"Now, Your Majesty you need to tell me what is going on," Ria asked for the nth time since the ceremony ended. They were in Catherine's new chambers, in the Queen's Suite, and Catherine hasn't answered any questions Ria has asked.

"Where is Elle? I haven't seen her since this morning," Catherine stated ignoring Ria's persistent questioning. Just when Ria was about to open her mouth to complain, the door burst open, revealing the woman in question.

"YOUR HIGHNESS! I-I mean, Your Majesty," Elle made a discreet curtsy and made her way to Catherine with glassy eyes. "I can't believe the ceremony is over! I made my way as fast as I could but I was too late."

"It's quite alright, Elle. I'm glad you are fine," Catherine patted Elle's back who was now slumped to the ground while Catherine is sitting in the peach-colored armchair.

"And please stand up. Why do you keep hovering at my legs? Where have you been?" Catherine chuckled lightly that made Ria smile. It has been a while since she last heard the warm laugh from Catherine. She still wondered what really happened when Catherine went out.

"I was in the countryside visiting my parents when I receive that the king was getting married today and I rushed but I was still too late," Elle explained as she moved from her position to stand up next to Catherine's armchair. She straightened her clothes from sitting down and dust of non-existent dirt on her skirt.

"I'm glad you were able to meet your parents," Catherine replied curtly and smiled at the young servant. Ria noticed the sadness that sipped from her childhood friend's voice. Too many things have happened and a thousand thoughts run through her head and yet Ria still does not have any answers to her questions and her patience is running thin. This is the first night of the newly married couple and they are to spend the first night together which means Ria's questions will come later.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you are called to the king's office," Maria stated that made the two girls looked at each other. They were not supposed to meet until later this evening and the king's already calling for her. Ria looked at Catherine who seemed unbothered by the sudden request of her presence. It was as if she was expecting to be called anytime soon.

"Well then, I will see you later. Please prepare the lavender oils for my bath," Catherine winked at Elle who squealed and made her way to one of the massive doors in her chambers. Ria gave her a questioning look which she returned with a smile.

Ria will know everything soon but it's not just the time yet.

Maria escorted Catherine to the king's office and opened the door for her. Catherine was greeted by Konnor who bowed to her and the king who buried himself in paperwork. Konnor excused himself knowing that the couple needed privacy. Catherine made herself at home by sitting in one of the loveseats in front of the king's desk.

"Athy." Lucas greeted and stood from his seat with a bunch of paper in his hands.

"Lucas," Catherine replied while observing the king made his way to the seat directly opposite hers. Lucas handed him some papers and she skimmed through it. It was a report from the north about a family of three who committed suicide using an unknown poison. It was stated there that they were already dead three days before they were found due to the smell that accumulated their rotting bodies.

Catherine gulped as she flipped the pages to see the pictures of the family. Her assumption was confirmed when she saw the faces of the mother and the child. They were the family that she tried to help when the father was slowly transforming. She gripped the papers hard that her knuckles turned white.

Catherine killed a family when she thought she was helping them. She pushed them to commit a family suicide. Why did she have to go and pick three poisonous fruits when she could have handed them one, just for the father? She basically asked them to end their miserable lives. Why are awful things happening to her? Why did she have to endure all these things? Why?

Catherine felt her nails dig into her skin and she was grateful that Lucas took that ripped paper from her hands. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, something she did to try and calm her nerves down. When she opened her eyes, she was met with golden eyes examing her actions.

"I did this," she confessed but Lucas just looked at her waiting for an explanation so she continued. "When I was on my way back to my... kingdom, I had to stop in North where all the beast were spotted and I met that family."

Catherine summarized what had happened in the North, leaving the part where she offered three poisonous fruits, as well as her little discovery with the signet ring, and Lucas listened to her every word. When she was finished, Lucas looked at her with soft eyes. She knitted her eyebrows at the sudden change in behavior the king has shown her.

"It was not your fault," He comforted but Catherine knew better. She knew it was not entirely her fault but she was partly responsible. She did not think logically when she handed the mother the fruits that were supposed to kill in an instant. She did not think about the aftermath of losing the only source of income that the family had. Of course, they had other options to take to live in this cruel world but still end up six feet underground so they chose the easy way out. She knew that she could've offered the mother shelter and food but she didn't because she was too busy with the other priorities that she played a part in murdering a family.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Catherine looked at Lucas and gave him a small smile, pushing all the thoughts that ran through her mind a couple of seconds ago to the back of her mind. She will revisit it a couple more times along with the death of her family members but now she needed to be sharp and wise. And it was not wise to think about sad, unfortunate things when you are trying to find some maniac killer on the loose.

"I will see you this evening and we could talk about it more," Catherine stood up and headed to the door when Lucas spoke.

