Claimed By The Tyrant King

Gasps echoed throughout the crowd after the Queen of Merovia made her declaration. Even Verity and Thalia looked at each other in complete confusion.

"When did this happen?" Thalia asked, but Verity had no answer, and before long the ceremony had dissolved into a sea of whispers.

"She’s from Merovia?" one guest asked.

"Doesn’t that make her a foreign whore?" another replied. They still hadn’t forgotten the scandal surrounding Rosalind and found it easier to judge her than reflect on their own sins.

Even Calder and Beth exchanged shocked looks. They had known Rosalind came from Merovia, but for her to be a princess was something neither of them had expected.

"Princess of Merovia?" Alaric repeated, letting out a small chuckle as he regained control of the situation. "You must be mistaken. She’s Lady Rosalind, who is to become my bride."

"I am quite certain, Your Majesty," the Queen replied in her authoritative voice. "She is Princess Sophia, and she is my daughter."

Beneath the veil, Rosalind could only hold her breath as she watched the Queen’s gaze settle on her and for the briefest moment, the woman’s expression softened.

Alaric then turned toward the priest as though nothing had happened. "Continue this ceremony immediately."

The priest looked nervously between the King and the Queen, unsure of whose command he should obey. However, before he could speak, the Queen calmly said, "Princess Sophia was betrothed to your brother, King Drystan."

For the first time that day, Alaric went completely still as a cold sensation crawled down his spine.

Whispers exploded throughout the hall.

"The King has a brother?"

"King Drystan?"

"What is she talking about?"

"As many of you know," the Queen continued, turning her attention toward the gathered nobles, who gradually fell silent, "it is forbidden for a woman to be married to two brothers. I am not making empty claims. I have brought proof that Princess Sophia was legally betrothed to King Drystan, and therefore your King cannot marry her."

A scroll was immediately presented, and the nobles eagerly examined it. Kings, queens, dukes, and high-ranking guests passed it among themselves, confirming that the document appeared legitimate.

Meanwhile, Rosalind struggled to process what she had just heard. She was betrothed to Rowan?

When had that happened?

How had she never known?

More importantly... Did Rowan know about this and once again kept it hidden from her?

Her grip tightened until her knuckles turned white.

Alaric’s gaze darkened as the guests continued murmuring amongst themselves and asking questions about King Drystan. He knew perfectly well that the ceremony should end here, but stubbornness ran deep within him and he refused to allow the Queen to destroy everything he had planned.

The Queen turned toward him and met his glare without flinching. "You must call off this wedding immediately," she declared firmly. "If you proceed despite the truth, you will be challenging even the heavens themselves."

Alaric’s jaw tightened so hard it nearly ached. He said coldly, "I order you and your entire envoy to leave at once."

His voice thundered through the hall. "Otherwise, you will be declaring war against Eryndor, and Merovia cannot afford a second fall."

A cruel smirk curled across his lips as he reminded her of the devastating war that had nearly destroyed her kingdom.

The Queen’s eyes narrowed angrily at him.

She couldn’t believe he remained this stubborn even after every piece of evidence had been laid before him.

"This wedding will proceed..."

But before he could finish, Rosalind cut him off. "I do not wish to marry you."

The hall erupted in gasps once more.

Alaric let out a dark chuckle as his gleaming eyes settled on her. "I thought we settled this already," he said.

Rosalind drew in a shaky breath and met his gaze with open defiance. "You forced me into this. I do not wish to be your wife."

The murmuring began again just as Rosalind stepped closer and scoffed. "You’re not looking for a wife at all. You’re looking for a slave! You’re looking for someone you can control and punish whenever you please. You’ve kept me locked away all this time, forbidden anyone from seeing me, and left me trapped in that chamber day after day. Is that how you intend to treat your future bride?"

Alaric’s expression darkened immediately. "Don’t push it," he warned.

However, Rosalind refused to back down, she was done being afraid.

Alaric slowly turned his gaze toward the crowd, and his voice became frighteningly calm. "If anyone dares provoke me again," he said loudly enough for the entire hall to hear, "They would wish they had never been born"

The threat settled heavily over the ceremony while the nobles struggled with how he had just threatened them.

Then he looked directly at Rosalind. "The wedding will continue."

King Lionel rose from his distinguished seat and faced Alaric directly. "You cannot proceed with this wedding. We have seen the proof, and this marriage cannot take place while we stand here and watch," he declared firmly.

The other kings and queens, along with the dukes, duchesses, and important nobles present, stood as well and voiced their agreement. The sight of them all opposing him made Alaric’s eyes flare with anger as his gaze swept across every one of them.

"Are you all challenging me now?" he demanded furiously.

