Chapter 9: The Truth Hidden in the Prince’s Name
The forest stopped moving.
Even the wind seemed to disappear.
I stared at the page.
At the name written in my father’s handwriting.
*Prince Adrian.*
My fingers trembled.
No.
It did not make sense.
The prince had helped me.
He had protected me.
He had searched for his brother for five years.
He had stood beside Shadow.
He had been the first person in the palace to ask for the truth.
But the evidence was there.
My father’s handwriting.
His final warning.
The person he trusted most had been exposed.
And the name beneath it was Adrian.
Nobody spoke.
Not even Prince Adrian.
The expression on his face was impossible to read.
Shock.
Pain.
Fear.
Like he had just discovered something he had spent years running from.
The king looked at him.
“Adrian.””
His voice was quiet.
Almost broken.
The prince did not respond.
Elias stepped closer.
“Brother.””
Still nothing.
Lord Marcus smiled.
And that smile told me everything.
He had been waiting for this moment.
“You see?””
His voice carried through the forest.
“The truth is always more complicated than people want it to be.””
Elias turned toward him.
“You knew.””
Marcus laughed softly.
“Of course I knew.””
The prince finally looked up.
“What are you talking about?””
Marcus walked slowly around the group.
“You really don’t remember?””
Adrian’s face tightened.
“Remember what?””
The adviser smiled.
“The night your brother disappeared.””
The forest grew colder.
Adrian stared at him.
“I remember.””
“No.””
Marcus shook his head.
“You remember what you were allowed to remember.””
Elias stepped forward.
“Stop.””
Marcus ignored him.
“You were young. Afraid. Confused.””
He looked at Adrian.
“And someone took advantage of that.””
Adrian’s voice became sharp.
“Explain.””
Marcus looked at me.
“Read the rest.””
I looked down at the journal.
The next pages were filled with my father’s writing.
My heart raced as I read.
*“I do not believe Adrian wanted Elias harmed.””*
I stopped.
Everyone leaned closer.
The next line continued:
*“But he was the one who unknowingly gave Marcus the information needed to find Elias.””*
Adrian closed his eyes.
“No.””
The word came out like a whisper.
The king looked at him.
“Adrian?””
The prince stepped backward.
“I told him.””
Elias stared.
“Told who?””
Adrian looked at his brother.
“Marcus.””
The silence was unbearable.
“When?””
The prince looked down.
“The day before you disappeared.””
Elias’s face changed.
“Why?””
Adrian swallowed.
“I thought…”
His voice broke.
“I thought I was helping.””
Nobody moved.
Adrian continued.
“You remember when we were children? You always wanted to see the villages outside the capital.””
Elias nodded slowly.
“I told Marcus because he asked where you would go.””
The prince’s hands shook.
“He said he wanted to make sure you had protection.””
Elias looked at Marcus.
“And you used him.””
Marcus smiled.
“I used information.””
His voice was cold.
“Not the boy.””
Adrian looked furious.
“You manipulated me.””
“Yes.””
The answer was immediate.
The honesty was worse than a lie.
Marcus continued.
“You were young. You wanted your father’s approval. You wanted to be useful.””
Adrian looked away.
“And you knew that.””
“Everyone knew that.””
The words cut deeply.
The king stepped forward.
“Enough.””
Marcus laughed.
“Still pretending you are innocent?””
The king froze.
Marcus looked at him.
“You knew your son gave away the location.””
Nobody breathed.
The king’s face changed.
Adrian looked at his father.
“You knew?””
The king remained silent.
That silence destroyed something.
“Father?””
The king finally spoke.
“I found out afterward.””
Adrian stared.
“And you never told me?””
The king looked away.
“You were already carrying enough guilt.””
“No.””
Adrian shook his head.
“You were protecting yourself.””
The king flinched.
The truth hurt because it was close.
I looked at Elias.
He was staring at his brother.
Not with anger.
With sadness.
“You blamed yourself all these years.””
Adrian did not answer.
Because he had.
He had carried the weight of a mistake he never understood.
And Marcus had allowed him to.
But there was still something missing.
I looked back at the journal.
My father had written more.
I turned the page.
The next words made my blood run cold.
*“Adrian’s mistake was not the betrayal.””*
I looked up.
Everyone waited.
I continued reading.
*“The betrayal was what happened after.””*
My eyes moved across the page.
*“Someone inside the palace changed the evidence. Someone made sure Adrian would believe he was responsible.””*
The prince looked confused.
“What?””
I turned another page.
There was a small drawing.
A symbol.
Not the silver wolf.
Something else.
A crown with a broken line through the center.
My father had written beneath it:
*“The person controlling Marcus is not the person everyone suspects.””*
Marcus’s smile faded.
Only slightly.
But enough.
The queen noticed.
“You know that symbol.””
Marcus said nothing.
The king looked at him.
“Marcus?””
The adviser finally stopped pretending.
His calm expression cracked.
The forest became still again.
“You people always looked for one enemy.””
He laughed.
“One villain.””
He stepped closer.
“But kingdoms do not fall because of one person.””
He looked toward the palace.
“They fall because everyone benefits from the lie.””
The king’s soldiers tightened their grip on their weapons.
Marcus continued.
“Your Majesty, do you really think I acted alone?””
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew.
He had said too much.
The king looked furious.
“Who else?””
Marcus smiled.
“You will never know.””
Then he reached into his coat.
The guards reacted immediately.
But he did not pull out a weapon.
He pulled out a small piece of paper.
A royal order.
The king saw it.
And his face changed.
“What is that?””
Marcus held it up.
“A command.””
He looked at me.
“Signed by the person who truly wanted Elias gone.””
Elias stepped forward.
“Give it to us.””
Marcus laughed.
“Why?””
His eyes moved to Adrian.
“You already have the answer.””
The prince looked at the paper.
Then at me.
Then at his father.
Slowly, Marcus unfolded it.
The signature was visible.
Everyone saw it.
Everyone recognized it.
The queen covered her mouth.
The king stepped backward.
Because the signature belonged to someone no one expected.
Someone who had been protecting the kingdom.
Someone who had been searching for the truth.
Someone who had claimed to love Elias.
Queen Elara.
I looked at her.
She did not deny it.
And that was the most frightening thing.
“Mother…”
Adrian’s voice was barely audible.
The queen closed her eyes.
“I can explain.””
But before she could say another word…
A sound came from the trees.
A horse.
Another horse.
Then another.
The guards turned.
Figures appeared between the branches.
Not royal soldiers.
Not Marcus’s men.
People wearing the same broken crown symbol from my father’s journal.
Marcus smiled.
“The final player has arrived.””
The group parted.
A person stepped forward.
Someone wearing a dark cloak.
Someone carrying the same symbol.
The stranger removed the hood.
And everyone froze.
Because the person standing there…
Was the one person nobody expected to see.
The king’s eldest daughter.
Princess Celeste.
The sister who had been declared dead before Elias disappeared.
And she looked directly at the queen.
“Mother.””
May you like
Her voice was cold.
“You kept the secret long enough.””
