110: Wings for a featherless falcon (part 1)

Wings for a featherless falcon (part 1)

The space inside Adela's room felt suffocating. As if the walls were closing in on her, especially since Egon's scent seemed to cling to her clothes, bringing his presence to the back of her mind.2

Not now... 

She crossed the room and stood before the tall mirror, appearing like a different woman in the white cloak she had received as a gift in Latora. Her reflection stared back at her with fearful eyes.

"What have you done, Larissa?"

Her small voice trembled in the space surrounding her. The image of her sister — once radiant and full of life — was now tainted by the shadow of treason, haunting every single one of Adela's thoughts.

She paced back and forth, her mind racing through the possibilities. Larissa's elopement couldn't have been a spur-of-the-moment decision, and something didn't add up. Andreas von Conradie was on his way to Kolhis with Olga. It didn't make sense for Larissa to elope if Andreas wasn't even present!

Adela's gaze fell on the small desk in the corner of the room where Larissa's wedding invitation announcements were neatly arranged. She walked over and picked up one of them, tracing her finger along the elegant handwriting. The words on the page seemed distant now, something that would never see the light of day.

Did she actually marry him? Adela needed answers, and she needed them quickly. But she couldn't face this alone. She needed allies, someone she could trust implicitly, someone powerful enough to provide her with the strength she lacked. A featherless falcon in desperate need of wings.

"Claude... How can I reach you..." she mumbled to herself.

"Now why would you want that?" 

Adela jumped, her heart beating impossibly fast hearing the low, angry rumble that came from the right corner of her room followed by the sight of Egon emerging from the shadows.

"What are you doing here!" she whisper-shouted at him, her eyes darting toward the firmly closed window, wondering if the self-proclaimed beast could walk through walls. "You can't come whenever it pleases you!"

"I came here to talk to you," he responded calmly.

His sudden tranquillity brought her senses back. She took a deep breath and swallowed, realizing that it was good that Egon was here. She needed to tell him things too.

"You can't be seen in Lanark. They think you're in Kolhis!" she exclaimed, her mind racing.

"I have already been spotted in this area,"

She shook her head, recalling that the majordomo had already encountered him. The room grew darker, the shadows deepening as if in sync with the night that had enveloped Lanark, one with the somber state of her spirits.

"Relax..." he started.

Relax? 

She narrowed the distance between them and looked up, her gaze piercing into his face. "Do you even comprehend the gravity of the situation? The reputation of the royal family is hanging by a thread! I must find Larissa and uncover the reasons behind her disappearance... I cannot afford any further mistakes."

He arched an eyebrow. "Is Emanuel truly ill?"

She had no idea how he heard of it, but she had to say yes, as lying to Egon would be a means of safeguarding the King's reputation.

"...No," she muttered. "Unlike your uncle..." She added with a tinge of guilt, "I'll find a way to reach him."

He rubbed his stubble, a gesture she had come to recognize as a sign of deep contemplation.

"Uncle is the last person you should be shielding at this moment."

She furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

He seemed to gather all the air around them before releasing a heavy sigh.

"Ever since he learned the truth about Arkin, Uncle has been pressuring Andreas to break off the engagement."

"Excuse me?!"

"Grace deprived him of his son for years. He doesn't welcome her daughter into his family," he explained.

His heartless words, spoken with ease, were hurtful yet not entirely illogical. Adela couldn't help but feel sympathy for Larissa, imagining the kind of face Leopold von Conradie must have shown her every time they met.

"...He has been very civil around me lately," Adela remarked.

Egon scoffed softly. "You're an influencer in his son's life."

It was a challenging task for Adela to completely shut off her emotions. However, she knew that the present moment demanded her full attention and focus on her sister's situation.

She looked at Egon with clear, emotionless eyes. "Tell me, what did Andreas do about all of this?"

Egon grinned. "He found a solution. It's what Andreas does best."

Adela's body tensed. "...And that solution was eloping?"

When Egon shrugged nonchalantly, a sharp pain pierced through her head, causing her to instinctively press her temples.

"How could she agree to this?" she muttered, her eyes scanning the room yet unable to find a focal point.

"Was it better to give my uncle a chance to sabotage her happiness just to punish Grace? Or... do you think their engagement should have been called off?"

The sudden tension in his voice didn't escape Adela's notice, but she found herself unable to provide answers to either of his questions.

"You don't approve of her choice," he concluded, his expression now artificial and devoid of emotion.

Anger surged up from the pit of her stomach as she retorted, "How is this about me? Running away was a cowardly thing to do, not to mention selfish! It's not like Larissa who used to follow me around lecturing me about our royal duties..."

She swallowed back tears, her eyes darting left and right again, searching but not finding traces of the unshaken knowledge she should have had about her sister. Adela wasn't sure she knew what kind of person Larissa had become anymore.

"Larissa de Lanark is one of the bravest women I have ever met," Egon's words resonated with conviction as if he could read her mind. "She was faced with a choice between her family and the man she loves, and she chose him... Is that so horrible? Or is it simply something you can't relate to because it's something you can never do?"

Adela couldn't believe he was discussing matters of love when the peace of Emoria was hanging in the balance.

"It's not about me or her! It's about the fate of Emoria. Such actions can be distorted and used in ways that she should have foreseen!"

"So? Their happiness is inconsequential since the happiness of everyone else should come first?"

She opened her mouth to respond but hesitated, eventually closing it. Convincing him was impossible when he didn't bear the burden of a ruler. 

Egon's scoff held a bitter undertone, "Well, what can I say? It's expected of someone who hasn't made a decision about the person they want to marry,"

With her patience wearing thin, she couldn't help but snap back, "What about you? Have you made a decision about the person you want to marry?"

Egon's predatory gaze transformed in that moment. His eyes widened, glistening as he took a deep breath.

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