Chapter 897: Julian And Rowena Meeting The Royal Family
However, that didn"t stop Serena from trying to get the man she had secretly loved. Just like what she said to Julian, when she thought she was talking to Liam... she hurt her sister, her own family.
That was why, when news of a young man who looked so much like Prince Liam, her son, came about during the morning, Queen Serena couldn"t stand it anymore and immediately rushed towards the throne hall to see for herself.
Even when a servant tried to serve her breakfast and tea, Queen Serena simply slapped them away and ran after her husband.
It had to be a mistake.
The "Liam" she encountered last night was her son! It had to be her son!
Just because the boy didn"t like seafood and suddenly reminded Queen Serena of her sister didn"t mean anything at all.
Queen Serena threw the doors open and saw the four people. Her husband, her son, another young woman… and then him.
The person who tricked her.
Now that Queen Serena looked at Prince Liam and Julian, she was able to tell who was her son. The two of them both resembled King Xander so much, but there were small features that told her that Liam was hers.
The only reason why it was difficult to distinguish things at first was because Queen Serena and the late Queen Gabrielle were sisters and also looked similar to each other. That was why everybody was fooled.
"Liam!" Queen Serena rushed towards her son and pulled him into a hug.
"Mother? Are you alright?" Prince Liam noticed the tremble in her voice and he gently soothed his mother and gave her a hug. "I believe you were also fooled–"
"No! I knew it wasn"t you." Queen Serena insisted as she pulled back and clasped her son"s face. "A mother knows who her child is. So… who is this imposter and why isn"t he–"
"Julian and Harlow are my guests and friends, mother." Prince Liam introduced the two. "I"m sure that the resemblance had shocked you, but don"t we have a lot of relatives? Or maybe father"s side?"
"Oh..." King Xander looked over at Julian and back at his son and wife. He felt the tension in his chest increase, but then he slowly nodded. "Perhaps my son has a point. You boy might be related to one of my relatives?"
"..." Julian didn"t say anything at first.
Rowena looked worriedly at him and then spoke in lieu of him. "I believe that may be the case, Your Majesty. His Highness Liam has actually offered to help us in this matter, which might explain it–"
"It"s just a coincidence," Queen Serena said and looked at Rowena. "A coincidence. We all know your relatives, dear hu
sband. Not one of them has a son. This is probably an imposter simply trying to fool us."
Rowena didn"t know why, but the way that the queen talked made her frown. The queen immediately shut down the idea without any further thought and it showed well.
"Mother…" Prince Liam called out to his mother gently. "I mean, we don"t know all of the happenings with our relatives. I do not wish to imply it, but father… what do you think?"
King Xander kept looking every now and then at Julian. There was a sureness in his heart, a longing that he hadn"t felt in a long time, but he slowly nodded and focused on what was before him.
His actual family was here right now.
Gabrielle was already long dead and their child also died alongside her… It wasn"t time for any kind of wistful longing for King Xander. He needed to pull himself together and think about what was best for his family.
"Some of my relatives may have children born out of wedlock and only chose to hide it to prevent any troubles in their marriages." King Xander slowly acknowledged.
"The term is b.a.s.t.a.r.d," Queen Serena hissed.
"Mother!"
"I am simply saying how it is." Queen Serena narrowed her eyes at Julian and Rowena. "If the two of you are simply trying to fool us, you should know that the crime of lying to the royal family is punishable by death."
"That"s enough, mother," Prince Liam finally had enough and confronted his mother. While his father tiptoed around his mother and often chose not to upset her, he didn"t want to see Rowena being treated terribly by his mother.
Queen Serena stared wordlessly at her only son.
Her heart hurt.
But of course, Queen Serena had laid a hand on her sister… and now she was being punished with her son. She couldn"t accept it. Queen Serena stepped closer to Prince Liam and went to slap him.
"How dare you go against your mother–"
"Your Majesty," Rowena, who stood closer to Liam than Julian, caught the woman"s hand before it struck Prince Liam"s cheek. "I do not think that you wish to intentionally hurt your son, do you?"
Queen Serena looked at Rowena in utter shock and complete rage. She didn"t think that some mere person would simply go and touch her… but the look in Rowena"s eyes was serious.
Rowena had an aura about her that meant business. It was actually very intimidating that even Queen Serena couldn"t help but only yanked her hand away from the young woman and then threw a look at Prince Liam.
Prince Liam looked very shocked. The queen couldn"t bea
r the look on her son"s face and quickly stormed out of the throne room before anybody else could say a word.
It was a very tense scenario.
King Xander knew that his queen, Serena, sometimes got a little… troubled, but she had never dared hurt their son. As long as King Xander kept her happy and at ease, the life of the Verona royal family was peaceful.
Now things had changed at the arrival of "Harlow" and Julian.
Before anybody reacted, Rowena quickly bowed down in apology. "Please forgive my insolence for touching the queen… I just couldn"t help it. I will take any punishment that"s necessary to pay for this deed of mine."