Chapter 888: Queen Serena's Anger

The King of Verona then looked over towards the door where Queen Serena left.

"And your sister… her condition is not doing so well. I'm sorry, I failed you." The King of Verona blinked back some tears. His eyes stung, but he refused to give in to the misery.

***

Queen Serena's footsteps clacked in the palace's hallways. An overwhelming frustration bubbled within her. She didn't know the reason why, but during dinner tonight, she thought she saw 'Liam' had a rash on his arm after he ate those oysters. Suddenly, all she could think about was her dead sister. 

Gabrielle had a stupid allergy to seafood and their parents and later Xander had always accommodated all her whims. Serena was the opposite. She loved seafood, and now so did her son.

So, why did Liam suddenly get rash from the seafood he ate? He did try to hide it by quickly excusing himself to his bedroom, but a mother's eyes couldn't be fooled so easily.

Was this Gabrielle's way of mocking Serena from the grave?

"She's already rotting in the grave but she never fails to make my life miserable." Serena gritted her teeth and made her way to one of the more private balconies in the palace.

When Liam showed some dislike about eating the seafood, Serena was reminded of her older sister and it immediately put her in a foul mood.

Serena bit into her thumb and chewed on the tip of her fingernail, a nervous habit that she picked up whenever she got anxious and upset. Her older sister didn't do such a thing, and it was unbecoming for a queen, but she continued.

It had already been almost twenty years since the former queen died.

"And yet she continues to haunt me until today." Serena gritted her teeth and then finally grabbed her head. "I must be going crazy, but… that's my son. Liam is my own blood and not my sister's so why…"

Before Queen Serena knew it, she was already walking towards her son's room, just to check. It was just to see how he was doing.

She didn't knock on the door and simply turned it open.

Queen Serena caught sight of Julian seated on the floor, the entire bed devoid of most of the beddings and she gave him a glare. "What do you think you're doing there, Liam? Why is your room such a mess?"

"A-ah, sorry…" Julian immediately attempted to head to his bed. The Queen's actions surprised him, but he knew better than to try to make up an excuse when the evidence of his attempt to escape was just underneath his bed.

"What were you doing by the window?" Queen Serena

snapped. "I thought you were supposed to be sick, Liam?"

"I was just trying to get some fresh air?" Julian said.

Queen Serena froze when she saw more rashes on 'Liam's' neck, arms, and some even on his face. 

"When did you start getting those rashes?" she asked with a trembling voice. Suddenly, she felt chills down her spine. Why? She didn't understand why but something cold engulfed her being.

Was it… fear? Or maybe guilt…?

Julian was always quick-witted. He realized the queen would be suspicious if he tried to hide his rash. So, he pretended not to understand.

"What rash?" he asked. Then he raised his arm and faked a shocked expression. "Whaaa… what is this???"

The queen furrowed her brows. "Those are rash, usually caused by an allergy. I don't remember you having any allergies before today."

Julian scratched his arm. "Ouch… I have no idea either. Perhaps I caught on something from outside. What should I do with this? Will they disappear on their own?"

He feigned innocence so well, that Queen Serena couldn't think that the young man before her was lying.

Ah… perhaps Liam did catch on to something outside when he escaped the palace again. This boy was such a headache.

Or, perhaps he just got this allergy reaction because his body was weak by the cold. Serena remembered her sister Gabrielle didn't really show severe symptoms of her allergy until she was in her teen. Maybe it ran in the family and Liam inherited it too.

Slowly, Queen Serena started to relax. She sighed and then walked over to Liam. She touched his arm and then his face. She looked at him carefully. Liam looked a bit different today, now the rash made it even worse.

If Liam came home today under this condition, she might think it was not her son but another person.

"I'll call the physician for you," she said. The queen patted Julian's back and decided to get a servant to bring their royal physician. However, before she reached the door, she saw the makeshift ropes that  Julian made with the sheets. She turned to him and snapped. "What is this? Are you trying to escape again???"

Julian could only stand still, unable to speak. He was busted. This was something that the queen probably couldn't accept since Liam had tried to escape the palace several times, and now she would think his latest escapade got him an allergy. As the heir to the throne, this was unacceptable.

"LIAM! Why can't you do the right thing for once? Why do you keep trying to do stupid things and l

eave the palace? Do you not know how much I've sacrificed for you?" Queen Serena shouted at her son. She moved over towards him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "I want you to have a good life, yet you never appreciate it!"

Julian didn't know what to do. He was tempted to push the woman away, but her nails dug painfully into his shoulders and her gaze on him was rather… terrifying.

She didn't seem to be in the right state of mind.

Was she drunk? Julian could detect the scent of wine from dinner earlier, but she hadn't actually drunk that much and it was just one glass. However, he couldn't understand what she was trying to say when she meant 'sacrifice'?