Third POV
Calista kept thinking about her weird meeting with Drake last night but she shrug it off and change her sleeping position. She heard a knock on the door and ask whoever it is to come in.
"...Good day Milady." Annie greeted as she arrived inside Calista's room.
"....What is it Annie...?"
"Sir Lance visit the Dukedom." she informed as Calista's lips form into a weak smile.
"...Really? Then, I'm going to greet him.." she slowly stood up making Annie's eyes widen in surprised.
"But Milady-!"
"...I'll be fine..."
-
Calista's cup of tea fell as soon as she heard the shocking news.
"W-what...?" her hands trembled as she bit her bottom lip. She stood up slowly from her seat and walk towards Lance who came with the information.
Lance's gaze directed downwards as he clench his fist and trembled as well. "...T-the Duke and Duchess..." he gulp. "W-was murdered on their way..." he stuttered nerveously.
".... My mother and father... was murdered?"
"..Milady!" Lance shouted at her in panic the moment blood run down her nose.
"Lady Calista! You're having a nosebleed again!" Anne shouted worriedly while cleaning her nose making Lance's eyes widen in surprised.
"Again..?"
-
"The Duke and Duchess of Tresor was murdered!?" Drake shouted towards Axel angrily.
"How...!?" Oliver asked with wide eyes while waiting for Axel's answer.
"...He knows that my relationship and Calista is back to normal so he killed her parents....!?" he asked to himself, irritated as Axel glance at Brandon who keeps quiet all the time who usually is the first one to comment.
Axel who feel great hostility lowered his brow and look at Brandon. "I don't know..." Axel replied with a sickly sweet smile making Brandon widened his eyes in realization.
Axel sigh tiredly, too tired to complain or get angry, too worried that it stressed him out. He's alive but dying everyday because of one mistake. "There's no mistaken." he thought while looking down at the papers. "Just leave." Axel sigh while shooing them.
"B-but Lady Calista-" before Nathan could finish his lines, Axel glared all of them.
"Leave." he demanded. Their eyes widen as shiver run down through their spines.
They bow and turned their head to exit the room. "Oh, Brandon." Axel called as Brandon turned his head towards him questioningly. "You can stay." Axel said while looking at him with a slight bulging eyes.
As the other leave the room, Brandon look at Axel as he trembled and cowered with fear. Axel stood up from his seat as he walk towards Brandon and look down on him.
Without further notice, Axel suddenly pull Brandon's collar and glared him, his eyes filled with hatred.
"Hello, traitor."
Axel glared him as his grip tighten. "Send a message to your Viscount bastard, that this was the most trashy gift he gave to me!" he said spitefully to him.
"Don't worry, I'll pay you back thousand times better since you killed Calista's parents...! It seems that the kindness she gave you all gone to waste for someone as low as you." he let go of Brandon's collar roughly to the point he almost fall. "If he doesn't want to give the antidote sooner or later, I'm going to kill all of his family including you."
Brandon's eyes widen and he grit his teeth angrily. "What do you know!? If you kill him, you'll never get the antidote and save your oh-so-beloved fiancee!" Brandon shouted spitefully towards him. "People like you deserve to die!"
Axel blinked and laugh bitterly as Brandon look at him, confused. "...she's going to die anyways. So, I'll just destroy myself when I destroy them. That way, I won't see her suffer or die." Axel said as he look at Drake. "Oh.. I could also use my position to framed the Viscount to make that Viscount open up his mouth. Yeah, that'll do. This is a political matter after all." Axel shrugged casually with a smile.
"I never thought that you would be the traitor here. Maybe I trusted you too much to the point I'm blinded by your fake loyalty."
Brandon clench his fist and bit his bottom lip. Even if he's a traitor, there's a huge guilt that burdened inside him.
"Brandon, why are you here?" the Duchess asked with a smile while looking at Brandon.
"......"
"Don't tell me Calista asked you to come here? How is her condition???" the Duke asked with a wide smile.
".....I'm here, to kill you."
The guilt that burdened him is thousand times heavier than the betrayal he created.
