The Mad Princess and the Dying Prince novel Chapter 52

Before Celia could speak, Lucia let out a soft laugh.

She seemed entirely unbothered by Lady Beaumont's rage.

"I would have forgotten had you not mentioned it. Now that I have returned to House Beaumont, where is my monthly allowance? Where are my seasonal gowns, my maids' wages, the firewood, and the fresh water and wine for my chambers? I have not seen anyone deliver them."

Lady Beaumont had not expected her to have the audacity to demand such things. A cold glint flashed in her eyes as she suddenly remembered Lord Alistair Beaumont's instructions.

"If you wish to discuss this, then let us settle the accounts, lest you think this family has owed you all these years."

Lucia looked at her, silently gesturing for her to continue.

"We sent you to the countryside because a mystic warned that the Royal Capital's destiny was too heavy for your fragile fate. If you had stayed, you would have perished young. It was for your own good."

Lady Beaumont appraised her, a mocking sneer on her face. "Put plainly, a wretched fate requires a wretched upbringing."

Her lady had a fragile fate?

Though Celia did not understand such mysticism, she felt that Lucia radiated an undeniable aura of fortune!

Perhaps she was already viewing Lucia through a lens of admiration.

"You were constantly sick in the country. Your grandparents and Uncle Mason Beaumont exhausted themselves caring for you. Your father sent ample silver and medicinal herbs every year. Over the past decade, estimating a hundred silver marks a year, we must have spent over a thousand marks on you."

Had Lucia not possessed her past memories, she almost would have believed it!

Poor young Lucia had toiled like a beast of burden in the countryside from a young age, shivering and starving. She had survived illnesses entirely on her own, narrowly escaping death's grasp multiple times. She had never seen a single copper or herb from the capital.

Furthermore, the Countryside Beaumonts had beaten and cursed her mercilessly. They acted nothing like family.

They clearly despised her. It certainly was not out of affection.

There had to be some hidden plot.

Seeing Lucia fall silent, Lady Beaumont softened her expression. Forgetting her earlier attempt to strike the girl, she forced a semblance of a gentle smile.

"You were young and ignorant, so it is natural you did not understand. But now that the king has decreed your betrothal to Prince Jareth, you ought to mature. Otherwise, when you truly join the Prince's Estate, you will only bring shame to him."

Lady Beaumont looked her over. "Did you want new gowns? That is perfectly fine. I will send a seamstress to take your measurements shortly. However, regarding the maiden statue you took with you back then—could you return it to me? It was originally part of my wedding gifts. You cried for it so much as a child that I let you keep it to soothe you in the country."

The maiden statue?

Was this their true objective?