Chapter 584: The Truth, Heard Everything

"So it really is Jason Summers."

Hidden in the shadows, Ivy Sherwood and Quentin Blackwood weren’t surprised in the least to hear that name. Ivy knew it. His gentle, refined demeanor—his reputation as a great philanthropist—was all an act.

Ever since dealing with Caleb Blackwood, Ivy no longer trusted her initial instincts. The most wicked people were often the best at disguising themselves, packaging their image as absolute saints when, in reality, they were rotten to the core. Caleb Blackwood was exactly like that, and it turned out Jason Summers was no different! He kept claiming to be her father and wanting to acknowledge her, but as it turned out, he was involved in her mother’s death!

Ivy clenched her fists as a massive wave of anger washed over her. If she could get the evidence, she would never let Jason Summers off the hook, even if he really was her biological father!

"What did Jason Summers do?" Ivy continued to ask through the intercom.

During the day, Quentin had arranged for the house to be modified. It was now rigged with high-tech equipment, making it completely effortless to synthesize voices and create these special effects. Those with a guilty conscience were naturally afraid of ghosts. On top of that, Quentin had acquired two pills of a hallucinogenic drug from Zion Landon and slipped them into dinner. The Princess had already ingested them. The drug-induced hallucinations made her truly believe that Winter Mercer had come back to haunt her.

"I don’t know, I really don’t! My identity was too conspicuous. Jason Summers said he would handle it. I really didn’t know..."

She had no idea where Winter went after that. She only knew what Jason Summers had told her—that Winter had disappeared completely. And it was true. Winter had never appeared again after that, leading the Princess to believe she could rest easy.

"If you won’t tell me, then come down and keep me company!"

"I really don’t know! I didn’t do it! It has nothing to do with me..."

Judging by the Princess’s reaction, she truly seemed oblivious as to how Ivy’s mother had died. Even if they continued to interrogate her, they wouldn’t be able to force anything out of her. The key figure was still Jason Summers.

"Why did you try to harm me back then?"

"It’s not my fault! You can’t blame me, you brought it upon yourself! Ovillette and I were childhood sweethearts, but ever since you showed up, he didn’t even look at me anymore. He even wanted to give up the throne for you!"

Ivy was shocked. She hadn’t expected her mother and the King to have actually shared such a past.

"Do you know how important that position is? Do you know how many people objected? There was no other way, that’s why things ended up like that!"

At that time, the King must have been the designated heir to the throne. Perhaps after meeting Winter, he wanted to abdicate and leave with her. Yet the King had absolutely no memory of this. According to the records, he had undergone a year of secret training before taking the throne. No one could find any information about that year, which meant something must have happened during that time. His desire to leave with Winter, along with him being brainwashed and hypnotized, must have all occurred during that lost year.

Ivy’s heart ached at the revelation. She didn’t even dare to imagine what they must have gone through back then.

"It’s all your fault! It’s your fault for seducing him! He wouldn’t have had to endure all that if it weren’t for you!" the Princess continued to shriek.

Though Ivy didn’t know the full truth, she knew her mother wasn’t to blame. There was nothing wrong with two people falling in love. It was simply the combination of too many external factors that had birthed this tragedy.

Only then did Ivy and Quentin step out from the shadows and approach the Princess. She was slumped on the floor, looking like a defeated stray dog, while Quentin and Ivy looked down at her. The once aloof and arrogant woman was now reduced to nothing. The stark contrast between them was clear at a single glance.

"So my mother’s death really is connected to you. You and Jason Summers teamed up to deal the fatal blow to my mother, and you even schemed against the King, right?"

"It’s you! It really was you! You were behind all of that just now, weren’t you!" The Princess’s eyes were bloodshot. Now that she realized what was going on, her previous fear had vanished.

"What is the truth of what happened back then?" Ivy demanded.

The overhead lighting shone down, falling perfectly onto Ivy and illuminating her face with an unusual brightness. That face looked so incredibly similar to the woman from her nightmares—the face that had always been her greatest terror.

"Ah! I’m going to kill you!" The Princess scrambled to her feet in a frenzy and lunged toward Ivy.

However, before she could even get close, Quentin lifted his leg and kicked her away. The Princess was sent crashing back to the floor. Quentin simply waved his hand, and the bodyguards waiting nearby stepped forward.

"The Princess is emotionally unstable right now. Restrain her."

"Yes, sir!" The highly trained bodyguards immediately pinned her down.

"Let go of me! Who do you think you are? Do you think the likes of you are worthy of laying a hand on me?" the Princess shrieked.

Adrian Jacobs shielded Ivy behind him, standing at the front to face the Princess directly. "Everything you just said has been recorded on our end. Tell me, since Ms. Winter Mercer and Mr. Ovillette were once in love, why doesn’t Mr. Ovillette remember anything? What did you do in the meantime? Does this count as making a move against a national leader? Is there reason to suspect you of attempting to assassinate a head of state?"

"No, I didn’t... I have no idea what you mean by him not remembering! He chose to forget it himself, what does that have to do with me?"

"Do you think he’s a fool? Would he believe those words?" Quentin Blackwood’s voice was cold and hard, every word smashing against the Princess’s heart.

This was the very thing the Princess wanted to avoid the most, yet Quentin and Ivy had managed to find out everything. And now, these two were threatening her and planning to tell the King.

"I really don’t know anything about this! Please don’t tell him, I’m begging you." The Princess’s leverage was now in their hands, and they even had a recording. She had essentially delivered herself right to their doorstep.

As aloof and untouchable as the Princess had been before, that was how pathetic she was now. As long as Quentin and Ivy kept this a secret from Ovillette, she was willing to do anything—even get on her knees and beg.

"It’s too late for that," Quentin said.

The Princess froze. "What do you mean?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she noticed a figure walking in from outside. That silhouette, that face...

It was Ovillette.

"Husband! Husband!" The Princess practically crawled over to him on her knees. "Husband, save me! They’re trying to kill me!" She was still trying to deceive Ovillette, desperately hoping he didn’t know anything and that things could return to how they used to be.

As she approached, Ovillette took a direct step back, refusing to let her near him. He looked at her as if she were a complete stranger.

"What exactly did you do to me back then?" Ovillette demanded, his sharp, imposing demeanor deeply terrifying.