Chapter 22 The prison and the former king
Conrad stares at me with a displeased expression, as if mentally reprimanding me. Before I can open my mouth to threaten him further, we hear a knock on the door.
"Come in," Conrad says, returning to his tense posture and letting out a weary sigh.
"Your Majesty, your father is already in his room. The Queen demands your presence immediately," Richard says, looking at me worriedly.
Conrad wraps his arm around my waist protectively. I force a smile, remembering the serious situation we're in. We leave the office and Conrad guides me through the castle corridors.
"What exactly happened, Conrad?" I ask, trying to understand how complicated the situation is.
"My father has been imprisoned for more than two days; they threw him in the castle prison," he explains without looking at me, focused on the path.
My hand covers my open mouth; I'm in shock. Who would have the courage to do this?
"And your mother thinks I'm to blame? Why?" I question indignantly.
"Some wretch made an anonymous accusation against you," Richard replies, making me look at him intently. "Said you threw him in prison because you thought he was an intruder, a madman."
"I would never do that!" I say defensively.
"I know you wouldn't, that's why I'm going to kill whoever made that accusation against my Luna. And if this gets out of the walls of this castle, I'll tear them to pieces first, very slowly," Conrad says with hatred.
I look at his closed, almost murderous expression. His shoulders tense and his jaw clenched. I was afraid of where this could end. Finally, we entered the room. It was different, a little more secluded than the old one.
The queen was with her arms crossed, staring at her husband from the corner of a wall. Very distant for someone who was extremely worried about her husband and a possible threat against him.
"I want to introduce you to my father," Conrad says, looking at me expectantly.
"She already knows him and even tried to kill him." Solange speaks sharply.
We don't look at her; we both pretend Solange doesn't exist at that moment. Conrad guides me to the bed where his father is lying. Unlike what I thought, Dominique wasn't sick.
Dominique was holding a kind of colorful square, whispering something about completing the toy. There were two bandages on his face, and his forehead was sweaty. I look at him with pity. Despite having been a brave and strong king, he now possessed the innocence of a child.
"Dad." Conrad calls his father's attention.
"My child!" Dominique says loudly in a surprised tone, trying to get up quickly from the bed.
"Don't get up so fast, Dad. You're sick." Conrad holds him, carefully laying him back down on the bed.
"Why didn't you come play with Nick anymore? Nick missed you! Nick thought the child had forgotten!" He says everything very quickly.
"I'm sorry, I was busy," Conrad replies, placing a loving kiss on his father's forehead. "But I want you to meet someone special to me. This is my..."
"Strawberry!" Dominique shouts excitedly when he sees me. "You're here. You're all here. We're going to have lots of fun. You're going to help me complete the cube and then we're going to the garden to find treasures and..."
Dominique interrupts Conrad. Conrad stares at me in surprise, not understanding how I had already met his father. Dominique was so excited that he was making a long list of everything he wanted to do with us.
"You already knew him?" Conrad asks, looking at me curiously.
"I met him in the garden, as soon as I arrived," I explain, and Conrad nods thoughtfully. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"I was waiting for you to tell me first," I explain, and Conrad nods.
"I'm sorry for the delay, I should have introduced you from the first day you arrived. But I just didn't have time." He tries to explain, and I nod, touching his arm.
"A lot has happened in this short period of time; I've only been here for two days, and we've already had many surprises." I try to comfort him with facts.
Conrad was absent even from his pack because of the mysterious murders.
"That fact incriminates her even more!" Solange shouts accusingly, reminding us that she was still there. "That caretaker knew her father, Conrad. Yet she sent him to the dungeon so that Dominique would rot there!" She screams with hatred.
Despite only a few days of knowing me, Solange had already cultivated a very deep hatred for me. Solange didn't know me, but just knowing that I was a simple caretaker, she hated me for no reason.
"Why is she shouting? It's scaring me!" Dominique says, with a frightened look and eyes full of tears.
I quickly approach Dominique. I sit beside him on the bed and put my arms around his shoulders, trying to calm him down.
"You know Maya wasn't at fault. You're attacking her to hurt her! Making an extremely serious accusation. You know very well that this could be considered betrayal," Conrad says.
Solange's mouth opens in an "o" shape, completely shocked by what she had just heard from her son.
"You're accusing me of betrayal now?" she asks, her expression now serious. "I'm just worried about your father's well-being, Conrad."
Conrad lets out a sarcastic laugh, looking incredulously at his mother.
"You never cared about my father! This is the first time in years you've come to see him. My father doesn't even recognize you anymore!" Conrad accuses her.
"You know it's hard for me to see your father in this situation," she says, trying to force a cry. "Dominique was an intelligent and powerful man. Seeing what he's become makes me sensitive." Solange looks at her husband with disgust.
I feel a wave of nausea in my stomach at the sight of his gaze. It seemed as if Solange was staring at a lifeless, broken, and useless object.
I felt Conrad's body thrust towards his mother. Luckily, I managed to catch him in my arms. I held him with all my strength, knowing he would regret it later.
"How dare you even think of doing this? I am your mother!" Solange screamed uncontrollably.
Solange was on the floor, just as I had noticed her son's thrust, and she cowered in the corner of the wall.
"Just get out of here!" I yelled, still holding Conrad tightly.