Claimed By The Tyrant King

Soon, the news that the wedding would no longer hold that day spread across the palace, and the servants were ordered to begin taking down all the decorations and preparations they had worked so hard on. They grumbled quietly among themselves as they continued working.

Verity and Thalia were having breakfast when the news reached them as well.

"Don’t you think we should go see Rosalind? It has been a while, and she must be lonely staying there all alone," Verity said slowly.

Thalia rested her cheek against her palm as she looked at her. "The last time we tried, the footman said the king ordered that no one was allowed to visit her."

"Let us try again. I’m sure she’ll feel relieved seeing us, and the wedding was just postponed too. The preparations must have taken a toll on her," Verity insisted as she stood up from the table while the servants nearby cleared away her plates.

Thalia muttered quietly as she rose as well. "Rosalind is probably relieved. She never wanted anything to do with the king,"

"Shall we?" Verity asked then, linking her arm through Thalia’s before they left the ladies’ quarters and headed deeper into the palace toward Rosalind’s chamber.

Along the way, whispers from the servants drifted through the halls as they worked.

"They don’t pay me enough for all this work," one servant grumbled while removing the decorations they had carefully arranged earlier.

"Why did the king postpone the wedding? I thought he was desperate to marry her," another servant asked, a question both Verity and Thalia silently wondered about themselves.

"Don’t tell this to anyone...," another servant whispered as the others leaned closer. "I heard something happened last night... something about the lady and a servant having an affair"

Verity and Thalia froze in their tracks at what they had just heard, and both slowly turned to look at each other.

"No, I heard the king himself was involved," another added, lowering his voice.

"Is that really true?" one of them asked immediately, and the servant who spread the information nodded frantically.

"That’s completely messed up," another muttered.

Verity clenched her fists tightly as anger rose inside her chest. She knew Rosalind well enough to believe she would never intentionally disgrace herself that way. Without hesitation, Verity turned sharply and walked straight toward the group.

"Where exactly did you hear that information from?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

The servants shrieked when they realized she had overheard them, and they quickly lowered their heads.

"Lady Verity..." they stammered nervously.

Thalia stepped beside her while Verity continued coldly, "If I report this defamation to the king, do you think you’ll escape punishment?"

The servants trembled before them.

"You all need to be careful about the rumors you spread," Thalia said firmly, remembering too well what it felt like to be falsely accused and whispered about by others. "Words like that destroy a person’s reputation and leave damage behind that cannot easily be undone. Be mindful of what you say from now on."

"Yes, Lady Thalia," they answered quickly, bowing their heads again.

"Scram," Verity ordered sharply, and immediately the servants scattered from their sight.

Silence lingered between the two women for a moment before Thalia finally spoke. "Let’s go."

Verity nodded, and together they continued toward Rosalind’s chamber. From a distance, they could already see the large guard stationed outside her door, and they exchanged another glance before approaching him.

The moment they stopped before him, the guard bowed respectfully. "My ladies... you are not permitted to visit her."

"We know," Thalia replied, crossing her arms.

The footman stared at them briefly, clearly wondering why they remained there despite already knowing the restrictions.

"It’s just that the wedding has been postponed, and she’ll be alone inside there by herself," Verity explained gently. "We were hoping to keep her company for a while."

"The lady does not require company," the footman answered stiffly, repeating the instructions Alaric had given him when he was appointed to watch over her.

"I don’t think you would survive it either," Thalia said as she looked directly at him. "Being trapped in a room alone with no one to speak to would slowly drive anyone mad."

"I’m afraid I cannot allow it, my lady," the footman replied with another bow, refusing immediately.

Thalia narrowed her eyes at him.

Verity continued patiently. "But she must be heartbroken right now and probably needs someone to talk to. A wedding is an important moment in every woman’s life, and for something like this to happen would leave a scar on anyone’s heart."

Even as she said it, Verity knew Rosalind felt the complete opposite.

"She brought it upon herself," the footman nearly said aloud because he had witnessed what happened the previous night himself.

Seeing the lady tangled in bed with a footman only hours before the wedding had been disgraceful enough already.

But the footman still refused to let them see Rosalind once again.

"How about this, in exchange for thirty minutes?" Verity asked as she pulled out a gold coin and presented it to him.

