Chapter 390
Outside Phoenix Hall, Pamela stood, ramrod straight. Her robes fluttered slightly in the breeze. Though her face seemed serene, her eyes burned with fierce determination. The maid beside her was too terrified to breathe; outside the Phoenix Hall, it was so quiet that only the occasional whisper of wind could be heard.
“Your Majesty, I beg for a divorce from Fermin.” Pamela’s clear voice carried far across the empty palace gates.
At her words, the royal attendants and maids turned pale, stealing glances at the audacious woman.
Inside Phoenix Hall, the Queen’s smile vanished instantly when she heard the maid’s report. She slammed her cup down, splashing coffee across the table, her delicate brows arching in fury.
The Queen raged, “What did you say? Pamela wants a divorce? How dare she!”
The Queen’s eyes burned with disbelief and anger. "Has that woman grown a lion’s heart? What gives her the audacity to ask for a divorce?"
‘She actually wants to leave the royal family—who does she think she is?’ she wondered. ‘In the royal family, it’s always the royals who cast women aside, never has there been a case of mutual separation.’
“Your Majesty, it’s absolutely true—Pamela is standing outside the palace gates this very moment,” the maid stammered in terror, dropping to her knees with a sudden thud.
The Queen shot to her feet, pacing furiously around the chamber. Fuming, she muttered, “This is utterly disgraceful. She’s dragging the royal family’s name through the mud.”
All the palace staff hung their heads low, not daring to even breathe.
“Right then. I’ll go see what on earth she thinks she’s doing,” the Queen snapped. She flung her handkerchief aside and stormed out of the palace.
The grand gates of Phoenix Hall slowly swung open, flooding the hall with blinding sunlight. Pamela narrowed her eyes slightly but remained steadfastly standing there. As the Queen appeared, she offered a deep, formal bow and called out in a clear voice, “Your Majesty, your humble servant pays her respects.”
The Queen stared down at Pamela with icy disdain. “Pamela,” she snapped, “Do you even know what you’re saying? Divorce? Do you truly take royal matrimony for some childish game?”
Pamela raised her head and looked the Queen straight in the eye, her gaze steady. “Your Majesty,” she said calmly, “the bond between Fermin and I is broken beyond repair. What remains is but a hollow pretense of marriage, which brings no honor to the royal house. I beseech Your Majesty’s understanding.”
“How dare you.” The Queen trembled with fury. “Are you accusing Fermin? Since when does a mere woman of your station presume to meddle in royal affairs?”
“As a princess, how petty you are–making such a fuss and demanding a divorce over a mere trifle. Do you take the royal family for some common tavern where you can act on every whim?”
Pamela bit her lower lip, a stubborn glint flashing in her eyes. “Your Majesty, your wisdom sees all–I would never dare overstep my bounds. But I simply can no longer endure this existence.”
The Queen scoffed, “Hmph. I see you’ve been spoiled rotten and clearly don’t know your place.”
Chapter 390
“How amusing,” the Queen laughed with chilling fury. “Guards. Throw Pamela out at once. From now on, she is forbidden to set foot inside these palace gates again.”
Immediately, several royal attendants stepped forward and, with cautious deference, addressed Pamela. “Pamela, if you would please consider—”
Pamela cast one last profound look at the Queen, then bowed deeply once more. Only then did she slowly rise to her feet. Under the heavy gaze of the assembled court, she walked out of the Palace, step by measured step, her back ramrod straight.
“Utter nonsense,” the Queen sneered, watching Pamela’s retreating figure. “How dare she trample upon royal dignity like this."
Pamela was ushered out of Palace by the royal attendants, her steps staggering, a self-mocking smile on her lips.
‘A princess without even the most basic dignity,’ she thought.
The palace staff cast sidelong glances, their whispers piercing.
“Pamela actually seeks a divorce—what a disgrace to the royal family,” a maid whispered.
“Exactly. Who does she think she is to decide on a royal marriage?” another added.
As she reached the palace gates, Pamela turned back for one last look at the towering palace. The vermilion walls and gilded tiles shimmered in the sunlight, yet to her, they were nothing but a gilded cage. A profound sorrow flashed through her eyes.
“No place remains for me in this world,” she murmured.
Pamela’s gaze slowly drifted to a stone pillar by the palace gate. The maid, sensing something was terribly wrong, cried out in panic, “Your Highness, what are you doing?”
Without hesitation, she rushed forward to stop her.
But Pamela moved as if compelled by an unseen force, her steps unwavering.
Just as the maid was about to reach her, Pamela whirled around and shoved the maid violently to the ground.
“Stay back,” Pamela screamed hoarsely, her face streaked with tears.
The maid fell, terror and confusion filling her eyes. “Your Highness, you mustn’t-.”
Pamela ignored everyone around her. Taking a deep breath, she violently rammed her head against the stone pillar.
With a sickening, dull thud, her body slowly crumpled to the ground. Blood gushed from her forehead, staining the floor as it spread.
For a heartbeat, time seemed to freeze. The palace attendants were stunned by the horrifying scene, then a collective gasp of horror ripped through them.
“Pamela has rammed her head into the pillar,” someone cried.
“Help. Someone, help,” another voice shouted.
A cacophony of panicked cries erupted, and the entire area around the palace gates instantly descended into chaos.
Her maid scrambled desperately to Pamela’s side, cradling her limp body as heart-wrenching sobs wracked her. “Your Highness, please wake up. Why would you do this? Don’t leave me.”
The Queen had just returned to her chambers when a maid rushed in again with alarming news. “Your Majesty, something terrible has happened — Pamela has thrown herself against a pillar.”
Chapter 390
“What did you say?” The color drained from the Queen’s face, her mind reeling.
But it wasn’t fear that seized her–it was rage.
That wretched woman. How dare she do this now, of all times?
This would imply she’s been mistreated by the royal family.
Is she trying to utterly ruin Fermin’s reputation?
Realizing this, the Queen couldn’t sit still any longer and commanded, “Attendants. Quickly summon the imperial physicians at once.”
She thought coldly, ‘Pamela must not be allowed to die. Not like this!'
Every imperial physician in the palace was dispatched at once, hurrying straight to Palace.
News of Pamela ramming her head against the pillar couldn’t be contained and soon reached Arthur.
Arthur, too, was quite astonished. “She rammed her head into a pillar? Why would she do that when everything was fine?”
Thanatus whispered urgently in his ear, “Your Majesty, Pamela couldn’t come to terms with Fermin taking a concubine. She came to the palace today, begging the Queen for a divorce, but the Queen refused her. Overwhelmed by despair, she threw herself against a pillar.”
Hearing this, veins throbbed at Arthur’s temples in anger.
He slammed the memorial onto the table and bellowed, “What insolence. Which prince in the royal family doesn’t keep multiple wives and concubines? She failed to produce a son, yet forbids Fermin from taking a concubine–does she mean to bring the Fermin lineage to an end?”
Thanatus cowered, not daring to utter a word.
“Go, summon Fermin to the palace at once," Arthur bellowed, pacing furiously in Qiankun Hall with his hands clasped behind his back, his face livid with rage. “If he can’t even keep order in his own household, what kind of prince does he think he is?”
Thanatus, his face ashen, scurried out of the hall. He immediately summoned a young attendant and ordered, “Hurry. Go fetch Fermin to the palace at once.”
The young attendant acknowledged the order with a quick nod and scurried off.