How To End This Marriage-Chapter 90: Revealing Secrets

The ruler’s words, "A woman could never sit on the throne," echoed in Sylvia’s ears like a haunting refrain.

"A woman could never sit on the throne.

A woman could never sit on the throne."

The subordinate, his disbelief clear, was quick to challenge the ruler’s shocking statement. "Ruler, what are you saying? This is completely different from the announcement you made. Didn’t you declare that Princess Sylvia would succeed you? How can you say such hurtful things towards her when she’s just barely survived?"

The ruler’s words felt like stinging taunts to Sylvia. She couldn’t remain silent in the face of such prejudice. "Least! Ha ha ha ha ha. If this is the least a ruler expects from their people, then what more do they expect?"

"Princess, what are you saying? I can’t understand what you said before or now," the subordinate admitted, clearly puzzled by Sylvia’s remarks.

"The point I’m making is this: my father, no, I mean the ruler of this empire, sent me to kill an innocent person on the orders of the emperor and then get executed for the act. If this is the least he could have offered me, then I suppose he might as well have sent me straight to hell. Does that sound about right?" Sylvia asked, her gaze fixed on the confused subordinate, who remained silent.

"You all heard it right. I was sent to be executed, not to undertake a mission that would benefit this tribal empire. The ruler may have portrayed it as an assassination group, but it’s not. It might be the same for you, but for me, it was a means to get rid of me," Sylvia declared, her frustration evident. However, as she spoke, her strength waned, and she stumbled.

"Princess, hold on!!!" her attendants rushed to support her.

"If she’s so capable, she should be able to stand on her own, just like a son would, right? Isn’t that what she aspires to be, my son?" the ruler remarked callously. "I thought something serious had happened. If I had been aware of this useless drama from this troublesome princess, I wouldn’t have cut short my vacation to come here."

Sylvia couldn’t let the ruler’s disparaging comments slide. She retorted, "Yeah, you must be busy finding more concubines for yourself who can bear sons, aren’t you?"

"And yes, ruler, your dearest concubine, sent as a gift from a distant country, is now pregnant with your child. The astrologer predicts it will be a son. You must be overjoyed, right? So thrilled that you’d run on your feeble old knees to embrace her right away?" Sylvia continued, her sarcasm biting. Before she could gauge the ruler’s reaction, she watched as he hurried towards the concubine’s chambers, as she had anticipated.

"Sylvia!!!! You are insulting both your mother and father," the queen growled, her frustration evident.

"Why? No one is stealing your position. You are still the mother of this empire," Sylvia retorted with a smirk, her defiance unyielding.

The tension in the palace reached new heights as the ruler rushed to the concubine, and the attendants continued to support Sylvia, who stood her ground, determined to challenge the deeply ingrained gender biases that had just been exposed.

"Ruler! Ruler!" the guards entered the corridor in a rush.

"What’s happened? Why are you rushing this way?" the princess asked in a cold voice.

"The thing is, we have found two uninvited guests near the cave. We have no idea who they are, but they seem to know this is the entrance to the tribal empire, which is why we caught them. What should I do with them? Should I send them to the dungeon?" the guard sounded worried, aware of the secret of the tribal empire being at risk.

"No, bring them. Bring them in front of me. Right now!" she ordered, making the guards bring the intruders before her, leaving her shocked.

"What are you doing here!!!!" she ended up shouting, causing others to stand at attention.

"Princess, you know them?" the subordinate asked.

"Ye-yeah, I know them. They mean no harm. Give them room; I will meet them," she said while she started stuttering repeatedly. The intruders turned out to be none other than the crown prince Maximus and the Duke Alexavier, both bound in shackles. The crown prince had a victorious smile on his face, which infuriated Sylvia.

"Princess Sylvia, it was nice to see you again," Maximus said, with blood at the corners of his lips from an encounter with the guards.

"Youuuuuuu!!!! I will deal with you soon!!!" Sylvia grunted as they were taken to a guest room and treated like ordinary guests for the time being.

After a while, Sylvia’s attendants brought her to the guest room, holding her shoulder, thinking she might stumble.

"Greetings, Princess Sylvia!" the crown prince once again smirked as he greeted her.

"You guys can leave. I want to talk to my guests alone," she said to her attendants.

"Yes, princess, as you say," they replied and left, leaving Sylvia to glare at Maximus as she walked closer to him, her anger palpable.

"Who the heck told you to come here? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? You’ve broken the promises made between the empires. You’ve revealed the secret of this empire," she said, pressing down on his neck more tightly, but his smile only seemed to aggravate her further.

"Princess, it is the crown prince you’re doing this to," the duke interjected.

"So, what? And what are you doing here, Duke Alexavier? I didn’t kidnap your bloody wife. You should search for her somewhere else. This is a dead end," Sylvia said, clearly annoyed.

"That’s why we’re here at your empire. I know it’s a secret place, but only you can let us know the whereabouts of the duchess," Maximus said, echoing her statement.

"Me? How? I didn’t even see her," she stated.

"It doesn’t matter. I just want to know why you killed the knight. It’s okay even if you killed him, but I just want to know who ordered you to do so. The person is behind everything. You just have to tell me. Then the investigation will be resolved," Maximus stated.

"Do you have the guts to bear to know the answer?" she asked, her eyes locked onto his with intensity.

"What do you mean?" Maximus asked.

"Ah, Crown Prince and Princess, if you could talk in a different way, it would be better. This scene is quite embarrassing," Duke pointed out, avoiding eye contact with them.

Sylvia quickly got up from her position on top of Maximus. Her face was flushed, and her heart raced whenever the prince was around, causing her to doubt her path. Nevertheless, she gathered her senses and said, "The person is someone you know. Someone you know very well. That’s why I said you wouldn’t be able to bear the name if I told you."

"I can. Just name it," Maximus insisted.

"It’s the emperor," she finally revealed.

"What!!!!" Duke exclaimed.

"Yes, it’s the emperor who did this. As you’ve clearly heard, the rumor is that the tribal empire is known solely as a village to others and for hiring skilled assassins. That’s how I got hired as well. I was initially hired to confuse the Duke in finding the Duchess, but then the emperor approached me with a proposal to kill the knight who was locked inside the old prison. That’s how I ended up there. I was made to look like a maid, even though I wasn’t, so that killing a maid wouldn’t be too difficult. I would have escaped somehow until you came at the right time and took me into your custody," Sylvia explained, looking at the prince.

"What could be the benefit of the emperor doing this?" Duke still found it hard to believe.

"Duke, do you have any idea how Ablia is suffering? No, you don’t, because you haven’t paid attention, nor have your people whom you are responsible for. But we do. We are a small country, but we are well aware of things that others overlook, and that’s what the Duchess came to inform the emperor. He even agreed to visit Ablia with her, but then she was kidnapped. Don’t you think these two events are connected?" Sylvia clarified.

"Yes, that’s what I was trying to tell you as well," Maximus added.

"Father is hiding so many things. It’s not just about Ablia, but I have a feeling he particularly doesn’t like something about the Duchess, although I’m not sure what it is," he added.

"Now that I’ve told you the truth, I think you two should return. I don’t want others to discover how important you both are," Sylvia said, looking nervously toward the door.

"What about the treatment for guests?" Maximus playfully teased.

"No special treatment for anyone. Now, you two leave. You should never appear in front of my father. I can handle the rest," she said, stuttering as she hurriedly pushed both of them toward the door.

"Princess, what are you doing here?" a voice interrupted her, leaving her shocked.