Married To The Dragon Prince Against My Will-Chapter 247: CHOOSE YOUR WORDS NICELY

The morning light filtered softly into the dining chamber, warm and deceptive, touching nothing of the storm waiting beyond its walls.

Lumina sat at the long table, her posture composed, her blindfold neatly in place. Ashen had left earlier. When she woke up, she hadn’t seen him, even though she was sad. She didn’t want to think much about it.

Stella stood at her side, arranging the porcelain plate before her with practiced care.

Across the room, Ero lingered near the windows, pretending to read a scroll he had already finished three times.

There was something wrong of course. Of course, Lumina could feel it in the way they moved more quietly than usual, in the pauses that stretched too long, in the breaths that caught and were quickly swallowed.

Just then Ero cleared his throat and Stella’s hand hesitated for the briefest moment as she poured the tea.

Lumina lifted her chin slightly. "You may speak." Neither of them does, as they just stare at one another.

"My lady, I don’t understand why you want us to speak." Lumina smiled faintly, though there was no warmth in it. After all, they didn’t know she could see so they believed she couldn’t see them.

"You are both terrible liars." Lumina let out.

Stella glanced at Ero, then back at Lumina. "It is nothing, my lady... we promise."

"Then why does the room sound like a funeral," Lumina replied calmly.

Silence followed and her fingers tightened around the edge of the table. "What is it that you are struggling so hard not to tell me?"

Ero lowered the document. "The council convened early this morning." Stella hit the table giving him the look of don’t dare speak.

Lumina nodded once. "And?"

"My lady, it’s nothing you have to..."

"Shut your mouth, Stella, if you don’t have to tell me then Ero will," she yelled out and Stella shut her mouth instantly.

"And Prince Alexis made an announcement." Ero continued making Stella inhale sharply.

Lumina felt something cold slip into her chest. "What announcement?"

Neither of them answered immediately.

The quiet stretched until it pressed painfully against her ears.

"Say it," Lumina said softly.

Ero spoke at last. "The crown prince will be taking a concubine."

The words landed gently, spoken carefully, as if softness could dull their edge.

Lumina did not move as her spoon slipped from her fingers and clinked softly against the plate.

Stella reached for it instinctively. "My lady."

Lumina lifted a hand, stopping her. Her face remained calm, eerily so, but the blood drained slowly from her lips.

Fine, he had explained everything to her but the fact that the news was going round now was exactly what had just ruined her whole mood.

"I see," she said, trying her best to control herself from flipping off. The irony of the word burned.

She pushed her chair back carefully and stood. "I have lost my appetite." she let out and Stella stepped closer.

"Where are you going.. I am pretty sure My Lord will do something about it, we can’t just trust rumours.."

"It’s true, and I know about it so don’t bother trying to give me sweet words." Both of them gasped in shock.

"My lady... then where are you going?" Stella asked, so worried.

"To see Lord Drex," Lumina replied. "I feel unwell." They all stared at Lumina, they knew that she was sad and the news was also sad news for them.

Lumina stretched her hands as Stella grabbed them, and with one more sigh, she walked off.

They both got to the corridors and were alive with whispers.

Lumina walked slowly, her steps measured. She kept her head straight, her expression neutral.

But she heard everything as they all spoke and just quietly ignored them all.

"Guess she does not know yet."

"The prince already announced it publicly."

"Do you think she will scream?"

"Or cry."

Lumina passed them without reaction, though each word cut deeper than the last.

When she reached Lord Drex’s chambers, the murmuring grew quieter. Lord Drex was not there. Instead, two assistants stood frozen when they sensed her presence.

"My lady," one of them said hastily. "The lord physician has been summoned elsewhere."

Lumina inclined her head at once of course she didn’t miss the look on their faces. "Then I will return later," she announced seeing that Serena wasn’t around.

She turned away, her fingers trembling slightly as she tightened her grip on the cane.

As she walked back toward the training hall, she heard voices ahead of familiar ones. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Training is canceled today."

"Why?"

"There are preparations to be made."

"For what?"

"For her." Lumina stopped and then turned toward the sound. "What preparations?" The voices froze at once.

"My lady," one of the instructors said stiffly. "There will be no lessons today."

