“W-What…?”
All of a sudden, hearing her teary confession left Aiden jaw-dropped in shock, making it hard for him to breathe. His eyes rolled wider and his face turned pale in fear as he grabbed her by the shoulder and declaimed aloud, “What? W-What are you talking about, Lilith!?”
By then, she was sobbing too hard and biting her lower lip, her wistful voice shivered as she nodded, “I…I have decided it, Father. I…I am sorry, but I won’t be able to bear that pain…My heart won’t stand it anymore—”
“Have you gone insane!?” Suddenly, he clenched his grip on her shoulder and snapped hard at her. His dark brown eyes were filled with tears and his pale face depicted as if her confession had scared him to the point of making him feel suffocated inside. “Do you have only that much faith in your father? Do you think I will sit back and watch everything like a dumb fool!? What do you take me for!?”
His pained shriek flinched her a little as she raised her tear-soaked face above to gaze into him. With her trembling palms, she clenched the hem of her silk gown as she whimpered, “F…Father…”
“After losing your mother long ago, you have been always my everything, Lilith! Do you even have an idea how much I have treasured you always!? I…I don’t care if I will need to conduct a massacre but how could you presume that I will lay back and watch the person whom my daughter has cherished from her heart being taken away by someone else?
Even I have always wished to see you as the Crown Princess of this kingdom! Only you are worthy to become our next Luna!!” His desperate loud rumble created a sharp echo in the desolated hallway.
“Father..” She lowered her guilty eyes down from his gaze as his ardent words were prominent to make her realize how much she had hurt him with her answer. She covered her face with one hand and wept helplessly while she murmured, “Then tell me…W-What should I do...I just can’t think straight anymore…”
“First of all, calm down, Lilith! This is not the appropriate time to cry and panic when you don’t even know the truth!” Aiden emitted a heavy sigh and carefully took a glance around them, before he whispered in a low voice, “It’s completely opposite of what you are presuming about them, Lilith.
I am certain, by now, Lady Gabriel disgusts Prince Zordan more than anything in this world.”
His curt low murmur flinched her quite hard as she promptly lifted her head above with her curious rolled eyes at him. With a look of disbelief on her face, she mumbled, “What? She…hates him?”
“It was Prince Zordan, who murdered Chief Luther with his sword.” Aiden narrowed his obscure gaze before revealing the darkest secret in front of his daughter after a brief pause. “And…Lady Gabriel has witnessed it with her own eyes.”
“H-Hah…W-Wha…t?” Looking deadpanned in shock, Lilith almost hitched her breath for a second and forgot to blink her lashes, rolling her eyes wide at him. She covered her mouth with her palms and stood jaw-dropped, having a hard time processing his answer.
“F-Father…W-What are y-you talking a-about? P-Prince Zordan has…s-stabbed him to death? A-And…G-Gabriel is the e-eye witness?”
“You heard me right, Lilith.” Holding a perplexed look on his face, Aiden ran his fingers impatiently to push his grey-brown hairs above his forehead before he whined, “I know how shocked you must have been now. And trust me, I was equally stunned when I heard that he was about to announce his marriage with her in front of all.”
“B-But, h-how can it be possible, F-Father!?” Getting a grip over her trembled self, Lilith strongly objected in a cold voice. “I don’t care even if Prince Zordan has assassinated someone but, what about Gabriel? How can she agree to marry the murderer of her father? T-This doesn’t make any sense!”
“Exactly, and that’s why I am having a hard time coping with this absurd situation.” He frowned his brows deep as he keenly expressed his displeasure. “I don’t know how Prince Zordan made her give into his proposal but something crazy must be going on between them! Whether she was forced into his marriage proposal or not, I need to find out what our Crown Prince is planning in his mind. So, that if he ever tries to betray me, I can backfire the situation on him.”
Lilith stood still for a few seconds and with a conflicted look on her face, she pursed her lips before she pleaded in a timid voice, “F-Father…What’s going on here? Why is this happening? I don’t have any clue but I don’t want either Prince or you to get hurt anyhow. Y-You both are precious to me…”
A small, cryptic smirk sliced his sharp jaws as he softly raised his hand to pat her head, “I know you would be worried, that’s why I was refraining from telling you the truth. But, this royal castle is similar to the pit of hellfire. Sacrifices and politics are common here, and there’s no way, I will give up on the fight. And, since I have the Crown Prince on my side, so don’t worry too much. But…”
As his words suddenly trailed off, with an anxious gaze towards him, she quivered, “But what…father?”
“There’s no way…I will let Luther’s daughter become the Crown Princess of this kingdom.” All of a sudden, a small, wicked smile sliced his lips as Aiden lowered his voice further.
“We still have the time of a month before the royal wedding. So, just like Luther has disappeared forever, his daughter can also vanish in thin air…isn’t it so? After that, no one will be there to block your way ahead in becoming the next Luna.”
His words crafted a relieved smirk on her lips. She wiped her tears with a small nod before she answered with a cunning sneer, “Father…I should have never doubted your brain in the first place. Then, shall I include myself in this fun ride too?”