The Palace

When the carriage arrived at the palace, Carina exited on shaky feet, her heart beating unevenly behind her chest as she marvelled at the view in front of her.

Prince Spencer arrived in a flash, standing beside her and escorting her inside as she mutely watched on, too in awe of her surroundings to do much other than observe with wide eyes.

Before she realised, they were entering the throne room, and as soon as the King and Queen were within sights, Carina suddenly tensed up, finally snapping out of her earlier daze.

Prince Spencer glanced at her, concerned, but Carina was too focused on what was in front of her to notice.

"Mother, father." Spencer greeted, bowing.

Carina curtsied, hoping it wasn't obvious how nervous she was. "Greetings to Your Majesties."

"You must be Robert's daughter, Carina." The Queen spoke, smiling gently down at Carina. "I've met your father quite a few times in the past. Your mother too. You look just like them!"

Carina smiled back somewhat stiffly, not sure how to react to that comment. "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The King turned to Carina then, his expression open and warm just like the Queen's. "I would like to have a few personal words with you, if that's alright?"

Though the King phrased it like question, it wasn't as if anyone could actually refuse him, so after a few awkward moments, the rest of the room's occupants, save for the King himself and Carina, had left the room.

Spencer sent a lingering look at Carina's straight back as he exited the room, which no one but the Queen seemed to picked up on.

Carina was rooted to the spot, frozen, worried about what the King would want with her that he wanted everyone else out of the room for.

"There are no other prying eyes or ears, just us, so please be honest with me." The King spoke, his gentle tone a direct contrast to his piercing eyes.

"I'm not sure what you wish to hear, Your Majesty." Carina responded, hoping her calm mask was holding up well despite the turmoil she was feeling inside.

"I know Duke Rayburn very well, you see, and I'm afraid what I know of him seems to contradict the rumours I've heard about him as of late. The Queen relayed to me that she heard you were kept hidden for so long because Duke Rayburn couldn't bear to let you out of his sight. The rumours surrounding both you and Duke Rayburn make it seem as if he's a caring and doting father, protective to the point of keeping you locked up so you don't come to harm outside the mansion walls. I however, don't believe he would act in such a manner, and so I'm asking for the truth. Since my son has expressed such a serious interest in you, I would appreciate if we could be honest with each other."

Carina sucked in a breath. She hadn't expected this revelation. She would've never imagined that the Duke had a personal relationship with the King. In all of Carina's original memories, nothing had mentioned something like this. Even Marie hadn't been able to find out about this relationship, clearly it was something that they both kept discreet.

She gazed carefully up at the King, thinking properly about her response. Though he was wearing a serious expression, his tone and his words didn't seem as if he was reprimanding her, it really did seem as if he just wanted to know the truth.

Carina's first instinct was to deflect, to talk her way out of having to explain anything. Her relationship with the Duke was something personal, and though she knew the King wouldn't go around spreading the information if he knew, it was still something she was hesitant to reveal with her own mouth. Still, she realised it wouldn't benefit her any to leave his curiosity unfulfilled, and she knew he'd be able to tell if she began to lie, so as she carefully considered her next words, she decided it would be best to simply tell the truth.

"As you suspect, the rumours are indeed false." Carina replied, her small smile fading away into something more like a grimace. "In reality the Duke doesn't care for me at all, and before my eighteenth birthday I was living quietly in the mansion because he had forgotten about me, not because he was worried for me. The moment that I was born, he hadn't regarded me as anything more than a stranger, and after my mother passed he had stopped seeing me all together."

After she finished her explanation, she squeezed her hands together tight as she waited for the King's response.

The King began to frown, and Carina could feel her palms begin to sweat.

Would he object to her relationship with Spencer because of this? Would he think her lesser?

As those thoughts raced in her mind, the King opened his mouth to speak again.

"I was afraid of this. In all the years I've known Duke Rayburn, he has only ever been able to care about one person, your mother, Felicity. I had assumed after you were born that would change, but it seemed I was mistaken. I can only apologise for not being able to prevent the hardships you've faced these eighteen years."

At the King's sincere and sympathetic words, Carina could only react with shock.

She'd heard that the King was benevolent and understanding, but still, actually experiencing it first hand was still unexpected.

Oddly, she felt a bit emotional about it, like if she let herself, she could cry. She had been hesitant to reveal the truth in fear that she'd be judged for it, because she felt ashamed of it, but instead of ridiculing her for it, the king had sympathised with her, and expressed regret for not having been able to help her.

Carina smiled, a little bitterly, realising that this was the first time the Carina of this universe, in this body, had ever felt anything like fatherly affection.