Chapter 4 : Who Are You?

*Alice's POV*

The next day, I walked down the hallway leading to the kitchen. Along the way, I heard all the palace maids talking about James falling into the water the night before, their voices low, but still nowhere near a whisper.

"Do you hear?! Prince James fell into the lake in the garden last night and was saved by the royal teacher, Mr. Simon. It's the most exciting news of the morning!" one of the maids squealed.

Another chimed in. "No way! I wonder who did it. I mean, pushed Prince James in?"

"Hush!" a third voice demanded. "Don't speak too loud. Prince James is still a prince, despite his awful attitude. We should be careful of what we say."

"...Yeah, absolutely…" the first stated. "I'm happy he was saved. But I just want to know who did such an amazing thing. Is it some girl abandoned by him? Ooo, I bet it was revenge."

"It's a mystery," the third woman answered. "I guess we'll never know. Even he doesn't know who did it. Says he has no memory whatsoever."

"But then why was Mr. Simon there?"

"That's not something we should be asking about," the second stated. "The Alpha King asked us to entertain him with the highest courtesy. Don't you remember that?"

"Of course, I remember," said the first. "But I... I think Mr. Simon is even more strict than the Alpha King. I can't image he would save Prince James if he saw something that he shouldn't have."

"Ha! You mean Mr. Simon should let Prince James die?"

"No...nooo! I don't say that!" the first exclaimed. "I served Mr. Simon when he just came here. I admit that he is handsome and elegant, and no one can deny his charms. But I didn't dare to look him in the eye. "

"That's just because you are too timid," the second taunted. "If I get the opportunity to serve him, I will just wake up laughing."

Finally, the women left, and I was left standing in shock. Simon said nothing about why Jill fell into the water.

The news should make me elated, but for some reason, I was pissed.

He kept his word; he really had no interest in me. Perhaps, he just forgot.

But how could I let something like this happen? If he could keep his word, so could I. I would make him teach me no matter what he thought he wanted.

In the following days, James fell ill as a result of his 'near death experience'. Due to this, the training sessions were suspended and the young Alphas left the palace and returned to their packs. At least I wouldn't have to worry about them anymore.

It also lightened my and Joan's workload. James' scandal spread to the surrounding packs with the departure of the young Alphas. After all, for shifters, getting drunk and falling into the water and almost dying, as a result, was not a glorious thing. Not to mention, James was the prince of the Alpha King. In this case, the Alpha King was thankful for the rescue of his son. It even made Simon more popular in the palace and nearby packs.

Wherever I went, I could hear his name.

BANG!

The sound of a disc falling to the ground and shattering into pieces was enormous, like a thunderclap coming from James' room. I could hear his voice down the hall and walked to his door, peering through the crack.

"Simon, Simon, why does everyone talk about Simon all the time? He is a rogue who is not taken in by a pack! How can he be our teacher?! This is all ludacris! I'm the prince! How could I be in a bad enough mood to drink myself silly? And if I didn't drink, how could I even fall into the water? Now I'm being laughed at by everyone, and it's all because of him!"

James cursed as he lay on the bed. According to the healer, he needed to remain there for at least a week.

Years of drinking and pleasure make his body weaker than a normal Alphas. However, he would never admit it. All he wanted was power, and whoever provoked him would be scolded.

I was not at all surprised by James' ingratitude. This was James, a stupid and selfish prince.

I didn't know if Alpha King knew if his son was like this, but apparently, he didn't raise his children with his heart. In this case, his attitude towards Simon was intriguing.

The Alpha King seemed to respect and fear Simon. Why?

My thoughts were cut down by William, the Alpha King's nephew, who tried to have James calm down.

"Stop! James, you need to rest."

William's voice was full of helplessness. He was the only young Alpha who stayed at the palace when the sessions were suspended. As the heir of the strongest pack, Opal Moon pack, William had a close relationship with the palace, and he was also the best friend of James. Although, in my opinion, he was not as stupid as James.

"Rest?! How do I rest when everyone is laughing at me and praising Simon?!" James roared and even though I was outside the door, I could feel his anger.

"I know you don't like Mr. Simon. I don't either. But both of our fathers think he is stronger than us. This is why they invited him to be our teacher. And I have to admit that he is experienced in fighting with those alienated rogues."

He shuddered as he said it and James laughed.

"Alienated rogues? Come on, they are just normal rogues. We have had fights with rogues so many times! Why do we need him telling us what to do?!"

"They are not normal rogues. James, you know better. Those alienated rogues killed your mom, the Luna, ten years ago. And your mom was also a strong Alpha!" William pointed out to James. And this time, James kept silent.

My eyes narrowed. I knew the attack that happened ten years ago. It wasn't a wonderful memory since I was the only survivor.

