Chapter 136 - Drowning
Days went by and Elias saw less of Adeline, but still kept the key downstairs. He heard interesting rumors of a young woman sneaking downstairs every night with a basket of food. Whatever pleased her, he'd bat a lash. It wasn't like Asher even recognized her or understood her kindness.
Elias's lips twisted into a sinister smirk. Asher was no longer a threat the day he wiped his own memories, like a coward. A hidden Pure-Blood, how interesting was that?
Sitting quietly at his desk, Elias shuffled through the doc.u.ment papers. Reading glasses rested low on his nose, a metal pen aimlessly swirled between his fingertips. He felt the twins' pressuring gaze and their slight nudges towards each other.
A few more seconds of insufferable silence passed. The clock ticked on the wall, tik, tock, tik, tock. The pen scribbled on the paper, a fine noise of metal scratching against wood, whereas the paper rustled whenever Elias moved onto the next doc.u.ment.
The twins continued to nudge each other, each push more rough than the other, until Easton was shoved forward. Easton tripped over his two feet, nearly falling flat on his face, with his hands tucked in front of him.
"Insufferable brat," Easton hissed at Weston.
Weston arrogantly smirked and glanced away, pleased to win the shuffling battle. Easton continued to glare at his older brother. Older by only ten minutes, but Easton wished he could go back to time to prevent the birth from ever happening.
Finally, Easton turned to the King who barely glanced at them. He continued to studiously look through the doc.u.ments as if his wife wasn't sneakily visiting another man in the middle of the night.
"Your Majesty," Easton said in a small, hesitant voice.
Silence.
Elias continued to sign his name on a few passable doc.u.ments, then roll his eyes at the other ones and discard the useless ones. Stupid laws, stupid suggestions, everything he planned on burning in the fireplace to keep himself warm.
"T-there still has been no word about the Queen," Easton stated. "Her secretary reports to me that she has completely thrown herself into her duties. She tours the gardens, visits orphanages and charities, organizes the castle ledgers, and oversees the servants' wages and needs…"
Easton began counting down with his fingers, pausing to remember what else he heard. He had listed four out of the six things Stella reported back to him. He scratched the back of his head, wondering what the last two things to say were.
"Ow!" Easton yelped when Weston struck him on the back of the head.
"Maybe if I hit a bit harder, the hamster in your head would start running and make you smart," Weston hissed.
Weston stepped forward and sighed. "Your Majesty, the Queen is visiting the prisoner every night with baskets of food and water, since she is the only one in current possession of those keys."
Elias continued reading and signing the doc.u.ments. He didn't even lift his eyes from the important paper. It was a new proposal sent by Kastrem in regards to their disagreement about the trade deal. Kastrem was always rich in metal and ores, but the usurper was a greedy yet righteous man who refused to let his Kingdom be exploited without the highest prices possible.
"Let her visit her little lover," Elias finally said. He scribbled a few comments on the new proposal, which was as stupid as the previous one. "I'd like to see where this affair goes."
Elias settled the doc.u.ment in a special spot and moved onto a different doc.u.ment sent from a foreign country, as if the entire ordeal didn't faze him. He didn't even bat an eye to the fact that his wife was sneaking off in the middle of the night to a man that was enamoured by her!
"Your Majesty, even if Asher was to wipe his own memories of Adeline to prevent us from warping his perspective of her, nothing can wipe the heart of it's love," Weston attested, his voice rising with urgency.
Easton hummed. "Without doubt, Asher would not recognize her, but his heart would. If the Queen was to get closer to him, he might begin to remember her. We must cut them off before the possibility of that ever happens," he chimed in.
Weston for once, agreed with his younger brother. "Indeed, Your Majesty. I, for one, am surprised that you've not done anything about this."
Weston hated to admit it, but the King was slowly growing obsessive and possessive of the Queen. He had always thought it was impossible for the heartless King to be infatuated by a woman—a human one at that.
But Weston had personally seen it. Lydia Claymore was annoying and a horrible influence, but a good friend. It was bizarre that the King always did everything to prevent Adeline from seeing her. It was even more bizarre that the King would always look irritated whenever Adeline's attention went anywhere else but to the King.
"Let them be," Elias said.
"B-but…" Easton stammered, his face filled with doubt and confusion. He looked around, like a lost puppy. He clearly expected a larger, grander reaction from the King.
Perhaps imprisoning the Queen in her room, preventing her from leaving the castle, and forcing her into a cage. Pretty birds like her were meant to be placed in a golden cage—admired from afar, but never allowed to fly.
"What is your motive, Your Majesty?" Weston asked, clearly not buying the indifferent act given by the King.
"You're wise, Weston. Figure it out on your own," Elias said. Never once did he pause in his work. He continued focusing on his task, for his duty was to his empire—even if Elias was willing to burn it to the ground for her.
Weston could not understand it. He stood there, for a few seconds, his mind filled with thousands of possibilities.
Without warning, Easton suddenly gasped. "Oh yes, I remember the sixth thing I was supposed to tell you!"
Easton perked up, his face filled with joy at his great memory. "The Queen has been skipping her meals."
At this, Elias slammed his pen down. The metal cracked from the pressure as a dent formed on the mahogany desk. Yet again, it'd have to be replaced. He tore off his glasses, the temperature around them dipping significantly.
"What?" Elias hissed, his face twisting viciously. His eyes were ignited with the worst of flames, a single breeze was enough to start a forest fire.
"U-uhm…" Easton awkwardly laughed, scratching the side of his handsome face with a finger. He wryly smiled. "Oops?"
Elias narrowed his eyes into slits. He shot out of his chair. The chair flew back, slamming against the wall, leaving another hole in the room.
Weston softly sighed. "I'll call maintenance," he grumbled, pulling out the phone to get everything repaired in a timely manner.
"W-wait!" Easton gasped. "I figured it out, brother!"
Elias ignored Easton. He stormed past the twins, his hand flying to the door knob.
"Day by day, the Queen visits Asher, but he doesn't recognize her. She gives him food and drink, not only out of the goodness of her heart, but because she feels guilt."
Elias paused.
"But what breaks her heart more than the guilt is the realization that her childhood friend will never recognize her nor her hard work to sneak downstairs to meet him."
Easton turned to the King, even though the King had his back to him. "You're a genius, Your Majesty! You're allowing the Queen to break her own heart, so that she'll come back to you."
The blood drained from Weston's face. He spun around. He was never surprised by the King's cruel and cunning methods. In fact, Weston would support Elias even if he was a tyrant.
But this was concerning the Queen, a young woman who taught Elias compassion and love. She naively loved the King, smiling foolishly for him, her gaze filled with nothing but earnestness and adoration for him. Such a love was rare to come by. Once gone, it'd never return.
"Your Majesty…" Weston trailed off, disapproval in his voice. The reason he was unable to think of the answer, despite being so smart, was because he refused to fathom such a thing.
He refused to think the King would let her break her own heart. Right now, she must be drowning in guilt, and aching from the realization.
What's worse was that Elias did not respond. He simply let the silence answer for him. Without another word, Elias opened the door and stormed out.
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