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The Next Step is Still the First
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2021-12-20 17:00:23My healer, had been what he wanted to say. It had been easy at first, when she was just that. But now that wasn't the whole truth anymore. She was his life-savior. Also, she showed him how to fly a kite, and gave her first kiss to him. Like a butterfly, he didn't really feel it, but the sight of it was nurturing to the soul. Then this hug... when he concentrated, the warmth nearly reached his skin, even if it was only a memory. This day had changed him. Maybe it changed her, too. But he wouldn't know, cause he pushed her away afterwards.
Instinctively, he knew that she was the one to call him in his deep sleep. Called without a name, but full of hopes. Would she have called the earl the same way she'd called her patient? After how he treated her, it was unlikely. But pushing her away was the right thing to do. Yes, the right thing.
"Nathan?" A hand waved in front of him. "Did you just space out for real?"
The prince looked like he couldn't believe it. His eyes w
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Traveling with the prince was less irritating than Katherine thought it would be. He called her out once to ask about Hazel's recovery and then never talked about her maid again. Though she was glad, Katherine still thought of it as odd. Wasn't the prince a womanizer? Did she misinterpret his gaze at Hazel? Or maybe his own servants were enough for his needs.His arrogance, however, couldn't be called a simple misinterpretation. She'd felt him look down on her the moment she saw him. And then he dared tell her: "I'm here now, so you don't need to look after him anymore. Let him recover in peace."Though she politely smiled and outwardly accepted this command, she gritted her teeth in anger the instant she was alone. She spend so much time and work to get the patient on his feet again and now they wouldn't even let her see the result once?! Unacceptable!She called for Sam. "I want to see the patient. I saved him, so I want to see him!""Milady", Sam sighe
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"Aston was acknowledged as a prince, yes, but his mother isn't the queen. Maybe that's why the earl hates him less. Waiving his right to be an heir could play a part in it, too." Nathaniel deliberately made it seem like he wasn't sure about the earl's motives. He was the patient now, so being too clear about the earl would be a flaw in his acting.Prince Aston being illegitimate son was new to Katherine. She wasn't a citizen of the Icelands to begin with, so it was natural not to know some dirty details. She felt a bit of schadenfreude and happiness to have spotted a weakness of that unlikable man. Counting the two factors together, this could be a reasonable explanation for the earl to not hate the prince. Maybe the prince, too, didn't like his family, and with that, they felt sympathy for each other.Pondering, Katherine lightly tapped her lips with her index finger as her gaze got unfocused. If it was like this, there was no reason to fear the earl being part of the
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To be told goodbye suddenly left Katherine stunned for a second. She didn't expect he'd leave right after recovering. It was a shame, when they'd finally found a friendly basis with each other. Now he had to go and it didn't look like he planned to come back. "I thought you and the earl were brothers. Won't you visit each other?""We usually don't have much contact." Was she sad she wouldn't see the patient again? She would still see him as the earl, so she shouldn't start missing him. It felt strange to interact with her in two personas."Oh. Alright." She smiled a little awkwardly. There were a few other questions in her head, mostly about the earl, but she swallowed them back. The earl already payed for her service, so she shouldn't exploit his brother too much. "If you nearly die again, you know where to find me. But next time I will charge from yourself, so you better be careful!"With that she found her usual confident self again and stood up. "And if you
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"The earl of Hymirhall!", the herald announced loudly, as the folding doors to the throne hall opened.With steady, long strides, Nathaniel walked inside, Sam on his heels. Sam's magic already vanished, leaving behind the earl's snow-white hair and red eyes, glinting dangerously. His face was expressionless, and even colder than normal. As he strode forward, his hands were clasped behind his back. He wore his usual black attire, only the cufflinks on his dress shirt changed as a concession to the special occasion. They were red rubies, matching his eyes.The throne hall had a simple structure: four-sided, longer than wide, with a floor and walls of black marble, a high ceiling, and big windows to the left. If not for the latter letting sunlight flood in, it may have resembled the dark cave of some wild beast. Now it was more suited for the civilized predators that resided in it.Nathaniel's gaze first wandered to the end of the hall. More than a hundred meters i
