How To End This Marriage-Chapter 137: Doubtful Loyalties

"Your Highness, I understand what you’re trying to say, but how could I just forget those childhood memories?" Duke said.

"Every time I think of those memories, I can’t believe the princess could do such a thing," he added.

"Ha! You are so naive. No one would think you are known as the war hero who slaughtered the enemy without showing any single emotion on the battlefield," Crown Prince Maximus said.

"But let me tell you one thing once more. That she is not what she looks like. She is scheming. She is vicious. She has so many faces you are not aware of, and one of those looks is that she tried to kill me," Crown Prince revealed.

"What? The princess tried to kill you?" Duke gasped.

"Yes!!! She tried to kill me when I was little, so she is. I didn’t know something like this could happen to me until one day we were both playing near the riverside," he said.

Flashback starts.

"Max, come here, play with me with mud!!" Vixara called.

"No, I’m scared of water!!!" Maximus refused.

"Don’t be a scaredy-cat!!!! If you show weakness in the royal family, then people will take advantage of you," Vixara said.

"I know, but seeing the water, my head starts spinning. I don’t have control over that. You come here with whatever you have. We can play here in this dry place," Maximus said while standing in a dry place.

Vixara soon got up from the mud and started pulling Maximus to the riverside.

"Vix!!! Don’t pull!!! I will fall. This is scary. I will die," Maximus started crying.

"I’m here. Nothing will happen to you," Vixara said as she pulled him near the riverside, but soon both of their legs slipped because of the mud, and Prince Maximus ended up falling into the water. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Vix!!! Save me!!! I don’t know how to swim!!! I will die here!!!" he kept on saying.

"Max, do not worry !!!! I’m here; I will go fetch someone. You stay here!!!" she said and left to fetch someone, but for a while, no one came. Prince kept on crying, trying to save his life.

"Max, I’m here. I found no one, but I found this rope from the garden. Here, hold this!!! Hold this and try to come up!!! I’m holding it tightly. Come up!!!" she said while throwing a rope to him, and he ended up catching it.

"Vix, pull me!!! I want to get out of here. Or the fishes will eat me," he said and somehow ended up crawling out of the river.

"Thank God you are saved, Max!!! Or what would I have done!!!" Vixara said while holding Maximus tightly.

"Now let us go to the palace. Mother, father must be waiting for us!!" Vixara said and pulled Maximus with her, but that is when Maximus’s eye fell on the rope, which was half cut in the middle as if someone did it purposely.

"Did she try to?" Maximus muttered.

"Max, did you say something?" She asked.

"No, nothing!" he said and walked with her.

Flashback ends.

"Now tell me!!! Do you still trust her?" Crown Prince Maximus asked.

"I don’t know. But it can be like she really didn’t find anyone, so she got what she saw!" the duke came to a conclusion.

"Ha ha ha ha!!!" Prince laughed loudly.

"Why are you laughing like this?" Duke asked.

"You told me a joke; that’s why!" he said and laughed once again.

"Joke? I don’t understand, Your Highness!" Duke replied.

"You don’t understand, or you are behaving like you don’t understand?" Prince got angry, glaring at him.

"No matter what I say about her, you never once believed me, but if someone brings some proof regarding the duchess, you are so quick to point at her. Why? Is this because you really love Vixara, as others say? Is this because you are soon going to divorce her and marry Vixara, as why she went to your state?" Crown Prince questioned.

"Answer me! Why do you trust her so much, but you don’t trust us?" he asked again.

"I don’t know!!! I don’t know about anything. But I can say I have no such feelings toward the princess. I have only eyes for the duchess, my wife!!! Other than her, I don’t know anyone, nor do I want to know," the duke answered.

"Then why can’t you trust her? She went to the audience hall just to let everyone know about the crime the princess committed by poisoning her, but you clearly made fun of her accusation, saying that she has doubts about you and the princess’s relationship. Do you know how people looked at her after that? Everyone looked at her like she had committed a crime!!!" Prince shouted.

"And now Vixara has returned to the same place to marry you, so I don’t see anything wrong with the accusation of the duchess. She did try to kill her, as the duchess claimed," Prince said.

"Ok, for a second, I believe it is the princess who tried to kill the duchess. Then where is the proof? The maid said she had bought the food from the princess, but the princess said she didn’t even touch the food, and it was solely bought from the kitchen. So how can I believe who is the actual criminal and who is innocent?" Duke asked.

"Ok, don’t believe me now, but I’m sure if she has gone to your state, then there would be some issues there soon. She will commit something again, trying to get rid of the position of the duchess so that she could take over. And if you then couldn’t find out the criminal, then you are a failure," the crown prince said, but soon a messenger came running.

"Duke!!! Duke!!! A letter has arrived for you!!!" the messenger said and handed over the letter to the duke.

"Letter? From Ablia? Why? What happened so soon that they have to send me a letter urgently?" Duke thought and started opening the letter.

"What is this?" he roared in anger, his voice echoing in the cavernous hall.

The prince’s brow furrowed with concern. "What has happened? Is there trouble in Ablia?"

"It’s not Ablia, but the duke’s mansion," the duke said, his voice tight with urgency.

"A maid has been injured! I must return immediately!" He spun on his heel, ready to depart, but the crown prince stopped him.

"Explain what has transpired," the prince commanded. "Perhaps I can be of assistance."

"The maid has been stabbed, and everyone suspects the duchess. They found her standing near the victim, drenched in blood," the duke explained, his face pale.

"I have no doubt Vixara is behind this once again," the crown prince muttered.

"I don’t know for certain, but I must return quickly. While I do, please interrogate the princess’s personal maids. If I discover any leads, I will inform you immediately. And do not forget to update his majesty, the emperor," the duke said,before rushing towards his horse and riding back towards Ablia.

The crown prince watched him go, his eyes narrowed. "Vixara," he growled, "if you cause any further disruption, you will face consequences you cannot comprehend."

He then turned his attention to the cells, where several maids were being harshly questioned.

"Your highness, the crown prince! Please have mercy!" one maid cried out. "We know nothing! We are simply servants of the princess. That is all."

The other maids echoed her pleas, but the old maid remained silent, observing the scene from the corner without uttering a single word.

"You still refuse to speak?" the crown prince asked, his voice cold.

"I have already said what I needed to say," the old maid replied, her gaze unwavering. "I see no reason to elaborate further."

"Ha!" the prince scoffed. "Though I cannot prove it, I know in my heart that you were the one who sent the letter. However, the content has mysteriously vanished from the paper, preventing me from comparing it to your handwriting. I am sure you are aware of this, which is why you chose to use magic paper instead of a normal one."

"I have no idea what you are talking about, your highness," the old maid repeated, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Release all the maids except this one," the crown prince commanded, his patience wearing thin.

"As you command, your highness," the guards replied, ushering the frightened maids out of the cell.

The old maid, however, spoke again. "You are well aware, your highness, that the royal law forbids you from laying a hand on me. You may only question me, and I will answer only if I choose. You cannot force me into anything. Therefore, your torture session shall be in vain."

A peculiar smile spread across the prince’s face. "Who said anything about torture?" he asked.

"I do not wish to turn my supporters against me, so worry not," he continued, his smile widening. "Bring me whoever is related to this woman. I want them here at any cost."