Chapter 178: The Bait And The Crown
Eve tried to avoid looking at them, but it was difficult to ignore the statues when they were scattered throughout the opulent castle. Prince Valen spoke with practised ease every now and then, explaining the history of the castle and how it had stood for thousands of years, having been built by the first king, King Zevran Kaine.
At the mention of that name, it was inevitable that the others began asking questions about the majestic sword they had seen in his portrait back at the museum.
Prince Valen thought for a moment before replying, "Ah...that mystical sword. Well, Mr. Doran must have told you that it hasn’t been seen since King Zevran’s passing."
He then flashed them a grin and added, "Though, if you ask me, I’d say it was nothing more than a story the first king made up to inspire future rulers to remain virtuous, believing that one day they might be deemed worthy to wield it."
"Even if that were the case, the first king failed miserably to make his descendants half the man he was," Ivan muttered under his breath, making a few students’ eyes widen before they broke into soft chuckles at their prince’s remark.
Valen, who hadn’t heard Ivan’s words, assumed the laughter was in response to his own comment about the story being made up and grinned at them like an idiot.
Eve, standing beside Ivan with her hand in his, gave him a subtle nudge, silently reminding him not to stir up trouble before they carried out their plans. Ivan, however, merely arched a brow, looking as if he saw nothing wrong with what he’d said.
Valen, glancing back, caught their small exchange, and an ugly feeling twisted in his chest. He had proposed this tour for one reason alone: to get close to Evelyn. He wanted to be the one walking beside her, holding her hand, indulging her with the tedious tales of his kingdom and palace. Yet here they were, with Ivan standing out like a thorn in his eye.
He wanted to march over and tear them apart, to reclaim what he believed was his. But then he remembered his mother’s warning gaze. Forcing himself to inhale deeply, he swallowed his fury and repeated to himself, over and over, ’Not for long’.
He was soon snapped back to reality when one of the students spoke up. "Your Highness, if I may ask you another question?"
The voice belonged to a curious young woman, her tone soft and flirtatious, just enough to stroke Valen’s deflated ego after Ivan’s arrival.
His mood lifted almost instantly. Turning toward the pretty human woman who had spoken, he flashed his usual lazy smirk and replied, "Yes, you may."
"Um..." She tucked a stray lock of red hair behind her ear before continuing, "I’ve been studying history for a long time, and something in particular piqued my interest about your kingdom. I wanted to ask if it’s true that there’s a sanctum somewhere here...the Vault of Ages, to be exact."
As soon as she spoke the name, every eye and ear turned toward Prince Valen, who froze mid-step at the question.
Eve, Ivan, Cece, Damien, Edward, and even Oliver, who were already privy to the plan, sharpened their focus on him, watching closely to see whether he would reveal anything about it.
Valen regarded the woman before him with keen interest. After a moment of silence, he asked, "How do you know about it, milady?"
The woman flushed under the sudden weight of everyone’s attention. Her cheeks turned crimson as she stammered, "W-well, as I mentioned, I-I’ve been studying history as my focus, so I read in one of the books about a sanctum said to exist. I just thought I’d confirm it with you."
Valen remained silent, debating whether he should say anything at all.
Eve, standing not too far away, studied his expression closely. The longer she watched him, the more certain she became that he had no intention of revealing anything. A wave of unease settled over her. If their plan failed today, it would mean resorting to Ivan’s far riskier one and the thought made her heart sink.
Tightening her grip on Ivan’s hand, she spoke softly, "I’ve read about it too..."
Valen’s eyes snapped to her instantly. It was the first time she had spoken to him of her own accord, and the unexpectedness of it caught him off guard.
Beside her, Ivan’s jaw tightened as he immediately understood what she was attempting. He forced himself to stay still, his muscles tense beneath her grasp as he felt her firm hold silently urging him to let her continue.
Eve continued, "I’ve heard about a mystical Vault of Ages said to contain all the historical records. I think it would be wonderful if such a place truly exists here....and if we could see it for ourselves."
Damien, Cece, Edward, and Oliver kept their eyes trained on Valen, watching closely as he seemed to reconsider his stance. It was clear he was reevaluating whether to reveal something now that it was Eve expressing interest.
The group exchanged subtle glances, as each silently prayed to the gods that he would take the bait Evelyn had just laid out.
Valen, on the other hand, was immensely pleased that she had taken the initiative to speak to him, it fed his ego, and a satisfied smile broke across his lips at finally having a chance to impress his little golden bird.
His eyes locked onto Evelyn as he spoke, "You’ve heard correctly, Princess Evelyn," he began, addressing her directly and completely ignoring the woman who had asked the question in the first place. The young woman’s smile faltered, her mood dampening as her attempt to gain the prince’s attention slipped away.
Valen continued in a more confident tone, "There is indeed such a sanctum within these palace grounds, one that holds countless historical records."
At his words, the others sighed in relief, inwardly thanking the gods. They all knew it had been Evelyn’s carefully timed nudge that had finally pushed him to reveal what they needed to hear.
Eve’s eyes gleamed with purpose as she replied, "That’s wonderful!" Pushing further, she added, "Would it be possible to see such a place?"
Her blue eyes remained locked on his, silently goading him to say more, even though the lustful gleam in his gaze made her skin crawl. Ivan could feel her discomfort through their joined hands and began to brush his thumb gently over her knuckles, trying to soothe her jittery nerves. He hated how she was using herself as bait to draw the truth from Valen, but he swallowed his frustration like a bitter pill, knowing that without her, the conniving prince wouldn’t reveal a thing.
But Valen was cunning in his own right. Rather than disclose anything further, he decided to use the moment to his advantage. "I’d love to show you...all," he said, pausing briefly as he remembered the others were still present. "However, the Vault of Ages is a highly secured area, so unfortunately, I cannot take you there."
As he said that, the others’ moods instantly dampened, including Eve and her friends.
That was when another student spoke up. "Why is that, Your Highness?"
Valen’s eyes, however, never left Eve. He noticed the way her expression fell at his refusal, and the smirk on his lips widened. "That’s because the Vault of Ages cannot be entered by one’s own will," he explained smoothly.
"As you’ve heard, the sword once wielded by King Zevran is hidden and cannot be found through ordinary means. In the same way, the Vault of Ages allows entry only to those it deems worthy of knowing certain truths. Since we cannot predict what knowledge will be revealed to whom, we guard it carefully so that dangerous information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands." Finishing his explanation, he finally turned his attention to the student who had asked the question.
Curious murmurs filled the hallway at the prince’s words. That was when Prince Aden scoffed, "If the vault allows a person to view the information themselves, it means the vault deems them worthy of knowing it. In that case, why such tight security?"
His remark drew everyone’s attention, including Prince Valen’s.
Aden continued, "What I mean is, from what I understand, neither the information nor the sword would reveal itself to the wrong person. So why the excessive precautions if the vault already guards itself?"
Valen smiled at the other human prince and replied simply, "That’s because it is a sacred place to the royal family, so we protect it."
His answer, however, left the others unconvinced. Several exchanged glances, silently agreeing with Prince Aden’s earlier reasoning.
Not wanting to linger on the topic any longer, Valen quickly added, "Right, how about we move on to the next section of the garden?"
Without waiting for a response, he turned and began walking ahead, forcing the others to follow suit.
