"A maid from the duke's manor had arrived. She said she has something important to give you. Most likely to be Lady Airis' maid." Felix reports.
"Anything suspicious in the past few days?"
"Nothing in particular. She'd only stay in the manor."
"…Let her in." I give my permission after thinking for a while. Felix nods and brings in the maid. She bows down, greeting me.
"Greetings upon the fourth sun, Prince Azher Alexander Ambrose."
"Stand forth. What brings you to the imperial palace?"
Rather than answering, she glances towards Felix and the maids who are standing at the corners of my office, watching us.
'She wants what happens here, stays here, huh?'
I make eye contact with Felix, signing him to leave. He obeys and leaves the room, followed by the maids. By then, it is just the two of us.
"I assumed Lady Airis wants this to be a secret?"
"Yes. Thank you for your understanding, Your Highness."
I nod
"Good afternoon, Lady Airis. I am Alfred Raff, head butler of Prince Azher's palace. I will escort you to His Highness today." A middle 40 years old man bows to me."Hello, Alfred. Thank you for escorting me." I thank him while my eyes inspect his attire. It's exactly like a butler uniform in historical British movies.He stands up and places his left hand on his chest. "No need to thank me, my lady for this is my job." Alfred says.I just smile as a response and follow him walk along the road. Despite arriving here at midday, the temperature isn't hot and the wind is breezy. Over 20 maids line up along the road, bowing to us.'Woah… Little did I expect to have such a grand welcome. The duke's daughter's position is indeed high.'We soon enter the palace. I'm amazed by the fancy classic sight. This is exactly like what's shown in historical movies and drama series, but ten thousand times better! The walls were painted with gold and white pai
Lilith Pandora is one of the 'perfect' types of people. Long wavy light pink hair, bright blue eyes, and a beautiful face. Make sense if His Majesty fell for her. But pushing all that aside, I'd say she needs mental treatment. ASAP.When she's angry, she throws fits and destroys all kinds of stuff to vent. She often compares his son, Aiden, with the other princes. Even worse, she even poisoned His Majesty's food after Aiden won the crown prince election because she couldn't wait for Aiden to ascend the throne. Like that's not enough, she was the one who tortured Airis to death. Voluntary! Haa… Her sins are uncountable beyond belief.The reason why she hired the assassins was that Zane is the first in line for the throne – he's the empress' son. According to the law, if anything happened to Zane, a crown prince election will be held – because all sons from wives are equally second in line.As for Amira – Azher's mom – she happened t
A dim light illuminates my bedroom. I watch the sunset outside while sitting at the round small table near the window, enjoying red tea. "I heard my lovely little brother Azher had a visitor yesterday?" I take a sip from the cup, glancing at the spy my 'mother' planted in Azher's palace. "Yes, Your Highness. Lady Airis Absalom visited His Highness yesterday." Alfred reports. Hearing that, I instantly put down the cup. "Lady Airis? Why did they meet?" I ask in a furious tone. "I'm not sure, Your Highness. Prince Azher dismissed everyone except Sir Felix. But, Lady Airis asked for a container with some holes on the lid, a few water plants with roots and fish." "There must be something exciting. It's a shame I wasn't invited." "Find out what they were doing." I order. "Yes, Your Highness." "Leave." After Alfred leaves, I clench my teeth and throw the cup, venting my anger. "That brat! So you're trying to get the duchy's su
"How are you, Airis? I came to visit you because I heard you were hurt at the imperial ball." "Thank you for your concern. I'm fine now, as you see. How about Your Highness?" I politely response, despite wanting to run from this place. But… He called me without honorifics just now. Are Airis and him close? "I'm fine too." He answers. I just put on a fake forced smile as a response. 'Relax, he can't do anything.' I reassure myself once again. I've examined him earlier and it doesn't seem he has anything that can harm me. Besides, before Mina left earlier, I had asked her to station at least a dozen of knights outside of the lounge. I'm sure they're already there. "By the way, I heard you visited the Rafferty's the other day." "Yes. My apologies for being absent on your previous visit." I apologize without even meaning it, just for etiquette. It's not my fault for not being home. "I understand. It was an untold visit like today t
"I can try to rearrange my schedule, but aren't you busy too?" I reply. Though in reality, I won't even try. "It's fine. I don't have much to do in the summer palace. You can come anytime." "Oh, is that so?" I act surprised. I'm sure he either postponed his work or passed some of it to Azher and Adam. I pity you guys for having such a brother. "Umm… Airis. Why don't we take a walk around the manor?" "I loved to, but unfortunately, my free time is very limited. A bunch of work is piling on my desk." I decline politely. 'Spending more alone time with you, the one who'll cause my potential death? Oh, no thank you.' "…Can't you do that later?" He pouts like a sad kitty. Even so, I ain't falling for that – even though I almost do because I'm weak with pretty faces. "I'm very sorry, Your Highness. I cannot delay it any longer for the due is near." I reject his offer once again. I swear if he still doesn't understand, I'll shove this
"Excuse me, is Lady Airis present?" I ask a nearby maid in the duke's manor's garden. "S-Sir Felix…!" She startles, almost dropping the basket filled with white clean cloths. She quickly rightens the position of the basket in her hands, answering, "My lady is at the training grounds." "Training grounds?" I ask again, squinting a little. Why would a lady be at the training grounds? Don't ladies usually avoid these kinds of places? "Yes. She has been learning swordsmanship and self-defense." She explains. "Alright. Thank you." I thank her, saving my questions for the lady later. She nods and leaves to resume her job while I immediately head towards the training grounds. 'Swordsmanship and self-defense? This lady sure is full of surprises.' As I step foot into the training grounds, from afar, I can recognize Lady Airis because of her unique silver hair. She is wielding her sword on a sword training dummy. 'She must be quite strong
Suddenly, a blue flash appears. My eyes instantly shut for the high brightness – may cause blindness. A sound as if the cube was shattered into pieces rings in my ear. I slowly open my eyes, just for my sight to be hazy from the thick dust and smoke. "Cough! Cough!" A few coughs exit my throat and my eyes shut tight once again as the air around me is highly dangerous and polluted to breathe. One of my hands covers my mouth and nose, acting as a mask while the other brushes away the smoke and dust in front of me. After it's almost clear and safe, I quickly run and scold angrily at Sir Felix. "Did you have fun attempting to murder me?!" He doesn't react, frozen. My fingers curl into fists. "Are you ignoring me or just deaf?" I insult him with a glare, yet still no reaction. Then, I notice his gaze is focusing on something. Something that's located behind me. Curious, I turn around. "…!" My mind goes blank like a sheet of plain paper, a c
"Want some, Master?" Theron asks, her voice isn't far from me. I open my eyes, seeing Theron flying right on top of me while holding a fruit tart using her mouth. I smile. How considerate. "It's okay. You eat it. Those are for you after all." Without any second thought, she swallows the whole thing. Her moving cheeks are quite visible from munching on the tart. I softly chuckle. Quite a big appetite, this dragon has. The cakes and tarts I had asked for are enough for three people to eat. Guess she's famished. I sit back up, beside the flying Theron. The wind from her flapping wings brushes my face, like a small portable fan. "Didn't know you're a sweet tooth." "My teeth aren't sweet." "Hahaha…!" I laugh out loud at her ridiculous reply. Surely she did not just translate the meaning solely from the word? "Sweet tooth means someone who likes to eat sweet things." I explain, wiping the tears that harbor in my eyelids. "Oh…