Penelope held the bar of her cell as she waited for the unknown person to approach her.
Finally, the person revealed himself. It was Camden.
Penelope smiled with happiness.
"Good that you are here, you really need to get me out of here, I did not do it myself, I was only following orders, you can ask Edward, he is the mastermind behind it all," Penelope ranted.
Camden remained quiet as he watched her lose her cool. He could only shake his head at her lack of composure.
"I am following orders as well, so you should understand that you need to remain in this cell," Camden smiled at her.
"But I am your sister, can't you just help me please with Prince Ethan?" Penelope screamed as she gave him a confused look.
"Adopted sister, you are my adopted sister, we are not related in any way," Camden corrected with a smile.
Penelope became downcast immediately.
"Remember, you promised dad you will take care of me before he died," Penelope desperately stated as she hoped he would listen to her.
"That was on the premise that you would behave, I didn't complain when you decided to act as Prince Ethan's concubine, but I cannot save you this time, you decided to poison his Princess Consort, I am afraid, I cannot help you," Camden replied to her without a change in his expression.
Penelope slowly left the bars of the cell, slipping to the cold floor as reality began to set in.
"Brother, are you sure you will not be helping me?" Penelope asked again, this time, with a more desperate voice.
"I am sorry, Penelope, but I am unable to heed to this request of yours, I only came to see you one last time, Prince Ethan would be here soon to pass his judgement, the only thing I can ask you to do is to hope,
And pray that His Highness would be lenient on you," Camden stated, before he walked out of the dungeon, leaving Penelope feeling desperate.
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A few days later>
The news about Adelaide being poisoned had spread, and it had reached the ears of King Albert and Queen Victoria.
They were furious that such a thing happened, and Ethan did not deem it worthy to inform them about it.
They had to find out from a different means. But on second thought, Ethan, despite being the Crown Prince, and the future King of Asteria, has always done things contrary to people's expectations.
For example, he was the one who chose to get married to Adelaide, and no one could stop him from doing so.
Presently, the King and Queen decided to visit Adelaide, who had recovered completely, fortunately.
"You should not have taken time to visit me, I don't think it was necessary," Adelaide smiled courteously as she lowered her head, unable to look into the eyes of the Royal Couple.
They were in the garden of Ethan's courtyard. It seemed the Royal Couple planned this visit, as Ethan was not around in the palace. He was away for an official duty.
"You should not say that, we should have visited you, but we just got the news that you were poisoned, I hope you are okay, dear?" Queen Victoria asked with a smile.
To Adelaide, she felt that the Queen was a nice person, but she had been in the royal family her whole life, and she had learned not to trust what she sees.
Because of this attitude, she was unable to be close to Ethan, irrespective of the fact that he has been helpful and caring towards her these past few days.
"Have you been able to find the culprit?" King Albert asked with concern laced in his voice.
If anything happened to Adelaide in his territory, it would not end well for him, as well as his kingdom, and its people.
"His Highness, Prince Ethan has found out who did it, but I have been unable to see the culprit on the premise that I need to recover," Adelaide replied with a smile.
Now, she was beginning to get worried. She wondered why they kept asking questions as though they cared.
"Alright then, this is a rare herb, we brought it for good luck, and it will help you recover immediately, I hope you would accept it," Queen Victoria snapped her fingers, and a maid appeared immediately with a basket full of herbs in her hands.
"Your Majesty, you should not have done this, I'm afraid, I would be unable to accept it," Adelaide declined on seeing the basket full of herbs.
She was familiar with some herbs. They were rare herbs, and she could not afford to take them. She could not take them at any cost.
Queen Victoria sighed as she exchanged looks with King Albert, who encouraged her.
"Listen, I haven't given you a gift ever since you became my son's wife, and my daughter-in-law, count this to be a gift from me to you, and you cannot reject it, if you do, I will take it that you don't trust me, nor do you trust my family, your husband, who is my son included," Queen Victoria low-key threatened.
Adelaide exhaled with exhaustion. She understood that there was no way she could reject the herbs. She might as well accept it, and when Ethan arrives, she would ask him what to do with them.
"Alright then, thank you so much for your generosity, Your Majesty," Adelaide thanked her, and Marie, who was behind them, stepped forward to accept it from Queen Victoria.
"Adelaide, we will be leaving now, I hope you enjoy your stay in Asteria, and we promise that there won't be a repeat of this case again," King Albert promised, and Adelaide nodded politely in return.
After they had left, Marie looked at the herbs, and she let out a sigh.
"They are rich, these herbs are considered to be a luxury back in Dystopia, but here they are, handing the herbs as gifts, truly, they deserve the title as the richest country," Marie sighed as she rubbed her hands through the herbs.
Meanwhile, Adelaide sat in deep thought. She did not think the Royal Couple would deliver herbs to her for no reason, there had to be a reason, but the reason, she had no idea. She could only wait for Ethan to arrive.