Chapter 140 - You Knew
"Your Highness, the meeting has been delayed due to unforeseeable circumstances," Weston said with an amiable, forced smile as he entered the meeting room.
Weston casted his gaze upon the nonchalant usurper, whose gaze was glued outside of the window.
The usurper sat there, with one leg crossed over his knee, and an arm propping up his chin. He continued observing the scenery outside the window, his gaze landing upon the roses that were kept in the far back of the garden. Were they mocking him?
Golden roses blossomed beautifully under the sun, it's petals a glistening yellow that brightened anyone's day. Roses…
"Your Highness?" Weston murmured, his brows tugging together. He had never seen such a distant, faraway look on the Crown Prince's face.
The Crown Prince was an older man in his late forties, which wasn't a surprise, considering he seized the throne a little over a decade ago.
"He's late, despite needing my assistance," the Crown Prince finally said in a low, somber voice. "What an arrogant King. Well, I suppose he couldn't be a King if he wasn't this shameless."
Weston wondered who was the shameless one here. He wordlessly kept his mouth shut and leaned against the doors. He crossed one arm across the other and pressed his lips together.
Weston couldn't understand why he had defended the Queen lately. He used to never care about her before, but she was plaguing his thoughts lately— not in a good way. Her troubles with the King were beginning to trouble everyone in the castle who had noticed their drift.
"If the King is late, then I'd like to see my niece instead."
Weston straightened up, his face going blank and cold. "I beg your pardon, Your Highness?"
"My young niece," the Crown Prince drawled out, his face tugged into a faint smile. "I am her only living relative now, am I not? That poor thing."
Weston resisted the urge to scoff. Was that why the Crown Prince of Kastrem was so insistent on having the meeting in person? Just to see the new Queen?
"The Queen is preoccupied with her duties to the castle, Your Highness. Unfortunately, we're unable to grant such an abrupt audience," Weston said with as much patience as possible. He was glad Easton wasn't the one greeting the honorable guests.
As playful and energetic as Easton was, sometimes he didn't know how to be serious. He was a few hundred years old, but still acted like a child. Easton was also the one that clung to their mother the most.
"Is she certain she doesn't want to see me?" The Crown Prince asked, tearing his eyes away from the Golden Roses. Such irony that he was sitting here, overlooking the very thing his brother sought to protect.
"It's not that she doesn't want to see you, Your Highness, it is that she's occupied—"
"Funny, I thought I saw a young woman sipping tea by a balcony, with her phone pointed directly at me to see who I was." The Crown Prince lifted the teacup towards his lips, amidst the panic of his secretary, who must've been worried if the drink was poisoned or not.
The Crown Prince wryly smiled. The King had not changed at all. The bitter earl grey tea stung the Crown Prince's tongue. Everyone knew the Crown Prince of Kastrem hated earl grey, but the King of Wraith didn't hesitate to serve it.
"It is quite amazing that a runaway Princess is returning as a Queen," the Crown Prince commented. "If I hadn't known better, I'd think we're living in some fairytale story."
Weston dryly laughed, his lips stretched, but his eyes cold. "Perhaps."
Weston straightened up when he heard approaching footsteps. Then, he blinked in confusion, realizing it was more than one pair of footsteps. Before he could react, the doors were opened by Stella, and in walked the Queen and the King.
Instantly, the Crown Prince placed his teacup down. His eyes widened slightly, surprised by the sight of both of them. He almost didn't know what to say.
Adeline had left the estate a tiny child and returned as a grown woman. He could still remember the betrayal and horror on her face when he threatened her at gun-point. Either she left a runaway Princess, or stay as prisoner for the rest of her life.
"Your Majesty, Your Grace," Weston curtly said, clearing his throat.
Quickly, the secretary of the Crown Prince came forward and bowed deeply, repeating the same phrase, "Your Majesty, Your Grace."
"Adeline," the Crown Prince of Kastrem said in a deep, solemn voice. He hadn't expected her tremendous growth.
The spy he sent to Marden Estate spoke of a demure, quaint little lady. They said she talked with a stutter, casted her eyes downwards, and shrank her shoulders. But who was this proud woman in front of him? Who was this lady with raised chin, squared shoulders, and earnest gaze?
"Usurpur," Adeline said.
The secretary flinched. "Your Grace, that is extremely impolite not to mention—"
"We should address each other by the proper title, no?" Adeline said, tilting her head with a slight smile. "Besides, who are you to reprimand the Queen?"
The secretary instantly lowered his gaze. He awkwardly shuffled in his feet, his lips pressed into a thin line. The Crown Prince had worked so hard to ensure he was not called such a thing. He had reformed Kastrem and restored it to all of its glory. Without the Crown Prince, Kastrem would've gone to waste in the hands of a little girl who did nothing but shoot guns and run around the lawn.
