As much as the queen wanted to be alone, she couldn't ignore all the ruckus going on around the palace, especially when her maid kept coming to report to her.
Earlier, she had arrived at the scene just seconds after Susan slashed Ivan's leg with his sword and ordered him to tell them the name of the antidote so that both he and Williams could be treated immediately.
She had watched the scene in horror as Ivan bled and cried in pain while Susan stood before him. She hadn't recognized who it was earlier because of the clothes, but she took a closer look and recognized her niece.
"YOU STUPID WENCH!" Ivan growled with all his might as he tried to get up, but the cut on his leg was restricting him.
"WHY ARE YOU ALL STANDING THERE? ARREST HER THIS INSTANT!" Ivan yelled like a maniac as he looked at the guards, who were reluctant to do anything. They could not hurt Susan or her father, but that wasn't the case for them. If Susan could cut Ivan, a prince, with a sword that was poisoned, what would make her spare them?
Especially seeing how Susan's father and the other guards were still wielding their swords and ready to fight, they didn't make any rash moves.
"TELL ME!" Susan yelled at Ivan, who was groaning in pain as he tried to bear the pain and stand up, but Susan was done playing games with him. She kicked him right in the stomach, making him fall back to the ground. At this point, even her father was shocked, much less the queen, who had finally had enough.
"HOW DARE YOU TREAT A PRINCE WITH SUCH DISRESPECT?!" The queen asked with a burning anger as she approached them. Even though she knew this was not a good time to face her brother, she couldn't get over the disrespectful scene and how they were making a fool out of a prince. Her son.
Her brother's angry eyes went to her, and it looked like it was taking everything he had in him not to attack her. It was the only reason she hadn't smacked Susan hard across the face and have her thrown into the dungeon.
"PUT DOWN YOUR SWORDS. ALL OF YOU!" The queen yelled, and at once all the guards dropped theirs, except Susan and her father.
The queen eyed Susan with displeasure. "You have gone too far. Put it down!"
"He has to tell us the poison first," Susan said it defiantly with tears in her eyes. The more time they wasted here, the more in danger the others were.
Hearing that, the queen turned to Ivan, unable to believe that not only had he hurt Williams, but he was also stopping the physicians from attending to him. What in heaven's name had gotten over him? It was bad enough that she had lost the support of all the other aristocrats, and now she was going to lose her only brother's support too?
"I will tell them only if the royal physician goes to attend to my wife," Ivan insisted stubbornly despite his pain.
Hearing that, the queen looked at him with disapproval. "I guess you will not behave yourself until Luciana is dead. You leave me no choice," the queen said as she looked at the guards she had sent to escort the royal physician.
"Seize Luciana and take her to the dungeon for disobeying royal orders and for leaving the palace," the queen ordered, stunning every one of them.
They all knew that Luciana was unconscious and not in a state to be moved carelessly or even thrown into the dungeon.
As much as Susan wanted help for her brother, Luciana's life was also at stake, and Luciana was a friend.
"You can't do that! Stop them at once!" Ivan ordered his guards, but after one look at the queen, they remained where they stood.
"Seize him and lock him up at once!" The queen ordered Ivan's guards, and immediately they switched sides and surrounded him, ready for arrest.
"DARK BEAN! IT'S... DARK B-BEAN!" Ivan cried pathetically, losing this round to his mother.
"You have to save her. Please, mother. Please do not let her die," Ivan cried, and the queen looked at his pathetic display with displeasure before turning to the physician.
"Get the antidote at once and attend to my nephew." She instructed the physician, who bowed and hurried away with his heart in his hands from everything he had just witnessed, while Susan's father hurriedly followed him. He had already walked far before he realized that Susan hadn't followed.
The queen turned to look at Ivan's guards and instructed, "Escort him to his chambers and make sure he stays there until he receives treatment."
"Luciana. What... what about Luciana?" Ivan asked as the guards pulled him up from the ground and dragged him away, while he continued to yell and scream all he could until he was out of sight.
"Lady Luciana is in a critical state. She needs to be attended to." Susan informed her.
"YOU NEED TO KNOW YOUR PLACE!" The queen snapped at her angrily. Her hands were itching to slap Susan, but she refrained from doing so only because she didn't want to annoy her brother anymore.
"The only reason you are still in one piece is because of your father. You should never forget that." The queen said and looked her up and down in disgust before adding, "You should be ashamed of yourself. Walking around like that without any dignity. You better go clean up before I have you thrown out of the palace," the queen hissed.
Susan looked down at herself, and her eyes bulged out when she saw how exposed she was and all the blood on her. She immediately let go of the sword and used her hands to cover her stomach, consciously.
The queen tsked at her and was about to walk away when Susan gathered herself and yelled at her back just as Luciana's father, who had been searching for the queen all around the palace, joined them.
"ARE YOU NOT BEING TOO HARSH?"
The queen stopped walking but didn't turn around.
"Williams tried to keep her alive with all his might. Even when he knew he was dying, he was still worried about her. What if that was Tyra who had been hurt?"
"You cannot do this to us!" Luciana's father said in displeasure while the Queen slowly turned around and moved her annoyed gaze from Susan to the old man.
"I cannot?" She laughed. "I am the queen." She reminded him.
"I can do anything. And you should be thankful I didn't have her executed for disobeying me." She said with an arrogant laugh before she turned around and walked away to her brother's chamber to check on Williams.
Susan's hands fisted beside her as she watched the queen's back. If this was how queens behaved, she never wanted to be one.
She was just going to take matters into her own hands and hope that Harold would come soon and cover for her.
Neither Williams, Luciana nor Alvin were going to die. Even if it meant disobeying the queen or stabbing more people.
With that in mind, she picked up Ivan's sword, not minding how she looked as she stormed out.
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