Elena shifted in her seat as the scrutinizing gaze of the man in front of her continued to probe the uncomfortableness of her mind.
Despite his handsome looks, the man imposed a threatening aura that she could not take easily. There was an aura that screamed authority from him and despite not being the strongest candidate for the throne of their own kingdom, he was terrifying.
"Is there something wrong, Lady Scotch?" His golden locks were flowing like the sun on a clear daylight. The sculpted cheek and jaw were astounding to look at that none could miss the opportunity of taking even a secret glance towards him.
"N-None... There is nothing wrong, your highness." Elena straightened her posture and continued to flip the pages of the book she was reading.
But she couldn't focus on the material. There was a faint background of something playing in front of the prince.
"Is the young master still occupied with his duties?" He asked her but Elena did not know what to respond with.
How would she tell him that the young master he was wishing to meet was exiled from the kingdom by his own father? That the position is currently vacant due to his absence?
What would she tell to the second prince from the Belmaid Empire?
"I..."
But before she could answer, the door creaked open and came in the other person they were waiting for.
His red locks were flowing across the already simmering winter winds and his face displayed an expressionless emotion.
"Prince Asher." The man greeted him and Asher did the same by nodding his head.
The crown prince's gaze went to drift towards the magic device playing something on his table.
It was Pier performing at his birthday.
His insides started to churn unpleasantly and Asher felt like he would get sick at any moment from seeing the young master even on the recordings from a magic device. Asher's chest did not help at all with how much it was giving him a painful feeling.
But despite his internal conflict, he still managed to keep an upright posture.
"Prince Faust. It's my pleasure to have you in our kingdom once more." He responded and the two men shook hands before Asher sat on his designated seat inside his study.
"I presume you are here to return the magic device that contained the young master's recordings?" He asked while viewing the recording that played back Pier's piece.
"Partly, yes. My father and my older brother were pleased to see such talent from the Taron Kingdom. They wanted to meet the young master too." He laughed while remembering the expression the emperor and his brother, the crown prince, made when they watched Pier's performance.
Elena who listened to the initial conversation became more uncomfortable at the direction where the conversation was going into.
It was always Pier.
Every single day, she was being haunted by the name that was no longer present in the kingdom.
"I see. However, that can't happen." Elena and Faust halted their movements and they both turned their gaze towards Asher.
"How can't that happen, Prince Asher?" The man with the golden locks inquired but Asher remained expressionless.
At the same time, the disturbing feeling started to overflow from Elena when she felt Faust's presence get even more prominent inside the room when Asher spoke about Pier not meeting the royals from the Belmaid Empire.
"Prince Faust-"
"Pier had been exiled by his father from the kingdom."
Silence reigned over the group and Elena's nervousness skyrocketed.
Why wouldn't it? Faust's shock was evident on his face and he was left speechless.
"Exiled? Why?" The man inquired directly just as how Asher told him about the former information.
Elena could see it.
Faust's expression darkened and there was a look of contempt mixed with his confusion.
Royals from the Belmaid Empire are terrifying. That's one thing she had learned from reading books and experience.
"It is by no means your business to know, Prince Faust." Asher sighed before grabbing the recording device.
But before he could do so, Faust placed his hand on top of the magic device and pulled it closer towards him. His gaze was lowered and both Elena and Asher saw how his eyebrows twitched while his jaws tightened.
"I believe I have the rights to know as someone who aspires to pursue him, Prince Asher." Elena froze in her spot.
Faust's bold declaration of his ideas to pursue the now non-existent person from the House of Masters was blinding enough for her to closer her eyes and pretend to not hear anything.
Asher also displayed his distaste for the second prince.
His eyebrows slightly furrowed and the once expressionless face he had now showed a little bit of contempt.
"Besides, the emperor and the crown prince of the Belmaid Empire has sent me here to address the invitation to the young master personally. How would I tell them about the extremely vague information you presented?" He crossed his legs and did not bother bringing the magic device back on Asher's reach.
