The Romantic Trials Of A Transmigrated Empress-Chapter 289: Blame it on the queen.

"My mother!" He said in a surprised voice that held a trace of doubt.

"Yes Roland, your mother told me to do this." She recalled how the queen had told her that if this plan was ever revealed, the blame could not be linked back to her. It was too bad for her because she was going to take all of it.

"Do tell." he moved from the wall and sat down in a chair.

It appeared to Sigrid as if he had lost some of the tension that his body had been holding in earlier. It seemed there was a chance to make it out of this for her.

"When I met your mother, after our wedding she pulled me aside for a conversation. We don’t have much in common the queen and I but we have you." She looked at him, softening her voice to give it some emotional weight. "We both want the best for you. The one thing that we both knew was standing in your path was Rina.

Her control over the king and his blind love and preference for Benjamin were two things that were dangerous to leave unchecked the older the king grew. According to your mother, the king was becoming more and more prone to foolish suggestions made by Rina."

She changed her sitting position and started to look around.

Even though Roland was not too pleased with her at the moment, he recognized what she needed. It was something to drink. He made a call and ordered for someone to bring some warm milk and a slice of a cake.

They waited in silence for three minutes, until the cake and milk were delivered and closed the door once again. Jesting had even had the chef send fruits and wine in case Roland needed to wet his tongue and he did.

Roland reached for the glass of wine immediately and he would need it because Sigrid was going to deliver even more surprising news.

She ate a small bit of the cake first, savoring the taste and yet not really enjoying it. "Are you aware that you have a half brother?"

Roland’s hand paused mid-raise. "What?" he whispered about.

Intentionally, Sigrid took a sip of milk first, taking her time as if she had no reason to hurry. While she put down the glass, she said slowly, "You have another brother, a half-brother. The first son of your father."

Roland broke into laughs, dry harsh disbelieving laughs that came from the back of his hollow throat. They were in whisper, as if they were being forced out.

"I take it that you were truly not aware. I am sorry for being the one that has to deliver this news to you. Your father’s obsession with Rina was not because he was hopelessly in love with her. It was because she bore a resemblance to his first love or his only love.

It was a young woman that he met in Sheepfield when he went in search of a miracle cure in the medicine valley for the late king’s poison. They had a whirlwind romance and he planned to marry that woman. He planned to return to the capital and break off his betrothal to your mother. However, the king died and there was a battle for the throne. Your father needed strength and the support of the nobles so he married the woman he didn’t love, Maurelia De-Kensington and he gained the throne."

She paused and took another sip of milk. Sigrid took a deep breath and continued, "But he never forgot the woman he loved, Risa or the fact that she carried his first child. I think that if he was not worried about his power being challenged, he would have brought Risa and her child to the capital.

He chose power, and so he abandoned her. She later died but she had given birth to the child. The child was taken in by another woman and people were told that he had died, in case someone went looking for him.

The king must have heard about their deaths because he was filled with regrets. You see, he could have easily brought Risa to the capital, given her a good residence and gold to fill an entire castle. Instead, he left her to suffer and die.

When he met Rina in a brothel, he saw the woman he loved in her. He paid a lot of gold for her, changed her identity and married her as his secondary consort. Everything that he never gave Risa he gave her. All the love he could not give his true first born son, he gave to Benjamin. He pampered him and dotted on him, giving him everything he wanted. Honestly, I believe that he would eventually have given him the throne too if I did not start meddling."

Roland downed all the wine in the glass and he suddenly smashed the glass against the wall. He was angry, storms were swirling inside of him and he wanted to scream in rage. It was one thing to know that he had always come second to Benjamin in their father’s heart bu to know there was another child as well that his father loved and wanted cut so deep. How could a father pick and choose which child he loved as if he was picking his favorite foods at a banquet?

"Don’t do that." Sigrid shook her head, looking at him through a deep sorrow filled gaze. "Do not blame yourself for your father’s choices. He chose not to trust your mother and extended his misguided emotions to you. It was not because of anything you did, it was because of him. Do not forget that you are not the only son that your father treated coldly, Galen also received the same treatment."

Roland turned around and he walked to the wall, smashing his fist against it. One punch turned into another and another and another until the wall was coated in his blood and his fingers nearly scraped of flesh.

Sigrid had to intervene. She pulled him away from the wall and treated his wounds using magic. Then, she cleaned the wall and floor using magic as well. While she was doing that, the door to their bedroom was opened, Sunny and Void entered.

The dog and panther each went to their beds to rest without bothering the couple.

Sigrid returned to the bed where she had left Roland. He was sitting still like a statue stuck to the ground, he had not moved at all. If he was not breathing, Sigrid would assumed that he had died and stayed frozen in that pose.

She did not know if it was wise to continue given the way he was feeling. But, it was not her decision to make. Since he wanted answers, she had to give them to him.

"I never wanted you to know this, ever." She sighed, touching his shoulder. "I am sorry for being the one that has to tell you about this ugly mess."