My Sweet Mother Destroyed My Cheating Husband

My mother was the only sweet and naive woman in the Palace. She was not hungry for power, did not scheme against others, and did not command any authority. She lived her life in a messy way as the Queen Consort. It was because my father pampered her so much that she became even more ignorant of the world. Everyone in the Palace showed respect on the surface, yet behind her back, they called her an incompetent fool. When I got married, she clutched my wedding gown while she wept and told me again and again, "My little girl, if anyone ever bullies you, do not hold it in. Come home and tell me." I thought she was being naive because no one would bully me when I was the Princess, yet her advice turned out to be right. Before my husband married me, he already had a mistress who had been his childhood lover, and they already had a 3‑year‑old son. After our wedding, he ignored me, humiliated me, and instructed that my allowance be docked. During the Harvest Gala, he held his mistress' hand as they entered the Palace and let her take my seat. He even asked my father to bestow a title upon her. Everyone in the hall stifled their laughter, and it felt like a knife to my heart. I froze and did not dare shed a tear. Footsteps were suddenly heard, and my mother, who had been treated like an accessory by others all her life, started to walk toward us. The look in her eyes was sharp, and her voice was icy. "A title? Why would an insolent mistress think she is good enough to have one? Drag the mistress and her bastard out to be hanged in public." Chapter 1 My mother, the Queen Consort, was the only sweet and naive woman in the Palace harem whom anyone could bully. She could not even remember the correct sequence of the consorts who were supposed to pay their daily morning respects. It was a blunder to allow a disgraced consort, who had been banished to isolation, to pay her respects before the Noble Consort. This caused dissatisfaction in the harem, which was supposed to be managed by the Queen Consort. When the Royal Household handed the accounts to her, Mother backed away and claimed that she was not good with numbers. My father, the King, doted on her tremendously, and he transferred the responsibility to the King's Cabinet to help her with the accounts. Mother was so clumsy that she once lost her Queen Consort's Signet Ring in the Royal Garden. The ring lay under the sun for 3 days until a young groundskeeper found it. Mother rewarded him with several gold coins for retrieving it. During stormy nights, she cowered in Father's arms, covered her ears, and cried. It worried Father so much that he summoned the Royal Physician late at night to make sure that Mother was fine. When consorts rebuked Mother, she turned red in the face while she listened silently. The next day, she bestowed a box of pearls upon them as an olive branch, which was quite absurd. During royal banquets, Father peeled the skin off grapes to feed her. She found them cold, so Father held them in his palm until they turned warm before feeding the grapes to her. Whenever Mother told Father in a coquettish way that her legs hurt, he held her up the steps in front of everyone present without any shame. Father always reminded me in private, "Never let your mother get involved with any complicated issues. She will not be able to handle it." Everyone in the Palace called her "Your Majesty" respectfully, yet behind her back, they criticized her for being an incompetent fool. Mother never threw her weight around, nor did she try to restrict me by imposing rules. When I was younger, the first thing Mother did whenever I got into trouble was shield me behind her, and she berated the Palace staff who told on me. After I came of age, Mother helped me pick a husband with tears in her eyes. She focused on good‑looking individuals. "My daughter has to look at a handsome face for the rest of her life." The night before my wedding, she bawled her eyes out while she clutched my wedding gown, and she kept repeating, "If anyone ever bullies you, do not hold it in. Come home and tell me." I thought Mother was being naive because I was the Princess, and no one would ever dare to bully me. Unfortunately, her advice turned out to be right. On the night of my wedding, my husband, Baron Isaac Seymour, treated me with tenderness and consideration. He helped remove my earrings and tucked me in before he leaned close to my ear and whispered, "I will not ever let you down, Princess." I was filled with joy, thinking that I had married the right man. The next morning, I woke up to host the morning reception for Isaac's family as per tradition. My mother‑in‑law, Camilla Seymour, sat at the table but did not look at me. She slowly removed a gold bracelet from her wrist, yet she refused to drink from the cup of tea I served. Time passed, and the tea turned cold, yet Camilla refused to let me sit. She continued forcing me to serve everyone at the table. My arms shook from holding the heavy teapot, and it was only then that she reached out to touch her cup. She sneered. "I do not think I can accept a cup