HENRIETTA: PRAELUDIUM [TO BE EDITED]

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 25

[ DISCLAIMER : PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A FEW SHOCKING SCENES AND UNCOMFORTABLE EVENTS USED TO EXPRESS THE CHARACTERS' HARDSHIPS THAT MAY BE UNCOMFORTABLE TO THE READER. READER'S DISCRETION IS ADVISED. ]


The three glanced at one another. They had nodded their head before they all went to their separate directions for their different tasks.

Astraeus went to the kitchen. This was the closest room in the main palace where the emperor's office was located. And as he heard just a while ago, the empress will definitely go there. Now he just needs to set fire that will go to the direction of the office.

Astraeus was a 14-year-old young sorcerer, but his powers was never lesser than his masters. He specializes in wrecking havoc, which is why he practices spells that can cause troubles without him getting caught. And he didn't know that a day like this would come and he'd be able to use it.

He teleported inside the kitchen. His deep, silver eyes glimmered then a wave of flames soon surrounded the whole room. Astraeus chanted softly in the air, magically leading the fire south, to where the emperor's office was.

Keita, on the other hand, was on stand by. He sneaked and hid on a huge three near the office's window. His eyes squinted as he watches the emperor and the empress. The empress just arrived and she had a tray of tea with her.

Keita couldn't hear their conversation, but he can clearly watch them from his hiding place.

His mouth dropped open and his eyes widen in astonishment as he watches the scene that unfolded right in front of him. The emperor was struggling on the floor after he drank the tea that the empress has served. Watching someone die or kill one another wasn't a shocking thing for him since he had witnessed his family doing that before. But the scene happening in front of him looked too surreal. He could feel a chilling cold running all over his spine as he watches the empress stab the emperor's body. Keita was so sure that the empress threw a glance to his direction and smiled before she drank all the tea on her cup.

Keita wasn't relieved that he didn't have to do his job since the empress already took care of it, rather, he was dazed and speechless that he wasn't so sure what to tell his other accomplices.

Instead of entering the office or interfering any further with what happened, Keita decided to change his plans. He took out the teleportation stone that Astraeus gave to them then he used it. He was sure enough that the stone will give a signal to the owner once he uses it.

And it did, even Arthur received a signal. Arthur was still in the middle of sneaking in the emperor's room when he received the signal. He clicked his tongue and gritted his teeth, thinking how irritating they were for completing their tasks first. He carefully went inside the emperor's chambers.

Luckily, Astraeus had protected him with a heavy magic that even the emperor's protection spell in his room won't work for him. With his hand covered with black gloves, he grabbed the envelope from the inside pocket of his clothes.

Arthur forged a letter of the emperor's will. He had always been fascinated with different documents even when he was really young. His father's nonchalant attitude allowed him to play with a couple of imperial documents that the emperor had personally written himself.

And that's how he copied the emperor's handwriting and signature.

For the seal, he was planning on using the hidden seal in the emperor's chambers. Arthur opened the emperor's drawer on the side table beside his bed. There he saw an envelope with the emperor's seal on it. Arthur didn't touch it, but he used his mana to analyze the contents of the letter.

Arthur quickly closed the cupboard then he hid back the enveloped he was planning to use and used the teleportation stone that Astraeus gave to them.

The fire soon spread to the southern part of the main palace. The servants panicked as they tried to extinguish the fire. They called the other mages to help them, but it was too late. The fire already reached the emperor's office. All they could do was pray that the bodies inside weren't severely burnt.

Amethyst, who woke up from the sudden commotion, stood beside her nanny. Her deep purple eyes glistened as she watches the fire danced in front of her.

A tear fell down her cheek as she heard her mother's voice resonating in her ears, apologizing to her endlessly. The marionette-like princess slowly gained the emotion that hid her from everyone. Then she cried. She cried loudly as her mother's voice slowly faded along with the fire that slowly died down.

Amethyst wasn't sad about the chaotic tragedy in front of her. She felt sad when she heard her mother apologizing to her. Like it was the only thing she ever needed to bring her back to her senses. As if an apology will make her feel human again.


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"What happened?" Astraeus asked, confused when he noticed the bewildered expressions on his accomplices' faces.

They were brought to a peculiar house in the ends of the forest. The room they were currently in wasn't too dark, nor it was heavily lit inside, but anyone would be able to see properly despite the dimness of it. There were a few things decorating the room, like old frames and a couple of weird paintings. There was an empty bed covered with a red duvet and on the other side was a table. It was round and large enough to accompany a few guests. Around the table were four wooden chairs. And on the wooden floor were a couple of letters and books scattered around it.

