Not Your Princess

Chapter Twenty-Two

While Asch sleeps soundly in the bedroom of the townhouse, August paces throughout the living room. Since the fire that broke out in their bedroom last week, the prince has felt restless and panicked. He has been searching his mind for any answers as to how the Priestess has so much influence.

Even kings do not have the command that this woman does.

Somehow, the Priestess has the capability of turning guards against the royal family. She has a strange ability to inspire loyalty from those she interacts with. When he finally confronts this woman, he will have to learn about her secret.

From his chair, Henrick watches as August makes another lap through the room. "You're giving me anxiety just by watching you," the guard comments.

August doubts that's the case. Henrick's hazel eyes are a mystery of emotions, seemingly calm and collected. If Henrick is experiencing any anxiety because of the prince, he is not showing it on his face.

Still, the prince stops mid stride. He releases a loud sigh before taking a seat on the room's dark gray couch. "I'm just thinking," he states. Defensiveness peaks through his tone.

Henrick lifts his dark brows toward his hairline. "I can see that." He stretches his arms above his head, causing something in his body to pop. The sound makes August's own body ache as if it has too many years of experience to it. "Anything I can help you with?"

Just as he opens his mouth to decline, a thought passes through August's mind. Guards and servants are willing to help those of great influence. If a guest of the royal family were to request for a group of servants and guards to leave a wing of a palace, it is fairly likely that they would do so without questioning their orders.

This entire time, he had been searching the land for a woman of poverty. August believed that the culprit had been an individual who has been clawing at power after having it denied.

Instead, the very person going after Asch may be a person of nobility. One that has grown to be jealous of Asch's unusual rise to power. A woman who believes that she may have a chance with Prince August if his wife is no longer in the picture.

The last details of an overly complex portrait are beginning to paint themselves a clear picture. He's starting to see the true vision that he has been so blind to for far too long.

"You've actually helped me more than you can imagine," the prince claims. He leans closer to the guard, growing restless once more. His mind moves a mile a minute, trying to think through a list of potential suspects. There is no telling how many guests they've had in the palace over the course of August and Asch's marriage. Any one of them could be the culprit.

Jumping onto his feet, August makes for the house's exit. "Thank you, Henrick."

His journey to the palace is faster than normally, taking half of the time it normally does. Once he is inside, August searches for Greta, the Leading Maid. She's the one who assigns servants to their areas, which is a good place for August to start.

The first place that he checks is the kitchens, where the older woman is known to frequent. When August was younger, he used to roam throughout the palace by himself or escorted by Henrick. In the moments where he had time to himself, August would wander into the kitchen during the hours that no food was being made.

There, he would often find Greta— whose old bones needed the warmth that the kitchen provided. She always sits in the kitchen during her breaks to try to get her body to relax.

Greta is seated at the countertop where the chefs cut into fruits and vegetables. Her wrinkled, pale hand is rubbing her knee. She looks much older than when August had last caught sight of her nearly five years ago. Her hair, which had been a rich chocolate color, is now gray. All of the years of service seems to have worn her down, making her shoulders hunched. A black cane rests against the countertop in front of her, slightly worn from its use.