The Slave Queen - Chapter 79: Chapter 79

Margot pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it to her lips as she coughed. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she waved her hand at Raelynn, signaling she was all right.
Margot gave a wry smile and said self-deprecatingly, "Oh, it's nothing. My age is catching up with me, I suppose. I can't take much these days. Even a short walk like this leaves me worn out."
Upon hearing Margot say she was exhausted, Raelynn quickly suggested they return to the Duke's estate for some rest.
But Margot stubbornly shook her head and said, "It's not often you get to come out like this. The Ice Party only happens once a year. You've got to make the most of it and really enjoy yourself!"
As she spoke, Margot pointed to a nearby building. "I'll go sit in the Goose Pavilion and have a drink and snacks. You go ahead and enjoy yourself."
Raelynn said, "But..."
Margot cut her off decisively and instructed, "Sienna, you accompany Lady Raelynn."
"Yes, ma'am," Sienna replied.
Esther then assisted Margot into the Goose Pavilion.
Seeing this, Raelynn held her tongue.
Raelynn thought to herself, 'Grandmother can be so 'stubborn' sometimes.
'Otherwise, she wouldn't have defied the entire family and pulled out a Royal Pardon just to get me out.'
But then again, she truly hadn't felt this carefree in ages.
With that, Raelynn stopped insisting. After making sure Margot had safely entered the Goose Pavilion and settled in, she and Sienna began strolling through the Ice Party on their own.
While Raelynn was enjoying her leisurely afternoon, the Duke's estate was in utter pandemonium.
After Julia's true identity was exposed, she collapsed right there in public at the Ice Party.
The news spread like wildfire through Hazond City.
Of course, Hugo and Cecilia had already heard the news before Julia even made it home.
Even Gabriel Lennox had caught wind of the news.
Gabriel rushed into the study with a tense face. "What on earth happened today?" he demanded.
However, each of them was preoccupied with different concerns.
Hugo listened grimly as the butler reported the latest intelligence from outside. His face darkened, and without hesitation, he escorted Cecilia and Gabriel to Moonspire Keep.
Julia was now quartered in the second-best chambers of Moonspire Keep.
Faking a faint had always been Julia's forte, but this time she had truly blacked out. Now, she was as weak as someone just recovering from a serious illness.
She sat up in bed, weakly propping herself against the soft cushions.
Julia grabbed Isabel's sleeve, her voice weak but urgent. "After I fainted, did that bitch say anything else to slander me? What happened next?"
Just then, Katherine entered carrying a bucket of steaming water. Overhearing Julia's urgent question, her hands trembled, nearly causing her to lose her grip on the bucket.
Isabel and Katherine exchanged a fearful glance. They were at a complete loss for words.
Seeing the two maids' uneasy expressions, Julia's heart sank. She already had a cold certainty of what must have happened.
At this moment, Julia was so utterly drained she couldn't even muster the strength to throw a tantrum.
Julia snapped, "Speak. What exactly happened next?"
She had to know exactly what happened next.
That was the only way she could take back control.
Isabel and Katherine kept their heads bowed for a long moment before Isabel finally spoke in a hushed voice. "Miss Carlson originally meant to make an issue of Lady Raelynn's past as a palace maid, but somehow, the conversation turned to—"
Julia snapped at Isabel, "What did she say? Tell me!"
Isabel's shoulders trembled as she stammered, "They're saying you have feelings for Lord Shawn, not Lord Ian at all. Lord Ian overheard everything. He's probably heading straight here right now."
Upon hearing Isabel's words, Julia felt as if a bomb had gone off in her head. Her mind went completely blank.
She thought, ''It's over now.
'Today, my scheme to impersonate Raelynn and play the generous benefactor was exposed. And that bitch even hinted at my true identity and suggested that I was a fraud in this noble family.
'And now that idiot Verda has to go and screw everything up!'
"Verda!" Julia seethed.
After a long moment, a glimmer of focus finally returned to Julia's vacant eyes.
She ground out the name through gritted teeth, her voice trembling with rage.
Julia fumed inwardly, 'How could I have been so utterly foolish as to entrust such a crucial matter to Verda?
'Just as I feared, she's completely ruined everything.'
Julia seethed, "I swear you'll pay for this. That imbecile deserves to die too.
"Raelynn! You think you've won? I sent you to hell once four years ago, and I can damn well do it again!"
Julia dug her nails deep into her flesh, seething with hatred. Yet she seemed to feel no pain whatsoever.
At that moment, Julia was consumed by nothing but venomous hatred for her nemesis.
Isabel and Katherine both shrank back in fear at the sight of Julia's deranged appearance.
Suddenly, Julia's blood-red eyes locked onto Katherine, burning with fury.
Katherine's hands jolted with fright, sending the bucket crashing to the floor.
Before Julia could lash out, Katherine hurriedly dropped to her knees.
In an instant, the spilled water soaked through her clothes completely.
But at that moment, she couldn't care less about that. All she could do was frantically plead, "Please, Lady Raelynn, spare me!"
"Useless wretch!" Julia snarled.
Julia shot her a venomous glare but, for once, held back from punishing her.
Instead, Julia leaned in close and hissed in Katherine's ear, "Go to Lunebloom Hollow and find Vania Mack. Tell her to..."
Katherine listened intently.
But with every word, Katherine's face grew paler.