I will be the perfect wife this time

Chapter 219: The Shadow Ally

The first thing that returned to Olivia was not her vision, but the distant, low murmurs of muffled voices echoing in the room. The words were quiet, filtered through the fading fog of her consciousness, yet heavy with unyielding tension.

"How is her condition?"

"She is stable. There are no lasting injuries; she simply fainted due to the immense pressure radiating from the fire stone. Since you intervened at the exact right moment, Your Grace, everything is under control."

"And the child?"

"The child is completely safe. Untouched."

The final word pierced through her remaining lethargy like a shockwave. Olivia’s eyes snapped open. With a sudden, frantic burst of adrenaline, she bolted upright in the bed, her breath catching violently in her throat.

Before she could even register her surroundings, strong, familiar arms caught her, gently but firmly guiding her back down against the pillows.

"Slow down, slow down, Olivia," Matthias’s voice rumbled, tight with a desperate, suppressed emotion.

"Matthias..." She stared into his face, her eyes wide with a residual, terrifying panic. "The fire... I... I was..."

Her hand flew instinctively to her abdomen, her fingers clutching the fabric over her stomach in a desperate, trembling claw. Looking up at him, the unyielding Duchess completely vanished, leaving only a terrified mother pleading for her child’s life. "Please... please tell me he is alright. Please, Matthias, I beg of you..."

It was undeniably clear that he had been weeping. The sharp, lethal Duke of the Empire looked utterly shattered, his eyes bloodshot, ringed with a deep, crimson exhaustion that spoke of a man who had stared directly into his own personal hell.

"Our son is safe, Olivia," Matthias whispered, his voice cracking slightly as he gripped her trembling hands. "He is truly, perfectly fine. It’s over. Calm down, my love... everything is alright now."

A broken, breathless sob escaped her lips. Stripped of all her pride, Olivia threw herself forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. She buried her face in his shoulder, weeping openly, letting the warmth of his embrace melt the ice of the terror. Caught in the raw vortex of their relief, she didn’t notice the others in the room.

Out of sheer respect for their raw vulnerability, the individuals standing around the bed quietly averted their gazes. When Olivia finally pulled back, wiping the tears from her cheeks, her sharp mind registered her surroundings.

Standing a few paces away, completely stripped of his royal composure, was Emperor Lucius. His crown was nowhere to be seen, his hair slightly dishevelled, and his breathing was still heavy, as if he had run through the palace corridors the split second he heard the news. Beside him, Kyle looked equally shaken, his face pale and his hands subtly trembling as he stepped closer to the bed.

"Olivia, are you alright?" both Kyle and Lucius asked almost in unison, their voices cracking with a raw, paternal and fraternal anxiety that completely ignored imperial protocol. Lucius reached out, his hand hovering over hers for a second, wanting to comfort his daughter but fearing he might agitate her further.

"Yes, I am fine, but..." Olivia hesitated, her fingers instinctively tightening around the blanket. "What happened? I don’t understand... everything happened so quickly. All I can remember is..."

She trailed off, falling into a sudden silence. She couldn’t expose the truth in front of her father and brother just yet—not until she understood the full scope of the trap.

Sensing the immense strain on her and her calculated hesitation, Matthias shifted on the edge of the bed. He intercepted the heavy, suffocating tension in the room and turned toward the Emperor and Kyle.

"Your Majesty... Kyle," Matthias spoke, his tone low but laced with an unyielding gravity. "Could you leave us alone for a few moments? She needs to catch her breath."

Lucius looked at his daughter, his eyes filled with a reluctant, aching worry, before exchanging a grim look with Kyle. Recognizing that Olivia would only speak freely with her husband right now, the Emperor swallowed his pride and nodded slowly. "Very well. We will be right outside."

The heavy doors clicked shut as they retreated into the corridor, leaving the chamber in a tense, suffocating quiet.

The moment they were completely alone, Olivia turned her gaze back to Matthias. The sharp, strategic look in her eyes briefly softened into a profound, aching vulnerability. She looked straight into his bloodshot eyes, her voice trembling with the ghost of her terror.

"I thought... I thought we were going to lose another son, Matthias," she whispered, her voice barely a breath.

