270 Revisiting the Past
Alexander was already preparing to go to bed when he heard the guards at his door announcing from outside, “Your Highness, His Majesty is here to see you.”
Alexander didn’t waste any time getting to the door. He opened the door and welcomed his brother-in-law with a warm smile on his face.
Caspian also returned the smile and said while walking inside the room, “Anna told me that you wished to head for Orsenia tomorrow.”
“Ah, yes.” Alexander sat down on the sofa after Caspian made himself comfortable. He looked at the King and said what he had said to his sister, “I have a lot of things to sort out with my father. I didn’t get to properly explain everything in the letter that I sent to him in haste, in the hands of the coachman. If I don’t see my father soon, he will be worried about me.”
Caspian nodded his head in agreement. “If it wasn’t for that unfortunate event, then I would have insisted that you stayed here for some time. But I know what’s important at the moment. So, I will have the carriage ready for tomorrow.”
“I will be in your debt, Your Majesty,” Alexander said with a polite bow.
Caspian also further extended his help. “Anastasia was asking me if I could send a few guards to accompany you till the capital of Orsenia. However, I feel a little uneasy knowing that you were also one of the targets of those creatures. So, if you don’t mind then how about I ask a few of my well-trained men to accompany you during your stay in Lavinya as well?”
Alexander was surprised that Caspian was willing to lend some of his men to guard him not just for a few days but for months. But he didn’t want to burden Caspian with his safety. Thus, he politely declined, “I am grateful for your offer, but I think I will be fine if they would just accompany me to my home. I will hire new guards before leaving for Lavinya.”
Caspian wasn’t backing down from his offer though. He was genuinely worried about Alexander’s safety. “You saw how strong and fast those people from Xanmar were. If they planned another assassination, then I am afraid that your guards won’t be able to protect you.”
.....
“Regarding that…” Alexander heaved a sigh and then spoke in a low and sad voice, “I have some doubts that Everard was the one behind that attack. No matter how many times I think about it, I still can’t bring myself to believe that he would stoop as low as ordering an attack over a matter that was already settled.”
Caspian’s face suddenly turned hard and cold as though the colors from his face evaporated away in an instant.
Alexander felt a chill in his heart and sudden discomfort in his chest when he saw how the expression on Caspian’s face changed. He wondered if had angered the King by being too honest about his thoughts.
However, Caspian clenched his jaw and agreed with him. “Even I have some doubts regarding the main person behind that attack. If we look at it from the surface, it looks like Everard sent those people in a whim of his drunken state. But he just became the King. I think it is easier for others to pretend to be him or give orders on his behalf.”
“So, you also believe that he might not be the real culprit?” Alexander’s face lit up slightly in the hope that what Caspian said was true.
Caspian gave a nod and though he didn’t want to shield Everard, he didn’t want to unintentionally manipulate the Crown Prince and give him that gentle nudge that could potentially lead the Kingdoms into a great war.
If Orsenia and Xanmar were to engage in a war, Caspian was sure that Orsenia would expect assistance from Sorvando at some point. He wouldn’t be able to avoid it since he was also a victim of the attack. And also because he is the husband of the ex-Princess of Orsenia, there was no escaping the war.
Thus, he truthfully replied to Alexander, “The reason why I made him the main culprit earlier was because I didn’t want Anastasia to be in contact with him anymore. He had done things that could potentially endanger her safety some time ago. So, I had to villainize–”
“He had done things to endanger Anna?” Alexander suddenly interrupted Caspian and asked as he displayed a deep frown line between his brows.
“What exactly did he do?” he asked curiously. After all, he was aware of how devastated Everard was after learning about Anastasia’s betrothal. And he hadn’t returned to Lavinya for weeks. It was very much possible that he caused some scene in front of Caspian and Anastasia that he wasn’t yet aware of.
Caspian’s answer was, however, far more shocking than what Alexander had expected.
“There were several incidents happening in the nearby woods and the towns. We found that something was damaging a lot of trees and was killing animals and pets. I found out later after a thorough investigation that he had secretly crossed the boundary of Sorvando.”
“Excuse me?” Alexander inhaled through his mouth and looked at Caspian with a dumbfounded look on his face.
Caspian’s face hardened with anger again. His eyes sharpened with hatred when he explained further without hiding most of the details, “If it was just animals and trees, we wouldn’t have been that alarmed. But later on, we discovered a female victim who got bitten by him. A lot of humans from a nearby town lost their lives because of that one main incident.”
“No!” Alexander covered his face with his palms and shook his head in disbelief. “No, no… No! He couldn’t have done that…”
“But he did.” Caspian narrowed his eyes and further added, “And I learned from Anastasia that he had pursued her before she was betrothed to me. Since that incident happened a few days after she arrived here, I am pretty sure that he wasn’t here at random.”
“Oh my god!” Alexander exclaimed and confirmed Caspian’s theory, “Everard had indeed disappeared for a few weeks after Anastasia was sent here. And yes, before disappearing, he was really mad that Anastasia was betrothed.”
“I thought so... But thankfully, he didn’t get close to the castle when he was here. I don’t know what he would have done to Anna if he had found her and if I had let my guard down thinking that he was a harmless friend of hers.”
“I can’t believe he did all those things here…” Alexander mumbled in utter disbelief.
The more Caspian revealed the things that he didn’t know about Everard, Alexander felt as if his heart would explode from shock.
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