Last Chance [Extra #2]

Part 18

For days, members of the Grand Duke's secret information guild watched over a certain count's house. They had no idea why they were given the orders to gather information about the family, but they knew better than to ask questions. Their role was to obey the Grand Duke's orders, and nothing more.

They had no idea that their mere presence was enough to scare Count Heroux. He thought they were sent by the Temple, which was actively trying to get Celosia for some reason. It never even crossed his mind that it could be Grand Duke Vautour that looked for his daughter.

While Count Heroux worried about his daughter's safety, Cassian Vautour waited for news on the raven-haired lady's whereabouts. It had been three days since she left to Ramil Kingdom, so it was unreasonable of him to expect any new information so soon, but it didn't stop him. He had to find the woman and speak with her, find out what she knew.

He spent his days wondering about what he accidentally heard days earlier at the tavern. If what the lady said was right, then the whole war in which Cassian and countless other men risked and lost their lives was nothing but a scheme to secure the Crown Prince's right of succession. Was it possible that his cousin was so cruel as to start a war just to get rid of his possible rival? Would he really sacrifice so many lives just to get what he wanted?

Four days later, his wish was fulfilled. Lady Heroux came back from the Kingdom of Ramil.

However, she was not alone.

Celosia, after a short trip to the sapphire mine, where she put her ability to use and replicated everything she could see, spent the remaining two days at the Royal Palace. The king was more than interested in the lady. She knew a lot of interesting things and it was clear her knowledge exceeded that of even the oldest people in the kingdom. He liked listening to her stories, so he kept asking her to join him every chance he got.

Much to Edgar's displeasure. He got an unsettling feeling that the King's intentions were not innocent. The number of times he invited Celosia to be with him alone was concerning to say the least. He couldn't do anything about it, though. It would be rude of him to tell the King what he could and couldn't do, so as much as he disliked the attention Celosia got from the king, he could do nothing about it.

He could only watch as the King shamelessly courted his sister and hope she didn't fall for his sweet words.

He had nothing to worry about. Celosia didn't even take the King seriously and deflected all his attempts to get close. Not being one to beat around the bush, she straight-forwardly told the young king that she would not enter a courtship with him. He was less than pleased to hear it. He hoped to make the black-haired beauty his queen, not to hear words of rejection.

It didn't sit well with him that the lady had rejected him so coldly.

When the Heroux siblings realized they were no longer welcome at the palace due to the King's childish tantrum, they set off to the Empire. Celosia once again summoned her motorboat and easily crossed the Azul Strait, reaching the port on the other side of it in mere hours. From there, they again rode a motorbike, but this time it was a more comfortable one – it had a big plush saddle, bent bars, and even floorboards, all of which made the journey more comfortable. Edgar was beyond grateful for Celosia's thoughtfulness, but at the same time, he felt bad for whining like a spoilt brat. He could've easily endured the trip in the same conditions as before, and yet he ended up showing his weak side. It was unbecoming of a knight to cry about a little back pain after only hours of riding. Had his former comrades heard about this, they would've lost all their respect for him.

Not that they had much of it to begin with. He was one of the few who came from less reputable families and got to the top of the hierarchy simply by putting in effort.

The others had no choice but to treat him with the respect he deserved when he outranked them, but once he lost his position, they didn't even spare him a glance, as if they had never served in one unit before. He became a complete stranger the moment he lost his position, and his family lost their power and wealth.

Now he had the chance to get it all back. Thanks to Celosia's ability, the sapphire mine would work for generations and never run out, King Ramil wouldn't dare to stop the business because he now owed his life to Celosia, who gave him the cure for his disease, and most importantly, the debt the family had gotten into during their search for Elena was no longer an issue. Celosia effectively solved all of the family's problems without even trying.

"Ellie, can I ask you something?" Edgar hesitantly spoke up as the two siblings stopped to rest for a bit. They were too hungry to continue their journey, so they decided to have a short picnic before getting 'back on the road', as Celosia called it, which was ironic, as there was no real road where they rode. In order to hide the motorcycle, Celosia rode through the woods, far away from the villages and towns. She didn't want to catch people's attention.

"Go ahead," Celosia smiled softly, taking a bite of the sandwich she prepared. Even though her ability was restricted to things that were not alive, she realized that she could actually summon things like fruits, vegetables and meat. She concluded it was because those things were no longer alive once they were harvested and that made it possible for her to recreate them.

Which was useful, especially when she was travelling. There was no need to buy food, because she could just make it herself, having all the ingredients ready at will.

"What do you plan to do once we're back home?"

Celosia paused for a moment. It took her off guard to hear the word 'home' coming from Edgar. She still believed she didn't belong there, but the Heroux family was adamant that she was one of them now.

"I don't know," she admitted with a shrug. "It's difficult to decide right away. I don't really have a goal in mind, for your sister's dream was too abstract for me to achieve it, so I think I shall stay with your family for a while more while I try to come up with a plan for my future."

Edgar didn't like what he was hearing. She wanted to leave? She couldn't. He wouldn't let her.

"You said that Elena wanted a happy family... Wouldn't it be easier to fulfill her wish if you stayed with us for good?" he suggested, remembering what Celosia told him before – Elena's dream was to have a happy family full of love.

"I did say that, yes. I saw it in her memories, but I'm not sure if that's what she truly wanted. She had everything, so there was little she yearned for. I honestly don't know what to do. I don't think I'm capable of having a loving family, much less creating one."

"Then stay with us, Ellie."

'Should I?' Celosia thought, staring into Edgar's hopeful eyes. Perhaps it was because he saw her as a replacement for Elena, but he was oddly stubborn about her staying with his family.

And she didn't have the heart to crush this hope.

"Very well, then. I will stay with you for as long as you want me to."