The footman stared at the coin briefly... he knew disobeying Alaric could bring disaster upon him. He immediately shook his head.

Verity frowned before slipping another gold coin out from her sleeve.

"Two gold pieces in exchange for thirty minutes. I believe that sounds fair enough," she said calmly.

The footman hesitated as he stared at the gold coins, his fingers twitching slightly because the king’s order still rang in his mind, but the thought of extra money and the fact that he was only told to watch her, not completely seal her away, made him pause. Slowly, he exhaled as he convinced himself it was harmless, just thirty minutes, nothing more.

"...Alright. Thirty minutes," he finally agreed.

Verity handed the coins over immediately, and after making sure the corridor was clear, the two ladies slipped quietly into the chamber.

Rosalind was alone by the time they entered. Although the wedding gown had already been set aside, traces of makeup still remained on her face, and while the decorative pins had been removed from her hair, the curls now spilled loosely down her back as she sat silently at the edge of the bed staring at the floor.

"Rosalind," Verity called softly, and both she and Thalia hurried toward her immediately.

Rosalind looked up in surprise at first before they wrapped their arms around her.

"We missed you so much."

But even as they hugged her, Rosalind’s face remained filled with embarrassment, and she looked strangely ashamed that they had come to see her at all.

When they finally pulled away, Verity studied her carefully.

"I thought you’d be happier to see us," she admitted.

Rosalind pressed her lips together uneasily.

"We would’ve come earlier, but the footman kept refusing us. Who would’ve thought he accepted bribes? We could’ve bribed him from the beginning," Thalia mused lightly.

"But aren’t you happy to see us?" Verity asked again, beginning to feel disheartened because she genuinely thought Rosalind would be relieved by their presence.

"No... that’s not it," Rosalind finally answered quietly, still unable to meet their eyes.

"Then what is it?" Thalia questioned. "You don’t look nearly as ecstatic as I expected you to be. The wedding has been postponed, and now you don’t have to marry the king... now" Her voice trailed off thoughtfully. "Although I still wonder why it was postponed in the first place."

Verity continued watching Rosalind closely before saying quietly, "Something is wrong."

Rosalind swallowed hard before finally looking at the two of them, though it was obvious she still struggled to face them properly.

"About that... something happened," she confessed quietly. "Can I trust you both enough to tell you?"

Verity and Thalia exchanged glances before nodding immediately.

Rosalind felt her chest tighten because what she was about to reveal would change everything. It was not only guilt pushing her to confess what happened, but also desperation. She needed answers, and she desperately wanted to save Rowan somehow. Ever since the previous night, she had become obsessed with whatever existed between Rowan and Alaric, and she needed someone else to think through it with her before she completely lost her mind.

As Rosalind slowly explained everything in hushed whispers, Verity and Thalia’s eyes widened more and more with every word she said.

"Wait... does that mean the rumors are actually true?" Thalia whispered in complete shock.

Rosalind swallowed again as panic flickered across her face.

The rumors had already spread?

Her heart pounded inside her chest.

"We literally defended you five minutes ago," Verity said in disbelief, still trying to process the fact that Rosalind truly had been involved with someone before the wedding.

"How did this even happen? Between you and the footman?" Thalia asked, staring at her in complete confusion. "How many Chapters of this story did I miss?"

Rosalind breathed heavily before speaking again. "I know what I did was wrong, and I know it was bad, but you can judge me later because there’s a bigger problem right now. He’s about to be executed."

That part was not surprising at all. The king would never let such betrayal go unpunished, and both Verity and Thalia understood that immediately.

"What about you?" Verity asked quickly, concern filling her voice now. "What did the king say he would do to you?"

"I don’t know," Rosalind answered honestly. "He only said he would come back for me."

The three of them exchanged uneasy glances.

"But... I don’t think he’ll hurt me that easily," Rosalind added uncertainly.

"Don’t be delusional, Rosalind," Thalia whispered sharply. "The punishment for something like this is execution, or banishment if he decides to show mercy."

"I know," Rosalind said quickly, "but last night, when he was about to hurt me, Rowan stopped him. He said something..."

The moment she repeated Rowan’s words, both Verity and Thalia visibly stiffened.