Is It True Love?

Chapter 29: The Aftermath

Wendell

The boys ride silently in the chariot as they pass through Rainswood, their destination home. Schneider's men carried away the body of their slayed king to bury him in a proper place. The Khisenfire knights swore on oath to inform the queen of what had conspired, and this war will ultimately be brought to an end.

"...I can't believe King Henry died at the hands of one of his own. Why couldn't he simply kill Lorenzo or even apprehend him? Instead, he slid in the way of his dagger and lost his life," Oliver mumbles, breaking the tension, and Wendell's gaze drops down to his sore hands.

"Sometimes in situations like that you move before you can think. Perhaps he wished to give his old friend one last chance to do the right thing. Or maybe...being so torn with guilt from those he had slain, Henry just didn't value his life anymore..." Wendell suggests, but nobody knows his true reason besides God and the dead man himself. Still, if it wasn't for the king acting as a shield, he wouldn't be alive right now. He only wishes to have given thanks like the gratitude Henry expressed to him in his final moments.

"Well, I'm sure justice will fall on Lorenzo for what he did, and the fighting with Khisenfire soon in times past," Oliver replies, and even if--for whatever reason--he doesn't get punished, the alchemist must pay the price someday.

Originally he desired to gain strength not only to protect the weak but also to avenge his father's death. When discovering the truth that anger turned toward Lorenzo, though the prince is relieved he hadn't done anything to later regret. As Theodore said, craving vengeance would not remove his grief. Jumping off emotions is like that power-hungry alchemist's mindset, and he never wants to become such a wicked person.

"I do appreciate your assistance, Oliver. No matter how persuasive I would've tried to be, if things had took a violent turn, I didn't stand a chance against Henry alone. I am quite curious as to why you volunteered to join me. You put your very life at risk following me to face his army."

Oliver said there were people he wanted to keep safe which is understandable. Still, his self-proclaimed rival was about to add one other thing but quickly dismissed it. Since they have time to chat now, he'd like to learn what that reason had been.

"Granted, this was the most dangerous patrol we've gone on together."

"Huh?..." The prince takes a second to register what Oliver is implying and his blue eyes widen in surprise. "Wait, you mean you already know?! For how long?!"

"I had my suspicions but with no real proof, I couldn't be certain. There were a few incidents that stood out to me to draw this conclusion. For starters, during our conversation on Greendale Hill Frederick almost spoke like he knew the prince. Which felt odd considering he wasn't even from this kingdom and presumably never met the royal."

"I apologize for back then. You had confine in Frederick about some personal issues but weren't aware of who you were actually talking to. I do still stand by what I told you though," Wendell says, and Oliver's ears turn bright red covering his head in shame.

"I don't wanna speak on this any further! Can't believe I shamelessly opened up to my sworn rival without a clue! If embarrassment could kill, I'd be beyond dust at this point!"

Oliver takes a small breather to calm himself down and picks up where he left off.

"Anyways, that was what initially caught my attention. The more we hung out I soon realized Frederick had the same mannerisms as you despite the accent, and he constantly stayed busy as if living a double life. The other two giveaways just happened recently."

Wendell stays quiet, his interest piqued by what else Oliver could have noticed. He indeed had to maintain his personality for accurate test results, and he was also forever swapped with many princely duties.