Chapter 4 – The Blood of Aden (Part 2)

Elena Constance knelt before Seia.

“Lady Constance has been reporting all of the Crown Princess’s movements to the Crown Prince.”

Rey said sternly.

Elena bowed her head to the floor. Her heart was pounding with fear and tension.

“…How much do you know about Aden?”

Seia began.

At the sudden question, Elena raised her head involuntarily.

“Have you heard the founding myth of Aden?”

“Yes, Your Highness. I heard it when I was young…”

Elena replied in a trembling voice.

“Then, as you know, Aden is the land of witches. The descendants of witches live in the land cultivated by witches, so the Empire considers Aden as barbarians.”

Seia continued with a faint smile.

“Of course, the blood of witches flows in my veins too.”

Elena’s eyes widened at those words.

She swallowed dryly in fear.

“I have committed a grave sin, Your Highness.”

Elena’s breath trembled.

“Is that so?”

Seia asked leisurely.

“You were merely following the orders of the Crown Prince, so how could that be a sin?”

Elena was confused by Seia’s question.

“My master is not the Crown Prince but you, Your Highness. I dared not understand my place.”

Seia looked down at Elena intently.

“Moreover, the virtue of a maid is to pretend not to see or hear anything…”

“You didn’t commit such acts out of sheer stupidity, did you?”

At Seia’s words, Elena’s expression hardened again.

Not knowing what to do, she bowed her head to the floor once more.

“Please spare me, Your Highness. If I return to my family like this… my father will…”

Elena began to cry.

Seia could easily predict what she was about to say next.

Marquis Constance would surely beat his daughter who was disgracefully expelled from her position as a maid to the Crown Princess.

Everyone knew about Marquis Constance’s bad habit of hitting.

“It would be wise to become smarter than you are now.”

Seia said as she sat comfortably on the sofa.

“From now on, you will relay to the Crown Prince only what I allow and report his reactions back to me.”

It was a proposal to be a double agent.

“If I do that…”

“Yes. I will neither curse your family nor kill you.”

Rey suppressed a laugh from behind.

Seia raised an eyebrow and then gave a sly smile.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Help Lady Constance up and see her out.”

Seia said simply, waving her hand.

Rey returned with a serious face, helped the trembling Elena to her feet, and led her out.

“Is it true that the Crown Princess has the blood of witches?”

Rey asked.

Seia laughed loudly.

“According to legend, yes. But as you know, Rey, I am neither a magician nor a sorceress.”

“But you succeeded in making a blood oath.”

“That’s…”

Seia paused for a moment.

The blood oath between Kyle and herself had been more certain than she had expected.

The wound had healed cleanly, and most importantly, she had felt a power that could only be described as divine at the moment of the oath.

“I can at least officiate rituals.”

“You never know. The power of the witches of Aden comes from their bloodline. There might be some power in your blood, Your Highness.”

Rey said quite seriously.

Witches were matrilineal, and Seia’s grandmother had indeed served as a high priestess.

“Can you look into it?”

Seia asked Rey without much expectation.

Rey nodded.

“More importantly, Your Highness, it seems Lady Elena has already reported your whereabouts last night to the Crown Prince. What should we do?”

“We’ll have to confront it head-on.”

Seia sighed and composed her expression again.

“What about Natalie and Agnes?”

“They will arrive soon.”

“Then let’s prepare to go out immediately. We need to make the first move.”

Rey looked up at his sovereign with proud eyes, then turned to fulfill his duty.

***

Tristan was falcon hunting.

It was a rather embarrassing environment to call it hunting.

The falcon was already caught, and a servant would release it for Tristan to shoot with his bow.

Tristan’s hand trembled with anger as he drew the bowstring.

‘Did she go to the underground prison to meet that bastard?’

The arrow shot by his trembling hand missed the fluttering falcon.

An archer waiting behind him shot a net to capture the falcon again.

Tristan felt like throwing his bow away.

“What a lively falcon you’ve caught.”

At the voice from behind, Tristan turned his head sharply.

“Seia.”

Tristan called her name in a tone that seemed to chew on his anger.

Seia sparkled like a noble jewel under the bright sunlight.

The lace of her light green evening dress fluttered in the breeze, and the slightly warm temperature had tinted her cheeks pink.

But now, even her beauty only grated on Tristan’s nerves.

“How dare you deceive me?”

Tristan strode toward Seia.

Seia stood upright and looked at Tristan.

There were too many eyes watching for him to resort to violence right away.

Of course, if provoked a little, Tristan would lose even the minimal decorum.

“What did I do to displease you this time?”

Seia asked with a soft smile, mocking him.

“Where were you last night?”

Tristan asked.

His eyes were bloodshot.

“I went to bed early, Your Highness.”

“You lie without blinking an eye.”

Tristan put down his bow and grabbed Seia’s arm.

He waved away the servants who tried to follow and dragged Seia to the shade of a tree.

“I know you went to meet Kyle.”

Tristan pressed her.

“You seem to know everything, Your Highness.”

But Seia’s voice was still relaxed.

“I have ears and feet all over this palace. Don’t think you can deceive me.”

Tristan gritted his teeth.

“What did you talk about? How did Kyle Hellis escape?”

“Did Prince Kyle escape?”

Seia said, opening her fan to cover her face.

Tristan slapped Seia’s hand hard.

The lace fan fell to the ground.

But Seia’s expression didn’t change.

“I will declare that he died in an accident, so keep your mouth shut.”

“Why would you declare a living person dead?”

“I will find him and kill him.”

Tristan’s eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

‘Does he hate him this much?’

It was clear that Tristan had no hesitation in killing his father, Emperor Catheon.

“Send Sir Montrey.”

Seia spoke.

“What?”

“If you need to find Prince Kyle, I would send Sir Montrey.”

“Are you mocking me? You should be punished for meeting with Montrey and Kyle.”

“Will you announce that I met with Prince Kyle and Sir Montrey?”

Tristan hesitated at Seia’s words.

There was nothing good about revealing that the Crown Princess had secretly visited the assassin of the Emperor.

“If he fled, he would have gone North. Would the Imperial Guards know the North well? Sir Montrey, who is close to Prince Kyle, would know where he might have fled personally.”

Seia seized the opportunity to explain.

“And if you’re worried about the meeting, order Sir Montrey to prove his loyalty by capturing Prince Kyle.”

It wasn’t wrong.

In fact, it was a wise move for a ruler.

Seia glanced at Tristan’s thoughtful face and turned to leave.

But Tristan pulled her back by the arm.

“So what did you talk about with Kyle?”

Tristan asked, his anger returning.

“I only asked about the circumstances of His Majesty’s death.”

Seia recited her prepared words.

“As a member of the Imperial Family, I was concerned about the incident and wanted to uncover the truth.”

Seia spoke naturally, as if it were the most reasonable thing.

“And Sir Montrey only advised him to confess if he was guilty to avoid execution.”

Tristan squinted at Seia’s words.

“So, did you uncover the truth?”

Tristan asked persistently.

Suddenly, Seia raised her hand and gestured to a servant standing far away.

“Answer me.”

Tristan’s voice was irritated by Seia’s behavior.

The servant hurried over to the tree at the Crown Princess’s call.

“Pick up my fan.”

At Seia’s words, the servant knelt and picked up the fan.

“Whose truth? That’s what matters.”

Seia said as she took the fan.

Before Tristan could say anything, she turned and walked away between the Crown Prince and the servant.