of tea from you, Princess. How are you supposed to serve your husband and your in‑laws when you are acting like a spoilt child on your first day of marriage?" My father‑in‑law, Hugo Seymour, grunted unhappily. "A pampered girl brought up in the shielded walls of the Palace does not understand proper etiquette at all." Isaac stared at me coldly and said nothing to help me. I continued standing and serving tea, wondering if the tenderness Isaac had shown me in bed the night before had been a hallucination. Camilla waved at someone at the door to come to the table. "Roxana, bring Ignatius here to pay his respects to the Princess." A gentle‑looking woman came forward while she held the hand of a 3‑year‑old boy. When the boy saw Isaac, he let go of her hand and ran to Isaac. He called out, "Father!" All I could hear was ringing in my ears as I dropped the teapot. It crashed to the ground and splashed tea all over my dress. I looked up in disbelief. "What did he just call you?" Chapter 2 Camilla smiled in a benevolent way as she pulled the boy to her side. "This is the first grandson of the Seymours. Roxana gave birth to him before you married Isaac." A chill went down my spine as I asked in a trembling voice, "Why would you still want to marry a Princess when you already have a wife and child?" Isaac burst out laughing. "Marry a Princess? All I wanted was your status. Do you really think I would ever fall for you?" Roxana came up to me and curtsied while she smiled softly. "My name is Roxana. A pleasure to meet you, Princess." My nails dug into my palms, and I had no idea what to say. Every servant lowered their head, and no one dared speak, yet Roxana refused to let the moment pass. She held her son's hand and approached me slowly to give me a bow. "We are sisters now that we have the same husband." I looked away as I felt my ears burn from her words. "You are not my sister. How dare you deem yourself worthy to be called my sister when even your marriage to my husband is not recognized by the kingdom." Roxana was not angry, and she smiled even more softly. "The Princess is of noble blood and was brought up as a lady. It is only normal that someone like me is not worth your time." Isaac came forward to shield her behind him. He looked at me with an air of superiority. "Roxana has not always been in good health. Stop acting so ill‑mannered around her. It will only frighten her." I felt nauseous as I said through clenched teeth, "A mistress like her deserved death for the mere act of appearing in front of a Princess." Isaac sneered. "Roxana has every right to be here because she gave birth to my first‑born." Roxana took the opportunity to speak up with a trembling voice. "It is not right to let the Seymours be without an heir, Princess. I gave this family their first‑born, yet I did not ask for anything in return. It chills the heart to know that the Princess still feels the need to demean me." She carried her son in her arms and pushed him close to me while she gently coaxed him. "This is your mother, Ignatius." Ignatius cowered in her arms and called out to me in a timid voice, "Mother." The anger rushed to my head, and my hands trembled so much that I could hardly grip my handkerchief. "Who told you he is allowed to call me 'Mother'?" Isaac's face fell, and he flung my hand, which was pointing at Ignatius, away. "You should consider yourself lucky that my son is calling you 'Mother', and stop being ungrateful about it." Roxana looked as if she was about to cry. She hugged Ignatius tighter and choked back a sob. "If the Princess does not like being his mother, I will make sure Ignatius stays silent. I promise he will not anger you any further." I stared at her and replied in a trembling voice, "You are just a mistress without anything to your name. What right do you have to play victim and shed tears in front of me?" Roxana turned pale, and her face was quickly covered with tears as she wept in a pitiful way. She peeked through her fingers to look at me while she cried, and she choked back a sob as she said words that pained my heart. "I have lived a life of suffering, unlike the Princess, who has enjoyed a life of luxury. Yet your mother, the Queen Consort, who is supposed to be an example to all women in the kingdom, is highly disrespected in the Palace. "So many have called her an incompetent fool behind her back." All I heard was buzzing in my mind. She could insult anyone she wanted, except for my mother. I staggered toward her and raised my hand to her cheek. "Shut up!" Before I could slap her, everything started spinning around me, and I saw black. It felt as if my feet had left the ground. The 3‑year‑old Ignatius somehow found the strength to crash into me with his small body and push me to the ground. I screamed and hit the back of my head against a table leg. The pain was so sharp that I started seeing stars. My personal maid was so shocked that she ran toward me to help me up. "Princess! Princess, are you all right?" However, none of the Seymours looked at me. Camilla, Hugo, and Isaac were busy tending to Ignatius. They questioned him to see if he had hurt himself