227 TO STAY OR NOT TO STAY

Azra pulled out the sword from its sheath as the shadow of the person from outside the cellar came closer to them. 

"My lord." The man called him out. 

"It's the coachman!" Erin whispered to Azra from behind his back. 

Azra breathed out a sigh of relief as he put the sword back. 

"They already left. Lord Hou asked me to fetch you here as he can't with his health condition." The coachman explained. 

Erin's hand flew to her chest as she relaxed. "I thought we're done for. There's still hope for us. Come on."

Azra furrowed his brows as he wasn't certain if there could be hope in this scenario. He only has a simple dream, to serve the Crowned Prince all his life and bring honor to the Hou clan. And now both of them are gone.

As soon as they got up, Lord Hou immediately took them inside his Chamber.

"Give me back the key. I will take care of it."

At a fraction of a second, Erin pulled it out and gave it to Lord Hou. He then bowed to her in gratitude. Then he faced Azra and gave him instructions. 

"I will deal with this. But for now, get away from here with Lady Asha and Lady Selena. Alas, the Queen's jealousy has been triggered again and even doubled up with her only son being involved. Who knows what she can do to you?"

Azra's eyes narrowed at his remark. "No, just stay here. I will come back and fix this. We already have a witness. I can be proven innocent. They can stay here with you for the meantime."

Lord Hou's hands trembled in anger as he recalled the past. "You don't know how heinous the Queen can get when she is blinded by outburst of envy. And that is the reason why I don't like her from the start."

Azra patted the back of his grandfather with a worried look. "I didn't know you had this ill relationship with one another."

Lord Hou told him the details of what happened then so his grandson would not take her lightly.

"She made up an incident accusing me of attempting to abuse her so I can be fired then."

Erin's palms flew to her face to hide her opened mouth. "That's mean."

Then her fingers flew to her cheeks as she thought about the current situation.

"But the arsenic poisoning could not have been a fake one. I know Lady Asha even treated her. Could it really be an attempt to the Queen or she just happened to eat it at that moment? Still, it must be karma for what she's done to others. Sorry, your Majesty!" 

She immediately patted her mouth as she realized she had just spoken negatively to the Queen of Terra.

"You have a point. I don't think anyone would dare do that to her."

"Even Lord Vigo?" Azra asked Lord Hou. 

"Vigo could covet the throne but I don't think he could kill his aunt."

"Can it just be pure coincidence then?" Azra rubbed his chin. 

Lord Hou waved his hands in the air. "I don't know about that. But now, that her eyes were set on you, your lives are in danger. The King has also proved my innocence then. But she always finds ways to twist the story affecting the entire Hou Clan, I decided to leave in my own accord. That's the only time I lived peacefully."

Erin heaved out a deep sigh. "If she is that desperate. What could she have done to Lady Asha then? And Lady Asha now?" 

Her hands flew to her hair in despair for her friend who seemed to have a closed-minded possessive mother-in-law. She thought it could be better if she would just back out from her relationship with Raigon.

"She actually attempted to kill her but she was able to escape then."

"What?!" Erin suddenly stood up. "This cannot be!"

"I thought she changed since she already had children. That's why I told you to hide these ladies now, Azra!"

Azra nodded as he also stood up. "Let's go to the tunnel now. But where could Lady Asha be right now?"

Meanwhile, Zoe was still on her way to the tunnel. But since it was already dark and she did not know her way much, she got lost in her way. She ended up at the outskirts of Terra, just a few meters away from Lord Howe Island.

Since she and the horse were weary, she decided to rest for a minute. She glanced up at the stars and heaved out a sad sigh.

"Why did this happen to us, Mama?" Her lips twitched downward as her heart was burdened again recalling the unfortunate situation she was in.

If she was indeed the prophesied queen, then this could all be happening because of her. The royal family's destruction, the epidemic outbreak, the Hou Clan's involvement. 

She may have been a blessing by using her medical intervention for them. But she may have also been a curse as this all just happened as her feet stepped on this land being an intruder, the forbidden rule of their ancestors.

Afterward, she glanced below the cliff as she saw the waves lapping on the sands below. 

"Should I just go back to the world where I came from? Will Terra return to its previous peaceful state?"

Then, she swiveled and gazed at Terra and its beauty. As she stared at it, a vision of the Crowned Prince of that land appeared in her eyes, smiling at her with welcoming hands. 

Her body wanted to run to his arms and rest in his sturdy chest. But she closed her eyes as she knew it was just wishful thinking. 

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"Welcome to the wonderful world of jealousy, he thought. For the price of admission, you get a splitting headache, a nearly irresistable urge to commit murder, and an inferiority complex. Yippee."

― J.R. Ward, Dark Love