a full investigation took place, her own dark truths would be laid bare. .
"No, banishment is not enough. August will always find a path back to the capital. And your father will never uphold an decree of exile against him now. Try to understand the gravity of the situation, Crown Prince."
"Mother, you are commanding me to commit murder. I cannot do it, nor could I ever live with the guilt," Ciaran stated, refusing to go with her suggestion. "You should remain alone for the rest of the evening to gather your thoughts."
Offering a bow, he turned on his heel and took his leave, closing the doors behind him.
Victoria clenched her fists until her rings bit painfully into her palms. "Why will none of them listen to me?" she hissed to the empty room.
In a fit of unbridled rage, she swept her arm across the side table, sending a porcelain vase crashing to the floor, shattering it into a hundred glittering shards. "August knows the truth. He cannot be allowed to draw breath. I must find a way to end him myself."
Stepping out of her chambers, her long silk train swept over the marble floor as a small flock of anxious attendants instantly fell into step behind her.
"Is Xavier resting in the east wing’s guest quarters?" she demanded of her senior lady-in-waiting.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I received word that the King visited his bedside shortly before the dinner hour," the woman replied in a low whisper.
Victoria offered a curt nod, her pace quickening down the vaulted corridors of the palace. Upon reaching the double doors of the guest suite, she raised a hand, halting her entourage.
"Remain outside. Let no one enter," she commanded, before pushing the door open and stepping into the candlelit room.
Xavier, who had been resting, quickly propped himself up on his elbows at the sight of his sister.
"How could you speak such nonsense in front of August?" Victoria shouted, abandoning all courtly decorum the moment the door clicked shut.
"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but he was going to slit my throat," Xavier rasped, his voice strained as he carefully swung his legs out of the bed.
A thick linen bandage was wrapped tightly around his neck where August’s blade had bitten in. "I had no inkling that the boy had uncovered the truth regarding the Spencer massacre. He threatened to slaughter my entire household."
"Then you should have let him kill you, Xavier!" Victoria muttered in a fury, pacing the length of the rug. "By saving your own skin, you have unraveled everything. The King already harbors a seed of doubt. August declared that I was the one who orchestrated his mother’s demise. That wretched wench! Even from her grave, she refuses to let me live in peace."
"But someone shot August. I do not think he will survive the night," Xavier stated, attempting to offer comfort.
"The King’s own physicians are attending to him every single minute. August is still breathing," Victoria countered as she rubbed her hands together in nervousness. "If he lives through the dark hours, every truth we have buried over the years will be dragged into the light."
"Then send someone to finish him tonight," Xavier suggested, keeping his voice low. "I can arrange for a deadly poison from my contacts. All he needs to be given a single drop of it, and he will be dead before the dawn."
"You have always been an idiot, Xavier. That is precisely why Father never trusted you with the family estates," Victoria remarked, gritting her teeth. "The blame will fall on us if he is poisoned. We need to make it look natural, as though he succumbed to his own injuries."