"Should I inform them that the prince told me the person Emperor Adin was looking for got exiled for unknown reasons?" The surprise and shock Faust had earlier dwindled into nothing and it was now replaced with a challenging stare.
Elena knew well how the royalty works.
It was always a battle between power and foundation.
They would always try to look for faults in between anything with the other and use it as a means of threat to get what they wanted.
In this scenario right now, Faust had the stronger reasons.
Emperor Adin and his brother were looking forward to meet Pier and they sent Faust to personally invite the young master.
But with Asher's vague display of information, it would be seen as insubordination towards their allied empire.
There was nothing that the crown prince could do but share the details needed.
Sighing, Asher pushed his hair back and leaned into his chair.
"The young master had been arranged to marry my cousin, the archduke's son by the King and his father, the headmaster." At that single information, Elena screeched when Faust's look became darker.
It wasn't the same prince that she saw who laughed at her embarrassing assumptions months before.
The prince she was facing right now was someone carrying a high-self esteem and dignity that put her own to shame.
"But he declined and ran away from the kingdom with his lover. That was the reason why the headmaster considered him as an exile from their household and banished him from stepping into the kingdom once more." Asher explained while maintaining his contempt look.
There was an indescribable tension between the two royals and Elena who was caught with it was having a hard time focusing.
It did not even take a full ten-minute talk for the two princes to start speaking threateningly with each other! The moment Faust spoke about his first purpose of coming to the kingdom and Asher's refusal to explain the full context, it sparked the hatred between them.
"Your highness..." She trailed off and Asher turned to look at her.
"Prince Faust, please tell his majesty and Prince Foster about the situation and why Pier would not be able to accept your invitation." He spoke without hesitations wherein Faust had closed his mouth off to.
The sudden revelations of the events that involved Pier was surprising enough for him to be stunned in his seat. Yet after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence between them, Faust sighed and spoke once more.
"I see. It is an unfortunate circumstance that I cannot invite the young master to our empire." He clicked his tongue once and Asher's sharp gaze was directed at him.
"But if I ever find him, I can invite him and maybe even ask him to live in our kingdom-"
Thud!
The table shook violently when Asher's fist slammed the object leaving Elena shocked and Faust looking back at him in a challenging expression.
"State your other purpose as to why you have come into the kingdom, Prince Faust." Asher had his head lowered while his teeth were gritting in anger.
"That's an unpleasant display of your strength towards a royal from your allied empire, Prince Asher." Faust mocked and stood up from his seat.
He lost his vigor and eagerness to even speak with his fellow prince that gets angered easily.
"I will discuss things with the king. I request you check your temper first and take note that the lady is also surprised with your actions." He closed his eyes to control his own anger.
Once Faust had left the room, Asher sat back down with a hand massaging his forehead. The headache was unbearable at some point that he groaned multiple times.
He ruined the discussion with Faust just because of Pier.
"Your highness..." Elena called out to him.
"I will request a meeting with the prince again when my emotions have cooled down. Please excuse my mannerisms earlier, my lady." He apologized and Elena nodded her head in understanding.
She clearly knew what Asher was trying to do.
The crown prince was preventing any more of the interactions that might possibly happen with Pier and Faust.
She was hurt with how Asher was making sure no one bothered Pier while he looked for him outside the kingdom but she could not speak it out fully.
Elena was being confined within the palace as she could not take a carriage back to their territory after the people's rage have erupted like a volcano.
The streets were filled with protesters and not just that, the sickness was getting more and more rampant while people died left and right.
It was complete chaos and the palace was the only place remaining untouched with the illness.
But even inside the place, Elena was alone by herself. Her servants were constantly harassed by the other servants and that made them quit their jobs.
All because of Pier.
Even in the absence of the renowned hero in the kingdom, she was still experiencing the unending misfortune that recoiled from her doings in the past.
The kingdom saw how she belittled Pier many times but they still sided with her because they saw how Pier could not stand for his own. She had the absolute control over the young master in the previous years but it eventually stopped.
