176: The one left behind

The one left behind

Music Recommendation: 1917 - Thomas Newman0

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One night, when everyone in Versailles was fast asleep, a pair of candles continued to burn brightly on the table of the first princess's room where she lay asleep. The windows had been securely closed to prevent the wind from extinguishing the light and allowing darkness to creep in. 

The peace and comfort, however, were short-lived, as Emily was abruptly jolted awake by a strike of intense pain in her heart, as though someone had seized it. A piercing cry of pain escaped her mouth as she quickly sat up, clutching her chest tightly. 

"A-ah..!" Emily whimpered, tears forming in her eyes. 

Every breath grew increasingly more difficult to draw than the one before, forcing her to take shallow, rapid breaths as the ache began to radiate from her chest. Unable to maintain her sitting position, she collapsed onto her side before drawing her knees up closer to her chest. 

The door to her room quickly swung open, but Emily, engulfed in excruciating pain, either couldn't discern the identity of the person who entered or didn't have the capacity to muster any concern. 

"Emily!" It was Anastasia. With a worried expression, she took a seat on the bed and gently placed her hand on the princess's head. "What is happening to her??" she asked Dante, who stood beside the bed with a darkened expression. 

"Nathaniel formed the bond with Layla, which in turn severed the bond with Emily." Dante gritted his teeth. He disliked seeing his sister in pain and added, "This is precisely what Lady Sophia had feared. Despite Emily's desire to be a better person and let go, she's the one who is now left behind and will bear the consequences of a broken heart."

But Dante wasn't the only one who had heard Emily's scream, as even the Mother Queen herself walked inside the first princess's room, her expression marked by a deep frown. Upon seeing her granddaughter writhing in agony, she murmured, 

"So it has begun." 

Anastasia gently clasped Emily's hand, hoping to alleviate her suffering and reassure her that she wasn't alone, that they were there for her. But nothing could provide relief from the pain that ravaged the princess's body, and she cried, 

"P—please make it stop! Plea—se!" Emily sobbed, clutching Anastasia's hand tightly. 

Emily had heard tales of soulmates severing their fated bonds, but she had never envisioned it would be this agonising. Every cell in her body screamed as if it were being torn apart and then mended, only to be torn apart once again. Her tears flowed ceaselessly, vanishing into the fabric surface of the bed. 

Nathaniel had turned Layla into his soulmate, letting her know whom he had chosen, and the combination of emotional distress and physical pain made it unbearable for her. 

"Dante, she's not showing any signs of calming down," Anastasia whispered to him. She had held out hope that her fairy magic could have some effect, but it seemed useless in this situation. 

"There must be something in my concoction room," the Mother Queen stated, before leaving the room and hurriedly making her way to her workroom. 

Upon reaching the chamber adjacent to the dungeon, the Mother Queen inserted a key into a cabinet. Her wrinkled hands ran through the array of tiny vials, shifting them aside until her hand settled on one. Picking it up, she returned to Emily's room. 

"I need a handkerchief. Any clean, small piece of cloth should do," the Mother Queen said. "The liquid in this vial quickly saturates and spreads across the fabric once applied."

Anastasia, who had previously served as Princess Emily's maid, knew exactly where to find it. As the princess released her hand, she swiftly went to one of the cupboards and retrieved the handkerchief. Handing it to the older woman, she observed as the vial was tipped to let the liquid be absorbed by the cloth. 

"What is that?" Dante questioned his grandmother, who came to stand beside the bed. 

The Mother Queen didn't reply immediately, not until she had Emily inhale deeply from the cloth and observed the tremors in the princess's body cease. 

"It's a sleep-inducing potion," the Mother Queen disclosed, removing the handkerchief as Emily drifted into slumber. 

Dante had never known his grandmother to possess something of that nature. Seeing his questioning gaze, she explained, "I decided to start working on this when you and Anna were in the middle of your fight before finding out about you two being soulmates. It isn't as effective as I would want it to be, but for the moment, it should suffice," she added with a sigh. 

The Mother Queen avoided locking eyes with her grandson, as she sensed his narrowed eyes on her. She remarked, "Poor Emily. If only she had not been aware that her soulmate was present at the wedding. Sophia must be regretting her decision to invite Layla to the celebration. I have never seen that man before."

"Because he's never stepped foot here before," Dante replied, his eyes shifting to look at his sister. He said, "Viktor must have sent him in advance to gauge the situation and check for any traps set against him."

"I never expected Emily would have such ill luck in this matter, and to think she has been eagerly waiting for this moment. It only makes the situation that much more distressing," the Mother Queen murmured. 

