Chapter 221-Searching for the truth

Chapter 221: 221-Searching for the truth

Maisa remained outside the castle for several minutes after Varitreya disappeared. Her gaze lingered on the empty space where she had stood.

She wanted to follow her, to explain herself and somehow ease the hurt between them, but she had no idea where Kayden had taken her. Besides, Varitreya had made it painfully clear that she wanted nothing to do with her.

Forcing another conversation would only make things worse. With a heavy sigh, Maisa turned and headed back inside. She had too many unanswered questions to waste time standing around feeling sorry for herself.

When she returned to the sitting room, Addessa, Lumi, and Zolani were still there. Sapphire had joined them, looking equally bewildered by the strange atmosphere hanging over the palace.

"Where’s Varitreya?" Addessa asked as soon as Maisa entered.

"She left with Kayden."

"Kayden?" Addessa straightened. "He came back?"

Maisa nodded. "He appeared outside just as I was following Varitreya. She asked him to take her away, and he did."

Lumi frowned. "That’s strange. I haven’t seen him in two weeks. Nobody knew where he was or why he disappeared."

"Two weeks?" Sapphire repeated.

"Yes. I thought he’d returned to the capital, but Luan went looking for him and couldn’t find him there either."

The women exchanged uneasy glances. First, they had somehow lost seven days. Now Kayden had apparently been missing for two weeks, only to reappear at the most suspicious moment.

"Did he say anything?" Addessa asked.

"Not to me. He took Varitreya away before I could reach them."

Sapphire crossed her arms. "This is getting ridiculous. First, you disappear for a week, then Varitreya’s parents retire, and now Kayden suddenly appears after two weeks missing. What exactly is happening in this palace?"

"That’s what we’re trying to find out," Lumi replied.

Maisa glanced toward the doors leading to the former queens’ private residence. "Velanora and Kheamossa know something. I’m certain of it."

"They’re not going to tell us," Addessa muttered. "They wouldn’t even explain things to their own daughter. What makes you think they’ll tell us?"

"Then we’ll ask someone who will."

Lumi caught on immediately. "What if we try the servants?"

"We’ll interogate everyone. The guards, attendants, kitchen staff, anyone who might have witnessed something during those missing days." Maisa looked around at them. "If the former queens won’t tell us what happened, we’ll piece it together ourselves."

"What if everyone has been sworn to secrecy?" Zolani asked.

"Then we’ll find someone who isn’t and get them to tell us what were missing."

Sapphire nodded firmly. "Good. I refuse to leave this palace without knowing why my best friend suddenly became queen while I was away."

Maisa managed a faint smile. "Neither do I."

---

They began with the attendants assigned to the royal chambers. The first vampire they summoned bowed deeply. "Your Majesty, it is an honour to serve you."

"Please, don’t start with that." Maisa rubbed her forehead. "I just want to ask you a few questions."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

"When was the last time you saw us before we woke up in the gazebo?"

The attendant looked confused. "What do you mean to ask, your majesty?"

"We were celebrating Princess Addessa’s birthday. Do you remember that evening?" Maisa clarified.

"Yes, Your Majesty. It was a beautiful celebration," She amswered happily. "You and your consorts looked lovely."

"What happened afterward?"

"You all retired to the royal gazebo and didn’t return to the palace to sleep."

"All of us?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The five of you."

"Did you see us fall asleep?" Maisa went on. Curious to know if she had seen something that could crack open the mystery of the last seven days.

"No. But the guards informed us that none of you were to be disturbed."

"Who gave that order?" Addessa stepped forward, her tone ever oppressing that the servant shuddered.

"I believe it came from the royal household," She managed, avoiding to meet Addessa’s gaze.

"Which member?"

The attendant hesitated. "I’m not certain, Your Majesty."

Lumi stepped forward. "Was anyone allowed into the gazebo while we were there?"

"No, Your Highness. The guards were instructed to keep everyone away."

"Even the queens?" Maisa tested the waters. She wanted to know how powerful the one who gave the orders was or whether or not they were the queens themselves.

The attendant lowered her eyes. "I cannot say, Your Highness."

Maisa studied her for a moment before dismissing her. The next few attendants offered almost identical answers. They remembered the celebration and the five women retiring to the gazebo. They also remembered being instructed not to disturb them.

