Chapter 35 — The Line She Crossed
It was late in the evening before Kingston finally returned, with Louis right behind him.
Lucas followed a few steps behind the two men, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched his childish king.
Louis had deliberately kept Kingston busy since morning, finding one task after another to give him. If Kingston hadn't reminded him that Rose would be angry if he came back late, Louis would probably have kept him until midnight.
The door opened before Kingston could even reach for the handle.
Rose peeped out.
The moment her eyes landed on Kingston, her expression turned annoyed.
"You're finally back?"
Kingston smiled awkwardly.
"Have you been checking the door like this before I came? Were you bored? I'm sorry—"
Louis immediately shot Kingston a sharp look.
It was a silent warning.
Don't you dare tell her I was the one who kept you.
"There had been far too much work today, and apparently, everyone had been occupied." He told her
That was the story.
Kingston understood Louis eyes signal perfectly.
Louis's heart finally settled.
He had been genuinely afraid Kingston would throw him directly into his sister's anger.
Before Rose could question them further, Louis quickly intervened.
"Are you hungry? Let's go eat."
Rose looked at him.
There was something in her eyes that clearly said—
This is your fault.
Louis pretended not to notice.
They all made their way to the dining hall, where the maids were already moving around busily, preparing the table.
The moment they took their seats, the servants began serving the meal.
Conversation flowed naturally.
For a while, everything was peaceful.
Until Roseline suddenly remembered her encounter that morning.
Her curiosity had only grown stronger as the day went on.
The woman had been rude, arrogant, and dressed as though she owned the palace.
What intrigued Roseline even more was the fact that no one had said anything about it to Louis.
She had expected him to ask her about it the moment he returned.
But he hadn't.
Who exactly was that woman?
Roseline opened her mouth to ask.
"Brother, who—"
"Your Highness."
A woman's voice interrupted her.
Everyone at the table fell silent.
A moment later, the woman stepped into the dining hall with a smile on her face.
"I heard you were dining, so I came to pay my greetings. It has been a while since I last saw you. I hope you are well, my lord?"
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Everyone stared at her.
What kind of audacity was this?
She had interrupted the royal family's dinner simply to offer a greeting.
Not a royal message.
Not an urgent matter.
Not even an important request.
Just a greeting.
Everyone's eyes turned toward Louis, searching his face for an explanation.
Everyone except Lucas.
Lucas already knew exactly what was coming.
And, as expected, his king did not disappoint him.
"Who let you in?"
Louis's voice was calm.
Almost too calm.
He didn't even look directly at her.
It was as though he were speaking to the air.
But everyone in the room understood the meaning behind those four words.
He was displeased.
Very displeased.
Chloe's smile faltered.
Her face burned.
Why wasn't he returning her greeting?
Louis was a man of few words, but he had always at least acknowledged her before.
She had convinced herself that his occasional responses meant he tolerated her presence.
But now he was completely ignoring her.
Her eyes wandered around the table.
Then they landed on Rose.
She froze.
Her teeth clenched.
It must be this stupid siren.
That had to be why Louis was behaving this way.
She must have reported their encounter from the morning.
Chloe's mind raced.
She needed a solution.
Quickly.
And then, as always, she decided to play her usual game.
She lowered her head slightly and forced an apologetic expression onto her face.
"My king, I'm sorry. I wanted to apologize to the lady. I didn't know she was your guest. We had a little misunderstanding this morning, and I didn't have the opportunity to apologize."
She turned toward Rose.
"I'm sorry, my lady. I was wrong to—"
"Wait."
Louis's voice cut through hers.
Chloe stopped.
"You did what?"
For the first time, Louis's attention was fully on her.
Unfortunately for Chloe, it was the worst kind of attention she could have received.
His eyes became dangerously sharp.
"What did you do to my sister?"
"What?!"
This time, Chloe was the one who looked completely shocked.
My sister?
Her gaze snapped toward Rose.
She studied the woman properly for the first time.
Her eyes traveled over Rose's face.
Her eyebrows.
Her eyes.
The shape of her features.
The resemblance.
Chloe's breath caught.
The jealousy she had felt that morning had blinded her.
She had been too consumed by jealousy of how beautiful she looked from the side that morning, she hated seeing beautiful ladies in the palace who people can compare to her, she doesn't want to be compared to anyone.
Her blinding jealousy did not allow her to notice the resemblance between the two. They look alike up close.
A fear gripped her. She knows about how the whole palace is celebrating her, even the whole country.
And that did it again. Her jealousy flared. She believes she deserves all of it, anything good should be hers.
The fact that this strange woman was being welcomed and celebrated by everyone did not sit well with her.
She hadn't recognized her before, she had thought she's one of the choosing lady for louis
But now...
Now she saw it clearly.
The woman sitting at the royal table was the very woman the entire country had been talking about.
Louis's sister.
The woman everyone had welcomed with open arms.
The woman whose arrival had caused such excitement throughout the palace.
The fear that flashed through Chloe's eyes didn't last.
It was quickly replaced by jealousy.
Burning, bitter jealousy.
How could she be the one everyone celebrated?
How could she walk into this palace and immediately receive everything Chloe believed should belong to her?
She quickly tried to mask her expression.
But it was too late.
Everyone at the table had seen it.
These were people who had lived through enough of the world to recognize human emotions at a glance.
And no one was better at reading people than Louis.
His gaze darkened.
For a moment, he looked as though he wanted to strangle her where she stood.
He turned away from Chloe and looked at Rose.
"Tell me what happened."
His voice was calm.
But there was a warning beneath it.
"And don't leave anything out."
Roseline sighed.
She looked away from the idiot standing before them.
The woman had managed to close her own mouth but apparently couldn't keep it closed long enough to avoid trouble.
Well...
She deserved whatever was coming.
Roseline wasn't a saint.
Sometimes, people needed to be taught a lesson.
Sometimes, you had to make an example of someone before others decided to see your kindness as weakness and began treating you like prey.
And judging from Chloe's behavior that morning, she was exactly the kind of person who would mistake kindness for weakness.
Roseline picked up her cutlery again.
Then she began explaining everything that had happened.
She told them about walking through the palace that morning.
How Chloe had deliberately collided with her.
How she had refused to apologize.
How Roseline had returned the same treatment.
And how Chloe had fallen onto the floor afterward.
She left nothing out.
By the time Roseline finished, Chloe's face had gone pale.
It finally dawned on her.
Rose hadn't reported her.
She hadn't complained.
She hadn't even mentioned the incident.
Chloe had walked into the dining hall herself and placed the evidence before the very person who would judge her.
She had delivered herself for judgment on a golden platter.
Silence settled over the room.
Everyone had a different reaction.
Lucas almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.
Now no one is going to save Chloe.
She had crossed Louis's line this time.
Kingston was furious.
How dare that idiot treat his wife like that?
His jaw tightened, but he remained silent.
He wanted to see how Louis would handle it.
And deep down, Kingston knew Louis would handle it well.
He knew how protective Louis had become of his newly found sister.
Chloe was in deep trouble.
Very deep trouble.
Every eye in the room turned toward Louis.
He slowly rose from his seat.
The movement alone was enough to make the atmosphere turn cold.
He took one step.
Then another.
His eyes remained fixed on Chloe.
His face was expressionless.
But the rage burning behind his eyes was unmistakable.
He walked toward her slowly.
Chloe had a nagging feeling. Only her father can save her. she regrets crossing his sister.
But will her father be able to?
Louis stopped in front of her.
The room held its breath.
And Chloe could only stare, at the man standing before her, realizing that whatever happened next...
She had brought it upon herself.