The years pass... The child grows...

Queen Isolde managed to convince King Eadric that the story of adultery, which discredited the honor of the dynasty, should be left without a public process of exposure.

The truth was known in narrow circles of court dignitaries.

The heralds told the crowds of commoners a false story that the birth passed without any incidents.

And where is the infant heir to the throne?

He was sent to one of the mountain castles because of the recommendations of the physicians...

Yes, yes... precisely because of this... Fresh mountain air is beneficial for health...

Of course, contradictory rumors still spread among ordinary subjects of the kingdom...

But a public scandal and consequences were still avoided.

And the consequences could have been most terrible...

Adultery on the part of the queen is not just an ordinary crime.

This is a crime that threatens the fate of the kingdom.

Isolde could have easily been sentenced to ****.

It was probably not only her eloquence that made it possible to avoid it. The main reason was that Isolde was a representative of a powerful aristocratic family. Her father was thane Marbert Glanef, the lord of the lands in the northwest of the kingdom and one of the king's powerful vassals. The execution of his daughter would have led to a rebellion by this vassal. Combined with the constant threat of orcs and goblins in the border regions, all this would have led to bloody chaos in the Kingdom Eborvair.

So far, this has been avoided.

But the queen is constantly sad because she is not allowed to see her son.

She named him after the founder of the royal dynasty - "Teinarel".

But the child lives in some secret place, in some remote castle...

The child is under the supervision of armed guards and spies, obeying the king's orders...

Who knows what orders King Eadric will give in the future?

This situation is even more alarming for the queen, given the fact that her interpersonal relations with King Eadric have become even worse lately.

The old king treats her with contempt.

What happened that night...

The adultery that became obvious to the king...

The "imprint" of these events is simply ineradicable.

Sometimes people say that "time heals wounds" - but in this situation, "time rubs salt into the wounds".

"My son is already five years old, and I cannot see him!" - Queen Isolde often falls asleep alone in her chambers, having wet her pillow with tears.

The king has recently increased the security of the queen's chambers.

The number of armed guards has doubled.

Concern for security or some other plans?

The king is becoming increasingly decrepit and sickly, his character was already irritable - but lately some gloom has been added to the irritability.

One day, Queen Isolde is sitting in her chambers, and several of her maids of honor are combing her long, beautiful raven-colored hair.

When one of the maids of honor goes to the table to get a more convenient comb for combing her hair, the second maid of honor timidly looks into the queen's dark brown eyes, leans over and whispers in her ear: "I must give you something secret, Your Majesty..."

A very small piece of paper, folded like a scroll.