Awakening Love: Reborn to Be His Duchess Chapter 452: A Daughter's Fury

"I'm done talking to you!"

The words came out sharp, almost breaking. Maerwyn turned and took several quick steps away, only to stop again as something surged up inside her. She spun back, her eyes red and blazing.

"You didn't raise me," she said, each word hitting harder than the last. "It was the wet nurses. The matrons. They were the ones who fed me, who stayed with me when I cried at night, who held me when I got hurt. Where were you?"

Her voice climbed, years of resentment finally spilling over. "You were too busy dealing with Lady Elira, trying to get rid of her child, or going after whoever had just caught His Majesty's attention. Everything you did was about keeping your position, getting rid of anyone you didn't like. When were you ever actually there for me? When did you ever care if I was happy?"

Isla's face went completely pale, her body swaying as an attendant quickly steadied her.

Maerwyn stood there for a moment longer, breathing hard, as if she had nothing left to give. Then she wiped her tears roughly and turned, leaving without another glance.

Isla trembled, her chest tight, anger and something heavier tangled together until she could barely breathe.

After a long moment, she forced out through clenched teeth, "Ungrateful child... I should never have—"

"Your Majesty, please."

Hilda stepped in quickly, her voice low but urgent as she signaled the others to move further away. "Please don't say something you'll regret. The princess is young, and she doesn't see the full picture yet. It's easy for someone to influence her right now. But she is still your daughter. That won't change."

She leaned in slightly, her tone more pressing. "What matters right now isn't the princess. It's His Majesty."

Isla's expression tightened.

Yes. No matter how Maerwyn acted, she was still her daughter.

But the King...

Elowen had pushed this too far. The collapse, the near loss of the child, everything pointed back to someone from Isla's household.

And Theodric had already grown dissatisfied with her.

Isla drew in a slow breath, forcing herself to steady. "I never ordered something like this. She set this up."

Hilda nodded immediately. "I believe you, Your Majesty. But that's exactly why you need to act first. You can't wait for His Majesty to question you or hear only one side. You should return to the palace now and explain everything yourself. Alyssa came from your household. This needs to be cleared by you."

Isla closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again, her gaze colder than before.

"Prepare the carriage. We're returning to the palace."

Inside the room, Gerda moved quietly, dismissing the attendants before stepping forward. "Your Grace, Her Majesty and Princess Maerwyn have left."

A faint light flickered in Elowen's eyes. "How did it go?"

"They argued outside the courtyard," Gerda replied. "The princess spoke rather harshly, and Her Majesty seemed genuinely angered. In the end, the princess left in tears."

Elowen nodded slightly, a faint curve touching her lips. "That sounds about right."

She wanted Alaric out of the way, gone for good.

But she understood one thing with absolute clarity. As long as Isla still held her place at the heart of the royal court, the influence backing her would never falter, and Alaric's standing would remain untouchable.

If she was going to settle this properly, then Isla had to be the first to fall.

At first, she had been considering how to make a move.

Then the opportunity presented itself.

Cassian had been urgently summoned away, and almost immediately, rumors began circulating through the estate, exaggerated just enough to cause alarm.

The timing couldn't have been better.

It was as if everything was lining up for her without any effort at all.

She followed the current and staged her collapse.

With that foundation laid, everything that came after unfolded naturally.

Elowen had figured it out early on. Of all the attendants Isla had sent over, Alyssa was the one who mattered most.

She was careful, knew how to wait, and never made a move unless she had to.

Instead, she preferred to turn others into tools, and the one she used most often was a maid named Seren.

So Elowen used the rumors as an excuse, reassigned Seren, and placed Alyssa where she wanted her.

Then came Maerwyn's message.

The tone of it had been unmistakably sincere.