The Abandoned Luna's Journey to Power Chapter 288: For the Sake of Family Harmony

Queen Isabella's POV:

After a round of polite pleasantries, King Ryken rose to his feet.

"Alright, you youngsters, talk. That old man Dross is still waiting in the side hall to play chess, and the Queen Mother is heading over, too. I won't be the third wheel."

With that, he left the hall in light, easy strides, a whole flock of attendants trailing behind him.

The moment King Ryken vanished, the atmosphere in the hall changed instantly.

I no longer had to keep up the act of the gentle, loving mother.

I leaned back, sinking lazily into the chair, lifting a hand to rub my neck. My brows drew together as I let out a sweet little sigh—laced with impatience.

"Ohhh ... my neck is killing me."

I shot Cindy a sideways look, my tone turning lofty—commanding, as if it were only natural.

"The noise outside last night was unbearable. I didn't sleep a wink. Cindy, I heard you learned massage at the academy? Come here. Massage my shoulders."

This was the obvious next step in establishing rules for a new daughter-in-law.

I'd learned it from Margaret—make sure she knows who truly runs this palace.

She didn't move. I saw the faint curl of a cold smile at the corner of her mouth.

Adam's face darkened instantly.

He was about to speak, and irritation already pricked at me—so he really did protect her that fiercely.

Before I could say another word, Adam stepped forward, placing himself in front of her, looking at me with icy restraint.

"Mother, if your neck hurts, call a physician. Cindy is the Princess Consort. She's a Duchess. She is not your massage servant."

"You—!" My chest tightened with rage. "I'm asking her for a little help. And you're already shielding her?"

"Help?"

Adam let out a cold laugh, his gaze sharp as a blade as it cut straight into me.

"Since we're talking about filial duty, then let me ask you, Mother. Last night, Cindy's 'dragon ruby'—part of her dowry—vanished into thin air. And how did it end up in Margaret's pocket so quickly?"

His words landed like a loud slap across my face.

It was as if the air had been sucked out of the hall. The dead silence made my already panicked heart pound even harder.

"Y-you... What nonsense are you talking about?" I forced myself to steady, trying to hide my guilt behind my usual superior tone, but the tremor in my voice betrayed me. "What dragon ruby? I don't know anything about it! I'm the Queen—Mother of this kingdom. Do you think I'm short on that sort of thing? And you—over an outsider who just entered this family—you dare question your own mother in front of all these servants?"

I gripped the armrests so hard my nails nearly dug into the wood.

There was no reverence left in Adam's golden eyes—only disappointment and anger. That look filled me with a fear I had never known before.

"You don't know?" Adam let out a cold laugh. There was no warmth in it, only a heart-chilling decisiveness. "Mother, do you really think that as long as you don't speak, no one will know? Or do you think Julian would hide this for you forever?"

He stepped closer. The pressure of a top-tier Alpha hit me head-on, forcing me to shrink back without meaning to.

"The guards in the side hall saw it with their own eyes! You took Martha with you and stole the ruby like a thief! That was Cindy's dowry—a wedding gift from the Crimson Dragon Mercenary Company. Taking it is bad enough—but you handed it to Margaret? Do you even know how that woman humiliates us? You're throwing your own son at her feet!"

"Enough!" The pain point was hit, and I shrieked, leaping to my feet. "I'm your mother! What's wrong with taking a stone? Princess Margaret is the Princess! I didn't give it to her—I merely asked her to hold it! And even if I did give it, so what? I was honoring her! It was for family harmony! What do you know, you unfilial son!"

I screamed hysterically, as if being louder could drown out the chaos inside my chest.

"Family harmony?" Cindy, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

She stepped out from behind Adam. Her calm was terrifying. In those silver-gray eyes, there was no anger—only deep, unmistakable pity.

"Your Majesty, is your idea of 'family harmony' stealing my property and then presenting it like tribute to the woman who has been trying to kill me?"

She didn't call me "Mother." She called me "Your Majesty."

That distant form of address made my heart lurch—as if something was quietly slipping away, beyond my reach.