[Music Recommendation: Castle of Glass ~ Gnus Cello]
Adric and Rowan arrived inside the forest, where the bodies of the palace servants now lay lifeless. The sight was too gruesome to look at. Adric sat on his heels, moving the body to the side. He scratched his eyebrows slightly before standing up.
"Who found the bodies?" Adric asked with a deep sigh. This wasn’t the first time they had found a body of a servant inside the woods with no idea of who killed them.
"We found the princess’s personal maid here, and the bodies too," Rowan replied with his arms crossed over his chest. "Judging from the look of things, she doesn’t know what happened."
Adric raised his brows without saying anything. He was just looking at Rowan.
"You don’t think she did it, do you? She came for hunting with a stick!" Rowan remarked, looking at Adric with surprise.
Adric shrugged, waving his hand. "You don’t have to be defensive; I didn’t even say anything." He chuckled, going to the body to look at it, with his finger on his lips.
Rowan almost cursed under his breath. Adric was playing with him. "What do you think happened?" he asked, looking at the forest to make sure they didn’t miss anything.
"Just like the last time, it’s murder. Have you identified who their master or mistress is?" Adric noticed a large stone not far from the body and started walking towards it.
Rowan shook his head. "I haven’t yet, but I know they work for someone in the royal family. I let you know about it the moment you returned. I haven’t had time to look around," the guard replied.
Adric nodded, touching the stone. "We have a crazy killer in the palace, and they’re getting bolder by the day," he exhaled. He didn’t want to be quick to place blame on his family, but he knew very well it was someone from his family. "Get the body cleaned and send a message across to the family if they have one. Also, apologize on behalf of the royal family. Don’t forget to help them with anything they are lacking. That’s the least we could do."
Rowan watched him closely with a faint smile on his lips. When Adric turned to look at him, he looked away.
"Say it," Adric nudged him, knowing that his guard had something he wanted to say.
Rowan twitched his lips, going to cover the body. "Why didn’t you explain to the princess about killing the servant who came with Lord Nicholas?"
"That wouldn’t have given the warning I wanted; it was a perfect time to set boundaries," Adric replied. He had already forgotten about the servant who tried to enter Oriana’s room on the first day of his arrival, but Rowan had seen the servant first.
"Do you think he was working on Lord Nicholas’s order?" Rowan asked, done with covering the body. His eyes went back to the corner where he’d found Freya. There was a shoe there. The girl must have been so terrified that she didn’t know one of her shoes was missing.
"Nicholas didn’t know about it. The look on his face that day shows that he didn’t give the orders. The servant must be working for someone or just stupid," Adric exhaled, turning his back to start leaving the forest. His mind went back to the kiss he shared with the princess.
He didn’t know what meaning to attach to it. If the princess was now trying to seduce him so he could let her go free. Even if she was aiming at seducing him, her skills were still like that of an amateur. He smiled.
Back at the palace, Oriana was surprised to see Sophie standing in front of her and behind her was the maid that had betrayed her before. She wasn’t in the mood to have any conversation with them.
"Welcome, I hope you enjoy your stay here," she said, turning to open her door when she heard Sophie say.
"I wonder where the Crown Prince is. I know he will be happy to see me," the princess asked her maid.
Oriana paused; she had almost forgotten that Sophie had feelings for Adric and she never tried to hide it. And the truth was that Sophie was a very beautiful woman. She had men turning to look at her every time she passed. It was always, Sophie men came for whenever they wanted to seek for marriage, but she rejected them all because they were not on her level. Even the few that came for Oriana came because they wanted to get close to Sophie, and in the end, it never worked. Finally Sophie wanted something and it was Adric.
Now that Sophie was here, it worried Oriana. What if Adric chooses to stay with Sophie because she had the beauty and the elegance every lady should? Oriana looked down at her gown that was crumpled, and her fingers went through her scattered hair, all in contrast to Sophie’s charismatic appearance. These had never bothered Oriana before, but right now it did. She touched her hair gently, cleaning her face with the back of her palm.
"What are you still doing there?" Sophie asked, seeing that her sister had been standing in the same place for the past few minutes.
Oriana cleared her throat and turned. "What about you, dear sister? What are you still doing there?" Having the last word, she flipped her hair and walked inside her room. If it was a competition Sophie wanted, then she was going to give it to her. This time, she was not backing out, and she wanted Adric.
Sophie chuckled, pointing at the door. "Did she just ask me that?" she asked Bessie with her mouth hanging open. She had never seen this side of Oriana before. The tone in which she spoke to her was disrespectful and condescending. Thinking about it made her angry. She raised her hand to knock on the door, ready to confront Oriana.
"Princess, the Queen must be waiting for you," Bessie spoke with his head bowed. "We should go see her first," the maid suggested.
Sophie brought down her hand and nodded. "You’re right, first things first. Oriana, wait and see how I drag you down from your high horse. You think you’re going to be Queen," she said with a low voice before leaving Oriana’s door.
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