Chapter 54: Chapter 54

KAIST:

I can’t believe that stupid man made my Dahlia cry. He didn’t deserve her. He had never deserved her from the very start!

Honestly, I was hesitant to go to that banquet. Despite the cordial invitation that I had received, I never wanted to come to a party celebrating Dahlly’s marriage with another man. Despite Dahlly’s unawareness that I have feelings for her other than friendship, I don’t think that it was appropriate for me to come and cheer her either.

However, this morning, I received some rather curious letters that made me go back on my earlier resolve.

“My prince, some letters came in for you while you were sleeping,” Pelle said, handing me two strange notes as soon as I woke up from an afternoon slumber.

I frowned at the sight of these strange letters. I thought now that I am almost of age, I wouldn’t possibly receive them.

When I turned thirteen, I started receiving an anonymous letter every year around the time of my birthday. The letters were addressed to my name without any titles and bearing no name of the sender. They were always left in unexpected places where Pelle, my assistant, would ‘luckily’ be able to find them to the point that I even suspected Pelle to have concocted the letters himself…

At first, they were just short and simple letters, giving me well wishes for my birthday. The letters felt warm and genuine. It was something that I thought my mom, if she had lived to see me grow up, would give me on my birthday.

For someone like me who had not known a mother’s love, these simple notes were sacred.

Somewhat though, the letters became a bit longer, until one day, they had evolved into something more sinister and prophetic.

“Where did you find it this time?”

“It was here on top of your table, sire, although I was sure it wasn’t there a few minutes ago when I checked…”

Normally, I received just one letter, but now there were two… What on earth does this mean?

I broke the seal of the first letter and pulled out the paper inside, unfolding it.

It started with the usual salutation:

Dearest Kaist,

You are almost of age now. My heart is glad. I never knew you would be able to reach such an age. You were so small once, but not anymore…

The blood is mixing with the moon now. Your paths are all helplessly about to cross each other. If you find the usurper of the rune, better leave her fate to the blood. No good thing can come out of it. I’m afraid it may even cost you your life, love.

I frowned. In the recent years, the letters had turned cryptic, but always the predictions had been true, or I might just have been lucky for being able to interpret them…

It started when I was fifteen. At that time, the letter I received mentioned something about ‘a bloodbath under the very room you sleep.’ In that year, an assassination attempt did take place, but because I abruptly demanded a change of bedroom, I was miraculously saved. The year after, it was the famine, and two years after that was the attempted invasion of rogues in the capital.

So now, what is this about the ‘blood’ and the ‘moon,’ and who is the ‘usurper of the rune?’

I swear the messages get weirder and weirder each year...

“How about this one? Where did you find this,” I asked Pelle, referring to the second letter.

“Um, that one was found tied in the neck of a bird, my prince.”

My eyebrows went up in surprise. “Tied to a bird’s neck you say?”

Pelle could only nod. “We are trying to locate the owner of the bird as we speak, Prince Kaist.”

I tore the second letter open. It couldn’t be from the same person, right?

Just like the first letter, this one was unsigned, but the handwriting is different… It really didn’t feel like it was from the same person. It read:

Prince Kaist,

I have something to discuss with you in the upcoming banquet at Count Abell’s residence. It will be beneficial for you to come for this concerns your future happiness. I shall reveal myself and my proposal when the time comes. Once you’re there, stay by the rose bushes in the gardens. Until then, rest well.

So this letter must be from someone who’s proposing an alliance and is probably unrelated to the yearly cryptic letters.

Because of my recent birthday celebration, I felt tired from attending such empty festivities. Throughout the week, I tried drinking myself to death just so I could drown the loneliness in my heart and forget Dahlia, but I guess I coming to the party is not an option anymore...

I was deathly curious who the writer of the second letter was. It couldn’t have been that despicable Count Abell, right? The handwriting looked delicate, but it was not Dahlly’s handwriting too…

And just because of that, I was compelled to come to Seymour Villa.

I deliberately came in late so as not to attract any unnecessary attention. After all, my marriage scandal was still fresh. Plus, I also did not like the idea of greeting Dahlly’s husband.

My presence in this damned party had nothing to do with Dahlly too, so I was planning to go ahead and greet her another time.

That was what I had initially thought…

However, as soon as I stepped inside that house again, my heart was pulled towards Dahlly. I can sense her overwhelming feelings of surprise and sorrow.

What could have possibly made her feel that way? Wasn’t a banquet supposed to be something that’ll give her joy even if she didn’t like crowds?

Before I knew what I was even doing, I had already followed Dahlly’s scent and the tug of her heartbeat. It brought me to an off-limits section of the villa.

I saw her there, standing like a mannequin, trembling from shock.

I walked closer towards her. I called her name, but she did seem to be aware of my presence. She was busy hearing something else.

As I came closer, I heard it too...

“Would you divorce your new wife? I really don’t like the idea that you are now married to that woman.”

It was the sound of another woman’s voice. They were in a dimly lit room, shut away from the festivities…

I didn’t hear any other words after that, and I did not need to. I was consumed by rage as soon as I understand the scene that was unfolding before me.

How can that man expose Dahlly to such nasty words and to such an unsightly predicament? He had snatched my mate away only to make her cry like this? How could he?!

I was about to tear open the door when I heard Dahlly’s faint words.

“I want to be away… I need to get away from here…”

She said it so weakly that I wanted to cry with her.

After I took her away from that blasted sight and helped her get calm enough to sleep in the bedroom, I went outside again towards the gardens where the party was taking place.

I know I had promised Dahlly to be calm, but how can I stay calm after seeing all of that? That guy does not deserve her. He doesn’t deserve even a single strand of hair from Dahlly’s head for bringing in a woman like that and deceiving my innocent mate!

And who even is that woman? I was not able to see a face, but I recognize the voice well enough. That vile tone is etched deeply in my memory now.

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I failed to realize I had already walked deeper into the rose garden of Seymour Villa where a small pavilion was located.

As I reached the edge of the pavilion, I saw someone stir in the shadows.

“I’m sorry,” I said, embarrassed that I failed to see there was someone there. “Please go on with your business.”

I wasn’t interested in socializing with anyone, so I would just go quietly. I was still too disgusted with what I had just seen in the western wing of the villa with Dahlly.

“Then if you leave, that means you are not interested with what I’ve got to say… Is that really the case, dear prince?”

I stopped at my tracks… That voice was familiar. It sounded just like the lady in the room with the count earlier.

The person in the letter and that lady… They couldn’t be one and the same, right?...