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With this question the king seemed to finally find his footing again, and turned stern. "Your punishment. You are not to take one step out of the palace for the time being. All your necessities will be moved here. You are not to make contact with your mother, as well as participate in events were she is present. The medal ceremony is an exception. Finally, for as long as you are in the palace, you will wear a vessel. You know how it works."A ridiculing smile lingered around the corners of Nathaniel's mouth. As expected, he still only sees the monster. "Didn't we already try this? In contact with my magic, vessels work for a few seconds at most. And they only restrain it to skin-contact. Surely you don't want something this unstable in your vicinity.""Indeed.", the king agreed. "That is why I asked for a special vessels to be made. It should be able to curb your full power for half an hour, which is more than enough time to kill you. It also has a warning mechanism to
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Katherine had just finished her first bath after the long travel, when she heard that the earl had arrived. As fast as possible, she put on some clothes, and let Hazel make her a simple hairstyle. Then she rushed to the entrance hall. Her heart was bouncing in her chest. How long had it been since she last saw him?The entrance hall was like a smaller version of the one in the mansion. When she reached the stairs, she could already see the earl standing down below, discussing something with Sam. His white hair shined softly in the light of the candles that had just been ignited. Relieve and joy flooded her. He looked as healthy as always!Before she knew it, she rushed down the stairs, calling out to him happily. "Nathaniel!"The figure in black turned around, his eyes widening, but it was too late to step to the side. Two slender arms clutched around his waist and a soft body slammed against his chest. "You're back!"Her momentum nearly made him stagger
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A finger on her lips, Katherine pondered. Yes, the compensation now didn't match the difficulty of the request anymore. Not if her life was on the line. However, living in the palace was also a chance. If she could influence the nobles, it was possible for the Icelands to attack the Dragsa-kingdom, hopefully killing Ethan while they were at it. Though she would prefer to do it with her own hands, she was realistic. She knew that she was way too weak. It may not be possible in the future and it certainly wasn't possible right now.The problem with influencing the society behind the scenes was the fitting social status. If she was introduced as a simple noble or even a maid, her influence would be next to naught. The proud nobles in the palace would just ignore her. Also, she wasn't beautiful enough to get a big number of suitors without having a fitting status, so this option was also not the best. Her status as a noble of the Dragsa-kingdom would be even worse than no status
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Outside the lounge, Nathaniel exhaled. This deception play was too difficult. How should he stay unaffected when she made such cute faces? He wanted to kiss this sweet dumb face all over! Being affected this strongly took him unexpected, especially because cuteness had never been his preference. He liked beauty, elegance. Katherine was beautiful, too. He didn't know about elegant normally, but he could imagine her playing the elegant lady with a haughty face if he were to challenge her to it. A heavy bubbly feeling raised in his chest. Now he was already feeling in paradoxes. With a sigh, he rubbed his face. Why in the world was her cuteness able to affect him when cuteness in general couldn't? It had to be special because it was her. Because he knew her for a longer time now, had seen her vulnerable, unruly and courageous sides. They all had their own charm. Letting her be my fake betrothed will be torture, he realized with regret. Was his health really wort
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Five years later"Your Holiness - Uh, ah, Majesty, I mean!"Leaning on the newly-built rails atop the dome of the palace, with the view of the Capital in the background, Katherine scolded lightly: "Shht, Hazel, she just fell asleep."In her arms rested a baby, maybe a few months old, with a tuft of black hair and fair white skin. If she opened her lids, angelic blue eyes would blink up innocently at the viewer.Hazel's head appeared at the end of the staircase leading to the roof. Apologetically, she bit her lip and whispered. "I'm sorry, your Majesty. A letter arrived from Dragsa, and Prince Patrick hurt his knee while playing. He's on his way here.""Dragsa...," Katherine muttered and stretched out a hand to take it. "I wonder what they want. They were very quiet in the latter years."Lowering her head, she took a glance at the paper. Instantly, her brows furrowed, later followed by a deep sigh. "I almost expected it. What a shame."Her gaze wandered to the west, in the direction of
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