Keita and Arthur looked pale and speechless. But Arthur took a seat on one of the chairs as he calmed himself.

"There was a letter... On His Majesty's drawer..." Arthur started. Every word coming out of his mouth felt too heavy, he wasn't still sure of the circumstances. "There were two letters; one was the will of the Emperor with his seal and signature on it, and the other was a letter of Her Majesty, the Empress. I was able to check on the Emperor's letter using my mana, but I couldn't get a glimpse of the Empress' letter." Arthur clasped his hands on his lap as he gritted his teeth.

"What about the forged letter?" Astraeus asked, taking a seat on the chair across Arthur's.

Arthur shook his head then he showed them the letter he forged. "The contents that we wanted to put were already in the Emperor's will."

Astraeus took the letter from him, and as if he already understood what they needed to do, he burned the letter on his hand using his magic. Then he glanced at Keita, who kept silent the whole time. He was leaning against the wall, near the window.

Keita pulled a heavy sigh, his eyes closing for a second before he opened them again. And instead of telling them what exactly happened with his mouth, he went closer to them and went down on one knee.

Astraeus and Arthur threw a glance at one another then they placed a hand on each of Keita's shoulders. Keita had the ability to allow anyone to witness what he saw at will, so he used it to relay everything he witnessed.

Surprised, Arthur withdrew his hand, his complexion had turn paler.

"So that's what happened..." Astraeus murmured as he retracted his hand from his shoulder, his face hardening at the sudden turn of events.

A moment of silence engulfed the room. The three young men stared into the void as they fell deep into their thoughts.

"We shall burn this house." It was Astraeus who broke the silence. "This house was the one I used to live with my mother, but after she passed away, it had become abandoned. And before my mother died, she requested for me to burn this house once I've decided to move forward. So that's what we'll do."

Arthur clenched his jaw, while Keita remained silent.

"We will leave the memories of the incident today in this house and burn this to ashes. And we will move forward after this. Separately."

Arthur and Keita understood what Astraeus meant. For young men like them, those kinds of memories will only hunt them until they become madmen. They'll constantly feel guilty even if they weren't exactly the ones who bloodied their hands. And the best way for the three of them to live free from guilt is to forget the things they have witnessed and had discovered today. Or that's what the original plan was.

The two-storey house that stood proudly in the ends of the forest was incinerated by Astraeus' magical fire, and along with it were the oaths they had made inside. The seal of oath.

Just as the fire died down, and only black ashes remained on the ground, the three took separate paths as the seal of oath was activated, forming an invisible leash in their life.

The seal of oath won't allow anyone to confess of a sin they had made or something they had witnessed. If they try to tell anyone about what they had sealed, then the person who took the oath will die an instant death.


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"And I hereby appoint Grand Duke, His Excellency Deus Clarion le Clair as the Empire's Emperor Regent until the Crown Princess, Her Highness Princess Henrietta Amethyst le Clair, reached her 20th birthday."

The announcement was made by the Chancellor, Count Simoun Fitzroy, with the Imperial Council present at the small ceremony done in the Imperial Court. No one could disagree about the sudden change after the Emperor and Empress' death. The councilors in the room personally saw and read the Emperor's last will, and no one could deny the truth in that letter.

The Grand Duke stood in front of the Chancellor as he accepts the position bestowed upon him. Even if he wanted to, he won't be able to reject the new role blessed to him by his wicked older brother. That treacherous man, who died in the fire with the Empress.

Deus clenched his hands. He showed no emotion as he waited for the announcement to finish. No one knew about the truth behind the Emperor and the Empress' death, except for the Grand Duke, Commander Shotaro of the First Division, Chancellor Simoun, and the Duke's aide and butler.

They've secretly discussed about it and decided to hide the truth from anyone. The collected evidences from the crime scenes and even the Empress' letter that was addressed only to him and the princess were enough proof that it was the Empress who orchestrated the Emperor's murder along with the other head servants.

And murder and suicide in this Empire is not a good news for anyone. The Imperial Family will be tarnished if such scandal comes out. So they've only announced that their deaths were caused by an assassination attempt and killed them.

From that day on, the truth behind everything was buried. The three people who had witnessed and discovered everything first had turned a blind eye from it and decided to hide for the sake of the Princess' future.

And those who had tried to seek out the truth were all driven to death by the same people, the Princess' protectors and knight.