Now they were criticizing her for doing all of those when Pier started to ravage every circle in the society with his elegance and dignity.
People are hypocrites on their own and their hypocrisy knows no bound. That's the harsh truth she learned as she fell from grace.
The one highly revered lady instantly was shunned away from the higher society when the sickness trampled over the kingdom and they could not find Pier who was a known saint as well.
They were directing everything mostly towards her because she was the one who made the most prominent mark on their minds that caused Pier's suffering.
Asher also got some discriminations on his side but they cannot fully voice out against a royal. Instead, they were pouring their anger towards the lady who does not have the strongest of background right now.
"Your highness, the king has requested to meet you in the throne room." They both heard the knight speak from outside after a few knocks resonated throughout the study.
Elena's heart was beating so loud when she thought about the king.
King Henry had been treating her badly ever since Pier's disappearance too.
The once benevolent and merciful king that she knew was now showing his distaste towards her.
Elena here, Elena there.
She also knew the main reason why the royalty hated her.
It was because she ruined the plan the king had in store for Pier and Asher. If only she did not show up in the picture, the king could have continued his plans of making Asher and Pier produce an heir using the phoenix's feather.
She had no allies here in the palace except for Asher.
But it also felt like Asher was starting to drift away from her. The prince was too busy with his work and if he also had the free time, Asher would spend it looking through one particular room in the palace where she wasn't allowed to go.
"I will go right away." Elena heard Asher respond to the knight and the latter stood up from his seat. The chair creating a scratching noise on the floor.
She also saw how Asher carefully grabbed the recording device that contained the recordings of Pier's performance during the crown prince's birthday.
"I will go now, my lady. Request another appointment where I can meet you and I will respond immediately." He spoke without looking back.
Elena was left inside the quiet room. Her tears were freely flowing now that the crown prince was not in the same place as her.
Before, she did not even have to request an appointment with the prince to meet him because Asher would be the one to welcome her in the palace with open arms.
Now she had to. It feels like at some point, Elena would become a stranger for the prince again without any hopes of recognition.
Once she was done having her breakdown, Elena decided to return in her chambers.
Her dress was swaying lightly as she moved and the knight opened the door for her.
But it was another unexpected and unfortunate day for her the moment Elena got out.
The hallway was filled with nobles and servants mixed together and their eyes were instantly directed at her when she revealed herself.
There was another issue going on in the palace and the kingdom which focused on her.
Caspian Von Edenburgh's reappearance after months of going missing and the revelations that were presented at the same time of his return.
It was rumored that the crown prince had been sent with a recording device that contained Caspian's admissions of his deeds for the past months that involved the young master.
The entire kingdom was sent in blazing anger when Asher revealed what he learned.
Caspian's family was also included in the strife of power and they lost their nobility title. But Asher offered the attendant something in return to retain the noble title his family had.
That was to speak all of his remaining deeds that were not included in the magic device.
And one of those was;
"Do not come near the lady for she will accuse you of harassment!" Elena closed her eyes in an attempt to prevent herself from crying again.
Caspian revealed how Elena faked the accusations of Pier's knight harassing her in prison when in reality, it was the other way around.
The attendant revealed every single information he knew about Elena's doing with the knight until the moment the war commander was sentenced into the death penalty by beheading.
Lady of Accusations.
That's the new title she garnered from the nobles and the servants inside the palace.
The Lady of Accusation who placed the saint's loyal knight in a pedestal.
She came crumbling down like a tower and fell from grace. Her reputation was ruined and that sparked everyone's hatred towards her more.
'Please stop.' She begged inside her head but cannot voice it out loud.
Months of suffering from all the looks and harsh words, Elena's faint heart couldn't quite handle everything.
"My lady, please do not go near my knight and accuse him of harassment." One noble in the position of an earl spoke directly at her making everyone in the hallways laugh.
She was ruined. The respect nobles had for her in the previous years were now non-existent and despite their differences in rankings and title, everyone was openly mocking her without care.