Beyond that, nobody seemed to know anything.

The guards were equally unhelpful. One claimed he had been stationed near the gazebo throughout the week without witnessing anything unusual. Another mentioned that the flowers inside had grown unusually vibrant during the first few days.

It was the third guard who finally offered something interesting. "Did you say there were two large flowers growing inside the gazebo and you recognize them as the birthing cocoons?" Lumi asked.

"Yes, Your Highness. One was red, while the other had petals of different colours. They were quite beautiful."

Lumi exchanged a glance with Maisa. "The blood cocoon and the identity flower," she murmured.

Maisa’s stomach tightened. Those flowers had been connected to everything that happened during their absence. Unfortunately, nobody seemed willing to explain what had become of them.

"Did you see anyone approach them?" Maisa asked.

The guard shook his head. "No, Your Majesty. We were forbidden from entering the gazebo."

"Did anyone remove anything from inside while we were alseep?" She nearly shouted. Ut seemed every question was bound to hit a wall and she was tired of not knowing and having blanks in her head.

"I wouldn’t know, Your Majesty."

Maisa frowned but then she remembered something and chose to take a chance. "Did you hear a baby crying?"

The guard’s expression changed. His eyes widened slightly, and his lips parted before he quickly lowered his head. "A baby?" he repeated as though confused.

"Yes. Did you hear anything resembling a baby’s cry coming from the gazebo?"

The guard hesitated. He had heard something during one of his night shifts. At first, he had mistaken it for an animal, but the sound had returned, unmistakably resembling a new baby’s cry.

He had wanted to investigate, but the orders had been clear. Nobody was allowed near the gazebo.

Now, however, he faced an even bigger problem. The former queens might have relinquished their positions, but they hadn’t lost their influence. Revealing what he had heard could put his position, and perhaps even his family’s safety, at risk. He wasn’t willing to take that chance.

"No, Your Majesty. I didn’t hear anything."

Maisa narrowed her eyes. She had caught his hesitation and the brief change in his expression. He was lying.

"Are you certain?" she pressed. "Think carefully before answering."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I’m certain."

Maisa studied him for another moment before leaning back. "Very well. You may leave."

The guard bowed and hurried out. As soon as the doors closed, Maisa turned to the others. "He’s lying."

"I noticed," Lumi replied. "He reacted the moment you mentioned a baby."

A stronger reaction would be to let the possibility sink in. They’re barely figuring out their own lives and responsibilities, let alone imagining themselves caring for a child.

Addessa’s face paled. "Then there really was a child?"

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room. One by one, their expressions changed as the possibility began to sink in.

A child? They were barely managing their own lives. They were still trying to understand their youth as they were young themselves and now they might have an infant to worry about?

What were they supposed to do if they actually found the child?

They exchanged uncertain glances, each seemingly arriving at the same terrifying question.

Maisa looked at their faces and felt her stomach sink further. She hadn’t even considered what they would do if the child was real. Finding it was one thing. Figuring out how to care for it was an entirely different problem.

"We cross the bridge when we get there."

Maisa’s thoughts returned to the blood cocoon and the strange transformation they had undergone. If it had produced a baby, where was the child now? Had the former queens hidden it?

"Why would a guard risk lying to the queen unless he was afraid of someone?" Sapphire asked.

"Because whoever gave those orders still has enough influence to frighten him," Lumi replied.

Zolani swallowed. "But why would they hide a baby?"

Maisa’s jaw tightened. That was precisely what she wanted to know. The missing seven days, the blood cocoon, the identity flower, and the former queens’ sudden retirement couldn’t be unrelated. And if the guard had heard a baby crying, there was a good chance someone else had heard it too.

Someone knew what had happened. Someone was deliberately keeping quiet.

Maisa rose from her seat. "We’re not done questioning the guards."

Addessa looked at her. "What are you planning?"

"I want everyone who was stationed near the gazebo during those seven days brought before us." Maisa’s expression hardened. "That guard was afraid to tell us what he heard. I want to know who he’s afraid of."

She paused, her fingers curling. "And if a baby was born in that gazebo, I intend to find out where it went."

For the first time since returning to the castle, Maisa felt something stronger than confusion, she was suspicious. Whatever had happened during those seven days, it hadn’t ended when they woke up.