<h4>Chapter 114: A dead whore not consort.</h4>


    Sigrid did not leave through the tunnels under the kitchen with the others, instead she stayed back and made the fire worse, the more it spread, the better more it would be noticeable. By the time she left, Rina’s entire private quarters were on fire.


    When she returned to the castle, she did not sit still or hide like the others, instead, she went out with her knights, maids and Mauve who insisted on going with her. They joined the team of doctors and nurses tat were tending to the injured in the city.


    Many had been hurt by the fires set by the rebels, others had been wounded by swords, some had been trampled on. Sigrid personally tended to the injured, bandaging wounds,forting crying babies, offering words offort and hope, and inspiring the medical team to give give their all.


    Amidst the chaos thatsted through the night, herpassion and leadership shone brightly. Her presence brought a sense of calm and reassurance to those who were suffering.


    The whispers and praises about her in the makeshift hospitals set up on the streets and alleys traveled frommoners to soldiers.


    "She is worthy of being the crown princess, she came out to face the danger with us."


    "The crown princess is my number one idol from now on."


    "She smiled at the baby, can you believe it?"


    "Where is the cold uncaring woman that everyone speaks of?"


    As the opinions that people had about her were reversed, Sigrid was ensuring that the cameras for the daily news got her best angles. She was out there for a selfish reason but it did not change the fact that she was genuinely helping and she had brought many supplies.


    *********


    As dawn started to break, the night long battle started drawing to a close. Rnd and his knights had managed to corner general Douss Siberuss’s forces back. The numbers of the rebels had dwindled greatly, and the white and red knights were filled with renewed vigor as they fought off the rebels that remained.


    In a decisive moment, Rnd confronted general Dous. In every war, as long as the leader of the enemy army was captured, his soldiers would surrender. Rnd and Douss locked eyes, and the tension was palpable.


    "If you surrender now, the king will be merciful." Rnd said. It was his final plea and attempt to make his granduncle’s family see reason.


    General Dous, driven by his insatiable thirst for power shook his head. "The throne should have been ours, it is my father’s birthright." heughed harshly, "My birthright and that of my children. You are nothing but thieves."


    He lunged at Rnd with a ferocious attack but Rnd with his superior skills and agility, deftly rained blows and disarmed the treacherous Dous within three moves.


    "I am a sword mage, you are nothing but an ordinary knight. How did you think this was going to end?" Rnd asked.


    A fight between them was like a fight between an egg and a rock, the victor was already decided before the fight even started.


    The sound of triumphant trumpets was heard and everyone raised their eyes to the skies. Bright magical sparks were exploding, telling everyone that the arch duke had been captured by red knights.


    "It’s over, your father has been captured." Rnd told Dous.


    With the rebels defeated, the white knights swiftly subdued the remaining rebels. The battle was won and the kingdom saved the clutches of tyranny.


    The rebels that were left with life were rounded up and escorted to prison. Rnd set off for the royal castle to check on the king and queen. The scene which weed him when he found the whereabouts of his father was staggering.


    Panic had erupted in the royal castle, the secondary consort’s chambers were engulfed in mes. Smoke rose to the skies and choked the air, the heating from the fire was unbearable.


    His father was shouting orders,manding guards to venture in and save the noble consort, amand which his advisors were very much against.


    Servants and knights were scrambling to find more water, desperately trying to douse the inferno. They had formed a human chain, passing buckets of water from every well on the castle grounds.


    The head mage arrived as Rnd was moving towards the queen that had a look of horror on her face. He stopped in front of her first and gave her a rare hug which she returned.


    "Mother, are you alright?" he asked as he backed away.


    The queen nodded. "I am unharmed, what about you? I have been told the rebel army set fires all over the city and ughtered many innocents. I was so worried about you. You are the crown prince, why do you insist on personally leading your men into battle?"


    "I am alright mother and I am a sword mage. If I do not fight for Eldoria, I will be seen as a coward." He paused because Sir Samuel was handing him a note.


    It was a message informing him that Sigrid was fine and she had been tending to the injured all night. A feeling of relief washed over his body and he sighed.


    "What happened here mother?"


    The queen nced in the direction of the king who was still yelling for someone to find the noble consort.


    "The rebels made it to the chambers of your father’s whore." She tilted her head to hide a smile. "Well, a dead whore now. Unless she has magic, there is no way she survived those mes. Nearly everyone that was in her chambers died, only one of her knights survived, he is unconscious and heavily injured. He mentioned the name Bane Silberuss just before losing consciousness."


    Rnd felt pity for the knights and servants that had died but he felt nothing for Rina. The news of her death neither made him happy nor sad. He did feel bad for her children, especially Benjamin.


    "Mother, please do not repeat these words to anyone else or smile when you talk about Rina’s death. Some people could interpret it the wrong way."


    "What way?" the queen asked.


    "They could assume you were behind it." he whispered.


    She snorted. "That is impossible, I was with your father in the hidden room when this happened. If anybody dares to say rubbish, I will make sure that they are punished harshly. Everybody is already aware about how I feel about Rina, if I feign sadness over her death they will suspect me even more. On the other hand, if I smile, they will simply shrug, judge and move on."


    Rnd sighed, "Fine smile if you want but please don’t refer to her as a whore. If people overhear you..."


    "But that is what she is," Queen Maurelia stated bluntly, cutting into Rnd’s speech. "I am surprised that you are not aware of Rina’s background because your wife knows all about it. She is a whore that your father bought for a lot of gold from the most famous brothel in our kingdom. He gave her a fake identity and passed her off as some chaste pure woman."


    She sneered, "I know what your father is thinking but I will be damned if I allow him to bury that dead whore in the royal tombs. I will not beid to sleep next to a whore, Rnd."