anywhere as they checked him up and down, worried that the incident had frightened him. "Did Ignatius hurt himself?" "Let your grandmother take a good look at you, my poor grandson." The cold ground was covered with tea and my blood, yet no one cared. I was so furious that I felt a rush of blood to my head, and I blacked out from pure anger. Chapter 3 When I woke up, I was already lying in my own bed. A bowl of medicine, which had turned cold, sat by my bedside, yet no one was taking care of me. News of a 3‑year‑old angering me so badly that I passed out spread through the entire household within half a day. The servants made fun of me behind my back and laughed about how a noble Princess had been pushed to the ground by a small child. I could not take this, and I struggled to sit up while I instructed that my things be packed. "I want to return to the Princess' Residence." The moment I gave the order, Isaac entered my room. With a wave of his hand, my Royal Signet Ring bearing the family crest and my Palace Pass were confiscated right away. Isaac looked at me with an air of authority and said, "Now that you have married into the Seymours, you will live your life as a Seymour and die as a Seymour. I will instruct my men to remove your name from the deed of your Princess' Residence." After that, he locked the room, and I was held captive in my small room with no one to save me. I was determined to get out, and I gave my personal maid every cent I had managed to keep hidden. I told her to climb over the walls to inform my parents of my predicament. The first maid was brought back to me with a broken leg. She lay on a stretcher with blood all over her while she wailed, "I am so sorry, Princess. I only made it to the second door…" I continued sending my maids out for help. My second maid had her left leg broken, while the third maid had both legs broken. Both of them were flung outside my room door, which soaked up their blood. All I could do was hold them in my arms as I wept with sorrow. My heart was so broken that I no longer sent anyone out to get help. The only thing left for me to do was accept everything that was happening to me and swallow every angry emotion boiling inside me. Isaac put on a great show when he was out in public. Father heaped praises on him as a new noble who had great potential, while his colleagues thought of him as a well‑mannered and humble young man who was also cultured. Everyone believed that I had married a good husband. Every time I entered the Palace, Mother held my hand with tears in her eyes. She said how much weight I had lost and lamented that I did not look well. She wondered if I was unhappy, and this always prompted me to say something, yet Isaac was always by my side. He stared daggers at me, and it felt as if they sliced every piece of flesh off my body. In the end, I kept my mouth shut. The Seymours grew increasingly bold in the next 6 months when it came to abusing me. Roxana blocked my carriage from leaving and forced me to call her "Lady Seymour". If I refused, she would not let my carriage leave. Even the most junior maid serving under her went over my head. My monthly allowance was docked, and she served rancid meals to me while she rolled her eyes and said, "You can go hungry if you do not want it." I was a Princess, yet I lived a life worse than a slave. When it was late at night, I stared at my wedding gown and thought of Mother when she held my hand and kept telling me that if anyone bullied me, I should not hold back and should go home anytime to tell her. However, all I could do now was cry silently. Mother was soft and did not know the ways of the world. If I told her the truth about the life I was living, I would only cause her to become a laughingstock and might even embroil her in the scheming plans of others. So, I tolerated it. This continued until the Harvest Gala when the Seymours were invited, and the Princess was informed to bring her husband to attend it. When Roxana found out about it, she made a fuss about attending the gala as well. "I would like to see how glamorous it is and see the hall filled with nobles." I looked at her in disbelief. "You want to enter the Palace when you are only a mistress?" Isaac, Camilla, and Hugo nodded in agreement. Camilla smiled in a benevolent way. "You should go and let the entire kingdom see what a good‑looking grandson the Seymours have." They started discussing clothes and carriages for the gala and made sure that they had everything better than mine. In the end, they took the Princess' carriage and allowed Roxana and Ignatius onto the carriage while I was given a worn‑out carriage that came in last in the convoy. I pushed open the blinds in the carriage to see my gold‑rimmed carriage in front being occupied happily by the mistress, and it made me want to cry. Just like that, the grand convoy from the Seymours headed into the Palace with the mistress taking the most prominent carriage. Chapter 4 When we entered the Palace, Isaac held Roxana's hand and walked in with his head held high. He helped Roxana to our designated seats, and she took the seat superior to the one