"So, You like sour foods!? That's awesome!" Calista cheered at him excitedly.
Brandon lower his gaze as he remembered the memories he wanted to forgot. Memories that creates the warmth inside his heart.
Axel walk passed him. "...I think I'm the most stupid and dumbest person here." he chuckled darkly. "To trust someone like you probably the biggest mistake I made in my whole life of trusting someone."
"I give you 2 days to give me the antidote. I don't care how you are going to obtain it. I give you choice and time because you are still part of the Royal Knights and you once saved Calista. This is the last time I'll be kind to you. If not then I'm going to get it myself. Your choice." Axel said as he exit the room.
-
Axel sigh tiredly and cover his face. "...So you really knew from the start huh, Drake?" he turned his head towards Drake as he look at him.
Drake nodded. "Yes. Before Brandon become Lady Calista's personal guard, I notice that he often went out at night and meet a man that turned out to be Viscount Darinne. At first, I didn't really know the circumstances so I just let it be. But his actions is getting more and more suspicious so I often follow him without being unnoticed." Drake slightly bow.
"...Thanks for making me to trust you." Axel smiled at him.
Drake returned the smiled. "If it wasn't for Lady Calista, it could be me who is in Brandon's position." he chuckled as Axel look at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Now that I remembered, I heard that you visit Tresor Dukedom last night. What are you doing?" Axel asked while eyeing him suspiciously.
"E-eh... are you suspicious of me now?" Drake asked and sigh. "I don't know why but that night, Brandon also comes to visit the Dukedom for unknown reason, probably to find Lady Calista but I don't know his motive. So I visit her first, blocking her to meet Brandon." Axel nodded, signing him to continue.
"Your encounter with Brandon was planned by Viscount Darinne. It seems Viscount Darinne once saved Brandon from numerous people who tried to kill him and his family when he was 8 years old and support his needs ever since. So Brandon owe him a big favour and that's why Viscount Darinne planned all of this to get him into the Palace and to be your right hand man." he explained as Axel nodded.
"...thank you Drake. Though I was suspicious at you first because you often lied to me."
Drake blinked and brush into laughter. "Lady Calista always noticed that I lied as well." he said with a smile. "I guess you two are meant for each other."
Axel give him a weak smile. "But why did you always lie though?"
"At first, I thought if I manage to like what you like or the lady's like, I can get your favour by it. But it didn't work because you two always knew I lied." he chuckled as Axel look at him weirdly.
Suddenly, Axel's door burst open to be greeted by Kaleine. "Y-yout highness, there's news that Lady Calista's health is getting worse!"
Axel's eyes widen at the news. "...the poison is working faster than I thought and her parents death can make her condition worse!" he thought as he stood up.
"We have to go to Lady Calista!" Drake shouted, panicked as Axel nodded.
-
"...I don't even understand what happened with her body." the doctor said while looking at Axel.
Axel grit his teeth in anger as he look at her state. "Fucking poison...!"
"What are you talking about!? Lady... her condition getting worse and worse everyday!" Nathan said while looking at Calista worriedly.
"...Aside from that, she passed out because the shock news of her parents. Maybe she couldn't accept it and it turned out like this. Please be careful and take care of her well, if you don't, she can have a mental illness."
Their eyes widen in surprised at the explanation the doctor gave.
Surely, with the death of the Duke and Duchess, adding Calista's sick condition, if no one can manage the Dukedom, it might fall into ruin.
"Call Oliver over and ask him to manage the Dukedom. It's under my permission." Axel demanded to Kaleine as he nodded.
"I just hope everything turned out better..." Drake said with a sigh as Axel nodded.
"Yeah, I even send the fake notice about my fake engagement with that Viscount's daughter, Carla. By the way, where is Carla?" Axel asked while fixing Calista's blanket.
"Carla Darinne has a weak body and sick for almost her life. Don't mind her." Drake shrugged as Axel nodded. "By the way Prince Axel, great job on finding the traitor is."
"I couldn't have done it without you and Calista. She also helped a lot."
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A/n : So did u guys ever thought Brandon was the traitor?