‘Ugh, the Crown Prince is stressing me out so much! What the heck is he thinking now to make such a rash decision?’
While heading out of the funeral hall, Aiden exhaled a heavy sigh as he was lost in his thoughts, scratching the back of his head. He had a perplexed expression prominent, with a frown curved deep in between brows. Just when he was about to head towards King Aldrick’s chamber, suddenly Lilith rushed to him from behind and grabbed his arm, “Father?”
A sudden interruption from his daughter flinched him a bit as he quickly halted his motion, turning around at her. Caught up in the chaos, he had partially forgotten that his dear daughter was finally back in the castle after staying far away for almost 3 years.
The frown in between his brows eased a bit as he gently smiled back, patting her head, “Ah, I am sorry, my dear angel. Don’t think that father is ignoring you…I am really happy to have you back here. But it’s just that things have suddenly become so messy in the castle that it’s taking a toll on my mental state.”
But, Lilith retained a grim look on her face with her droopy eyes gazing at him. Keeping a small pause, she mumbled, “Father, I have something important to ask you.”
“Umm, can’t we talk a bit later, Lilith? I need to go and see His Majesty. We can talk once I come back—”
“You knew everything already about what happened today…didn’t you?”
All of a sudden, Lilith raised her stern question, with a stiff glare focused on him. She pursed her lips, looking as if she was having a hard time suppressing her tears in.
“Wh…What?” Aiden gulped his saliva and rolled his eyes in awe since her sudden inquiry was completely unexpected for him.
But by this time, Lilith failed to hold back her despair as tears swelled in her eyes while she demanded, “Father, you were aware already that Prince Zordan was about to announce his wedding with Lady Gabriel? Didn’t you?”
Stunned by her sharp observation and the profound sadness on her face, Aiden paused for a brief moment before he murmured, “W-Why are you asking m-me this…”
“Everyone in the funeral hall were deadpanned in shock with the announcement, except you, Father!” She gritted her jowls, while her breath hitched for a second. “You weren’t surprised at all! To me, you just seemed puzzled by his declaration. So…that means, you were aware of everything already, weren’t you? Then do you perhaps also know who is behind Chief Luther’s death!?”
“Sssshhh, Lilith!” Immediately Aiden panicked at her bold revelations and covered her mouth with his palm, stopping her to speak a word further. Quickly he took a careful glance around the hallway where both of them were standing to make sure no one was there to eavesdrop on them.
Whereas watching him panic, Lilith retained a disappointed look on her face and coldly glared at him by raising her head above. After a brief awkward silence, Aiden exhaled a heavy sigh and slowly moved his palm away as he murmured, “Lilith, you shouldn’t be discussing about such things open and loud. Even the walls have ears and you know well how dangerous this castle has always been. Please calm down a bit first—”
“Calm down?” With a gloomy mocked smirk on her face, she clenched her fist and opposed his words with a sharp glare, “How can you ask me to calm down, Father? How can I still stay calm when Prince Zordan is getting married to someone else?”
Her grim response put Aiden in a discontent state as he ruffled his hair above his forehead with his broad fingers, as he tried to console her a bit, “My dear Lilith, I know what are you going through. I am well aware of it but the circumstances are—”
“If you are already aware of my pain then how can you still ask me to calm down, Father??”
All of a sudden, she lashed out desperately at him while breaking into tears. Her composure as a gentle, timid woman was completely lost and instead, she looked outraged with grief and anger, demanding her answers from him.
Watching his only beloved daughter breaking down before him, Aiden’s heart throbbed with pain as he tried to pat her shoulder to console her. But instead, she shoved his arm fiercely away and sobbed bitterly.
“I had always cherished Prince Zordan in my heart since childhood! I…I did everything to get his attention but he never noticed me…yet still, I didn’t give up on hope! I even swamped myself into Prince Marcus’s dirty tricks so that I could reach near him but…I was always tossed aside! As a last chance, I even stayed outside the castle and groomed myself to be an elite woman worthy of him just as you asked me to do, Father!
But…everything’s shattered now! How can he just announce his marriage to her all of a sudden!? How could she easily win him over when my existence was always ignored by him!? This is so unfair...Why is everyone always head over heels for Gabriel? Why not me? I can’t stand this pain anymore, Father…”
As she broke down into tears by covering her face with her trembling frail hands, Aiden’s heart sank in despair to watch his daughter’s heart broken badly. He pulled her into his embrace and patted her shoulder to comfort her as tears brimmed in his dark eyes, “Lilith, I know how much you are in pain…I know everything about the sacrifices you have made until now, my child. To be honest, I was also left spellbound by his decision…”
After shedding tears helplessly on his shoulder for a brief moment, all of a sudden it seemed as if a sudden thought struck her mind.
She parted away from his embrace and held a vague dark gaze in her teary eyes as she gritted her jowls, “I can never accept this, Father. I can’t lose him…
If…If Prince Zordan really ends up marrying her…I…I will kill myself, Father.”