And Ava was right.
Before they could even walk inside Damon’s mansion, a messenger arrived, telling them that an emergency had happened and that Alex was captured by the soldiers.
"You have to stay here," Damon said. "I will come back once I sort everything out."
"No." Ava shook her head. If anything goes wrong, she can just run towards the Arena. After staying in this place for a couple of days, she already knew that once she go towards the Arena, she couldn’t come back out unless she win over and over.
"This is the Duke’s— "
"Then I should go," Ava said. "If you think about it, the Duke must have done something to get to me. Meaning, Alex is there because of me."
"Let’s stop ourselves from thinking ahead of— "
"If the Duke has that personality, then it is only right for him to do something like this." In fact, it was too predictable. "I am coming with you."
And just like that, Ava was forced to go back to the palace. A few minutes after their arrival, Ava and Damon were informed that Alex had allegedly killed one of the King’s sons, one of the Princes.
Ava didn’t have to ask to know that this was considered one of the capital offenses in this place. It could warrant the death penalty.
Who would be foolish enough to try and kill a prince?
Clearly, someone is trying to frame Alex!
And it looked like they succeeded.
"Alex would never do that," Christoff huffed as he continued pacing inside the drawing room where they were currently waiting for the Monarch. "There’s no way that she would do something like that!"
"The Prince is dead. We know Alex didn’t do it. But we have no proof. We should plan how to escape this place." James said.
"Escape? You are going to escape without Alex?"
"They would predict that we are going to run towards the Arena. That’s the only way to escape this place. Meaning, they must have already sent some guards to tighten the security of the entrance." Damon said. "But we cannot leave Alex inside this place.
"I agree with Damon," Christoff answered.
Meanwhile, Ava was just calmly sitting there. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was indeed a scheme by Duke Josef. If it was, then she couldn’t help but think about the man’s words earlier.
He said he was going to change her mind.
How?
Is he going to force her to go to him in exchange for Alex?
Actually, that would make sense.
But why would he suddenly do something without any rhyme or reason?
This was their first meeting.
Even if he had a small crush on her, it wouldn’t make any sense for him to do something this extreme just for a fleeting emotion.
She lowered her head and stared at her empty hands. She recalled Josef’s calloused hand as he held hers earlier. The fact that he looked like Matthew was already creepy enough. And now this?
Just what is going on here?
Who is Josef Asad?
Was he perhaps related to Matthew and Ava’s fate?
"Lord Damon, I am glad that you could come." Duke Pedro walked into the room. His noticeable white hair glinted against the chandelier as he faked a smile toward Damon. "I am sure you already heard about what happened?"
"Yes. I would like to talk to Alexandra."
"I’m afraid I cannot let you do that."
"Why is that?" Damon asked. fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm
"She — She is currently in the hands of Duke Asad."
"Josef?"
"He — He asked the King to give him all the power to decide for Alexandra’s fate."
It was as if the world around Ava narrowed.
"Why would he do that?"
"Simple. The other Dukes are leaving tonight. There were some emergencies at the border, and the only one available in the capital would be... Duke Asad."
"So what would happen now?’ Unable to stop himself, Christoff suddenly blurted out. Thankfully, it looked like the Duke didn’t mind his words.
"Nothing."
"What?"
"You wait for the Duke to summon you. For now, he is going to interrogate Alexandra and determined if she was at fault."
"You knew damn well that Alex would never hard the Prince! She was born here! She’s not— "
"The Prince’s mother saw it."
"What? You mean..."
"One of the concubines. Now, why would a mother lie about this?"
"I— "
"The Prince is going to turn twenty-one this year. Meaning that he was going to become an adult and marry someone. Start his own family and fight against the demons at the border. You know very well that the Monarch would never let this incident slide."
Damon could only clench his jaw in response.
"I know you had nothing to do with it." The Duke said. Then his gaze landed on Ava. "But I don’t know if Duke Asad thinks that way, too."
Before anyone of them could react, the Duke bid them farewell and immediately left the room, leaving everyone with a dark look on their faces.
After that, they were informed that Duke Asad asked them to leave, as he was currently busy interrogating the criminal.
"That man — " Christoff was seething. "I knew he never liked Damon, but why the hell would he do this?"
Ava looked up. Earlier, Christoff and James weren’t invited to the ball, so they didn’t have an iota of idea about the things that happened inside.
"We should leave," Damon said.
"What about Alex?"
"We are going to listen to Duke Asad and leave... for now," Damon uttered. "That might be the only thing that could save Alex right now."
"That man is known for his hatred against women! How could you leave Alex with him alone? He will surely kill her to silence her! That must be it. She must have seen who killed that Prince!" Christoff said. "Let’s asked for an audience and— "
"We are going to leave." Damon interrupted him. "We— "
"There’s no need for you to leave." Ava suddenly said.
"What?"
"Wait here... I will talk to the Duke." She looked at Damon and smiled. "Alone."
.....
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