Chapter 204

As the sky erupted with fireworks, agonizing screams instantly filled the air.

Before Athena could react, a firm grip seized her hand. In that instant, two figures came rushing toward her–it was Ferris and Michael.

Ferris hurriedly raised an umbrella, trying to shield Athena’s head from the falling flames.

However, Xander moved with lightning speed, and he was far quicker than the other two.

In one fluid motion, his cloak enveloped Athena as his long arm encircled her slender waist. With just a light tap of his foot, the pair glided effortlessly into the palace hall.

Ferris lunged forward but missed his grab, while Michael, startled by Willow’s piercing scream, wheeled around.

This entire sequence of actions unfolded in the blink of an eye.

From the safety of the palace hall, Athena noticed the desolation on Ferris’s face. Amidst the chaotic blaze, he stood rooted to the spot, like a lost child.

Had it not been for one of his trusted aides pulling him back, he might have injured himself.

Agonized wails and terrified shrieks continued to fill the air.

In an instant, the once-elegant gala dinner had turned into a hellscape because of those cursed fireworks.

Many noble ladies had suffered burns, with some even having their hair burned off in the chaos.

From the Grand Hall, Arthur and the Queen watched the raging flames outside in terror.

Had they been even a moment slower, the two monarchs might have been in grave danger as well.

“This is outrageous!” Arthur roared in fury as he jabbed an accusing finger at Fermin’s nose. “Is this your so-called surprise for me? Are you trying to assassinate your King?”

Fermin immediately collapsed to his knees with a thud, his face filled with fright. He cried, “Your Majesty, please calm your fury! Your Majesty, please calm your fury! I would never dare harbor such intentions!”

Even as he pleaded for mercy, Fermin seethed inwardly. He thought, “This is all due to the Duke’s Estate. If it hadn’t been for the Duke of Suffield’s idea to use fireworks to win the King’s favor, I would not have come up with such a disastrous scheme.”

Arthur’s face darkened with fury as he bellowed. “Look at this foolish mess you’ve caused! Multiple fires have broken out across the capital, and so many people have been injured. All these problems happened because of you. If you fail to handle the aftermath properly, I will not spare you.”

“Yes, Your Majesty, I will follow your orders,” Fermin replied anxiously. As he retreated, he shot an icy glare toward the Duke of Suffield.

At this moment, the Duke of Suffield was utterly terrified. His mind raced, “How could I have ever foreseen such a disaster happening? Willow had sworn it was foolproof. So, how had everything gone so wrong?”

Amidst the crowd, Athena’s gaze instinctively drew her to the man beside her.

His hands were still tightly clutched around hers, and just moments ago, he had shielded her with his own body from the surging flames.

To say she wasn’t moved would be a lie.

Just then, a horrified gasp rose from the crowd as all eyes turned to the space behind Lizzie.

Confused, Lizzie turned around–only for all color to drain from her face.

Her supposed maid stood behind her. With most of the clothing burned away, it revealed a bare arm, unveiling that it was a man!

“Th–thus…” The Queen gasped in shock, instinctively raising her embroidered handkerchief to cover her parted lips as she stared at Lizzie.

Lizzie led a scandalous private life, and she had kept a harem of male lovers in her manor.

Yet all of this was meticulously concealed, and her secrets were always well guarded.

But who could have imagined she’d be so brazen as to disguise a man as a lady-in-waiting and smuggle him into the palace?

This revelation was a tremendous embarrassment for the royal family.

If not for today’s incident, this carefully maintained facade might never have been shattered.

Arthur’s face turned livid with rage as he jabbed a furious finger at Lizzie and thundered, “Lizzie, how dare you!”

If it had been the usual minor trouble, Lizzie would never have worried about the consequences.

However, this incident had brought utter disgrace upon the royal family.

If word got out about a princess keeping her male lovers in her manor, it would cause a huge scandal!

Lizzie turned deathly pale and immediately dropped to her knees. She begged, “Your Majesty, please calm your anger! It was just a moment of foolishness that led me to make such a mistake. I beg you, please give me another chance!”