"Why," Lumina repeated with a pause.

"No reason that concerns you."

She nodded once. "Very well."

She turned to leave when she heard it.

"Maybe it is because she is blind."

The words slipped through the corridor like a blade drawn lazily, carelessly.

Lumina halted mid-step as another voice followed, lighter, crueler. "Of course she is rude. I am glad the prince will finally have another lady. At least one who can see."

A faint echo lingered after the laughter. The stone walls seemed to absorb it, holding the mockery in place.

Lumina did not turn immediately as her breathing slowed, she inhaled with force. Even Stella felt it, the subtle shift in the air, the way Lumina’s presence sharpened without a single word spoken.

Slowly, Lumina turned toward the sound of the voices. Her expression was calm, eerily composed, her blindfold hiding eyes that saw far more than anyone dared imagine.

"Who said that," she asked.

Her voice was soft as no one answered.

The maids froze, their whispered courage evaporating the moment her attention landed on them. One of them shifted her weight nervously, silk skirts brushing against stone far too loudly in the silence.

"Stella," Lumina said gently.

Stella stepped forward, jaw tightening. "Yes, my lady."

"Smack that one." she pointed at one of the maids and it was exactly the one who had made a bad comment.

Without hesitation a sound cracked through the corridor, A scream followed instantly.

"How dare you," the maid shrieked, clutching her face. "We are attendants of the crown prince."

Another slap landed before the words fully left her mouth.

"You will be punished for this," the maid cried, tears spilling freely now. "The prince will hear of it." Lumina lifted her hand in a small movement.

An instantly invisible force surged forward like a sudden storm, slamming into the maids.

They were thrown backward as though struck by a solid wall, bodies crashing hard against the floor. The sound of bone against stone rang through the hall.

They fell to their knees, gasping, hands clawing desperately at the ground as if it might save them.

Even the servants watching from afar dared not breathe.

Lumina stepped forward slowly, her posture was straight, regal, and calm

"I will wait," she said evenly, "for whatever punishment awaits me."

"But first," she continued, tilting her head slightly, "you will tell me what you were whispering."

One of the maids let out a shaky laugh, desperation creeping into her voice. "It is none of your business." Lumina turned her face fully toward her.

"If you refuse," she said calmly, "you will never speak again."

Terror bloomed instantly across their faces, she might not yell it out, but they could tell she meant it.

"The crown prince," one of the maids sobbed at last. "He is taking a concubine. It was announced this morning and everyone knows."

Stella surged forward, rage blazing, and struck the maid again.

Lumina lifted her hand slightly and Stella stopped at once.

"Why," Lumina asked quietly, "did you find it amusing?"

She took another step closer. "Why did you think you had the right to speak of me that way?"

The maids bowed low, foreheads pressed against the stone. "Forgive us, Your Highness. We beg you."

Footsteps echoed from the far end of the corridor, deliberate and unhurried.

"What is going on here?" The voice cut cleanly through their cries.

Lumina turned and saw it was Aurelia she straightened, her shoulders squaring.

"Why were these maids punished," Aurelia asked coolly as she approached.

"That does not concern you," Lumina replied, her tone even.

Aurelia scoffed, her gaze sweeping over the trembling maids. "Then let them speak."

She turned to them, her voice suddenly gentle. "Do not be afraid. She cannot do anything to you."

The maids hesitated, glancing between the two women, then bowed hurriedly. "We meant no harm, Princess Aurelia."

Aurelia’s lips curved into a thin smile. "Tell me what happened."

"They were mocking me," Lumina said coldly.

"And is that why my brother seeks another woman," Aurelia replied smoothly. "Because you are unbearable."The words landed with exactitude.

Lumina’s fingers curled slowly at her sides.

"You have no friends," Aurelia continued, stepping closer. "Can’t you see you only feed on fear because you cannot inspire loyalty."

She leaned in, her voice dropping to a poisonous whisper. "You are just a blind..." A strange force came without warning.

A sudden, violent impact hurled Aurelia backward. Her body flew through the air before crashing hard against the ground with a sickening thud.

Gasps erupted from every direction while Lumina did not move, she was only satisfied with that.

"Choose your words more carefully next time," Alexis’ voice said calmly, lethally.