In Time And Memories

Chapter Twenty-Six

I still can't believe what he just said. There are no prophets because Empress Thiane is now dead? It only means that she is the one and only prophet to exist. 

This is making me more dumbfounded.

"Does everyone knows?" I have heard some stories about Empress Thiane but none of them mentioned her magic. 

A small space opened beside Xiel and then he inserted his arm in it. I watched him with a confused expression. When he took out his arm, a glass of champagne is already on his hand. My jaw dropped.

Did he just used his magic to get himself a drink?!

He sipped on the glass first before answering me. "No one knows except for the members of Arthoion and the emperor himself. However or maybe... someone found it out." 

That also makes sense. The empress' death is as suspicious as it already is and thinking that someone killed her or she ordered her death, makes it even more suspicious. 

"But if Prince Urus was not the one who killed the empress, then why does the emperor kept his silence about the wrong information?"

After that Xiel seems to be in a deep thought. He cocked his head to the right side and scratched his nape.

"That is something I don't know. princess."

"Then, perhaps the empress saw the future. Maybe that is the reason why she was killed or whatever the reason of her death," I said, hoping that Xiel knows about this but my hope was crushed down into pieces when he shooked his head.

"I am also not certain about that part, princess."

I give up. There are a lot of information that I need to process and to think about it. But there are things has been cleared up.

Prince Urus did not kill his mother and there is a possibility that the empress ordered her own death. Her magic is prophesy, the only prophet has ever existed. Prince Urus has a low support because people think that Empress Thiane stole the emperor from Queen Frizella. 

"If you want to know more, you can ask Urus or the emperor themselves. They surely know the whole story," he suggested, making me snapped back from my thoughts.

How can I possibly ask Prince Urus? I am aware that the topic about his mother is sensitive enough to touch. What more to the emperor? 

"Do you know my older brother?" I asked him, completely leaving the first topic behind. 

Xiel nods his head. "The young duke of house Laurenze, Yzel Laurenze. Of course, I know him. He went to the same academy with me and he once wrecked havoc. So yeah, I know him well." He chuckled, probably reminiscing their time at the academy. 

"Yzel is one of the strongest telekinetic in this empire. He can control more than ten swords at the same time," he paused and sighed. "He could've joined the knights rather than being a researcher."

I know that my older brother has an ability to make things float but I never thought that it is telekinesis. Not to mention, Xiel said that he is one of the strongest. 

Why there are so many things I am not aware of?

"Can you find him?" 

He blinked at me with a puzzled expression. "With our constant travelling, I can probably find him," he answered nonetheless.

"If you found him, please send him to me immediately." This is the first time I plead to him.

He smirked. "Is this a request from a sister or an order from the crown princess?" I raised my eyebrow to him. Is that even important?

"It's a request from his younger sister."

"Alright, I will keep that in mind," he said with delight. Later on, he excused himself and went back inside. While my mind kept lingering on our conversation earlier. I want to know more but I'm clueless on how to gather more information.

I can't just recklessly ask anyone about the empress. 

--

Three days have passed ever since the banquet and here I am, stuck in my office to do some royal affairs. I knew that being the crown princess will never be easy, however, I must endure everything.

This is much better than when I was in the duchy. 

For the past days, I also haven't seen the emperor nor the queen and Prince Pierre. I would like it if stays as it is. I definitely don't want to see the queen and her puppet son. It's making me sick. 

I have been busy that I didn't even noticed how fast the days gone by. There are a lot of invitations coming in from different nobles which made me wonder if the rumors about them hating the crown prince is even true. 

Or I'm the only one they wanted to see? Hmm.

I also attended some royal meetings whenever the emperor asked me to. It's just a simple meeting about the mundane matters concerning the empire so I managed it well. 

Sometimes, I felt like Prince Urus' supposed tasks are being thrown to me since he is not present. 

It is exhausting but I'm also gaining more influence in this way. More influence means more power. 

A month has already passed, I wouldn't notice it if I wasn't staring at the calendar for so long. I stretched my back. Well, it felt like I've been here longer than a month. Time surely pass quickly. 

A knock on my door was heard. "Your Highness, a letter has came for you," the maid announced from outside of the door. A letter? I gestured one of my maids to open the door and get it for me. 

Then later on, the envelope is already on my desk. My face turned sour after seeing the crown prince's insignia. He really did send me a letter for this month, huh? I clearly told Xiel to tell him that this is unnecessary. 

"A letter from the crown prince?" Fiona's voice is filled with excitement. Now, how am I supposed to tell her that this is not what she thinks it is?

"Step out for a bit, Fiona," I ordered her but her gaze just went more excited. Fortunately, she didn't utter any word or I might kick her out. 

I opened the letter and read it.

Dear Lady Azelaine,

How are you? I heard that my works are given to you, I must apologize for the inconvenience. However, I'm pretty sure that you will do a great job and I have my trust in you. Ah, I also heard that you are now occupying the Therilian Palace and obtained its authority. I don't know how you did that but I applaud you. That palace is comfortable so I hope that you are enjoying your stay there. Well then.

This letter is much longer than the last one but in the end, it turned into an ash. I smirked wickedly. 

He can send me letters as much as he wants but all of it will turn into an ash later on.

---

the revealed abilities/magic so far:

xiel - spatial
pierre - clones
yzel - telekinesis
thiane - prophesy
frizella - soul eater
duke laurenze - pyrokinetic

again, i apologize if there's a lot of typos and grammatical errors huhu. i will try to fix them in the future.