The Third Prince Of Darkness

Isabella, who had finally stopped laughing, saw the deadly glare I gave her. She pulled me onto her lap up and stroked my head, and just as she turned around, a shout came from the room. Emilia quickly ran to the window and looked at Isabella.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, Your Majesty, I just... may I know what you are doing with Prince Ethan?" she asked with a timid expression. Since Emilia didn't have many friends, she wasn't very social and wasn't much of a talkative person either.

"We're just going on a brief trip. If you want, you can join us" said Isabella. Interestingly, she wasn't in her usual arrogant manner.

"With your permission," said Emilia, and jumped out of the window into the garden. Knowing that after today, my mother would never allow my room to be on the ground floor, I sighed.

Seeing me sigh, Isabella stroked my head and started walking. She slowly walked down a winding path and entered a garden with beautiful, colorful flowers. She entered a white gazebo in the middle of the garden and sat down. The maids looked at me with astonished eyes, but after Isabella gave them a terrifying look, they didn't dare say anything.

"Serve us tea and cake," said Isabella, and the maids quickly set the table.

She placed me on the table and began drinking her tea while holding me from the back to prevent me from falling. The cakes on the table whetted my appetite, and when my stomach growled, my body betrayed me once again! Isabella smiled slightly and started to break a cake into small pieces. Emilia watched carefully, wondering what she would do. She suspected that she had poisoned the cakes, but was afraid to speak out. 

"Your Majesty..." said Emilia, sweating from her forehead.

Isabella handed a piece of cake to Emilia, who bolted it. When she saw that nothing happened, she nodded. Then Isabella fed me little pieces of cake with her hands, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't hide her smile. Since I still didn't have full control over my body, I accidentally bit her finger, but instead of getting angry, she just smiled at me. 

'Could she be a good person? So why is everyone afraid of her? And why did she want to feed me that plant? But still..' I thought, and something inside me slowly started to change my opinion about this woman.

As she continued to feed me the sweet cake and lightly smile, her expression suddenly changed one hundred and eighty degrees when she looked in another direction at the sound of approaching footsteps. She had an expression as if she had seen a disgusting insect and tried to ignore the person she saw by looking back at me. When I looked in the direction she was looking, I saw a woman with short blonde hair and a slightly swollen belly. This was the second queen, Fiona.

One of the other things I had learned recently was that my mother was the third queen and Isabella was the first queen. Also, interestingly, Isabella only had a little daughter, but Fiona had four children—two boys and two girls—and was now pregnant with her fifth child. Fiona looked at us and, after giving us a disdainful look, walked towards us with a grin.

Fiona approached Isabella and Emilia, who was sitting in the pergola, with a graceful yet mocking demeanor. Her eyes lingered on me for a moment before turning to Isabella to speak.

"Isabella, how lovely to see you here," Fiona said with a sweet voice tinged with sharpness. "You always  seem to enjoy spending time in this corner of the garden, don't you?"

Isabella greeted Fiona with a slight nod, as if she didn't care about Fiona's words. "Yes, Fiona, I was seeking some peace but it seems peace doesn't always last" she replied, casting a sharp glance at Fiona.

Ignoring Isabella's remark, Fiona continued, "Have you started stealing the royal babies now, Isabella? Oh right... because His Majesty the King hasn't been interested in you since that incident and that's why you don't have a baby... But if you beg me, I can talk to His Majesty the King and solve this problem. You know His Majesty values my words very much" Fiona said and gently stroked her slightly swollen prominent belly. 

Upon hearing these words, Isabella gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly. A brief flash of anger flickered in Isabella's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure. Maintaining her cool, she replied to Fiona in a calm yet firm voice, "Fiona, I don't care who the King is interested in or not. But maybe you should focus on your own children at this time, especially since I couldn't believe it for a while when I heard that your eldest son attacked a virgin girl. And he's only 14!" 

The sly grin on Fiona's face froze for a moment and she frowned. However, she quickly recovered and said, "Of course, Isabella, you're right. But unfortunately, I can't afford as much leisure time as you do. I have too many responsibilities, especially with His Majesty spoiling me so..."

Then she added mockingly, "Oh, before I go, there's something I must tell you. From what I've seen, you are very eager to have a baby, and my younger brother's coming-of-age ceremony was held at the temple last week. 

He told me before that he liked you very much, but at that time His Majesty the King was very fond of you, but now, if you want, I can let you be his concubine. "

Fiona smirked slyly as she continued speaking, "Don't worry about His Majesty the King, as I said before, I can persua-" Her sentence was cut off abruptly, and she suddenly felt like her ears were ringing.

Isabella slapped Fiona faster than my eyes could see. Fiona threw herself to the ground, perhaps on purpose. I could tell by her mischievous grin that she had gotten what she wanted all along, but Isabella must have noticed her grin because she couldn't resist and slapped Fiona again. 

"Aehhh No! Get away from me. Guards!" When she screamed again in pain, she received another hard slap on her cheek, and cheek which quickly turned red. 

Emilia immediately ran over and scooped me into her arms, walking us both a bit away from the fight. It was clear that Emilia didn't want to get involved in the altercation. Fiona's servants hurried to restrain Isabella and remove her from the scene, but they couldn't budge her, receiving slaps to their faces that sent them tumbling to the ground. Isabella's eyes had turned wild as she continued to advance toward Fiona. However, she seemed unaware of the grave mistake she was making. As soon as I realized this, I began searching for ways to stop her.

After all, Fiona was carrying the King's child, and if anything happened to her, Isabella would surely be severely punished. And I was about to fall in like with this woman! When only one thought occurred to me... "M-Mommy!" I shouted and I didn't realize that my voice sounded so sweet on the outside.  

As much as I tried to scream, my voice wasn't very loud, but Isabella noticed and stop. She seemed to have finally come to her senses. 

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Note: I made minor changes to the map.

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