Chapter 230: The Queen Dowager’s Secret
“The sea… it’s incredible, truly.”
Rest opened the window and stepped out onto the balcony. From there, he could gaze out over the vast ocean, the majestic beauty of nature flooding his senses.
“Did the Queen Dowager… like the sea?” Celestine murmured with a sigh. The room they were in was a bedroom, furnished only with a small table, a bed, and a closet. There were no expensive artworks or jewels to be found.
“How should I put it… my image of her has changed…”
The Queen Dowager had always seemed to Rest to be an enigmatic, otherworldly figure. She had rallied numerous powerful nobles to her side, dragging the tyrant from his throne. Yet, in her later years, she had indulged her grandson, Rodel, raising him to become a similar tyrant. It was a disjointed picture, leaving Rest baffled about her true intentions—a woman who resembled a monster in his mind. That was the Queen Dowager, Frederica Aiwood.
(But this room… it somehow feels more human, doesn’t it?)
The simple room contained a famous poetry collection and a small vase. The flowers within had withered and crumbled, their original identity lost. And then there was the vast ocean visible from the window. In this room, she had spent her later years gazing at the sea almost daily.
(What could she have been thinking while living out her days here…?)
“This room has nothing of interest. Shall we check the study next?” Celestine called out to Rest, who was still looking out at the sea.
“If we want to learn more about the Queen Dowager, there might be a diary or something in the study.”
“You’re right.”
Rest nodded and turned on his heel. After securely closing the window, he left the room and entered the study next door.
“This place only has a desk and a bookshelf. The bookshelf contains…”
“Poetry collections, the Flower Encyclopedia, and just novels,” Celestine noted.
“Ah…”
There were no confidential documents or magic books to be found. It was truly just a collection of leisure reading.
“Could it be that this villa holds nothing of significance?”
Perhaps it was merely a retreat for her to spend her remaining years in peace. That thought began to take root in Rest’s mind.
“By the way… did the Queen Dowager pass away in this villa?”
“I… don’t know.”
“What?”
“We don’t know where the Queen Dowager died. She had left the Royal Palace for her health, but one day, her body was found in the bedroom at the palace. Someone must have brought her back, but we don’t know who.”
“……..”
It was indeed a strange tale. Another mystery surrounding the Queen Dowager seemed to deepen.
“If that’s the case… it’s possible she died here. And perhaps she was living with someone…?”
No, there was only one bed. It wasn’t large enough for two people to sleep comfortably. Of course, it was possible that someone had been staying in the living room or the basement.
“There might be something in the desk drawer,” Celestine suggested, rummaging through the desk.
Inside the drawer, she found a large stack of papers.
“What is that?”
“This is, um… Aah!”
“Celestine?!”
Celestine suddenly let out a scream, dropping the stack of papers onto the floor. The facade of a refined lady shattered, revealing her as a girl of her age, startled and frightened.
“What on earth is written here… Hii!?”
Rest stopped in his tracks as he reached for the fallen papers. The stack that had emerged from the desk drawer contained something terrifying.
“This is…”
“How scandalous…”
Rest and Celestine exclaimed in unison, their voices strained. At last, the Queen Dowager’s secret had been unveiled… and its nature was beyond imagination.
“No way… is this a Boys’ Love book…?!”
The papers revealed illustrations of men entwined with one another in intricate detail.