Each of her grandchildren has inherited her attributes—courage, haughtiness, compassion, cunningness, and mischievousness. The youngest was still too young to determine his character, she mused to herself. They were all like mirrors, reflecting her essence. Her treasures. 

Anastasia and Dante adjusted the blanket over the sleeping Emily. Anastasia's eyes shifted to the candles still flickering in the room, and she inquired, 

"I thought only soulmates could mark each other. How is it possible that Nathaniel was able to mark the other woman?" 

"You don't have to be soulmates to form a bond, although it isn't commonly recommended because it often carries repercussions," Dante explained to his wife. He continued, "It is like trying to fit a sphere into a box that doesn't conform to its form. Sometimes it works out, while at other times, it doesn't, and can result in disruptions. As Layla has demon blood in her, it made it easier for Nathaniel to establish a bond."

"There are times when I feel regret, and this is certainly one of them—I regret not having Emily married to a decent man before this occurred," the Mother Queen muttered. 

"Then does that mean Emily could potentially form a soulmate bond with someone else?" Anastasia inquired.

"Perhaps with someone with a stronger bloodline, provided she's open to it…" Dante replied, because he knew that the severed bond would only widen the emptiness in his sister's heart. 

"You both should get some sleep," the Mother Queen said, ushering them from the room. "I will stay here and keep watch over her. It's been a while since I shared a bed with anyone. Go on."

Once the couple stepped out of the room and closed the door behind them, the Mother Queen climbed onto the bed. She settled herself with her back leaning against the bedrest and crossed her legs. Gazing down at her granddaughter, she gently rested her hand on her arm and whispered,

"Today has been difficult, Emily. But I hope the coming days will be better." She patted Emily's arm, as if lulling her into an even deeper slumber. 

The following morning, when Emily woke up, while she didn't feel the same physical pain as the previous night, she still felt the void in her chest, as if all happiness had been drained from her. A sense of despair and loneliness crept into her mind, causing her to tightly clutch the blanket wrapped around her. 

"Emily," she heard her grandmother's voice behind her. 

Emily rolled over and noticed her grandmother sharing her bed, sipping a cup of tea that had been quietly brought to her. She pushed herself upright and asked in a low voice, "What are you doing here?" 

"Keeping you company, of course," she heard her grandmother reply. She took one final sip before placing the teacup aside. She touched Emily's face and said gently, "I am sorry, Emily."

Emily shook her head, blinking her eyes as she took a deep breath and said, "Sometimes, what you wish for is the last thing you receive. I am sorry too, Grandmother." She finally began to understand the agony her grandmother must have endured. 

"Life tests us all, my dearest. Some may find themselves fortunate, while others need to carve out their own destiny," her grandmother remarked. "The days change, and we all grow with them. Because if you fail to grow, you are merely decaying."

"I am not ready for it…" Emily's gaze dropped to her hands, fully aware of what her grandmother was talking about. She was still grieving, feeling as though she was drowning in a sea of sorrow. 

Her grandmother took her hands in hers, gaining her attention, and she said, 

"I know you are hurting, and I understand it better than anyone in our family. But I also know that you need companionship from someone before loneliness leads you down a dark path, and I want to spare you from that. This is one of those rare instances where I find myself agreeing with your mother. No one is going to force you, but we would very much like you to meet a few worthy men to see if you connect with any of them. Life is too short to dwell on trivialities, even if it concerns your former soulmate." 

Former soulmate... that's accurate, Emily pondered silently. With Nathaniel severing his bond with her, she had become a broken soulmate. 

"How did you cope after grandfather's death?" Emily asked her grandmother. 

The Mother Queen paused for a moment, her eyebrows furrowing as she considered the question. She eventually replied, "I kept myself occupied with the company of men. And by the time I started experiencing back problems, I had learned to get through it." 

Despite being the one who had taken her husband's life, the Mother Queen couldn't deny that he remained her unbreakable soulmate. No one could escape the abyss of darkness, she thought to herself. 

Emily contemplated whether she would have to seek a similar way to manage her deteriorating self and crumbling emotions in the near future. Because, at the moment, she had no desire to meet any men, while her former soulmate would carry on with his life in peace and love. She felt her grandmother pat the back of her hand and heard her say, 

"Meet the men your mother has picked for you, and if you don't connect with anyone here, you have the option to go to the west."

Emily frowned and asked, "West?" 

"This season, there will be a gathering held, where eligible men and women from all over the region will come together to socialise. Niyasa has been badgering us about it ever since she heard of it from someone at the wedding. You two can go together."

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