The Chronicle of Aurelia Aurelius

Chapter 49 The Talk

The tension in the room was palpable. Seeing my parents with unreadable expressions made me nervous about what they were going to say. My eyes couldn't look directly into their eyes, so I kept my gaze down and around, anxiously awaiting their words.

After a few seconds, I could see my mother would begin to speak. "You have been living in the capital for just two weeks," she said, pausing to take a breath. "However, in those two weeks, it somehow felt like a year... This means what you have done should take a year. Honestly, I don't know where to start talking about you." Her words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications.

As my mother finished, it was my father's turn. I could see the concern in his eyes as he struggled to find the right words. Finally, he spoke softly, "What we want is simple: your safety. Of course, you will feel left alone by everyone around you because it was my order. We kept your transmutation hidden to ensure your safety. However," he continued, his tone changing, "it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want and cross some lines. The first thing is about your betrothal. I knew the Queen would announce it at that party, but why did the Crown Prince announce it across the kingdom? That's not how we wanted things to unfold. The Crown Prince wouldn't do it because of his mother's order; it must have been someone who could corner him into doing that—so it was you. Now, we must deal with the consequences of your actions. The other side of the four powers will start to question our intentions."

My father paused for a moment before continuing, "Next is your approval of sparring matches between Lady Octavi and Sir Kaeso Antia. This sparring is dangerous. We know Lady Octavi is more capable than Sir Kaeso, but allowing them to spar could lead to the exposure of our family techniques. It must be the palace's plan to push Lady Octavi to use them and expose them. If this happens, it will create a faction war. And lastly..." He looked at my mother, "I don't want to talk about it. You may tell her, my dear."

My mother took a deep breath and clapped her hands. Immediately, Valerie, Cassius, and Bo were escorted into the room. She said, "So you hired these people?"

After that, I looked at Bo and remembered my promise to confront my parents about the orphanage. I knew this was my chance to finally bring it up. I took a deep breath and spoke, "My apologies, dear father and mother. May I have a chance to answer?"

My father and mother looked at me, surprised by my sudden request. My mother said, "You must have a great reason and great answer for this..."

I calmly replied, "I won't deny what I've done, but I will stand by the people I've hired. I want them to stay around m—"

"Aurelia!" My mother interrupted sternly.

My father asked directly, "Give me one good reason why we should allow those people to stay around you!"

I answered calmly, "The reason is simple, dear father. I feel they don't leave me alone. As you said, the people around me left me alone to ensure my safety. Somehow, I felt Adel and Lady Octavi were not for me, but for you. This led me to hire these people, wanting people around me who I know and who care for me."

"Care? You just met these people once, and you say they care about you?"

"Dear father, I understand your concern, but I have a gut feeling about them. I believe that sometimes intuition can be more powerful than logic. You must trust me about these people." I looked into my father's eyes with determination, knowing that these people were the ones who could prevent my death.

"Aurelia, you... Argh! I can't say anything bad about you, but your gut feeling is not always reliable. Our family's stake is at risk if these people reveal our transmutation to other families. Do you even consider that?"