This person watched Anthanasia fall into Lucas' embrace and cry her heart out. The person swept their fingers through their white hair, and a certain kind of pain laid in their pools of golden eyes.
A sigh escaped their lips as they watched the two silently.
The world around them seemed to scream. "Ijekiel, you never had a chance"
Without another word, Ijekiel turned around and walked away. Away from the lush green garden. Away from the ruby palace. Away from Lucas and Anthanasia who were having their special moment.
Ijekiel's heart felt heavy. It was painful to accept, but he had to. He had no chance with Anthanasia anymore. It was obvious there was a deep connection between her and Lucas....
'The princess seems to like him a lot'
Thinking about this, made his chest sting. Suddenly, he felt like he couldn't walk anymore. He stopped walking in front of the ruby palace. He took a moment to observe his surroundings.
Everything around him was so peaceful. Quite unlike the turmoil in his head. Ijekiel was sure that one of the most painful things was rejection. It pained him even more that the princess didn't even need to reject him directly. Reality was as clear as day.
His head felt cloudy. He couldn't think straight as he wandered around the palace grounds.
Why was he being so sensitive? He had always known within him. So why did he suddenly acknowledge the truth? Was it because, just this morning he found out that his father was suffering from a chronic disease? That he was no longer able to work efficiently?
Was it because this morning he had thought about his life all over? And he had realized that he could never regain all the time that was lost.
Is it because his father had cried in his arms a few days ago? A sudden wave if realization began to absorb every part of his thoughts.
Why was today like this? Ijekiel felt the need to run. Run to somewhere secret. He told himself that he was being too dramatic about the whole situation. But.... he couldn't help it. It was one of those days.
Before he knew it, he found himself in the Emerald Palace. He acknowledged the guards who greeted him cheerfully with a mere nod. He continued wandering in the Emerald Palace.
Ijekiel had heard Jennette and Anastacius' conversation, and Lucas and Anthanasia's conversations. Change was constantly taking place around him.
He didn't want to be like his father who seemed to be buried deep in the past.
Tormented by his history and decisions. He didn't want to fall apart like the Duke.
It was today that Ijekiel finally decided; he had to move on.
Move on, from his feelings for Anthanasia. Move on, from all his indecisiveness. Move on, from all the fears he harbored in his mind.
Duke Alpheus was in no position to handle the Duchy's affairs. The activities of the family had been a bit terrible for the past few weeks.
He was no longer a kid. He had reached adulthood. It was time he moved on from his thoughts of 'I can't be the Duke' and any other similar thoughts.
Resolve and determination brimmed within him. From today onward, Ijekiel would completely handle all his family affairs. He'd become the Duke — Duke Ijekiel Alpheus, who didn't hold any trivial feelings. A Duke who was always serious in what he did.
And so, all alone, Ijekiel made a huge decision. He chose to move forward in life, despite how painful it felt to let go of some certain things.
>>>>>>>>
Lily and Felix quietly watched the development in the palace from the sidelines.
Felix could see the illusion Princess Anthanasia created, and saw how she had made the Emperor believe all the falsehood.
He has to admit, the Emperor seemed to me more lively. Even smiling during his talks with the Princess.
Lily noticed the way how the Princess seemed to smile brighter. But her smile didn't seem all too happy. The smile seemed to falter from time to time. As if the smile felt it difficult to stay on the Princess' face. Beneath the all too bright smile was some sort of complicated emotion.
Lily had raised Princess Anthanasia, so she had mastered reading the Princess' emotions.
Felix noticed the way how the black magician, Lucas, spoke more kindly to people. He noticed the way how he treated everyone more nicely.
Anthanasia had assigned Felix to monitor the territory of every prominent noble. This was to enable them to notice if any noble family was planning to rebel against her power. To the empire, Claude was still dead. They had not made any clear move, but their eyes of distaste glared at Anthanasia during each congress meeting.
For now, they were all quiet.
It was afternoon and Felix had just returned back to the palace and finished reporting his observations to the Princess.
Lily and Felix cautiously met up in their secret meeting place, which was an old room, in one of the unused palaces.
You may wonder, why did the two have such a place?
The moment Felix saw Lily he pulled her into his right embrace. "I missed you a lot"
Lily reciprocated the hug and patted him gently on the back. "I misses you too. But your duty as a knight is very important"
"I know" Felix replied shortly. After some time, the two, broke the hug, then gazed silently into each other's eyes. They both proceeded to sit down in a corner and have a little chat.
Felix shared is observations about outside of the palace, to Lily, while in return, Lily relayed her worries to him.
Felix listened in understanding, all the while holding unto her hand. Not letting go for even a single second. He used his finger to draw circles at the back of her palm as she spoke.
After Lily was done talking, a silence enveloped the room. The two just sat, Felix's gray eyes staring deeply into Lily's blue ones. They remained like that for sometime, neither any if them feeling uncomfortable due to the silence.
Finally, Felix spoke up, breaking the natural silence. "You know, after all of this. After the Empire is back to normal... don't you...em" He took a pause. "Won't you retire from your maid duties? You've been working for the past eighteen years. The Princess would understand. She'd take care of you after retirement"
Lily looked at Felix. She noticed the way how he was hesitant with his words. The way how he seemed to be mulling over his next sentence. She could tell that, wasn't what he had originally wanted to say. But she didn't point that out. They both knew, when the other had noticed something about their words.
"I might. I might not. If I retire from being a maid, what will I do with my life? Live alone in a house?" She asked with a gentle smile.
"You won't live alone. You'll get married and have children. You'll live with a husband" He said.
"How can I live with a husband, who will be away at the palace, every moment, serving the imperial family?"
"I will stay with you everyday! I'll be-
Lily stopped him from talking further as she burst into a fit of laughter. "I was just teasing you. Don't need to be so serious"
Felix's tense face relaxed as he saw Lily laugh genuinely. He couldn't help but watch the scene in awe. The sound of her laughter was like a song. A song which he could listen to over and over again. Since when, did someone's laughter begin to make his heart pound? When did his love for Lily even start?
He tried hard to recall, but could not pinpoint a particular place in time. All he could remember, was one day asking Lily out and confessing his feelings to her. To which, she accepted and went out with him.
Lily made him snap out of his thoughts. "We can get married and still work in the palace. Our children can grow up here in the palace. Like you said, the Princess will understand"
Felix smiled at the thought if the idea. His love for Lily, which was reciprocated by the woman, made him feel extremely happy all the time. For now, their relationship had not been made known to anyone — not even Princess Anthanasia. They didn't think it was time to reveal such, during these times.
Both, earnestly hoped that the storm was over. Hoped, that the only requirement was for the Emperor to get back on his feet.
They both wanted to move on to the next phase of their lives, together.
>>>>
Rosalina paced back and forth in her room. She felt really anxious. With the way how political power was shifting in the Empire, she was making a lot of losses. She felt very dissatisfied with all her plans falling apart.
'That wench Anthanasia wants to take the throne....
...And that brat Jennette has turned on me! I can't be defeated like this!'
Some people found it easy to move on, while other, like Rosalina, had a very hard time doing so.
It seemed rather unlikely for her to move on from the obsession she had with claiming power and surpassing her deceased sister, Penelope.