The beast remained within the hall even as chaos unfolded, its growls low and constant, eyes sharp and alert as though it was still tethered to Rosalind’s presence and reacting to every shift in tension around her.

Then, as though the spectacle of the day had not already reached its peak, the guards of Eryndor entered the hall with Rowan in their custody.

His wrists were bound tightly behind him and his ankles restrained so that he could not move freely, while a cloth gag had been forced into his mouth to ensure he would not speak.

Alaric had ordered the guards to bring him at a specific time because he had intended to kill him in front of Rosalind and present his corpse as a twisted gift. Now Rowan stood there restrained between the guards.

His gaze instinctively lifted and for a brief moment it locked with Rosalind’s, and although neither of them spoke, something unspoken passed between them in that instant.

Her heart then began hammering against her chest because she knew exactly what Alaric was planning.

He intended to kill Rowan here and now, and she could not allow that to happen.

"If you insist on proceeding with this wedding, then we will not remain present for it, lest the wrath of the heavens fall upon all of us," King Lionel declared, standing his ground, and the other rulers quickly joined him in agreement.

One of the guards approached Alaric and whispered something into his ear. Alaric’s gaze lifted immediately and settled on Rowan, who remained restrained by the guards.

"Should we proceed, Your Majesty?" the guard asked quietly. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Alaric clenched his jaw so tightly that the muscles in his face twitched. His gaze locked onto Rowan’s, and there was no emotion in his eyes. He had decided long ago that he would kill his brother, and nothing was going to stop him. Not these guests, not the Queen of Merovia, and certainly not Rosalind. At the end of the day, he intended to get what he wanted, even if it required bloodshed.

"Proceed," he ordered.

Rosalind heard the command and immediately threw the veil from her face as she watched the guard hurry away to relay the order.

"You need to stop them right now, or I will tell everyone the truth," she said sharply.

Alaric didn’t even blink.

Rosalind turned her gaze toward the guard who was already running across the side of the hall. "Tell him to stop!" she demanded.

"Like I told you before, no one will believe your nonsense," Alaric replied in a low, menacing voice. "You should use this moment to say your final goodbye to him."

The guard moved quickly through the corridors and reached the execution squad stationed behind the hall, relaying the king’s order that the sentence was to be carried out immediately.

"Fine," Rosalind said, making her decision instantly. Whether people believed her or not no longer mattered.

The soldiers stepped forward at once, weapons ready, only for Rosalind’s voice to suddenly cut through the ceremony from within the hall and halt everything before the strike could be made. "I have something important to let you know."

The hall gradually fell silent.

"The ’King Drystan’ all of you have been wondering about is very much alive, and he’s standing right there."

Rosalind pointed directly at Rowan, and every head in the hall turned toward him.

Alaric’s teeth clenched immediately. "Seize her!" he ordered.

"No one moves!" the Queen countered sharply.

Almost instantly, the Queen’s guards stepped forward and prevented Alaric’s men from reaching Rosalind.

Alaric’s guards hesitated as tension spread through the hall. The arrival of foreign royals and Merovian soldiers had created a silent but undeniable standoff, with neither side willing to make the first move in a space now filled with rulers who carried equal authority, and so despite their loyalty to Alaric, they found themselves unable to act without triggering a larger conflict.

"King Drystan is the rightful heir to the throne," Rosalind continued fearlessly. "And Alaric, the man standing before you, is nothing more than an usurper who stole the throne from his own brother before forcing him into servitude and turning him into nothing more than a footman."

The hall erupted into complete uproar.

Whispers spread like wildfire through the crowd.

Alaric let out a dark chuckle. "Are you all truly going to listen to the ramblings of this madwoman?" he demanded.

King Lionel narrowed his eyes. "What you’re claiming is extremely serious. Are you saying that the rightful King of Eryndor has been alive all this time while Alaric ruled in his place as an usurper?"

"I believe every word she’s saying," the Queen stated immediately as she stepped forward to support her daughter.

Marek joined without hesitation. "For years, Alaric has been sending letters claiming that his brother was ill and recovering from battle injuries that everyone here knows about. Meanwhile, if what she’s saying is true, he used that opportunity to seize the throne and force his own brother into servitude."

Gasps echoed throughout the hall.

King Lionel, King Jacob, and the other rulers exchanged troubled looks because they remembered those letters.

Alaric had always claimed that his brother was recovering and unable to rule, and therefore he was managing affairs temporarily. Yet if Rowan truly was Drystan, then Alaric had not been ruling temporarily at all. He had simply taken the throne for himself.

Verity looked at Thalia in complete disbelief.

"So they’re actually brothers?"

"This is unbelievable."

Meanwhile, Sabine stared openly at Rowan before looking at Claire. "So the footman was king this entire time?"

Neither of them could quite process everything unfolding before their eyes.