Chapter 569
“Why are you suddenly asking about this?” Although the king was a bit surprised, he still opened his mouth and explained, “I don’t know much, but since you want to hear it, I’ll tell you.”
It was about ten years ago–at least, that was what he vaguely remembered. The only thing he could recall with certainty was that the Azure Sea Royal Family was at its peak back then, thriving both financially and politically.
He had wanted his son, Shawn Affleck, to inherit the throne. However, the young Shawn had other ideas. He sneaked away from the Azure Sea Royal Family, claiming that as the future successor, he needed to travel to distant lands and see more of the world. Using the pretense of training and gaining experience, he slipped away.
The king, though furious, ultimately couldn’t suppress Shawn’s indomitable will and reluctantly allowed him to leave.
Eight months later, Shawn returned–not alone, but with a young woman named Faith Ashton.
Faith was strikingly beautiful, with a vibrant yet composed demeanor. Her words were confident and unpretentious, which immediately endeared her to the king.
He appreciated her elegance and grace and tacitly approved of the budding relationship between Shawn and Faith.
But then, á few months later, scandal struck. Faith got drunk at an event and was discovered in bed with another man. A month after that, it was revealed she was pregnant.
Faith vehemently insisted that she had not been intimate with anyone that night and that the child was Shawn’s. However, all the others in the Azure Sea Royal Family turned against her. She was vilified, her reputation shredded, and no one believed her. The uproar was relentless, with members of the royal court seizing the opportunity to oppose their union.
Some even declared that if Shawn, the crown prince, insisted on marrying Faith–a so–called “slut“-he would have to forfeit his claim to the throne.
Many people were forcing Shawn to make a choice.
The king’s anger boiled over. He publicly executed several dissenters to quell the uproar.
Even so, Shawn defied the family. He took Faith with him and left the Azure Sea Royal Family, vanishing from their lives for
a year.
The king organized search parties, but Shawn and Faith remained elusive.
Eventually, he consoled himself with the thought that they would be safe and perhaps they had sought refuge with the Ashton family in Traron City.
A year later, once the Azure Sea Royal Family’s internal chaos had subsided and his position was secure, the king sent emissaries to Traron City to inquire about the Ashton family. What they reported was devastating: Shawn and Faith had been hunted down and killed.
In the countless days and nights that followed, the king couldn’t escape his guilt. He often wondered if, had he been firmer- if he had dealt more ruthlessly with those self–serving royal conspirators–Shawn and Faith might still be alive.
Then the king sighed and said, “I bear the greatest responsibility for this matter. It was foolish of me to think it was a good thing that they left. It never occurred to me that there would be such people who were so obsessed with my position that they would secretly send men to kill them!”
Then what happened?” Tiffany asked.
“Then…” the king recalled. “I found you in a trash can, still so small, frozen and bruised. Yet when I picked you up, you smiled at me.”
08:21 Thu, Nov 28
Chapter 369-
At that time, Tiffany was just a baby swaddled in blankets, smiling like a delightful doll, an angel descended to earth.
Tiffany knew the rest of the story.
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The king took her home, cared for her, and doted on her for five years, until the Azure Sea Royal Family’s infighting erupted in full force, and she vanished amid the chaos.
Tiffany paused for a moment before asking, “Grandpa, did you believe my mother back then?”
Everyone turned against her, accusing her of drunken indiscretions and sleeping with another man. With such ‘evidence‘, no matter what she said, no one would have believed her.
And, in truth, it had all been part of a conspiracy.
The king shook his head. “I never doubted her because your father was my son. The woman who could make him treat her the way he did, I didn’t think she would do such a thing.”
At hearing those words, Tiffany smiled. “Thank you, Grandpa.”
It didn’t matter what others thought or said. As long as those closest to them were willing to believe, it must have been a great comfort to Faith back then.
In that case, then the person who was lying in bed with Faith at that time must have been James.
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