"Lady Preston, you know my mother," Mars said to Lady Preston coldly. "Are you not going to show your respect?"

Lady Preston held her breath. She was utterly confused. She, like Ellena, also believed the woman that just entered the ballroom was not really Queen Elara.

This woman just looked like the old queen. Lady Preston believed Ellena when the girl said she had killed the queen. She knew Ellena was not stupid.

So, how could Elara suddenly show up here? This must be a trap, Lady Preston assumed.

Ha. Mars thought he was smart and he could get a confession out of Ellena or the Prestons by making them feel shocked and guilty.

It would not work. Lady Preston bit her lip. She knew Elara was dead and this impostor right here wouldn't be able to scare her to confess.

"Your Majesty..." Lady Preston curtseyed and smiled warily. "Please... if my niece has offended you in any way, I beg you to spare her. She is young, clueless, and in love. Everything she did, she did it for you. She would never hurt you or your mother. I think we all know that."

She added, "If you despised Ellena because she loves you and you don't love her back, please just say so... There is no need to accuse her of a crime she didn't do. Everyone here is watching and we know you are a wise man. Don't taint your reputation by doing this..."

Lady Preston cried and continued her words, "Your father already punished your wife for the crime... I know you love that woman and you are looking for ways to clear her reputation.. but it's not fair if you blame it on Ellena when she is innocent, just because you feel bothered by her love for you. You can just tell her you don't love her back..."

People started whispering again. "I know Lady Ellena is in love with the king. But it seems the king doesn't love her back."

"But, would he accuse her of the crime just to get rid of her?"

"That's possible."

"Let's see what the king has to say."

Ellena wiped her tears but they kept streaming down harder. When she heard Lady Prestons' words, she cried again. Then she turned to her aunt and reached out her hand to her.

"Auntie... His Majesty said I attacked his mother and he said the queen is.. a-alive... I don't understand why he needed to lie to us. We saw the queen died and we mourned her together with the royal family."

Lady Preston nodded. She cast her glance around them and said, "It is true. Many people can testify that the old queen had died."

"Yes. The real queen died and they brought her to the ice cave against the advice of many people. And now suddenly the king brought this woman and claimed she is the late queen to accuse me of many things," said Ellena.

She added, "You are one of her ladies-in-waiting... Is this true? Is this really Queen Elara, or is she just her look-alike which the king asked to pretend to be the late queen so he could frame me for a crime that his wife did?"

GASP

People were whispering more loudly at this shocking revelation.

His wife did it? Did Lady Ellena mean King Mars' wife? Did the princess from Wintermere attack Queen Elara? Was that why she didn't come to the royal ball tonight?

What a scandal!

The talking and whispering among guests became more intensified. The showdown between Ellena and the king immediately became the talk of the year.

Many people were happy they came to this event so they could witness it and learned more secrets that the royal family had been keeping for so long.

Ellena wanted Lady Preston to confirm if the woman who just entered was really Queen Elara or an impostor. She truly believed this one was a fake...

Maybe Mars did this to trap Ellena. Or, maybe he just wanted the impostor to accuse Ellena of the murder publicly, to clear Emmelyn's name.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Mars crossed his arms on his chest and looked at Ellena furiously.

He thought the woman was so audacious to openly accused him of trying to get rid of her by framing her for murder, when in reality, Ellena did just that to Emmelyn.

"No.. no, please.. don't put your words into my mouth. I wasn't calling you a liar... I was..." Ellena shook her head desperately. "I don't want to expose your family's dark secret and the crime your wife committed... but I can't let you frame me for what she did..."

"ELLENA GREYSTORM!!!"

SLAP.

This time it was Queen Elara who couldn't stand Ellena's lies and she slapped the girl with all her might. Ellena's body swayed and fell to the floor followed by everyone's gasp.

"HOW DARE YOU ATTACKED ME AND FRAMED MY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AND NOW PRETEND THAT YOU ARE INNOCENT??" Queen Elara roared in anger that she had never shown before. The gentle queen was always so kind and meek, but tonight she was like an angry lioness.

She knew her son wouldn't hit a woman even though Mars was really angry, so she slapped Ellena for him.

"Your Grace...!" Lady Preston pressed her lips with both hands and looked at the queen with disbelief. She had never seen Queen Elara acted like this and it made her scared.

Queen Elara turned to Lady Preston and pointed a finger at her, "I trusted you, Jen. I can't believe you let your niece do this to my family."

Lady Preston shook her head and started crying. "No, your grace... whatever it was that she did... she did it on her own. I know nothing and I surely wouldn't condone her crime... So does my husband."

She quickly grabbed her husband's hand and dropped their knees to the floor, "Please spare us, your grace. We are betrayed by our niece too. We took her from the countryside and raised her to be a good woman. We have no idea she has the audacity to do this to your family..."

Ellena's eyes bulged in shock. She was rubbing her reddened cheek with her hand because it was so painful, but now her hands trembled and her whole face turned red in fury.

So... The Preston would throw her under the bus now? Ellena wished she had a knife with her so she could stab that bitch she had been forced to call 'auntie' all her life. Jen Preston raised her to be ambitious and aimed for the throne, no matter what it takes...

And now she said it was all on Ellena?

Lady Preston was a smart woman. She could quickly see that whatever Ellena said, the king and his mother would always have the last word. It was clear that he knew the truth and was not hesitate to punish Ellena for the crimes she did.

It didn't help that Mars has his own grudge for what they did to Emmelyn when they accuse her of Queen Elara's murder.

Lady Preston knew it was better to blame everything on Ellena and save their skin.

.

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Sorry, it took me a while to publish this chapter. I got a really bad headache all day T_T. I am better now though, don't worry.