Chapter 173

Chapter 173

“Do you think that just because you killed him, no one will ever know what you did?” the voice spoke again. “You ordered Eugene to drug the King’s food.”

The Queen’s expression changed drastically.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Unease rose from deep within her, and the terror of having her secret exposed brought a ruthless glint to her eyes.

“Queen, even now, are you still going to deny it?”

The voice sounded from behind her again.

The Queen spun around and saw a face she had not expected.

Her eyes narrowed, and her voice turned dangerous. “Miss Judy?”

Tu Nan smiled at her and gave her a leisurely curtsy. “Good evening. I wonder if the Queen might be in the mood to admire the night with me.”

The Queen had no idea what she was trying to do, and the changes in her expression were almost a spectacle.

Tu Nan did not miss a single one.

“Very well.” At last, the Queen smiled. “Since you came to the Royal Palace, we haven’t had much chance to speak. Tonight is the perfect opportunity.”

A light breeze drifted by, and the night was beautiful.

The two of them strolled through the empty Garden, neither in any hurry to speak.

After a full day of wind and rain, the flowers that had once bloomed so fiercely in the Garden had long since shed their petals and leaves. Broken branches littered the ground.

Without the slightest hesitation, the Queen stepped on a fallen rose and crushed it into the mud.

“What do you know?” In the end, she could not hold back and was the first to speak.

“What are you referring to?” Tu Nan stopped and turned slightly to look at her. “The fact that you instructed the Eldest Prince to poison the King’s food? Or the fact that you and the Eldest Prince had long been carrying on an affair? Or perhaps… the fact that you feared being implicated, so you murdered the Eldest Prince?”

With every accusation, the Queen’s face darkened another shade. By the end, her expression was almost chilling.

In this deserted Garden, it was enough to make anyone uneasy.

Without betraying a thing, Tu Nan glanced toward a shadow behind the Queen.

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.” The Queen steadied herself and actually smiled. “Miss Judy, do you know the consequences of framing a Queen?”

“Are you truly certain that not a single person knows what you’ve done?” Tu Nan looked into her eyes and spoke slowly.

The smile vanished from the Queen’s face.

She began combing through her memories, wondering if she really had overlooked some detail and allowed someone else to discover these matters.

Once she thought about it, there was indeed one thing she could not explain-something that might have to do with the person before her.

On the night the Magic Mirror disappeared, her personal Maid said she had not seen anyone suspicious. And yet, on the Queen’s way back, she had clearly seen Judy and Monica.

That Monica came from the forest. The Queen had no choice but to be wary of her.

“Was it you and Monica who stole my mirror?” she asked in a low voice.

Unexpectedly, Judy admitted it without hesitation.

“It was me.” Tu Nan nodded. “The Magic Mirror is in my hands.”

Since she knew that mirror was the Magic Mirror, this was no longer particularly surprising.

“How did you do it?” The Queen stared at her darkly. “Was it that Monica? She’s a Witch, isn’t she?”

Tu Nan asked in return, “How do you know she’s a Witch? Are you a Witch too?”

“Me, a Witch?” The Queen threw back her head and laughed as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. “How could I possibly be a Witch? Everyone knows Witches are evil and unforgivable. I am a noble Queen. How could I have any connection to a Witch?”
“Then why do you have the Witch’s Magic Mirror?” Tu Nan pressed. “You hate Witches so much, yet you’ve been secretly keeping a Witch’s possession all this time?”

“That has nothing to do with you!” the Queen snapped. “You’d better worry about yourself. Once I tell the King you stole from me, do you think he’ll care about some noble on the verge of ruin?”

“And that Monica, too. When she’s burned to death, she’ll regret ever coming here.” The Queen laughed smugly. “So what if you know anything? You don’t have any proof.”

She really didn’t.

“Nemesis, how much longer are you going to stand there and watch?” Tu Nan asked, looking behind the Queen.

The color drained from the Queen’s face in an instant.

That name…

She turned around in disbelief, and at last saw the face she had never laid eyes on before, yet somehow knew all too well.

“Nemesis…” Her voice trembled softly. “You… why are you here?”

“You know me?” Nemesis tilted her head. Her disguise had already failed, and her crimson hair burned like flames in the night.

This was a true Witch.

The Queen’s breath caught.

“Then you must know Aphro, too.” Nemesis walked toward her step by step. Under the Queen’s terrified gaze, she slowly lowered her head and stared into her eyes, her voice leaving no room for refusal. “Tell me. Where is Aphro?”

The Queen’s eyes instantly lost focus. Her gaze went slack, and her whole body seemed to have had its soul sucked out as she murmured, “Aphro… Aphro is… dead.”

Nemesis’s pupils contracted slightly.

Tu Nan also frowned. Aphro, whom they had been searching for all this time, was already dead?

The Queen twitched. A look of struggle crossed her face, and after a moment, she finally broke free from Nemesis’s control. Light returned to her eyes.

She stumbled back two steps and looked at Nemesis in terror.

The Witch’s expression was like a storm about to break over the sea, dark and oppressive, radiating danger.

“She’s dead?” Nemesis took a deep breath, then suddenly let out a cold laugh. “Witches live long lives. How could she be dead?”

Her icy gaze locked onto the Queen. “You’re lying to me!”

“You know better than I do whether I was lying to you.” Still shaken, the Queen clutched at the fabric over her chest, her breathing uneven. “In that state, I couldn’t possibly have lied!”

Nemesis fell silent.

She stood there like a walking corpse whose soul had been ripped away, every trace of life gone from her face.

A long time passed before Tu Nan heard her voice, fragile and on the verge of shattering. “How… how did she die?”

But this time, the Queen said nothing.

“Tell me.” Nemesis lunged in front of her and seized her by the collar, demanding in fury, “Tell me how she died.”

“She’s already dead. Who are you putting on this act for now?” The Queen seemed to draw strength from nowhere and shoved Nemesis away with all her might.

“It has been twenty whole years, and only now you finally remember Aphro?”

Nemesis was pushed aside and stood there blankly, motionless.

Tu Nan couldn’t quite follow where this plot had suddenly gone, so she decided it was best to keep quiet for now.

“I won’t tell you.” The Queen straightened, smoothed her clothes, and cursed viciously, “Carry that question with you and regret it for the rest of your life!”