chapter 24 He has a daughter keeping?

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"If you look for the bad in people expecting to find it, you surely will." - Abraham Lincoln

Amidst his preparations for the grand feast, the fifth prince's attention was abruptly seized by an unfamiliar presence. Swiftly, his hand found the hilt of his sword. "Who are you?" he demanded, his tone laced with caution.

"I am the one, my prince," his personal bodyguard emerged from the shadows, instantly allaying the prince's suspicion.

"So soon returned?" the prince remarked, adjusting his cap with some difficulty. The bodyguard stepped forward to offer assistance.

"I bring news about Sewa," the bodyguard divulged.

"Speak," the fifth prince commanded, as he arranged his royal coral beads.

"Sewa had a twin sister who passed away during their youth. Her parents served as the royal physicians of Archduke Modede. Three years ago, during the month of masquerade, she became pregnant, inviting disgrace upon her family and the townswomen. Her parents were stripped of their positions in the royal palace and ostracized due to her alleged unfaithfulness. Despite this, her parents remained loyal. Her father fell into debt, a pawn of the king's right hand, and ultimately perished in servitude. Seeking refuge from tormentors, Sewa left the town for the city. Recently, she managed to liberate her mother from servitude, a position her mother had assumed after her father's death. Sewa's past is marked by hardship. My prince, my heart goes out to her."

"Hmm... Tell me more about her twin sister," the fifth prince redirected, his melancholy palpable.

"My prince, you once shared your youth with Sewa and her twin sister. You left the town before the month of masquerade. Is it conceivable that the child... is yours?" the bodyguard delicately inquired.

"She is mine," the fifth prince affirmed, sorrow weighing his voice. "I have brought her suffering."

At that moment, the third princess, an inadvertent eavesdropper, interjected, "What troubles you? Your countenance is heavy."

"Where is your sister?" the prince asked.

"She's with big brother," the princess replied.

"Show respect. you are not a child," the fifth prince admonished.

"I concur. I'll soon be an aunt," she replied, her smile infectious.

"What do you mean?" the prince pressed.

"You seem unconcerned. Or are you?" she teased. "Rest assured, I won't expose you to elder brother and mother... unless you desire trouble."

Annoyed, the fifth prince departed abruptly, grumbling. "He already has a child hidden away," she stated, smirking.

...

"It's true," one of the maids confirmed.

"The elder prince forfeiting his birthright?" another maid questioned.

"Yes, indeed," another confirmed.

"How peculiar," a newly arrived maid mused.

"I heard he's captivated by the heiress of the Ida clan. He chose to relinquish his birthright to be with her," one of them speculated, the conjecture circulating among them.