Chapter 169: The rumours

Words : 1125 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

Chapter 169: The rumours Time seemed to have run by fast, and it was time for the ceremony; since the temple worshipped the goddess of the moon, the majority of festivals took place at night. A lot of pilgrims had climbed the mountains for the winter prayer. Although some went missing, the ones left were still a noticeable number. While Abrielle was resting in her room, she had no idea that rumours had already spread quickly about her miscarriage thanks to Sapphire. Many deemed her cursed to have a miscarriage on the holy ground known for miracles, while others deemed it a miracle that Cedric’s spawn died. Even the goddess knew the monster was not meant to have any more abomination all these Abrielle had no idea of. The doors to the main temple were left open for worshippers, Abrielle being accompanied by Evelyn and Zoltana, made their way in, but the maids had to take a seat at the back due to their status while Abrielle moved to the front, where the royal family was seated. As soon as she walked through the doors, she felt something was amidst; everyone’s gaze was on her, and murmurs were going around as they stole glances at her. Her hands clutched her skirt. She still kept her head high, not to think about it, but she was still nervous. A priest was already at the altar, leading the prayer under the moonlight that cascaded from the glass roof. She got to the front seat; there was only one free spot left available by the Queen’s side, which was weird because a seat should have been reserved, and the front row should not be occupied by the Queen’s ladies in waiting. Abrielle didn’t comment. Her eyes darted around the hardwood seat, left with no choice. She knew she had to take the seat by the queen because it was below her status to sit far back. The pressing gaze she felt earlier was still on her as she walked up to the queen, who had the king and her two daughters, Astrid and Bernice, by her side. Astrid’s husband and daughter were still in front, just a row behind, and the rest of the royal family occupied the first two rows. Marinette had her head bowed, her sobs were low, and everyone understood her feelings. Her eldest daughter Ophelia was missing, and up till now, there was no news. Walking up to the queen’s side, she bent over to sit down but was stopped by Eleanor’s sharp voice. "Sit elsewhere having a miscarriage on holy ground is sacrilege, and your presence in the front curses the congregation," Eleanor whispered her head bowed while she prayed Abrielle froze, initially stunned the queen knew about his miscarriage, but it wasn’t enough reason to deliberately not keep a seat for her. "Your majesty, there isn’t any seat except the one at the back with the servants." Abrielle nervously blurted. Going there was an insult not just to her and Cedric but to the entire Nightshade family. "We can’t have anything unclean ruin the prayer; maybe the goddess knew whatever was in your stomach was an atrocity." Eleanor retorted, from the gaze she was having from the ladies in waiting and the other princesses told her a lot. Her eyes met Alfonso, who was sitting with his mother, but he couldn’t hold her gaze due to guilt he really didn’t want her to hear. Her breath hitched, and with a sad smile, she silently moved to the behind, but no one was ready to make space for her on their bench. They didn’t want a cursed lady to sit by them. In the end, she sat somewhere behind in the middle on an empty bench just before the back row where commoners and servants sat. The prayers continued, they were praying ahead of the new year and the winter. Later, the priest gave a sermon, and to be honest, it was pretty boring for Abrielle, who sat on her own. A fleeting thought at the back of her head reminded her that if Cedric was here they would not humiliate her like this. She now understood the gaze, Sapphire had already spread rumours about her. Finally, the sermon ended, and it was time to leave, although some people had intentions to stay behind to pray. Abrielle just wanted to leave as soon as possible; she knew praying to Nyxoria wouldn’t solve her problems and only came out because of her obligations. She rose from her seat and was heading to the door when she heard a familiar voice call behind her. "I heard about what happened," the person started talking. Abrielle drew a deep breath not in the mood to talk about her miscarriage. "News really flies fast. I am tired, Alfonso; I imagined you would have joined the search team." She answered reluctantly, turning to look at Alfonso; a few steps behind, they saw Karissa, who was waiting for her son, obviously annoyed that Alfonso was talking to Abrielle. "All the male heirs can’t leave at once. By the way, I hope you are not thinking much about it; the queen is just transferring her dislike of Cedric to you. A miscarriage doesn’t make you cursed." He explained that he sounded genuinely concerned about her. It touched her. "Thank you, that means a lot." His words were heartfelt. "It is nothing. I really can’t believe he left you knowing what you might be going through." Alfonso clicked his throat and his face was visually pissed. Abrielle’s gaze dulled. It didn’t matter if he was her or not. She felt someone touch her shoulders from behind followed by a voice. "Sorry to interrupt but I need to have a word with Abrielle." Sebastian’s voice spoke. "Excuse me," Abrielle nodded at Alfonso then followed Sebastian. He didn’t say anything and led her off to his office. She had a feeling about what made Sebastian approach her now. Abrielle was seated in a small lounge area in front of the fireplace; Sebastian poured her a cup of tea he presented to her, which she accepted. "I heard it is very good for the cold here." He mentioned giving her a moment of silence as she took her tea. It was pretty good; Abrielle could already feel the warmth from her stomach as if a sweet aroma waffled around her. "It is good, thank you for the tea. I guess you have heard the rumours." She said to bring the cup from her lips. "I did, and to be honest, I am a bit disturbed, not because of the ridiculous curse rubbish. A Nightshade can never be cursed, but because there is another reason."

Chapter 169: The rumours

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