Sweat poured down generously at Caldwell’s body when he reached the Rubiyah Manor. In a feverish haste to get away, he had forgotten that his presence was still badly needed at the pavilion and that it would look suspicious if he did not go back and showed himself again. However, after what had happened back there, he could not possibly bring himself back to face the crowd, especially Shia Hyanessa Andry, Tristal’s granddaughter and Langrion’s fiancé, who most certainly will be there. He was supposed to give his blessings to her and his nephew during their formal engagement ceremony, and he simply did not have the guts to do it.
As soon as he reached his residence, Gascone’s present king and Imperial Ruler, Caldwell Nanris, collapsed on the floor of his room and nervously cupped his head in his palms.
‘Why?! Why?! Why?!’ he screamed at himself. Out of all people, why must it be Tristal?! Why must it be his Tristal who should come and face him to reveal what he had tr
Caldwell’s face went as pale as a ghost. Did he really hear Tristal’s words correctly? “I know you must be Langrion and Danterion’s real father. It’s because of you that the prophecy of the Demon King might be fulfilled…” Utterly surprised, he let go of her trembling form. She started to stagger away from him, but she caught one of her arms once more. “Tristal… No… You must have been mistaken…” “I am not mistaken, Cal. We both know it… And Cashmere knows it too…” Her beloved Tristal said, weeping openly now in exasperation. “H-How?... How did you know?...” “Cashmere sent me letters before she took her own life, Cal… I thought they were letters that reflected the flimsy state of her sanity after what happened during the princes’ baptismal, but they weren’t… On her final letter, she included something else… An official manuscript of the oracle of the divine…” “Your crimes against her were detailed in there, Cal… Cashmere could ne
Langrion opened his heavy eyes. It felt like they wanted to remain shut against the midday sun, but he forced them to stay awake. His body ached all over, and his muscles felt too heavy and too weak to even roll over. He had to inch himself several times just to be able to do this. After some time, when the sleepiness that had taken over his mortal form had ebbed a little, he found himself sprawled amidst a haystack. He felt around his face too and was relieved to see that his mask was still on him. ‘Why am I here?’ Langrion asked himself, dumbfounded. The last thing that he remembered was being at the maze garden of Sensala’s Grand Pavilion, and he was running around looking for Shia. ‘My Shia,’ he remembered quickly. Rogue cursed ones had made a sudden attack at the grand pavilion. He, Khailis, and Shia were in the middle of chasing one particular rogue when he was taken over by an outpour of emotions as he clutched Shia firmly in his arms when he had sense
Langrion looked at Shia’s shaking form against the pale glow of the moonlight. He stroked her face that was wet from tears after crying her eyes out at the funeral pyre. He moved closer towards her and whispered, “Sleep well, Shia...” He stood up to leave, but she clutched his hand gently with her long, beautiful fingers that were still cold from being outside for too long. “Please don’t leave,” she breathed into him, “Stay here, Langrey... Don’t leave me...” She did not need to say it. His heart and body would give in to her wishes anytime. Perhaps sensing this, Shia moved slowly but deliberately towards him. She unclasped his mask, exposing his cursed eye. She caressed his cheeks with her lovely fingers, and lifting her face closer into his lips, she kissed him. He stroked her beautiful, silver locks that tangled themselves in his hands as they kissed. She moved his soft lips upon him, teasing him, stirring heat into him. Without a thought,
As Langrion bid his goodbye to Shia that morning, she said something to him that had started to bother him a bit. “Mage Silas is not just a mere magician. He is actually a god himself. His real name is Galahad.” He opened up the discussion on what to do now that Nana has passed away. Langrion remembered that the duchess’ last instruction for him was to oversee their wedding immediately, but they did not get to have their engagement announcement yet at the debutant ball. It could become harder now for them to make haste, especially since they are still in the period of mourning. He had asked Shia what she would like to do about their engagement. She did not speak for a while, and instead of answering him directly, she revealed this information about Mage Silas. He remembered the age-old myth between the Goddess of Light and the God of Reversals. He vaguely remembered the name of the god that had loved Freya based on the myths, but upon hearing her say
Shia can’t believe what she had just heard from Lord Fincher. Prince Langrion and Khailis were accused of burning down a town on purpose, staging a rebellion, and abetting cursed ones. Are all of those for real? “W-what proof do you have about it? Are you sure that the king himself had ordered this?” she asked, exasperated. “We are, my lady. We also have a letter for you, from the king.” ‘The king? What kind of business does that vile, old man possibly have with me?’ Shia thought. Lord Fincher proceeded to produce a letter from his vest. Shia immediately tore it open. It read: See me when you have the time. You can have a hand in this matter if you choose to. There was no signature on it whatsoever. There wasn’t even an official seal in front of it when Shia looked back at the envelope that bore the letter. “Lord Fincher, what ki
The night prior to the investigative tribunal, Shia tossed in bed uneasily, unable to sleep as a thousand and one thoughts raced in her head. Did she really hear the king say it correctly? He is proposing marriage to her, but why? She couldn’t think of a single, sane answer to her question. She knew that the king might have had disgusting thoughts about her inside his head, but she didn’t think he would be doing such an elaborate plan if his only end goal was to sleep with her. There was also the matter about the oracle and the letters that Langrion’s mother made to her grandma. From the looks of it, King Caldwell had every motive to hurt her grandmother, and he knew that Shia was aware of this. But to propose marriage just so she wouldn’t talk about this secret – this was utterly insane! She buried her head into a pillow. She missed Langrion so much. Her thoughts were all over the place, and she missed having him to discuss these confusing ideas with. She missed his
Mage Silas assisted Shia all the way until they were able to get out of the court house successfully. He propped her to a seat in the open garden of the court house, which was thankfully deserted, to ebb her light-headedness away. As soon as she was seated, she cupped her face in her hands and began to cry uncontrollably. It was all her fault that Prince Langrion and Khailis had to accept the false accusations thrown against them! If she had not gone to the court room that day, Langrion would never have to fear for her safety and Khailis would never have to cover for her. If she had just exposed the king’s letters while she was there, the king would have been thrown in jail too, and who knows? The claim against the prince and Khailis would have possibly been overturned. If she had never met the prince at Ylann in the first place and he never rescued her, he would never have had to face this predicament of being exposed as a cursed one at all! She was the sole root ca
At noontime, Shia entered the library of the Rubiyah Manor. She has an appointment with King Caldwell at dinner time, but she wanted to come to talk to Danterion first so that she could make a clearer decision as to what she must do in order to free Langrey and Khailis. She actually hated the idea of talking to Danterion, but she hated to blindly trust the king to keep his promise even more. She knew that Sirion would become privy to her plans, but she also knew that he could only know what she chooses to reveal, so there was no need to become too anxious. Shia only half-expected Langrion’s brother to be at the library, but she did not expect that Lady Edelfina would be there as well. The golden-haired maiden eyed her smugly from across a cushioned seat while Prince Danterion looked up to her from a book he was reading as she came closer towards them. “Lady Shia, I can’t say that it’s a surprise to see you, but it certainly is a surprise that you would send m