I was forced to sit in. Every consort, noble lady, and member of the Royal Family looked at me and whispered amongst themselves. Roxana was dressed in a bright red gown that looked just like mine, and her chin was held high as she smiled at me. "Sister." I looked away and replied in a cold voice, "Who is your sister?" Isaac came to her rescue right away and glared at me. "Roxana is not in the best health. Stop losing your temper at her. She is easily frightened." Roxana carried Ignatius, the illegitimate son of the Seymours, and pushed him close to me. She coaxed him softly, "Go on, Ignatius. Call 'Mother'." Ignatius buried himself in her arms, yet he still called me "Mother" in a timid voice. I trembled so much with anger that my knuckles turned white. "Who told you he could call me 'Mother'?" Isaac's face fell, and he flung off my hand, which was pointing at Ignatius. "It is an honor to be called 'Mother' by my son. Stop being ungrateful about this." Roxana looked as if she was about to cry, and she dabbed the corner of her eye with a handkerchief. The laughter in the hall grew louder, and it felt like a knife to my heart. I clenched my fists and turned around to plead with Father for justice. He sat on his throne, and his face fell. He was about to speak when someone made an entrance. Mother appeared, yet she did not look at anyone. She came straight toward me and held my hand. Her hand was cold, and when she felt how bony my wrist was from losing so much weight, she frowned. "Why did you lose so much weight, my little girl? Did someone bully you?" Her words made my eyes fill with tears, and I almost cried. Everyone in the hall had been too busy laughing at me, yet Mother was the only one who knew I had lost weight at a glance. She shielded me behind her and glared at Roxana. However, everyone in the hall looked on as if this was a joke. Everyone knew how weak the Queen Consort was, and even a consort of the lowest rank was brave enough to rebuke her. Now that she stood up for me, everyone assumed she would cry, and Father would carry her back to her room to comfort her. Roxana showed no respect for her. When Mother appeared, Roxana did not panic. She even stood up straighter as she pushed Ignatius toward Mother. "Ignatius, greet the Queen Consort. She has the softest heart and could never bear to see a child suffer." Ignatius did as Roxana said and greeted Mother. This only made the laughter in the hall louder as the ultimate joke played out in front of them. My tears could not stop falling as I stood behind Mother. I had been confined to my room, and three of my maids ended up with broken legs. My allowance was docked, and I could not even enjoy a hot meal. While all this was happening, my husband pretended to be a well‑mannered, gallant man outside the house. He revealed his true colors only when he came home. He treated his mistress as if she was his wife, while I was treated like a lowly maid. I tolerated everything because Mother was a weak and soft person. I was afraid of causing her trouble and turning her into a laughingstock. I worried that a sweet, naive person like her would not be able to help me and would give me further trouble instead. Yet she still stood up for me. Father sat on his throne with an unfathomable expression. It seemed like he had no idea what his soft‑hearted Queen Consort was about to do. I bit my lip and was about to pull Mother away when Roxana suddenly spoke up in a dainty voice, "Isaac, I would like to request a Royal Warrant of Precedence so that I may call the Princess my sister." Isaac immediately turned to Father and said in a bright voice, "Father, I would like to make a brazen request to bestow Roxana with a Royal Warrant of Precedence and to make young Ignatius my legitimate heir." Stifled laughter was heard, and it felt like another knife to my heart. However, Mother suddenly laughed. She approached Roxana slowly while she spoke in a tone laced with cold malice. "A Royal Warrant of Precedence? What right does an uncouth mistress who is ill‑mannered have to ask for one?" Roxana turned pale and tried to defend herself. "Your Majesty, I have given birth to the first grandson of the Seymours. I have contributed…" Mother said, "Shut up." There was great authority in her tone. Mother turned to Isaac with rage in her eyes. "Do you know what crime you committed by bringing your mistress to a gala organized by the Palace and allowing her to take the Princess' seat?" Isaac broke out in cold sweat, yet he still tried to stand his ground. "Mother, Roxana is just…" Mother said, "Do not call me 'Mother'. I do not have a son‑in‑law like you." Every word she uttered sounded cold as ice. "You disrespected your wife and indulged in your mistress, even allowing her to bully your wife and ask the Royal Family to bestow her an honor. "Everything you did is considered a serious offence." Mother pointed at Roxana and said in a raised voice, "I want you to witness for yourself what it means for someone to have a Royal Warrant of Precedence. "Guards, take this insolent mistress and the bastard she gave birth to and hang them in public right now."