"It really is not your fault and I will see you." Catherine smiled at his small attempt to comfort her before heading back to her chambers.

When the guards opened the door to her room, she was whisked away by Maria and Elle to her gorgeous bathroom where it smelled like lavender and vanilla. The girls started to remove her clothes and guided her to the white pearl tub filled with rose petals. Elle started to scrub the dead skin on her shoulders and arms while Maria started to put all essence in her hair that made it smell good and shine. Maria and Elle were too excited for their queen, chatting and squealing about what was about to happen later this evening but Catherine's mind wandered to her late nanny, Josephine. How she used to bathe and fix everything for her but now she was just....gone.

Catherine shook her head. It was not the time for her to cry and feel her heartbreak again. Maria and Elle finished their miracle that lasted for four hours and now Catherine was standing a full-length mirror with thin undergarments in red and a matching red see-through robe with white feathers in the sleeves. Her nose felt assaulted by the fragrances that they put on her skin and hair. She felt like a baboon dosed with expensive perfumes, ready to mate with anyone she first saw but she did not say that. She did not want to waste the effort that Maria and Elle gave to make her look appetizing.

She shook her head and pulled another robe that was thick enough to cover her whole body. She felt too exposed and naked looking like that. Maria was about to complain when Catherine gave her a look.

"I will remove this in due time," She explained and Maria beamed. They followed her to one of the doors in her room which was connected to their marital suite. Catherine inhaled and exhaled before opening the door. She looked at Maria, Elle, and Ria who smiled at her and gestured for her to go in. When she went inside, she looked around the room and she could say that the servants did well. With the candles around the room that illuminated the massive bed filled with rose petals and the wine and some fruits on the table. The servants really outdid themselves.

"Oh, you're here," Lucas said as he stood up and saw Catherine still standing in the door. She smiled at him shyly, remembering what she was wearing.

"I am," Catherine whispered and move to the bed. She sat on the edge and crossed her legs as she pulled out the papers in the table in front of her. "We should get this over with."

Lucas nodded and sat on the love seat in front of Catherine. "How was your family? I reckon I haven't asked you that question."

Catherine swallowed the sob that threatened to come out and continue flipping through the pages without any purpose. It was still a little bit sensitive for her to talk about her family just yet but she still answered, "They are well."

"How about your brother? And the wedding?" Lucas continued, oblivious to Catherine's discomfort for the topic.

"Let's just focus on the task at hand," Catherine smiled at him, ignoring the offense on Lucas's face.

"Alright."

After flipping through the pages one by one, Catherine spotted the same house that she saw in the North. "What is this place?" She handed the picture to Lucas and he examined it.

"This is the old residence of the Churchills, why do you ask?"

"D-do you think the Churchills are the one conducting the experiments on the bodies?" Lucas wondered for a while. It was true that the Churchills are power-hungry but he did not think that they would waste their fortune conducting researches on these monsters. Lucas hooked his head.

"This was their old property and as far as I know, no Churchill has visited that place since they moved to the capital and that was decades ago," Lucas explained but Catherine was still not convinced.

"I will have someone to look at the new owner of this place if that helps," Lucas suggested and he received a curt nod from Catherine. Sensing her exhaustion, Lucas started organizing the files of paper.

"What are you doing?" Catherine raised an eyebrow at the king.

"We need to sleep," Catherine's eyes almost popped out her head when she heard his statement.

"Just sleep, Athy, don't look at me like I'm some animal ready to pounce on you." He lightly chuckled at the words coming out of his mouth. When he finished sorting the papers, he moved to the massive bed and laid down, feeling all the exhaustion for today's work.

Lucas will not force Catherine to do anything that she did not want. They had an agreement and he intends to keep it. Catherine slowly moved to the other side of the bed and laid comfortably in the soft sheets that covered the bed. Although the sheets gave her comfort, she knew that she would not be able to sleep or Catherine prefers not to. Not drifting to the comfortable darkness that sleep offers keep her nightmares at bay and she did not want to wake the king to her screaming.

She turned her back to Lucas and pretended to sleep until his breathing relaxed and she knew that Lucas has truly fallen asleep. He certainly needed it, Catherine thought. She faced Lucas who was sleeping soundly and saw the dark circles under his eyes. She brushed his raven hair away from his eyes and she wondered how long could she last without sleeping and recalled the last time she slept soundly. It seemed awfully long time ago.

She thanked her god-given abilities that kept her alive without any sleep and move to the loveseat where Lucas was sitting before. Catherine took the papers and started skimming through it again. She might have missed something when reading the paper before and she couldn't have that. She won't allow herself to be the cause of another death. This wickedness should end and she will be the one to end it, even if it cost her own life.