Chapter 524
Diana ordered people to carry the screen back to the manor intact.
When Nelson heard the news, his face immediately darkened. If Athena found out, she would be sullen again.
It wasn’t that Athena didn’t dare to act against Diana. She only held back out of respect for the fact that Diana was the King’s elder sister. Unexpectedly, Diana was a clueless person.
Just as he was at a loss, Xander appeared. He had just returned from the palace, weariness still showing on his face. With long legs and a trim waist, he moved like the wind, closing the distance in just a few strides.
“What’s going on?” Xander recognized the screen in front of him at a glance as belonging to this residence. This was a gift from the late King. Seeing it carried over by the servant and set down at the doorway, he revealed a look of doubt on his face. Nelson stepped forward and whispered in his ear, explaining the whole story.
After listening, Xander frowned slightly, a hint of coldness in his eyes. “Since when does the Princess Consort of my palace need to swallow her pride to consider other people’s feelings?”
Seeing the murderous intent in his eyes, Nelson felt his heart skip a beat. Xander could compromise on anything, but not Athena.
“Your Highness, what should we do with this screen?”
“If she doesn’t appreciate it, then she doesn’t deserve such a good thing. Take it back to the manor.”
With that, he left without looking back. Nelson looked at the direction he was going. ‘Isn’t that toward Princess Diana’s residence?’
Xander came with fury blazing. Seeing his cold face and the murderous air rolling off him, the gatekeeper was so frightened that he forgot to announce his arrival.
When Xander kicked open the gate of the Princess Residence, all the guests inside were taken aback. Diana didn’t expect that Xander would come in person. Seeing him full of anger, she guessed that he came for Athena. She straightened her back. Since she dared to do it, she dared to face Xander’s anger directly. This was what he owed her. Not only Xander Manor, but the people of the entire Grand Luminary Empire, owed her.
“Prince Xander.” Diana stepped forward and bent her knees in salute.
With an unyielding expression, she raised her chin and looked at Xander as if the whole world owed her something. Xander remained silent, striding to the head seat and sitting down. Everyone in the room watched him, barely daring to breathe. Diana was also somewhat surprised. ‘Shouldn’t he be losing his temper with me? How could he remain so calm?’
“The servants are becoming increasingly careless, even to the point of delivering the Princess Consort’s gift to the Princess in the wrong place.”
As Xander finished speaking, he looked toward the old maid beside Diana. That old maid had always been by Diana’s side, utterly loyal to her. Being stared at by Xander, she felt as if an invisible net had fallen over her, binding her so tightly she could hardly move.
Xander glanced at the maid casually, “What’s the point of keeping such a useless person around? Drag her away and beat her to death with sticks.”
“Your Highness, save me!” The old maid was scared out of her wits and hurriedly asked Diana for help. A trace of panic flashed across Diana’s eyes as well. She knew that Xander was killing the maid to warn her, but there was nothing she could do about it.
“Prince Xander, wait.”
Diana took a deep breath and protected the maid behind her. “Kally has been with me since childhood, caring for me all these years. Why should you involve her?”
Xander looked at Diana with cold eyes, “So, are you deliberately rejecting the screen and slapping my manor in the face?”
“Prince Xander, you are overthinking it. It’s just that my broken body is not worthy of such a good thing. I appreciate the Princess Consort’s kindness.”
This was a disguised admission.
Xander nodded and said “Oh” with a meaningful tone. Then he said slowly, “So, Princess, you believe that you made great contributions and think everyone owes you, don’t you?”
Diana raised her head and did not speak but gave a sarcastic smile.
“Since you already know, why ask again, Prince Xander?”
“Then I will ask you. Have these ten years of suffering in the Kingdom of Veyra chilled your heart, making you unable to discern the sincerity of others, forgetting even the most basic sense of propriety?” Xander shouted sternly, causing all the guests in the room to tremble. Everyone felt sweat trickling down their backs, unsure whether to leave or stay.
Tears welled up in Diana’s eyes, her face flushed red.
“How can I not discern sincerity? The Princess Consort sent a screen and medicinal herbs only because she feared I would speak ill of her before the King and to put on a show for the noble ladies in Pidence City!”
“Put on a show?”
Xander sneered and stepped forward. “To investigate your situation in the Kingdom of Veyra, Athena had the Aegis Guards risk their lives to sneak into the Kingdom of Veyra’s palace, leaving her no time to oversee Bernie’s first birthday dress. To ensure you lived comfortably, she personally drew embroidery patterns and selected wood, doing everything herself. To help you recover from your miscarriage, she personally prepared the medicine. Were these also done to put on a show?”
He paused, his voice even deeper. “You say she’s afraid you’ll speak ill of her? With my power and her status as Princess Consort, if she were truly afraid of you, why would she bother with such schemes? She’s simply concerned that you’ve suffered, considering the King’s feelings, and doesn’t want to make things difficult for you upon your return! But what about you? You refuse her gifts, throw away her medicine, and then slander her as insincere behind her back. Have you no conscience left at all?”
Diana was trembling all over from his words, tears welling up in her eyes, but she remained stubborn.
“No one in this world is unconditionally kind to another person. Her kindness to me is nothing more than exploitation, with ulterior motives. I endured scorn and suffering in Kingdom of Veyra, yet she lived in luxury. Why?”
The more Diana spoke, the more agitated she became. She pointed at the people present and smiled mockingly. “Look at you aristocratic families, each dressed in fine clothes, plump and strong, but don’t forget, your splendor is all exchanged for by me. If I hadn’t married into the Kingdom of Veyra back then, how could The Grand Luminary Empire have been able to recuperate peacefully for ten years? Every grain of food you eat is stained with the humiliation I suffered in the Kingdom of Veyra!”
Xander’s face was so gloomy that it could drip water, he ordered Ansel with a sullen face. “Aegis Guards, come in.”
Ansel led several shadow guards into the room and knelt on the ground.
“Take off your shirts,” Xander ordered.
Ansel was stunned for a moment, then unbuckled his armor and took off his shirt. Several strong men’s bodies were exposed in public. However, no one looked shy, only because these people were covered in scars. Some were knife wounds deep enough to see the bone, some were burn scars, and the most shocking was the scar on the chest of the Aegis Guard on the left. Extending from the collarbone to the abdomen, it was twenty centimeters long, and the edges were still faintly pink, obviously a new injury that had not healed.
Xander pointed to one of them and asked him, “Tell the princess how you got the injuries on your body.”
The Aegis Guard looked up, his voice hoarse but sonorous.
“Your Highness, Princess, last year, there was a disturbance on the border of the Kingdom of Veyra. Their soldiers launched a sudden attack on Greenridge Pass of our Grand Luminary Empire, and I was ordered to lead a team to intercept them. This wound was cut by the long knife of their soldier, and at that time, my intestines were exposed. I clutched the wound and killed three soldiers before holding on until the reinforcements arrived. If Greenridge Pass had not been defended, the enemy would have burned and slaughtered their way straight to the city.”
Diana’s breath caught sharply, and her face turned pale instantly.