"It's alright Vincent, let the girl behave as she pleases," the Crown Prince said. "It's been a decade and a half since I last saw you and you've still not changed a single bit, Adeline."
Adeline ignored his words. Instead, she observed the meeting room. It was beautiful and sunny.
All the light in the world could've been gathered in here. The windows were high, letting in ample sunlight, and there was a table set up by the balcony, where the Crown Prince was seated. Aside from that table, there were two sage couches facing each other, with a mahogany coffee table inbetween it.
Adeline sometimes wondered if Elias designed the castle to have this much sunlight. Well, it wasn't like this was a fictional story where Vampires were afraid of sunlight.
"You speak as if I'm not here, James," Elias mused from besides his wife. He placed a fond hand onto her lower back and guided her towards the couch.
Elias could feel her rigid spine, from the tension of seeing her Uncle. She took a seat upon the couch, elegantly folding her dress back and crossing her legs. At the same time, the Crown Prince stood up and began moving for the couch.
"I preferred if you weren't here," the Crown Prince dryly remarked. "I specifically said I wanted to see my niece."
"And I specifically told you she was occupied," Elias mused. He could feel Adeline's accusing glare.
"Why would you want to see the daughter of the older brother you betrayed?" Adeline muttered. She glanced at the untouched teacup and pot settled onto the coffee table.
Before she could even reach for it, Elias was beside her. He grabbed the teapot and poured the drink for her. She blinked in surprise, and the cup was settled onto her palms.
Adeline glanced at Elias, but he was already looking at her. He smiled at her slightly widened eyes.
"I did not betray my older brother, dear niece," James remarked. "I saved his only daughter by offering her solitude from the people's hatred."
"Solitude?" Adeline sharply said. "You pointed a gun towards me and demanded me to choose life or death. You pointed a gun at a ten-year-old, all because I was next in line for the throne of Kastrem."
"Kastrem would've suffered in the hands of a little girl," James sharply said. He took a seat on the couch, sitting directly in front of her. He was relieved to see she had grown up well.
"Kastrem has prospered greatly under my regime. The people love me so dearly, they forget what I've done to you. I've set up a future so grand and bright for the people, that they've completely forgotten the little Princess that abandoned their country shortly after the death of the late Crown Prince and Crown Princess."
Adeline resisted the urge to splash tea onto his face. His voice was stern and strict, but his features were softened with worry. Why did he look at her like that? Why was his words so cruel, but his face so gentle? It wasn't like he regretted doing what he did.
"Kastrem should no longer be in your worries, Princess," James told her. "You're now the Queen of Wraith, a position that every little Princess wants for themselves. What is there to be disgruntled about?"
"You betrayed me, your niece! You betrayed your brother!" Adeline argued.
"I did what must be done for the country, even if it meant turning my back on my only living relative. You were a young girl, Adeline. There were people after your life, it was either me or them. I had to keep you safe, even if it meant shipping you off to the Mardens. If I hadn't, your life would've been in danger."
Adeline gritted her teeth.
"You must find understanding within yourself, my dear niece. You were just a little girl, no more than the age of ten, shouldered with the responsibility of a Kingdom."
"I could've given you temporary control!" Adeline demanded, her blood hot and her heart pumping.
James shook his head. Even now, she did not know. It would've been so easy to murder a child, even if she was good with a gun.
"Adeline, if I hadn't sent you away, imagine how many assassination attempts would've come your way. Imagine how many corrupted officials would have ruined the young mind of something so innocent and kind."
James softly smiled in her direction. "I did what I had to, not because I wanted to, but I knew it would've been what your father wanted. He wished to keep you safe, Adeline. He never wanted to see you in harm's way, and that was why he claimed you were the Golden Rose, for there is no man in this world who could protect you better than the King of Wraith."
Adeline's eyes widened in disbelief. Was this the truth he spun, or a fabricated story to please his guilt?
"I'll admit, my method was cruel and wrong, but it was for the right and just cause. Besides, you've still found your way to Wraith, didn't you? You still found yourself a throne better than the first, and without the cost of having to give up Kastrem out of love for Elias."
"You knew…" Adeline muttered. "You knew I was promised to Elias."
James painfully smiled. "Who do you think introduced your father to Elias in the first place? Who do you think gave the Mardens the funds to support you?"
Adeline's stiffened. All along, she had thought the story panned differently, but the truth was right in front of her. Her Uncle, and all along, supported her from behind the curtains, and she didn't know it.
"This is the truth and nothing more, nothing less. I do not have any other secrets to hide from you, Adeline," James said. "Whatever you wish to know, I will tell you."