Priscella gritted her teeth in frustration. She couldn't believe what was happening.

What the hell were they talking about? How could a mere slave possibly know about herbs? Did someone help her?

She turned to look at the maid again whom she had colluded with and the woman looked pale and shaky.

Priscella couldn't help but doubt the woman's actions. Did that useless thing have second thoughts about this and backed out at the last minute by giving the horse some sort of herbs as an antidote?

If that was indeed the case, then everything which was currently happening made sense.

Sylvia probably just made use of the situation and simply took the credits for something which she never did in the first place! But then how could she know about all the details of the herb?

Nothing was adding up. Priscella felt as if her head was going to burst from the anger coursing through her veins.

She had never been so angry in her life before. She just wanted to reach out and rip the woman apart and feed her to the wolves.

As she was imagining various ways in which she wanted to kill Sylvia, a thought suddenly entered Priscella's mind.

She immediately stepped forward and asked, her eyes and tone very hesitant. "Ummm… Lady Sylvia… pardon my ignorance… but wouldn't it have been better to feed the poor sick horse these herbs and let him rest? He could have recovered better…"

Her words were very rational and logical and since everyone already had trouble believing that someone like Sylvia was in fact so talented, they quickly changed their opinion and once again became suspicious.

Even the Queen returned back to frowning and looked at Sylvia questioningly. "How do you explain this, Lady Sylvia?" She asked, furrowing her brows.

Sylvia was not in the least flustered. She calmly smiled once at Priscella and then at the Queen, bowing again respectfully.

"This kind of medicine, your highness…" She started to explain when the physician interrupted her and explained in her stead with a smile on his face.

"Your highness, if I may. What Miss Sylvia here is trying to tell… Ha Ha… Some medicines require that the beast exercise well in order to digest and absorb the full effects of the herbs."

"Oh? Is that so?" Anastasia nodded in deep thinking, standing up to examine the horse herself.

Declan then turned towards Mikel and added. "You have a very talented mistress, your highness."

"Thank you, Declan." Mikel nodded with a small smile, though his mood still seemed far from his normal sunny temperament.

"Alright then, if there is nothing else, please allow me to take my leave, your highness." Declan walked over to the Queen and bowed in front of her before quickly returning back to more important affairs.

The next second, Mikel as well hurriedly walked over to the Queen, still grabbing Sylvia by her hand and forcibly pulling her along with him.

"Your highness. I apologize for the inconvenience my mistress has caused you today. I will see to it that she is punished accordingly."

Anastasia nodded, her eyes still lingering on the horse. "It's quite alright, Mikel. You don't have to punish her terribly. After all, no harm was done."

She then turned to look at Sylvia and muttered with a cold gaze. "The next time it is better that you leave such complicated affairs to the court physician."

Sylvia nodded. She threw a sideways glance at the woman who was responsible for everything and was quite content with the terror on her face.

And thankfully, because Mikel was there, she didn't have to linger around the tea party from hell any longer.

The two of them paid respects to the Queen once again and then promptly left the riding field, returning back to the castle.

Watching Sylvia and Mikel leave together, hand in hand, Priscella could only stare at them from behind, her insides burning from rage.

She was his fiance and his soon to be lawfully wedded wife, but right now, the man did not even acknowledge her, let alone talk to her.

She felt like a complete outsider as if she had no connection with the Prince at all.

Priscella clutched the edges of her dress, her nails tearing through the fabric.

What had she done to deserve this kind of life? Would she always only be second fiddle to that hateful woman?

Wouldn't such a life be torturous? She couldn't help but rethink her entire decision, but the thought of Mikel made her push all the other thoughts away.

"It will be fine." She silently muttered to herself. "Sooner or later, there will be a chance. I will wait patiently for that day to arrive."

Priscella clenched her fists tightly before relaxing them and joining the others again with an elegant smile on her face as if nothing had happened at all.

Away from the gathering of women, Mikel grabbed Sylvia and walked back to his room as fast as he could. It was as if they were running out of the Queen's quarters holding their life in their hands.

"Mikel, slow down. What… happened?" Sylvia asked, worried about the expression the man was currently making.

She knew that she had acted daringly, maybe even a bit rashly, but if she didn't do anything, she would have definitely gotten framed for a crime she didn't commit, and then things would have ended up even worse.

Mikel, however, did not pause to answer her. He kept walking, pulling her along, still holding her hands with a tight grip. "Let's go back first. We can talk then."

The two of them rushed back into the guest quarters, and to the room where they had been staying, Mikel closing the door behind him.

"What happened? Can you tell me at least now?" Sylvia asked, cupping his face with her hands. "The Queen didn't seem angry Mikel. Why are you so worried? Wasn't everything settled back there?"

She didn't understand why he looked so troubled and felt a bit guilty for causing him this unnecessary headache.