The previous Queen was visibly stunned after hearing what her son said. She had no idea how to react to his confession. She thought that only she and Lady Tyra were aware of Esther’s true identity and that they were able to successfully fool everyone within the palace.

Guilt could be seen on her exhausted face as she let out a helpless sigh. All these years, keeping Esther’s secret from her son had become a thorn in her heart. “Can you forgive your mother? I didn’t wish to hide it from you, son, but I thought it was better that you learn of her secret from her own mouth.”

“I don’t blame you for not telling me, after all, it is her secret and she trusted you enough to keep it.”

“Theron—”

“Still,  her identity never mattered to me. If she’s more comfortable with me not knowing her true identity, then I will do my best to pretend to be ignorant for her sake. But…now everything seems so meaningless.”

The sadness in his voice made his mother unable to look him straight in the eyes.

“Don’t say it’s meaningless, son. This pain…it will take time to heal, but still, it will heal. Don’t lose hope. The fact that the kingdom’s curse is gone and that neither you nor your wife lost each other, are they not something to be happy about?”

King Theron said nothing.

Queen Theodora continued to speak, “She loves you as much as you love her. I know you understand that she did this because she doesn’t want to lose you. Esther—”

Upon mention of his wife’s name, the young man felt another wave of pain rip through his heart. No words could comfort him. “Mother, I wish to be alone.” He then closed his eyes, as if to say this was the end of their conversation.

The older lady understood his situation and knew that no matter what she says now, they wouldn’t reach her son. “Fine, but you must remember that I cannot continue acting as regent for long, or else I would not be able to control the royal and noble factions from causing internal troubles. You are still the reigning king of the kingdom and you cannot keep yourself locked up like this.”

Queen Theodora might be his mother, but she was also the Queen of Megaris who reigned over the kingdom alongside her iron-handed husband during a time of continuous warfare. Though she was one who put heavy emphasis on affection, she also placed utmost importance on the duties and responsibilities of the royal family.

Call her cold and heartless, but she needed to remind her son that being a king meant he had to put the kingdom and his subjects first before his personal troubles. That was the responsibility of one who sits on that throne.

Once his mother left, King Theron stood from his armchair and went to open the glass window, letting the chilly autumn wind brush against his face. Memories from the past flashed in front of his eyes.

When did he find out that the woman he had feelings for was not an ordinary one?

It all started from the assassination attack on his mother back when she was still the reigning Queen of Megaris. Yes, from the very beginning, he already had his suspicions.

Back when he was heading the investigation of the attack, it was confirmed that Esther was skilled with her weapon, defeating tens of opponents without getting hurt. It was an impossible feat unless you are an elite royal knight facing ordinary bandits who weren’t good at coordinated attacks.

However, those who attacked Queen Theodora were rebels from a fallen kingdom, former soldiers who were able to survive even after Megaris conquered their kingdom. Those rebels were people trained to fight, and not some nobody who had no combat experience. Further evidence of the enemies’ combat prowess, wasn’t the knight brigade guarding the Queen almost annihilated back then?

Every person involved in that attack—whether it was the attacker or the defendant—was at least very least injured, and the unfortunate ones even died. Even Queen Theodora received injuries, but the young woman who saved her did not even have a single scratch on her body. At the same time, there was the rebel’s testimony where he claimed this woman used some kind of strange power.

A seed of doubt was already planted in King Theron’s mind then, though he decided to bury that suspicion since it became apparent to him his mother trusted her saviour.

When she entered the palace, he was suspicious of her motives, and that caused him to always follow her with his eyes. A young woman without a background but confirmed to be good at combat and had the education and ingrained elegance of a noble lady, wasn’t she like an intriguing puzzle waiting to be solved?

Thus he continued to observe her with wariness, which gradually turned to curiosity and later, attraction. It made him want to continue watching her, wanting to know what else she was capable of.

And he got exactly that, the chance to personally witness her strange abilities during the assassination by the river during the year-end festival.

Up to this day, he remembered what happened with crystal clarity. It was a strange assassination attempt after all, where invisible attacks were involved. Though he did not see the attack himself, he felt the attack approaching him, causing all the hairs on his body to stand.

When Esther called for him while running on the pier, there was something that hit her from behind, one strong enough to lift her and throw her body towards him…and he saw her eyes shine green.

After observing her for so long, how could he not know that Esther’s eyes were the warm colour of melted caramel? But that time, her eyes shone in the darkness like an emerald jewel hit by brilliant light.

It was for a split second, but he was someone who trusted his own senses. Afterwards, everything fell into chaos and they were again hit by the invisible force and fell into the water.

Why Did Her Eyes Change To Green Colour?

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