232: The Healer's choice

The Healer's choice

Taking one final whiff from his jacket after meticulously sewing back the two top buttons, Adela folded it neatly and placed it beside the decanter on her coffee table.1

"The Majordomo should retrieve it once we leave." Her soft eyes shifted to Larissa, standing next to her.

Larissa's gaze fixated on the jacket's buttons, her face slightly flushed. "You seem saddened to part with it."

Adela swiftly adjusted her expression to one of excitement. "On the contrary, Lari, this will help clear Egon's name and redirect the Princess's focus onto someone else."

Now more than ever, Adela ardently desired for the murderer to be captured, not only for the sake of her Kingdom and its grieving people but for the sake of her own interests, as her courtship with Egon, though discreet and known to only a select few, had become official.

Larissa's beautiful face brightened, "I can't believe he asked Father for your hand in marriage on the spot!" The light in her face dimmed slightly afterward, "But considering he found you in his house alone, it is wise that Egon took that step."

Adela took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She intensely pined to relish her happiness with the man she loved to the fullest, but it would be so much more fulfilling if Larissa could find joy as well.

"...I apologize for not providing a better cover story for you, are you sure you are not mad at me?" Larissa pondered, her countenance drooping.

Adela shook her head. "Father mentioned something about Arkin being summoned by Princess Sasha. I believe he followed her to Egon's house, not me... Egon and I took a very narrow route that very few could follow... He seems to know Lanark better than I do," she said with a smile, finding the thought endearing.

The smile faded, replaced by a thoughtful expression.

"What's on your mind?" Larissa asked.

"Something Princess Sasha said while we were at Egon's house. She spoke about Egon's verbal argument with Uncle, may his soul rest in peace. This was information she couldn't have gathered from the testimonies. I have them memorized in my head."

Larissa's nerves tightened even further. "You think someone is feeding the Princess more information?"

"Not just anyone. Someone present in that reception room with us. They were all individuals on our side." Her lips tugged down suddenly. "Except for Aldric, that is."

Larissa gasped, "Do you believe he is acting behind our backs once again?"

After learning about all that Aldric had done to Adela, Aldric of Varinthia had become one of Larissa's recurring nightmares.

Adela's eyes wandered to the two candles closest to them, their flames oscillating like her own thoughts as she mulled over the entire ordeal with the industrial zone and the young King.

"We should have never signed that agreement. It has provided him with legitimate reasons to enter and exit our soil at his whim," she finally concluded.

"What about the Oracle's prophecy? Do you think... Could Egon be the King destined to protect you?" Larissa's eyes shimmered, as they always did when the topic arose.

Having reached her own conclusion about the identity of the Monarch mentioned in the prophecy, Adela offered her older sister a comforting smile. "Stop dawdling and let me braid your hair. We must be on our way to meet Andreas; the sun has already set."

The color in Larissa's rosy cheeks drained away. "I don't want you to braid it. Let's go already. The sooner we leave, the sooner we return."

Adela knew that if their father hadn't requested Larissa to meet her betrothed, she would have delayed the necessary discussion with Andreas even further. She was torn between holding on to a man whose heart she might never fully possess and letting go of him, even though he was undoubtedly the love of her life. She  grasped her sister's hands, which were clutching the coffee table as if seeking balance.

Larissa's hands felt ice-cold against Adela's warm palms.

"...Lari, it's only fair for both of you to have this conversation. Leaving a gentleman's heart hanging in the air like that isn't something a kind lady like you should do. He has dreams of a future where you are his wife. I believe you should both fight for your love. If not, then you should provide him with closure. Only then can you let go and move on."

Larissa, aware of her unfairness to both herself and Andreas, nodded in agreement. "I think I've already made my decision; it's just been difficult for me to voice it aloud."

"Now, you must."

"...Must I?"

Sensing her sister's reluctance, Adela promptly took hold of Larissa's hand and briskly led her out of the room. She kept rubbing Larissa's palms as they walked through the halls, infusing warmth into them all the way to the grand gate where their father awaited them.

In perfect synchrony, both sisters curtsied before the Archduke.

"The carriage awaits you outside and a platoon will accompany you. Egon von Conradie has left the estate, and you two should not return until the matter between Larissa and Andreas is resolved, one way or the other."

He spoke in a calm and neutral tone, then opened his arms wide, embracing both daughters simultaneously. They clung to their father with all the strength they could muster.

"Hold your heads high, my daughters. Never for a second underestimate yourselves; always remember who you are and the house you belong to. Find pride in our name, just as I find pride in both of you."

Adela's heart, brimming with love for a man who had proclaimed himself a beast, couldn't fathom a life where she was without the protection of her father's strong arms. The cadence of his heart and the wisdom in his words were irreplaceable, nothing in existence could match what her father meant to her.

She had not a single doubt in her mind about it. Kaiser de Lanark should be King of Emoria.

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