I lost the mood to continue listening, put down the food in my hand, and turned to leave. Delivering food to James was not a wonderful errand. Every time I would be humiliated by him. He would vent his bad temper on anyone lower in rank than him. I chose not to touch his mold today.

Then, I heard James ask something intriguing and I stopped in my tracks.

"William, Simon was recommended by your father, and he first lived in your pack. Do you know nothing about his past?"

William shook his head. "I know nothing about him. He is a mystery, and he never reveals his past to anyone."

"Goddess, how dare my father to invite such a person into the palace and even make him our teacher?" James growled.

I sighed and decided to continue walking away. My main purpose was not to bring food to Jill. I wanted to get some information about Simon. And now, it seemed that my goal was not achieved. I'd have to go to Simon directly.

These days, I got the opportunity to deliver food to Simon. However, every time I could say something, he asked me to leave since it was the rule he made to maids who served him. He didn't like others coming into his room.

The Alpha King gave Simon a relatively separate palace to live in. He didn't live in the main palace with others.

Whenever I walked into this palace, it felt empty. Simon was the only person who lived here. I didn't see him because he didn't come out to get the food. Instead, he asked me to leave it outside the door. I tried to hide and waited for him to come out, but he always knew I didn't leave and then proceeded to ask me to do so.

The question remained: how would I get him to teach me?

I thought I could find a way. But Simon wouldn't let it be easy.

This time, as usual, I knocked on the door three times. But no one answered.

Strange. Although Simon kept a distance from all the maids, he was polite and still had manners. Somewhat.

He wouldn't let anyone wait for a long time.

Maybe he wasn't here. Then, a bold idea broke into my head.

Perhaps, I could sneak in. If I could find something to use as leverage, he'd have to teach me.

The thought made my heart pound, but by the time I reacted, I was already holding the doorknob.

I needed to go. This was my only chance to leave the palace. I couldn't give pass it up.

I left my breath light, stood on my tiptoes, and pushed hard against the door.

Luckily, the door opened. I didn't waste time and sneaked into the room, closing the door behind me.

When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I found my intuition was right.

Simon wasn't here.

I didn't care about where he went. I just searched for the things I wanted in the room.

The room was large, however, compared to the other rooms of the palace, there was not much furniture.

I searched every corner of the room and didn't find anything special.

But how was it possible? Why couldn't I find any private information about Simon in the place he lived?

It was like he had appeared out of thin air.

William's words rang in my ears: "I know nothing about him. He is a mystery, and he never reveals his past to anyone."

At first, I thought William was exaggerating. But now, I knew it was true. Simon seemed to erase his presence in every way.

No one knew where he came from, his joys and anger, or his purpose.

Was it possible that there was a person in the world who was lonelier than me?

The thought struck me. At this moment, my eyes fell on the desk. It had a drawer, which was dragged out halfway.

It seemed that Simon left the room in a hurry, and the drawer was not pushed back.

I walked toward the desk and pulled out the drawer completely. Inside was a wallet.

Without a second thought, I opened it, and a photo of a beautiful woman appeared. She looked young. She had long blonde hair and a gentle smile. Her blue eyes were like calm lake water, and her gentle gaze was peaceful.

She sat on the bench with her back to the sun, her eyes looking at the camera as if shining. She had an undeniable beauty. Although this beauty was not a shock, it was impressive.

In a way, she made me feel a little familiar, even though I had never seen her before.

It seemed that this was a grassy field in front of the packhouse, and she was looking at the people who came out, with her eyes full of tender love.

I took out the photo from the wallet to see if there is any mark on the back. At the same time, a large pile of banknotes fell out of the wallet.

Sh*t. I bent down to collect them from the floor. When I picked up one of them, I found it didn't belong to any kind of bank I knew.

A dazzling light leaked through the gap in the curtain and landed on the front of the banknote.

I read the words carefully: "Fifty dollars... the United States of America."

As far as I knew, the United States was on the other side of the sea, but that's too far.

An idea burst into my head at lightning speed. I looked at the photo and the banknote, and a smile formed.

Simon's handle, I found it.

I breathed a sigh of relief and stood up.

Suddenly, a huge force lifted me, and I was pressed against the wall behind me.

The hand holding my neck was so strong that I almost thought my neckbone was going to break.

Simon's face came into view. He was furious.

His light brown eyes looked like a fire burning, and the green tendons at the corners of his forehead throbbed.

His handsome face was a little hideous, but it revealed a hint of wild beauty.

I had just caught a glimpse of his face when my vision began to blur.

His cold words broke into my ears, like a warning of death. "Who allowed you to touch my things?!"

The pressure on my throat was increasing, and my sight was diminishing.

Was this it? Was I dying?