Chapter 334
The river wind intensified, buffeting Athena until she swayed precariously, as if she might collapse at any moment.
Xander gathered Athena into his embrace, feeling his heart shatter into a million pieces.
Xander thought to himself, she has suffered far too much.
As long as he was by her side, Xander vowed he would never let Athena suffer even the slightest injustice again.
“With me by your side, you’ll never suffer again,” Xander said to Athena, but the words felt more like a solemn vow to her late mother.
The grass atop the grave swayed gently, as if responding to Xander.
Having cried her fill, Athena gently pulled away from Xander’s embrace.
Athena looked at Xander, her cheeks tinged with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I lost my composure just now.”
“In front of me, you’re allowed to lose your composure and truly be yourself,” Xander reached out and gently brushed away the tears from the corner of Athena’s eyes.
At this moment, Ansel stepped forward and respectfully reminded them, “It’s getting late. Shall we proceed with relocating my mother’s remains?”
Grave relocation must be completed before noon. Any later was believed to bring ill fortune.
Xander looked to Athena for her decision.
Athena gave a slight nod. “I leave it to your care.”
Ansel nodded, then gestured to his men to begin exhuming the grave.
Athena stood to the side, her face a portrait of utter devastation.
Concerned she might be overwhelmed, Xander gently suggested to Athena, “Perhaps you’d prefer to wait in the carriage. They’ll be done shortly.”
“No, I’ll stay here,” Athena shook her head firmly. “Mother would want me with her.”
Realizing he couldn’t sway her, Xander fell silent.
Before long, the grave was uncovered, revealing the coffin's length.
It turned out to be a flimsy coffin. Its wood had long since rotted away with age.
Ansel, fully aware of Vania’s importance to Athena, turned to his men and commanded, “Dig with your hands.”
The coffin was so incredibly fragile that it threatened to crumble at the slightest touch.
To avoid damaging Vania’s delicate remains, Ansel led his men as they carefully descended into the grave, excavating the soil with their bare hands.
Athena’s eyes brimmed with tears, overwhelmed by gratitude she couldn’t put into words. All she could do was choke out, again and again, “Thank you so much.”
Before long, the coffin finally emerged before their eyes.
A gentle push was all it took for the coffin lid to give way.
Just as Ansel reached for Vania’s remains, Athena interjected, her voice trembling yet resolute, “Wait! I’ll do it myself.”
Chapter 334
Inside the coffin lay nothing but tattered garments and skeletal remains.
With her eyes red and swollen from crying, Athena stepped forward and gently cradled the urn she had prepared.
Athena stepped forward, knelt down, and carefully placed the urn on the ground.
With trembling hands, Athena reverently gathered Vania’s remains, placing each bone with care into the urn.
The scene was so heart-wrenching that everyone was moved to tears.
With each bone she gathered, Athena whispered, “Mother, I am here to bring you home.”
Each whispered word was a cry of anguish, a dagger to the heart.
Even Xander’s eyes were red-rimmed. He tilted his head skyward, desperately trying to blink back the tears, but his throat was so tight that no sound could escape him.
Tears welled up in Ansel’s eyes as well. Just as he was about to avert his gaze, something inside the coffin suddenly caught his attention.
He asked, “Your Highness, what’s this?”
Xander stepped forward, following Ansel’s gesture. As his gaze landed where Ansel pointed, a look of astonishment flashed across his face.
Nestled among Eloise’s skeletal remains, they found a shimmering stone roughly half the size of an egg.
The stone radiated a golden sheen. Astonishingly, it turned out to be gold ore.
The discovery was nothing short of shocking. Eloise’s death had been ruled an accident. People wondered how this gold ore ended up with her.
Xander cast his gaze over Stone Hill, his voice low as he asked Athena, “You said there are only a handful of hunter families living in these woods, right?”
Athena, still unsure why Xander was asking, nodded and replied, “I think there were only about five or six families, and they all lived quite far apart.”
