III. The Impact of Her

~ Eleven ~

I covered my mouth as my reaction silenced the entire room.

All of our eyes widened, surprised. 'Did I just call James "Father"?' I thought to myself.

I cleared myself as I straightened myself. "I mean, yes. It was indeed a good laugh, James."

James nodded as his smile slowly turned into a firm line.

"Also, I would like to express my gratitude for saving Lady a while ago. Lady wouldn't have survived if it wasn't for your help," I continued, keeping a formal tone with him.

James let out a satisfied smile. "I did that for you, son. I understand how important Lady is to you. I don't want you to lose her because of someone's ill intentions," he said.

I nodded. "I guess this is where I take my leave, then," I replied as I stood from my chair. Putting my hands behind my back, I continued, "I didn't have my rest yet so this will be the perfect time to do so."

"Will you be joining us for dinner?" Mother asked, grinning as she walked towards me.

I kissed her cheek gently. "If I wake up before evening arrives, perhaps I can."

Mother smiled as she nodded briefly.

I bowed before them and walked out of the room, confused and a bit frightened.

~*~*~*~

As the door closed behind me, what happened in the master bedroom boggled my mind.

'What just happened?' I asked myself as I settled down on the bed. I never expected to have such a light-hearted interaction with James.

For the longest time, we had been nothing but rude to one another. We were always at each other's throats. However, I shared a laugh with him today. And without any sort of explanation, my lips called him a father.

Mother prayed for that to happen and even she was caught off-guard with it.

'Could it be that I have started to be vulnerable with James?' I asked myself another question.

Someone knocked on my door as I took off my shoes. "Enter," I answered.

Gonzalo stepped into the room and bowed as soon as he reached me.

"You are always at the proper timing, Gonzalo. I was about to summon you," I smiled as I put my shoes to the side.

"Is there something that you need, Your Highness?" he asked.

I nodded. "I want to send a letter to a bakery in the Mortal Realm. It is called the Winston Bakery. Are you familiar with it?" I asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes," Gonzalo nodded. He explained, "From time to time, the servants purchase some of their pastries as snacks. It is, however, a secret tradition between servants. His Majesty may have forbidden any contact with their realm. But the servants just can't help it."

My brows furrowed. I wasn't aware that James already forbade anyone from visiting the bakery. Now that Gonzalo mentioned it, I had to be more cautious with my visits. Who knew what he could do if he found out that I was one of those who were breaking his rules?

"Why do you ask, Your Highness? Did His Majesty find out?" Gonzalo asked, worried.

I shook my head. "I happen to stumble upon one of their possible pastries from a servant. I tried one myself and took a liking to it. I wanted more but I wasn't sure whom to ask about it," I lied. I couldn't tell anyone the truth, especially Gonzalo. It wasn't just the bakery and my life that I was protecting.

It was Laura's life, too.

Gonzalo nodded. He suggested, "If you are craving for sweets, Your Highness, we can always have the bakers here make something that you like."

"I don't wish to add more work onto the bakers' shoulders. I know that they never have much time to do anything else because they always prepare desserts in advance," I replied. I added, "And after that incident, I have been intrigued with what a mortal bakery can offer."

"Understood," Gonzalo briefly bowed his head. "Would that be all, Your Highness?" he asked.

"Kindly fetch my quill and paper. I want to send a note to the bakers in Winston Bakery on what I want to have," I said.

"As you wish," he bowed. "Also, this was left by your door," Gonzalo then handed over a folded note.

"Who is it from?" I asked as I examined it.

"We are still unsure about that, Your Highness. The guards said upon their return, this was already at your doorstep," he explained.

"Where is my page?" I asked again.

Gonzalo replied, "The guards said he wasn't able to work for the rest of the day. He caught some sort of flu this morning."

I nodded. That was understandable. My page has worked non-stop to serve me. He deserved to have a few days away from work. I still had Gonzalo and my guards to watch over me.

"Also, I would like to ask if you have any plans for dinner tonight, Your Highness?" he asked as he brought my quill and a paper to me.

"I will call for you when I have decided," I said as I continued to examine the note. Grabbing the quill, I wrote a brief letter addressed to Grandpa Ben, expressing my happiness over spending time with Laura. I also requested a few of their pastries to avoid suspicion from Gonzalo.

I handed the short letter to him and instructed, "Bring this note to the Winston Bakery. And it is imperative that you don't open the letter, no matter what happens. Hand it over to the owner of the bakery."

He bowed quickly and went on his way.

The note itself was odd as it didn't have any indication as to where it came from. The only thing written on the outside was my name. The handwriting wasn't familiar either. I studied almost every single handwriting from the members of this household. But this one didn't seem like it came from inside the castle walls.

I opened the note and there was a brief message:

'Had a rush with poison, young master? Wrath shall haunt you and bring you to my feet.'

The paper slowly fell from my hands, horrified by those two simple sentences. My eyes widened as chills ran down my spine. The writer of this letter was the one responsible for Lady's poisoning!

But what could they mean by "wrath"? How could I have offended someone I didn't know??

James had to see this. This was pivotal for the investigation.