[Music Recommendation: Hurts Like Hell~ Tommee Profitt & Fleurie]
Oriana looked down at Adric’s hand, which was covered in blood, and gulped. For some reason, she prayed that he had not killed Caspar himself. This was a reminder to her that though she was in love with Adric, he wasn’t someone with a soft heart either.
"What?" Jasmine’s loud shriek was heard. "You killed him before he even had the chance to prove his innocence?" She rushed forward, trying to reach Adric, but her maids held her back.
Adric’s eyes moved from the handkerchief he was using to wipe the blood from his hand and settled on Jasmine. "He left a letter." He paused , his eyes was now on Oriana, "Give it to her," he said, and Rowan pulled out a small paper and gave it to the princess.
Jasmine’s hands trembled as she took the paper that bore the last words of her husband. "No...he wouldn’t do this..." she muttered, going through the contents of the letter. Before she could read to the last part, Jasmine fell back and fainted, but she was caught by the maids.
"Princess Jasmine!" Everyone shouted with worry for the princess. Oriana rushed forward to help the princess but stopped when she saw the maids were enough.
Adric sighed. "Take my sister back to her quarters. Seal the dungeon and let nobody inside," he ordered. His eyes caught Oriana looking at him; when their eyes met, she quickly turned and left the passage with others.
"He didn’t kill himself. Caspar might be everything, but he wouldn’t take his own life," Rowan remarked as soon as everyone left the passage.
Adric nodded. He knew that much. It had not been his intention to kill Caspar, considering that the man was married to his sister and was also a father. He only wanted to use him to lure the main mastermind out. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
"And the guards you put in charge?" he asked Rowan as they both walked away, leaving the dungeon.
Rowan sighed, shaking his head gently. "Both of them were all passed out by the time I came here this morning. Forgive me, Your Majesty. I should have guarded him myself."
"It’s fine," Adric said. He stopped in front of the fountain and got down on his knees, letting the cold water wash off the blood from his hands while he gazed into blank space, deep in thought. "Where were Gwen and Adelaide last night?"
Rowan rubbed his temples gently. The truth was that after he used Freya as bait, making the girl panic, he had felt really bad for crossing the line, so he went to bed early, leaving his duties to other guards.
"From what I heard from other guards, they were both together last night. At the forgotten palace, but I wouldn’t be so sure because I didn’t confirm this myself," he replied.
Adric stood up after washing his hands. "That’s okay. We shouldn’t be distracted, at least for now, until we are sure the kingdom is safe. The army is supposed to arrive anytime soon. We shouldn’t let them see that we are not united within the family."
Adric knew that everything that was happening was to keep him distracted from his actual goal, which was to protect Avon. The one who had put Caspar up to everything must have decided to make the man take the blame by turning his death into a suicide and leaving a letter of confession behind. He couldn’t deny that it was a clean kill by whoever it was. Also, this was going to make people point fingers at him.
The first day of him being king was to kill his brother-in-law. Adric wouldn’t have cared less because people already had the worst impression of him, but when he saw Oriana looking at him earlier, he felt the urge to explain.
"Let’s get ready before the army arrives. I should be ready to greet them," Adric said, walking back inside the palace.
Meanwhile, Oriana followed the maids who carried Jasmine to her room. She was worried about the princess; though they weren’t the best of friends, no woman deserves to lose her husband just like that.
"Your Majesty," Madame Rosalie started, "I think you should come back a little later. The princess will need some time to process the whole thing."
Oriana bit her lips and nodded. "I should." She turned to leave when she saw Walter and Kai being led by two maids to their rooms. Walter was the first to see her.
"Auntie!" The little boy waved, running to hug Oriana.
Oriana got down on her knees and hugged him too. She held the boy very close. Seeing Walter now and remembering that he was going to be fatherless broke her heart. Though Caspar wasn’t the best father, he still had a family, and his sons would miss him.
"Walter," Oriana muttered, holding the boy closer. She raised her face and saw Kai looking at her. She knew just how smart and fast the other prince was. She sniffled back the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"Kai, come, come." Oriana waved at him. She knew he didn’t like staying around strangers and might reject the offer of a hug. To her greatest surprise, Kai started walking towards her and joined in the hug.
Oriana’s heart broke while she held the two boys in a hug. Somewhere inside of her, she knew that Caspar was killed by someone. She didn’t know who, but she was sure it wasn’t Adric this time. The way he had looked at her earlier, he wasn’t the killer and she was sure of it this much.
"Everything will be alright," she muttered, touching their hair. She finally moved away from the hug. "Now go ahead and play today."
Walter clapped his hands excitedly. "We can play all day? What about Kai’s studying?"
Oriana shook her head. "He doesn’t need to study today. My first rule as the Queen is to give you today as a holiday. Play all day!"
Walter was the most thrilled. "Yes! You’re the best auntie in the whole world." Turning to his brother, he said, "Kai, you don’t have to read those boring books."
"You heard the Queen, right? Make sure the children don’t study today," Madame Rosalie said to the maid with a smile.
Walter tugged his brother’s hand excitedly. "Come, Kai. I have somewhere we can play all day."
Oriana exhaled when the boys left the passage. She was really worried about them. She knew the pain of losing someone at a very young age. It was a pain one could never forget for a long time, especially if it’s family. This reminded her of Freya, who had lost her mother at a very young age.
"Where is Freya?" she asked out loud. It was almost noon, and she was yet to see the girl.
Madame Rosalie was about to reply when she saw Freya’s father walking towards them.
"Your Majesty," Louis bowed, "Your army has arrived in Avon," he announced with his head still bowed.
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