The Warlock (BxB)

Chapter 39

The room grew tense the moment the High Priestess and her group walked into the throne room. Prince Casimir didn't want to look at them, but he knew he would have to face them eventually. As the crown prince with divine powers, it was hard to avoid the church. They pretended to help him learn about his divinity, but in reality, they were only trying to keep a tight leash on him. The High Priestess would try to use the prince when the time was right.

She noticed Casimir's reluctance to look in their direction. The High Priestess smiled to herself, knowing that she was winning. Keeping Amaris close by was her plan to break the prince. If she attacked his weakness, then he would crumble. She felt satisfied knowing that it was working.

"Prince Casimir, I am so glad to see you have recovered. Your parents kept turning me away when I came to visit you, claiming that you were sick. I hope that whatever ails you has passed." Her smile seemed friendly and caring, yet it was anything but that. She glanced around the room, taking in all of the faces present.

Eventually, her eyes landed on Sebastian, and she frowned. "I see the royal family still enjoys keeping their magic dogs around. The princess was being quite friendly with the warlock right outside this door. It seems she found herself another pet."

This time, Casimir couldn't keep silent. He finally looked at the priestess and boldly stated, "They're not dogs. Ambria sees warlocks and witches as equals to the rest of us humans, and besides, you, me, and my mother all have magic as well. What makes us so different from them?"

"Divine and dark magic aren't the same thing, Prince Casimir. What we have been given is a gift. Warlocks and witches, however, are a plague to this realm. If you leave them to their own devices, then they'll be free to corrupt this nation as they did in the past. People like us are the only ones who can stop them from turning Ambria upside down. I will never understand why the royal family decided to let them roam free," she shot back.

Before Casimir could retort, his father stepped in. His voice was firm as he questioned, "Why have you come here, High Priestess Meredith? I hope you didn't come here to quarrel with my son."

The High Priestess, Meredith, bowed her head to the king. "Of course not, Your Highness. I only came to check on his wellbeing. Forgive me for speaking out of turn, I was only concerned because it seems as though the royal family has liked keeping around warlocks lately. If I may give a word of advice, keeping people with dark magic around the prince isn't good for his health. The crown prince has been unwell for a while, so it wouldn't surprise me if he got sick because of the warlocks."

Casimir knew her words were bullshit, but he bit his tongue this time. He didn't want to cause any unnecessary problems for his father. He caused enough trouble by being away for so long. If he defended Logain now, then someone might realize that something else was going on. He would keep the warlock out of it for now. He glanced at Sebastian, who was also uncomfortable being near the High Priestess. Whenever she came around, she always had some smart comments to say about him. It got tiring after a while.

"Warlocks have never been a problem for our family before, and I doubt they will be a problem now. My daughter has been married to Sebastian for years and that has never corrupted my children before. Claiming that dark magic is the problem are lies spread by the church to instill fear in the hearts of the citizens. I kindly ask you to not spread such fabricated words," Queen Lillian added. Both of his parents came to Casimir's defense. If there was something he liked about his family, it was that they looked after each other.

Meredith glared at the royal family, before covering up her disappointment with a smile. She wouldn't let them see that they were starting to get under her skin. The church and royal family might have worked together, but that didn't mean they had a pleasant relationship. The king and queen wanted to keep peace in their kingdom, which required cooperation from the church. Casimir knew the church wasn't always this hard to deal with, but that was before his time. After all, his mother once trained to be the High Priestess before she married his father. Things were different back then.

"In any case, I didn't come here to discuss warlocks and witches. I was only voicing my concern. Since Prince Casimir is feeling better, I suggest we continue his training. I brought Amaris with me in hopes of seeing the prince again, and perhaps they can begin again right now. The prince still has much to learn and Amaris is almost finished his training to priesthood. It would be wonderful for them to spend time together." She gestured behind her to Amaris.

Since everyone in the room knew about Casimir and Amaris' past relationship, it wasn't a surprise that the High Priestess was using him. She thought she would gain leverage in the royal family if she brought in the priest Casimir was smitten with. However, that wasn't going to work this time.

Casimir gave a slight smirk. "I'm not interested. I only just recovered, so I would like to take today to rest."

Meredith frowned, not anticipating these results. "You don't want to spend time with Amaris?"

"No, I don't. He is only my teacher, so I don't want to spend more time with him than I need to. Besides, I promised a friend that I would give him a tour of the castle today." Casimir looked up at his parents. "May I be excused for today?"

The king nodded. "You may. Tonight at dinner, there is something important we need to discuss with you."

Whatever it was, the king didn't want to discuss it in front of the church. There were some things the royal family wanted to keep to themselves, but knowing the High Priestess, Meredith would find out somehow. Casimir knew she had spies in the castle, but he didn't care about that right now. He wanted to see Logain. If the warlock made it a habit to see the prince, then the church would eventually find out about him. They could only hide their relationship for so long.

The prince walked past Meredith and her group. He couldn't help sneaking a glance at Amaris as he walked by, but not because he felt bad for refusing to spend time with him. Casimir was more curious to see his reaction, and it was satisfying to see the annoyance on the other man's face. Regardless of how many times Casimir hooked up with the clergyman in the past, he was no longer interested in pursuing a relationship with him. After Amaris changed, Casimir couldn't see a future with him. Amaris only cared about the church now and would do anything for the power Casimir offered. He was no longer the shy and caring man he used to know.

The prince had someone more important that he wanted to spend his life with. Quickly, Casimir left the throne room to be with him.