Matthias’s jaw clenched, a deep, agonizing pang shattering his expression as he gently cupped her face with his large hands. His thumb brushed a lingering tear from her cheek. "No," he replied, his voice dropping into a low, fiercely protective rumble. "Perhaps I was the fool who allowed such a tragedy to happen in the past. But I promised you, Olivia—I promised you that both of you would be safe. I will never let history repeat itself."

Olivia let out a shuddering breath, anchoring herself in his unyielding promise. Slowly, her mind clawed its way back to the cold reality of what had just transpired. Her composure began to harden into an icy frost.

"Serene... I never expected this from her," Olivia hissed, her knuckles turning stark white against the sheets. "She smiled at me, she wept on my shoulder, and then she left a death sentence in my room. How could she betray me like this?"

Matthias didn’t answer right away. He merely stared at her, his dark eyes hooded, shrouded in a heavy, unsettling calm.

"Why are you silent?" she pressed, her voice sharp with the sting of betrayal.

"Do not blame Serene," Matthias finally spoke, his tone low and steady. "She was the one who informed me that a trap was being orchestrated against the Duchy."

Olivia’s breath hitched, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief. "What?"

"I have always shared a profound, deeply rooted connection with Serene, Olivia. Where do you think I obtained all that detailed information about your safety in the past? It was her. She was the one who constantly begged me to watch over you from the shadows."

Olivia felt the room tilt slightly as her entire perception of the past months fractured. "She... she knows you are alive?"

"Yes. I was forced to reveal the truth to her," he admitted, his gaze darkening. "Just in case someone ever attempted to use her to move against you. Like they did today. She accepted the task only to ensure that I would know the exact time and nature of the attack."

Olivia rubbed her eyes in sheer bewilderment, the chaotic pieces of the political puzzle finally clicking into place. "Ah... that certainly explains her strange tears before she left." She paused, a sudden, darker realization freezing the air between them. Her sharp gaze narrowed as she looked at him. "If she has been your ally for so long... did she know? Did she know what you did to Elvira?"

At the mention of that name, Matthias’s dark green eyes shifted, and his thoughts silently sank into the depths of a distant memory.

-------

It had happened months ago, in the quiet, dim sanctuary of Duchess Tharon’s private chambers.

Matthias stood before her, his tall silhouette casting a long shadow across the room. Serene had looked up, a tired but graceful smile touching her lips. "You have returned again, Matthias."

"Greetings, Duchess," he replied, his tone laced with a cold, formal respect.

"How are you, my son?"

"I am doing perfectly well," Matthias said smoothly, his posture unyielding as he stepped closer. "However, there is a certain matter I wish to discuss with you."

"Oh?" Serene raised an eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

"Elvira..."

The warmth instantly vanished from Serene’s face, her entire posture stiffening at the mention of her daughter. "What has she done now?"

A dark, malicious smirk tugged at the corner of Matthias’s lips. "Let’s just say... this time, she is the victim of the story, not the perpetrator."

"What on earth do you mean by that?"

Matthias closed the distance between them, stopping only when he was facing her directly. His dark eyes bore into hers with terrifying clarity. "I respect you, Duchess. You are my wife’s mother, and you have always aided me from the shadows. I do not wish to be crude or hide my hand from you."

Serene swallowed hard, her voice barely a whisper. "What is it, Matthias?"

"Your daughter’s actions must be brought to an absolute end," he stated, his voice dropping into a chilling, lethal register. "Your daughter murdered my child. She destroyed my wife. She even slaughtered her own siblings—your children. And so..."

Serene froze, her features turning to stone as the horrific truth struck her. "What are you implying?"

"I am implying," Matthias whispered, his gaze completely devoid of mercy, "that I am offering you one final chance to look at her, before she vanishes entirely from this world."

"Matthias..."

"There is no need to give me your answer right now," he interrupted smoothly, turning on his heel toward the door. "I will return tomorrow to see where you stand on the matter."

The memory faded, and Matthias’s gaze pulled back into the present, locking onto Olivia’s stunned expression. The silence in the bedroom was heavy, laced with the unspoken truth.