Xander asked, “About how many miles apart are they?”
“I’d say it’s about three or four miles.”
At this point, Ansel also sensed something amiss. He frowned and said, “That doesn’t add up. Even hunters wouldn’t live so spread out, especially in such a desolate wilderness. Wouldn’t they be afraid of predator attacks?”
Even seasoned hunters would be no match for a wolf pack.
If the hunters were fully aware of the dangers, it didn’t make sense for them to live so far apart.
Athena snapped out of her daze. "You mean those hunters are connected to the gold mine?"
Xander said gravely, “Athena, don’t you find your mother’s death suspicious? She was perfectly fine, yet suddenly had an accident here. This gold ore must have been hastily buried with her. Clearly, someone wanted to cover up the real cause of her death. That’s why they acted this way.”
Athena drew a sharp breath. This possibility had indeed crossed her mind.
But she had no proof.
Eloise had only admitted to causing Vania’s death, but she kept the rest of the details to herself.
Athena thought, ‘This gold mine is definitely tied to Mother’s death.’
Athena’s mind was a tangled mess of clues, each one tightening the knot of confusion in her heart.
Chapter 334
‘The more frantic I get, the less I can make sense of anything,’ Athena thought.
Xander’s low, grave voice rang in her ear. “I suspect someone was searching for the location of the gold mine. Your mother accidentally discovered this secret and was caught. In her panic to escape, her carriage plunged off the cliff. In her final moments, she gave birth to you and took that secret to her grave.
“Those so-called hunters came to Stone Hill for one purpose only, which was to find the gold mine.”
Just like that, everything clicked into place.
Athena felt as if her bones had been ripped out–her body went limp as she staggered back a step.
Eloise claimed she had nothing to do with Vania’s death.
Athena wondered who would be responsible for it.
She thought, ‘Could it be Henry?’
Henry was secretly harboring remnants of the previous empire. To help Nicolas restore the former empire, he would need immense wealth.
“With a gold mine at his disposal, Henry would be unstoppable.
“Daniel and Loretta had been secretly working for Nicolas all along.
They knew there was a gold mine hidden somewhere in Stone Hill, but after all these years, it had always eluded them.
“Vania’s accidental discovery became her death warrant.
Athena let out a bitter, mirthless laugh. She thought, ‘Do Fermin and the Queen have a hand in this too?”
Her eyes turned terrifyingly cold, burning with a desperate resolve. Even if it meant her own ruin, she was determined to bring Fermin and the Queen down with her. She wished she could tear them both limb from limb.
Now it all makes sense why Margaret insisted that Athena had to marry Xander and even leave Pidence City.
Athena thought, “Grandmother knew I’d be in danger.
“Fermin and the Queen are utterly ruthless. If they ever learned the location of the gold mine, they’d stop at nothing.
“To protect me, Grandmother had no choice but to take poison and end her own life.”
Athena was seized by a bone-deep chill, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.
So many lives lost all because of their insatiable greed.
But the real culprits were still walking free, unpunished.
Worse yet, Fermin might even be named Crown Prince.
Athena let out a bitter, mirthless laugh. “Prince Fermin and the Queen must have been conspiring with Henry. They were all using each other, desperate to get their hands on the gold mine. My mother stumbled upon it by accident. That’s why they had her silenced permanently.”
Xander gave a solemn nod, steadying Athena’s trembling form with firm hands.
Athena said through gritted teeth, “Grandmother told me to stay away from Pidence City and stop digging for the truth, but died because of this. If I can’t avenge them, I don’t deserve to live in this world.”
Athena’s anguish and utter breakdown tore at Xander’s heart like a thousand knives.
Chapter 334
Xander gathered her close and said firmly, “Whatever you decide, I’ll stand with you.”
Athena fixed her icy gaze on Pidence City, murderous intent blazing in her eyes. "I will drag Prince Fermin and the Queen down from power and force them to apologize before my mother’s grave.”
Chapter 335