Part 2Where Fireflies Light the Moon

My fingers trembled with rage. In the next second, I slapped Arthur across the face.

"Arthur, do you really think that just because you're the Lord Chancellor now, you can lecture me whenever you please?"

"How dare you! Who do you think you are to lecture me, Claire?"

Eleanor opened her mouth to say something, but I glared her into silence. She was terrified that I might slap her next.

Looking back at how Arthur and I grew up together, there had even been a time when I'd loved him.. However, his openly taking Eleanor's side earlier completely broke my heart. He knew full well how proud I was, yet he still chose to humiliate me like that.

Right in front of Arthur, I spat, "Arthur, we're finished!"

With that, I turned and walked away without looking back, leaving behind Arthur, whose face had turned pale.

"Claire, you sure are lucky to be able to enter the castle. Who knows, you might even become the Queen, unlike Eleanor, who'll only be a royal physician and won't even get to see His Majesty regularly."

Having heard I had failed to be selected, my stepmother naturally lost no time coming over to mock me.

To enter the castle and serve the Sovereign ought to have been a magnificent honor. However, the current Sovereign was universally acknowledged by the court as a violent tyrant.

An official had once sent his daughter into the castle, only for the girl to die a sudden, violent death within three days. After that, other ambitious figures tried sending their daughters in, but every one met a gruesome end through various "accidental" deaths.

No parent who truly loved their daughter would ever send her into that castle. Father, however, was obsessed with climbing the social ladder.

He had no sons, so he placed all his hopes on his daughters. After all, who was the most noble woman in the kingdom? The Queen, of course.

Relying on the military contributions of my late grandfather, who had sacrificed his life for the kingdom, Father shamelessly begged for an opportunity to send his daughter into the castle. However, neither Eleanor nor I wanted to go, which was why we both wanted to become royal physicians.

I was confident that I could secure the position and escape meeting the King, but Arthur had ruined it completely. Now, I was forced to enter the castle.

My mother had passed away early, so Father handed total control of the household affairs over to his second wife. Although she didn't dare openly mistreat me as the legitimate eldest daughter, frequent taunts and insults were inevitable.

"Indeed, Stepmother," I replied, refusing to let her walk all over me. "You had better watch out. With Eleanor's level of medical skill, she can only fool people who know nothing about medicine. The castle is filled with high nobility. If she fails to cure someone, she will be held responsible for it!"

Hearing my warning, her face turned pale. "Claire! What nonsense are you spouting? You had better worry about yourself first! Everyone knows what kind of tyrant he is. Try not to lose your head!"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Stepmother, you really are foolish! How dare you speak ill of the King like that? Aren't you afraid someone with bad intentions might overhear? Oh, right. What if I accidentally mention a few things in front of His Majesty? Do you think you'll be able to keep your head?"

I had always had a sharp tongue.

Stamping her foot in frustration, she pulled a bulging pouch out of her dress, threw it down, and turned to leave. I opened the pouch to look inside; it contained countless gold coins.

Three days later was the day I had to depart for the castle.

I had no idea when Arthur showed up. When he saw me busy packing my bags, a flicker of confusion crossed his eyes, but it vanished just as quickly.

"Are you still angry?" Arthur waved a pie toward me. "It's your favorite beef pie from the shop on the west side of town. I brought it as an apology."