Just as what the young master experienced before too. Even the lowest of the nobles made fun of Per because of her.
Now she was the one getting the treatment and she was already close to giving up.
'Please stop this.' She begged again and had her head hung low while she walked the middle of the hallways in shame.
---
"I heed your call, your majesty." Asher kneeled on the steps of the throne and King Henry who sat on the golden seat nodded his head in recognition.
"There was a letter that had arrived in my chambers this morning, Asher. Did it not go through your approval first?" He asked the prince and there was a hint of surprise in Asher's face.
Letter that he did not evaluate first?
That couldn't be!
Asher knew he checked the contents of every letter directed towards the king but there was one he was not able to check?
"I... I must have skipped that one letter, father. Please forgive me."
"Hmmm..." The king played with the ends of his long, red hair for a moment.
"It is okay. However, there was something inside the letter that have alerted me, son." He stood from his seat and his golden staff hit the ground.
"May I know the contents, father?"
The king then brought out a letter from his pockets and threw it at the crown prince's direction. The material precisely going into Asher's hands.
"Read the contents and tell me if you think that is true."
Nodding his head, the prince opened the letter and started to silently read the contents.
"I am addressing this letter to the royals of the Taron Kingdom.
In the times of war, there are no lives spared from battle. Regardless of position and title, you will fall into the depths of despair if you lost. To directly inform his majesty and his highness about the context, the Empire of the North will strike Taron two weeks from now. Once the year leaps to another and the seasons changes to fall, war will ensue the entire territory from every side.
In response to this uprising conflict, the Taron Kingdom is currently at its worst and your demise is assured. We are offering this opportunity of coalescence between multiple territories that we will hold hands to fight off the forces from the Empire of the North.
When you reach this part of the letter, an announcement will arrive that another kingdom had sent you another letter containing the same proposition-."
Asher did not even get to finish reading the letter when the doors of the throne room abruptly opened.
Men in their uniforms along with the king's attendants were hurriedly running towards the throne where Asher and Henry were.
"Your Majesty! A letter has arrived from the Heron Kingdom!"
Asher's eyes widened at the accurate description spoken in the letter.
"The Heron Kingdom?!" Henry's eyes squinted in doubt but his attendant was also baffled.
"Yes, your majesty! The letter contains the seal of their King and was delivered by their highest officials!"
Thump!
His heart pounded in his chest and Asher's gaze went back to the contents of the letter he was holding.
He then continued to read the remaining lines of the letter while King Henry read the contents of the letter from the one that arrived just now.
"The Heron Kingdom will form an alliance with Taron Kingdom-" Asher read but he was surprised to hear what King Henry spoke.
"The Heron Kingdom will form an alliance with Taron Kingdom-"
It was the same line written in his letter.
"We will vanquish the foes arriving on every border of your kingdom and in exchange, you will give control over the punishment of two individuals who have escaped to the north."
"We will vanquish the foes arriving on every border of your kingdom and in exchange, you will give control over the punishment of two individuals who have escaped to the north."
His heart continued to pound faster. Unlike the one Henry was holding, there was another seal that was stamped on the letter Asher held.
"Marquis Scotch and Headmistress Grace will fall into the hands of our own punishment."
"Marquis Scotch and Headmistress Grace will fall into the hands of our own punishment."
"WHAT IS THIS LETTER SPEAKING OF?!" Henry raged and the walls of the throne room shook violently at his emotions.
"Father..." Asher trailed off making the king look in his direction.
But Henry saw the perplexed and terrified expression in his son's face.
"TELL ME, ASHER?! WHAT IS IT?!" He asked in his loud voice and the crown prince raised the letter with shaking hands.
"This letter..."
And at that moment, Henry's eyes widened when he saw new markings on the letter Asher was holding. He knew he had read everything on that letter the night before but there were new letters written on the bottom corner.
"What does it say, Asher?!"
"It says it came from the Kingdom of Mir."