Smuggling a male lover into the palace was nothing short of outright defiance of imperial authority.

“Damn it!” Arthur cursed. Despite doting on his sister, his fury made his head throb.

He glared at the painted beau standing behind Lizzie and roared, “Guards! Drag this abomination out and beat him to death with clubs!”

The imperial guards immediately burst in and seized the man, who clung desperately to Lizzie’s legs, wailing, “Princess, save me! Please, save me!”

Though Lizzie wanted to intervene, she dared not plead for mercy after seeing that Arthur was still fuming.

‘I can’t understand why those perfectly good fireworks had exploded into flames. To make matters worse, this entire mess ended up backfiring on me,’ Lizzie thought.

Suddenly, she remembered Xander’s cold, merciless gaze as she had approached the palace, and a thought struck her: “Those eyes are an unmistakable warning sign.” The memory sent a shiver down her spine.

‘It was him. He had to be behind all of this,’ Lizzie concluded.

As she turned her gaze to Xander, she found herself ensnared by his merciless eyes.

His stare was as cold as the eternal ice atop a mountain peak. Just one look sent a chill straight to her bones.

On the other hand, Xander’s lips curved into a faint, knowing smile.

Lizzie’s whole body trembled in fright as she thought, ‘It has to be him. It must be him. He’s avenging Athena.’

Lizzie had thought Xander, her uncle, was letting her off the hook, but in truth, he had merely been biding his time as he awaited the perfect moment to strike.

This realization drained the color from her face, and a murderous glint flashed in her eyes. While she wanted to fight back desperately, Lizzie couldn’t summon the courage to do so.

‘Prince Xander is warning me,’ she realized. “This time, it was my male lover who paid the price. If there’s a next time, it’ll be me.’

That damned Athena! How dare she bring such utter disgrace upon me? I’ll make her pay for this!

After all this commotion, the gala dinner couldn’t possibly go on.

With a dismissive gesture, Arthur ordered everyone to leave before returning to the Inner Chamber.

On their way out of the palace, Athena walked side by side with Xander.

Suddenly, she halted and stepped directly in front of him.

Her clear eyes met his, she probed, “So, this is the ‘drama’ you were talking about?”

Xander knew exactly what she was asking, and he replied honestly, “Those fireworks were rigged from the start, and I didn’t need to intervene. But as for Lizzie’s little scandal, that was my doing.”

“Prince Xander, were you standing up for me?” Athena asked again.

Xander chuckled softly in response, “Doesn’t she deserve to be taught a lesson?”

Athena hesitated momentarily before pursing her lips as she slowly extended her open palm towards Xander.

Resting on her palm was a tiny, jet-black vial, and its opaque surface gave no hint of what might be inside.

Xander looked puzzled and asked. “What’s this?”

Athena flushed with embarrassment as she explained. “It’s a madness-inducing drug. Lizzie has humiliated me more than once, and I store vengeance. So, I was planning to slip it to her lover during the chaos, but you beat me to it.”

Xander arched an eyebrow, a faint smile playing on his lips as he questioned, “So you’d already figured out who her lover was?”

“Though his skin was fairer than most women’s, his frame was too broad for a maid. And that veil couldn’t hide the way he looked at Lizzie. No real maid would ever look at her mistress like that,” Athena explained.

She drew a breath and continued, “These male lovers are all trained to seduce with every glance.”

Xander nodded approvingly in response, “That’s a sharp observation.”

He took the vial from Athena’s hand and slipped it into his robe.

Athena stared at him in surprise as she asked, “Prince Xander, what are you doing?”

“It is for self-defense,” he murmured.

But his deep-set eyes burned with such intensity that Athena felt as if she might melt under his gaze.

A blush crept onto Athena’s cheeks as she averted her gaze, feeling uneasy. “Prince Xander, you hardly need my medicine for self- defense,” she murmured.

After all, with just a flick of his hand, he had already reduced Lizzie to utter disgrace and ruin.

Athena was genuinely grateful for Prince Xander’s intervention.

After a moment’s hesitation, Athena reached into her pouch, pulled out another small item, and placed it gently in Xander’s palm.