In Time And Memories

Chapter Twenty-Five

I remained seated on the throne beside the emperor, and the other side is where the queen and Prince Pierre seated.

"Greetings to the Imperial family," a nobleman greeted. The emperor gestured his hand to raise his head. "Your Imperial Highness must be delighted to have Lady Azelaine as the crown princess." 

The emperor laughed. He surely knows how to use flattery words that the emperor laughed at his statement.

"I trust Prince Urus' judgement when he chose Lady Azelaine to be his future consort." And they laughed in unison.

A smile only appeared on my lips and it vanish immediately.

This continuous talks of flattery is making me uninterested with the party. Besides, it has been more than an hour.

I stood up and bowed to the emperor. "Your Imperial Highness, may I step out for a bit? The dress is... making me a bit suffocated." Of course the last part is an excuse. I can't just say that I have grown uninterested, can I?

The emperor nods. "Go on."

I smiled. My eyes went up to the queen. Her gaze is sharp and her expression looks disguted. I mentally scoffed before bowing before them.

People greeted me as I walk through the crowd. I grabbed myself a juice before going to the terrace.

A cold breeze brushed through my skin and made my hair danced. I inhaled before sipping through my glass.

"What are you doing here?" The juice went to the wrong pipe and got me chocked.

I glared at the person who suddenly showed up and startled me. "Oh. Apologies, My Lady— I mean... Princess." Xiel said wickedly.

Why is he here?

"You're so annoying," I muttered and leaned on the railing.

He snickered. "I get that a lot." He also leaned on the railing and sipped on his glass.

"What are you doing here? Why are you here? How did you come here?"

"Calm down, princess. You're bombarding me." Again, he laughed. I rolled my eyes on him and averted my eyes.

He licked his lips to remove the residue of the alcohol om his lips. "Well, I want to witness your coronation and I'm here to represent the house of Arthoion. Finally, did you forgot that I have spatial magic, princess?"

I didn't say anything and finished my drink. Silence fell between us until he showed an envelope to me.

My eyebrow raised with the sight of it. "What is that?" His eyes fell on the envelope then back to my eyes.

"An envelope, princess. You didn't what is this?" he grinned.

I squinted my eyes. "You dare to mock me?"

"Oh no, princess. How dare I?" I swear to god, this man is so annoying and cunning.

Xiel moved the envelope closer to me and gestured me to take it. I rolled my eyes before grabbing it. My forehead creased when I saw the crown prince's insignia.

What is it this time?

"That's a letter from your fiance."

"He already sent one earlier this morning."

He hummed. "Oh! Maybe that was for last month." My lips twitched?

"For last month?"

Xiel nods while finishing the last drop of his drink. "He promised to send you a letter every month. And that letter," he pointed the envelope on my hand. "Is for this month," he explained and then grinned.

A letter every month?!

"Tell him that he does not need to send me such things." I gave the envelope back to him and Xiel looks dumbfounded.

He gently reached for my hand and put the letter on it. "No, princess. He promised," he said while shaking his head.

My face contorted in annoyance but I gave up anyways. There is no need to waste my energy arguing with this man, knowing well that he won't back down.

"What is he doing anyways? Is the crown prince allowed to leave the empire for that long?" I asked out of curiosity, which I regretted since I felt Xiel's teasing eyes.

"He's conquering the neighboring kingdoms."

I glanced at him. "Conquering? Is that your word for negotiating?" He laughed.

"I said what I said, princess. Negotiating and conquering are two different words." I'm aware of that. So he's out there to defeat kingdoms? Is the emperor told him to?

"By whose orders? The emperor?"

"It's Urus' orders." My mouth gaped. No wonder why there are rumors about him being a brutal prince and people are afraid of him.

I heaved a sigh. "So the black wolf is running wild," I muttered. Xiel clicks his tongue but he remained silent.

It just made me realize how dangerous Prince Urus is. Not only he led the knights to come home victoriously, he also started to conquer the neighboring kingdoms.

"Is it true that he killed his mother?"

My head turned to Xiel when he didn't answer me. He's currently looking at the sky. I don't know how long it was but in the end, he decided to speak.

"If he really did killed Empress Thiane, then don't you think the emperor will punish him for it?" Are they always like this? Answering my question with another question. There's no doubt they are cousins.

I bit my lip. "Who knows? Maybe the emperor really loved his son."

"There is no valid reason for a son to kill his own mother. Unless, the mother was killed by someone else or... she ordered her own death."

I fell silent. Xiel examined my face and he chuckled. "Haven't you thought of that, princess? I thought you are smarter than that?" I remained silent; shrugging his insult since he has a point.

It was as if he's saying that I believed those rumors easily. I can't deny that I indeed believed those rumors.

Perhaps, I judged him too quickly.

"Although, most rumors are still true." He laughed again. After he realized that I'm not reacting, he heaved a sigh then stood up properly.

"Anything you would like to ask?"

"What was Empress Thiane like when she was still alive?" I've only seen her in some portraits. People also described her as a benevolent and loveable empress.

Xiel hummed again. "Empress Thiane is what people describes her. She was a good woman with a warm heart. However, her influence went down ever since they heard that she got pregnant out of wedlock."

"They said that she seduced the emperor and stole him from Queen Frizella. Some nobles even got angry at her," Xiel answered.

"Is that why Prince Urus has a low number of supports?"

He snapped his fingers. "Bullseye." There are a lot of things I need to unfold, the truth far from what I used to believe in.

"Empress Thiane was actually a great person. She was a prophet."

My eyes widened and abruptly turned my head to Xiel. "A prophet? They said that prophets does not exist?" Prophesy is a magic that is close to impossible. No one, even in the history, was reported to be one. That is why they assumed that prophets does not exist.

"That's because Empress Thiane is now dead."

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