"Princess Mona, how could you..." The man seemed at a loss for words.
Fiona Yun opened her eyes and looked at the man. His gaze was filled with anxiety and reproach, and his official robe differed slightly from the others. Recalling the earlier conversation—"Princess Mona is the Cang Kingdom's princess sent for a marriage alliance"—she realized this man must be the envoy from Cang Kingdom.
His eyes were heavy with concern. He still couldn't figure out why Emperor Alexander suddenly proposed a marriage alliance, and now such a scandal had erupted. Who was really at fault? No one could say. He only feared Emperor Alexander would deem Cang Kingdom insincere and use it as an excuse to start a war. Silvermoon and Cang Kingdom were evenly matched—if war broke out, both sides would suffer.
Moreover, seeing how calm this princess was, he couldn't help but suspect that she had climbed into someone else's bed of her own accord.
The man on the bed, who looked utterly shocked, finally snapped back to his senses. He tried to explain anxiously, "Father, I... cough, cough..." Before he could finish, a violent coughing fit interrupted him.
The coldness on Emperor Alexander's face gradually faded, replaced by a hint of concern. He called out, "Imperial Physician..."
The imperial physician stepped forward and took Damien Gray's pulse, then respectfully reported to Emperor Alexander, "Your Majesty, the Ghost King's health has always been frail. This time, excessive drinking has harmed his body, which is why he can't stop coughing."
Upon hearing this, Crown Prince Adrian, standing behind Emperor Alexander, flashed an unreadable smile—gone in an instant, but Fiona Yun caught it. It seemed this drunken scandal was deliberately staged!
Emperor Alexander frowned and sighed helplessly. "Enough! Since your misconduct was due to drunkenness and not intentional, I won't hold it against you." Then he looked at Fiona Yun, his brows furrowing again, clearly troubled by what to do next.
Crown Prince Adrian's eyes darkened at his words, but quickly returned to normal. Beside him, Prince Julian remained as refined and gentle as ever, showing little reaction.
The envoy from Cang Kingdom, seeing Emperor Alexander's attitude, quickly added, "Princess Mona's visit is for the marriage alliance. The Ghost King and Princess Mona are truly in love—this is a joyful occasion worth celebrating."
What a smooth talker—just where did he see that the two were truly in love?
Emperor Alexander nodded. "Since that's the case, Princess Mona shall be bestowed to the Ghost King as his consort, with the title 'Enchantress Consort!'"
Fiona Yun sighed inwardly. She didn't even have the right to speak!
And the situation was truly complicated. The emperor's attitude was peculiar—usually, seeing his son and the woman destined to become his consort lying together, even if he felt nothing for her, he'd be furious and feel disgraced. Yet this emperor only feigned a bit of anger before bestowing her to his son, complete with a title. One might think he favored this son, but then he gave her the title 'Enchantress,' and the Ghost King's own title wasn't exactly flattering either. It did match his sickly, almost dying appearance, though.
Damien Gray simply replied weakly, "Thank you, Father."
No one was surprised by his lack of respect—everyone knew the Ghost King was frail, and His Majesty had exempted him from kneeling and attending morning court. So, though he held the title of prince, he was really just a powerless invalid, who might die at any moment.
For a moment, everyone felt a bit sorry for Fiona Yun.
Emperor Alexander had used his fiftieth birthday as an opportunity to propose the marriage alliance to Cang Kingdom. Today's banquet was held for his birthday, where he intended to officially make Princess Mona his consort. But she hadn't appeared for a long time, then assassins struck, and after they were subdued, he worried Princess Mona's absence might be related. When a palace maid reported seeing Princess Mona here, Emperor Alexander led his entourage to investigate—never expecting to witness such a scene.
She was about to be made a consort, and now...
Though His Majesty was already fifty years old, he still looked quite young—certainly better than the Ghost King!
Not only was he sickly, but rumor had it he preferred men. The gossip wasn't baseless—there wasn't a single woman in the Ghost King's residence, and he seemed uninterested in women no matter how beautiful. Some even claimed to have seen him behaving intimately with handsome men. Yet, despite his frail appearance, his life was surprisingly resilient.
Despite his sickly look, he was still a prince, and strikingly handsome at that. Gentle and refined, he always treated others graciously. There were always women who couldn't help but fall for him and wanted to enter his household. His Majesty had even bestowed several beauties upon him, but any woman who entered the Ghost King's residence never survived more than three days—their deaths were always bizarre!
Sigh... Princess Mona would likely perish within three days. What a pity for such a beauty!
Once everyone left the room, only the two remained on the bed, naked under the same blanket. Damien Gray looked at the person beside him and spoke gently, "Um... I was drunk... so..." His eyes held a trace of apology.
Fiona Yun spoke softly, "Could you please turn away for a moment?"
"Oh, alright!" Damien Gray was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly turned his back to her. He hesitated, "Don't worry, I'll take responsibility for you!"
"Mm." Fiona Yun responded casually, grabbed the clothes that had been tossed aside, studied them briefly, and put them on.
Then, seeing Damien Gray still gentlemanly and honestly facing away, she said, "All done."
Damien Gray turned around, picked up his clothes and dressed. His movements were naturally elegant. Fiona Yun faced the window, listening to his occasional coughs behind her, a faint smile appearing in her eyes.
She hadn't bothered to ask about the Judge's situation in this life—she didn't really care. But now, it seemed rather interesting.
She walked to the dressing table and examined her reflection. Snowy skin, delicate features, willow-like brows, eyes clear as water, and pale pink lips curved in a faint smile. Except for her longer jet-black hair, she looked exactly as she had in her previous life.